The Mutineers
of the
Far Orbit
(Final)
Although located in the Core and mapped, beaconed, colonized, and integrated into galactic trade routes millennia ago, the area known as Ringali Shell was not immune to the scourge of piracy.
At the birth of the Old Republic, the region had been integrated into two sectors (the Bormea Sector and the Darpa Sector) separated by the Ringali Nebula. In those days, sector governments could easily maintain order, benefiting from numerous agencies in charge of fighting piracy, not to mention the assistance of the Republic's fleet whose main base was a few hours away on Coruscant. However, the main reason for the rarity of piracy in this region was due to upstream factors. Indeed, pirates only appear in times of unrest, or in areas that are poorly patrolled or mapped. Civilized, policed regions are not conducive to piracy.
The Clone War, then the Rise of the Empire had marked the beginning of a new Golden Age of piracy.
The dismantling of the Galactic Holonet, the incessant conflicts, the uprisings, the brutal repressions, the planets ravaged by war, the populations deported and reduced to slavery, the economy diverted to the military had generated a lot of poverty, creating a climate conducive to crime. Entire sectors of the economy were affected, especially for the Alien populations and in the Rim. Of course, if you were a human living in the Core, especially if you were a strong supporter of the Empire or worked in the weapons industry, you might not feel that the galaxy had become poorer. But all wars bring their share of profiteers...
Poverty breeds despair. To survive, the inhabitants of many devastated planets resorted to solutions of despair: smuggling, piracy, and other illegal activities.
Although the Imperial Navy appeared as very concerned about piracy and the Imperial Propaganda communicated much about the repression of pirate gangs, the truth was that the Empire didn't care...
First, the widespread violence was feeding the Dark Side... and Palpatine would certainly not prevent enthusiastic volunteers from helping him transform what had been the Republic into a gloomy galaxy bleeding despair. Then, pirates, rebels, and other 'terrorists' helped him paradoxically to ensure his control of the Empire. These incessant attacks justified the obese Imperial military program and the propaganda did not hesitate to blame the Rebels for every problem. After all, if the Rebellion did not exist, the Empire would not need to spend so much on the army and would have more time and resources to devote to anti-piracy actions, right? So all the economic problems, all the violence, the commercial routes cut off, the hijacked freighters, even the speeder gangs that ravage the neighborhood... it's all the fault of the Rebels!
Join the Imperial Navy and bring a bright future of peace and security to the galaxy.
Obviously, the imperial propaganda had to work on a concrete foundation. Actual pirate ships had to be destroyed, real trials had to take place, and genuine pirate gangs had to be imprisoned. Not on a large scale, the Empire wanted the situation to stay the same. But the propaganda must derive maximum positive reputation benefits from a minimum commitment.
The Ringali Shell was chosen to test one of the new anti-piracy units simply because the Bormea Sector and the Darpa Sector were located in the Core, the most important part of the galaxy (from the Imperial point of view), and were only a few hours away from the Imperial Center, which facilitated the work of the propaganda services installed on Coruscant.
In the Ringali Shell, the pirate's paradise was along the Hydian Way. This important trade route passed near a gas giant called Jova, from which tibanna gas was extracted. The gas ships were prime targets for pirates. In addition, numerous asteroids were orbiting in this area. This great barrier (remains of a planetary system destroyed by the supernova that had created the Ringali Nebula eons ago) was exploited by miners who extracted the metals present in these asteroids. Therefore, this belt also housed a well-organized band of pirates. It used the natural maze of wandering rocks to hide.
The Leprechaun was a Strike-class cruiser. This ship was patrolling near the asteroid belt when the cargo Diana issued an S.O.S. Hit in her forward module by a proton torpedo, the ship was preparing for an emergency landing on one of the large planetoids that orbited in this sector.
Immediately, the spacefighters' pilots began to run in the corridors. Lieutenant Camille Myria has already harnessed herself in the cockpit of a prototype TIE/ad starfighter (1). In the narrow but functional hangar deck of the Leprechaun, a dozen TIE/in (better known as 'TIE Interceptors') were preparing for battle. It was the 20/ 204 Tiger Fury squadron. Elite pilots, among the best in the Empire.
"This is Tango Fox Six, ready to go".
