Raise the Flag 2015 fictions

Here are the fiction entries for Raise the Flag 2015

"Encounter at Phare" by Colonel Plif (bonus entry)

Sin Squadron sat at the bar in the ISDII Warrior's pilot lounge, sipping on drinks and chatting while looking up at holoscreens that were hung from the ceiling. They'd been spending a lot of time here with the Warrior being in drydock for repairs after a recent mission. The screens were all set to a pod race on Malastare, where a hot shot racer from Glee Anselm was way ahead of the pack. "Pfft, I could do that. It's just flying a little above the the ground, big deal," said Yun. "Sure, and you'd end up a grease stain on the wall. I've seen some of your banks," said Wraith. Master chimed in. "Yeah, look where you're going sometime." Yun sunk down in his seat with a frown, knowing they were right. The screens switched to a news anchor from the Emperor's Hammer Press Corps with a breaking announcement. A New Republic fleet had appeared on the edge of EH territory. The camera switched to a view of the fleet cruising through the Phare system, led by a Calamari cruiser with a few corvettes and frigates as escorts. "That's some serious hardware they're sending our way. Shouldn't we be out there?" Nolij asked. Plif sighed and said, "Nah, we knew they were coming as soon as they hit the Minos Cluster. We're still down for repairs, so they sent in the B Team."

The ISDII Hammer jumped into the Phare system. Accompanied by its battlegroup, the fleet arrived while the New Republic intruders were still outside the range of Phare's defenses. The platform and its single squadron of TIEs would've been no match for the NR forces, so the Hammer was routed as soon as the early warning came in. The NR ships halted as soon as they detected the Hammer. A signal came through the Hammer's communications center and was patched in to the bridge comm system. "This is Admiral Kelth aboard the New Republic Cruiser Highwind. We've been tracking pirate activity in this sector and tracked them back to this world. We have no quarrel with Remnant forces." High Admiral Anahorn Dempsey took a moment before replying. "This is High Admiral Dempsey of the Emperor's Hammer. You seem to be mistaken about where you are and who you're talking to. You are in EH space about to attack an EH installation. Unless you want a fight, you'd better look for your pirates elsewhere." "I stand corrected. You'd better check the area for pirates, we're sure they've been coming from right here." "I think you'd better check your ears for pirates, Admiral, because I just told you to get the hell out of this system." "I, er... yes, ma'am." And with that, the NR forces turned about and jumped to hyperspace.

Back in the bar on the Warrior, Sin Squadron was continuing to watch the news reports with great interest. Flelm was disappointed. "What, no lasers? Come on, I wanted to see a fight." "Yeah, I bet I could've taken down that cruiser all by myself!" exclaimed Yun. The rest of the unit groaned in unison.

"New Republic Aggression" by Major Flelm (bonus entry)

A pair of verdant lasers converged on the XWing’s upper port engine, starting a chain reaction of explosions that swiftly reduced the hapless starfighter into sparkling pinpricks of light. “Nice work, Commander,” the gravel of Flelm’s voice announced from the comms system. “Another pubbie engagement without a casualty. From battle, that is.” A New Republic Star Destroyer was venting its atmosphere in huge gouts of flame, while the Warrior only showed small patches of blackened hull where the firepower had gotten through its shields. Plif keyed his comms, stifling a chuckle, “Calm down Flelm, alcohol poisoning is a very serious injury. It’s not their fault the new Sigma pilots can’t hold their liquor.” He shook his head, and nudged the control stick around, to head towards the Warrior ’s hangar bay. “Let’s get back to the ship, Sin. Time for some welldeserved rest.”

On the bridge, High Admiral Frodo let out a gentle snore, serenaded by the dronings of Colonel Frown. The wing commander was oblivious to the lack of attention being paid to his recitation of lists, statistics, and understated praise for his pet goat TIE. However, Frodo’s nap was soon interrupted by a junior officer, tugging on his sleeve harder and harder, until he was nearly pulled out of his command chair. Frodo snorted in surprise, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, until he realized what had roused him. Staring down the impertinent lieutenant, he muttered, “What is it now, moron?” Lieutenant Third Class Horace Moron’s face broke into a beaming smile, glad the commodore had remembered his name. “Yes sir. I have an urgent message from the TIE Corps Commander, Admiral Elwood. His communications officer says it’s top secret.” Frodo rolled his eyes, his restful relaxation interrupted. “Fine, moron, put it through to the war room.” He leveraged himself off his seat and stalked off the bridge, leaving Frown to continue his soliloquy, eyes closed in the rapture of minutiae.

“This is Frodo,” he answered, as the screen burst to life with the image of Elwood. “What’s going on boss? Something new on the war front?” Woody’s face had a frown on it, quite out of place from all the unmitigated success they had been having in the conflict with the New Republic. “Well, kind of. There’s a new theory that some drunk idiot had over here on the Challenge , and the analysts have been having a field day with it. What if we’re not fighting the New Republic?” Frodo looked up from the solo game of sabaac he was playing, to gauge Woody’s level of seriousness. When he saw there was no trace of sarcasm, he immediately burst out laughing, unable to stop until nothing came out but wheezing gasps. “Whawhat? Of course it’s the pubbies! Who else would it be? Palpatine’s clone, back from the dead?!” This set him off into another gale of giggles. “No, stop it, calm down!” Woody stern voice came out of the speaker. “What if it’s another group, trying to get us to fight the New Republic for them? They attack us with old, outdated ships and droidpiloted craft, making us think the pubbies are easy pickings. We go on a war of conquest, and we run into a much better prepared New Republic, and once everyone’s worn down from fighting, this other faction swoops in and takes over everything.” The worry in his voice cut through Frodo’s humor, causing him to squint in thought. “But if that’s the case… who could it be?” Another thought shot into his head, and his face twisted into a frown. “And are they doing the same thing to the New Republic?”

"ISDII Warrior - Kappa Squadron Barraks. 0430" by Captain Ulrich Drachen (bonus entry)

Just Seconds ago Major Repulsor barged into the Squad’s Common rooms screaming and banging on his pilot’s doors in an extremely urgent tone. One by one the Pilots jumped from the beds the younger pilots were in such a frenzy you would have thought the Warrior was under attack directly.
The more veteran pilots were roused much more slowly most of them thinking that this was yet another drill or for god’s sake another dubious “urgent mission” to escort one of the Admirals on yet another critical mission to the gaming tables on Nar Shaddaa.
The Ex Commander of Kappa Squadron Ulrich Drachen was the last to leave his bed feeling completely not interested in yet another pleasure run. it was almost a year ago that he was forced from his command position due to very ancient personal problems that had to be dealt with. Leaving the Squadron was the toughest thing he had to do but family always comes first and so the last year saw many changes to the Squadron and the TIE Corps in general. A good friend was now in charge of the whole CORPS which was a pleasant surprise since Ulrich was almost confident that Woody couldn’t be that crazy to accept the biug job, but there he was and doing well… except for these dam pleasure cruises!
Ever since the Warrior became the Flagship it tends to fall to the only escort Squadron to protect our fearless leaders on these “missions”. Most of the pilots including Captain Drachen missed the competition and fun of winning the right to be the flagship of the TIE Corps but now there is no excitement just the same old training and the same old boring conversations in the mess hall. At that moment Repulsor kicks in Ulrich’s door and with a very irate tone of voice screams at him “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED AND TO YOUR MISSILE BOAT!”

