Chapter
One
Planet Tatooine
Jabba the Hut's throne room was always filled with a large crowd. It was a gathering more concerned with variety than quality. Cut-throats and criminals from a hundred planets could be found there, paying homage to their leader, or trying to sell and buy illicit goods, or simply having a good time. Other guests were there somewhat less willingly. Case in point: the chained princess at Jabba's feet, dressed in the skimpy costume of a pleasure dancer.
Leia Organa fought yet another wave of depression and despair. The situation might be hopeless, but she would not give her tormentors the satisfaction of watching her crumble. Whatever torments Jabba had in store for her could not be worse than interrogation at the hands of Darth Vader. And if she had a chance, the Hut would pay for his crimes
As if sensing her resolve, Jabba playfully tugged on the chain connected to the collar around her neck. She glared at him. Jabba laughed. "Don't look so angry, Princess," the crime lord said in Huttese, a language Leia understood, but which few non-Huts ever spoke, it was so vile and disgusting -- and, to be honest, very hard to pronounce. "I have been merciful, have I not? Solo still lives. For a little longer."
Her heart skipped a beat. Her attempt to rescue Han had been hopeless from the start, its failure as predetermined as the second act of a badly written play. The initial bargain, sending her two droids to Jabba to try to negotiate a ransom, had been a failure. Lando Carissian had infiltrated the smuggler's household, and Leia had gained entrance by posing as an Ubese bounty hunter, delivering Chewbacca into Jabba's hands. The plan had been for her to free Han, even as Lando released Chewie. It hadn't worked. She managed to free Han from the carbonite matrix that had frozen him like a hideous ebony statue, but Jabba and his henchmen captured her and Lando. Now her three companions were in a cell somewhere, the droids were being inducted into Jabba's service, and she was Jabba's plaything.
And Luke…
"Luke," she whispered to herself, her eyes glistening.
*****
Han Solo was having a truly bad day.
The smuggler-turned-revolutionary had woken up from carbonite hibernation less than two hours ago. The experience had been particularly unpleasant -- he still felt chills all the way to the marrow of his bones. He was also blind -- a temporary situation, if he lived long enough. That was far from certain.
There'd been an all-too-brief reunion with Leia, and then Jabba had sprung his trap. He might be blind, but even a blind man could tell he was in a deep pile of Bantha droppings.
On his cellmates agreed. "I've got to hand it to you, Solo," Lando Carissian said ruefully. "When you get in trouble, you don't stint yourself."
"Nobody pulled a gun on you to come after me, Lando," Solo replied. Chewbacca roared. "Okay, maybe Chewie was a little insistent."
"And that girlfriend of yours," Lando said. "I didn't dare say no to her. Besides, the Empire stole my city away, so I was between jobs and had nothing better to do."
"Yeah. Well, I appreciate it. Thanks." Chewie cleared his throat. "You too, Chewie. But, where is Luke? Is the kid all right?" This caper was just the kind of half-assed stunt the wannabe Jedi would attempt, Han knew. Blind as he was, he couldn't see the expression on his friends' faces, but he felt their mood change. "Is he all right?"
"No, Han. The kid's not all right."
*****
Planet Dagobah
Yoda closed his eyes, and waited for the end.
They approached him from two sides, father and son, light sabers ready.
"So full of anger, your are," Yoda said softly. "So full of fear."
"You said that to me when I was a child," Darth Vader replied. "You would not teach me. And yet, here I stand, old man. Who is full of fear now?"
Yoda ignored the Dark Lord. He turned towards Luke, opened his eyes, and recoiled.
Luke had been remade in his father's image. His hand was a mechanical construct, cold and lifeless. He had shaved off all his hair, and painted his face in the style of a Sith Warrior. "Hello, my teacher," Sith Luke said, and Yoda realized there was no hope. "Why so quiet? Where are the wise sayings, the insults, the criticism?" Sith Luke continued, his voice dripping with dark gleefulness. "I had so much trouble learning from you. But look!" He gestured towards a large rock, and his face contorted with anger. The rock levitated smoothly out of the muck. "I've learned so much from my father."
"The Dark Side a shorter path is," Yoda admitted. "But to madness and death it leads."
"Liar!" Luke shouted. "You lied to me! You and Ben, with your games and your stupid riddles. I'm sick of them!" His voice grew colder. "And I'm sick of you." Luke extended his open hand like a weapon, and closed it. Yoda felt a crushing pressure around his throat. "You never taught me this trick, either."
