Chapter 36: Meeting of the Giants
Reviewers:
Silvanas: I want the Alliance to have a challenge, so I'm going to have them enter when the Empire is at its height. That means after Hoth but before Endor.
BGTom: I'll put in a solution at the end of this chapter. I hope it's a good one. I'm having them come in after the Battle of Hoth, but there might be a few surprises.
Liljimmyurine: That's not what everyone else is saying. I just looked through your stories and I didn't find anything like my story.
Oblivionknight7: That is a very good idea. Look for that soon.
Grayangle: I'm glad. I see what you're thinking, so at the end of this chapter I'm going to put in a solution that I hope you'll like.
Heart of Lies: Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.
Lennox: Good call of Commissioner Cain. I've read the books about him. Vader will probably fight a psychic inquisitor. The Zerg do sound good, but so do the arachnids from Starship Troopers. As for Andromeda, the Alliance will just have to bring in more ships. As I've said, at the end of this chapter I'm putting in a solution to the Imperium issue. I just hope it's good enough.
Captain Dronel of the Imperial Star Destroyer Judgment was having a good day. Since the victory at Hoth several weeks ago, the Rebels had scattered. Captain Dronel and his ship were part of a search operation to hunt down the remaining Rebels and eliminate them. It was a difficult and tiring process.
"Sensors, anything yet?" He asked.
"Nothing yet sir. Our scout fighters haven'tlocated anything either."
"Well, these are Rebels. They specialize in hiding. Keep sensors on maximum."
"Sir, I'm picking up something!" The sensors operator reported. "I'm picking up a massive surge of energy two hundred thousand kilometers directly ahead."
"Lay in a course. Have our fighters launch and form a screen around the ship. It would take a lot of ships to generate that much energy," the captain ordered.
"We're in visual range."
"Put it up on my monitor," Dronel ordered. The monitor showed some sort or wormhole opening.
"Something's coming out."
The wormhole widened and from it emerged the Imperial advance fleet. The Emperor's Wisdom came out first.
"Captain, those ships are massive. Their smallest ship is nearly twice our size."
"Open a channel. Inform them they are trespassing in Imperial space and to identify themselves."
"They're responding." The voice of Admiral Contsu came over the bridge, and his face appeared on Captain Dronel's monitor. It showed a man with a cold face and deep blue eyes that seemed to constantly be analyzing everythingthey saw.
"I am Admiral Contsu of the Imperial expeditionary force. We have had a navigational error and were thrown of course. Can you tell us where we are?" This was a lie of course, but Contsu was wise enough to attempt to ascertain who he was fighting against before charging head first into battle.
"You are in violation of Imperial space. You will power down your defenses and prepare to be boarded."
"We will not. We were sent from our empire to locate races that wish to join ours. We have no quarrel with you, but if you force us, we will defend ourselves. Also, you appear to be heavily outnumbered Captain," Contsu said. Dronel closed the channel.
"He has a point Captain," his first officer said. "They have twenty ships to our one."
"Yes, but we cannot simply allow them to lay claim to Imperial territory. Send a message to Courascant. Inform them that we have made contact with an unknown race and request assistance. In the meantime, let's see if we can stall them. Reopen the channel."
"Yes?" Contsu said when he reappeared.
"Admiral, I have sent a message to my government requesting a first contact team. In the meantime, I request a temporary truce."
"Very well. Would you care to come aboard my vessel? We can discuss matters further there. You may bring as many others as you wish."
"Very well Admiral. I will come aboard at once," Dronel said.
Ten minutes later Dronel's shuttle left the Judgment and boarded the Emperor's Wisdom. He was completely awed by the size of the Imperial ships. When the shuttle got closer, he was the massive gun decks and the studs of heavy weapons along the hulls. Even from a distance he could feel the power radiating from the ships. The Imperial Aquila told him these ships were at least not rebels. When the ramp opened, he saw thousands of crewmen snapping to attention. It was a sight he was familiar with but had never seen on such a large scale. A tall man he assumed to be Admiral Contsu stepped forward and extended his hand.
"Captain Dronel, welcome aboard the Emperor's Wisdom."
"Admiral, I thank you for the welcome. I must say that I have never seen a vessel as massive as yours." Contsu smiled.
"Well, if you will follow me, I will take you to the conference room."
Contsu led Captain Dronel and the seven stormtroopers who had come with him down corridors and along massive galleries. Once they passed a training room where troops were practicing. Contsu noted how Dronel's eye went up when he saw the pulse phaser rifles. With the recent advancements gained from Tau and Eldar technology, weapons had come a long way. Finally they arrived at the Admiral's meeting room. It was large enough for fifty people. Everyone took a seat. Three people joined them a minute later.
"Captain, may I introduce Commander Jones, my first officer; Lieutenant Danials, my chief of security, and Chief Seer Melron."
"A pleasure. So now, what did you wish to discuss with me?"
