I got another chapter for you. Hopefully I can pick this back up faster, but we'll see.
Challenge King: I thought it was going to be a trick for them to still get off the planet and the space battle was to show that it isn't going to be a one-sided fight the whole why through (even though if it was a real fight between them, the Empire would steamroll over them).
PD31: Is Dusty a Jedi Knight? That would be a spoiler to answer exactly what he is. Little less eventful to meet up with Princess Tori? You're kidding right?
Fanfic-Reader-88: Luck, intelligence and firepower got them off the planet… and Jade has the idea about getting through locks.
Rating: High T for Violence
Chapter 6: Bloody Nose
Sector 2905
Federation Space
Stardate 2267.161 (June 10, 2267)
Three dozen or so Imperial warships led by the Imperial-Class Star Destroyer Judicator dropped out of hyperspace about a half million kilometers and sped towards the location of the sector's Base-Station in orbit of just another nondescript planet on this side of the galaxy. Hundreds of fighters disembarked from the pair of Venator-Class Star Destroyers and several Strike-Class cruisers and sped through space towards the orbit.
ISD Judicator
The sensor operator from one of the bridge pits called out, "They've risen planetary and theater shields."
The bolding Admiral casually strolled down the path between the bridge pits to make his way to the transparisteel front view port. He asked with a curt tone, "Any enemy vessels?"
"Negative sir. I'm not reading any alien ships other than perhaps a few scattered shuttles. We're having trouble isolating individual singles. The defense platforms are sending out considerable ECM.
Admiral Howard put on a deep frown when he reached the front view port to look out towards the planet. He was eager for a true battle so he could crush in his view a human empire's pathetic fleet and show them how futile it was to oppose the New Order, but they were nowhere to be seen. His patience for a true battle was growing so thin that he was assaulting and attempting to secure the system with a third of the strength than what was called for in standard fleet doctrine. He split his forces to neighboring systems in an attempt to scout and find the elusive fleet that he had been dogging for the last two weeks—particularly the last week of them engaging then retreating, trying to whittle down his fleet.
He pushed aside that thought for the moment to order, "Order Battle Line One to break off and destroy the Federation battlestation and the rest of the fleet to disperse and begin planetary bombardment as soon as they're in position then start their landings once the shields are down."
One of the sensor operators called out, "Sir, we're not picking up any large structure in orbit, just the defense satellites and platforms."
He turned to look over his left shoulder and called out with mild surprise, "What?"
The comm/scan operator shouted in support, "The only chatter I'm picking up is from the planet to the defense platforms."
Howard looked to his fleet second and shouted, "Bring our guest to the bridge now!"
The officer nodded his head then motioned to Red Skynauts to follow him.
The Admiral looked to the communication officer and ordered, "Continue with operations, but amend orders for the battle line to destroy the defense platforms."
The Victory-Class Star Destroyer led several Strike and Carrack ships towards the platforms while the fighters and bombers raced ahead.
The defense platforms opened fire with blue proximity burst phaser shots on the swarm of incoming fighters. Similar to the depth charges of old (and used quite effectively last year against the Romulan incursion into the Federation by James T. Kirk), they detonated at a various ranges and extinguished dozens of fighters and sending the others in a mad dash to scatter from the fire. Once the fighters were out of the line of fire and the Imperial warships closed to optimum range, the platforms started firing salvos of planetary grade phasers and dozens of photon torpedoes at the incoming warships.
The Imperial vessels were not expecting such a fierce response and the bows of the lighter leading vessels disintegrated. The Victory Destroyer turned to her starboard and fired a full broadside into one of the defense platform. The green fire quickly crossed the space and overwhelmed the shields and shredding the platform.
ISD Judicator
A pair of Red Skynauts led the Admiral's 'guest' to the bridge: one Lieutenant Commander Steven Carson in his red uniform shirt. Howard's second, the Star Fleet Officer and the two troopers stopped a meter behind the Admiral. He turned to the traitor and shouted, "Where is it?! Where is the orbiting base?!"