The TIE Avenger, floating slightly above the metal floor of the large belly hangar, came to rest two rows behind the leader. Behind the atmospheric retention field appeared a landscape literally from another world. The rocky circus formed by an ancient meteorite impact was lit up by the unbearable clarity of the sun. In the cosmic void, without an atmosphere to diffuse it, light and heat struck directly a landscape of steep rocks, centered on a high piton. However, in the shade, temperatures were close to absolute zero.
Camille questioned her combat computer as the pilots left the Leprechaun one by one. The Diana was a classic container ship. Essentially, it was a pressurized aft module with thrusters, flight deck, and crew quarters. The front elements were all similar, a steel truss around a central axis, supporting three arms arranged in a triangle. Each of them carried two containers.
A long and wide trench indicated Diana's crash site. The forward of the heavy cargo was now a cluster of twisted metal. The rear module, however, appeared to be in better condition. The flight deck windows were still illuminated.
As the Leprechaun stopped vertically from the wreck to deploy a translucent umbilical cord to her access hatch, Camille heard the voice of her superior in her helmet's headphones.
"All Tiger Fury, this is Captain Jaru. Control reports fast-approaching echoes, likely from pirate fighters. Get ready for battle!"
"They're not gonna fucking attack us, are they?"
"They must want war."
The voice of the captain cut off this beginning of a conversation.
"TF-3 and TF-4 shut up! This is not a war just a police operation."
"Yeah, and how do we get the cuffs on them?"
Jaru sighed and then gave the signal for the attack. The screen integrated into the canopy of the TIE Avenger frames in red points approaching: pirates. Camille Myria - alias TF-6- dived on an enemy aircraft. The missiles she launched were deflected by decoys and jamming, but she locked on to a pirate's CloakShape fighter (2). Her four L-s9.3 laser guns spat out green light projectiles. Struck head-on, the enemy disintegrated in melted debris in an orange explosion.
All around, a brutal melee saw the fighters chasing each other. The filibusters were numerically superior to the imperial pilots. However, the latter were supported by the cruiser's DCA. Immobilized, the Strike Cruiser was an easy target and her shield was shaken by missile explosions and laser fire.
However, after only a few minutes of engagement, having suffered heavy losses, the pirates dispersed in all directions. Fearing a trap, Captain Jaru ordered not to pursue them. Then, a second wave of starfighters appeared on the radar. They were identified as Z-95 Headhunter and CloakShape, escorting two Phoenix Hawk Light Pinnaces. Again, the two sides clashed in a deluge of green and red laser beams. Only one pirate was destroyed during the first pass. Camille plunged into the pursuit of the opposing starfighters who had just passed her and rushed to the crash site of the Diana. The ground and cosmos swirled outside her cockpit as the fighter she pursued maneuvered and veered to prevent her from locking on. But Camille followed every move, sometimes sending a wave of green rays to chase her prey. She persisted until the enemy fighter disintegrated into a rain of metal fragments. Having eliminated an opponent, she leaned over her screens, looking for another target... and immediately went hunting. She achieved one victory after another, but sometimes things didn't go as smoothly, and she became the target, pursued by multiple pirates. Camille then dove into the canyons of the satellite, weaving between the rocks to evade her pursuers. More than once, only the strength of her shields (a rarity for a TIE) saved her life.
The fight continued for a long time, but the pirates were no match, they had heavy losses and fled.
At the end of her first real fight, Camille was an ace, having shot down seven pirate fighters and two shuttles.
The privateer frigate Far Orbit was moving slowly within a planetary system without any interest, no habitable planet, and no mineral or gas resources profitable enough to justify their exploitation.
A second Nebulon-B frigate (the New Star) was nearby as well as a rebel CR-90 corvette and a squadron of Y-Wings.
Shiraz rose from the command chair when he heard the bridge door open. Escorted by two mutineers, a woman had just entered. She was dressed in the brown uniform and cape typical of the Rebel Alliance officers. Walking beside her was Major Cet Willak, the Far Orbit's Alliance observer; he had probably reported to his superior along the way.
Gallantly, the pirate bowed.
"My name is Shiraz, first mate of the privateer frigate Far Orbit, welcome aboard, madam... madam?"
The woman with grey hair and a wrinkled face answered with a military salute.
