The Place that the Galaxy Forgot
The stars seemed to shimmer and then contort for a moment as the Victory Star Destroyer Dauntless decanted from hyperspace. The first warship slowed to a halt as it was joined by several others of varying shapes and sizes. First the Venator Star Destroyer Scout, then two Arquitens Light Cruisers and finally a Pelta Fleet Support Ship. The formation hung in space, invisible communication waves breaking the silence between the group commander on Dauntless and his subordinates. Satisfied that the task force had arrived at its destination in one piece, the group commander ordered his ships forward towards the planet in front of them.
Their crews were nervous. They were beyond the borders of the Empire, even beyond the borders of known space itself. They were following a trail that had started at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during the fall of the Republic. After the 501st Legion had razed the temple during the execution of Order 66, Imperial technicians had been brought in to sift through the ashes in search of anything of interest. They found plenty. As the Jedi Order had degenerated alongside the rest of the Republic it had become ever more secretive, even between members of the order itself. Among the trove of data left behind had been a set of entries detailing a five century–long effort to conceal a planet in the Unknown Regions from the rest of the galaxy. The last planet the Jedi had attempted to conceal from the galaxy at large had been the clone home world of Kamino so naturally the freshly minted Imperial High Command was very interested to uncover what else the traitorous zealots had seen fit to hide from those they claimed to serve.
The small fleet had assembled and set off from the shipyards over Fondor just over a week prior. The journey was relatively easy—the hyperspace route outlined in the data taken from the temple appeared stable and clear. But even so the task force had jumped in small increments, carefully picking their way beyond the borders of the known galaxy.
On board the Dauntless a young Imperial Army officer took a breath to steady himself as he stepped into a turbolift that raced off towards the bridge. Rolim Vosh took another breath, forcing his heart rate back down as he gazed into his reflection in the gleaming durasteel of the turbolift. A nervous boyish face stared back at him. One that looked entirely too young to wear the rank of Lieutenant. He was young—only twenty-two. He was the son of a moderately wealthy family on a backwater farming world in the Outer Rim. He had enrolled in the local military academy as soon as he was eighteen, graduated with average marks, and spent the waning months of the Clone Wars commanding a unit of planetary militia. He stayed in command of that same militia during the rise of the Empire before he was reassigned, and somehow the shifting maze of the Imperial war machine had landed him here. His command wasn't large, forty clone troopers and some light vehicles and walkers but it was the first time he had ever led troops into an unknown, possibly dangerous, situation.
The turbolift doors hissed open in front of Vosh and the subtle noises of the star destroyer's command bridge floated in. Vosh took a moment to remove his cap and straighten his mussed blonde hair before he stepped out onto the destroyer's command catwalk. Out the forward viewports he caught a fleeting glimpse of their destination as it slipped below the prow of the destroyer. On the other end of the catwalk stood the Dauntless' captain and the group commander, Ran Kiles. Vosh made it to the captain right as an ensign spoke up from one of the adjacent crew pits. "Captain, we have arrived on station. Geosynchronous orbit established." Captain Kiles nodded, "Very well. Maintain our station and begin a full planetary scan. Order the Arquitens and the Pelta to engage their long-range sensors and scan the edge of the system. I don't want any surprises." The crewman acknowledged the order as the older man turned away from the forward viewports. "Ah, Lieutenant Vosh, right on time. Right this way, the briefing room is just aft of the bridge." Kiles gestured for Vosh to follow him and led him back down the command catwalk.
The small briefing room was nearly empty. Only himself, Captain Kiles, and the commanders of the Dauntless' marine and starfighter detachments were physically present. The captains of the other ships in the group were present as shimmering blue holograms. The assembled officers were arrayed around a holotable in the center of the room. Hovering over the center of the table was a blurry holographic representation of the world ahead of them. Already details were beginning to sharpen on the image as Dauntless trained her powerful sensors on the planet and beamed data back to the holographic representation in real time. The other men in the room were still straightened to attention as Vosh followed Kiles into the room.
"At ease," Kiles said with a dismissive wave. "Gentlemen, welcome to nowhere. Now that we have arrived in one piece we can begin the business of determining whether these coordinates hold anything meaningful. The data from the temple places them around here." As he spoke Kiles pointed at a spot on the hologram in the center of the quickly expanding detailed areas. The area around the target coordinates, and the entire planet in fact, seemed to be covered in a thick forest. The coordinates also lay at the base of an imposing mountain range. "We'll continue the scans and have a list of possible landing zones for you shortly Lieutenant Vosh. In the meantime, prepare your troopers to disembark. If you need anything you can coordinate with Lieutenant Sulani." Kiles nodded at the ship's marine commander who returned the nod.
