Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
So, this one is going to be short, but hopefully also a good one.
Let's get to it.
nliochristou: I actually put this on the timeline page on the wiki. Cal Kestis actually took Ahsoka's place in the events of Rebels.
Guest: I'll actually cover rebel concerns about Thrawn in the next chapter.
Jedi Kyle Katarn: We'll see one of those two species at some point in this series. I'm not entirely sure when, though, and in what capacity. And I may actually include Palpatine's reaction when he finds out about Thrawn.
Chapter 27- Massacre of the Bismarck
Vice Admiral Axel Schimpf watches as the blue of hyperspace streaks past the viewport of the TAS Bismarck. There's only a parsec to go until they reach Toydaria.
Terran intelligence agents have recently made significant progress cracking Imperial codes and hacking into the Imperial communications network. They had just discovered transmissions revealing an Imperial weapons convoy at Toydaria. Fleet Admiral Zambellas had immediately dispatched the Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Denmark Strait to intercept the convoy and destroy as many of the ships as they could in a quick raid. Schimpf was assigned to lead the raid. The mission was not only to destroy as much of the convoy as possible, but also to demonstrate to the Empire that the Alliance had the ability to conduct lightning quick raids without warning and still cause heavy damage.
Schimpf had strict orders to make this a brief raid. Admiral Zambellas didn't want them remaining in the Toydarian system for more than fifteen minutes. He didn't want Imperial reinforcements to arrive before the two Terran ships could escape.
"Sir! One minute to the end of hyperspace run!" a bridge office calls out.
"Begin charging the cannons and prepare to target hostile ships as soon as we come out of hyperspace," Schimpf orders.
The order is relayed to CIC and the weapons officers begin charging the bombardment cannons so they'll be ready to fire as soon as the ship drops out of hyperspace.
Schimpf watches out of the viewport. Finally, one of the bridge officers declares, "Admiral, dropping out of hyperspace!" Moments later, the blue of hyperspace lengthens out, and then the ship drops out of hyperspace, followed two seconds later by the Denmark Strait.
Instantly, Toydaria comes into view up ahead. In orbit over the planet is the Imperial weapons convoy, comprised of a total of 42 ships, including Acclamator class assault ships, Altor class replenishment ships, BFF-1 freighters, a Evakmar-KDY transport, tankers and an unknown model of Imperial cargo ship. They're escorted by thee Victory II class Star Destroyers and three Imperial II class Star Destroyers.
"Target the cannons on that large troop transport," Schimpf orders.
The order is relayed to CIC, and the weapons officers immediately begin targeting the Evakmar. Within moments, the cannons have been targeted on the ship, and that information is relayed to Schimpf. Immediately, Schimpf orders, "Open fire."
The cannons immediately fire, the four blasts streaking out through space and striking the massive transport. The blasts tear through the ship's shields with ease, tearing the ship apart.
The two Terran ships are already within range for their turbolasers, and within moments of the shots from the Bismarck's bombardment cannons hitting their mark, the battleship and heavy cruiser open fire with their turbolasers, as the two ships begin launching their starfighters. The Dreadnought class has a small air wing for a ship of its size, only 120 starfighters, and the Jutland class has an air wing of 64 starfighters. Together, the two launch a total of 150 starfighters to attack the convoy as the two ships continue to fire their turbolasers.
The Bismarck and Denmark Strait concentrate their fire on the escorting Star Destroyers and the Acclamator class ships, while the starfighters head to target the smaller ships of the convoy.
The starfighters separate into formations of four to eight fighters each to attack the Altors, BFF-1s, tankers, and cargo ships, while a number of them remain in their individual flights to provide protection against TIE fighters.
Schimpf watches as turbolaser bolts begin to slam into the Star Destroyers and Acclamators. The Star Destroyers are trying to move to a covering position to help shield the convoy from attack, but their move is making it easier and easier for the two Terran warships to target them.
As the Star Destroyers move to help cover the convoy, they finally begin to launch their TIE fighters. However, Terran pilots in their Su-36s and SF-23s are quick to respond and move in with their laser cannons. Terran fighters and TIE fighters merge with each other, firing their laser cannons. A number of TIE fighters are destroyed while only a few Terran fighters are destroyed.
The escorting fighters continue to engage the TIE fighters while the other Terran fighters continue engaging the smaller ships. Several of the ships are so small that it only takes a few missiles or proton torpedoes to destroy them. As each formation destroys a ship, they smoothly shift their attention to another ship or to the marauding TIE fighters.
Schimpf watches from the bridge of the Bismarck as one of the escorting Victory II class Star Destroyers explodes under the unrelenting turbolaser fire. He smiles slightly as the batteries targeting the now destroyed ship shift to one of the Imperial IIs.