Yoda concentrated, and the pressure disappeared. So did the sadistic smile on Luke's face. "A child's trick it is, easily dispelled," the Jedi Master said.
Darth Vader laughed, an inhuman, mechanical sound. "My son is young, Yoda. His strength is on the rise, and yours is on the wane. Can you stand against both of us?"
Darth Vader now made the same strangling gesture, and Luke redoubled his own effort. Yoda felt the pressure again. They were so strong, and he was so tired.
"Die, old monster," Darth Vader said. "Die, and trouble us no more."
"I see your fate," Yoda cried out, despite the killing pressure. "From beyond time and space, you will face your old teachers, and your power shall be overthrown."
"Useless jabber," Vader replied contemptuously. He
and his son looked at each other. "Let us put an end to this."
Yoda seemed to crumble under the psychic assault. His clothing collapsed to the
ground, empty.
"Gone," Luke -- no, Sith Luke, his old name had died on Cloud City -- said, seething with frustrated anger. "Just like Ben."
"The ghosts of cowards are no great obstacle," replied Vader. He turned his back on the pile of clothes that would be Yoda's only memorial. "Now, show me the place you told me about, the cavern where the Dark Side is strong. There, I will teach you how to destroy a weak mind and replace it with a construct of your devising."
Sith Luke smiled "I would like that very much, Father."
*****
Starship Enterprise, Bridge
Captain Jean-Luc Picard was not a naturally patient man. He could maintain his composure when circumstances forced him to wait, but he could not stop hating the delay.
"Picard to Engineering," he said. "Any luck yet?"
"Sorry, Captain," Chief Engineer Giordi Laforge replied. "I just finished another simulation, and it clearly shows that the transporters will not work." He paused. "To be precise, they will work with only 73% reliability." He didn't have to add that transporting 73% of a living being was worse than not transporting said being at all.
"Carry on, Giordi," Picard said. He was not normally in the habit of jogging a subordinate's elbow like that, and that was a clear sign of frustration. Here he was, aboard a starship, with the theoretical ability of performing a rescue mission in a few seconds, or to set down a hundred security officers on the spot -- and because of a tiny differential in the space-time constraints of this universe, he had been forced to send six people down on a shuttle to effect said rescue mission.
One of the first things Picard had learned when he joined the Eternity Legion was that each of the myriad timelines in the Multiverse had its own set of physical laws. They were nearly identical -- human life, and matter and energy itself could only exist within a relatively narrow set of physical constants -- but even tiny differences could make big differences on advanced technologies. In this particular case, a small variance in the laws of vacuum density made the Enterprise's transporters useless. From his briefings, this variance had prevented the development of transporter technology on this reality. Giordi was trying to find a way to sidestep the problem -- in theory it was a simple matter of realigning the transporter beams -- but it was going to take time. Time they didn't have.
Picard sighed inwardly. He was working for an organization of incredible power, able to recruit agents from billions of different timelines, and yet he was forced to rely on his primitive 24th-century technology. His mentors could guide and provide some minimal support, but the Eternity agents had to do the rest. Intellectually, Picard understood: the use of wildly divergent technologies could and would attract the attention of the Eternity Legion's enemies, with disastrous results. Emotionally, it felt like being forced to fight with one hand tied behind his back.
"Captain," Commander Data reported from his station. "I have detected several large vessels emerging from hyperspace three Astronomical Units away from Tatooine."
"On screen."
Three huge triangular vessels came into view, each over twice as long as the Enterprise. "They are Imperial Star Destroyers, Captain," Data reported. "According to our briefings, their weapons and shields are inferior to our own, but their size allows them to deploy many more weapons, including a fighter contingent."
"They are heading straight towards Tatooine," Commander Riker reported. "They may be coming to pick up the people we're here to rescue."
"A very large force, for a handful of prisoners," Picard said thoughtfully. "They must want them very badly."
"We will be in their sensor range in less than an hour."
"Let's introduce ourselves, then. Set up an intercept course. Full impulse," Picard ordered.
The rescue team would be on their own until the situation was resolved. Fortunately, the six men and women in the team were among the most resourceful and talented people in the Multiverse.
He silently wished them luck. They would probably need it.
*****
Planet Tatooine
Obi-Wan Kenobi took a deep breath. The cold air of Tatooine at night filled his lungs, as he pondered the impossible.
He had never been in this world.
And yet he had.