“For god sake’s why … Does Crespe need yet another integration with that Dancer?” the increasingly annoyed captain grunted.

“No you Idiot a small fleet of New Republic ships just cross out borders and we are running protection for the entire command staff to check it out! Now get off your as… “

“New republic!” Drachen interrupted, “You mean no more training this could be the real thing?!”

The commander nodded and watched as the life sparked a new in Drachen’s eyes and as he finished getting into his flight suit push past the Commander screaming “What are you waiting for? Just give me my 5 points already and let’s kick some ass!”

bonus fiction by General Pickled Yoda

“He did WHAT?” Admiral Elwood the Brave was yelling from the bridge of the ImperialII class Star Destroyer Challenge at a hapless underling relaying messages.
“Flew straight at them with guns blazing, sir. He was broadcasting obscenities on open comms in violation of our combat protocols all the way.”
The TIE Corps Commander muttered something similar to himself. “Did he at least take down some Rebel scum with him? A Spectre Advanced Missile Boat has the armament to level a moon…”
The voice at the other end of the comm sounded sheepish. “No, sir. We recovered the flight recorders. It appears Major Cruise’s first volley was so off target it actually swung around and destroyed his fighter.”
There was silence as the bridge crew of the Challenge pondered whether the analogy was too obvious. Deeming it (just barely) acceptable, Elwood pushed for more details.
“What about the rest of the Hammer Strike Force?”
“Frankly, sir, we have no idea where they are. Occasionally we come across a little bit of debris, but never anything indicating they had a significant engagement. Commodore Dempsey insists they’re at full readiness, but... “
“Nevermind. Return to your base.”
Elwood the Brave turned to look at his second in command. The Strategic Operations Officer nodded in agreement, knowing full well what the leader of the Emperor’s Hammer TIE Corps was thinking.
“It’s time to show our full hand. Deploy the Flagship. Unleash the Warrior ”

bonus fiction by High Admiral Frodo March

"NR Advances?" Major Repulsor said incredulously as he stared at his Wing Commander's blank, emotionless face. Actually, it was not that emotionless, since it always seemed to have a frown stapled onto it.

"Yes, Major, the NR is advancing upon us. They have done so quite stealthily by masking their fleets and bases as Void Raptor insurgents. As if we would not have caught on that a fleet we annihilated somehow rose from the ashes and came back to haunt us." Continued Colonel Frown as Repulsor gradually stopped listening and started reading his mission briefing data pad.

The colonel was an excellent briefer, but he had a tendency to take a while to get to the point of the matter, which was Repulsor's main concern. A new republic fleet, with its A-wings and E-wings and the rest of the alphabet, was not the typical run of the mill scum and villainy he and his unit was used to facing these days. The last few months had been quiet. Heck, the Commodore even ran a popularity contest two months ago to up morale.

He read through the boiler plate stuff at the beginning of the briefing and got to the meat of the mission. Estimated fleet strengths and coordinates. He was also beginning to get very curious as to why his Escort Squadron was being tapped for a mission with no VIP, convoys or critical targets to defend. By all means, this seemed to be an offensive reaction to enemy advances.

That's when Repulsor noticed that five pages in the middle of his datapad briefing were classified and blocked off. He looked up to see that Wing Commander Frown had not stopped talking: "...Therefore, Commander, I will not be completing this briefing as I have not been included in the discussion for purposes of a "need to know" nature. Which I find preposterous. If anyone on this ship can keep a secret, it's most certainly me! That being said, what is decided is decided. I'd like you to step over to the other side of the room and talk to that sneaky looking character who seems to always be wearing a dress..." Repulsor did not bother to let the Wing Commander finish, since he did not have all day. He purposefully walked over to the cloaked figure and started asking him questions:
Q1: What is the nature of this mission?
A1: Hello there. The nature is escort, but the substance of the mission is classified. In other words, you will not be made aware of who or what you are escorting.

Q2: That's sketchy.
A2: Indeed, Major, yet you will do as you are told. You are to take off with a flight of Missile Boats and follow the Corellian Corvette Minotaur to the coordinates they will transfer you once in flight.

Q3: Is that it? No more information?
A3: No. Except that you should have lots of advanced missiles and heavy rockets loaded.

Repulsor nodded and went to get some of his pilots. He decided to go with the veterans, and walked in to the Flight 3 ready room where he saw Tempest, Impulse and Hawkins in various states of boredom. "Gents, get to the Missile Boats. We have a mission" The three pilots got up and moved to the direction of the hangar, with only a few grumbles about Super fighters and TIE Bombers.
Tempest exited hyperspace with the proper spacing between his three wingmen and the corvette. The unknown coordinates sent to them at the last minute were to a part of the Minos cluster that was thought to be uninhabited, with little to no strategic value. Yet, here they were.

This kind of mission was out of the ordinary, Tempest thought, at least nowadays. Back in the old TC, such events would have been almost common place. Misleading briefing officers, cloaked figures, and secret objectives. Oh how he longed for those days.