Carson looked out the bridge windows and started sputtering when he saw the lack of the orbiting station, "I don't know! A Base-Station can't simply vanish! It could be on the other side of the planet!"
The Imperial Admiral gritted his teeth then shouted down to the bridge pit, "Send a flight of starfighters to recon the other side of the planet and once confirmed, order Battle Line One to engage the station."
"Aye, sir!"
The rest of the fleet closed with the planet to take up orbit and lending fire to the first battle line so they could start planetary bombardment.
Once they had achieved orbit, the comm/scan operator suddenly shouted, "Reading dozens signals approaching from the planet's southern pole and from astern."
The Admiral shouted, "What!" He turned to a slightly smiling Carson and shouted, "It's a trap!"
Guided by the specialized sensors of the scouts and Galactic Survey cruisers of Captain Benson's formal ad hoc taskforce from their position in orbit of the system's first gas giant, nearly fifty starships dropped out of warp at nearly pointblank range to the rear of the enemy fleet and opened up with everything in their arsenal.
At nearly the same time, a hundred Star Fleet and National Guard vessels rounded below the planet underneath the Imperial.
Hundreds of phasers and photon torpedoes lashed out at the nearest vessels, striking ventral and rear shields and overwhelming them. The few interdictor vessels the Empire had been using to disrupt Star Fleet warp tactics and retreats were instantly destroyed as the fire was split between them and the heaviest units. Several vessels engines were hit and effective dead in space.
At the same time, the planetary grade phasers and torpedo batteries started firing from the surface and striking the vessels reaching orbit.
ISD Judicator
Howard hung on to dear life to the guard rail as the Judicator rocked from the sudden impact from phaser strikes equal in strength as vessel's own main batteries. He glanced out of the furthest edge of the viewport to see the accompanying Venator-Destroyer be consumed in a giant fireball. He shouted down to pit, "Break orbit and turn us against the Starfleeters! Order the fleet to do the same."
The surviving members of the Imperial squadron turned away from the planet so they could get far enough away from the planet's gravity well so they could maneuver.
USS Federation (NCC-2100)
Federation-Class Dreadnaught
Newly promoted Vice Admiral Shay shouted from his command seat, "Bring all fire to bear on the half sphere on their lead battleship!"
"Aye sir!" his weapons officer and communication officer shouted in unison.
The Imperials heavily favored using electronic counter-measures and with their neutronium laced hulls and armor, detail scans of their vessels had been next to impossible to achieve. However, after the number of hit and run battles that the majority of Second Fleet had fought with them with their more specialized sensors for scientific inquiry, the analysts had figured out that the half sphere on the ventral side of the battleships were part of their reactor system.
The Dreadnaught opened up again with her main phaser banks and fired off her half a dozen torpedoes launchers, sending two dozen torpedoes at the Judicator. Her fire was joined by her dozen Constitution and Miranda escorts.
The wedge shaped ship's shields held as they veered off to yo-yo and make another pass as the vessel while other vessels did the same on the lighter vessels with the Imperials firing off shots getting anywhere close to hitting the Federation ships.
ISD Judicator
The chief weapons officer shouted, "They keep getting underneath us! We can't target their main batteries at them!"
Howard turned to the helm pit and shouted while grasping to the railing, "Roll us damn it so our gunners can get clear shots!"
The destroyers attempted to rotate along their respective axis to bring her main batteries to bear on the Star Fleeters, but the Dreadnaught and the Heavy Cruisers aborted their pass and able to swing out far enough to keep the ship from being able to clearly target them.
