“Approaching coordinates,” Commander Reidus Kain called out to his wingman, Fen Dolan. “Prepare to come out of Hyperspace.” The onboard navigational computers of their respective V-19 Torrent fighters did the heavy lifting, decelerating both ships in near perfect synchronicity. To the naked eye, it looked as if the two single-pilot craft appeared out of nowhere, then proceeded at standard flight speed through space. “Target point is dead ahead,” said Kain. “Do you have visual on our frigates?”
“Well, if they were in distress, they might have lost engine power and been pulled in by it’s gravity,” said Kain. “I’m going to call it in.” The Commander engaged his communications array. “Commander Kain to Absolute, we’ve arrived at coordinates. No sign of our frigate. Are there any developments?”
“No Commander,” came back the voice of the Absolute’s communications tech, scratchy and distorted as the signal was pulled out of hyperspace burst transmission and decoded back as a comprehensible sound for the pilot.
“Understood,” said Kain. “There is a small planetoid nearby, possibly a stray moon or asteroid. We are moving in to have a closer look, to see if we can find the source of the distress call.”
“Roger,” replied the comms tech. “Report back at standard intervals.”
Kain and Dolan flew their Starfighters towards the grey, lifeless ball floating in space. It was bigger than it had appeared at first glance, but closer inspection revealed it to appear to be a natural space body, pocked by small craters, contrasted by rocky protrusions and mounds spread haphazardly across the whole. There were no signs of life, but as they flew over the horizon, they saw something made of metal and machinery resting alone on the surface. It looked to be a crashed Imperial frigate.
“There she is,” said Dolan.
“Sure looks like it,” said Kain. “But something is off. Why would it be here?”
“Maybe they had a problem with their hyperdrive,” suggested Dolan. “Maybe the nav-computer steered them into this thing.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” said Kain. “Look there. Carbon scoring. This ship was in a fight.”
“Could be old scars,” said Dolan. “Most of our frigates are repurposed from the Clone Wars.”
“No way,” said Kain. “Nothing that came from the core worlds would be allowed to look like that. These are recent, and I’ll bet whatever did it was what brought her down. Keep your eyes open. I’m calling this in.”
Kain sent his transmission back to the Absolute. “Captain Sarcune, I think the frigate was attacked.”
“But why were they there? The ship was headed back to Coruscant,” wondered Captain Sarcune aloud. The captain was an older man, short and stocky, with a bald head covered in his Captain’s cap. He had a voluminous but well trimmed beard, the black hairs giving way rapidly to gray. His steely-blue eyes were still piercing, but the wrinkles around them belied a deceptively soft appearance at first impressions. That had worked to Sarcune’s advantage on more than one occasion.
“No idea, Captain.” said Kain. “Shall we try to hail them?”
“Yes, Commander,” answered Sarcune. “If there are any survivors, maybe they can explain what happened.”
“Yes sir,” answered Kain. “Dolan, attempt to hail the frigate on the standard Imperial channels.”
Dolan acknowledged the order and began to carry it out. Kain surveyed the wreckage. Something gnawed at him as he looked. It was the same sensation he used to experience as a young boy, looking out over the waters of the ocean near his hometown on Baktooine. While the surface was calm, he knew, as did all the people of the planet, that the deep hid terrors which crept dangerously close to the top of Baktooine’s food chain. It was said that Baktooine’s people conquered the sky long before they conquered her sea.
“This is Imperial fighter craft V19003,” said Dolan into his comms. “To frigate designate Bold Born, do you copy? We are responding to your distress call.” Dolan repeated the line as the two pilots made pass after pass. “I’m not getting anything, Commander. I think the Bold Born is a corpse.”
Kain grit his teeth. “Alright, I’m going in for a closer look. Stay up top and keep me in your sights.”
Kain dropped in closer and made a slow pass. As he approached the bridge, he saw a flash of light coming from the view-port. He wasn’t sure if it was a reflection or something else. He turned for another fly-by, this time slower on the same path. As he watched, again he saw the flash, but this time it happened three times in rapid succession. Someone...or something, was signaling him.
“This is Kain to Absolute. I have visual on possible survivors signaling from the bridge.”
“Absolute to Commander Kain, that’s a copy. We’re preparing to jump to your location.”
“No!” shot back Kain. “Not yet, Captain Sarcune. Something isn’t right.”
Sarcune’s voice came back over the comms. “What is it, Commander?”
“I’m...I’m not sure, Captain. It’s a hunch.” Kain shivered, remembering the words his mother used to tell him as they looked out over the sea. ‘Watching and waiting, the lord of the deep. Mindful and vigilant your eyes and mind keep.’ If there were survivors, why hadn’t they answered the hails? “I’m going to try to board her.”
