General Scourge
stood on the command deck of his personal flagship the Dread Maiden, a massive star destroyer class vessel.
The bridge itself was divided into three levels; the gun deck, the command deck and the flight deck. The command deck being the main level, gun deck a sub level and flight deck an upper level. The port and starboard windows gave him a clear view of the forward hangars, massive and located on either side of the bridge. Each capable of easily housing one thousand starfighters and defended by turbolasers and heavy cannons on all sides.
The star projector was active, displaying the battlefield around him, working in tandem with ship sensors and on board projectors to provide a three-dimensional rendering of the battlefield in real-time. It showed his ship and the small flotilla that had made the initial jump from hyperspace, as well as a medium-sized Republic fleet on the far side of the battlefield. They had clustered their ships around an unmarked planet in a defensive formation. At a glance it might look like they were protecting the planet but Scourge knew better. They had positioned themselves like that to give their escape pods a safe landing zone on the planet below.
His forces, with a small number of Collective ships, had been dogging this Republic fleet for weeks. In the initial conflict he had been in command of his forces and a detachment from the Collective fleet, the Republic fleet had been decimated, suffering from a nearly fifty percent casualty rate. They could have easily destroyed them there but he had been ordered to allow their retreat and back them into a corner so the greater Collective fleet could join the battle.
"All forces are to remain in formation while we wait for the Collective fleet to arrive. We are at a heavy disadvantage without the small detachment of Collective ships supporting us. They rejoined their fleet to resupply before the coming battle. So we are on our own for the time being."
He allowed this news to jar his men out of any delusions they may have, for the past several weeks they had assaulted this Republic force with hit and run tactics. Some of the Republic forces would be out for blood and he would never send his men into battle blind. If they tried to seize the advantage before the Collective arrived, his forces would bear the brunt of that.
"But let us not forget that we are the ones who fill the nightmares of Republic soldiers. We have haunted their steps, dragging them to the void along the way!"
"We are DEMONS!"
"We are THE SWORD!"
"We are the Thrill of Death!"
He could feel the morale of his men growing stronger, bolstered by this reminder.
As he spoke the Collective fleet began to jump from hyperspace around his ships, further increasing his men's resolve.
"Be prepared to fight with all the ferocity you possess! Once again we will show the Collective that we are unmatched in battle! All forces, forward! You will not fail me!"
"Hhhhahhhhh!!!!"
A cheer rose up from among the ranks of his small fleet as they moved to engage the Republic forces with the Collective at their backs. While they moved forward his ships spread out to the port and starboard sides in a half circle formation and began long range bombardment of the Republic fleet, using their heavy cannons to keep pressure on them while they advanced. He could feel reverberations from the main cannon below his feet, each time it fired it sent vibrations through the bridge. The Republic didn't take this lying down, they returned fire, sending a barrage of laser fire back at them.
"Concentrate fire towards the center! Force them to scatter. There. Destroy it!"
Shouting above the din of their shields thumping under the assault, he used the star projector to mark a vessel for destruction. All fifteen of his ships attacked as one. They continued to advance toward the enemy while firing but before the Republic vessel could be brought down, one of his own ships, the Leviathan, was destroyed.
General Scourge observed the battle without apparent enthusiasm. Scowling as more of his ships were destroyed, it became obvious to him that something was wrong. Of the fleet he had traveled with, fifteen of the ships were his own, filled with soldiers loyal to him. There were close to fifty ships in the allied fleet of The Sith Collective and they had suffered the loss of five ships at this point and every one of them were his. He could feel a disturbance in the force around him so he began to concentrate on it, attempting to follow it to its source before he was interrupted.
"General!" One of his top lieutenants slid to a halt while saluting and awaiting permission to speak.
"Begin your report, Lieutenant." The General waved his hand impatiently as he spoke.
"Yes Sir!"
"Your apprentice, Darth Rena, requests assistance in the maintenance bay Sir. She reports an apparent problem with the shield generator. The Harrower and The Infinity both report problems with their shield generators as well. Sir!"
The lieutenant snapped back to attention as soon as he finished his report, keeping his eyes forward and his chin up with perfect discipline. He was an ambitious man but he was happy serving under General Scourge. He knew the best way to advance was through battle and Scourge was known for being a ruthless and efficient tactician. Therefore it was commonplace for The Collective to send him to deal with the most significant threats. He had seen more battles under his command than he had in his entire career with The Collective. They had put down rebellions, overthrown governments and destroyed entire colonies. It had been the General to give him the necessary commendations to advance to the rank of lieutenant. He was fiercely loyal to General Scourge as a result and very proud to serve under him.