At least, another Obi-Wan Kenobi, the one born in this universe, had been in this planet. Had lived here for a long time, although he was no longer here. Obi-Wan could feel echoes in the Force, spiritual residues of his temporal twin. It was a disturbing experience, to sense feelings and memories that felt exactly like his own, and yet were utterly alien.
"Focus your mind, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan looked at his teacher. Qui-Gon Jin had sensed his confusion. The stern tone masked concern, and friendship. Thankful for the intervention, Obi-Wan relaxed, allowed the confusion to stream past him, and concentrated on the task at hand.
"She is in that building," Qui-Gon said, indicating the fortress in the desert. "I can sense the Force in her. She is in some distress; we must act soon." He looked back at his companions, fellow Eternity Agents.
Wade Wells met her teacher's eyes steadily. The former Slider turned Jedi had stopped being afraid a long time ago. Her hand rested on the light saber she had made herself. Qui-Gon nodded approvingly. For someone who had started her training so late in life, she had made remarkable progress.
The other three were not adepts in the Force, but Qui-Gon could not ask for better companions. Xena of Thrace smiled at him -- not a nice smile, but these were not nice circumstances. She still had her archaic weapons, but she knew how to use the phaser on belt. "We have to move quickly, knock them off-balance, and escape with the prisoners," the warrior princess said. She was already formulating a plan.
"Can you get us in?" asked Doctor Clark Savage, Man of Bronze, the fifth member of the team. "My wide-spectrum knockout gas canisters should subdue most guards in short order." As usual, his voice and expression betrayed little emotion. Qui-Gon believed his claims implicitly; Doc Savage was a scientific genius, who, despite having grown up in 20th-century Earth, had mastered new technologies with astonishing ease.
"And while you take care of the guards, I will help the prisoners on their way out," said the last member of the team, Doctor Henry "Indiana" Jones. His skill at escaping from impossible situations made him uniquely suited to this mission.
The six agents put their minds together. They soon had a plan.
They were all experienced enough to know that plans rarely survive contact with the enemy, though.
*****
Bib Fortuna, Jabba's repulsive assistant, rushed into the Hut's great hall, and hurriedly whispered into his master's ear. Leia leaned forward, hoping to overhear. Jabba backhanded her away with casual brutality. Leia wiped blood off the corner of her mouth, staring intently at the crime lord.
With an angry grunt, Jabba pushed Bib off. "The Empire has come for you, Princess," Jabba announced, and Leia's heart sank. "Their request is backed by not one, not two, but three Star Destroyers." The gathered sycophants fell silent at the announcement: any one of those ships could destroy any vessel in Tatooine and lay waste to the whole planet. After a long pause, Jabba chuckled. "It appears I only have a few hours with you, my Princess. Let us make them memorable." The assembled crowd of criminals laughed in an atonal chorus. "Bring me the prisoners!" Several Gamorrean guards rushed to obey.
Leia remained silent. She wouldn't beg, not that it would her any good.
It took a lot of effort to retain control of her feelings when the Gamorreans returned with Han, Chewbacca and Lando, handcuffed and looking the worse for wear. Standing unobtrusively on a corner, Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who had brought Han Solo to Jabba, watched the proceedings with interest. Han was still blind; his sightless gaze slid past her without stopping. "I'm here, Han!" she shouted. He deserved that much.
"Don't worry, Leia," Han said. "We're getting out of here!" That got a big laugh from Jabba and his cronies.
"You are right, Solo," Jabba said ominously. "Your princess will be leaving shortly. And so, in a manner of speaking, will you."
"Damnit, Jabba!" Solo shouted. "I'm giving you one last chance!" The crowd stopped laughing and yelling for a moment. "If you let us go, right now, there'll be no hard feelings. We have friends, you know. Powerful friends."
The laughter lasted a good long while this time.
"Ah, Solo," Jabba finally said. "Your last moments have been
most amusing. You have earned the privilege of being the last to feed my pet."
He turned to the guards. "Start with the Wookie."
The two Gamorreans holding Chewie started hauling him forward, despite his
struggles. Han started to protest, and his guards clubbed him to his knees.
Leia closed her eyes, feeling the cheers of the crowd washing over her,
drowning her…
The cheers stopped cold. Leia's eyes snapped open.
Two men and one woman had made their way through the crowd, which had parted for them with amazing ease. She had never seen them before, although the younger one seemed strangely familiar. Bib Fortuna had led them in; the alien assistant had a stunned look on his face.