The radio silence was broken by the corvette "This is CRV Minotaur, in position" it's communications officer sent out. There did not seem to be any ships in the vicinity, according to Tempest's targeting computer and his eyes. All they could see where three larger asteroids surrounded by debris and smaller pieces of space rock.
Out of the debris came out a targetable object. Tempest quickly cued in on it first and began his approach to identify. As the number three in the formation, it was his duty to identify potential threats, with number four being his cover.
"Three, moving in" Tempest said on the radio. To which the corvette answered "Negative Three, hold position".
Tempest had no choice but to obey. He put his throttle to idle next to the idling Corvette, but he kept his scopes targeted on the new intruder.
He could begin making out what it was as it approached the corvette. When it came within three clicks, his scopes gained greater detail and he could tell immediately what it was... a TIE Praetor! Speaking of super craft! He hadn't seen one of those in years. Except of course for the Commodore's personal craft... Which was thought to be the only one kept out of moth ball.
He communicated to Repulsor on a private channel:
"Is that the COM?"
"Negative, T, the COM is back on the ship. I saw him right before we left. I'm as puzzled as you are." Repulsor answered. The TIE Praetor approached the corvette, and the ship began its run up for light speed. That's when suddenly, six A-wings armed with advanced concussion missiles appeared out of hyperspace within firing range of the corvette and the Kappans.
"This is the Minotaur, engage, ENGAGE!" the Corvette sent to the Missile Boats.
By this time, the TIE Praetor was safely in the Corvette's hangar. Safe is a relative term in this case since we all know that Corvettes are basically made of chocolate to a well armed fighter. The kappans were outnumbered but only by two. This would be solved quickly as impulse and Hawkins had already targeted and destroyed two A-wings by the time the communication was sent through. Boredom has that effect on pilots. This however opened them up for attack from the other four A-wings who were trying to avenge their friends. The two pilots were dodging advanced missiles while Repulsor and Tempest made quick work of the next two A-wings. All of a sudden, the tables had turned, and the A-wings were the ones that were outnumbered. They began their escape. Tempest managed to use all his shield and laser power to get fast enough to destroy one of them, but the other made it out. Which means they failed one of their objectives.
"Damn..." Repulsor said as the last A-wing made it out alive. By then the corvette was long gone back to the Warrior, so it would be his duty to report this to the chain of command. They would not like it.

"You let him escape!" Frown yelled at Repulsor, his face in seething rage.
"I'm sorry sir. They were hardwired to get out of there." Repulsor was trying to calm down his superior officer, but to no avail. "If I knew what the implications of this mission were, which I don't, I would be supremely upset." Added the Wing Commander. "Of all the times..." Frown started saying, but the Commodore stopped him by raising a hand. "Gilbert. Could you go check on the goat please? I think it's chewing up some circuits again and I can't have the Sigma pilots fixing the ship all the time when they should be out flying." He said. "Yes sir." Frown replied as he left the briefing room in a huff. "Rep, relax. It's no big deal. A-wings escape sometimes, it's what they were made to do." Said HA March. "But, since the NR now knows what we got out of those Rocks... I best tell you. I'm trying to get the Praetors back together. The first step was to get the ships." Repulsor didn't know what to say. So he said nothing. "So now we have two. Ten more to go." Frodo said as he gave Repulsor a slap on the back. "Let's get to work!".

FIN

"Plausible Deniability" by Lieutenant-Colonel John T. Clark (bonus entry)

Lieutenant Colonel Clark was lounging lazily in a chair on the Hammer Officer’s Club and admired the protuberance of a nearby, very active, orange star. “…what do you think the briefing will be about? Must be serious if the brass doesn’t believe we can handle it without the Warrior and Frodo’s cavemen.” Clark shrugged and shifted his gaze back to the round cocktail table. Three pairs of eyes regarded him with poised glances. Hammer’s Squadron Leaders had assembled for a couple of drinks and some gossip about the planned Fleet wide operation. The gossiping part had been at full swing when John’s eyes and mind had slipped toward the nearby star, pondering his first major operation in a command position. “Guess you and Falkenbach over there will be the first to know, Dunta. Well after Delta of course…”, the reconnaissance leader told the strike commanders. While everyone was laughing a flicker of pseudo-motion revealed the familiar shape of the Warrior and her escorts. “Time to break up our little party, I guess we’ll not get much sleep in the next week”. Everyone finished his last drink and soon the meeting ended.

“… and as to the obvious implications of this operation, secrecy is our utmost concern.” Line Admiral Yun Vandorack nodded to the Bothan in the expensive cloak. “Of course, councilor.”, he lifted the pile of briefing and intelligence pads. “I will take my leave now, if you don’t mind.” The Bothan lifted his hand in a dismissive gesture and watched the muscular young man leave before taking her own cue. Back again in her Coruscant apartment, Oktra Prisk'ia threw her travelling cloak into a corner and headed right for her secure office. It felt as if the COM took ages to build up the secure connection, but finally it was done: “The plan is a go, just keep Ackbar of our backs.” A short twitter of seemingly electrical noise filled the silence of the office. Then the COM cut connection. Oktra leaned back in her chair. ‘Amazing what is possible with a few mercenaries, some former pirates and a disgruntled, yet ambitious, fleet officer.’, she thought. And there wasn’t even a chance the Republic would ever miss a couple of ships supposedly in long term storage.

The Operations Briefing was held on the TCCOM’s Flagship the ISD Challenge. Beside the Emperor’s Hammer Squadron leaders, the COs of the support fleet were attending, thus the large conference room was quickly filling up. “The security systems have engaged, please refrain from leaving the room while the briefing is in progress.”, a senior aide babbled through the stage microphone, before fleeing from the Admiralty. Finally Admiral Elwood took the stage, joining the remaining Admiralty Board and the two Commodores.
He lowered his head in recognition of his fellow Admirals and began his introduction: “Commanders and Captains. Fellow Officers. Welcome aboard the Challenge and the briefing for Operation IRONCLAD! It has been some time since our successful strike against the pirate threat against our territories. Now we’ve received disturbing news of a renewed effort by the so called Void Raptors.” Woody motioned to a seated Admiral, “Please welcome the COO who will give you further insight into the intelligence picture!” On, that VA Crespe stood and took the stage next to Elwood, at the same time the big holoprojector in the middle of the room started up. “As you all know we, don’t have the resources to keep constant surveillance on the former strongholds of that pirate scum.” A picture of the EH territory formed over the conference table, with a surprisingly large portion colored in a deep purple. “Thus, we have a couple of rowing patrols operating. Three weeks ago a scout group went missing in one of these sectors.” The holo-picture changed again, zooming in on a certain part of the map. “Follow on efforts showed hidden activity in the area, it seems someone is trying to get those support bases operational again.” Crespe stopped for a moment and let his gaze linger on his datapad. “Normally we would not be overly concerned with such developments and would have dispatched a small task force to sweep the suspect areas. But the situation does not seem to be normal. Intelligence assets deep inside the Republican fleet have given us warning of mothballed ships seemingly going missing from storage.” He activated his datapad and held it into the air. “Please turn to page fifteen of your briefing documents and let us discuss these missing ships and the ramifications…”

On the shuttle ride back, the mood of the Hammer’s Squadron Commanders was surprisingly sober. Finally MAJ Iceman broke the quiet: “Well, hells bell. Talk about a target rich environment.” that elicited some chuckles and many grins. An even dozen frigate class capital ships and most likely scores of fighters missing from the Rebel ‘graveyard’ was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Indicating the willingness to use AI systems to supplement sentient bare-bones crews, the briefing had left no doubt that this force would also be fielded. No surprise the brass had elected to send in their elite. “Guess we need to hit ‘em fast and hard to pull of Crespe’s plan …”

Yun continued skimming through the readiness report, impassively. Yes, these former imperials were the right tool for the job, and they seemed professional enough. He handed the datapad to the men beside him. The mercenary commander might have been imposing once, but obviously he was now only a shell of his former self. No, that wasn’t right, his body might have seen better days, but the mind of that Harmon fellow was still quick. “It seems our timetable can move forward half a day thanks to your exquisite preparation, ‘General’ Harmon.”, he looked the man into the eyes and smiled, “Get everything ready. Our sources are clear on where to strike.” Gil Harmon saluted and left the bridge of the Kothlis. He marched down the corridors in perfect step, went down to the hangar and entered his personal shuttle. In the sanctuary of the private area he took a deep breath and collapsed onto his damaged knees, the pain from the re-grown lung tissue burning in his chest. This time there would be no failure. This time they would not concentrate on useless raids. This time he would make the Emperor’s Hammer pay for destroying his life.

