[Command Bridge, Command Deck, V-series, Vigilant-class Star Destroyer All Seeing Eye, Taskforce Vigilant Wanderer, Imperial Fifth Fleet, Unnamed System, Wreck-site Outbound Flight, Utegetu Nebula, Unknown Regions]

"Intensify forward firepower and shielding!" I commanded, ordering the focused firepower of the fleet to be brought to bear upon the charging enemy "Reverse drive thrust! Max burn! Make distance with the enemy!"

The enemy badly wished to get into melee range with us…

'That I must deny then, if one can' went through my mind, doing quick mental calculations that indicated that it would be a losing race even as powerful real-space engines roared to life in unison on the fleet. But it bought time, even if only in seconds or minutes, whereupon the firepower of my vessels could be brought to their true effectiveness. Range was a strength of the Imperial Fleet's firepower, along with the added computational power of this very starship, and even if we had to momentarily surrender our prize the need to move was paramount in this battle.

Under the blazing sunlight of this unnamed star system an Imperial Fleet's engines roared to life, the great turblolasers turning and spitting forth fiery destruction as gravity twisted and warped in response. Railguns from my flagship, and from the two great tubes of the Hammerhead II heavy cruisers as they belched forth ionised energy in their wakes, mingled with missile trails as they streaked through the void. My frigates and gunships moved with my heavy corps, with the Chiss heavy ships, but already could see the flaws exploited as the extra-galactic invaders wielded gravitional distortions in ways I'd not expected even my knowledge. Shields were torn at, ripped away from starships as they raced forward, silent and invisible within the Force, metal buckled and bent even as fleshy starships was burned away.

One Lancer frigate died, then another, even two bulbous, acid and gravity spewing space beast was annihilated in response by firepower that overwhelmed their gravity defences. Then another, and another, as their starfighters moved into a kill-box was my centre retreated faster than our flanks, the fleet curving around and with them. It was a deadly dance, our pre-deployed pods behind still, a secondary fallback zone that I drew our foes into, feeling the deaths of crews, felt the race of my soldiers unto gunships to escape the wreck-site…

Even the confusion and fears of the Chiss Force Users, faced with a foe with no presence in the Force…

"ADMIRAL! NEW EMERGENCES! THERE ARE…"

…and that was a problem as another force emerged on our rear-starboard-upward flank. For not only was my foe invisible to my Force senses, they also were proving incredibly difficult to detect in emergences from hyperspace till they emerged almost upon us. Millenia of development had gone into such research, something it seemed the Vong had access to, but their own drives and technology was divergent enough that we were struggling with it.

But it was a minor problem compared to the enemy attempting to mousetrap us, and that our salvage ships were no longer protected at the rear of our formation, but, like my retreat flagship at the van again. They wanted us dead, and the confidence displayed by the suicidal charge of the first ships made sense as panic flared…

Then was ruthlessly squashed as I drew upon myself, time slowing it seemed, events now in sharp focus as I scanned the displays, at the new mass of icons and distortions. At the feelings of shock and fear within bridge crews, at the deaths suffered, and that would be suffered. Looking forward in my minds eye, and aware there could be yet more. Emotion could not guide me here as I hardened my heart, taking a breath. In. Out. Focused, stepping forward, hands on railing, voice enhanced, imbued with power.

"Fleet to form up on the All Seeing Eye! Formation Shar-Nok-Dor! Reverse drives, full power forward thrust!" my words echoed out, in the Force, a Command to Action just short of a Battle Meditation, orders taking place even as they issued, even as they passed down the chain of command as fear was squashed "All TIE fighters are to land immediately, wherever they can! Bombers to conduct runs on designate Enemy Formation-Two with full droid-fighter escorts, then gun and run! Sync with pod-launches! FORWARD SOLDIERS OF THE ARMY OF LIGHT! OF MY FIFTH FLEET! STAND TO YOUR GUNS! DO YOUR DUTY! FOR THE EMPIRE!"

Then turned my gaze to a young officer, motioning "I need maintained visual on the Outbound Flight!"

I didn't need to hear the response, nor deal with the starship being boarded by minor enemy forces as we now halted our retreat, then suddenly charged forward instead. Those ones ran into the massed light turbolaser and missile schiltron systems of my fleet, torn asunder even as another command sent swarms of swarmer droids after their biological equivalent. I hadn't committed my TIEs yet, and sought to avoid doing so now, but many died even without, and would die, as I turned my fleet, reorienting it, and shifting my own to the van, flanked by Hammerhead-II's as the 'gunboat' of my V-series took up the rear. Shields shuddered and buckled, the All Seeing Eye hammered, as if a ship at sea, or an aerospace craft in severe turbulence as the enemy sought to grapple with us.

