TFTC-TC 9: History of the SSSD Sovereign

General Information

Title: The History of the SSSD Sovereign

Number of Missions: 5

Original Upload Date: 2025-07-11

Author: Jagged Fell III & RogueWing

The Sovereign's Grace

Readme Background

Some of my favorite stories in the XWA database were written and made by RogueWing. He graciously has given me permission to remaster his battles into TFTC and I have chosen to remaster XWA-TC 24: The History of the SSSD Sovereign.

This battle tells the story of how the flagship of the Emperor's Hammer came into the possession of Grand Admiral Ronin.

Script

Mission 1: Enemy Golan Station

Commander's Briefing

Grand Admiral Ronin sat in his command suite aboard the Super Star Destroyer Avenger studying the movements of the Rebels, or as they were now calling themselves the New Republic. Ronin was elevated to his rank by the hand of the Emperor mere months before the disastrous Battle of Endor, which itself was less than a year in the past. He ruled over a splinter of the galaxy's true government, the Empire, that he had by force of arms carved out for the prosperity of all in the far Outer Rim, in the Alpha Sector of the Minos Cluster.

Recently, the Rebels have positioned a Golan Defense Station at one of the major waypoints of a hyperspace lane leading into his, the Emperor's Hammer's, territory, and are threatening to disrupt the movements of his forces. This can not be allowed to continue. He calls the captain of his flagship to report to his chamber so that they may begin to remedy the situation.

Tactical Briefing Text

The Rebels have a Golan Station Outpost in a critical hyperspace lane. The decision has been made to eliminate it.

The SSD Avenger will hyper in and deploy fighters. Alpha will fly cover while Beta disables the Golan. Psi Squadron will be standing by if you need them.

The Avenger will take out any capital ships. Before the Golan is destroyed, we will send an assault team over to capture it's computer core. Keep the fighters off of them.

The information in the core will be decoded here on the Avenger when the mission is over.

Good luck.

Radio Messages

<Avenger> There it is. Go get them!

<Beta 1> Beta Squadron launching now. Heading for the Golan

<Psi 1> Psi Squadron launching. We'll take the fighters

<Avenger> All pilots, be aware they are launching fighters now

<Avenger> The Golan's been disabled. Our assault teams are launching now. Cover them from the fighters

<Avenger> The Freedom is down

<Avenger> Destiny is toast. Be sure and stay away from its wreckage

<Avenger> We got the core. FInish off the fighters and help take down the Golan

<Avenger> Victory

<Avenger> Protect the shuttle!

Victory Briefing

Grand Admiral Ronin stared at the captain of the Avenger, who stood before him.

"They're planning what?" he asked in disbelief.

His captain repeated, "It looks as if they are planning on capturing a highly placed Imperial official. Their computers don’t have the target name, but everything else is in the file that we captured. Under the circumstances, I thought it best to bring this to your attention directly, my lord."

Grand Admiral Ronin nodded, "Thank you. I will see to it from here. Continue with your sweep of the area."

He dismissed the captain and turned to his terminal to begin reviewing the captured file. It took him only a few minutes to determine who the target of the Rebel's mission was, the former Grand Vizier Sate Pestage. He had recently fallen out of favor on Coruscant and was on his way to retirement on the world of Byss, deep in the Inner Core, now. But only a few of the most highly placed officers knew his route. Grand Admiral Ronin was one of them and that route was the one the Rebel's plans included.

He knew that if Pestage was to fall into enemy hands, his knowledge of the Empire could be their undoing. He called up a map of the galaxy with points of light representing the Emperor's Hammer Fleet. Only one ship was close enough to be able to stop them. But, another one could possibly arrive in time to assist. He hoped it was enough.

He began making the orders that should put a stop to the Rebel's plan...

Mission 2: Save Pestage

Commander's Briefing

The captain of the Modified Frigate Imperator had his orders, to save the former Grand Vizier, Sate Pestage, from a Rebel plot to capture him. The Imperator’s sister ship, the Ardent, was hoped to arrive in time to help, but it was on the Imperator, and its pilots to turn aside the Rebel's initial plans for the deposed Imperial leader.

The Imperator raced through the tumultuous hyperspace corridors here in the Inner Core, hoping to be in time.

Tactical Briefing Text

We have learned that the Rebels are planning on trying to kidnap the former Grand Vizier on his way to Byss.

Grand Admiral Ronin has ordered us to proceed at top speed to help his ship.

We must not allow him to fall into enemy hands. His knowledge of the Empire could be devastating if turned against us.

The M/FRG Ardent is also on its way as backup, but we don't know when they will arrive.