Two TIE Phantoms dropped out of hyperspace and did a quick scanner sweep before activating their cloaking devices. After a quick visual check of his surroundings confirmed he was clear for now, Clark took an in depth look at the scan results. Delta was looking for activity near the system the EH Patrol had been lost and this was the right sector. Far beyond the entry point of the Phantoms was an asteroid field. An asteroid field that, only a few years ago, had held a supply base for the Void Raptors. Now there was hurried activity in the asteroid field. Transports carried equipment from a particularly large asteroid towards an Escort Carrier. A couple of X-Wings patrolled in a number eight pattern, keeping the asteroid in one and the Carrier in the other loop. LC Clark toggled his LOS Communication system, and waited for the electronic chirp that confirmed a connection to Delta 1-2: “Seems we have a contact, move to communication position and call in the target. We’ll proceed with OP-Plan Gulf. ”, a succession of three bursts of static confirmed that the CPT Nutrientman had received the message. On the last burst John reset the timer of his mission computer. 15 Minutes until the Hammer and an Interdictor would come in, this would be a premiere opportunity to gather prisoners. Clark checked his threat indicator and decided to move in a little closer. There was no way these guys could find him.

The bridge of the Interceptor Wrench was frantic with activity. In less a few minutes Wrench would make a hyperspace jump together with the Dreadnaught Saw and two Corellian Gunships. Gulf wasn’t a subtle plan, the interdictor would hinder movement out of the target system, and the remaining ships were more than enough firepower to scare an ESC into submission. The OPS officer lifted a hand with four outstretched fingers, and Captain Nextor nodded approvingly. The ‘taskforce’ was ready with over thirty seconds to spare. Then the hum of the hyperdrive increased in intensity and stars turned into lines and then the blue of hyperspace.

Something was off, but Clark couldn’t quite put his finger on what. The Rebels/Pirates/Whatever continued their salvage operation. Even through the dampening cloaking field his sensor suite could occasionally read COM chatter. There was the next transport moving from the ESC towards the asteroid. No wait. This wasn’t the next transport, it was exactly the same transport. And it hadn’t been on board the Escort Carrier for more than a couple of minutes. Way to few minutes to deliver anything substantial. This must be some kind of elaborate setup. Cursing John checked the mission computer, but it was already too late. His mission computer chirped and, right on clue, an Interdictor-class cruiser and some escorts entered the system. Now the time for finesse had ended. The Phantom jumped to full power, the cloaking device barely keeping up with the increased power output.

“Starting up gravity generators, everything within normal parameters.”, the XO reported. Nextor was nervous as he watched the Gunships closing in on his TAC display. But what was that? A single fighter appeared in his scanner ant it was rapidly closing the distance to the ESC. “Don’t let that stupid fighter jock ruin the intercept…” the Captain mumbled under his breath.

Turning off the cloaking device DELTA was still accelerating, Clark send out a hold position command to the ‘support fleet’ and then put all his remaining power into the scanner. The return was not what he expected. Not a single life form in the entire Asteroid field, they must be jamming him. But, no, there was a very distinct scanner result. Without regards to secrecy John pushed an all frequency call and then waited to send his hyperdrive into a two second emergency jump to the fringes of the system. Hopefully the Interdictor would deactivate his generators in time.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!”, screamed the COM-link aboard the Wraith. Puzzled the COM officer turned to the XO, who addressed his Captain: “I think he went utterly mad, we show no trace of a Baradium device.” Nextor only knew this Lieutenant Colonel by reputation, but he remembered the man asking some intelligent questions during the briefing on the Challenge. “Activate deflectors, emergency shutdown the gravs, then get us a solution out of here.” The crew did just that with puzzlement. Seconds later the Escort Carrier disintegrated. And then the Asteroids closest to him followed suit. A fireball expanded through the system, a shockwave leading it’s path. Captain Nextor saw the Gunship farthest from him being hit by an asteroid, it’s splintering hull turning into shrapnel being hurled towards the Wraith.

A light on Yun Vandorack’s command chair turned from green into red. One of his traps had just sprung. Excellent. He knew the Imperials simply couldn’t not investigate that location with full force. He checked his pad for the copy of the EH operations manual. Not much longer than six hours and he would have destroyed the crème de la crème of this stubborn imperial faction. Peace and liberty in this sector was only a question of time now. Time to aim and fire Gil Harmon and thus break the ground for that liberation.

The first thing Lieutenant Colonel Clark realized was that he was missing his flight helmet. More and more sensory input returned, until he was positive that he was lying on his back in some infirmary or other. He opened one eye slowly, peeking through his eyelashes. A faint figure in ISB White stood at the edge of his vision. Clark opened both his eyes full: “What, in the emperor’s name, is going on?”, he exclaimed to the room. Into his vision stepped an old friend, LC Diaboli, former TC pilot and now full time lent to the EH’s Security Bureau. Clark was a little distressed seeing his friend’s cybernetic eyepatch, raising a hand to his head to make sure he wasn’t missing something. “Seems you saved an invaluable TIE Phantom from certain destruction.”, the familiar face cam a little closer, “Only to almost make it lost forever with a poorly executed emergency jump.” Diaboli’s face changed and a crooked smile appeared. “Thanks to the valiant men of the Wraith you and the Phantom are back on the Hammer. And, apparently ready to fight.” He held out his hand to help his mate up, Clark took it and stepped on the cold deck. “From what I’ve gathered we need you both in fighting shape, ASAP.”, Diaboli explained, “I must be gone on some ISB business for a while, but I think the fleet will see action soon.”