"I merely wanted to know a bit about your empire. Perhaps yours and mine could reach some sort of agreement." Dronel thought for a moment, and decided it could do no harm to tell the Admiral what everyone knew.
"I come from the Galactic Empire. We control millions of worlds and we stand for human rights above all others. Our Starfleet is unmatched by any other." He said. He was exaggerating of course. The Empire actually controlled more like two hundred thousand worlds,and that counted small outpost and things like that. The Imperial Starfleet though, was the truth. There had never been an enemy the fleet could not destroy.
"Interesting Captain. I believe our two empires have much in common. My fleet comes from an empire known as the Imperium of mankind. We rule most of our galaxy, and for ten thousand years the Imperium had held together through civil wars, rebellions and even invasion from races from beyond our galaxy." Contsu knew that impressing someone made them more receptive to suggestions.
"Impressive," Dronel said. "So you also consider humans the greatest race in the galaxy?"
"Of course. Nearly every race the Imperium had met has tried to destroy us. We have fought off races that could likely tear your empire to pieces."
"How could you know that?" Dronel asked. He knew he had told them nothing of the Empire's enemies.
"Because we now know everything you know." He noticed the expressions of fear and confusion on the Imperial captain's face. "Are you familiar with telepathy?"
"Yes. It's the skill of reading minds. But no race the Empire had met has that ability."
Contsu decided that knowing what the Imperial Captain was up against could work to Contsu's advantage.
"Well, in my empire we have more telepaths than we can handle, and most have abilities that extend far beyond telepathy. Melron, would you please demonstrate?" He asked, smiling. He knew what his chief seer could do.
"Of course sir," he replied. He glanced at the corner of the room where several heavy steel beams were stacked. He had them placed there for just that purpose. Suddenly they shot straight up into the ceiling, smashing straight up through it. Then they came back down and stacked themselves just as they had been. Dronel's jaw dropped.
"I must return to my ship," he said quickly.
"Of course. Contact me when your delegation arrives." Contsu knew he had both impressed and terrified the Imperial captain.
Once Dronel was back on board his ship, he immediately put in a priority call to his sector commander, telling them what he had just seen. A few hours later a reply came back. He was ordered to bring as much of the enemy fleet to the Kestrel system, where elements of the Imperial fleet would be waiting. They would capture the unknown ships for study. Dronel acknowledged the orders, hoping that the Imperial fleet was strong enough to defeat this new enemy.
Meanwhile, on board his ship, Admiral Contsu was conversing with the Seer.
"What did you learn?" He asked.
"The Captain was mostly speaking the truth. This Galactic Empire is not as large as the Imperium. They control at most a fifth of the number of planets the Imperium rules. Their fleet is large though, but the captain did not have an exact number. Most of their capital warships are like the vessel out there. They are currently fighting a rebellion that some time ago destroyed their greatest weapon. They possess no psykers other that someone called Lord Vader, who has the ability to strangle someone over distance, or at least that is all the captain knew about."
"I see. We should try and find a way to engage one of their ships in combat and test their abilities."
"Admiral, we are receiving a signal from the vessel," a comm. message told him.
"Put it up," he answered. Soon Dronel's face appeared.
"Admiral. I have received a message from my government. They wish to meet with you. I ask that you proceed to the coordinates I am sending you."
"Very well captain. We will be there as soon as we can," Contsu responded and cut the transmission. "It is likely a trap, but I look forward to seeing their faces when we show them our true capabilities."
While Contsu's fleet was heading into the Imperial trap, the Emperor had spoken with the Tau and Eldar. Most of the Imperium was still completely against aliens. He and the Tau had agreed it would be for the greater good to move the Tau civilization to the second galaxy. The Alliance had many worlds felt from the Dominion war where the Tau could resettle. The Ethereals had agreed with the Emperor. The official word would be that the Tau had been destroyed, and all the recent advances in technology, including that which had revived the Emperor, had come from recently found STC systems.
The Eldar zone had been claimed to be infested with remaining Chaos forces and had been quarantined. Farseer Silvanas had agreed with the Emperor's decision. The Eldar would be allowed to rebuild their civilization. Over time, the Emperor hoped to slowly shift the Imperium's views on aliens. In the meantime, with the tow races allied with the Imperium now gone elsewhere or safely behind cover, the people of the Imperium could resume their lives as they had been, with the exception of increased shipments of food and supplies. The Emperor only hoped that eventually his people could see as he did.
How was that? The Imperium is getting back to normal. Admiral Contsu's fleet will soon know what the Galactic Empire is made of. Also, something that's been nagging at me. On the subject of psykers, what about the Apex Twins? The most powerful psykers besides the Emperor. Is there anyway the Emperor could enter their minds and heal the damage that has been done to them? Tell me if this is a stupid idea, but I've always thought the Apex Twins were cool. See ya later and don't forget to review!
ENTILZA