Chapter 14 - Trench Run
Black Squadron, under Vader's leadership, streaked across the backdrop of Geonosis and the starry sky, cutting through every defensive platform and fighter group that tried to slow them down. Captain Mithel, the second-in-command under Darth Vader, shot past dozens of enemies, mauling them as he went, only for the rest of the wing to finish them off in his wake.
In truth, every one of them proved to be a superb pilot with excellent instincts. However they had their own particularities. The former mercenary, Rosh, still flew like a man accustomed to surviving without backup. Using the attitude adjustment thrusters, he swung into a long, drifting strafe, and led three of the enemy fighters who were on his tail into a deadly trap. The instant they tried to hit him, he spun his Actis Interceptor into a tight barrel roll, narrowly avoiding enemy fire and cutting through them with his own lasers.
"This is Black Five," Rosh called, "coming in for another pass."
Just as he picked his next targets, a volley of missiles hit the enemy craft, blowing them to space dust.
"Cancel that," he said and watched one of the other members of Black Squadron soar through the dissipating fireball left by the destruction. Black Six, the ordnance happy Ada, pulled a turn and fell in behind him as they swung back around to rejoin the others in taking out another defensive platform.
"What is with these things?" Captain Mithel asked. "It's like they have no armor."
True enough, the experimental fighters they were facing, a new design they'd never seen before, were lightly armed and armored. The same held true for the platforms. Little to no armor and no deflector shields.
Kshhhhhh
"They rely on numbers," Vader answered. "Useless," he added and punctuated the comment by taking out a dozen enemies in a single pass.
"Lord Vader," Tarkin called from the Imperious. "We expect to be in sight of the Death Star shipyards within less than thirty minutes."
"Understood. Black Squadron, on me. Make your final pass and prepare to return to base for rearm and repair."
The eight fighters converged on Vader's black and red Interceptor. The last enemy fighters burst apart under combined fire as the wing turned back towards the fleet to prepare for the assault on their primary target.
###
Captain Mithel, holding a data slate, approached Emperor Vader with more than a little trepidation. Neither he nor the rest of Black Squadron yet interacted with him much beyond communications during combat. They all knew he was a superlative pilot, capable of out flying anything they'd faced so far, but they also watched the holo vids. Darth Vader was no stranger to death, and dealt it left and right as he saw fit.
"Lord Vader," Mithel said. "I have the collected flight data from Black Squadron's first battle, if you'd like to review it and make any changes to our protocols."
Kshhhhhh
Without saying a word, Vader took the tablet and glanced at the collated information on all eight of his subordinates. "Upon our return to Coruscant," he said at last and turned his helmet to stare directly at Mithel, "we will begin customizing the fighters to suit your individual strengths."
"Y-yes, my lord!" the Captain said with a quick salute, resisting the urge to shrink down under the weight of the inscrutable black mask. He turned on his heel and marched back the way he came, glad to get away.
"Captain," Vader called over his shoulder as he returned to making adjustments to his Interceptor.
"My lord?"
"See to it that everyone arms themselves for close quarters. I foresee we will not finish this through dogfights alone."
Kshhhhhh
"Sir!"
When Mithel returned to the Hangar canteen, where the others were relaxing with a bit of food and drink, he pulled off his flight helmet and fell into an empty chair.
"Have a fun talk with the boss?" Ada asked with a grin.
"Probably don't let the Emperor hear you call him that," Neel, call sign Black Seven, said.
Mithel cleared his throat and shook one last shiver out of his body. "Listen up! After this sortie, we'll return home and begin making our own customizations to the ships. Lord Vader's orders."
"I'm adding extra missile pods," Ada said without missing a beat.
"You would," Cive Rashon, another female pilot, said. Occupying the number three spot in the wing, she preferred speed to fire power.
The rest of Black Squadron started chatting about how they'd upgrade their fighters, each with opinions on what would be the best change to bring out the full potential of the former Jedi star ships. It was only a few minutes, but the relaxed atmosphere and camaraderie let them bleed off any stress or worries and boosted morale before they went back out. When the klaxon blared, signaling it was time to hit the Death Star and begin the real fight, the eight of them jumped up out of their seats.
"Before you go," Mithel said, "Hit the armory and grab weapons. Lord Vader's orders. He thinks we won't be in the sky all day."
With that ominous warning, Black Squadron left the canteen.
###
As First Fleet moved forward, the very first structures of the Death Star shipyards came into view over the horizon of Geonosis. For the first time, they laid eyes on the real thing, and more than a few officers on the bridge of the Imperious blanched when they saw how truly massive and ambitious the project was.
The orbital battle station's skeleton dwarfed even the largest ships the Old Republic could ever hope to create.
"By the Force…" Major Gaunt said from beside Grand Moff Tarkin. "What kind of resources do you need to even begin making something like this?"
