Chapter 3

Beyond the thick hull of the Inevitable, a fierce battle between crude pirate "uglies" and agile tie fighters turns against the imperials. Their skill cannot match the pirate horde, often engaging three or four at once.

"There's so many of them!"

"Cut the chatter," Captain Wyndt, the flight leader, orders. "Use every trick you got!"

"Torpedo launched!" His second, lieutenant Verdan warns.

Immediately spotting the red orb racing towards the destroyer, he cuts his engines, spinning wildly before reengaging them with boosters. The G-forces slam him into his seat as rockets forward. The torpedo continues towards their mothership and he angles to intercept.

He squeezes, but his first shot misses!...his second nails it, prematurely detonating it.

"Whoo!" Several of his comrades cheer.

"Excellent shot, sir!" Verdan says.

"We're not out of this, yet," he warns as another pirate wave attacks.

Within the Inevitable, the Grand Commander and his team watch the turbolift doors open. BLUOO! A blaster bolt flies between them, passing harmlessly until it hits the wall, leaving a scorch mark. The commander glares at the shooter, still looking down the barrel of his carbine. His companions follow the blast to the marked wall, then slowly turn to look at the stormtrooper.

"I-I-I meant to do that!" The trooper insists. "It was a warning shot!"

"Great shot Kyle."

"Shut up, Gary!"

"You are an embarrassment to the stormtrooper corp!" The commander roars. "You failed to identify your target and you missed! You're standing in front of the lift. Have you ever heard of cover? Stand at an angle, so when the doors open you won't get hit by suppression fire!"

"Eight-hundred and eighty-first," Gary chuckles. "You're the worst!"

"Gentleman," Agent Winsor calmly prompts them. "Back on task."

Without another word, the commander steps around the guard and exits the turbolift. Glancing up and down the main hall of the bridge, he points aft, towards the ship information central. This section is the ship's data hub and internal communications center.

"Iona, offer your services to them. If they refuse, offer it to operations, or backup Kyle."

"Yes, sir," she instantly complies.

Standing in the security foyer of the bridge, after staring, several technicians return to conveying orders steadily at the consoles directly across from the turbolift. To his right is a smaller hologram projector for discreet messaging beyond the eyes and ears of the bridge crew. Further right, a blast door leads to operations. Both the security and ship information central on one side and the other army operations and officers meeting room.

The commander turns and passes through a blastdoor onto the bridge, mixing metallic grey tones with white buttons and dull grey uniformed imperials. It's utter chaos. Panicked voices battle to be heard, and a dozen minor alarms demand attention throughout the bridge.

"Stop. Silence! Shut-up!" Captain Shilling screams, temporarily muting them. Sweaty, and even flabbier than a year ago, the captain's black hair has greyed and thinned too. Splotchy red spots mark his pale flesh from his fury. "I can't think with all of you talking!"

"Sir! Pirates are overwhelming security in the docking bay! Shuttles and transports are at risk!" Positioned to the far left corner are shuttle operations and a defense station. Terrified, a young woman cries. "If they detonate fuel or set a ship to self-destruct it will rupture the hull!"

"We're down to six ties!" Starfighter operations announces from the opposite corner on the right. "Pirate uglies are no match for the tie fighters but they're outnumbered four to one!"

A wave of weariness washes over the commander, his shoulder aches, and the sheer number of problems mount. Not one will be easily solved and his intervention will not be welcome. Beyond the window straight ahead, dozens of flares and firey bursts of cannon fire hint at the battle outside the ship. The bow spits flame and smoke from the breaches, burning oxygen. Ahead, the enormous asteroid spins thoughtlessly of the disaster it has wrought upon them.

He forcefully rotates his injured shoulder, intensifying the pain in his side.

"REPORT!" The Grand Commander thunders, cutting straight through their conversation. "Prioritize yourselves. What's the greatest threat?"

"You!" Captain Shilling shouts as if it's an accusation.

"Sir, we're surrounded by two transports and a battlecruiser," a technician immediately lists. "Around forty fighters and a dozen shuttles swarm the Inevitable."

"The bow is breached, we're bleeding oxygen but teams are fighting the fires there."

"The main pirate attack entered through the primary docking bay, but a dozen assault shuttles released them all over the vessel."

"Where is Captain Keel?" He asks.

"He's holding the main force away from engineering and the entrance to crew quarters."

"You can't be here!" Captain Shilling declares. "I ordered you not to retrieve him!"

Agent Windsor frigidly replies, "He's next in the chain of command,"

"I ordered you to stay away from him!" Shilling continues. "This is direct diso-"

"How are a few hundred pirates overwhelming a ship crewed by five thousand?" The commander asks. Dead silence. The crew looks elsewhere and Shilling sags…

…but Gary never hesitates, "Desertion. It started after your detainment. The Admiral ordered Lieutenant Simz, Diggs, and Serrano to stow their armor and join regular units. Simz and Diggs stole a Zeta and deserted with a hundred elite troopers."

"We're struggling with a skeleton crew of eighteen hundred," Windsor adds. "It's a miracle we can operate all the cannons."

