CHAPTER 5 – Onslaught
The attack on the Executor was unprecedented. Even the failing but persistent remnants of the Rebel Alliance had never attempted to overtake Lord Vader's command ship. They knew better.
The Karpetia, a brutal pirate race, obviously did not. In cooperation with the latest incarnation of the Black Sun organization, the large, sallow-skinned humanoids had developed a hull-slicing prototype remote ship that could penetrate all known shields. Droids deployed from the main vessel attached a sealed extension corridor to the hull of their victim's ship then breeched the hull allowing their army of drone slaves to invade even the most advanced ships of the Imperial Navy.
Alarms sounded as Lord Skywalker and his apprentice raced to the bridge where the drones, smaller versions of the warriors who had been bred for greater agility and lesser intelligence, had gained entry through the hull-slicer's extension corridor. The command deck was littered with bodies of officers and stormtroopers who had been unable to stand against the overwhelming number of intruders pouring onto the bridge through the corridor connecting the violated ship's hull to the alien vessel.
Skywalker and Jade charged against the onslaught, red blades flashing as they mowed through the alien army. She had grown strong, Skywalker noted with pride. Coupled in the Force, they moved in unison, a joined force of dark power against which the mindless drones had no defense. The combination of power enhanced by the intimacy of their link was invigorating, and like nothing he had ever felt before.
A trio of hulking Karpetian warriors charged against them, primitive swords brandished, and were met with two outstretched hands - and a combined Force shove that launched all three of them into the air and against the wall.
Skywalker felt his father enter the bridge and glanced over his shoulder as Lord Vader positioned himself behind the helm of the command center.
The drones appeared to be falling back when multi-legged slicer droids from the enemy ship scuttled across the deck and latched on to the Executor's main terminal. The droids were designed to extract technology from hijacked mainframes and the Empire's newly developed cloaking capabilities were, no doubt, the primary target of this attack.
"I've got them!" Mara shouted over the din of battle. She sprinted toward the droids as Skywalker joined his father at the command center.
Mara quickly reduced the droids to unsalvageable spare parts and was making her way across the bridge to join her master when an explosion rocked the command ship, knocking her to the deck.
The swarm of defending TIE-fighters had finally managed to mount an attack strong enough to partially dislodge the corridor extending from the pirate ship.
Lord Skywalker, having been thrown against a communications panel, pushed himself back to his feet, calling to Jade. She lay motionless.
A fresh barrage of drones flung themselves with suicidal abandon against a faltering wall of stormtroopers as the intruders gathered what pillage they could in their retreat.
Skywalker joined the fight to defend the command center while simultaneously attempting to cut a swath to his fallen apprentice. Before he could reach her, a hulking Karpetian male scooped her up and tossed her unconscious body over his back. Her weight did not slow him in the least as he headed for his escape route.
"Mara!" he called, reaching out through the Force in an attempt to wake her. She did not respond. The offensive alien disappeared into the extension corridor. "No!" Skywalker sliced through five drones with a single swipe of red energy.
He swore fiercely, falling back as the ship lurched with the detachment of the alien ship's corridor leaving a gaping hole in the Executor's hull. Now his only hope of going after her would be if he and his father could end this before the invading ship entered hyperspace.
Lord Vader barked for a containment shield, which Admiral Piett stumbled across the bridge to activate personally. The final wave of drones prepared to storm the command center with a blood-thirsty battle cry.
Skywalker took his place beside Vader, adopting a ready stance with his blade. Vader's deep voice rumbled, "Go for your apprentice."
"No," Skywalker wiped sweat-damped hair from his forehead, eyeing the final rank of stormtroopers breaking before the vicious intruders. "I can't leave, Father. You will need me here."
Vader faced him, placing a gloved hand on the younger man's shoulder. His response was as firm as his grip, "Never abandon your apprentice, son. " There was an almost imperceptible pause in his breathing, "Now go."
Skywalker nodded in unspoken gratitude and ran toward the lift that would take him to his waiting ship. He stopped at the door, feeling a tremendous swell in the Force, and glanced over his shoulder in time to see the floor buckle beneath the aliens at his father's unspoken command. Black cape swirling with Force-generated power, Darth Vader ignited his red blade and descended on the now-trembling drones.
Mara struggled through the fog of unconsciousness, attempting to sit up. She couldn't move. Opening bleary eyes, she found herself restrained to some type of table. Shackles at her wrists and ankles combined with a pressor field kept her firmly in place. Her left arm throbbed and she vaguely remembered it being broken in transport to her captor's small escape ship.
Grunting with effort, she lifted her head a few centimeters and looked around. Most of her clothing had been removed and several greasy-haired Karpeti were leering at her with undisguised lust. One of them had lowered his tattered pants and was running his hands between his legs to appease his obvious arousal.
Mara turned away in disgust, her mind racing. They appeared to be in the control room. Once released from the pressor field, she should be able to take out most of the lightly-armed crew, and reroute the ship. Provided her right arm and legs weren't broken, she thought grimly.
A familiar tremor in the Force tingled in the back of her mind. Master? Had he followed her? Surely he had not left the Executor under attack-
With a blinding flash, the heavy door burst outward and was flung down the corridor. Lord Skywalker stalked into the room with grim determination, his presence glowing white-hot in the Force.
Crew members scrambled for blasters but half were cut down in a blaze of red light before they could arm themselves. The remaining Karpetia who managed to fire a shot or two against the dark lord were calmly and methodically relieved of their heads, arms and legs.
Shutting down his blade and ignoring the carnage, Skywalker crossed to the table where Mara lay restrained, quickly disarming the pressor field and shackles. "Are you all right?" he asked, running a cursory glance over her to assess for injuries.
Mara flushed and averted her eyes, acutely aware of her exposed condition, "My left arm is broken." She sat up slowly, grateful that her other limbs seemed intact. "Other than that, I'm fine."
"Here," Skywalker removed his hooded cloak and wrapped it around her.
"Thank you," she murmured. The black material appeared to be made of the same flowing, natural fiber as Vader's cape and was surprisingly warm, and soft.
Slipping a strong arm under her shoulders, he helped her off the table, "Easy now. That was a neuronic pressor field. You might get dizzy."
"I'll be all right," she stood shakily.
In spite of her protests, the room tilted and shifted under her feet. The last thing she remembered before everything went black was her master lifting her in his arms.
to be continued……