Approximately four* years earlier, Mid Rim Territories
Garin rolled his Defender and fired into the aft of his target as the pirate tried to evade the faster, more maneuverable fighter. Garin's shots were rewarded with a spectacular explosion as the T-wing crumpled under the barrage. He did a quick scan of the area, smiling in satisfaction to see the wreckage of the pirate corvette floating uselessly in space, the fighters and shuttles were either dead or running.
"This is Hades Lead to Urghan Trade, you're clear Captain."
"Thank you Commander, it's nice to see an Imperial helping for a change, you have my gratitude."
Garin had gotten used to that surprised response in the last year, it was a bit painful though to see how many people were suspicious of an Imperial fighter unit showing up to assist them instead of attack or board them. In the year since Endor, Hades had been doing everything from attacking local warlords, to assisting locals with criminal elements like slavers or Hutts, to support flights for convoys just like this one. The pay, as everyone joked, was terrible, but the reward was worth it.
"This is Captain Chapela to Shadow One."
"Durives here, what is it Iriana?"
"You need to see this sir, something big is happening at IC**."
"Shadow returning now, Wyvern, escort the convoy until they are ready to jump. Gorgon move to the next waypoint; command priority of the area to Wyvern One."
"I copy Gar, moving to next waypoint, will signal when in position." Toth responded, the Star Wings leaping to hyperspace a moment later.
"This is Wyvern One, permission to engage remaining bandits." Vic'que asked quietly, the edge in her voice obvious.
"Permission granted Wyvern, happy hunting."
Once he was sure that everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing he jumped out of the area and back to the Knight.
"I, Delak Krennel, declare myself Prince-Admiral of the Ciutric Hegemony from this day forth."
The holonews switched to Coruscant, where another report was being issued on the unfortunate death of Sate Pestage and the Imperial Ruling Council. With the IRC gone, Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard was taking over the reins of the Empire and would be acting on behalf of the greater good of all member systems. There was a brief speech given by Isard, expression her sorrow over the death of her predecessors and a vow that those responsible would be brought to justice; Garin switched the holofeed off then and turned to the other assembled officers.
"Prince-Admiral," Sissir said mockingly, "what will they call themselves next; first it was Warlord, now every idiot with a ship is Grand-whatever-they-please."
Commander Kindran nodded agreement, "it does seem that things are spiraling out of control rather rapidly."
"Orlis," Iriana said with a mirthless smile, "your powers of understatement astound me; this could pose a major problem."
The Major nodded agreement, "I know Director Isard's history, and she doesn't like loose ends, if she discovers that Hades is out here without command, she'll probably send someone to rein us in."
"Then we make sure she doesn't realize who, or what we are;" Garin said simply.
"How do you propose to do that sir? I know the Knight is no Iron Fist*** but a heavy cruiser flying around with advanced starfighters and priority access codes will draw attention."
"He's right sir," Sissir said. "There's already a data trail leading from our last stop off at an Imperial base. Isard will send someone to check on it, and once they find the log reports about advanced Imperial fighters assisting local governments and convoys they'll start connecting the dots before long. ISB isn't stupid, just fanatical."
Garin considered, the last time they'd stopped at an Imperial facility had been some months ago to resupply their ordnance stores, missiles, torpedoes, bombs, and the like; the combat intensive nature of their current mission set meant they were going through warheads faster than he would have liked. The command codes gave them unlimited access without acknowledging their presence; but that didn't mean it wouldn't be logged by the base that an Imperial warship had stopped to resupply, and if similar accounts of an un-registered heavy cruiser were traced backwards then it would show a string of such re-supplies taking place in the last year beginning just after Endor. Sometimes he missed being legitimate Empire, but that was only when he forgot how wrong it had felt to serve in that Empire; which was rare.
"We don't change anything for now; Gorgon has already jumped to the next waypoint to rendezvous with Mantis and the Major's reconnaissance team. We'll jump to their coordinates, and then scramble our jump pattern, choosing a random hotspot to work in next instead of our intended target."
There was a brief exchange of glances as each weighed their options before everyone nodded agreement.
"Good," Garin said, "send the retrieval signal to Wyvern and let's get moving."
Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser Home One, Bilbringi Shipyards
"So you continued your operations despite the risk?"
"Of course we did," I said dismissively. "Compared to having the Emperor or Vader watching over our shoulders Isard was a nobody; just a fanatical woman who couldn't, or wouldn't, change with the times. Though I do admit that she was far ahead of us when she took control which came as a nasty shock for everyone, she even enlisted an old friend of ours to find us for her."
Deanna looked at me for a moment before connecting the dots, "she'd already realized what you were doing, and more importantly who you were."
"To a degree, yes" I nodded, a smile playing across my face. "She'd noticed the un-registered cruiser, the Black Knight, and began following its movements long before she had Pestage and the IRC killed. When she finally made her move, she came for us in earnest; it was one of her opening moves in her bid to regain what had been lost at Endor…."