Prepare to launch as soon as we come out of hyperspace. Dismissed.

Radio Messages

<Imperator> Good. We got here in time

<Courier> Identify yourselves!

<Imperator> This is the Imperator, a ship in the Emperor's Hammer Fleet. Our Intelligence reports that you are about to come under attack. We are here to help

<Courier> Very well, but keep your distance. For all we know you could be disguised Rebels

<Imperator> A Cruiser is dropping out of hyperspace Courier, change your heading to 314 by 78 and we'll cover you

<Imperator> Stop those Y-Wings!

<Ardent> Need our help?

<Imperator> No...you can go if you want, we can handle them

<Ardent> Well, we're launching fighters anyway they need the practice

<Courier> WE NEED HELP!!!

<Courier> WE ARE GONNERS!!!

<Imperator> That's all the Y-Wings. Take out the rest of the fighters

Victory Briefing

Grand Admiral Ronin reviewed the after battle report from the Imperator. It apparently had been a very close mission, but Pestage had gotten away. His aide appeared, "Admiral, you have a transmission coming in for you from Byss."

"Very well, patch it through," he ordered. The aide saluted and left the room. Grand Admiral Ronin sat in his command chair and activated the hologram.

"Pestage, I have been expecting your call. What can I do for you?"

Sate Pestage, former Grand Vizier of the Empire looked at him, "Do I detect sarcasm in your voice Grand Admiral. If so, maybe I should direct this call to another officer, one who would appreciate the opportunity that I am about to offer."

Grand Admiral Ronin replied, "Not at all. I am just reviewing the damage done to my Frigates from that rather nasty brawl you encountered."

"Ah, yes. I must say that I was impressed with how ferociously your pilots fought. You have well-trained men. And, I hear rumors that you are beginning to run out of room to assign them because of your recruiting efforts. Very commendable."

"Thank you for noticing. Unfortunately, you are correct. I am running out of ships for my pilots to be stationed on. Perhaps, I should capture one of the Rebel's cruisers for my own." Grand Admiral Ronin smiled at that thought.

Pestage looked at him, "I have another solution for you. Before his death, the Emperor left me with a set of instructions. He had begun building a new type of Star Destroyer and there are four prototypes now complete. I have been instructed to give them to the four most powerful Imperial Officers that I can find, and you are one of them. I am sending you the coordinates of a hidden shipyard where you can find your new ship."

Grand Admiral Ronin looked at the information and felt his jaw drop. "Is this some sort of joke?"

Pestage looked smugly at him, "No, this is very real, I assure you. This is to reward you for your efforts at fighting the Rebels and for having saved my life. Now, I have other duties to attend to and you have a ship to collect. I would hurry if I were you. Those infernal Rebels will find out about this sooner or later, and you don't want them to have this little toy."

Grand Admiral Ronin hardly noticed when Pestage broke off the transmission, he was so engrossed with the specs of the new Destroyer. What would he call it, he wondered.

As he placed a call to his tactical aide, it suddenly hit him. A ship that large could have only one name...the Sovereign, the Sovereign Class Super Star Destroyer Sovereign

Mission 3: The Sovereign

Commander's Briefing

It was a scene of organized chaos aboard the Avenger as a hastily formed crew for the promised destroyer was being loaded. Even a skeleton crew was a huge force, over 86,000 crew members would be needed to man the ship with even a modicum of effectiveness. A full complement would be more than 600,000, a number that could not be quickly mobilized.

And haste was the order of the day. Grand Admiral Ronin felt it in his bones that if they didn't take command of the Sovereign soon the Rebels would capture the mighty vessel.

Tactical Briefing Text

The Emperor's Hammer is moving as quickly as we can to take possession of the new destroyer that Sate Pestage promised Grand Admiral Ronin.

While a skeleton crew for the new ship is being loaded aboard the SSD Avenger, you and your wingmen are to proceed ahead to the hidden shipyard.

Once there, we will follow you with the new crew and begin the crew transfer.

Be careful. The Rebels would love to get their hands on this ship.

Good luck.

Radio Messages

<Avenger> OK, Alpha. Go ahead while we form up here

<Alpha 3> MY GOD!! Look at the size of that thing!!

<Alpha 1> That's enough, Three. Maintain radio silence. Even though that is a scary site sitting there

<Avenger> This is the SSD Avenger. We are here on behalf of the Emperor’s Hammer take control of the Sovereign

<Golan> Avenger, this is the Golan. Proceed with personnel transfer

<Alpha 3> Uh oh. Looks like we got company

<Avenger> They're launching bombers. Cover our personnel

<Alpha 3> They're using rockets!

