During the height of the Mid Rim Offensive Imperials are hard pressed on every front. Frequent rebel raids have collapsed supply lines and many Outer Rim worlds are left to their own devices. Only when an Imperial Senator's family is kidnapped, does High Command dispatch a small task force.
Surrounded by enemies Captain Setaro aboard the ISD Challenger struggles to keep her ships fueled and supplied cut off from Imperial supply lines. Simultaneously she has to control an entire sector with too few ships.
ISB Agent Flennic, haunted by his father's influence, tries to prove his own worth in completing this potentially career-ending task and finding the hostages.
Yet the enemy doesn't sit idly by and a plan –years in the making– comes ever closer to its conclusion.
The first book/arc of the story is planned out (probably between 50k-100k) and I have a lot of ideas for the later arcs.
I plan on releasing a new chapter (~2k words) every other day until I have published all the chapters I have already written. Then I'll switch to a weekly/bi-weekly release schedule but I'll keep you posted when it comes to that.
Hope you enjoy the story.
(I'd love to know your opinion of the story. So far it only existed in my head and it's nice to get a reality check from time to time.)
Chapter 1"What kind of half-ass operation do you think you're running here?"
One of the sentries –too small body armour, hand too far away from the weapon and unbalanced stance– glanced over at him in his plain clothes and would have probably dismissed him if it hadn't been for the trooper behind him.
"I am Agent Vas Flennic with the ISB and I need to speak to whoever is in command of this. Now!" he demanded, revealing the plaque under a layer of Civilan's clothes.
The pure mention of the Imperial Security Bureau opened a lot of doors and the two sentries straightened up. The second sentry –favours her right leg and has reddened eyes– paled and looked straight ahead, lucky not to be the one having to answer.
"Commander Tetsu, she is near the senator's mansion."
"Show me the way."
"But we're supposed to guard this -"
"We found at least three holes in your perimeter already, so don't bother. But if you don't get me there quickly…"
"Yes, sir. Follow me, sir." The guard fumbled with his comlink, messing up procedure as he called his superior and led them down the street."
"Damn civilians. What are they doing in the military?" Ace grumbled behind him.
Vas raised an eyebrow and looked back at the old Clone Commando.
"Times have changed." Only in some ways for the better
"Look at them, they are like children playing war. What would I give even for a company of regulars?" Ace rambled on, so Vas ignored him. Once he started talking about the past, there was no stopping him.
Still, he couldn't deny his observation. The local garrison was in way over their head. Usually, they had to deal with shoplifters and the very occasional murder but not with the kidnapping of an imperial senator's family. In their mismatched uniforms, they had formed a loose perimeter around the building but had failed to secure the neighbouring buildings, put any snipers on the surrounding buildings or get any kind of air support.
"Report," Vas asked into his comlink.
"No traps and guards near the sewers. Ready to breach."
"Hold. I'll have to get a hold of the situation first."
The nervous guard led them towards a group of Rodians in slightly better uniforms clustered around an E-Web blaster aimed at the mansion. If they would open fire –even just out of anxiety–, they could collapse the building with the senator's family still inside.
Before Vas could say anything, Ace snapped, "Soldier! Fingers off the trigger!"
The young man holding the heavy blaster jumped back as if the weapon had burned him. Everyone else also straightened up, Ace's tone reminding him of their drill sergeants.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my operation?" the highest-ranking officer recovered first.
"They are ISB," the guard said, cutting Vas off again.
All eyes wandered to Ace who –in his bulky combat armour– towered over them by at least one head.
"Where is the senator?" Vas asked, flashing his plaque in an attempt to get a hold of the conversation again.
The woman –a commander according to her plaque– pointed at the mansion. "He went inside to negotiate."
"And you let him go? Are you insane? The only thing you achieved was giving these rebels another, far more valuable hostage."
"What was I to do? I tried to dissuade him."
"Lock him up somewhere if you have to but not this."
"The ISB might be able to do that but if I tried that," the woman slumped back against one of the improvised barricades, "I would lose my job before the day was over."
"That's why I'm taking command now. Ace, see to it that the perimeter is secured."
While Ace hurried off to shout at some unfortunates, Vas looked up. Although the immediate area around the mansion was clear, there were too many speeders flying around the vicinity. Not a few of them were even watching – or standing guard for the insurgents inside.
"Commander, do you have any air assets that could clear the sky?"
"We are not the military. We only have a number of hover vehicles to get us where we need to."
It would take at least an hour for the rest of their task force to arrive in the system –let alone the time it took to get assets on the ground– and they'd probably have their own trouble to deal with judging by the chaos in orbit. He couldn't wait that long.