Approximately four years earlier, hyperspace, Tabitha System, Mid Rim Territories
"Uh, Gar, that isn't the Hutt's ship."
Garin could see very clearly that the ships facing them were not with Vorva the Hutt. In fact he was fairly certain he knew exactly who they belonged to, the only question was how they'd found Hades so quickly. They'd jumped here to engage the Hutt's personal transport, hopefully to kill him and any of his lackeys that had been in evidence, not engage an Imperial task force. An Interdictor Destroyer hung menacingly in front of them, flanked by a Victory II Star Destroyer a Strike cruiser and three Carrack cruisers their fighters were already deployed, this wasn't good. Isard wanted Hades badly if she was risking these combat assets to get their attention, the question that he posed to himself with no safe answer, was this an armed invitation with backup or an extermination team.
"I don't think they want to chat," Matrin said idly.
"What gave you the hint?" Kalan inquired sarcastically, "the gravity wells, or the deployed fighters waiting for us?"
"Sir," Harth said calmly, "those Interceptors are elements of the 181st."
Garin's insides froze; the best official wing in the Empire was here for them? Just how much did Isard know about Hades' capabilities?
"Attention Hades Wing, this is Captain Jorgan, I am here on behalf of Director Isard. She requests that you turn over command of your unit to her authority and return to Imperial Center with us."
"What do we do sir?" Asked Vic'que, her voice sounding uncertain, Garin could understand why. They were outnumbered, even if they brought the Knight into the fray, the Victory or Interdictor could easily slug it out with her.
"Lieutenant-Commander Durives, this is Major**** Stele, we need to talk, I'm moving away from the rest of my unit, please follow me."
"Not ordering me this time Major?"
"Consider it a friendly request Durives, don't make this unpleasant."
Toth cut in over the line as Stele got off, "you going over there alone Gar?"
"He is," Garin responded.
"Yes, just because he's being stupid means you should do it too." Toth said his annoyance evident.
"Arm your missiles, but don't give them any target warnings, just be ready to fire."
"Sir, I'd like to talk to Maarek." Vic'que spoke up; there was a nervous tremble in his voice that he didn't like though he felt for her.
"I understand," for once he really did; "but now is not the time Lieutenant," Garin's voice was as gentle as he could make it given the current situation.
"Yes sir," her voice was dejected but she didn't protest at least.
Garin keyed his engines and moved away to intercept with Stele's red striped Interceptor. The two fighters pulled alongside each other, Garin opened a channel with Stele.
"Congratulations on the promotion, did it clear your conscience?"
"Don't start on me; I'm trying to keep you and your people alive. Isard wanted you dead when she realized what you were doing; when she approached me about you I was able to convince her that Hades was a valuable combat asset."
"How kind of you," Garin said nonplussed. "What made you stay with the Empire, you weren't exactly standing with the cheerleaders last I saw you."
"I met the man who commanded the 181st and he provided me all the reassurances I needed to stay."
Garin had to say he sympathized with Stele, if Thrawn was still here; it was quite possible he'd still be fighting for the Empire too. "Fel?"
"Yes, he showed me what the Empire could be, and I chose to stay after that."
"So is he still around then?"
There was a pause, and then Stele came back his voice guarded. "No, he defected after Brentaal IV."
"Imagine that," Garin replied, not bothering to hide his smile.
"Are you going to surrender?"
"Do you seriously expect me to?"
"Don't get Vic'que killed because of your crazed ideals Garin, she deserves better."
Garin's voice hardened, if Stele wanted to hit below the belt then fine. "Says the man who was willing to let her burn up at Endor, I'm sure you care."
The conversation was becoming increasingly hostile and both of them knew it, still, to his credit Stele did try to salvage things.
"I was wrong, and confused. Is she alright?"
"More or less, she's finally settled into the unit, though your betrayal hurt her more than you might realize."
"I'm sorry, tell her that for me."
"If I'm still alive when this is over, I will."
He could hear Stele's drawn breath, "you're willing to die for what you're doing here? Is it so bad to serve the Empire?"
"Is it so bad to do what feels right?" Garin responded blithely.
There was an extended pause, "keep her alive Lieutenant-Commander; please don't get her killed for nothing."
Garin didn't answer, his insides coiling with revulsion at what he did next but there were only so many options available to him. He spun the Defender, and watched mirthlessly as Stele realized what was happening and tried to pull away from him as he raked his ion cannons over the other fighter. Blue lightening coursed over the Interceptor and it went dark as Garin slammed his throttle and keyed his com.
"Hades engage," he said in a voice that surprised him with its composure.
No one needed to be told twice, a barrage of missiles roared from Hades towards their opposites and within ten seconds of the first shots being fired over a dozen fighters died, and another dozen were too badly damaged to stay in the fight. Harth, and by extension Diamond, needed no further encouragement to make use of the confusion punching their engines to full in a burst of speed that could have only been achieved by dumping all their energy into engines, leaving them defenseless. It was risky, but it was effective; they rocketed past the still recovering fighter screen, to their credit, the 181st pilots reacted faster than the other units and turned to chase the advanced bombers, and they might have caught them too if Wyvern and Shadow hadn't dove into their ranks and shattered any semblance of order they'd had.
