Imperial-I Class Star Destroyer Adamant
"Rebel starfighters have exited hyperspace directly above us and are making an attack on our position." The report was delivered calmly but there was a force behind the aide's words.
Masal nodded and replied quickly. "All dorsal batteries are to redirect and fire at will. Keep the main guns firing. Numbers of the rebel craft?"
"Unknown sir. We have a rough estimate of fifty but it could be closer to seventy." The same aide responded.
"Can we intercept our own fighters?" I asked, looking down at the swirling battlefield.
"The rebels broke through the screens that we had above us when they transitioned out of hyperspace. We won't be able to intercept them in time to stop this attack run." Masal told me.
"Then we weather this and have our interceptor squadrons hunt them down" I ordered. "Shame we don't have those Carracks on our side."
"Indeed." Masal turned and rattled off which interceptor squadrons he wanted to return to the Adamant's airspace.
I continued to observe the battlefield, pulling on the Force to tell me if there was an opportunity I could direct my forces to take advantage of. Oh what I would give for the ability to use battle meditation right now.
The initial engagement had gone well. My three star destroyers had come along the side of the Lancet and ravaged its starboard flank with our main guns, scoring some clean hits in places where the shields had fluctuated enough for turbolaser fire to slip through and impact on the doonium armor.
Teradoc had given us a few direct hits as well, the newer technology of his main guns being brought to bear. Unfortunately one of the Imperial-II frigates had taken a direct hit to its bridge, killing the captain. That frigate had moved command to its secondary bridge and the next ranking officer, then it had been ordered into the middle of our formation.
Masal had then made an adjustment on the fly, noting the middle of the traitor's line was far softer than we had initially believed, he swung our line straight into the middle of that. The massed batteries had racked up kills quickly, combined with the attack runs of our TIEs to produce a great big hole that the fleet swung into.
Now that amassed stream of fire refocused to the space directly above us, sending unending streams of green into the blackness, each blast hoping to strike an unlucky rebel.
But luck had always seemed to favor the rebels, and it continued to do so. Not enough of them died to force them to break off their attack run on us.
They launched their proton torpedoes and broke off, spiraling over and around the lips of the Adamant's triangular superstructure.
The force of the explosions shook the deck beneath me and I had to lock my knees in place to avoid being physically jostled about.
The damage reports rolled to Masal immediately.
"Hull breaches in prow decks besh-niner and mern-twelve."
"Engineering is reporting fluctuations in the shields. Expected to stabilize in one minute. Overall shield capacity rest at seventy-eight percent."
"Divert reserve power to the shield generators." Masal interjected after that one.
"The prow battery suffered near direct ion torpedo hits from the rebel's Y-Wings. Chief Gunnery Officer Toila says the reboot will finish in six minutes."
"Very well. Have the fleet's anti-fighter guns focus on the rebel snub fighters, I would rather not have to undergo another bombing run like that." Masal ordered.
Out in the void of space, our fleet continued to snake its way through the middle of the traitor's formation and was now turning to the right to bring our undamaged sides to face the star destroyer in the rear of the formation, reports I had overheard said it was a Tector variant.
"Where are their main ships?" I asked. Masal consulted a datapad before answering.
"Maintaining their current distance from the fleet." He said.
"They could be priming for a run at our carriers." I commented.
"Unlikely, Teradoc's besieging vessels have disengaged and have put the planet between themselves and us. Our heavy and light cruisers have returned to guard the Ton Falks. Too hard a target for just three lightfly armed ships." Masal said.
"Status on the fighter engagement?"
"Our numbers have prevailed and broken their squadrons. The remainder are being hunted down as we speak."
I rolled my shoulders to break up the stiffness I felt growing in them from staying in the same position for so long. "Good. Now we bloody that Tector, then we swing back around to grind the rest of Teradoc's ships into space dust."
"Your will, my lord."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Teradoc wasn't out of the fight however. He'd brought his own ship about while we began to fire on the Tector and currently we were in a bit of a bind, caught between the guns of the Lancet while the Tector fired its opening salvos on us.
Luckily the Imperial-class was designed for this type of battle. So we poured fire onto the Lancet and switched over to our other plan.
"Pull the Pacer and Relentless behind us and order them to focus fire on the Lancet and the remaining cruisers. Direct the frigates to begin skirmishing with the Tector-class. And keep me updated on the position of the rebels." Masal barked out to his aides and underlings. I, meanwhile, continued to grimace at the slight shaking that was now constant in the ship. KDY certainly put powerful main guns on their ships.
"Are the fighters ready yet?" I asked.
"Yes, the bombers are reassembled and the escorting squadrons have formed up." Masal told me. "The traitor's own TIEs are either completely destroyed or are too few to present a risk to us. Our interceptors are continuing to engage the rebel starfighters off our starbroad front."