"Clear the skies for a mile around the mansion. If you have to, use that E-Web for something useful."
"You mean, shoot at them," the guard who had previously manned the weapon asked.
"That's what you usually use them for, right?"
The man gulped and with the help of his comrades, began setting it up at another angle. On the other side of the street, Ace led a group of so-called soldiers into the adjacent building. The mansion was framed by two apartment complexes that were barely half the height. Once clear of the other roofs, expansive glass windows would certainly provide an amazing view over the city. Now they were obscured by cloth sheets making it look completely desolate.
"Give me the line to the rebels, I need to confirm the senator and his family are still inside."
The awkward silence and looks between the soldiers said enough and Vas whipped out his commlink. "Be advised. One additional target in the building. Senator Obis Roolek, male, Rodian, dark green skin. Move in silently. I need confirmation that the targets are still in the building."
"Understood. Entering the building now."
"Who is that?"
"Don't worry about it. You have enough problems of your own after the performance today. Just stand back and let me do my job."
Flipping a switch on his commlink, he activated the amplification, so his voice would be audible everywhere in the mansion and the surrounding streets.
"This is Agent Flennic with the ISB. You are surrounded. Release your hostages now and we can come to a peaceful solution."
"And why would we do that?" A dozen rifles snapped up to the man who stepped onto the balcony on the first floor. Unarmed. Human. Middle age. Male. A few more people were briefly visible in the room behind him before the door was closed again.
Create Normality. Create Relatability. Create Authority.
"They are innocent. Let us talk man to man and we can figure this out."
"Innocent. This senator and your Empire have oppressed us like the Republic before it. Now we finally have the power to do something about it. With rebels rising up everywhere in the galaxy, it is our time."
Damn the protocol. There are too many self-righteous idiots loose in this galaxy. But when they go this far…
"And you think kidnapping children is the right way to do this? Will this sway the people of your world to follow you into your glorious future? How can they trust someone who stoops to such low methods?"
"Says you. Serving the Empire. The same Empire that blew up a planet because it liked to. The same Empire that enslaves people all over the galaxy."
While he went on with his tirade for some time, Ace stepped behind him and whispered, "Perimeter secure."
"Where did you pick that up?" Vas asked, pointing at the man-sized ballistic shield that Ace certainly hadn't brought with him on the mission.
"It's quite handy. I might even keep it."
"You know that's at least a dozen forms you have to fill out for that?"
"Well, that's why I'm not the commanding officer anymore." Despite Ace's happy demeanour, Vas knew it was forced. They both struggled to adjust to their respective new roles.
The rebel must have noticed that no one was listening and finally quieted. Vas raised his comlink to his mouth again.
"I need confirmation that the Senator and his three children are unharmed and well."
"You are in no position to negotiate. I don't know where you came from but as far as I'm aware, you're the only imperial officer on this entire planet."
"Kuuniru has been under the Empire's governance for almost twenty years now. The Empire left its security in the…" He braced himself for the words he was about to say. "... capable hands of local security forces. But we are back. Within hours an Imperial task force will descend on this city and they won't be as patient as I am. There is not much discussion with a regiment of imperial stormtroopers."
For the first time, a hint of uncertainty crossed over the man's face.
"The rebels are pushing on dozens of worlds."
"These rebels are not more than some locals complaining about taxes and everything else that's bugging them. The Empire is extremely capable in ensuring the safety of its citizens, such as the three you hold in your power. I need to at least see them. Otherwise, there will be no lenient treatment."
A bold understatement of the campaign the rebels have waged on dozens of Mid-Rim worlds over the last few months but he wouldn't admit the truth for half the city to hear.
When the man started another of his propaganda speeches, Vas switched channels on his commlink. "Status."
"No confirmed targets so far."
"Elaborate."
"I have personally searched the ground floor while I sent the droids upstairs. There are no targets on the first to fourth floors. There are a few locked doors but no life signs behind them. They are cutting their way to the roof now to confirm they aren't there."
One of the longest speeches Vas had ever heard of the man.
"The targets won't be on the roof. Too exposed. They are gone. We need to storm the building. Every minute they have more time to flee. How many hostiles are there? Any civilians?"
"No civilians. Two hostiles on the lower floor. One to either side of the door. Ten on the first floor. All armed with various handheld blasters. No explosives."
Back to his brusque and efficient self again.
"Alright. Ace, get ready. Creed, be ready to engage, we're coming in. Zero, if that blubbering idiot moves, kill him."
