Chapter 5
Desperate pirates rally their picket ships, reinforcements, and other survivors. Once they're reorganized, two wings of ten make another run at the star destroyer. From opposite sides of the asteroid, they attempt another pincer attack, but when they spot the proton torpedoes they open fire. Many missiles are destroyed in the opening salvo, yet two survive, rocketing past the pirates. Uneducated, unruly, and often psychotic these pirates aren't stupid. Stupidity doesn't survive deep space; many fighters turn immediately in pursuit of the torpedoes, firing wildly.
With only seconds, one pilot spins his ship and hits his boosters. By Imperial or rebel standards, even by the standards of the Clone Wars twenty years prior, his TIE-ugly is junk. To him, his X-cepter is priceless. Combining the solar panels and cannons of a TIE interceptor and the fuselage of an X-wing, the pilot considers it the best of both. He's slower than either but retains a TIE's maneuverability with an X-wing's shields, torpedoes, and hyperdrive. He's spent countless hours maintaining and upgrading it. He's killed other pirates just for touching it.
His eyes narrow; he exhales and squeezes.
He grazes the torpedo, detonating it safely. Off to starboard, he spots the second, but can't intercept in time. The blazing red orb slams into the transport, unleashing a devastating blast. It lists to port as its engines fail and a dozen smaller explosions ripple outward. All along the portside stern, lights flicker out. Panicked cries and desperate requests flood their comms.
The pilot knows the transport is mauled, crippled until repaired. He spins his fighter around, reaccessing. Now, they're divided into smaller groups. Two teams continued onto the star destroyer, two pairs pursued the torpedoes, and a handful waited, watching the results. He scowls when he checks his sensors; more vessels are emerging from the star destroyer. Earlier the imps were heavily outnumbered, now the odds are even. Our advantage is gone.
"The tractor beam grabbed the battlecruiser! Save us or I'll kill every one of you!"
The veteran knows the battle has shifted in the Imperial's favor. If the pirates take the Star Destroyer, the effort to refit and rebuild it will cost a fortune. It'll bankrupt their band, and for what? A functioning destroyer may rule the sector, but a mauled one is worthless. There are thousands of such wrecks. Worse, this one isn't new. It's an antique, thoroughly smashed now. The numbers are even in space and the pirates lost control of the shuttle bay. One transport is helpless. The battlecruiser and the pirate chief are caught. One functional transport remains.
There's only one reason to seize the battlecruiser: the imperials are going to board it.
A decision must be made, and even now, he isn't the only one recognizing it.
Captain Wyndt leads his team of four TIEs along the edge of the Inevitable.
"It's a hit!" A comm officer cheers over the radio. "Transport 1 is immobilized!"
"Battlecruiser is seized! We're pulling it in line with the primary shuttle bay!"
Why? Captain Wyndt wonders. The vessel is forcefully dragged closer to the Inevitable. A single turbolaser continues firing at slow intervals, but the destroyer's shields neutralize it.
"Look at that," the captain mutters. "How did he know?"
"Sir?" A pilot inquires.
"Only a single turbolaser can shoot aft on that battlecruiser."
"Should we take it out?" Verdan offers uncertainly.
"No, there's no way it will penetrate the shields. Even if it did, it won't breach the hull."
Another TIE pilot warns, "Shuttles are exiting the Inevitable, are they deserting?"
"Captain Wyndt, this is Agent Windsor, your reinforcements have arrived."
"I'm not sure how a few shuttles will help but I appreciate the thought," Wyndt replies, then reconsiders. "My TIEs will take point, come in behind us, and mop up whatever gets by."
"Negative," the spy replies, irritating him. "The commander has a plan. We'll take the brunt, our shields are set to double front. You flank, strafe, and pursue when they run."
Wishful thinking at best. The captain isn't used to taking orders from outside the navy, worsened by her complete dismissal of his plan. Trying to be diplomatic, he offers, "I'm not…confident in the plan, not with the numbers we're facing. Even with shields, those shuttles are flimsy. These pirates are ferocious and more skilled than I expected."
"The torpedoes dispersed them, we're facing several groups numbering no more than five. The flight approaching from the aft will arrive first, we can intercept if we go now."
"Watch the point defense lasers on that battlecruiser too," Captain Shilling warns. "Although, if he's is planning what I think. We won't have to worry about them either."
"Sir? You're here too?" Wyndt gasps. "Who commands the Inevitable?"
"It's all hands on deck and I can fly," Shilling concedes quietly.
Someone cries, "Look at the shuttle bay!"
Following it, he spots figures crossing the void to the battlecruiser. Zooming in, he recognizes the white stormtroopers, charcoal viper probes, and massive white robotic figures.
"Wha-what is happening?" He demands.
"That's the Grand Commander's concern," Windsor prompts him. "Focus on ours."