I mentally reached out and commanded an answer from the Force on if now was the time to act. Now was as good a time as any, I was told in much more vague terms.
"Send them in and bring us closer to Teradoc." I commanded. The Adamant swung back to the left and began to concentrate fire on the Lancet while we trusted in the shields and armor to keep the worst of the Tector-class's fire at bay. The fleet's two Victory-II star destroyers followed orders and began to direct turbolaser and ion missile fire at the Tector-class while our frigates began to oscillate around those two in a protective screen.
The main guns spat death as we banked into the Lancet, trying to maneuver over their bow to allow the main guns free reign to the middle decks of the enemy Imperial-II. At the same time, the Lancet spun hard to port on its end, doing its best to present its undamage flank to us.
We couldn't go too high above them or both main batteries would be able to fire on us, they couldn't spin too much or we'd have targeting solutions on their engines. We were stuck in the maneuver now as neither star destroyer could change course without presenting vulnerable parts of itself to the guns of the other.
Well, we would be stuck if it wasn't for our fighter superiority. I watched with glee as several tendrils of TIEs flew over the bridge and slammed towards the Lancet, the bombers unleashing a storm of torpedoes into the massive triangle. Return fire got a few that I could see and some more that I only felt, but it couldn't prevent two more runs that caused havoc in the internals of the Lancet.
Then the Force finally heeded my command and brought an opportunity to me.
"Captain." I brought Masal back to my side. "Scan the starboard lip."
Masal knew better than to question me when I got specific. A minute later the scan had been done and the result brought up to Masal, who handed it to me. My helmet concealed my grin.
"It is as I suspected. The ion torpedoes have deactivated their minor batteries on the starboard side above the main hangar." I stated, feeling the Force agree with my train of thought. I would have to be fast, blisteringly fast to make it from the bottom of an Imperial-class to its bridge. I could do it fast enough, I felt. The tractor beams should slow down the Lancet's manuevering.
"Engage our tractor beams and bring the ship down to level. I will be boarding the enemy." I did tell Masal so much as I informed him of what we would be doing next. He knew better than to question me.
"I'll have the batteries focus on destroying their main guns. We may not be able to remain even with them for long however. The Tector-class is pushing towards us and our screen can only prevent its push for so long." Masal warned.
"What are the rebels doing?"
"Probing our rear guard's screen at the moment and their ships have advanced into the gap between us and the rear. They'll most likely make their move soon." He warned.
I sniffed in annoyance. "Alert me when they make their push and…I'll withdraw if necessary."
Not what I wanted to do but the rebels had a devil's luck with them for pulling off impossible attacks. Masal nodded in response, understanding the fleet could not afford to even have one of the carriers damaged, much less destroyed. We'd lose our only edge here in the cramped Deep Core.
I left the bridge, leaving the direction of the overall battle to Masal's sole judgment. I singled out an ensign as I went.
"Contact Commander Atten and inform him to embark his men for a boarding operation." It was time for a decapitation strike.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
The landing shuttle screeched as it flew into the hangar and its landing struts grinded against the durasteel floor of the Lancet's hangar. The boarding ramp slid open, it too digging into the hangar floor with a screech. Then came the thrumming of the shuttles repeating blasters as they swept streams of green bolts into the crowds of technicians and crew that were in the hangar before our arrival, cutting the jumpsuit clad figures down in droves.
I pulled on the force to strengthen my exit from the shuttle, clearing meters in a few quickly strides. My lightsaber ignited with a snap-hiss to intercept a few incoming blaster bolts. I looked to my left. A platoon of black clad navy troopers ran in the hangar and the boarding alarm began to wail.
"Take them." I ordered the platoon I had landed with. A hail of blaster fire quickly cut down the charging navy troopers. I felt the glee at the kills coming from my men. Stormtroopers felt that everyone who wasn't them were inferior soldiers and in my experience, always enjoyed hammering that belief into others.
A comm channel clicked open. It was Atten. "All companies have boarded sir."
I briefly looked over my shoulders to confirm that yes, the rest of the 666th had completed disembarking and that any resistance in the hangar had been dealt with.
"Then let's move, Commander." I responded.
"Sir, yes sir."
Half of the regiment broke to the left, sprinting into the bowels of the engineering section with Captain Zeffo and his scouts in the lead. They would secure the reactor and hyperdrive, preventing Teradoc's crew from enacting any last stand contingencies. The rest of the regiment followed my lead, literally, and ran up. We were going straight for the bridge and Teradoc himself.
Commander Atten directed companies, platoon and individual squads this way and that during our advance. Holding choke points or adding new vectors of attack that the defenders would have to divert forces to halt, weakening their overall ability to halt the push. He and his direct company stuck with me though. I let them handle the fighting for the first half of the charge, priming my command of the Force with the eagerness of a real fight that was to come.