Lieutenant Sulani had been nothing but accommodating for most of the trip. He was a grizzled veteran with several major battles under his belt during the Clone Wars, and Vosh got the distinct sense the man was simply glad to not be getting shot at. "The rest of you can carry on as normal. I want full readiness reports from every ship in the group within the hour. Dismissed." Those physically present saluted and turned to file out as the holograms of the other captains winked out. As he stepped back onto the destroyer's main command bridge Vosh was stopped by Sulani's voice from behind him. "Lieutenant Vosh, a word?" Vosh stopped to let the other officer catch up and guide him into one of the many isolated alcoves on the bridge. "I understand this is your first time leading men on an actual assignment. I'm not going to lecture you on the finer points of command—you graduated from an academy same as I did—but if you need anything or have any questions I am at your disposal." Vosh nodded gratefully at the older man, "Thank you Lieutenant. Should I run into difficulties, you'll be the first to know. Who knows? Maybe I'll find something significant enough to cause your boys to leave their comfy starship and get their boots dirty." Sulani chuckled and shook Vosh's hand before making his way back to the bridge turbolift.
After checking a couple of messages on his comm Vosh followed. He sent the turbolift forward, headed for the ship's armory, but before it arrived his datapad chirped with a new message. The ships scanners had found a suitable landing site: a large meadow a little over a kilometer from the target coordinates. The LZ looked almost perfect, open with good sightlines on anything coming out of the surrounding forest, plenty of space for shuttles and gunships, and easy access to what appeared to be fresh water.
Vosh was still planning how he would set up camp when the turbolift doors hissed open. The armory was practically empty—Vosh's men had already retrieved their gear for the mission—although a steady pulse of blaster fire emanated from behind a nearby blast door as someone practiced with their rifle. Vosh slid his code cylinder into a computer port on the wall and waited for it to verify his identity. After a moment a small window opened in the wall to reveal his Merr-Sonn RK-3 blaster pistol and several charge packs. Vosh examined the weapon before securing it in his holster and sliding the charge packs into their places on his duty belt. All things being equal, Vosh would have preferred to be issued one of the larger DC-15s, but Imperial Army Command had apparently decided that their officers did not need to be as well armed as the men under their command.
Stepping back into the corridor, Vosh activated his comm and raised the transmitter to his mouth. "All squad leaders have your men assembled in the hanger for briefing in five minutes. We will depart as soon as the briefing is complete." A chorus of acknowledgments rang out from his receiver as Vosh set off towards his platoon's assigned hanger bay. He had been nervous about working with the clones before this assignment but had found them to be competent, respectful subordinates. It was a respect Vosh felt for them in return. The clones knew a professional soldier when they saw one; so did Vosh, and the clones were as professional as they came.
His men were already assembled by the time Vosh arrived at the hanger bay. They stood at attention in perfectly straight lines, organized by squad. "At ease, and helmets off please." Vosh hated talking to his men with their helmets on. The blank, black visors gave him no clue as to what they were thinking and he much preferred to see their faces. Even if they were mostly identical. He waited for a moment for the platoon to remove their helmets before placing a holoemitter on the deck and activating it. A holographic representation of their landing zone spread out in front of him. "We'll drop as standard in the two gunships. Once we set down each squad will fan out and secure one edge of the perimeter. Once we're sure we're clear, the second wave will land with the supplies to establish camp. Once that's done and we've reestablished long–range comms, we will plan from there. We have no idea what's down there, but I'm not interested in starting a shooting war with any natives we may run across. You are only authorized to engage if you are in eminent danger. Any questions?" Cannon, his first squad leader, briefly raised his hand. "Have the scanners detected anything unusual?" Vosh shook his head, "Not really. Biodiversity scans are normal for that sort of environment and the target coordinates so far look like a normal mountain side. Apparently the scanners are having some trouble penetrating the rock, so we can't tell if there is anything underground yet." Cannon nodded and Vosh looked around the rest of the platoon, asking for any more questions. A scattering of men shook their heads which Vosh took to mean that they were ready. "If there's nothing else, mount up in your gunships. I'll see you all planet–side." The platoon split in half as two squads went to board each of the waiting LAAT gunships. Vosh was the last to board his ship and did a quick headcount of the troopers in the troop compartment. All there. Vosh activated the gunship's internal comm. "We're all aboard, you may depart when ready." "Copy that sir!" the pilot replied from the front of the craft. Vosh reached up and took hold of one of the cabin handholds as the LAAT's repulsorlifts hummed into life. "Here we go." Vosh thought. And the doors of the gunship hissed shut.