The Imperials started firing wildly while their unit cohesion deteriorated by turning in several directions, unable to concentrate their fire on the opposing fleet as they started becoming gnats, deadly gnats, against them. The Imperial navy and Star Fleet tactics were completely alien to one another as technology had developed on radically different tracks. While battles fought by the Galactic Republic then later by the Galactic Empire were with opponents slugging it out, star nations of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants battles consisted of fast maneuvers to dodge fire and in open space, low warp speeds. Star Fleet was pressing their honed tactics to the hilt despite the Empire and the Federation having similar sublight accelerations, the Imperials were so outnumbered they could only chase down a part of the opposing fleet at a time while the rest would target more vulnerable sides and bring enough firepower from dozens of vessels at a time to kill off the Strike and Carrack ships one at a time.
Imperial starfighters attempted to assist their motherships, but they had their hands full with fending off the rarely seen Star Fleet fighters, National Guard fighters and Aegis cruisers shredding their ranks.
ISD Judicator
The captain of the destroyer struggled on his feet to approach Howard and shouted, "Admiral! We have to withdraw!"
Howard was nearly foaming at the mouth as he shouted, "No! I will not lose to these damn primitives!"
"If we don't withdraw they'll destroy us or capture us!"
As to make his point for him, one of the crewmembers shouted, "Our bridge shields are down!"
Howard glared down at the officer as if the expression alone could change the reality of the situation.
Carson glanced around to see that no one was paying attention to him near the viewport, not even the troopers guarding him, so he did the most logical thing. He elbowed the trooper to his right in the throat, catching him off guard then slipping to take the carbine out of the falling trooper's hands. He turned and shot the other trooper in the chest at point blank range with the carbine, killing him before he hit the deck, and then flipped the switch to full-auto. He turned the weapon to the port bridge pit and cut lose. A steady stream of red bolts rain down on the unarmored crewmembers, cutting them down and filling the bridge with screams. He turned to the starboard side pit and blasted the crew and their consoles before they could react.
The other Skynaut struggled to sit up, but he didn't make it as Carson turned and put a bolt through his face. The security officers at the end of the bridge dashed to cross the security foyer, but the Star Fleet officer crouched down around the guard rails then open fire on them. The bolts struck unarmored uniforms and chunks of their flesh were cauterized along with internal organs.
Howard and the other surviving officers had dropped to the deck in the ensuing one sided fire fight. Carson dash down the command walkway then pointed the weapon down at the Admiral resting his back against the bulkhead. The Star Fleet officer shouted with a hate filled glare, "Order the fleet to surrender or I will kill you."
"Go to Hell!"
The Star Fleeter deeply frowned and glared at him. "Save me a seat," he stated as he raised the weapon to put a bolt through the Admiral's head. He paused in pulling the trigger as both they attentions were caught from the viewport and saw a United Earth Stellar Navy updated NX-Class ship making a run at them and firing off a photon torpedo towards the bridge.
Steven Carson stood solemnly as his life flashed before him in his last few seconds of life just before the photon torpedo found was about to find its mark headlong into the destroyer's bridge… growing up as he bounced back and forth between Seattle and Los Angeles while being home schooled, breaking the heart of one Carly Shay, attending University of Washington and the SFROTC… but a whirled wind charge of a transport beam caught him up and he disappeared.
Carson reappeared moments later on a transporter pad then face met the end of a phaser carbine shoulder stock and sending him face first into the transporter pad.
The transporter operator shouted, "Cort! You weren't supposed to hit him! He was just acting as a traitor."
The muscular marine awkwardly laughed out, "Opps, my bad."
The battle lasted less than five minutes after the Judicator was taken out of the fight as less than ten Imperial vessels were able to make an emergency jump into hyperspace, willing to leave dozen and dozen of surviving starfighters to the mercy of the Federation.
USS Federation (NCC-2100)
Federation-Class Dreadnaught
Shay let out a breath as he stared at the main viewer and saw the only enemies left were starfighters and a number of them were powering down to offer surrender. He quickly ordered to his various officers, "Communications, order the fleet to begin SAR and taking of prisoners. They are to give the fighters one chance to surrender and if they refuse, destroy them. Tugs are to secure surviving defense platforms for evac." He turned slightly in his seat to look at his science officer, "Commander Sunak, you have half an hour to salvage as much as the tugs can from the enemy wreckage then we're pulling out."