"More than you could possibly imagine," Tarkin answered. "Prepare for a full barrage," he continued, speaking to all ships. "I want every gun we have softening them up before we send in the fighters. Lord Vader's wing will take the lead, make sure not to disappoint him."
The not so subtle threat leveled against the commanders of First Fleet, ensuring none lost their nerve, the ships engines went to full throttle, steaming on through the darkness of space towards the monstrous Death Star.
As they did, the various dry docks, defensive platforms, and all manner of hangers went into full alert. A fast moving cloud emerged from the mass of the Death Star construction sight and appeared to drift towards First Fleet. "Fighters incoming!" an officer on the sensor array called out from his station below Tarkin's place at the observation deck on the bridge of the Imperious.
Before any order or commands could be issued, Black Squadron was already screaming far ahead of the fleet to engage. From where he stood, the Grand Moff saw flashes of fire, the sure mark Vader and his wing were playing havoc with the under armored enemy fighters. The readouts on the holo screen told the tale of dozens at first, then hundreds soon enough, falling before Darth Vader and his pilots.
"I've only seen Jedi fly like that, but…" Gaunt said from his command post.
"But Jedi were never so ruthless," Tarkin said. "Black Squadron knows how to finish the job."
###
"Woooo!" Cive Rashon howled as she spun her Interceptor around without slowing down and picked off three enemies. The blood lust ran hot with Vader's team as they lead Imperial forces in a slaughter against the Death Star's defensive fighters. "All they have going for them is numbers!"
"Steady, Black Three," Mithel cautioned. He didn't want his squad mates getting cocky and making a mistake, but the truth was, this felt more like popping vermin than proper combat. "New wing incoming," he added when his sensors picked up another group of the unknown fighters approaching from the Death Star. He hit the afterburners and lined up a shot, but at the last minute, it went wide. "The hell?" he said, confused that they could dodge when it seemed a sure thing.
Kshhhhhh
"I sense the Force in these," Vader said. Quickly marking the new fighters, he passed on the info to the rest of First Fleet, ensuring Black Squadron wouldn't lose track of them. However, something bothered him about the presence he felt with these new combatants. Something about them was fundamentally wrong. He couldn't place it, but it was there. Pulling a tight turn, he brought one of the new enemies into his sights and opened fire.
There it was, they were strong enough in the Force to try and dodge a fraction of a second before Vader fired, but it wasn't enough. He accounted for it and watched the ship blossom into a fireball as it ruptured.
That was when he realized. The signature in the Force he just wiped out was behind and above him now. Not similar, but identical.
"Clones," he said to himself. "Vader to Tarkin. Enemy Force users have entered combat, take precautions." He quickly reached out and felt every single one of the suspected clone fighters. They were Dark Side users, of that he was certain. Marking them, he forwarded the data to all points. He sighted in a group of three fighters trying to take a wide angle on Black Seven, who was busy backing up a group of Delta7b starfighters from Eradicator, the second Destroyer in the fleet.
Kshhhhhh
"I have you now."
A burst of laser fire riped across space and shattered the wing. One tried to escape, but Mithel was on them before they got far.
"My thanks, Lord Vader," Neel said sheepishly, as he and the Delta's took off after new targets.
Like an assassins knife, Black Squadron operated independently, cutting through enemy units and giving the rest of the fighters a chance to do the work of keeping the brunt of the enemy off First Fleet's back.
Meanwhile, the battery of cannons on the Star Destroyers worked to hit every defensive installation the ship yards had. Massive lances of laser burned across the distance between the forces, tearing apart the embryonic Death Star's protection. Aboard Imperious, Tarkin saw an aberration on the readouts. "Lord Vader," Tarkin said as his eyes narrowed over the information coming in on the tactical display. "We have an energy spike on our sensors. Something is off."
Vader sensed it before it happened, but it was too late. As the incomplete Death Star rotated, the dish of its main weapon came into view. The planet killer. As obvious as it was that it could not operate at full power, much of the array still unfinished, three green beams triangulated on a single point above the structure for a heartbeat, before bursting across the darkness as one single shot.
The entire battlefield seemed to slow down as everyone watched it arc across the edge of the Geonosian atmophere. Eradicator, one of the Star Destroyers, took the full force of the beam, rupturing and tearing apart as every system instantly went critical and the whole ship blossomed into a white hot fireball.
"Evasive maneuvers, NOW!" Tarkin screamed.
"Black Squadron, on me." Vader ordered. He updated the nav system and shot through the battlefield, aiming straight for the Death Star. "Do not allow it a second shot."
###
"Spread out!" Tarkin ordered. "Make sure it can't target more than one ship at a time! All deflector shields forward, let the armor take the shots from fighters, but put as much between us and the main weapon as possible!"
The Imperious burned hot and fast, trying to put distance between itself and the rest of First Fleet. Under other circumstances, maintaining a cohesive defensible formation was paramount, but that flew out the window when one of your ships was instantly vaporized.