"Can we run?"

"The Imperial Navy doesn't run!" Captain Shilling recovers. "Besides, the hyperspace drive suffered damage from the emergency drop. Main engines and thrusters are all we have!"

"Why did we cross Thalassian territory?"

"We weren't," Agent Windsor clarifies. "We were traveling on the Hydian Way past Junction when we were ambushed. The admiral aligned us with Warlord Zsinj's faction."

Behind his helmet, the Grand Commander cringes. Somehow the captain detects it.

"What?" Captain Shilling demands. "He leads the strongest faction of Imperials."

"He's fat," the commander spits. "...and he killed his mother. How can you trust him?"

"Sir!" A tech from the crew pit warns as lights flicker red on her console. "The fire in the bow has spread to electrical and is threatening the grid."

"We could lose power to the whole ship," Gary gasps. "This is getting better and better."

"Sound the evacuation alarm, in sixty seconds I want bulkhead uhh…" he checks the console. "-73 closed. Then vent everything forward of it."

"There's dozens, no, over a hundred people down there!" The tech cries.

"If they remember their training, they'll have their reserves or remain in a secured room. They'll have enough O2 for hours. Now follow orders!"

"Y-yes, sir."

The ship shudders with another violent impact, "Sir, the battle cruiser has turboasers!"

The commander squats to read the console, "Okay, it's to our starboard and the cruisers on the port side. Reroute emergency power to thrusters, all ahead full, and turn forty-five degrees to starboard. I want a ninety-degree port rotation-and warn the crew."

Beyond the bridge in the vacuum of space, blue engines flare, driving the star destroyer forward. As the few remaining ties fight desperately, thrusters blaze as the ship rotates, rolling counterclockwise. Gaping at the absurdity, Captain Wyndt pounds his transmitter.

"Inevitable come in! What is going on!"

Before he can react, a launched torpedo explodes on the deck of the Inevitable.

Within the ship, Shilling points. "You're exposing the command tower to the transports!"

"They don't have turbolasers."

"They have torpedoes on those fighters!" As if on cue, the ship rumbles from impact, the explosion visible from their windows on the main deck.

"Captain Wyndt demands to know what's happening. Two more ties down."

The commander pauses then mutters, "You were joining Zsinj…"

"Yes! We already-"

"Order Captain Wyndt and all tie fighters to retreat beneath the ship!"

The technician stares in disbelief. Frustrated, he snatches the headset off the tech. "Captain Wyndt, move all ties to the ventral section of the ship and remain until it's safe."

"What? Who do you think-"

"Do it or die!" He snaps, then tosses the headset back to the tech. He turns, pointing at the weapon's station. "Order all quad turbolasers to target the asteroid and fire a barrage!"

The weapons officer stutters, "W-what-what?"

"Do it! Then order the gunnery crews to lockdown their stations, form teams, and close the bulkheads behind them. Half joins Captain Keel, and the rest begin clearing their decks."

"You can't hope to destroy the asteroid!" Captain Shilling declares.

The commander returns to the crew pits and points at the helmsman. "Continue until the asteroid shields us from the transports but point the main shuttle bay at the battlecruiser."

"Yes sir!" The helmsman whimpers.

Captain Wyndt leads his remaining four ties towards the edge of the Inevitable. The swift ties easily distance themselves from the pirate fighters, but their numbers make it impossible to escape. He watches as the enemy strafes the main deck, blasting turrets, given free rein to attack.

The Inevitable moves into the shadow of the asteroid as the bow vents, where the flight leader watches imperials spewed into space. In heartbeats, the fires are extinguished with the lives of the soldiers. His chest clenches in horror, only to be shocked again. Red lights flash as he crosses the edge of the starboard side, the quad turbolasers blasting the asteroid. Enormous explosions ripple across the surface, spewing clouds of rock and stones. In moments the bombardment fills the space between the destroyer and the asteroid with debris. The dull brown cloud continues growing even after the bombardment ends, full of impassable rocks.

Wyndt leads his survivors to the belly of the ship. Suddenly, a stray shot hits a tie fighter. As it explodes, his subordinate screams in agony. Gritting his teeth, Wyndt spins his tie to confront the pirate but the asteroid cloud consumes it. The sluggish and flimsy pirate 'uglies' can't escape. Admittedly, the captain knows even his elite tie pilots couldn't navigate it either.

Beneath the ship, he discovers more enemies, which he swiftly engages. Surprised and without shields, the pirate fighters explode with a single hit. He presses the attack, as his tie fighters form a line, driving the pirates before them. Many flee to the edge of the Inevitable as the asteroid cloud expands around it. Neither fast nor maneuverable, the cloud shreds them.

"Stay below the Inevitable!" Suddenly, an ugly is seized by a tractor beam. Halted and captured, imperials easily dispatch the trapped enemy. "Good job, Inevitable!"

"Cease fire, remind the gunnery crews to lock the bulkheads before joining the defense."

"You're using the cloud as a flak shield," Shilling realizes. Steady taps like a rainshower are occasionally interrupted by a heavier bang from a larger asteroid. "They can't fly through it."