"What is this?" Jabba said threateningly.
"These people are under our protection," the older newcomer said. "We will leave with them, and there will be no trouble."
Leia felt the power in those words. Everywhere, members of the crowd started muttering the words. "They will leave, and there will be no trouble." The stranger was using the Force!
Jabba laughed his rumbling, dark laugh. "A Force mind-trick! I thought the Jedi had died out." His words seemed to break the spell the stranger had woven on the crowd. People shook their heads, as if waking up from a dream. The guards started advancing on the newcomers.
"There are three Jedi here," the stranger said. Three light sabers lit up, and the newcomers formed a circle. The crowd backed away from them. "Give us the prisoners, and we will leave in peace."
"Leave?" Jabba replied. "You fool! Even if you escape my fortress alive – and you won't – what will you do about the three Star Destroyers heading this way?"
Leia was intent on the stranger, so she noticed a slight hesitation among then upon hearing the news. But hardly breaking stride, the older Jedi smiled.
"Oh, I think the Star Destroyers will be quite busy."
*****
Starship Enterprise, Bridge
"They have detected us, Captain. They are going to battle stations."
On the screen, the three Star Destroyers spread out in a V formation, two vessels in front and one in back. Dozens of smaller fighters scrambled out of the huge vessels. The Enterprise appeared hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.
"Let's hail them," Picard said. "It will buy us time, if nothing else." Time for the agents to rescue the prisoners. Picard didn't think that talking would deter the Imperials from their purposes, however.
A man in a grey uniform appeared on the screen. "I am Moff Derwan of the Empire," the thin, humorless man said. "Surrender immediately, or be destroyed."
"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the United Federation of Planets. Tatooine is under our protection. Please state your intentions."
"What --? Who --?" Moff Derwan stammered. "There is no Federation in this sector. There was a Trade Federation decades ago…" His confusion was replaced with anger. "Stop playing games, Rebel scum! You will pay with your effrontery with your life!" Communication was cut off.
"Do people in this universe seriously talk like that?" Riker said.
"They do seem to place a high value on melodrama," Picard replied. "However, they are acting in deadly earnest."
"We will be in weapon range in fifteen minutes, Captain," Data reported. "Their initial fighter wave will reach us in twelve minutes."
"Evasive maneuvers. Let's try to keep our distance, and maneuver until they are exactly where we want them."
"And then we play the ace in our sleeve," Riker said, an eager expression in his face.
"Indeed."
*****
Planet Tatooine
Jabba made a gesture, and a trapdoor opened under the three Jedi. Qui-Gon and Wade were near the edge, and were able to leap clear, but Obi-Wan fell into the pit.
"Kill them!" Jabba shouted. Gamorreans rushed forward, wielding spears, even as the other guests leveled an assortment of energy weapons at the two remaining intruders.
Every member of Jabba's gang was paying attention to the Jedi. That meant that the second team of Eternity agents were able to come in without anyone noticing. Doc Savage made an opening by the simple expedient of banging together the heads of two aliens, hard enough to knock them out. Xena charged through the opening, shouting her ululating battle cry. Her chakram spun from her hand and flew around the room. Half a dozen thugs were struck; another three had their weapons smashed. Only a couple of shots were actually fired at the Jedi, and their light sabers deflected them away, in Qui-Gon's case, reflected right back at the shooters, with fatal results.
Indiana Jones used his whip on a support beam, anchoring it in place. Indy swung through the air above the melee, right towards the Gamorreans holding Han, Lando and Chewie. He kicked two of the guards as he came to the end of the swing. A practiced twist of his hand, and the whip was loosened. As soon as the guards were distracted, Chewie and Lando went for them. Their hands were cuffed in front of them, but they made do. Chewie took particular pleasure in rabit-punching the Gamorreans until they stopped moving. Another smuggler started to aim a blaster at the prisoners. Indy's Webley Mark 6 revolver barked twice and the alien collapsed, killed by the obsolete but quite functional handgun.
The Gamorreans who charged the Jedi never had a chance. They were wielding spears, and going into hand-to-hand against a light saber-wielding Jedi is a losing proposition. Of the five who pressed their attack, three ran away as soon as their spearheads were sliced off. The other two fell to the ground in four separate pieces.
Doc Savage tossed five grenades into the crowd. Gas billowed out, and aliens from a dozen different races went down, unconscious. He was about to toss another set of grenades, when he heard a rumbling noise below.