"Create a fighter net to deal with the enemies between us. Keep the battlefield in our sights, but do not let that weapon target us again! Deploy flak, electronic counter measures, anything!"
The fleet spread out, and it cost them an Acclamator, lost to heavy fire from bombers, and more than thirty Delta7b star fighters, but they managed to do it. The best defense against that massive weapon was avoidance.
###
"Follow," Vader ordered the rest of his wing. From the plans, he knew the Death Star, even in this early stage, was built with two hemispheres in mind, divided by a trench. If it was as he suspected, the trench housed entry points, hangars, where they could make their way inside and disable the beam, along with the shielding around its vulnerable core. Doing so meant engaging in person, proving his foresight.
But first, they'd need to find the hangar. Vader wasn't sure of its location, and they couldn't blithely search from up high with so many enemies and gun emplacements.
Kshhhhhh
"We make for the trench at the middle of the structure. When we find a hangar, enter and prepare for ground battle."
"Aye, lord," Mithel responded, pushing his throttle forward to keep up with the Emperor. Behind him the others responded in kind, taking shots at enemy fighters when they could, dodging everything else. As they closed in on the enormous battle station, laser cannon fire erupted from the guns already installed. Nowhere near enough to hamper Black Squadron, they dived into the trench and started their run.
"Hostiles, six o' clock," Rosh called in.
"I got em!" Ada answered with a laugh and loosed proximity mines from her fighter. When the enemy flew past, all three of them vanished in a blast of light and fury. "That'll teach ya!"
Before they could celebrate, laser fire almost hit them from up ahead. "Cannons here too!? What is with this thing!?" Black Four demanded.
"Form up, three by three," came Vader's command. Mithel and Rosh took position at the Sith's right and left, and the other six followed suit, arranging themselves right behind, one group of three followed by another. "Adjust deflectors," Vader said, and both his wingmen put their shields to full forward. The last three did the same, covering their tails from anyone trying to get behind them.
Another burst of laser fire splashed against the shields, but they were ready, and the three lead ships opened fire, tearing the guns apart.
As they passed the wreckage, their sensors pinged and now multiple fighters were coming for them from the front, back and above. "Black Two, Black Five, forward." Vader said and as he did, hit the attitude thrusters sending his Interceptor into a gyroscopic spin without losing forward momentum.
"I have you now."
As his nose pointed towards the sky, he locked onto the enemy and a burst of Force-empowered accuracy sent lasers straight through every cockpit. Meanwhile, Rosh rolled his craft, spiraling down the synthetic canyon and spit-firing at the oncoming enemy. Mithel, for his part, swung the Actis up onto a side wall and let loose with missiles. Between them they took out the forward threat as Vader finished his own maneuver.
"They really wanna stop us!" Ada said with a grim smile as she dropped the last of her mines, eliminating the enemy following behind.
Kshhhhhh
"They will try."
Kshhhhhh
Reaching out with the Force, Vader felt a concentration of life up ahead. "More approach us, but after this we will find the hangar. Take care, these are like you."
Focusing, Black Squadron readied themselves to deal with pilots who had the same advantage of a connection to the Force. Sensors lit up as missiles and lasers streaked down the canyon, but the middle group launched flak, sending several of the projectiles twisting off course and skyward where they impacted with the walls of the trench.
"Ceezee," Vader said, and the second volley of missiles fell to the droid's hacking protocols.
Laser fire hit harmlessly against the deflectors, but the lightly armored and unshielded enemy fighters were not so lucky. Between Vader, Rosh, and Mithel, the concentration of return fire was a wall of merciless death. Not even the connection to the Force the enemy possessed was of any use.
"The hangar is ahead, prepare to turn in. Do not drop your speed."
Vader's order brooked no argument, but no one in Black Squadron was thrilled to try a sudden turn into the unknown enemy hangar and land before they slammed into the back wall. Still, orders were orders.
And their throats were well within reach.
Vader hit his thrusters and burned ahead of his wing. When the blue glow of the electromagnetic airlock came in sight, they all steeled themselves. Vader made the hairpin turn and as the Interceptor swung inside, he opened fire, tearing apart any ships that were unfortunate enough to come in sight, along with the pilots and crew. Hitting full throttle, Vader swung the fighter in a 180, facing the opening and before the craft came to a full stop he leapt out of the cockpit and ignited his saber. With a throw, he sent it flying into a group of guards.
As he did, Ceezee burst out of the former astromech socket and opened fire on several of the Force sensitive clones, taking them down before they could get a bead on the Sith.
Reaching out with his hand, Vader ripped ships from their docking clamps overhead and brought them crashing down on the floor of the hangar, killing several dozen more in the process.
The rest of the squadron landed, barely any survivors left to challenge them.
Climbing out with blasters at the ready, they made to join up with Vader.
"All present, my lord," Mithel said.
Vader turned, cape spreading out behind him.
"We will show them the true power of the Dark Side."
Kshhhhhh