<Avenger> Great work! Now, let's begin the transfer

Victory Briefing

Grand Admiral Ronin circled the bridge of his new destroyer. He still couldn't believe that the rebels had tried to attack it. He guessed that they figured better now than when it was fully operational. He turned to the Major in charge of on board security.

"Have we found the crew of the Assault Transport that managed to land in the hangar bay during the fight?"

Looking uncomfortable, the Major grimaced, "No, sir. This ship is very large. We have troops looking now, but it could be a while. There are a lot of hiding places on board. One of our pilots was close enough to get a scan of the Frigate that dropped it off. It was the Huntress."

Grand Admiral Ronin looked at him, "The Huntress? Last I heard, she was assigned to Admiral Truyn. What was she doing out here? Well, get Intelligence started on it. Maybe they can figure it out."

Saluting, the Major left the bridge. A few minutes after that, the bridge doors opened and a small man in a scientist's uniform stepped through. Grand Admiral Ronin asked him, "So, have you had a chance to look at the axial superlaser yet?"

The scientist nodded, "Yes. It is very fascinating."

"Good. Now, I want you to tear it apart and find out what makes it tick. Then, I want you to figure out how to mount a smaller version on all the other Imperial Star Destroyers in our fleet. Understand?"

The scientist nodded his head, already lost in thought.

Grand Admiral Ronin stepped over to the deck officer. "How is the ship looking?"

The deck officer responded, "Well, sir, we took some damage in that rocket attack, but nothing major. It should be repaired within a few hours. I expect to have some of the shields back online as well. They only destroyed two of the six shield generators onboard."

"What about the guns?"

The officer replied, "Well, most of them are fine, but I am afraid we just don't have the manpower to activate them."

"Well, transfer several of our squadrons over from the Avenger. When that is done, prepare to enter hyperspace. I don't want to hang around here for much longer. The Rebels may decide to take another whack at us. And as long as we don't have a full crew, we are sitting ducks. Head for Aurora Prime as soon as possible."

The deck officer said, "Yes, sir."

Grand Admiral Ronin stepped over to the large bridge windows. He was glad that they had decided to move quickly on this. If the rebels had been given any more time, they could have possibly assembled a taskforce large enough to take down the under defended Sovereign. Looking at the stars, he realized that today was the turning point for the Emperor’s Hammer. Now, they were a force to be reckoned with...

Mission 4: Sabotaged!

Commander's Briefing

After loading several squadrons of fighters onboard the Sovereign, it set course for Aurora Prime, Grand Admiral Ronin was eager to get his prize back home.

Approximately halfway back to Aurora suddenly the mighty ship fell out of hyperspace.

“Report,” demanded Grand Admiral Ronin.

“Sir, our hyperdrive just failed. Preliminary indications are that it was Rebel saboteurs from that transport that made it aboard during the last battle,” the deck officer replied. “They also disabled the hypercomm.”

“Major Werghim, I want those Rebels found and eliminated before they can do any more damage,” Grand Admiral Ronin said to the commander of the Hammer’s Fist detachment.

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, get this ship back into hyperspace as soon as possible, we are sitting ducks out here all alone as we are. With the hypercomm out we can't even call for help.”

—

Some time later, “Grand Admiral Ronin, we managed to repair the hypercomm.”

“Good work, call the Avenger and have it come here as quickly as they can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now if we can just repair that hyperdrive-”

“Sir, we have ships dropping out of hyperspace, one of them is a Super Star Destroyer.”

“The Avenger? Already?”

“No, it reads as...the Iron Fist.”

“Zsinj...how did they find us? Nevertheless, they are here now. Launch all fighters. Zsinj has always been over protective of his ship, if we can bloody his nose he will retreat rather than press the fight.”

“Yes I, sir.”

“And see if we can get the axial superlaser on-line...”

Tactical Briefing Text

Several capital ships are attacking. We think they are attempting to disable us for capture.

Launch [NOW] and drive off the attackers!

We are loading a Combat Utility Vehicle with warheads in case you need a reload. It will launch shortly after the fighters.

Dismissed.

Radio Messages

<Alpha 2> Oh boy!! Look at all those targets!!

<Alpha 1> Tighten it up Two. We need to go after the capital ships. If we hurt them enough, perhaps they will withdraw

<Alpha 1> Scratch one Victory Star Destroyer!

<Alpha 2> The Sovereign's been disabled!

<Sovereign> Watch out for any boarding craft and destroy them!

<Sovereign> The Sovereign's shields are down!