“No, you’re not!” shot back Sarcune. “We’ve got men for that. You don’t want the Absolute, fine. But I’m sending over a team. They’ll be on site shortly. Meanwhile, try and gather more intel.”
“Understood. Kain out.” He made another pass at the bridge. Again, the lights. He slowed to a crawl, and saw the silhouettes of men, waving their arms from inside the ship. “Hold tight, boys,” he thought to himself. “We’ll get you out of there.” His curiosity gnawed at him, but he knew Sarcune’s order was sound. Sometimes, having to view everything from the air didn’t offer the best perspective on a situation.
The time seemed to move too slowly as the two V-19s flew their patrol over the unmoving frigate, until a new ship appeared in the sky near the Imperial pilots. It was the troop landing craft promised by Captain Sarcune. A newer ship, the tri-winged Sentinel landing craft was delivered shortly before the TIE fighters, as it had a hyper-drive of its own, and could be delivered by the assigned pilot.
“V19002 to Sentinel 01. Good to see you. This is Commander Kain”
“This is Sentinel 01. Good to see you as well, Commander. This is Sergeant Marten. Lieutenant Bondi sends his regards. We are moving in to boarding position now.”
Hearing Bondi’s name offered a little comfort to Kain, despite his continued foreboding. Lieutenant Tyron Bondi was the leader of the Absolute’s marine regiment, and another veteran of the Clone Wars. He’d been trained alongside Clones, and saw some action during the closing movements of that war. For some reason he never made known, he had been reassigned to the Absolute just before Order 66 had been enacted and the traitorous Jedi had been eliminated. Kain remembered that Bondi had received the news of war’s end with the Separatists with a stoic indifference. The man was tough, and all business. A good man to have around if you were in trouble. Less so if you were looking to make trouble.
The landing craft approached the frigate, and magnetically attached to the hull over one of the emergency egress ports. While the Sentinel and her crew were more than able to forcefully board a large capital ship, in the case of an ally, it was best to enter as unobtrusively as possible, to avoid collateral damage.
“Bondi to Absolute. My team is in. No sign of survivors aft. There was a fight here. We’re moving towards the bridge.”
Kain chewed his lip as he listened to the steady reports of the marines. They moved up the frigate, and past each bulkhead, no survivors, more signs of battle...but no bodies. The frigate was on reserve power, so movement past the blast doors was slow going.
“We’re at the bridge,” came Bondi’s voice over the comms. “I can hear the men inside. We’re going in.” Kain held his breath. The silence over the comms was maddening, until finally the Marine lieutenant spoke. “Bondi to Absolute. Captain Sarcune, we’ve secured the crew; Seven men, including the Captain. He wants to speak with you directly, Captain.”
“Acknowledged,” came back the Absolute’s reply. There was silence, and Kain listened intently. While he did, something flashed briefly in his peripheral vision.
“Hey, Dolan! Did you see that?” asked Kain.
“See what, Commander?”
“It looked like...I don’t know. It seemed big, but…”
“Are you alright, Commander?” asked Fen.
“Yeah. yeah, it’s nothing. I’m just tired and spooked. We’ve been out here too long.”
“Roger that,” said Dolan. “Let’s get these guys out and go home.”
“Captain Sarcune,” came a scratchy voice. “This is Fordice. Captain Kroy Fordice of the Imperial frigate Bold Born. Please listen to me carefully. Whatever you do, do not jump to hyperspace past this planetoid. It’s a trap. And we...all of us here now, including your men, are the bait.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Sarcune. “What happened to you?”
“The Bold Born was on her way back to Coruscant, to pick up another shipment of TIE fighters for deployment. As we prepped for our jump, our nav computers informed us that the hyperlane we’d come to you on was blocked. Some sort of disturbance which wouldn’t be cleared before we were due back. We were instructed to take an alternate route, so we consulted the charts and found an older hyperlane that hasn’t been used since the Clone Wars. But it seemed to allow us to bypass the normal routes, and still get back on track to avoid...penalties.”
Sarcune grunted his understanding. Since the war, the Empire had become an efficient machine of industry, but at the cost of leeway. The Emperor’s regime did not allow for error or complacency. If you were asked to achieve a goal by the Empire, it had best be achieved, and the closer to the core one got, the more eyes were on you to produce results. The Absolute, patrolling the Outer Rim, had escaped some of the more critical scrutiny, but the Empire’s reach was lengthening. Wilhuff Tarkin, known during the days of the Republic as a critical and effective leader, passionately wielded the power Emperor Palpatine had granted him, though you couldn’t tell by looking at the man. His cold, skeletal mask of a face hid all but the basest emotions. In many ways, he was as cold and purpose driven as the Jedi he’d despised. The recent shipment of gear and men was a clear message – The Absolute was part of the Empire, and thus, beholden to it. Sarcune tugged at his beard.
