Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

RicoRodriguez2018: That's in Legends. In canon, the Eclipse was just an Executor-class ship that served as Palpatine's flagship, and that's what I'm going with in this series for the Eclipse. That's not to say something like the Eclipse from Legends may not show up in this series :)

Chapter 2- Adrift

(July 12, 2019)

On the bridge of the Hood, Admiral Pellaeon is standing beside a table, examining a series of photos and written reports. Also around him are Captain Moorhouse, Major David Ronen, and Iden Versio. The photos and reports they're looking over are all detailing the level of damage done to the Hood and her crew during the battle with the Eclipse.

The battle had caused the Hood the most damage she had ever sustained. Not only from the Eclipse's firepower and the weapons of her starfighters, but also because of the ferocity of the fighting that took place on board her. The fighting had been so fierce that the British troops aboard had been forced to use their Challenger 2 tanks on board the battlecruiser in order to defeat the invaders, and that had caused even more damage to the ship's interior.

The ship had suffered heavy damage. Had they made it home, preliminary estimates were that they'd need at least a few months in dry dock to repair everything. Even if they found a planet with the resources needed, some things were damaged beyond repair. It was estimated that the Hood had permanently lost almost 10 percent of her firepower, unless they could salvage similar weapons from any ships they came across. While the Hood still had plenty of firepower, it was still a big blow.

However, the bigger blow came with the loss of life. The Hood's crew alone numbered 14,864 living crew and 21,732 droids, and the 6th Armored Division and 61st Motorized Infantry Brigade, along with the special forces, numbered 18,416 more. The battlecruiser also had a hundred tanks, about two dozen walkers, 108 starfighters and 12 bombers aboard. The battle against the Eclipse, its air wing, and its boarding parties had cost the lives of 989 of the Hood's crew, 851 soldiers, and 817 droids, as well as the loss of a tank and a walker, 19 starfighters, and a bomber. Most of the dead had been frozen in carbonite so they could receive a proper burial, while all the dead Imperial troopers had been jettisoned into space. The losses had been heavily felt and mourned by the rest of those aboard the Hood, but could've been a lot worse.

The Hood was still maintaining her course she'd been sailing on since coming out of hyperspace. Basic surveillance with nothing more than telescopes had shown no sign of anything remotely close to the ship. However, Pellaeon still ordered that the ship maintain full speed ahead, hoping that they'd eventually come across something.

"Any update on the status of the engines?" Pellaeon asks.

"Not good Admiral. We have the fuel and energy from the reactor to keep going for years, but with the damage the engines sustained, they'll start failing in a matter of months. If we reduce power to 70 percent of rated performance, we can keep them running for maybe 8, 8.5 months max, but at the current rate, the engines will completely break down by early December," Captain Moorhouse says.

Pellaeon thinks on this for a moment, then sighs. "Very well. Order the engine crews to reduce engine power to 70 percent power and do everything they can to hold the engines together," he says. Moorhouse nods and goes to send the orders down to the engine compartment.

Meanwhile, Ronen looks at Pellaeon. "Admiral, I think our situation is not going to be dictated by the state of the engines, but the state of the crew. The whole crew pretty knows our situation, and that's weighing heavily on them."

Iden Versio speaks up. "Major Ronen is right, Admiral. The mental toll that our situation is going to take on the crew is probably our biggest threat. Adrift for months at a time with no way to contact home and no knowing if we'll actually find a habitable planet will eat away at their sanity," she says.

Pellaeon slowly nods. "I know," he says simply, silently hoping that they will be able to find a planet before the engines or the crew break.

(December 24, 2019)

On the bridge of the Hood, Pellaeon is standing at the viewport, looking out at the stars. It's been 5 ½ months since the Hood's battle with the Eclipse. The battlecruiser has been sailing straight through space ever since, with no sign yet of a planet.

However, the state of the ship itself is not Pellaeon's primary concern. After 5 months essentially adrift in space, the state of things has taken its toll on the crew. Bouts of depression and anxiety from just being stuck aboard the ship for so long with no escape and no guarantee of survival now run rampant among the crew. Several crewmembers have had to be confined to the medical bay to receive treatment for their deteriorating mental states. The sheer boredom of the current situation has also been very difficult for the crew to deal with. Even war games that Pellaeon has still insisted be held do little to relieve the boredom.