"I am Colonel Gevona of the Alliance for the Restoration of the Republic. Thank you for your welcome." She raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Is it with you that I must discuss the payment for the delivery of the New Star to the Alliance? I thought I should discuss this with your commander."
Shiraz smiled under his helmet.
"You're right but..."
A voice was suddenly heard, an angry cry barely muffled by a partition.
"Ishtar, answer my question!"
Like many others, the Mandalorian pirate turned towards the door of the captain's office. They could still hear voices, but the argument was no longer loud enough to understand what was being said. Remembering that he was speaking to an emissary of the Rebel Alliance, Shiraz turned to her and said, "Oh, excuse me. As you have noted, Captain Vedij is being held up by a... a disciplinary problem. I will inform him of your arrival."
As he sat back in the command chair to use the comlink built into the armrest, Shiraz laughed silently. To make Ishtar obey, giving her an explosive necklace was better than shouting at her. Everything that was said to her went in one ear and out the other.
Hands crossed behind her back, pouting, eyes sparking with barely contained rage, Ishtar came out of Vedij's office and turned around to kick in the door that was closing before sighing superciliously.
"One should not be surprised that this galaxy goes downstream, given how one is thanked when offering a helping hand," she says, pushing back behind her shoulder one of her black and red pigtails.
All the crew members had watched her tantrum with amusement some held back from laughing.
Shiraz shook his head exasperatingly.
"Ishtar you have sneaked on a shuttle to participate in a boarding party. Don't talk about it like you stole a cookie from the kitchen."
She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head, her stubborn facial expression revealing her refusal to admit her wrongdoing.
Shiraz changed his angle of approach.
"Ishtar, you're 14 years old. The captain is worried. He doesn't want you to get hurt or worse. Do you understand?"
Great Mandalore... Why is he obliged to... to... 'play dad' with an unbearable kid? ... Especially with this overpowered arrogant brat who did only what she wanted?
But this time he had hit the right target with his last sentence.
Ishtar had not changed her posture, but she did not seem quite so sure of herself. A large drop of sweat appeared on her temple.
"I saved his life" finally says the smug space goddess.
"And I'm sure the captain is grateful," replied Shiraz in his most diplomatic tone. "That said... it's not that I'm indifferent to your problems... but I have a ship to command. Get the hell out! Scram! Buzz off!"
...before I send you to the brig... from where you will come out five minutes later after hypnotizing the jailer... no, bad idea. They had only one psychiatrist droid on board! He could not afford that more hands to think they were crazy because they had put in prison 'hallucinations' while the real Ishtar wandered around whistling.
Ishtar suddenly turned and smiled... an adorable smile by the way... and Shiraz was suddenly on his guard because it was when she opted for cajolery that the strange girl was the most frightful.
"Shiraz, about that, Stabbel wants to talk to me." She scratched her temple with a brooding face. "Finally... talk... he 'summoned' me. Me? The great Goddess of Space?"
"The chief gunner?"
"Yes, he... and I think he also wants to yell at me. Could you tell him that... I'm sick... or that you give me another job to do?"
"No, he's right to yell at you. You gave up your post while we were on red alert and because of you an artilleryman has a meeting with an MD-0 droid for a psychiatric diagnosis."
The legends of Mandalore told how the Jedi witches played with the spirits of the proud warriors of his lineage. He always smiled, not believing it at all. Legends magnified the truth.
Bad news, there were real witches in this insane universe and their powers surpassed even what was told in the legend of old.
"Please?"
Great Mandalore for what crime was he punished? Had he committed a crime so horrible that he could not be forgiven? Well, he was indeed a pirate, wanted all over the galaxy but... he always respected the Code. Why did he have to play daddy with this monster who looks like an adorable little girl?
"I said no. You got yourself into this situation all by yourself; find your way out of it. Let that be a lesson to you in the future."
Dhas Vedij escorted Colonel Gevona back to her shuttle and then returned to the bridge with Major Willak. While Shiraz was reviewing the orders of the Far Orbit, he asked him how the discussions with the emissary of the Rebel Alliance had gone.
"Pretty good," replied the captain. "The Alliance has given us 2.25 million credits for the capture of the New Star. It also gives us the TIEs, shuttles, and escape pods."