"Time to cannon recharge," Schimpf asks out loud.
"Five minutes, Admiral!" one of the bridge officers responds.
Schimpf nods once as he continues to watch the ship's turbolasers continue to fire on the Star Destroyers. More and more ships of the convoy continue to explode under the unrelenting attacks of the starfighters and the occasional stray turbolaser bolt from the two Terran warships.
Schimpf routinely asks for an update on the recharge time left for the bombardment cannons. Finally, as one officer calls out, "One minute, sir!", Schimpf orders, "Recall the fighters and prepare for hyperspace jump."
The order is relayed, and the starfighters begin pulling back towards the ships as the hyperdrive navigation officers begin plotting a retreat through hyperspace back towards Naboo.
Finally, one of the bridge officers calls out, "Admiral, cannons recharged!"
"Target each cannon on a separate Star Destroyer and fire as soon as you have a target!" Schimpf orders.
In CIC, the weapons officers begin targeting the cannons, aiming each cannon for a separate Star Destroyer. As soon as the cannons are aimed, the weapons officers push the buttons to fire the cannons. The cannons fire one after the other, each blast finding its mark. Two Victory II class Star Destroyers and two Imperial IIs, all already damaged from the battle, are destroyed by the powerful blasts.
Schimpf watches as the four Star Destroyers break apart under the massive blasts. As he does, he orders, "Turn us around and make the jump into hyperspace."
The helmsmen on the two ships begin turning the ships around as the hyperdrive officers finish setting the coordinates. Finally, once the coordinate are set, both ships make their retreat into hyperspace. Behind them, they leave the debris of 5 destroyed Star Destroyers and 33 of the 42 ships of the convoy, and thousands of surviving Imperial personnel feeling a little freaked out by what just happened.
(Super Star Destroyer Executor)
Darth Vader stares silently out of the viewport on the bridge of his flagship. Internally, he is beginning to feel frustrated at the lack of progress. Ever since the attack on the Mako Ta Space Docks, they haven't made any real progress in their hunt for either the Rebel fleet, their new base, or for Luke Skywalker. And the Terran Alliance has continued to win victories.
"Lord Vader!"
Vader turns around and sees an Imperial officer approaching from behind him. The officer snaps to attention and says, "Lord Vader, we have received word from our weapons convoy at Toydaria. They were attacked by two Terran warships. The convoy lost 5 Star Destroyers and 33 of their transports. The captain of the surviving Star Destroyer reported they did not destroy or even damage either of the two Terran warships, only succeeding in claiming a number of starfighters."
Vader faces the officer in silence before asking slowly, "Two Terran warships did that without taking damage?"
"Yes, sir. The captain of the surviving Star Destroyer confirmed that the lead ship was one of their battleships, and a TIE pilot confirmed by the ship's marking that it is the one known as Bismarck," the officer says.
Vader is still motionless, but boiling rage is quickly welling up in him. The name Bismarck soon came to the knowledge of the Empire not long after the Terran attack on Mustafar. By now, the Empire is well aware of the many attacks conducted by the Bismarck, including its involvement in the invasions of Naboo, Christophsis, and Kashyyyk. The name Bismarck has begun to be a source of fear among the Empire.
However, Vader has a personal grudge against the Bismarck, given it was the ship that destroyed his fortress on Mustafar. Ever since his task force, Death Squadron, was formed, his secondary goal beyond just tracking down the Rebellion has been to try and find and destroy the Bismarck.
"Have they already fled?" Vader asks.
"Yes, Lord Vader. They have already retreated," the officer says.
Vader feels more frustrated. If they could have caught it in time, Death Squadron may have been able to destroy it. But now that the Bismarck has retreated, it will likely have returned to Naboo. By this point, Naboo has been so heavily fortified by the Terran Alliance that even Death Squadron wouldn't be able to pull off a successful attack on Naboo.
"Continue to coordinate with other Imperial forces. The moment we hear word of the Bismarck, I want to know about it," Vader says.
"Yes, Lord Vader," the officer says before turning and walking away. Vader looks back out of the viewport, stewing in his anger for both the Bismarck and the Terran Alliance.
And, I'll end there. Hope you liked that one.
So, this chapter was mainly to feature the Bismarck, which is a ship I'll be using regularly. For those thinking this chapter was too short, I kind of intentionally did it that way to reflect how quick the attack on the convoy was. Similarly, I made the attack go so overwhelmingly well because the Terrans had complete surprise, and it's been shown throughout history that an inferior force can win an overwhelming victory over a larger force if they have surprise.
Next chapter will be set back on Earth, and feature a character many of you have been begging to see. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!