Gorgon stayed out of the dogfight, peeling away and moving to attack the trio of Carrack cruisers that were now moving in an attempt to screen the Interdictor Destroyer from Diamond. The move worked technically, but the problem was that the Interdictor was not Diamond's target, they were after the Victory and the Imperials, it was so strange thinking of 'Imperial' as a separate entity, realized it too late as the TIE/DBs fired a salvo of missiles, rockets, and bombs at near point blank before peeling away. The warheads impacted against the shields and after the twenty or thirty some hits the shields collapsed and the remaining warheads slammed into the upper hull, opening entire decks to space. The Victory began to peel away in an attempt to save itself, and now the Interdictor and her escorts found themselves moving to shield their shield as the wounded Destroyer turned its damaged hull from its attackers.
The Strike had moved to engage the fighters by this time and was doing its best to provide heavy support for the beleaguered TIEs, Garin had to hand it to the 181st, they were acquitting themselves well, as far as he could tell they hadn't lost anyone, but then again neither had Hades; so perhaps not so well after all. Then things got messy as the Black Knight jumped into the system, Garin had been hoping to keep her out of this fight, he blew the TIE Fighter in front of him to pieces and keyed his com.
"Iriana you need to get clear."
"Your concern is noted sir, but this ship and her crew are part of your unit as well, we'll be joining you whether you like it or not."
Without another word the cruiser opened fire with its weapons, pouring a fresh wave of destruction into the much larger Victory. Normally it would have been a one sided match for the Victory, but it was already damaged, not badly enough to not be a threat but enough to make everyone aboard panic. The Knight soared past the Victory, using its faster speed to move around the rear of the Destroyer and out of the effective firing arc of the larger warship. This also put the Carracks in prime position for her guns and the Knight began pouring green and blue cannon fire into the trio who now found themselves under assault from a swarm of gunboats and a heavy cruiser forcing them to split their fire while the Victory attempted to turn and bring its guns back to bear. Meanwhile, Diamond had moved to the real target, the Interdictor, with her capital ship screen engaged she was attempting to pull clear of the fight.
As with any Interdictor, the gravity wells needed power, and that power meant weaker shielding, and lower weapon fire rates. So though the Destroyer was technically a match for the cruiser, the smaller ship had more energy to throw into weapons and shields, and even if they managed to knock out the Knight's shields, there was still the matter of the energized plating. Garin hated to admit it, but he was glad that Iriana had abandoned protocol and joined the engagement. He fired a missile into the Interceptor he was pursuing and had the satisfaction of watching it burst into a small nova. He spun around and found another Shadow, following in his squadmate's wake and providing support fire as they dove through the swarming TIEs. With the Black Knight had come Mantis which was now assaulting the Strike cruiser viciously and with their TIE escort tied by Wyvern and Shadow squadrons none of the capital ships had much in the way of cover. That initial assault of missile had made all the difference, breaking nearly three squadrons worth of fighters. Now Hades' opponents no longer had the numbers they needed to simultaneously attack and screen their ships.
Of course that didn't mean that Garin wanted to stay and fight it out, they were still technically outgunned, the Knight's shields trembled under the fresh assault from the Victory as the Destroyer brought its broadside to bear on the cruiser, but then it happened and Garin heard a collective cheer go up as the Interdictor's captain did the only thing he could to save his assaulted ship's battered shields, killed the gravity wells and added the newly freed power to his shields. Shadow, Wyvern, Diamond, Gorgon, Mantis, and the Black Knight all vanished in that instant, leaving a bleeding and limping task force with nothing to show for their efforts and wounds save those wounds.
*For those that missed the Timeline Mishap announcement and are wondering how we got back to 4 years before the Present, I was researching the next segment of the story and found that I had mistimed everything; because of this I've had to add two years to each section. The portion of the story denoted as 'Present' (i.e. Garin's interrogation) takes place 9 years after the Battle of Yavin, which means that it takes place 5 years after the Battle of Endor instead of 3 as I had previously stated. I've amended this wherever it occurs (if you catch a spot where this isn't the case, let me know). Sorry for the confusion.
**IC—short for Imperial Center (Coruscant), interchangeably used with Imperial Command which was the chain of command from the Emperor (and his successors) downwards.
***Iron Fist—the super star Destroyer under command of Admiral, later Warlord, Zsinj a major player on the galactic field eventually creating a territory of control that rivaled both the Republic and Empire before finally being killed.
****As near as I can tell, Imperial Fighter Command ranks are as follows Ensign, Flight Ensign, Flight Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Lieutenant-Commander, Commander, Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel and General. The Alliance/Republic Fighter Command seems to follow a similar setup. I have no idea why they choose to mix up the Army and Navy ranks in fighter command, but they do it nonetheless. There is a strong chance that I am misrepresenting this system, and if anyone has more information on it, please let me know.