Now, it's Christmas Eve. However, the monotony is so strong at this point nobody feels much like celebrating, nor do they feel they really have anything to celebrate with their current situation.

Pellaeon hears footsteps behind him and turns to see Moorhouse. "Captain," Pellaeon greets him.

"Admiral," Moorhouse returns.

"Any new concerns from the crew?" Pellaeon asks.

"Admiral, I don't know how much longer they can hold out. This crew has been trained well and gone through a lot of shit in their time, but they can't hold on much longer. And with our food stores starting to run low…I worry about the measures the crew will take," Moorhouse says.

Moorhouse then looks out the viewpoint, and Pellaeon can see the emotions flooding over his face. "My family and I…we planned to go on holiday in France for Christmas this year. We had a beach home picked out on the coast we were going to stay at. I had found the most wonderful necklace I planned to give my wife. Now I wonder if I'll ever see her alive again," Moorhouse says.

Pellaeon wants to say something, but knows nothing he could say will probably help. Pretty much his entire adult life has been dedicated to his career as a naval officer, with no serious attachment to a family or homeworld. He has no understanding of the kind of things Moorhouse and most of his crew are going through.

Pellaeon and Moorhouse just stare out of the viewport together. Then, suddenly, they hear something. A voice, so faint they almost can't hear it, but distinct, and full of emotion. A voice that is singing. Singing lyrics that Moorhouse recognizes.

"Silent night, holy night. All is calm. All is bright."

Moorhouse and Pellaeon turn to look around the bridge. Eventually, they find the source of the voice. A young British enlisted man, sitting at a computer console at the edge of the bridge, away from most other people on the bridge. The young man is holding his own elbows as if he's cold, and just kind of staring at nothing. His lips are hardly even moving, but in the otherwise total silence of the bridge, they can hear his voice as he continues to sing softly, "Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild."

Everyone is staring at the young sailor, who now seems to notice everyone staring at him. He pauses, almost as if embarrassed to disturb the silence. But then, Moorhouse smiles and finishes the verse, "Sleep in heavenly pea-eace. Slee-eep in heavenly peace."

The sailor smiles, and together both he and Moorhouse begin the second verse, "Silent night, holy night. Shepherds quake, at the sight."

This sets off a wave among the bridge crew, and slowly, one after another, they begin to join in. Soon, many sailors are all quietly singing. Many languages meshing together. English, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Korean, and Swedish. All softly singing a Christmas carol.

As Pellaeon watches Moorhouse and everyone of the bridge singing, he feels a smile coming to his face. One thing that has fascinated him about the Terrans is their ability to spontaneously generate hope in even the most dire situations. Even among the Rebellion, he's never seen anything like it.

As the song quietly wraps up, silence reigns on the bridge again for a few moments. Then, Moorhouse says loudly, "Alright, that does it. Tonight is Christmas Eve. We cannot just sit here in misery and boredom. As bad our situation is, we are going to celebrate Christmas."

Moorhouse then walks over to talk over the ship's PA. Moorhouse punches the button for the PA, and then begins to sing, "Oh come, all ye faithful. Joyful and triumphant, oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem."

The bridge crew slowly begin to join as the PA broadcasts the singing throughout the ship. Across the ship, crewmen stop what they're doing, looking up towards PA speakers as they hear the sound of the bridge crew singing. Slowly, one by one, crew members begin to smile and join in the singing. Soon enough, the lyrics of Christmas carol are echoing throughout the halls of the battlecruiser.

As the song finally ends, Captain Moorhouse begins speaking to the crew, "This is the captain, speaking to everyone aboard this ship. While we may be in a dire situation, it is important to maintain hope. If we cannot maintain hope, then any chance we have of surviving this will be gone for certain."

"Tonight is Christmas Eve. While I know many of you are struggling, I believe tonight is not a time to wallow in misery. For that reason, I am hereby declaring all of you are temporarily relived of your duties, and I am issuing official orders for this crew to celebrate Christmas. Sing, decorate, give gifts, eat good food, and whatever else your traditions dictate. Whether or not we are able to survive this crucible, I want this to be a Christmas for all of us to remember," Moorhouse says.