Then we encountered real resistance on the middle levels of the ship. The doors swooshed open to show a wide expanse of consoles and holoprojector tables and a blaring warning of danger. I dashed forward, red lightsaber blade weaving to intercept and deflect the rapid fire of an E-Web cannon. Noise dropped away as my senses sharpened from the danger and my arms blurred in Soresu forms as I began to direct the incoming blaster fire back into white armor forms on the opposite side of the room.
Then I flung one bolt right into the head of the stormtrooper firing the E-Web. The halt in its dominating firing allowed the retort of other blasters to fill the half destroyed room as my stormtroopers and Teradoc's stormtroopers traded fire.
I stepped forward and cut a console in half. A push sent it flying into the E-Web, destroying the cannon before it could be remanned.
Then I pulled an enemy sergeant from across the room and bisected him with an overhead slash. Then I slammed three more into the ceiling and I delighted in hearing their necks and skulls snap and crack.
Teradoc's men began to focus fire on me and my blade danced in response, flinging blaster bolts back into their sender's armor.
Ah, it felt good to feel this alive again!
I advanced, Atten at my shoulders and taking shots of opportunity, lightsaber humming and the Force obeying my commands with such ease. The wonders of training!
Then I was at the other end of the room and all of Teradoc's men were dead. Now wasn't the time to advance cautiously, the Force told me.
I gave the order and my stormtroopers followed with a roar. Up through the mid-decks we went, myself at the head of the armored tide that was washing up towards Teradoc. We cut our way through barricade after barricade. I used more powerful pushes than I had imagined myself capable of just months ago to smash the lines open, then we'd be among them with blaster and blade.
A platoon of war droids that some smart soul tried to deploy stalled us for a time, but those models are remarkably top heavy. Simple pulls and concentrated fire took them down.
Then we were at the bridge. The advance felt like it had taken hours but undoubtedly it had been far less, twenty minutes according to my helmet's HUD.
Atten signaled to me. Zeffo's half of the regiment had taken the hyperdrive section and were engaged around the reactor currently. At least Teradoc wasn't going anywhere. Platoons that had been left to secure our lines of advance were reporting hard counterattacks.
"Splice into their navigation and comms sections and start pulling data." I ordered. If we couldn't hold the ship, fine, we couldn't hold the ship. But we'd be leaving with Teradoc's head and all his sweet sweet astro-navigational data. Masal seemed to be holding the line out in space, or things hadn't gone so bad that he had to tell me to get off the Lancet yet.
I pointed at the troopers that were stacked. "Open the doors."
"Yes sir." was the quick reply, the two troopers closed to the wide doors slamming shaped charges of thermite down. The two mud colored squares beeped, beeped, beeped and ignited. Four lines of burning metal raced along the edges of the hardened durasteel before meeting. I could faintly hear shouting and the general noise of alarm coming from the other side now.
Oh and the stench of fear through the Force. That was very present.
I decided it would be nice to give them something more tangible to be afraid of. A gentle pushing sent against the now freestanding doors sent them toppling inward. My men streamed in from the side as I strode up the middle of the opened doorway. I swished my lightsaber back and forth, creating a noise that I knew from experience made the hairs on the back of a person's neck stand on end.
The fight had gone out of the bridge crew with our entrance it seemed. Anyone who pulled a blaster were quickly shot dead by my stormtroopers. The crew in the pits were made to stand up with their hands in the air while the commanding officers were none-to-gently put on their knees before me.
"Signal the Adamant that we have taken the bridge and get to work on taking direct control of the guns." I ordered to Atten, who quickly directed stormtroopers with splicing spikes in hand to begin their work. Interesting quirk of KDY design philosophy, you could cut power to the main batteries from the bridge, but you couldn't make them fire automatically from the bridge. Clone Wars design holdover.
Outside the Lancet's gun stopped firing and I took the moment to look over at the Adamant. More holes in her than I'd have liked to see.
Then I looked at the line of kneeling officers once before starting and looking back at the array of faces more closely.
None of them were Kosh Teradoc. But the Force whispered to me that something was going on.
"Who is in command of this ship?" My voice came out harsh and raspy as a result of my helmet's synthesizers.
A moment of silence before one of the kneeling men managed to find their voice. "I-I am."
I moved to loom over the man and brought my lightsaber point to rest just above his knees. "You are not the traitor Kosh Teradoc."
"N-no." Was the stammered answer.
I leaned down. "Who are you?" I reached out and applied a compulsion to answer me.
"Captain Jacen Viko, ISD Punctor." The name was the truth. The ship was a lie.
"This is not the Punctor. Is it Captain Viko?" I applied more pressure.
"Yes-no, it is not the Punctor." Viko looked very surprised at the betrayal of his mouth.
