Chapter 7
On a lower deck of the Inevitable, three nonhumans peek around the corner, checking the hallway. CQB6's databanks identify them as Thalassian. His records note them as an outer rim pest, but no significant threat to a star destroyer, which contradicts the reality before him.
This paradox is unacceptable!
They creep down the hallway, where CQB6 lies in wait. Most of the Inevitable is secured but the droid followed comm reports to this deck specifically. He watches them whisper in their crude language, CQB6 translates it effortlessly and then dismisses their fearful chatter.
They know they lost, he suspects. Now they're desperate to escape.
Leaning against a wall, CQB6 pretends deactivation, waiting until one is in reach. Extraordinarily, it senses danger. The pirate freezes, triggering the same in his companions. They study CQB6 before searching the hallway, then turn their attention back to the droid.
"Stupid protocol droid."
Extending a hand, CQB6 plunges a thermal spike through the pirate's armor and chest. As he falls and the spike retracts into the droid's palm, CQB6 seizes the blaster and shoots the second. The third howls in terror, turning to flee but a stun blast knocks him to the ground.
"I'll kill you, I'll rip you to pieces," it spouts as it crawls.
CQB6 drops the blaster and steps on the alien's back, leaning over.
"I have questions and you want to escape," CQB6 tells him in flawless Thalassian. He displays the thermal spike. "We can help each other…or you can suffer, and answer eventually."
"They're not even slowing down!"
Five fighters rocket straight towards the irregular wing of Imperials. They spot the heavy transport but disregard the shuttles on its sides and the TIE fighters on its wings.
"They must know we outnumber them," Captain Shilling whines.
"They see it as desperation," Agent Windsor explains. "They smell fear. They're not disciplined enough to check their scanners or wait for reinforcements."
"Cut the chatter," Captain Wyndt orders. "Steady until contact, then break and attack."
Cannons thunder; deadly red and green blasts soar through space. The pirates attack and break but die in seconds. Shields set at double-front absorb their fire; only one shuttle is winged. The pirate uglies are unshielded, bound by bolts, welds, and no small amount of luck. One survives long enough to flee, only to be run down and destroyed by the TIEs.
"YES!" Lieutenant Verdan howls. "Die pirate scum!"
"We're not done yet," Captain Wyndt warns. "Another five approaches from the bow. All ships reform and prepare to attack."
"Agent Windsor to Inevitable," the spy calls. "Target the pirates with tractor beams!"
Captain Wyndt's temper flares. Again, she interferes with his plans. HIS squadron.
"That's no fun!" Captain Shilling laughs, hinting at the younger man he might have been.
With more caution, the second wave of pirate fighters approaches. When their leader is seized, they break, dodging wildly as two more are caught. The fourth lasts only a second longer before he too is frozen beneath the star destroyer. The last ship rolls and somersaults, before hitting his thrusters. The pirate flees with the skill and desperation of a lifetime on the edge.
"The last one is escaping," Lieutenant Verdan warns, banking her TIE to intercept.
"In a DYE-wing?" Captain Shilling laughs. "It'd take a miracle."
"Captain Shilling is correct," Agent Windsor agrees. "Stay in formation lieutenant."
"A-what? Hey, I think you're right," Wyndt comments after taking a second look. He can't decide what's worse; the arrogance with which she gives orders or the ease of how everything works out. "I read about TYEs; they're the worst of TIEs and Y-Wings."
The TYE ugly is made up of two recycled Y-Wing nacelles mounted to a TIE spherical cockpit. When a tractor beam catches an engine, it bends before snapping off, causing the vessel to spin uncontrollably. G-forces crush the pilot until his ship blows, ending his screams.
"All ships, be advised," the Inevitable announces. "Transport 2 has jumped to hyperspace; transport 1 is crippled. Imperial forces control all but a few decks."
"We surrender!" A pirate growls. "We demand all guarantees as prisoners!"
"Screw that!" Lieutenant Verdan snarls. "Kill them all!"