"That tactic is Zsinj's. My dislike aside, the Warlord of the Empire is brilliant."

"But you're leaving us defenseless," Shilling grumbles.

"Those guns can't hit the fighters and the transports can't breach our armor."

"The battlecruiser's turbolasers can!" Shilling argues.

"That's why I turned our belly to her! The hull is the strongest there and the shields are full," he explains, then orders a tech. "Reroute power from the guns to tractor beams."

"Yes, sir!"

"Order the tractor beams to coordinate with Captain Wyndt's fighters or fire at will." He commands the weapons station. Then the Grand Commander asks, "The admiral told the special forces to turn over their armor. That includes spacetroopers. Where did he put the armor?"

"Spacetroopers!" Captain Shilling yells. "We're not seizing a ship, we're losing ours!"

"Where are they?" The commander demands.

"Main armory in the primary docking bay. All of it, the royal guard's armor, flamethrowers, and even the scout troopers. Everything outside the regular stormtrooper corp."

The commander points at the defense station, "Activate all robots, vipers, astromechs, even the mouse droids. Have them scout the enemy and report back, no, have them report and coordinate with the local vipers. They can correlate the data faster and pass it on to defenses."

"Yes, sir," A hard-faced older woman with grey streaks in her hair nods instantly. The ship rattles, not the devastating blast of a torpedo, but a steady impact of turbolasers. "Sir, the fighters are regrouping beyond the asteroid cloud. They're split into two wings, one near the aft, the second coming around the opposite side of the asteroid towards the bow."

"Another pincer attack?" Gary motions. "They're not very imaginative."

"Doesn't need to be if it works," the commander points out.

"Sir, the battlecruiser is concentrating its fire on the hull."

"Thalassian's won't let a prize escape," he says aloud. "They'd rather destroy it instead of losing, even if means killing their own raiders. Helm, all stop. Weapons, once you can target it, use the tractor beam on the battlecruiser. Drag it closer and turn its aft to the main shuttle bay."

"Closer!" Shilling argues, then demands. "What about their fighters?"

"How many are left?"

"Twelve gather aft and another ten passing the asteroid to the bow. One or two are still fighting Captain Wyndt's fighters below the ship, no, tractor beams caught them. They're gone."

"Can we fire torpedoes without hitting the asteroid cloud?"

"Yes, the flaps will protect them at launch, but we only have enough for one barrage."

"What?" He stares, then shakes his head. "Fine, fine. Fire five aft and five towards the bow. That leaves ten torpedoes. Target the two pirate transports."

"The fighters will destroy them before they can hit," Captain Shilling points out.

"Yes, but they'll have to slow and focus fire instead of advancing on the Inevitable. Comms, open all channels. Then broadcast the boatswain and transmit my message."

During a lull in the dogfight beneath the star destroyer, Captain Wyndt is startled by the boatswain's call. The traditional whistle predates the Republic, going back to ancient navies. The jarring suddenness and their training demands his full attention. "This is the Grand Commander. I know you're scared, I know the situation may seem grim. Hold fast, help is on the way. Everyone with flight training and spacetroopers, move to the main hanger immediately. All Endor survivors, if you can disengage, join me in the main hangar too. Long live the Empire!"

Stunned, and breathless, it takes a moment before the captain sees the private comm channel blinking. His subordinate, lieutenant Verdan inquires, "Sir…did we just lose our ship?"

From the starboard and port sides, the torpedo flaps open before bursts of flame spit concussion missiles. Both curve rapidly, rocketing along both sides of the asteroid.

"I don't know," Captain Wyndt admits quietly. "…but we're alive. For the Empire."

"You have your orders," the Grand Commander tells the bridge.

"What?" Captain Shilling gasps. "You're leaving?"

"The docking bay must be secured and someone has to neutralize the battlecruiser."

"WE'RE leaving, Captain," Agent Windsor adds. "You're qualified to fly."

"Uhhhh, yes, but, but," he whines. "But I haven't flown in years."

"Good enough," the commander motions to the turbolift. "Who's next in command?"

Captain Shilling points at the timid weapons officer raising his hand.

"No, stand fast," he declares before pointing at the defense station officer. "You. You're in command. Report any major changes, otherwise, hold position and seize the battlecruiser."

The defense officer steps away and another takes her place. She salutes, "Yes, sir."

The commander motions impatiently as a few bridge crew with flight training and the captain join him in exiting the bridge. His team doubled, Gary and the commander allow everyone on the lift first. Then the commander motions Iona and drags Kyle on too.

Pale and disquieted, he realizes this crew is unprepared for what lies ahead.

"Weapons out and ready," the commander orders and they quickly comply. "Crouch, take cover to the sides, or a stray shot may hit you. When we fight, take cover, identify…then shoot."

The door chimes and slides open, revealing a vicious battle beyond. Stray blaster bolts fly through the lift, destroying the lights, and darkening it. Outside the doors, Imperials struggle to hold as pirates advance. The commander fires twice before plunging headfirst into the battle.