The dark skinned Vulcan nodded his head and curtly replied, "Aye Admiral."
Nearly an hour later, the rest of Howard's system fleet, sixty ship strong, jumped into the system about two million kilometers from the planet. All that they found was Imperial Navy debris and an abandoned settlement on the surface below.
Edge of Imperial Control Space/Alpha Quadrant
Turbolaser fire streaked back and forth between the opposing vessels as the Corellian corvette desperately tried to outrun the Imperial Star Destroyer that had found her. The corvette was damaging the shields of the pursuing vessel with her dorsal duel turbolasers, but the shots were doing little good as the pursuing vessel would fire four to five shot for everyone that hit them.
One shot finally penetrated the shields of the corvette and struck the main communications array, completely obliterating it. The destruction of the array wasn't the only thing that was damaged from the strike as the energy surged through the rest of their systems and causing the engines to cut out.
The corvette continued forward with its forward momentum, but the destroyer was able to catch up with her and glide above it. A few seconds later, the tractor beam activated and started pulling the corvette into its open hanger.
Tantive IV
Rebel Alliance Corellian corvette
Klaxons blared throughout the ship as the ship's security personal hastily took up positions along various places along the corridor to the airlock. They moved armored crates and any other materials that could withstand a few shots from blaster fire to give them cover. Two dozen Rebel marines dashed to take up position with them with their heavier armor-piercing blaster rifles.
Tension filled the corridor and the troopers individually tried to calm their nerves before the inevitable onslaught was to begin. They were massively outnumbered, but they had the advantage of a pretty good defensive positions and a chokepoint. They didn't have to wait long as a sizzling sound started emanating on the other side of the door then sparks started flying from the edge of the airlock as it was being sliced open.
The Rebel troopers tensed and leveled their weapons at the airlock, ready to cut down anything that moved through it
The airlock blasted inward to the ship, sending shrapnel and billows of smoke into the starship corridor. The defenders immediately started sending blaster bolts into the opening. They fired for several seconds until they realized that no one was coming through the opening.
During their slight hesitation, several spherical objects were tossed inside. They realized grenades when they saw them and attempted to shield themselves and the next few moments the grenades detonated in a brilliant flash of bluish white light, knocking half the defends unconscious and to the floor.
Skynauts started pouring through the blown airlock and started firing. Their bolts only hit two or three Rebels due to their cover while the Rebels still conscious poured fire back on them. The troopers being that cluttered together and standing out against the white corridors in their red armor made it easy for the Rebels to outright kill the first half dozen troopers with a combination of their blaster pistols and burst fire from the marines. Each trooper was riddled with several shots with a shot from one of the rifle armed marines literally cutting the first Skynaut in half and flopped to the ground.
Several more troopers tried to enter and were killed on the spot, so the following ones decided to not to try to bull rush the chokepoint.
The Rebels took the moment to catch their breaths and swap out magazines as they waited for the next assault.
They didn't have to wait long as several more grenades were tossed into the ship again, but this time they were flash-bangs. They detonated and several blinding flashes and deafening sounds filled the corridor. They were quite effective in disabling a few more Rebels since they were not wearing sealed helmets as the Skynauts.
The Skynauts poured through airlock again and started firing and overwhelming the last of the defenders. The marines and security still able to fight started pulling back, but not before one tossed a fragmentation grenade at the opening.
The grenade detonated in the group and sent about a dozen of the troopers into the bulkhead and to the deck. The dependability of Skynaut armor against blaster shots was an active topic of debate, but fortunately they offered great protection from shrapnel—unless it sliced into the rubbery joints—so the majority of them stood back up after the concussive blast and pushed forward while a few others started bleeding out.