Obi-Wan had managed to land on his feet and retain his light saber. He was at the bottom of a large underground chamber, some twenty-five feet below the hall. A huge iron door rolled up, and out came a gigantic monster. A Rancor, a large predator from another planet, imported by Jabba to deal with his enemies in an entertaining way. The audience above was somewhat distracted, but the Rancor did not care about giving a show. It was hungry, and a tiny creature with a shiny light was in front of him. It reached with towards the Jedi an enormous clawed hand.
And withdrew it an instant later, minus two fingers Obi-Wan loped off with a swipe of his light saber. Roaring in anger and pain, the Rancor gathered itself to pounce. Obi-Wan watched it intently – he would only have on chance to leap clear, and a light saber would not prevent tons of bone and muscle from crushing him like a bug.
Doc Savage landed on the Rancor's back. He sank his hands on each side of the creature's neck, clamping down on nerves and blood vessels. The sudden pain stopped the charge short, giving Obi-Wan a chance to act. The Jedi dashed between the monster's legs: slash and backslash, and the Rancor fell forward, hamstrung, unable to hold its own weight. The impact shook but did not dislodge Doc Savage. As the Rancor's hands reached for him, the Man of Bronze braced himself and punched into the Rancor's eye with all his strength. Obi-Wan, charging forward, saw the Rancor stiffen, then grow still. With a brutal jerk, Doc Savage wrenched his arm, red to the elbow, our of the monster's skull. Obi-Wan was quite impressed.
Aboveground, the battle raged on.
Qui-Gon stepped towards Jabba.
"You really should have negotiated with us," the Jedi said.
Boba Fett had bided his time. Emerging from behind an overturned table, he fired his cable gun at the Jedi. Metal coils wrapped around Qui-Gon, trapping his arms to his sides. The bounty hunter aimed his gun, ready to fire before the Jedi could free himself.
A wailing battle cry distracted Boba Fett. He looked up, and Xena's drop kick caught him right on his helmeted head, bowling him over. "You're pretty good at shooting the helpless," Xena said as she punched and kicked the bounty hunter. "Let's try fighting somebody face-to-face!" The barrage of blows staggered Boba Fett, but his armor provided some protection, and he soon recovered enough to react. He parried a punch, and countered with a back fist that staggered Xena. Boba extended his other hand, and a vibro-blade extruded from its wrist sheath. Xena dodged several slashes; a near miss scored a bloody wound along her left arm; if it hadn't been for the protective force field that Eternity agents were equipped with, the slash would have taken her arm off.
"Excuse me," somebody said behind Boba Fett. The bounty hunter turned, and saw Qui-Gon, who had freed himself. Qui-Gon's slash beheaded Boba Fett.
"Thanks," Xena said, and repaid the favor a moment later by kicking a charging Gamorrean before he could stab the Jedi in the back.
*****
Jabba's rage had been replaced by panic. The intruders were but a handful, but they were mopping the floor with his henchmen. He had to get away. Jabba pressed a button, and the contragravity platform he lay upon powered up and started floating away.
Leia Organa wasn't about to allow that. She hurled a platter of food at Jabba, blinding him temporarily. Jabba's tiny pet, Salacious Crumb, screeched and went for her eyes. With a disgusted shout, she knocked the critter away, and reached into a compartment on the platform. Was it – yes, there it was.
Jabba wiped the food from his eyes – and Leia pounced. She forced something into Jabba's mouth, and the Hutt swallowed it reflexively. He opened his eyes, and saw Leia holding a blaster in one hand – and the cap of a thermal detonator in the other.
"No," Jabba rumbled. The thermal detonator he had swallowed sat heavily in his stomach.
"Yes," Leia replied. She used the blaster to cut through the chain, and she ran from the Hutt.
Jabba spent the last moments of his life trying to claw a hole into his guts. During his frenzied trashing, he rolled over Salacious Crumb and smeared him all over the ground.
No big loss.
*****
"What's going on?" Han Solo asked as Chewie and Lando led him through the battle. His vision was beginning to return; he saw indistinct blurs so far, but it was getting better.
"We're getting out of here!" Lando replied.
"What? What about Leia?" Han blinked furiously. He could see again! A man in a funny hat was leading the way. He grabbed him and spun him around. "Listen, buddy. I'm thankful but…"
Han blinked again, shook his head.
Indiana Jones did the same.
They could have been twins.