"Correct, this is the ISD Lancet under the command of the traitor Kosh Teradoc. I know this. I know he is in command of this ship." I walked over to the man next to Viko. "I know that this is not another ship transmitting the transponder codes of the Lancet, it takes too much time and is too unreliable. So where is Teradoc?"
"He's commanding the Punctor." Viko's thoughts produced the image of a Tector-class, which must be the one the fleet was engaging.
"Another lie." I hissed. "I tire of them, Viko. Let me show you what will happen to you the next time you lie about where Kosh Teradoc is hiding."
I was standing in front of the man next to Viko when I spoke. A fun fact, you only die from a lightsaber cut if it goes through you quickly. Otherwise you die an amazingly agonizing death as the blade of contained energy is dragged through your head, your neck, your chest. You have just enough time to wail from the pain before your lungs are cooked, then three to four seconds later, you die.
Like this meaningless officer just found ouf. I looked at Viko. His face was ghostly pale and he looked on the verge of fainting. A quick slap to the face stopped that for the moment.
"Where is Kosh Teradoc?" I asked but I wasn't bothering to listen to the jumble of words that flowed out of Viko. I was plundering his very mind for the answers I sought.
The application of dominance, the mental foothold and an outside source of extreme terror. The three core tenets of an Inquisitorious mind invasion. And now the officer's mind was an open book I needed to pull the answers from. I pulled on the strings that were attached to Teradoc. I saw him in hazy thoughts and memories. He was commanding from the ship. He wasn't expecting my boarding maneuver. He was alarmed by the speed of the attack. He made an order to another office. Told Viko to assume command.
He changed uniforms to hide himself. He was…
"Ah, there you are, Admiral Teradoc." I straightened up and looked down into the bridge pit. There was Kosh Teradoc, the broad jaw and straight nose hidden under the visor of a brown peaked cap. "Seize him."
The pit crew tried to resist, admirably, but their lunges for hidden holdout blasters were slower than my trooper's trigger finger. Teradoc actually managed to headbutt one trooper off him before two more manhandled him over to me.
Yep, there he was. Brown eyes, somewhat heavy set build -a trait he seemed to share with his brother- brown hair with a widow's peak and clean shaven.
"Hello Admiral Teradoc." I said with no small amount of malice in my words. "You will give the order for your fleet to cease fighting my fleet and surrender."
"No."
"No? Very well then. They will be destroyed." I keyed up the comm channel to Masal, only for it to open on his end.
"My lord, the rebels are making their play for our carriers." He said.
"I've captured Teradoc." I informed him. "Do you think his ships will surrender if we broadcast this to them?"
"Unfortunately not sir, they are already disengaging. Someone must have alerted them that the ship was falling to your boarding maneuver." Masal told me.
Ah.
In that case. I didn't really need Teradoc alive. Did I?
"Do not pursue the traitors. Send the rest of the fleet over to drive the rebels away." Smart bastards didn't want any clear winner for this. They could only profit from both of us battering each other into a weaker position that they could exploit.
"Understood my lord. I understand that not all of the Lancet has been secured, do you wish for reinforcements to be sent over?" Masal was referring to the Adamant's own contingent of navy troopers.
"No need, captain. Resistance will be extinguished shortly. Standby for further orders." I closed the comm connection.
Teradoc had the gall to look smug about that. He believed that his forces would rescue him. That I'd be bringing him back to Imperial Center where his ships could intercept us and take him back. He believed that he was too important to be killed without the proper circus from the Ruling Council on Imperial Center.
"Commander, fetch a holorecorder if you would." While that was being done, I gave the orders on how we were going to deal with the fighting from the rest of the crew.
"Captain Zeffo?"
"Yes sir."
"Have you completely secured the engineering section?"
"Yes sir, we await your next orders."
"Excellent." I listed off the sections that had my stormtroopers in it. "Vent the atmosphere of every section in this ship except the ones I just named."
Captain Zeffo gave the response that all good stormtroopers give. "It will be done sir."
Because good soldiers follow orders. I signaled to the troopers standing behind the kneeling officers.
Whoomp went their E-11s as they executed the traitors. I looked back to Teradoc. Now he looked afraid.
Good.
In short order, a camera and an Imperial flag had been procured. In even shorter order, I had given a snappy speech about 'thus onto all traitors' and beheaded Kosh Teradoc.
The rebels had retreated when the fleet had advanced on their position, as predicted. We had won the day, it seemed. Now I needed to figure out what to do with an uncrewed star destroyer and where the closest repair yard was.
Then the summons to Imperial Center had came through.
A/N - woo, long chapter. But an enjoyable one to write and hopefully an enjoyable one to read.
I was tempted to have Teradoc actually be commanding the Tector class and for him to escape this battle. But he seemed like too proud a man to not command his own modern star destroyer(his big feud with his brother had Kosh's modern ISD be a sticking point to Treuten's older victory class).
So one warlord down, however many hundreds to go right?