Swallowing his discontent, the wing commander orders, "All ships form up! We'll face the pirates head-on. TIEs split into two pairs, on the wings, keep apace until we engage."
"Good hunting!" Agent Windsor cheers as she takes the center. Reformed, the imperials intercept the pirates coming around the improvised asteroid field, off the Inevitable's aft. The five fighters that continued to the star destroyer realize too late that they're outnumbered now.
Captain Keel drives his rifle forward, his vibrobayonet piercing the pirate's gut, yet somehow survives. The savage raises a dagger of his own, forcing the captain to grab his wrist. They struggle until the captain yanks his rifle free. The agony causes the pirate to gasp and shudder, a hand going to the stomach wound. The captain shoves him back over the barricade.
"Don't give anything! Fight! Fight to your last breath!" The captain shouts.
The Inevitable's main hallway is a bloody nightmare. Blasters, knives, and even teeth are wielded equally. Hastily assembled crates provide cover but now they're littered with corpses. Friend and enemy lie in a mound that binds the barrier together. In the moment he's gained, the captain crouches, swiftly reloading his rifle. More pirates charge, he shoots two but a bulk labor droid shields the rest before slamming into their barricade. Their wall bends; Captain Keel and a dozen other troopers slam into it, trying to hold the droid back. The labor droid pushes, shatters the barricade, and hurls the remaining stormtroopers aside. The captain lands hard, aching from the impact. The lumbering droid slams its claws where he lands, forcing him to scramble away as it scars the deck plates. Although sluggish, he knows even a glancing blow is deadly.
Over a hundred stormtroopers support him and it's not nearly enough. The pirates fight with the desperation of doomed men. One swings an ax at the captain, misses, and strikes the bulk labor droid. It notices, then smears the pirate against a bulkhead. Another stormtrooper shoots the bulk loader but takes a knife in his side, as a pirate tackles and continues stabbing him. All across the front, blaster bolts fly in mass, heedless of those fighting hand-to-hand.
The captain crouches, using the loader as cover, and shoots pirates through its legs. He rolls away from another clumsy swing, then backs up as the huge robot advances. The loader shrugs off blasts. The stormtroopers focus their attention on it, sometimes at point-blank range, firing again and again into the mechanical monster. Ignoring them, it lumbers after the captain. With each step, its three-finger claws snap, clank-clank-clank.
A flash of crimson startles Captain Keel. A brilliant red royal guard in ceremonial armor appears in front of him, blocking the droid. His cape flaps magnificently as he comes to a sudden stop, halting the loader with his stare. The loader hums binary, examining and then dismissing him. It raises its hulking arm. Lightning quick, Serrano thrusts his force pike, striking its unarmored armpit. The droid's arm jolts and falls to the robot's side, motionless. Blindingly fast, the royal guard darts in close, stabbing its knee before rolling behind it.
Imperials appear, blue rings flying, stunning with abandon. Fighting at point-blank range, pirates and stormtroopers are hit, falling helpless. Keel knows friendly fire will never disappear from warfare but appreciates any effort made to save his men. Armored and armed to the teeth, the mixed bands of stormtroopers, navy, and army drive back the pirates and fortify the line.
Distantly, the captain swears he hears thunderous footsteps.
Serrano blasts a pair of pirates then spins and thrusts his pike into the back of the bulk loader's leg. The loader collapses to its knees. It swings wildly which he easily ducks before thrusting twice more. The arm detaches, hitting the deck with a deafening BANG. The royal guardsman strikes twice more, deactivating it. With a miserable hum, the load lifter collapses.
Captain Keel gasps, relief and disbelief clashing within him. He'd seen Serrano train, noting the skillful but quiet trooper. He assumed tales of the royal guard's valor and skill were exaggerated or advanced Imperial armor. Now he knows Serrano fights at a completely different tier than Stormtroopers. Standing in the royal guard's presence, the imperials fight even harder.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP, the footsteps grow in volume.
Another barrage of blaster fire pounds their position, Keel takes cover behind the bulk loader's inert body. Serrano flips through the air, landing, and crouches next to the captain. Keel checks his blaster before looking at the royal guardsman, and throwing a nervous look over his shoulder towards the thunderous footsteps.
"The Grand Commander sent us to help but the assault trooper armor moves slowly."
"Zero-G assault armor? He sent Spacetroopers?" One fills the doorway, barely squeezing through, big as a spacefighter. Blaster bolts plink meaninglessly against its vast torso and legs. It vaguely looks like a blocky stormtrooper in color and design, bearing a backpack. Once all three move through the door into the hallway, they form a line and raise their right arms. Captain Keel cries, "Everyone get down!"