The man on the balcony had silenced again and when Vas looked up, realised that something was different. A hand went unconsciously to his hip where he wasn't wearing a blaster
"Last chance. Tell us where the hostages are or all your men are dead."
The man wheeled about and yanked open the door when the distinctive, full sound of a sniper filled the silence. The man dropped out of sight into the building.
Ace, armed with his blast shield and his assault blaster rifle, rushed past him.
"Commander, maintain your positions and secure the perimeter. Don't let anyone escape and don't get in our way," Vas said as he unholstered his pistol.
The woman nodded glumly and barked orders to her people almost like a real officer would. Almost. Vas turned around, cleared his thoughts of all the excess junk and rushed after the clone.
Ace slammed into the ornate wooden door like a freight train. As if it wasn't there, the bolt snapped, allowing the door to fly open. Instead of the thump of wood against stone Vas had expected, he heard a short, agonised scream that was abruptly cut off. The rebel on the other side of the door opened fire on Ace who was stumbling further into the room, clearly having expected more resistance from the door.
The hostile's heavy repeating blaster sprayed the room with bolts. Some were absorbed by the blast shield while the rest were blocked by Ace's personal deflector shield that immediately flared under the strain. Vas surprised the hostile as he entered and sank three bolts into the man's head.
Ace used the shield to get back to his feet and groaned, "Damn, that hurt."
"You injured?"
"Nah, only my pride. In my prime, I would have cleared this building on my own and with ease."
A flashbang detonated above them followed by a cacophony of blasterfire. Ace turned to the only visible staircase and when Vas tapped him on the shoulder, they advanced. They had just cleared the stairs when silence fell over the house again.
"All hostiles down. Building clear. No sign of the targets," came the voice from above.
Vas lowered his weapon and strode through a corridor into the room connected to the balcony. Among half a dozen corpses stood Creed, handcuffing one of the hostiles who would soon wish to be dead as well. Blood dripped off the Death trooper's armour yet none seemed to be his own.
Vas stepped out onto the balcony and observed the surrounding buildings for a minute. Finally, he noticed an unnaturally regular pattern in a deep shadow and retrieved his comlink to call the last member of their squad, "Zero, you can join us now. Good work."
Zero stood up from behind a small vent and a host of cables on one of the apartment complexes. He pushed the cloak that had previously hidden him from everyone's view off his black Imperial scout armour, hung the long sniper rifle with a strap over his shoulders and climbed down to the streets. Still, none of the garrison troops who were supposed to secure a perimeter had noticed him. Eventually, halfway to the mansion, he was challenged for the first time.
Vas turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Ace and Creed had sorted the corpses and were scanning them for any kind of identification.
"Any idea where our targets went? I'm not sure the children were ever here but the senator was. They somehow smuggled him out."
"Not yet. I encountered several locked doors and according to the file, the Senator was very paranoid. Who knows what kinds of traps are in this house?" Creed said as he propped the only surviving hostile up against a wall and frisked his pockets.
"Standard procedure is to wait for a forensics team," Ace offered.
"But they're getting away. Every minute…"
"Be realistic." Ace interrupted him in his patronising way. The way he would talk if he was still the Sergeant of his unit. "The senator entered this building several hours ago. If he is not hidden somewhere in some secret room, he will be long gone."
Ace was a born leader and his decisions seemed to come from an instinctual level. It almost felt like he didn't even need to think about it and maddeningly, he was always right. Suddenly, Ace seemed to remember who he was talking to and added, "But that's your decision, sir."
"Thanks, Ace. Your right again," Vas sighed and holstered his blaster underneath his long grey cloak. "We'll wait for the rest of the taskforce. Until then, let's make sure we have these scumbags identified."
Heavy boots stomped up the stairs and Vas turned around to see Zero already standing there. It gave him the chills how the scout always managed to sneak up on him. The garrison commander emerged as well –slightly out of breath and with stomping feet– and looked with a pale face at the carnage.
"I told you not to follow us."
"But this is still my planet, my investigation."
"This investigation is led by the ISB now and I don't want you or any of your people anywhere near it. You are not even capable of establishing a perimeter." Pointing at Zero, he said, "You didn't find a sniper on a nearby roof. Worse, you didn't even check the roofs. Return to your barracks and wait for further instructions."
Without acknowledging her again, Vas bent down next to the man who had been standing on the balcony and rolled him over. The blaster bolt had ruined most of his face but his fingerprints should still be usable and with a bit of luck he was already in some kind of criminal database.
"I will find them," Vas promised him. "I will find the children –and the senator. You will not ruin their lives. When they are safe, I will hunt down everyone who was involved in this if it is the last thing I do. There are enough terrorists in the galaxy already. "