“To be honest, Ma’am, it’s a mess and I wouldn’t trust more than the gist of most of these preliminary report.” Hammer’s senior intelligence analyst told Admiral Dempsey. “While I do agree that a multi megaton Baradium fission device has detonated in the sectore, I don’t I don’t believe that this was a botched attempt at taking out one of our ISDs.” Dempsey pondered that for a while before speaking: “I agree Major, this smells like some type of setup.” She turned to the XO: “Prepare for a jump to the fringes of the system, and prepare a return jump ASAP.” The admiral made some quick calculations: “After the jump make a call that we will be going to General Quarters in 60 minutes. Tell the pilots to get a meal and some rest, I want the whole Wing ready.”, she lifted her hand in a dismissive gesture, “Oh, and also tell the Warrior.”

A blue whirlwind and then white lines turned into stars again. An Asteroid field filled the view from the bridge of the Strike Cruiser Defiant. But there were not only Asteroids around; the large triangle shape of an ISD II-Class Star Destroyer was also easily visible. Some escorts were arranged deeper in the Asteroid field, but Gil Harmon’s battle group had expected exactly that.
On a preplanned command the fleet started it’s attack run. Dreadnaughts and Modified corvettes formed the bulk of Tiger fleet. But the fist of the fleet were the Defiant and her two sisters, Daring and Dauntless. The whole fleet was supported by swarms of alphabet fighters. “Allright, Green Wing, hit the TIEs hard and keep them of the Y-Wings as long as possible without risking yourself. Blue Wing proceed as planned towards the escorts. And Red you’re clear for free hunt.” The work had already begun for the fighter controller aboard the Defiant.

As they had been trained Wing IIs pilots maneuvered to intercept the attacking bomber’s first. But even Sin Squadron’s advanced missiles were to slow to hinder the first wave of Wishbones from firing their torpedoes. Frantic activity ensured, with TIE Advanced and Defenders sharing their attention between attacking fighters and Proton torpedoes hurled towards their battle group.
Further complicating the situation was that the Y-Wings seemingly lacked any instinct for self-preservation. The attack wings were decimated twice a minute but still held their positions and continued firing. So far the fighters and attack craft were mainly a problem for Warrior’s escorts, with VSD Decimator taking the brunt of the Y-Wings proton torpedoes. But with the attacker’s capital ships now incoming and pushing through that battered screen towards the Warrior herself, it was time for a little support.

Clark’s Phantom didn’t even had it’s paint scratched during his escape from the Bomb. Moments before the Hammer and Wing II had been ordered to General Quarters. But that was half an hour before the planned GQ that had already been announced. Johns maintenance chief gave a thumbs up and a smart salute. Then the TIE Phantom was lowered onto the launch ramps just in time so it’s Pilot could see the Hammer exit Hyperspace. A shudder went through the fighter and within seconds it was accelerating and invisible, with throttles to full power and the cloaking generator active.

“The second Star Destroyer has just arrived, it’s not with any escorts.”, reported the XO. Gil nodded in acknowledgment. “Launch the last AI wings and signal the reserve.” The Mercenary commander smiled. Everything was going to plan.

“Alpha you’re in against these freshly launched Y-Wings, Beta and Epsilon counter these DREADs.” John heard through his COM, “Delta: you’re in general melee, take out as many fighters as you can.” With his objectives clear, Delta’s commander switched to the squadron COM line: “Three and Two, stick together and concentrate on heavy assault craft. One we’re dissolving to take out single fighters and elements.” He waited only a second for the replies. “Razors, let’s cut some meat of these fellows!”

In her mind Admiral Dempsey thanked the skeptical Intelligence officer. Had the Hammer been in system when the Opposition arrived things would be much more difficult. Wing I was the strike element of the TIE Corps, and already the strike squadrons were advancing as planned. Just why did these three Strike-class cruiser sat so far back the line of battle?

Clark scratched the third kill of the battle, an A-Wing, and was maneuvering to get into position for his next. A quick check of his scanners showed that Delta was working as he had intended. Flight one had already destroyed an even dozen enemy fighters, while the other Flights were wreaking havoc on the B-Wings that had engaged the Imperial escort and support ships.

“The package is away as planned, sir.”, Kothlis’ Captain told his Admiral, who was admiring the live feed from the battle. Yun Vandorack checked his chronograph against the planned jump time of his surprise package. “The trackers were locked before we launched?” he requested from his Operations officer for the umpteenth time. Just to receive a reassuring nod for an answer. “Then it’s our clue to make a getaway.”, the Admiral shrugged his shoulders apologetically: “Set course back to Coruscant.”

Finally the Strike cruisers had moved and were aggressively advancing towards the Hammer. Though no match against an ISD by themselves, as a group they proved a considerable danger to the battle damaged Star Destroyer. “Alpha, call in missile complement and prepare to engage the STRK designated Sierra Seven.” Before MAJ Iceman could acknowledge a flicker of pseudo motion revealed two heavily modified Dreadnaughts jumping into the system, right in between their advancing siblings.
Admiral Dempsey was confused, “Give me a detailed scan analysis!”

These things looked like DREADs modified for heavy armor and shielding. And they were heading right for the thick of the battle. Clark gave in to a hunch and reduced his weapon recharge rate to power up his scanners. It never hurts to be careful “Delta disengage and get close to the Hammer. Something’s not right here.”

“Delta reports traces of Baradium radiation from the DREADs and Colonel Clark has already ordered his Squadron to stay clear.” INTEL reported, “I think we should make that a general order, Ma’am.” Admiral Dempsey gave the man a look: “You think?”, she grinned, “Make that order and signal the Warrior.”, more sternly, “Concentrate long range firepower on these ships.”

Gil Harmon was hunched together on his command chair, this was his support? But he had been promised a couple of MC 30c Frigates and some full wings of Fighters. Sithspit, he had seen this strikeforce around the Kothlis. This muscle packed joke of an Admiral had betrayed him. But now his eyes and his final course of action was clear. “Order Daring and Dauntless to keep formation we’re hitting the closest ISD.” He looked up again on his tactical display, even if he wouldn’t live he would kill these rotten TIE Corps. “Sir, we’ve got another incoming.”, Tactical reported, “Another Dreadnaught, this one right on top of us!” “WHAT THE …”

“…HELL?” In a flash of light the latest arrival disintegrated in a massive Baradium fusion explosion, shattering the three STRKs that just had begun heading towards the Hammer. Seconds later two more sun-like explosions filled the system. Admiral Dempsey was thrown to the ground by the sudden shudder of her Star Destroyer. Grapping on her command chair she lifted herself back to her feet. “Status?” she asked breathlessly.

Clark was sitting next to his Fighter on the return Hangar. Wings I and II had been extraordinarily lucky with no permanent casualties. The retreat order had come just in time to prevent scores of fighters and élite pilots being incinerated. A large portion of the two Star Destroyer’s support fleet had not fared so well. A number of smaller escorts had severe damage or were simply gone. John stood and found Dunta Polo waving him to follow the other Squadron Leaders. A fist-bump to his Chief and Clark walked after his counterparts, wishing for a drink and some logic behind that situation.