Traditionally, privateers' loot was equal to half the price of the catch, as determined by the body that had issued the letter of mark and reprisal. Nevertheless, the privateers had the right to keep a part of the loot (of course deducted from their share). The privateers had the privilege of being the first to choose their share; the sponsor had to be satisfied with what they left.
"It's a good price," said Shiraz.
Unfortunately, the New Star had only one squadron of TIEs, half the standard staffing. An unpleasant surprise, of course, but they could not change it.
"It is time now to deal with the second part of the plan. We are now the imperial frigate New Star, I am Captain Conar, and we have a convoy to escort... to a trap prepared by the Rebel Alliance."
Shiraz saluted militarily with exaggeration and much irony.
"Yes, sir! I am delighted to have joined the Imperial Navy. Let's make this day an everlasting glory day for the Empire."
The next day, the Strike-class Leprechaun cruiser emerged from light speed in a star system noted on maps only by an alphanumeric designation.
Immediately, the Tiger Fury squadron deployed to patrol the cosmos and 'sniff' the 12 medium transports that moved at reduced speed, emitting distress messages.
On the frequency used by civilian starships, Captain Jaru spoke.
"This is T.F.1 to all civilians. You are now under the protection of the Imperial Navy. Over."
In the earphones of Camille Myria (alias T.F.6), a nervous voice answered.
"This is Freighter Gravan Dawn, Captain Analos Kirvil, we thank the Imperial Navy for their intervention. Over."
Jaru's roaring voice answered immediately.
"This is T.F.1, it's normal. Your message mentioned a pirate attack!"
"Yes, we were ambushed..."
Captain Analos Kirvil began to tell his story. The twelve medium transports (mainly Mark I Bulk Transports and Galofree Medium Transport loaded with a mix of various goods for 180,000 tons and a market value of 340 million credits) had gathered at Brentaal for a journey along the Hydian Way to the Corporate Sector... so, a long journey of half a galaxy crossing areas plunged in chaos by the Galactic Civil War. For their protection, the freighters had to be placed under the protection of a Nebulon-B escort frigate, the New Star.
The New Star had arrived as planned, and none of the captains of the freighters had noticed anything abnormal in this ship or her commander's behavior.
Captain Conar transmitted a program for their navcomputers, which was the normal procedure... except that the ships had come out in this star system away from all stellar routes. In addition, a second frigate Nebulon B, two Corellian Corvettes, and... three squadrons of Rebel's Y-Wings were also present at the point of re-emergence. They had fallen into an ambush and the New Star ordered them to surrender, revealing at that time that she was a Rebel privateer.
"... they took all our cargo and then left," concluded Kirvil.
"Wounded, dead?" asked Jaru.
"No, they were very correct. And then we didn't try to be heroes. Our shipments are insured, and defending it that's not our job."
Camille grimaced at what the cargo captain was insinuating.
... defending the convoys was your job and... you screwed up.
The same day, Corulag, the capital of the Bormea Sector.
Governor Zafiel Snopps was not the Moff of the Bormea Sector in office. His superior, the Moff Jansom Caglio was a quiet man, considered by all to be harmless, and who spent no less than one-tenth of his time in his palace at Corulag, preferring to be seen at the High Society parties of the Imperial Center. Snopps was the one who did all of Caglio's work.
Skinny, the forehead early bald but still with black hair without any white strands, Snopps had a plain face and dark calculating eyes.
Unlike many imperial politicians, Snopps was not a fanatic who wanted to convert the worlds he was in charge of to the emperor's 'vision'. He was an administrator only concerned with efficiency. Corulag was the headquarters of many megacorporations like Aether Hypernautics, Danth Artifice Limited, Gwain Spices, Gowix Computers, Sienar Fleet Systems, and Sienar Intelligence Systems. The planet also hosted the Corulag Imperial Military Academy which trained both soldiers and officers of the Army and the Navy.
Also, the largest of Corulag's moons was a Navy training site. Snopps' role was to keep all these small people reasonably content with the Empire, satisfied with their fate, and above all to keep them productive, usually playing the role of an arbitrator when a conflict arose between two of these organizations. The governor preferred to interfere as little as possible.
Zafiel Snopps looked out of his office window at the Corulag urban landscape, with its Duracrete and Transpasteel canyons. Sky-cars and airspeeders formed lines of vehicles that crossed at different heights. Everywhere, flat holograms floated along the facades, omnipresent advertisements, recalling that the world lived mainly on trade.
