Chapter 6
The instant the Grand Commander inserted his code cylinder, unlocking the armory, it triggered a series of protocols. A signal raced from the armory door through the Inevitable's computers. Distracted by the battle, it passes without anyone's knowledge. Deeply embedded in its programming, and that of every piece of Imperial tech, a covert signal is transmitted. Then all records of it are deleted.
CQB6 activates. At first glance, it appears a common silver protocol droid. CQB6 evaluates its environs, the imperials, and the armory. It watches them ransack it, before focusing on their leader, and the single red Imperial cog on a field of black. CQB is surprised. He can't identify it. Impossible! I have records on millions of officers. Yet, this one is unknown.
It doesn't take long for the imperials to finish and exit the armory, as their commander efficiently organizes and commands them. The droid's auditory sensors pick up and record the leader's words and that of his subordinates from where it waits. Not long after, the commander climbs into the Zero-G armor and exits the ship with a flailing stormtrooper.
CQB6 is pleasantly surprised. Officers rarely lead their troops in the field. A series of numerical calculations race through its analytics, from its limited knowledge. The passage of time, the heightened stress levels in the imperial's voices, and a vast database of possibilities form to explain its current situation. So far, no one meets or retrieves it. Its peerless mind calculates there's a 47.3 percent chance no one is coming, a 25.4 percent chance they're delayed by the enemy, and/or a 27.3 percent chance they're delayed by an event he's incapable of predicting with his limited information. Certainly, CQB6 will have to act on his own, until contacting Imperial High Command. This is unacceptable!
His sensors detect footsteps, quiet and cautious steps, beyond the door. In a split second, the droid replays them through an analyzer, detecting two pairs.
"Oh!" The droid feigns a panicked voice. "I surrender!"
"What are you doing here?" The army trooper demands.
"I don't know! My memory seems incomplete, perhaps I was a logistical droid."
The pair of troopers look at each other and shrug.
"Sir," CQB6 interjects. "All this excitement has overrun my circuits. If you don't mind, I'd like to go to maintenance."
The pair look at each other again, "All right. Be careful, there are pirates everywhere."
Over a year ago, one week before the Battle of Endor, Iona's tiny hands were swallowed by those of her husband. They sit with her parents, both olive-skinned humans with satin black hair, streaked with grey. The comm officer couldn't be happier. Her husband towers over her and her parents, a giant from Balmorra. His touch thrills her every time like it's the first time.
"Iona and I have decided," he announces. "It's a time for our family to grow."
Her mother gasps, "I thought you wanted to wait."
"I did and it was the right decision," her husband replies. "Now, the war is coming to an end. In a few days, we'll see the end of the Rebellion, and the Galaxy will have peace."
"Are you sure?" Her father asks, full of concern. "Anything can happen in battle."
"You serve on the Pride and I'll be on the Deathstar; Iona is stationed on the surface, far from the battle. What could possibly happen?"
Iona crouches in the corner. For once, she appreciates being so small. There is nothing aesthetic about the Thallasian ship, lacking even the stark functionality of Imperial design. The battlecruiser's airlock appears crudely welded metal plating, grate flooring, and a grimy sliding blast door. Imperials squeeze even further into the airlock. Still, a Viper fills the space above them. Now, it's difficult even to breathe, as the viper's repulsorlift hums overhead.
Iona's emotions somersault, remembering the last time she was with her family. Anchoring herself, she's thankful for the helmet she's wearing, concealing the tears escaping her eyes. Rampant fear and panic surges in ways she hasn't felt since the compound on Endor. Iona holds onto the memory of her family, burying her emotions beneath her grief.
"What-" she blurts out. "What's the plan?"
The airlock lights flash from red to green.
A trooper holds up a grenade, "Blast and clear. Standard imperial tactics."
"We might have crossed without them knowing," Iona argues. "But we have to assume the pirates are waiting for us. The Grand Commander would have a plan."
"She's right," A scout officer replies, looking at Iona. "What's yours?"
The sudden shift in focus on her both freezes her feelings and leaves her speechless.
"Bee-boo-beep beep!" The astromech answers.
"Hmm-humm-hm-hm-hm," the Viper replies.
"Yeah," Iona agrees. "I like that idea."
The scout officer shrugs, "Works for me."
"We're taking orders from droids now?" A stormtrooper grumbles.
"You have a better idea?"
"Well, no," the stormtrooper whines. "I'm just saying…"
The troopers squeeze to one side, audibly groaning, allowing the astromech to roll forward. Humming excitedly, the droid plugs into the battlecruiser.
Beyond the blast door, within an antechamber near engineering, dozens of pirates lay in wait. When the light shifts from red to green, not a single one moves. All of these pirates are experienced veterans and a quick reaction force for the battlecruiser. The instant they were seized by the tractor beam, the squad rallied, then raced to the airlock when the Imperials were detected.
Yet the door doesn't open. The pirates don't move; unconcerned, each has fought many times. Without warning, the blast door behind them descends, closing with a thump. The pirates throw nervous glances at it. Then the access to another hallway shuts, locking out several pirates taking cover beyond it. Worry rises in the defenders, spreading like an infection, now they're trapped. The lights switch to emergency power, plunging them into darkness. Then the fire suppression erupts, spraying them with foam and blinding them.
Even distracted, the pirate still hears the characteristic hiss of the airlock.
"FIRE!" Someone screams.
Blue stun rings fill the room, nailing the pirates. Red blasts reply desperately. Above them, a viper probe appears. It shines a light, revealing the remaining pirates. Cursing their misfortune, the leader shoots the droid. It spins wildly, then drops into the fog. The pirate seeks other enemies, but his visibility is limited, so he draws a dagger.