“…stressing that the use of banned weapons of mass destruction is not acceptable under any circumstances, the minister urged the Senate and the Governing Council to no longer ignore the threat posed by rogue Imperial factions in the galaxy.” Oktra Prisk'ia’s Holo-receiver muted automatically as the doorbell of the luxurious apartment chimed. Annoyed Prisk’ia switched to the door camera, to see the picture of a man in an expensive suit who held up a small camera drone. “Councilor, my name is Ruwen Dankkar from HNN’s political office. May we have an interview about the imminent emergency meeting of the government?” Oktra hid her smile - this was beginning sooner than she had hoped.” She stood as she unlocked her door. Strange, she hadn’t noticed the cybernetic eye of the reporter before.

Vandorack had returned to report immediately, but found himself waiting in vain. The Councilor wasn’t coming, and he didn’t know why. Though he had been ordered not to see the Bothan in her apartment he simply couldn’t wait any longer. Luckily a hover-cab was waiting right outside, and it took only minutes to reach the exclusive apartment complex. Vandorack rode up the lift to the Councilor’s floor, and was surprised to see the door ajar. He drew his pocket blaster and entered carefully.

An anonymous call that someone was trying to assassinate a Republican Councilor demanded some response. “Yeah right, must be important if they send only you.”. Ivar Da’enko entered the Apartment complex and produced his ID to the Doorman/Droid. Equipped with the right apartment number and an code-chip for the door he took the boring ride up. The Police Officer drew his sidearm, as he found the door to the apartment wide open. A moment Ivar pondered whether he should call reinforcements first, but then decided against it. If this was just a misunderstanding he wouldn’t want to be responsible. Silently the officer entered the apartment blaster at the ready. The councilor was a Botha, so everything else was fair game to be asked questions later. Most rooms were dark and empty, but in the back a light was shining out of an open door. Da’enko advanced, and found a humanoid standing hunched over what appeared to be a Bothan body. “Security Service! Hands up”, the man was large and muscular, and virtually jumped at the scream before he turned, clearly a blaster pistol in hand. Ivar had no choice and two blaster bolts to the chest left two bodies on the expensive carpet.

Smiling Colonel Diaboli exited the Hover-cab and walked toward the exit of the parking garage. Less than four hours until his connection to Corellia would leave. Luckily that Vandorack fellow had appeared just in time. He checked a nearby Holo-monitor for the latest news. Breaking news were a shootout and two dead in a luxury condo in the governmental area. Good that he wasn’t any way near that.

"An incursion by New Republic Forces into EH area" by Commander Len Eode (bonus entry)

Part I: The Briefing

Len entered the mostly empty briefing room meant for the entire staff of Wing II, but was today set up for much less. All of the screens in the room were red which indicated that the computer was locked until a commander entered an authorization code. Len approached the podium and looked out over 6 other pilots of his Squadron. For weeks they had been practicing, honing their skills for what they assumed would be nothing more than pirates. Today they would learn their true mission. Len inserted his code cylinders and locked them in place, the screens turned green as the doors leading into the briefing room locked.

“Good morning gentlemen,” Len started of cheerfully, “This meeting is classified Level A-2, nothing is to be discussed about our mission until we hit space tomorrow.”

There was a murmur around the room.

Major Valic spoke up confused, “A classified mission against pirates? What’s going on here Commander?”

Len put a hand up gently, bringing the room to quiet. He nodded, “As the Major pointed out, this is not normal procedure,” he returned his hand to the podium, “most of our anti-piracy operations are carried out with no secret. However several weeks ago, Intelligence reported this to the SOO’s and COO’s offices.”

Len changed the display to show a grainy gun camera image of Nebulon-B Frigate alongside a Mon Calamari Cruiser.

“The image has been authenticated, that is Admiral Ackbar’s personal flag ship, Home One.”

Len noticed several pilots locking their jaws at the sound of that name, Ackbar’s fleet had killed not only the Death Star II but also the SSD Executor.

Captain Talra asked the question on everyone’s mind, “When do we go after that son of a bantha, boss?”

A chorus of affirmation followed Crix’s question. “Language!” Spiffy clucked at his fellow Flight Leader.

Again calmly raising his hand, Len spoke “I know we all want to take a shot at him, but that isn’t our task,” dead silence followed, “Instead, we are tasked with finding that frigate. Which is a pirate vessel that we believe is acting as a courier between the NR and pirate forces.”

Advancing the slide to a planet profile Len continued, “The planet EH-4596, a water land planet in the middle of the EH territories. Lush jungles, harsh cold poles. Perfect place for the ‘New Republic’ and the pirates to get comfortable.”

There was a change in the room, it’s like someone had left open a conduit and the charge was building.

“Intelligence has identified three targets,” Len activated the targeting overlay over the planet, “One is a landing platform with enough X-Wings to outnumber Wing II at full strength. Two is a hypermatter reactor, which could create enough hypermatter to power the entire EH for a decade. The third and final target is the headquarters and barracks of this facility.”

“I thought our objective was the frigate? What are we doing with them?” Spiffy asked confused.

Len Smiled, “This is phase one of the operation to capture the frigate. In this phase, Command wants us to provide take air superiority by destroying all the fighters before they can take off. Shifting roles we will then provide close air support for a ground invasion that will secure the hypermatter facility and anyone in the command center. Phase two will begin when the frigate arrives. The frigate is the closest vessel the pirates have, it will come to extract the leaders of this cell. Once it arrives, we will approach and destroy this.”

The slide changed to a side profile of a Nebulon-B frigate a small surface was flashing red on the forward column of the ship.

“What you see glowing red is the life support umbilical port. When one of these ships puts up for repairs, this port is connected so that life support can be refreshed. However if we can destroy the hatch and the environmental controls, the entire ship will depressurize,” Len finished.

“Would have been nice to know that during the war,” GN Mirtez sighed, “What do we do after the ship is depressurized?”

“We are to protect the ship,” Len replied, “a transport will arrive and take control of the ship. Its call sign is Echo 3-4-9. If it does not reply with that call sign and continues to approach, destroy it. Are there any questions?”

Some head shook no, others continued to stare at the screen. “Good. We set out in 12 hours at 0545. Remember, we are not discussing this after I take my code cylinders out and the room unlocks. This mission could prevent a full scale invasion by the New Republic. Failure could spell the end for the EH and the Empire. We are,” Len shouted snapping to attention.

“THE SUM OF ALL FEARS!!!” All of Sigma shouted back as they all snapped to attention.