DWOO! A blaster cannon fires, obliterating several pirates in a row, leaving ash and smoking ruin. His fellow spacetroopers fire, DWOO DWOO DWOO! The blasts warp weapons and leave blackened scorch marks as the enormous spacetroopers step over their barricade, pressing the advantage. A pirate raises a light repeater and unleashes a storm of blaster bolts into the first assault trooper. It's only a distraction. More pirates join the first, concentrating fire.
The leader turns but doesn't stop. BOOMPH! A grenade launches from over the Zero-G armor's shoulder, bounces off the ceiling, and lands among the pirates. Horror and panic freeze them before they're incinerated. The juggernauts drive forward, as soldiers leap to assist them.
"There's three more following us," Serrano tells him. "They're clearing everything from the main shuttle bay to here with squads of their own."
"Where's the Grand Commander?" Captain Keel looks around.
"He's leading a platoon to the battlecruiser."
"What? Why?" The captain is aghast. "What about the Inevitable?"
"Per his orders, nothing is secure until the Inevitable is secure."
"No, I'm asking why is he leading troops over there? Even if there's only a skeleton crew, there's still hundreds, maybe a thousand pirates."
The royal guardsman pauses and Captain Keel has a strong feeling he's smiling. Then Serrano replies, "I'm sure he has a plan, sir."
"I hope it's a good plan," Captain Keel says skeptically.
"I can't say," Serrano admits. "I have faith, sir, but I promise he always comes back."
"Well, that's something. What about the pirates? Are we capturing their leaders?"
Serrano turns to a pirate stubbornly resisting being stunned, looking around to get his bearings. A thrust slays him, "The Grand Commander's intent was clear."
"The first team is across," Gary announces.
"Good," he points at the two viper probes. "You two, pull the stormtroopers across."
Both Vipers hum in reply, and moments later every trooper has a magnetic grappling hook attached to the droids. Together, droids and troopers pass through the hanger's magnetic field. Then the vipers tow the troopers towards the battlecruiser.
"Why radio silence? I doubt they'll intercept comms or break the codes to listen."
"We won't always be fighting Thalassians," the commander reminds him. He motions to the remaining two Spacetroopers. "You two, grab those astromechs, and take them across."
One droid panics, attempting to flee when the enormous stormtrooper snatches it up. The other scolds the first before rolling over to its own spacetrooper and the two pairs exit the hanger.
The commander looks up at the control room window, "Coordinate with the droid in the walker and the lieutenant. Keep this hanger secure. If you need help, contact the patrols!"
"Yes, sir!" They reply and the AT-ST's cannon nods excitedly.
"You want my rotary blaster, Gary?"
"Nah," The stormtrooper shakes his head. "I never scored well with heavy weapons."
"Too bad. I can't take it with the power armor," the Grand Commander places the weapon inside the armory door. Then he climbs up the armor to enter the access hatch on its back; he slips inside behind the helmet. The interior lights up and the computers come awake at his touch. Interior belts tighten, snuggly squeezing him until he's secured against the cushions. Then the hatch closes with a hiss, forming an air-tight seal. He turns, "Let's go, Gary."
"Oh, I was hoping to stay here and guard the hanger."
"That's funny!" The commander laughs, then snatches him up, ignoring his protests.
His magnetic boots lock tightly against the deck as he approaches the spacious hangar doors. Placed directly in the center of the floor, he's forced to crouch, attaching his boot against the vertical wall. Then swings his power armor over the edge, defying gravity. A wave of disorientation washes over him from the movement and drastically different view. Gary swings his arms wildly in a full-blown panic.
Beyond the field containing the oxygen, he can see the aft of the battlecruiser. Slow, measured steps approach the field until he passes through into absolute silence. Gary's wild motions cease as he freezes stiff. The void beyond the Inevitable is stunning but hauntingly absent of…everything, anything. The Grand Commander engages his thrusters, launching them across the distance. He wonders if Gary has ever spacewalked, but it's too late to ask now. Soon, they land behind dozens of regulars, viper probes fly nearby, keeping watch.
The commander releases Gary but in his inexperience, the stormtrooper begins to float away. Flailing wildly, his wild movements draw the attention of an astromech. The droid wheels over to him and launches a harpoon, sticking to his boot. The droid retracts the line, dragging Gary back to the hull. The commander notices and points at his wrist. Gary waves him away and hits the button to activate his magnetic boots, finally locking him to the hull.
Astromechs race across the ship's hull until one detects an access hatch. It's too small for assault armor but the stormtroopers bunch up to enter the airlock. Instead of cutting it, the droids slice it. They connect with the ship's computers and unlock it. Together, the troopers squeeze inside with the astromech, and then a viper presses in above them. Their spacing is atrocious, a single grenade could kill them all, but numbers are their best chance to survive the assault. The door closes behind them, and then a light within the chamber turns from red to green.