"Hold," Agent Windsor calls before she can attack. "I'd like a word with them."
Captain Wyndt feels a chill. Every imperial fears a 'word' with ISB. Many who are visited by the Imperial agents are never seen again. Even talking about the ISB is discouraged.
"What about transport-2?" Verdun asks.
"We don't need any more prisoners," Captain Shilling decides. "Destroy it."
"We could use the resources," Windsor counters. "We should contact the commander."
"No, he has his hands full. Captain Wyndt, Lieutenant Verdun, destroy that transport!"
Wyndt and Verdun's TIE interceptors break from the remaining Imperial ships, passing the aft of the Inevitable. They clear the cloud of asteroid debris before passing the asteroid that wreaked havoc on them. Then they advance on the transport.
"We surrender!" The transport begs. "Don't attack! We have slaves onboard!"
Verdun hesitates, signaling on their private channel, "Sir?"
"Steady on, lieutenant. We have our orders…" The interceptors angle towards the engines. The transport lists to one side, a small cloud of debris where it suffered multiple blowouts. One engine flickers but the others remain cold. The imperials effortlessly hold formation after years of service together, no further words are needed between the pilots.
"We surrender!" Someone screams. "We surrender! You can't kill us!"
Once they're in range, simultaneously they strafe the unshielded rear of the transport. Green blasts ravage the engines. Secondary explosions ripple along the back of the transport, but stubbornly it refuses to die. Its crew fires lasers at the TIEs; unfortunately, the TIEs are too swift and their pilots too skilled. Remote maneuvering thrusters flare, as the transport repositions. They try to turn their shielded sides to the Imperials. The TIEs effortlessly outmaneuver it, passing twice more before the ship explodes spectacularly.
"Enemy vessel destroyed," Captain Wyndt announces stiffly.
The Inevitable's comm officer announces, "Good kill! Return to the Inevitable."
For the captain and lieutenant, the return feels like it takes twice as long. When they land, Captain Shilling points, "There's our heroes!"
The cheers of their fellow Imperials ring hollow. Neither celebrates, even when they see the pirate Uglies in their shuttle bay. The captured pirates give them no joy, as Stormtroopers search and disarm them. The captain and lieutenant share a look before retiring to the refresher.
The Grand Commander catches a sword with his assault armor's robotic hand. He crushes it, then squashes the pirate with a single punch. Blue stun rings and red blasts are exchanged in mass, the raiders fire with abandon, while the Imperials make every effort to avoid damaging the ship's reactor. Initially, the pirates retreat before the unstoppable spacetroopers. The juggernauts march directly into them, their counterattacks neutralized by the heavy armor. The rest of the imperial forces take cover behind them, peeking out to counterattack.
Intense throbbing penetrates the chamber, housing the battlecruiser's heart. The reactor is a towering pillar rising through a dozen floors, hundreds of feet in length, sparking with electrical discharges. The reactor thunders so menacingly; that even the alarms are muted by it. An enormous chasm surrounds the reactor, with only the barest safety procedures.
"No radiation shielding? The vents are damaged and the shut-off valves are rusted shut!" Gary shouts. "Are they insane?"
"They should be dead! How are they so lucky?" A tech yells over the noise.
"Focus! More incoming!" The commander shouts as waves of pirates flood through the main entrance. A moment later the bulkhead descends, slamming shut. Even cut off, it leaves hundreds of pirates and battle droids. Although the main entrance is closed, pirates continue surging through alternate doorways, above and blow them. Soon, those doors begin closing too, in spite of the pirates. The mass pauses to examine the imperials, then surges forward.
"Stun grenades and laser cutters! Hold the line!"
Even blaring through the armor's speaker, the commander's voice barely carries, swallowed by the reactor's hum and the battle. A barrage of blaster fire pounds the imperials, melting thick plating, and pressing them. All six assault armor forms a line facing the pirates, providing shelter for the platoon of imperials behind them. Five out of six launch grenades, flashes of blue light rushing through the pirates, and leaving dozens unconscious.