"Lieutenant Mathis."
"Yes Sir!?"
He snapped back to attention while awaiting a response but the General only held up his hand. He looked to be deep in thought but Lieutenant Mathis could feel him reaching out with the force so he just remained at silent attention while he felt the power swirling around the General.
"Can you feel that lieutenant? The disturbance? I'm attempting to follow it to its source."
"I can feel your power Sir but nothing more. Maybe I can follow your lead by grasping at your energy…"
Lieutenant Mathis began concentrating on his commanding officer's energy signature, he knew it like the back of his hand having felt it in battle so many times.
"You are a fast learner, Lieutenant."
General Scourge had the smallest trace of a grin on his face but Mathis was too occupied to notice it.
"Sir.."
The lieutenant grunted in reply while sweating as he stretched his consciousness farther than he ever had, he then abruptly broke off his concentration and took a knee to catch his breath while observing the General.
"Lieutenant, did you receive Rena's report directly from her or from a subordinate?"
"I received the report directly from her, my lord." Lieutenant Mathis' response was immediate.
The General frowned upon hearing this,
"That's strange, I can't sense here in the maintenance hold. I smell betrayal, that would explain the sabotage to my ships. She could already be dead. We need to get to maintenance immediately and hope we're not too late!"
General Scourge took off at a run using the force to push the bridge doors open and rushing for the staircase that would lead him into the bowels of the ship. Lieutenant Mathis was right behind him but stuttered at the turn to the elevator.
The General used the force to pull him along and speak to him telepathically,
I can feel our shields beginning to flicker, we don't want to be in the elevator if they go down unexpectedly.
( represents telepathic communication)
The lieutenant was only slightly alarmed by the display of power and quickly continued towards the steps.
Wow, I had no idea the General could do that. I wonder if he can hear my thoughts too. General?
Lieutenant! Concentrate on the task at hand!
After this short exchange the lieutenant controlled his thoughts and kept his mind on his duty, it was un-fitting for him to let his mind wander. He had a job to do, assist his General in any way he could. He wasn't going to let some mind powers, or anything else for that matter, get in the way of his duty.
Pounding down the stairs as quickly as they could, the General's mind was soon occupied with a new threat. The walls and floors began to rattle and shake as large explosions hammered the starboard hull of the ship. The stairs below them were beginning to crumble as soon as their feet touched them, in seconds they were falling, surrounded by huge pieces of debris on all sides.
The hull of the ship broke away in several places as the explosions rocked the Dread Maiden and all on-board. The rushes of space reached out and tore most of the debris into the great abyss, attempting to take the two men as well.
As they fell, airlocks slammed shut trying to stop the suction from tearing the ship apart. The General reached out with his powers and pulled the lieutenant to him and wrapped them within a cocoon of power, protecting them from the worst of the debris as well as stopping them from being sucked into space. He brought them slowly to the ground, the event had knocked the lieutenant unconscious. Laying him near a pile of rubble the General looked around trying to figure out how far they had fallen into the ship. He looked above him but the upper levels of the staircase had been completely caved in. The pile of rubble near the lieutenant was blocking the door to the hallway but the staircase leading down was accessible and still partially intact. The General used his force powers to revitalize the lieutenant, it only took a small touch since his body had already begun to recover on its own.
Getting to his feet, lieutenant Mathis looked around him, seeing the ruins of the ship around him he turned towards his General.
"Thank you General! When I saw the starboard wall ripping apart I thought I was a goner for sure." Lieutenant Mathis snapped a salute and then dropped to one knee while putting his right fist over his heart.
The General brushed it off but was actually flattered, not that he wasn't used to inspiring absolute loyalty and/or fear but he had actually saved the lieutenant out of reflex, not priority.
"You got lucky lieutenant, the great abyss is much stronger than I am. You were close enough that I was able to keep you from being spaced. You're welcome."
The General moved towards the stairs, motioning lieutenant Mathis to follow him.
"Come on lieutenant, we need to find our way to maintenance, my powers won't save us in the event the Dread Maiden fails us entirely."
"General!" Lieutenant Mathis jumped to his feet and snapped a quick salute before following his General's lead as they made their way deeper into the ship.