<Sovereign> The reload craft is holding station under the Sovereign

<Sovereign> Firing Superlaser now...it seems the Rebels sabotaged the laser too, it only did minimal damage to the Iron Fist

Victory Briefing

Grand Admiral Ronin walked through the doors to the main Engineering Room. Spotting the highest ranking engineer, he walked over to him. "How long until our systems are repaired?"

The engineer saluted. "Sir, we should have everything up and running in less than an hour. The extra help the Avenger sent over has helped us get back on track."

"Very well, carry on." Grand Admiral Ronin turned to his ever present aide.

"Find me Major Werghim. NOW!" The aide scurried off to look for him. It was not long before he arrived.

Major Werghim saluted, "You wished to see me, sir?" Turning to face him, Grand Admiral Ronin said, "I want to know what the status is of the hunt for the Rebel saboteurs."

"Sir, one of our patrols did just report that they found and eliminated them before they could cause any more mischief."

Grand Admiral Ronin stared at him long enough for sweat to break out on the Major's face. Finally, he said, "Very well, Major. Continue looking for any others that our teams may have missed. We will discuss this fiasco at a later date. Dismissed."

As the Major hurried away, the Grand Admiral's aide stepped up beside him. "Sir, you have a transmission incoming for you."

Grand Admiral Ronin walked over to the holo transmission viewer and waited. A few seconds later, it was clear to him why this transmission was marked for his attention.

"Warlord Zsinj, I am surprised that you are brave enough to show your face considering that you just tried to attack us."

The small portly man with the expressive mustache frowned, "It was all a misunderstanding. We thought the Rebels had captured that fine vessel and were endeavoring to make sure it ended up in proper Imperial hands.”

Grand Admiral Ronin replied, "Well, as you now know, it is in proper Imperial hands, mine.”

Zsinj looked almost embarrassed, "Well, I just wanted to correct any misconceptions about what had happened. I assure you, I have no intentions of harassing your forces in the future."

The Grand Admiral smiled, “Good, because if I ever see any of your ships in my area of space, I will assume you are here as enemies and take appropriate action. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly. Now, I do need to be going. Until then."

When the transmission had ended, Grand Admiral Ronin took a minute to think. He knew full well that Zsinj had been attempting to grow his fleet, and this was no simple misunderstanding.

But for now, the Grand Admiral had a lot to do. When they got back to Aurora Prime, they would have to finish loading a full crew on the Sovereign and then turn over the Avenger to the Dark Brotherhood.

Then, he could see what a fully crewed Sovereign could do in battle...

Mission 5: First Blood

Commander's Briefing

After weeks of around the clock work by a literal army of technicians, the Sovereign was finally ready for her first combat sortie. She now boasted a trained crew of more than 600,000 and prepared to secure the Alpha Sector for the good order of the Emperor’s Hammer.

A new "Warlord" has moved into a nearby system and set up operation. He has raided several Emperor's Hammer convoys for supplies. And this cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged. Grand Admiral Ronin has decided to make an example out of him while testing the new Sovereign's full combat capabilities.

Tactical Briefing Text

We are en route to this new Warlord's system. We believe it is heavily defended because of a shipyard operating there.

We are going to launch only a few fighters to deal with their fighter defense while the Sovereign takes care of the capital ships.

This will only serve to reinforce the fact that if you mess with the Emperor's Hammer, you [WILL] be destroyed.

There will be a Combat Utility Vehicle available for warhead reloads if you need it.

Now, to your fighters.

Radio Messages

<Sovereign> All pilots, take out the fighters!

<Alpha 1> They should have invested in shields for their fighters

<Alpha 2> They don't have anything but rookies flying today!

<Sovereign> Look out! We are detecting the launch of a flight of T/As

<Alpha 2> Good thing we got here before those Frigates are operational. Easier to kill them in dry dock than in space

<Sovereign> Axial superlaser firing in 5…4...3...2...1...

<Sovereign> We only get one shot a day of that, the rest we will have to do the old fashioned way

Victory Briefing

Grand Admiral Ronin sat in his command suite looking over the after action report from the battle. Two Imperial Star Destroyers, a Strike Cruiser, six Modified Frigates, a Shipyard, and a Class 6 Platform were all destroyed. The warlord was killed aboard his flagship and the area was once again safe for Emperor's Hammer convoys.

He was very pleased with the result of this test. Now if only the engineers could be able to figure out how the axial superlaser worked on it well enough to replicate it. Then, he could modify the rest of his fleet of Star Destroyers with that firepower. Until then, he would just have to be satisfied with having such a wonderful ship under his command as well as the best pilots in the fleet serving under him.