"How do I launch grenades?" Swanson demands in a panic.
"Second button on the right," Gary yells.
"There's a thousand buttons on the right!" He screams before adding. "Shut up, Gary!"
The pirates hurl themselves at the imperials, ending the barrage as they try to overwhelm with their mass or slip between the spacetroopers. The commander ignites his laser cutter, cutting through armor, flesh, and bone. A cohesive green beam flickers as he waves his arm, dismembering several pirates at once. Along the line of spacetroopers the laser cutters slice and sever. Dozens of pirates fall as more stun grenades flash among them but so many remain.
Troopers fire through the gaps between them, even as pirates lunge through. Skilled at close combat, the pirates freely wield dagger and sword alongside their blasters, only to discover these are not standard imperials. These soldiers survived Endor. They faced vicious beasts and savage Ewoks; close combat is nothing new to them. Fixed bayonets, rifle stocks, and pistol butts lay out pirates before they're blasted. A technician beats pirates with his hydrospanner while an astromech slices ankles with his buzzsaw. A scout trooper is impaled, only to shoot the pirate in the face. The imperial line staggers, then solidifies trapping both sides in a merciless melee.
A bright yellow flash is the only warning as flames consume dozens of pirates. An imperial laughs madly, his armor splashed with red, marking him as an incinerator trooper. Another spray cooks even more; their screams reach a fever pitch as they break and flee.
The commander shatters a junk droid with a punch, only to reveal another bulk labor droid. The sluggish droid swings its clawed hand and he blocks, slamming the droid with a punch before slicing it with cutting lasers. Neither attack seems to bother it.
At the same time, an enormous pirate champion shoves several fleeing pirates back into the battle. The pirate confronts a spacetrooper, ducks a cutting laser, and drives a vibrolance into the assault armor. His strike scars the metal plating. The spacetrooper swings twice but the pirate ducks them, his bladed spear dancing around him, as he strikes twice more. Stormtroopers fire, hitting other pirates as the powerful warrior evades them before striking the assault armor again and again. The spacetrooper slashes with his cutting laser again, searing several pirates. The champion jumps with his vibrolance in both hands and drives it straight through the spacetrooper's armor. Time slows as the Spacetrooper trembles and dies.
Seeing him fall, the pirates roar with approval. They surge forward, their courage restored in the face of such daunting enemies.
The incinerator trooper unleashes a burst of flame, forcing the huge pirate to dodge. With startling speed, he circles and lunges at the incinerator. The grand commander intercepts, blocking the vibrolance, and enduring the deep cut in his armored forearm.
The load lifter collides with the commander, knocking him back. The troopers behind him switch to lethal and blast the droid, causing it to tremble, but no more. It swings again forcing the commander to block, then a second time, to knock aside its claws.
Denied, the champion kicks the incinerator from the trooper's hands. He scrambles after it as more imperials focus on the pirate. Two shots miss but a third nails him in the chestplate, causing him to stumble back. Swanson shifts, splitting the gap left by the dead spacetrooper. More imperials join the line, holding the formation at great risk to their lives. In seconds the battle grows fiercer as both sides struggle to seize the advantage.
The Commander blocks a punch by the droid. When suddenly the pirate slashes his armor marking it. Next, the loader claws at him again. Facing both, he struggles to keep their deadly attacks at bay. They crack and slice his armored plates. The imperials around him try to help but the horde of pirates press the advantage alongside their champion.
The pirate stabs the commander twice more, alarms crying within his assault armor. He shoves away the load lifter at the moment the pirate lunges, swinging his lance overhead. The commander raises a robotic hand, catching the spear's heft. He ignites his cutting laser and severs the spearhead, falling between them. The pirate yanks with all his might, yet cannot overpower the assault armor. Still, the commander is left open to the bulk loader.