As he ends his speech, Moorhouse turns and sees Pellaeon standing just a few feet from him. Moorhouse smiles a bit as he says, "Merry Christmas, Admiral."

Pellaeon smiles a bit in return. "Merry Christmas, captain," he responds.

(December 25, 2019)

On the bridge of the Hood, Moorhouse laughs a bit as he and Admiral Pellaeon are sipping hot chocolate along with Major Ronen and all swapping war stories.

Moorhouse's efforts to boost the crew's spirits and get them into a festive mood had worked. It's now Christmas day, and the crew has responded beyond even Moorhouse's hopes. Crew members had scavenged pieces of paper, wires, and other random items from around the ship to create Christmas decorations. The Hood even had a small store of Christmas lights that had been put aboard prior to the start of the mission, just in case the ship was exploring at Christmastime, and these lights had been strung up in the hangar, mess halls, and the bridge. And since there were a small number of Jewish members of the crew, the crew had made Hanukkah decorations as well and set them up.

Although the food stores were running low and the crew had been on slightly rationed diets for the last two months, Moorhouse ordered that today was to be a day of feasting. The cooks had busied themselves preparing a Christmas meal for the entire crew to enjoy. Although some classic Christmas dishes could not be prepared due to the ingredients not being aboard, the cooks had still done an excellent job. The crew had been eating good all day, and it had seriously boosted their spirits.

Now, the crew was just lounging throughout the ship, eating pie, pudding, cakes, and other Christmas deserts while talking and swapping gifts. Many of the crew had tried to handmake gifts for each other. Needless to say, it's been a huge boost to the crew's morale.

Pellaeon looks at Moorhouse and says, "You Terrans are amazing, friends. Any Imperial crew I ever served with never could've brought their spirits back in such a situation."

"What can we say? We're a tough people," Moorhouse says as he takes another drink of his hot chocolate.

Suddenly, without warning, a crewman bursts onto the bridge, an almost wild look on his face. Moorhouse recognizes him as one of the sailors tasked with monitoring space to look for possible habitable planets that the Hood could use to try and get more food and resources to repair the damage from the Eclipse.

"Captain! Captain!" the sailor shouts as he runs up to Captain Moorhouse.

"Yes, sailor?" Moorhouse asks.

"Captain, I found one! I found a planet we can take refuge at!" the sailor says.

Immediately, the entire bridge has their attention on this man, and Moorhouse jumps out of his seat. "What?"

"Yes, captain! I found one, on a bearing off our starboard bow on bearing 325. If we maintain current speed, we can reach it in three weeks," the sailor responds with excitement.

"Set course 325 immediately!" Moorhouse shouts immediately. The helmsman immediately races back to his station and starts adjusting the ship's course.

Moorhouse looks around the bridge. "Everyone, keep this information on this bridge! I want to ensure we can reach this planet before we inform the rest of the crew," he orders. The entire crew nods in response, but feel a sense of giddiness they can hardly contain, knowing there is now real hope that they will survive.

(January 11, 2020)

Looking out of the viewport, Captain Moorhouse looks down with pure joy at the sight of the planet below him. Sure enough, the sailor's claim had worked out. After almost three weeks of travelling towards it, and with the engines on the verge of failing, the Hood had finally reached the planet the young sailor had discovered. The planet looks to be a mix of mountainous terrain and expansive grasslands.

As Moorhouse is looking out at the planet below them, Pellaeon is getting on the ship's PA to finally break the full news to the crew. "Attention, all men and women aboard this ship. This is Admiral Pellaeon. At long last, we have a chance of survival. We have finally reached a planet that may have the resources we need to repair the ship and replenish our food. We are preparing a landing party to investigate the planet. Let us all hope that this is our chance for survival."

All across the ship, the crew begins to celebrate finding the planet as the men of the Ukrainian 61st Motorized Infantry Brigade are preparing to head down to the planet's surface to investigate the planet. Hopefully, this will be the day things turn towards the better for the Hood.

And, I'll end the chapter there.

I hope you liked this one. Since it's almost Christmas, I decided to do a Christmas themed chapter. I figured it would be a nice touch.

Next chapter will show them investigating this new planet, and it will feature a bit of a surprise. It'll be up in a week or two. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!