It was a terrible thing to see, to feel, my Apprentice feeling it too, but as I trained her, as I instructed here and now, she went about doing what needed to be done as I gestured and commanded. Sending Captain Komad to ensure the Chiss followed us, or died, and that orders went out to any vessel that was disabled and compromised to see to their duty. One such vessel, the Argosy Dawn, died as the crew self-destructed their engines at my command, time both a slow-moving horror and also racing by of precious seconds I gathered myself. As power built and began to roar within, and around me, drawing a circle of power and symbols with the Force, my eyes upon the battle, my senses drawing in death and lost souls.

Trap me, would they?

Deny us needed knowledge?

Fine. There was always a price to such things. I was the Emperor's Wrath, a title they knew I possessed…

And it was no empty title.

My droid-fighters were slaughtered. Missiles were swatted aside or ion-based ones useless. My bombers died, some of them, but their formations through, enemies dying before the surviving craft burned hard to get away and race to hyperspace. My formation slammed into the till now advancing enemy, the Star Destroyer bucking as damage tore across the hull, alarms screaming of breaches. But it held. Shields reignited. Mass and momentum breaking enemy starships as firepower was focused on breaching a path as the Force began to growl and writhe as my Power began to manifest.

They had denied me my prize. They had slain my soldiers. They thought they had won.

"/*($%^^%$!" words meant nothing, yet everything, by Will and the Word as light and darkness engulfed my body as command went to my good twi'lek Captain and my wise Apprentice. Golden light shimmered around my, motes of sparkling light mixing with a cloak of shadows that flickered and moved, as the Force shuddered, wishing to resist My Will "&*^&£U%&%&£ ^*^*^!"

My hands drew forth gems from my pockets, crushing them to dust within my armoured hands, the stored power releasing and filling me, exploding as an unseen, unfelt, force for the crews and the ships. Yet erupt it did, a Font of Power, as the Force roared, a storm on the horizon, a shaking, shuddering earthquake, as the sea was torn away from the coastline. My arms rose, my words harsh and focused, my eyes upon foes and upon the titanic wreck of the great prize to be denied to the Empire this day…denied to any and all. Scrolls came forth, burning to ashes as the unseen, unheard, winds began to scream. I heard and felt metal began to shriek in agony, though no such thing was occurring…

Here, on my starship.

But on screens the great colony ship began to shudder, to twist and bend, even as my fleet charged forth, my crews dying as they smashed through the enemy, hyperdrives charging. Charging or ships dying in coronas of flame and duty as grim orders were followed. Chiss Force Users on ships shuddered, or starred towards me, secrets I was loath to grant knowledge of, but my task was here, my Duty clear. I reached out, the visible distress of the might starship but a distraction, a sign of other forces at work as I Wished Upon a Star and made my Wish Reality. Reality fought. The Force roiled.

Yet I reached out, seeing and feeling, looking deep into the bowels of the vessel, even as metal corridors crushed Force-blank beasts within, or torn up vents to space. Into the darkness. Into the gloomy light of still active, if weakly, engines. Then reignited them. Commanded them to Life once more. There was battle aboard my ship, invaders within, as blast doors slammed down, as defences and security teams activated here and on other vessels as the enemy vessels fell away to our sides, or chased us at the rear. But, right now, my eyes were upon the great wreck reborn!

Old engines screamed to life once more! Flames flaring into the void of space!

Mass began to….move!

Metal screamed, parts sheering off, the damage too great, but the great vessel, my weapon, pulsed with arcane symbols torn into its metallic flesh even as my mind and body screamed in pain. But such was the path of a mage, of power, as the impossible was made possible by Will, by Word, by Ritual. For I drew forth this weapon into the enemy ranks. Their prize. My prize. Nobody's prize.

"INTO HYPERSPACE! NOW!" I roared out, my hands rising, them slamming together, vision swimming, but the power present, my task done. Now it was merely holding things together by my will as locks and safeguards on a distant vessel were torn loose. If there had been a crew they could have stopped it. There were clearly Vong aboard, but likely few, and none were counteracting my efforts. None that could as I saw/felt/heard fires erupt in the depths, heard alarms I should not scream to life after decades of inactivity. A dead bridge came alive, but only bodies saw the alarms and alerts. Buttons untouched.

Our engines flared, space distorting, then I drew my hands apart as my fleet, what was left it, fled to hyperspace…

And in its wake, a small, bright, star looked as it was born for a but a moment…