“Dismissed,” Len said quieter than normal. We really are doing this, aren’t we? We’re going to kill the New Republic, if we do this right we can catch…

“Corellia to LEN!” Spiffy shouted from across the room where there was a massive pile up at the door.

“Yo,” Len said looking up.

“You forgot to unlock the doors laser brain,” Mike chuckled.

Len laughed as he removed his code cylinders, the screens went red and the doors unlocked. He waited until the others had left and the door closed behind them. HA Frodo March stepped out from the back of the room.

“Well done, Commander,” Frothy said with a smile, putting his hand on Len’s shoulder as he gestured for them to walk towards the front of the room.

“Thank you sir, I don’t like it though. Having to leave out the most important detail,” Len replied.
“It’s best that they don’t know the full extent of the New Republic influence on those pirates. Knowledge that Mon Mothma will be present is reserved for command only at this time.”

“Understood sir,” Len replied.

"Shadow War" by General Jarek La'an (bonus entry)

The outer office bustled with quiet, efficient activity barely audible beyond the glass doors leading into the Fleet Commander’s private sanctum. A trio of Flag Lieutenants compiled material ready for a scheduled report, massaging unwieldy statistics and figures – supply tonnages, manpower estimates, refit schedules and countless more reams of data – into headlines capable of rapid delivery to a cabal of Admirals, a group usually big on ideas but short on attention-span. A stern-faced Commander maintained a steady watch for anyone even considering troubling the calm, glancing from time to time towards her junior officers as if expecting trouble or a need to mediate.

Rapier was aware of none of this, his perception of the office around him little more than a general awareness of the cool air circulating from the fans, the sun setting over Aurora casting a warm light through the transparisteel viewport taking up the entire southern wall and casting long shadows. He regretted that offices and meeting rooms seemed to fill his time these days, more a political animal than ever whose time in a cockpit or stood at the centre of an operational combat bridge was little more than a distant memory. He sat staring at the readout on his screen, the rolling text of intelligence briefings and estimates painting a troubling picture of the situation within EH space. The Void Raptors had been a persistent concern, albeit one that the bulk of the civilian population had never been aware of. The reports and rumour mongering from merchant and chartist captains and traders had been effectively stifled, while the rapid action of the TIE Corp’s task groups had shut down most of the operational threat. However even now the occasional attack or convoy raid would be tracked to an old Raptor base or network of contacts.

Troubling didn’t quite cover the potential danger – a resurgent New Republic had once again turned its attention towards the Emperor’s Hammer, a rare period of relative quiet in the surrounding sectors threatening the continued stasis and ceasefire of recent years. Intelligence and security operatives seemed to be pointing towards the NR as the agency behind the recent attacks, their use of the Void Raptor name little more than a sham cover for a provocative, proxy war. Inaction would doom the EH, but overt action would run the risk of open confrontation with the vast NR – a war that the EH, despite allusions of grandeur and a desire to regain lost empire, could realistically never contest.

The only way forward was a delicate one; a short, rapid strike at the units and persons using the Void Raptors name – hopefully sending a strong message to the NR that the EH was too thorny a foe to be stirred into action. The citizens of the NR would never support a pre-emptive strike, but if the EH were to be lured into acting first and crossing the border then the hawks amongst the NR’s armed forces and government would have every cause to finish the Imperial enclave off entirely. The rapid removal of any NR forces and assets from within EH space would send a clear message and prevent any escalation. Rapier paused to stretch out, long hours at this desk having taken their toll.

A limited campaign in scope and scale. Not enough units to resemble an invasion-scale force – NR intelligence was undoubtedly as effective as his own and any fleet movements would be rapidly reported. A short, sharp engagement – the units being drawn on would be needed elsewhere soon enough. Four weeks should do it, four weeks to finally burn the last of the Void Raptors and any NR infiltrators out of whatever hole they were hiding in. In the end the public would never know, the NR would be warned off and the delicate balance of power within the EH would be maintained – the civilian government and military powers remaining united.

“Commander, request an update from the TIE Corps – I’d like to see their figures again. Bring forward my 1500 and bring in the Intel Director afterwards. If he tries to tell you he can’t make it remind him who the Grand Admiral is.” He eased back in his chair, noting the Commander smile as she stood from her desk, moving beyond his narrow view of the outer office and heading for a secure comms unit.

“That was a little unfair, Intel have never been busier – the Director has even had the annoyance of an assassination attempt in the last 24 hours.” The figure sitting in Rapier’s plush conference area turned from his view of the glowing sunset. SA Havok continued, “The press were told that a sub-basement has been collapsed by an auxiliary reactor overload, very unfortunate, poor design and so on. Reality is that one of the unlisted monitoring posts got hit by what I’m told was a thermal detonator that must have been in place for days and triggered remotely. Worrying, but more so as it was having an unscheduled visit from the Director himself. I know you believe in co-incidence about as much as I do.”

“They’re playing with fire. They must have got wind that the fleet taskings have changed, if they’re trying to take out our intel set-up then they want to blind us to whatever they’re doing. Regardless I still need to see the Director and figure out just what the TC can expect to face. Pell and Elwood are confident but neither have any desire to throw their units into a meat-grinder, a trio of ISD’s might once have been acceptable losses but those days are long gone.” Rapier considered Havok’s news for a moment, contemplating the sheer planning needed to stage a brazen attack within Aurora’s government district.

A sharp tone broke the silence, the comms unit in his desk signalling an incoming transmission. The holo-projector quietly hummed into life, a blue cone of light quickly forming a trio of seated figures – the background that of an Admiral’s quarters, presumably those of the ISD Challenge.

“Grand Admiral, TC Admiralty Board reporting as ordered” Elwood’s voice crackled for a moment, a wash of static momentarily corrupting the signal as cycling encryption made their conversation private. “We’re just over 8 hours from operational starting point and on schedule.”

“Excellent, your units are in position?”

“All forces are deployed and manoeuvring into place as we speak, maximum discretion has been maintained thus far. The Hammer and Challenge are using the ionising fields from a pulsar to stay off the grid. The Warrior is following a highly publicised route as part of a shakedown, reality is that she was fully operational days ago. Elements of her task force will maintain the public route to delay any observers, but as soon as we get the execute signal the Warrior will microjump, correct and launch straight into her assault on the primary target.” Elwood’s voice was steady, little betraying the excitement in his heart at the thought of leading the TC into their first combat engagement since succeeding Bonini as TCCOM. Pell sat calmly to his left, another new appointment keen to make his mark. Crsepe was an old-hand, relaxed and well used to these tense hours before the start of a campaign.