Bright yellow flame consumes both the champion and the droid; the incinerator trooper laughs like a madman. Somehow, Gary snatches up the fallen vibrolance blade. A viper appears overhead, blasting the bulk loader. A second probe droid slams into the flaming loader, knocking it back. The lumbering droid grabs the Viper and hurls it aside, crushing several pirates.
Somehow the champion remains standing, despite being on fire and screaming in agony. He yanks his broken spear irrationally until Gary drives the spearhead through his chest.
The pirates freeze. Another spacetrooper engages the loader, using a laser to slice off its leg. Seeing both their champion and load lifter fall breaks the pirates. Devastated, they flee to doors already shut. The imperials are merciless, stunning and killing them. A few escape to other levels, where maintenance hatches and hallways remain open, but only a fraction make it out.
A collective sigh passes among the imperials. Already weary from the battle on the Inevitable, many show signs of exhaustion, although not one says a word of complaint.
"They're not wearing suits," someone points out.
"Are they suicidally courageous, stupid, or insane?" Gary asks.
"I can't believe we're alive," a soldier remarks. "I can't believe we won."
"I miss Caizor," Swanson admits. "He would love this."
"What's our status?" The commander interrupts. "Report!"
"Six dead and maybe a dozen walking wounded," an army officer replies.
He turns to a space trooper, "What's the status of the damaged assault armor?"
"It functions but there's a hole where the lance pierced it."
The commander considers it, "Who has heavy armor training?"
An army trooper raises a hand, "I passed the training but I wasn't ever selected."
"Sir, you can't," another Spacetrooper grumbles. "He's not even a stormtrooper!"
"We need that armor operational," the Grand Commander counters. "Place the dead near the reactor for quick pickup later. Gary order the astromechs to plug in and open all the doors on the cruiser outside of this room. Then shut down the reactor, emergency power only."
"Sir!" A technician calls. "It will take hours to restart it!"
"Exactly. Everyone reload your magazines, the pirates may counterattack. They may try to blow the ship just to spite us. Close the door behind us once we leave. All wounded, plus the damaged assault trooper will remain behind. You, viper download the schematics for this vessel and display them. We're going to draw them out of hiding and destroy them."
"Sir," the stormtrooper officer hesitates. "We don't have enough troops. We need reinforcements from the Inevitable."
One of the two vipers hovering near the commander projects a schematic of the vessel, displaying the whole battlecruiser in a blue-tinged image.
"There!" The commander points. "That's our battleground."
"Sir, that's a wide corridor," the stormtrooper shakes his head and the scout trooper nods in agreement. "We'll be surrounded and cut down."
"I understand your fear but don't forget they lack space suits. That corridor has several bulkheads with airlocks down connecting hallways. Astromech, patch me into the intercoms."
The droid shakes its head, whistling at him.
Gary translates, " He says, it's too loud, no one would understand you. But there's a microphone just beyond the room outside."
"Good point, thank you!" He replies, moving towards the bulkhead door. It thumps and opens slowly, revealing a few lingering pirates. The imperials blast them on sight. Then the commander moves to a console and a small device pops out.
He takes it, "This is the Grand Commander. We're coming straight down the main corridor from engineering. If you scum want a fight; I dare you to meet us there!"
Vile curses and profane words spew from the comms but the commander signals the droid and it cuts off. Instantly, the comms are blasted with static as the droid jams them.
Bulkheads all along the corridor open and soon, then the thunderous reactor begins winding down. Lights dim, darkening every room and hallway. Red lights flash and faint yellow lights flicker, providing only the bare minimum needed to see. As trained, the imperials switch their helmets to low light, allowing them to see in all but absolute darkness.
"Sir," the scout trooper pauses. "I realize your plans are… unorthodox…."
"You told them where we're going," a spacetrooper accuses. "We can't fight them all."
"We won't," the commander replies. "Look here, we're going to pop an airlock and space them. I know I've asked a lot from you, from all of you. I won't order you, because this is a matter of survival. I'm asking you to follow me into this battle, for the Empire!"