Although Corulag was not a planet-city like the Imperial Center, it was a heavily urbanized world, like most of the Corewords.
The governor turned to the assistant who read him the report sent by the local office of the Imperial Security Bureau.
"So, to sum up, the Rebels have two Nebulon-B and use them for piracy operations."
"Yes, sir."
Snopps thinks for a minute or two while rubbing his lips.
"One of these Nebulon-B's usurped the role of the New Star, do you know what happened to that frigate?"
"Alas, no sir." The assistant checked his datapad. "No news for three days, the G.H.Q of the Navy at the Imperial Center has been trying to contact this ship since yesterday without getting a response."
"So we have to assume that the Rebels captured the New Star. Has another Nebulon-B frigate recently disappeared?"
The assistant again consulted his datapad.
"Nothing since the Far Orbit mutiny."
"So the second Nebulon-B can only be the Far Orbit."
"Sir, you're forgetting another possibility."
Zafiel Snopps frowned.
"Which one?"
"The Rebels may have obtained the plans for the Nebulon-B frigate. Both ships would then be copies manufactured by the Rebellion."
The governor turned to the cityscape beyond the bay window, not really looking at the speeders and skyscrapers. He was meditating. After a long pause, he spoke again.
"Don't communicate your doubts to the Imperial Center. For now, at least. Let's not make a big deal about it, it's bad for business. Let the matter not be exposed. I do not want panic, no big debates at the holovid. However, I want you to devote more resources to the fight against piracy and the Rebellion. Most importantly, I need information; I want to know where these two frigates came from. Ask for help from the nearby Sectors, especially the Moff Jander Graff of the Darpa Sector."
The rebellion was a poorly equipped and poorly armed group, completely unable to manufacture ships in large quantities. That's why they would inevitably be defeated. Ten ships could not defeat a thousand; it was a matter of simple mathematics. Snopps didn't believe that the Rebels could obtain plans of imperial ships and make their own copies. His assistant probably had too much imagination. It was counterproductive to scare everyone with alarmist weeping. All the governor would receive in return was the contempt of his peers and the defiance of his superiors.
Far from the Coreworld, in the Outer Rim Territories, the Vergesso Belt was a 250,000-kilometer-long Asteroid Belt well-known by the spacers of the Bajic Sector.
Nevertheless, Ororo Transportation, a freight company had set up a base on these asteroids... one could wonder why a perfectly honest transport company could have settled into what was by definition an obstacle to navigation.
The Ororo Transportation had excellent reasons for moving away from any unwelcome visitor. Officially, the base of the Vergesso asteroids was a depot for merchant ships and a shipyard to maintain and repair them. In reality, the 'merchant ships' were smugglers. Indeed, 'Ororo Transportation' was only legal coverage for the local branch of the Tenloss Syndicate.
The Tenloss Syndicate's current opulence was due to spice trafficking in the Bajic Sector, even supplanting the Black Sun in this part of the galaxy.
This Crime Syndicate had succeeded in avoiding any interference from the Imperials by... paying considerable sums to the 'social works' of the Grand Moff Kintaro, administrator of this sector.
In the notoriously corrupt and evil Galactic Empire, getting bribed by a Criminal Syndicate was seen with great indulgence. However, Grand Moff Kintaro was likely dying strangled by the Dark Lord of the Sith... The business of the asteroids' base was not restricted to 'innocent' drug trafficking.
The Tenloss Syndicate was supplying the Rebel bases in the Bajic Sector and providing technical assistance to the Alliance, opening its Shipyard to damaged Calamari cruisers and building X-wing fighters and Y-wing bombers. And as Kintaro turned a blind eye to everything that was going on in the Vergesso asteroids it made him an accomplice... he was guilty of high treason and association with the Rebellion!
What! Wait a minute...The noble and heroic Rebel Alliance associated with criminals?
And yes, of course, it tarnished a little the image that we had of this idealistic guerrilla. But the real world was not like teenage dreams filled with heroism where the good guys always won by saving the widow and orphan. Very few legal transport agencies dared to ensure the supply of the Rebel bases. The Alliance was after all a rebellion against the legal government of the galaxy! And since the Rebels themselves were constantly short of transport ships and even supplies, it was necessary to get both somewhere. The Tenloss Syndicate, contacted by the Rebellion, had immediately agreed to sell supplies, and weapons, even accepting to transport them all over the galaxy... The Syndicate had even gone so far as to offer support from its bases and facilities.