“Good, everything is proceeding as planned. Intel will provide a last brief prior to the start of action, for now at least the threat assessment is minimal – they won’t be expecting a direct action, while their units are largely scattered in an attempt to maintain their facade as a mere rebel group. Your greatest threat unit is likely a VSD, but indications are that heavy fighter concentrations may be expected. I won’t lie to you, there will be losses but if you stick to your training and react to events as I know you can, then our victory should be swift and assured.” Rapier allowed his confident tone to offer no other alternative, keenly aware that all four Admirals knew full well the risks and the standards he expected.”

“Projections are light, around the 5% mark, but enemy strengths will struggle to recover their footing from a strong first-strike.” Crsepe contributed quietly, raising his head to meet the gaze of Havok and Rapier. “There’s not going to be a better time.”

“Agreed. Good luck gentlemen, I’ll expect your next update as we execute.” Rapier closed the comms link down and turned to Havok, his XO nodding gently to signal his approval of the TC’s report.

“Sir, your next appointment is here, Moffs Jeroda and Kantor with their update on shipbuilding outlays and launch dates.” The Commander’s gentle voice cut through on the intercom. Rapier glanced through the doors at the waiting figures. He allowed a momentary smile, he may have become a political animal but this was simply another battlefield.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Crsepe and Pell turned to look at Elwood, watching as the TCCOM stood from his place behind the dark, polished wooden table filling the conference room. They said nothing as he turned to peer through the armoured transparisteel at the sickly waves of light cast by the system’s pulsar. Odd shades of green and white threw momentary shadows and distorted the outline of the ships filling his view. The Hammer seemed to dance in the light, its outline almost shimmering, while between them a collection of frigates, freighters and escort vessels reflected odd rays of light or disappeared in shadow. He turned back to his fellow TC Admirals.

“You heard the boss, next update at the execute point. We’ve got 8 hours to do whatever we can do to improve the odds. I’m happy with Dempsey’s last report, her squadrons in particular look good to go. I’ve not seen the last report from the Warrior, has Frodo been able to confirm readiness?”

“It arrived while the FC was talking, Frodo confirms full operational readiness. The Mithras and Cardinal will continue the work-up package, the Subjugator will hyper in to cover the absence of the Warrior and keep any observers unawares while she redeploys to the op area. Subjugator is running on a skeleton crew so we can keep her in place for around 12 hours until she’ll need to return to her refit in the yards.” Pell smiled, pleased with their deceit, a classic bait and switch albeit on a much grander scale.

“Excellent. If we can cut the heads from this hydra in one swoop it should make the next 4 weeks far less costly. Until I see a fully sourced update I’m going to expect heavy resistance and act accordingly. The NR may well be trying to wage a shadow campaign, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have moved more serious assets into place – this isn’t going to be a gang of untrained Uglies, armed freighters and vintage frigates.” He glanced at the chronometer on the bulkhead behind the SOO and COO. “The Warrior should be making their redeployment soon.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“More drills? I’ve heard of long work-ups but this is ridiculous, we’ve been good to go for weeks, what the hell is command playing at?” The complaining pilot was roundly scorned by his colleague, their talk devolving into the usual fare of TIE pilots throughout the fleet. La’an looked away and scanned the rest of the pilot lounge, a lively space off the Warrior’s main hangar – designed to keep pilots comfortable at a high alert readiness and at the minute crowded with the bulk of the four squadrons not tied up in a combat patrol or maintenance runs.

His fellow CMDRs presided over their squadrons, the newly promoted Colonel Plif taking a particular delight in his new insignia, to the ridicule of his Flight Leaders. Major Repulsor looked to have been drawn into an overcomplicated discussion of tactics by his pair of Lieutenants – cutlery, datapads and at least one plate were being used as props in the retelling of some distant battle honour. Commander Eode sat with a pile of datapads on the table in front of him, a cooling cup of recaf in one hand as he scrolled personnel files with the other. His squadron was still under strength and he clearly had every intention of finding pilots to fill it with.

Theta thankfully didn’t have that problem, since it’s recommissioning it had become something of a home for a large number of veteran pilots, carrying an almost ridiculous array of senior ranks across the three flights. His own recent promotion had at least made him equal to the other Generals in the squad, both of whom appeared to be playing the Corellian version of Sabbacc with Tempest, by which he meant he could see all three cheating from across the room.

He knew better of course, indeed most of the veteran pilots had picked up on the signs – the increase in drills, reallocation of supplies, uplift in maintenance. They were all signs of an impending engagement, not a peacetime shakedown cruise. The lounge was quieter than usual, the mood a little more introspective. A briefing would follow, a tasking to be explained and orders issued, the hot rush of combat and then the lengthy post-action debriefs and the post-adrenaline crash. Standing, he rolled his head to stretch his aching neck. Getting old had never been part of the plan, perhaps not old by a civilian standard but certainly in comparison to the sea of young faces in their black flight suits. So many of them untested in combat, so few of his old friends still standing. He snapped out of it as the intercom switched to transmit, cutting over the background music and giving way to the nasal tones of Colonel Frown, the less than beloved Wing Commander of Wing II. He couldn’t help but smile as a clatter announced a dozen thrown missiles hitting the bulkhead in a vain attempt to cut out Frown’s voice, some reminder to maintain paperwork and something about personal responsibility.

The veterans may have misread the situation, La’an may just have become more cynical and less trusting, but all the same he resolved to run an extra set of rounds on Theta’s craft in the next few hours. He tuned in to the intercom broadcast as it drew to a close.

“...of course as Imperial officers I can expect you to deliver all triplicate forms as mandated in Standing Orders. Failure to do so will lead to disciplinary action, that is all.” Thankfully the music regained control and the lounge swang back into life as La’an headed for the door.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The ship stole forward at minimal power, coasting through the edge of the system’s gas clouds as it’s passive sensors strained to pick up any signs of activity or communication. The stained and pitted hull of the Nebulon-B belied the gleaming condition of the ship within, operational and well crewed. From the outside she could be mistaken for a relic of the Civil War, likely owned by a minor gang or trade syndicate as an escort. The reality was far more sinister, a vessel working for a more ambiguous master, one of a small fleet of similar ships crewed and run by the intelligence agencies of the New Republic. Finishing her passive sweep the frigate nosed back into the gas clouds, a short encrypted comms burst over a short-range frequency confirming that their entry point was clear.

Deeper within the clouds the infiltrating NR force continued to wait, ready for any signal that EH forces had commenced their assault on the alleged Void Raptors and ready to launch their own counter-engagement in turn. War would come again eventually, but all the better if the conflict started sooner and the EH could be held accountable for it, Imperial warmongers forcing the Republic into self-defence –all it would take would be a single ship pursuing a “Raptor” unit that little too far over the border. Until then they would wait and watch...

"TIE Fighters from the Imperial Star Destroyer Warrior battle with NR Rebels" by Commander Keth Aalith (bonus entry

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