The viper bursts through the fog and rams him. The impact launches the pirate from his feet. He hits the deck hard, banging his head. Before he can rise, the Viper is on him, manipulator arms pinning him to the deck. The blaster attached to its chassis spins and fires, obliterating him.
"Clear!" The scout officer announces.
"Clear!" Another stormtrooper says from the opposite side. Then adds, "Another squad stands ready at the airlock."
Iona punches the button to open it, releasing a dozen more troopers.
"What's next?" The scout officer asks Iona.
"We should take engineering," a stormtrooper officer declares. "We're close and we can control power on the ship."
"We need to get the spacetroopers inside," Iona insists. "Not just for the Grand Commander, they're unstoppable. Plus, a maintenance door must be on the way to engineering."
"We have to maintain the momentum we have," the stormtrooper counters. "If they can build defenses or rally enough pirates, we're doomed."
"Without the spacetroopers, we have to depend on speed and luck," the scout trooper points out. "One misfortune or a ray shield could destroy us."
"Tarkin doctrine demands we capture and advance," the stormtrooper replies.
"We don't have the troops to hold large swaths of the ship," Iona responds. "We have to concentrate on vital areas."
"Very well," the stormtrooper concedes. "I'll get everyone ready to move."
Iona returns to the astromech plugged into the airlock, "Look for a service entrance large enough for them. We'll take the inside. Then alert the spacetroopers."
Beep boo-whee, the droid responds.
Iona looks at the scout officer, "Is there a way to lock this out? He wants to stay here connected to the system but worries the pirates will find him."
The scout trooper looks at the door and blasts the lock. Instantly, the airlock slams shut.
Iona laughs, "That'll do."
The airlock door clamps shut, while a second team of troopers prepares to enter it. After a long moment of strained tension, the outer airlock door opens again. Within, the astromech waits for them. At a breakneck pace, the troopers flood the airlock.
The Grand Commander motions to Gary, who shakes his head. He points at himself and then at the commander, who nods, understanding Gary's meaning.
Yet another agitatedly long pause, the spacetroopers wait in a circle, facing outward. They watch the space battle behind the Inevitable. Not a word is spoken, the spacetroopers' discipline exceeds even that of normal stormtroopers.
Suddenly Gary waves, catching the commander's attention. He points excitedly. The commander follows it, where a bright orange caution light flashes. The commander gathers the attention of the unit. He makes a fist with his robotic hand, winds it in a circle, and then points at the flashing light. Together, they march across the hull of the battlecruiser, silent in the vacuum of space, accompanied only by their breathing and the hum of their power armor.
The flashing orange light marks a hanger. When they arrive, the hanger door rises. The spacetroopers swing over the edge, followed by an astromech and a viper. Once they cross the magnetic field, sound assaults them, blaring from every direction. The thump of their footsteps, the groan of their micromotors powering their joints, and the pirate's alarms are overwhelming.
"Can we talk now?" Gary asks aloud. "I've never missed sound so much!"
"Yeah," Swanson complains. "It felt like an itch I couldn't scratch."
Pirates scream warnings before shooting at them. Blasts plink harmlessly against their armor or whiz by. Gary jumps behind the commander. Then a bulk loader lumbers into view.
The commander aims his blaster cannon and obliterates its leg. The bulk loader collapses to the ground, unable to continue, but the pirates hold near a control console.
Suddenly, the Grand Commander is seized! A pale light lifts him off the deck; a tractor beam paralyzes him.
Hiding behind stacked crates, several pirates make their stand. Blaster cannons decimate the crates but the pirates hold firm, focusing fire on the commander. Meanwhile, the tractor beam carries him back to the magnetic field. The thunderous Zero-G assault armor is powerful, but slow, forcing them to march forward before the pirates are in range.
"They're trying to throw him out!" Gary yells a warning, racing ahead. Several desperate blasts force him to jump behind a maintenance vehicle. At the same time, the hanger door begins descending. It stops halfway, then rises, only to halt again. The pirate at the console works frantically, hitting several buttons before pounding several more. As the commander is pushed to the magnetic field, the door begins descending once more.
A spacetrooper launches a grenade, it arcs overhead, before annihilating both the nearby pirates and the wall. Instantly the hanger slams shut and the commander halts. Swanson turns his cannon on the tractor beam emitter, aims carefully, then blasts it to pieces. Released, his assault armor hits the deck with a terrible crash. The commander remains safe within it.
"You're right, sir," Swanson admits. "This armor is way better than a dungeoneer's."
Pirate survivors flee for the exit, but suddenly, stormtroopers rush through the entrance. The pirates raise their arms to surrender, only for the troopers to blast them. Their commander raises a fist, halting them. Seeing the spacetroopers turn, he yells, "Friendlies!"
A scout officer and an army trooper appear before Iona declares, "Sir."
"Iona?" He inquires after crossing the hanger. "I thought you went with Agent Windsor."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Don't apologize," the scout officer tells her. "I'm glad you came. She has the makings of a fine officer, sir."
"I believe it," he replies earnestly. "All of you, all imperials, give me your full attention." A moment passes as the troopers halt, turning their attention to him. Everything strategic in the commander argues against pausing but in his heart, he knows it's necessary. "We've made it inside the battlecruiser, but we're gravely outnumbered. Every one of you matters, and cannot be easily replaced. DO NOT, throw your lives away. I know you were hardened veterans before Endor and forged in fire there. I wouldn't say this unless I meant every word. What you're about to see is cruelty and barbarity, unlike anything you've ever experienced. Brace yourselves. Stun blasts, melee, and concussion grenades until we clear engineering. One stray blast could kill all of us. As long as one of us fights, the Empire lives!"
"For the Empire," Iona screams.
"FOR THE EMPIRE!" They cheer.