As they continued to push the Rebels back further into the ship, a black armored figure stepped through the blasted airlock, the sound of the respirator of his helmet and facemask dominating the sound in the corridor and reverberating down it. He looked down at the fallen troopers, noticing some were literally cut in half. He wondered for the shortest of moments what was the point of the troopers wearing such armor if the Rebels' blaster pistols could penetrate their armor least long their longblasters cutting them in half.
He continued on his way past the fallen Skynauts and Rebel troopers as he made his way to the bridge despite any potential resistance. However, he didn't need to travel that far as the troopers had dragged him about halfway between the secured airlock and the bridge to a corridor intersection.
He was a cyborg with little patience and grabbed the starship commander by the throat and lifted him off the deck. He growled out through the respirator, "Where is the princess?"
The captain gargled out as he clawed at the armored cyborg's hand, "The Princess is not onboard."
The armored figure growled out, "This is her personal flagship and we know she's onboard. We intercepted her messages. Where is she?"
The Rebel gargled further until he passed out from the lack of oxygen. He tossed the captain face first into the bulkhead in frustration then turned to the lead Skynaut and shouted, "Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found her! I want her alive!"
He nodded his head and answered, "Yes Lord Vega." The trooper turned with several subordinates and followed further down the corridor.
Skynauts continued searching the vessel, standing out like a sore thumb dressed in red against the starkly white corridors which retreating Rebels would take advantage and cut down the occasional trooper.
A trio broke off from the rest to search down a darkened service corridor. The first one took the lead and the next moment a blaster bolt struck him to the side of the head and he tumbled to the side on the deck.
Princess Tori leveled her cut-down 'Lancer' sporting blaster and opened fire again, but the other two troopers quickly stepped back to take cover around the corner and protruding support ribs of the corridor before either could be hit.
The lovely brunette held her weapon steady, ready to fire on the next trooper foolish enough to try to enter the service corridor. However, instead of a trooper, a small cylinder bounced down the corridor to her. She immediately recognized the grenade and turned to dash down the hallway. She only got several feet until everything went dark for her and fortunately she didn't feel the impact of falling forward in a heap and hard on the deck.
ISD Devastator
Tori wasn't sure how much time had passed as she lolled her head back and forth on the pillow, trying to shield her eyes from the blinding light shining down on her face. She rolled to her side on the cot and resisted the urge to throw up as her head was pounding and stomach churned.
She patted herself and fortunately found that she hadn't been stripped out of her light brown jumpsuit and burgundy vest. She took a few calming breaths then sat up in the 'bed'. She blinked several times to look around and saw that she was in a small detention cell. She didn't get to contemplate the situation as the next moment the doors opened and two Skynauts entered the cell. One was carrying his carbine and the other holding a syringe. The carbine carrying one grabbed her upper left arm while the other grabbed the right upper arm.
He stabbed the needle in the side of her neck and injected the liquid into her carotid artery. He stated in a surprisingly apologetic tone, "That should relieve the headache and the nausea from the stun grenade."
The trooper was correct as her stomach almost instantly settled and her headache fading into nothing.
She wasn't given an opportunity to enjoy the relief as the pair picked her up to her feet then started escorting her out of the door. The syringe carrying trooper handed it off to a medical droid outside then picked up his carbine before the three started down the corridor.
Tori impatiently asked, "Where are you taking me?"
The trooper that had remained silent answered, "The Admiral wants to talk to you."
They walked several more steps until she balanced on her feet and could walk on her own without help. The trooper that gave her the shot, taller and more muscular than the other whispered apologetically, "Sorry about the stun grenade."
The shorter one whispered out, "Josh, you're not supposed to apologize."
The first one hissed back, "Drake, you don't stun grenade a princess."
"She just killed Gavin!"
Josh sharply retorted, "Who ever liked Gavin?"
Silence was his only answer for the rest of the walk while Tori held back a smirk at realizing these two weren't clones and had a possible defector at hand. A few meters later down the corridor, they stopped just inside the large conference room, the door flanked by Imperial security officers. The Princess saw the admiral she recognized in an instant sitting on the other side of the large circular table and Lord Vega standing beside him.