This was much more than a mere pecuniary interest, the Tenloss Syndicat stood up for the Alliance for the Restoration of the Republic.
Nevertheless, criminal syndicates were not a particularly idealistic bunch of people...
To understand this strange choice, it was necessary to understand the 'real politics' of the crime syndicates of the galaxy. Some of these organizations tolerated each other; there were agreements, reserved areas of activity, and territories that were respected or not by other groups. Because some gangs were fighting underground wars whether it was for the control of a territory coveted by a rival, or to obtain market shares in a lucrative business such as slave trafficking, smuggling of weapons, or dealing spice.
The main rival of the Tenloss Syndicate was the Black Sun.
The Black Sun was in business with the Galactic Empire... and had therefore completely cut off its rival from any contract with the Imperials.
The rest was easy to understand, the enemy of my enemy's friend is my friend...
Support the Rebellion was pulling the Black Sun Down.
Nim Zanti was a tall woman with bobbed hair, dressed in very strict attire that resembled men's clothing. The only feminine touch was her heavy circular earrings.
She managed the base installed by the Tenloss Syndicate in the Vergesso III asteroid belt. The base, carved out of a ferronickel asteroid, was home to 85,000 people. It was a unique place where Rebel soldiers, pirates, and smugglers crossed paths. The asteroid served as a Shadowport for pirates and smugglers affiliated with the Tenloss Syndicate to resell their cargoes and make repairs, while also functioning as an Alliance base.
The tall woman stood still in front of a Transpasteel observation bay that was open to an immense cavity carved into the asteroid, which served as a shipyard occupied by a Nebulon-B frigate.
The former imperial vessel floated in the void, surrounded by repair droids that were cutting her armor plates to access her thrusters or disassembling her systems to study them.
After observing her team at work, she turned to a Verpine engineer standing behind a console and asked, "Where are you on the New Star study?"
The LOM protocol droid that accompanied the insectoid translated the engineer's ultrasonic screams into a comprehensible response. "Master V'rsssssh believes that it will take another three days to complete the scan of the ship and the studding of her key systems."
"Can you tell me how long it will take to restructure the shipyards to start producing knock-offs?" She inquired.
"Three months at the most!" came the reply.
Nim Zanti had one of her rare smiles. "Soon, the Rebel Alliance would have hundreds of these ships. It would be necessary to modify the hangar decks and equip them with more powerful tractor beams, and completely change their conformation so that they can be used by X-wings and Y-wings, but it was not an obstacle."
Of course, she would produce all the Nebulon-B that the Alliance would ask and even provide them with the blueprints of this starship since it was the contract that the Tenloss Syndicate had made with the Rebels. But nothing prevented her from producing some frigates for pirates willing to pay, right?
Author's note: I pity poor Shiraz. But I had a lot of fun writing this part of the chapter. With this episode ends the first "course" of the Far Orbit. And one could say it went very well. They captured a full convoy and a frigate. You now know how the Nebulon-B frigates (yet ships originally made by the Empire) have become one of the most widely used Rebels' starships.
The next course of the Far Orbit will have a target of an even higher level... nothing less than the capture of Coh Veshiv... one of Palpatine's advisors.
(1) This fighter is an evolution of the TIE Advanced X1 prototype that Darth Vader piloted at the Battle of Yavin. The main difference between the two fighters is that the TIE/ad is that it looks much more like the TIE Interceptor, having the same notched solar panels with four laser guns and a classic ball-shaped cockpit as nearly all fighters of the TIE's line. Nevertheless, the TIE/ad is equipped with a hyperdrive as well as shields and even missiles/torpedoes launchers. The TIE/ad will be eventually produced in a small amount under the name of 'TIE Avenger'.
(2) Kuat Systems Engineering's CloakShape fighter was first an atmospheric one but it has been adapted to space combat. This manta ray-like starfighter was introduced during the end of the Republic era. It's a slow and sturdy starfighter with two fire-linked light laser cannons, a dual concussion missile launcher, no shield, and no hyperdrive.