"What the..?" Han blurted out.
"I'll be damned," Indy said. He recovered first from the shock. "Okay. Let's say I'm your long-lost brother for now, and save the explanations for after we get out of here." During their briefings, Indy had been told this situation might happen – in an infinity of universes, the possibility of encountering an identical double was quite real, even if very small. It appeared this was one of these encounters. But he had no intention of going into it right now. They weren't out of the woods yet.
"What about Leia?" Han repeated.
"My friends will get her out. Trust me, will ya?"
They set off towards the exit. Han was still shaking his head.
"But I never had a brother!"
*****
Doc Savage helped Obi-Wan out of the pit. The battle was mostly over; the surviving smugglers were staying behind cover, and taking unaimed potshots at the intruders. Doc Savage saw Qui-Gon and Xena leading a scantlyclad woman, running towards them.
"We have to get out of here!" Qui-Gon said. "The princess just fed that big thing over there a thermal detonator!"
"We'd better hurry," Doc Savage agreed. A thermal detonator would probably level the entire fortress.
They were the last ones out. Wade had joined Indy and the other prisoners, and they were lying behind a dune. As they dove for cover, the thermal detonator exploded.
The fortress contained most of the explosion, but a shower of debris fell upon the agents and rebels. Smoke and dust engulfed them. Finally, however, it was over.
Leia rose as soon as she could. "Han! Han, where are you?" She stumbled through the smoke, saw a figure getting up nearby. "Han!" She rushed him, and passionately kissed her lover.
"Ah, Leia?" Han said behind her. "I'm over here." She pulled back, releasing a breathless Indiana Jones. Leia looked back and forth between the two. "Han..? Who is this man?"
"It's all right, Leia," Han said. "I'm sure there's a
logical explanation."
Indy, looking rather abashed, took off his jacket. "Here you go, miss. You
look… a bit cold."
Leia put on the jacket, and shivered. "I'm sorry, ah…"
"Jones. Indiana Jones," he said, extending his hand, which seemed somewhat
stupid after the kiss, but Leia accepted it. Han Solo stepped forward, and also
shook hands with Dr. Jones. As he did, he leaned forward. "Thanks. And, by the
way, she's with me."
"No problem," Indiana replied.
Sometimes the simplest fights against impossible odds got complicated for no apparent reason.
******
Starship Enterprise, Bridge
A TIE fighter flashed past the screen, lasers blazing, and was erased from existence by a phaser beam.
"Shields down to 73%," Worf reported. The entire ship shook under a direct hit by a Star Destroyer turbolaser. "Down to 68%," the Klingon amended.
"Those lasers are really effective," Riker commented calmly. Lasers had been considered obsolete in the Federation early during the 23rd century. In this world, they had been refined quite a bit, even if they still lacked the range and punch of phasers. The monsters mounted on the Star Destroyers – sixty turbolasers on each ship -- were large enough to make up for their design inefficiency, however.
The fighters were a dangerous annoyance. Their lasers were very weak, but they forced Picard to keep all shields powered up, which put a heavy energy burden on the ship. If the situation remained unchanged, the Enterprise would be forced to choose between flight or destruction.
"Give them another spread of photon torpedoes," Picard ordered. One of the Destroyers staggered under multiple explosions a few seconds later.
"The first Destroyer has suffered severe damage," Data reported. "All three remain functional, however."
"Time to play the ace?" Riker asked.
"I was about to say that," Picard replied. "Convey my compliments to Captain Nerys."
Behind the Star Destroyers, the Starship Defiant seemed to appear out of nowhere as it dropped its cloaking device. The small but heavily armed ship swooped over the Destroyers like an avenging angel. To survive the fire from the Enterprise, all the Star Destroyers had powered up their frontal shields, and left their rears largely undefended. The rear Star Destroyer went first, devoured by a fiery explosion. The heavily damaged lead ship was next. The last Destroyer fled, using its fighters to fight a rearward action as it maneuvered into hyperspace.
Kira Nerys' face appeared on the screen. "The last enemy fighters are surrendering," she reported. "They appear to be stranded without their motherships."
"They are probably too small to accommodate a hyperspace drive," Picard guessed. "Nicely done, Captain Nerys." The Bajoran smiled, still a bit unused to the new rank.
"Captain, Qui-Gon Jin is hailing us from the shuttle," Data reported. "Their mission has been accomplished."
"Excellent," Picard said.
Well begun was half done.