Admiral Ryder Daniels smiled as he stood up from his chair and walked around the table. Once he was about a meter in front of his captive, he teasingly greeted her, "Princess Tori Ablingada, it's so good to see you again."
The Princess cocked her head to the side and smiled while she retorted, "I thought I smelled your foul stench when I was being brought here."
Daniels gently cupped Tori's chin and whispered, "Charming as always Tori." He bent down and stole a quick kiss from her lips then was rewarded with a knee between his legs.
The surrounding soldiers were trying their best not to laugh and some failed as even through the helmets, some snickering could be heard.
He gritted his teeth as he attempted to regain his footing and regain his posture. He resisted the urge to backhand her, but he knew Vega would turn around and backhand him right into the deck. Vega wasn't necessarily a chivalrous individual, but he was politically astute enough to understand that undue harm to the Princess would not please the Imperial Senate even if she was the face of the Rebel Alliance. The Rebels were gaining support in the Senate and among the general populous and that was the last thing the Emperor and Empress wanted: a further excuse to give the Rebels sympathy with a harmed princess.
He cleared his throat and continued with a slightly strained voice, "So why is the leader of the Rebel Alliance just sitting out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Tori warmly smiled to him, but her voice was filled with sarcasm, "I would think it would be obvious for someone as thickheaded as you would realize that our hyperdrive failed and we were affecting repairs."
The handsome officer snorted out a laugh and slyly smirked to her, "Really? Your hyperdrive fails and you couldn't send a signal to any Rebel ships to rescue you? I find that quite hard to believe."
"I find it quite hard to believe they would make you an admiral, but the universe is full of surprises."
He gave her a deep frown and answered, "Be as insolent as he want. We will find out why you're here, a rendezvous of some sort, but don't worry. We will be here waiting for whoever you were planning to meet."
Tori held her smile as his words didn't appear to faze her. She questioned, "Where is my crew? Dead?"
Daniels smirked and curtly answered, "Actually the vast majority of them are alive. They will be interrogated then stand public trial as traitors to the Empire. The people will see how dangerous your rebellion is to them and order. You will stand trial too then be executed for treason."
"I get a show trial? You want to give me a public forum?"
The Admiral gave her knowing smile then waved her off to be taken back to her cell. The Skynauts turned with Tori and headed out of the room. The security guards did the same to stand outside so the admiral and Vega could speak in private.
Vega stated in his near monotone voice, "Her mind is surprisingly shielded, but her quick change in topic suggests that you are correct, so that leaves a number of possibilities of whom she is meeting."
Daniels rested his left hand cupped in his right elbow while rubbing under his bottom lip. "Allies would be most likely… some very important allies if she was personally meeting their representatives."
Vega ominously concluded, "One of the powers on the other side of the galaxy."
The pair quickly worked out in their respective heads the consequences of such an action. The dark armored figure spoke first, "Perhaps we should allow the meeting?"
Daniels slightly tilted his head to the side and curiously questioned, "To what ends?"
"Let the Rebels negotiate and form an alliance with one of these mongrel powers and show everyone that they support the savages that would bring the Empire down. This rebellion will not be put down by the blaster alone, but politically as well. The people must turn on them and associating with these unknowns could be the key."
The Admiral nodded along with a barely contained smile then pointed out, "A very dangerous plan… but one that could reap great rewards."
Author's Note: Steven Carson a good guy? Surviving as a redshirt? Ryder Daniels an Imperial Admiral? Who is this Lord Vega? An intelligent foreign policy for a dictatorship? How are those two morons Skynauts? Don't look at me, I don't have a clue.
Special Appearance by Joe Flanigan as Vice Admiral Steven 'Loco' Shay
Special Appearance by Tim Russ as Commander Sunak aka Tuvok's father. I couldn't have him play Tuvok since Tuvok is 3 right now in the story, but I of course had to have him in this.