“All seemed fine,” continued Captain Fordice. “But in a flash, we were unexpectedly out of hyperspace, and almost to the moment, under attack. It was a slaughter – We had no time to put up our defenses, and before we knew it, the Bold Born’s weapons and engines were offline, and we were driven down to this rock. Our attackers boarded, killing everyone they could. Twenty-three men. We…the survivors, we were pushed to the bridge, where we locked ourselves down. We were able to send out a distress call, but as soon as we did, they destroyed our comms. That’s when I realized they wanted us to send the call, to draw others in…”
“Who?” asked Sarcune. “Who attacked you?”
“Battledroids, said Fordice. “Seperatist Battledroids.”
“That’s impossible,” said Sarcune. Every Seperatist droid was shut down at the end of the war by the general command. Perhaps these are pirated droids, reactivated by some group of mercs or dissidents.”
“I don’t think so, Captain Sarcune,” replied Fordice. “We considered that as well, but there were no demands. No one making threats. These droids are on a kill order.”
“They left you alive,” countered Sarcune. “An then left, it seems.”
“True,” said Fordice. “But again, as bait, I believe.”
“So why haven’t they attacked our rescue party?” countered Sarcune.
“I don’t know,” conceded Captain Fordice.
Kain was listening to the back and forth between the captains on his comms unit, and a cold chill ran down his spine. Kain had remembered a story from his childhood. An old story, from when the men of Baktooine had crossed her seas in shipping vessels that skimmed the water, rather than airships that flew over it. How the great dark beasts would cripple smaller ships and circle them, allowing no escape, while waiting for another, larger ship to come to the rescue. Then both would provide a feast for the creatures. So stranded ships became anathema to the sea faring folk of Baktooine. Better to lose one craft than two, or worse. Until airships were crafted out of need, the seas were the fate of only the desperate, the criminal, or the foolishly bold of Baktooine.
“Captain, this is Wing Commander Kain. It may be that we’re not big enough prey.”
“What’s your thinking, Commander?” asked Sarcune.
“I’m thinking we’re stuck here until we can destroy the hunters,” replied Kain. “I can almost guarantee that if we try to get the men off the Bold Born and jump back to the Absolute, we’ll be attacked before we achieve the hyperspace. Something or someone is watching, and very possibly, listening to every word we’re saying even now.”
Sarcune grit his teeth. If it was true, then trying to coordinate a strategy with his men at the crash site would prove problematic. “What evidence do you have for this idea, Commander?”
Kain considered the question. It was a feeling, related to a memory. A memory of a children’s story. But it was more. There was something tugging at his senses. He could see, clearly, what would happen if they tried to jump back to the Absolute.“Captain, I’ll get back to you. I urge you to hold your position until I’m able to contact you again.”
“Understood, Commander,” answered Sarcune. He refrained from saying more, but he decided that if he didn’t hear back from Kain in twenty minutes, he would have to jump to them, trap or not.
“Dolan, meet me on the Bold Born. Let’s touch bases with Bondi and see about getting these men home.”
“Roger that, Commander,” answered Dolan, and the two V-19’s landed on the nearly dead frigate.
Fifteen minutes later, one of the V-19’s lifted off. Dolan’s voice crackled over the long-range channel to the Absolute. “Absolute, this is Fen Dolan onboard V19003. I’m returning ahead of the rescue craft. They’re loading the survivors now.”
Dolan’s V-19 Torrent swung up from the crippled Bold Born and slowed to a near stop as the nav computer determined the direction of the jump, and the hyperdrive engines spun up. “Commander Kain, see you back at the ship…”
Dolan’s sentence was barely finished when a flash of fire erupted from the space above the Bold Born. Before Dolan’s ship could make the jump, it was knocked to its side, then exploded into nothing. Kain watched the fulguration from the bridge of the downed frigate, his hands balled into tight fists. “There’s our proof,” he whispered. He was looking at the source of the attack through the bridge viewport. From this angle, it was a giant orb, surrounded by a crescent of metal. A droid command ship. But something was different. From the hull jutted spiked protrusions of discolored metal, making the ship look to be bristling, almost organic. Antennae of some kind, perhaps. The chill came back. The ship was like a dark beast, floating in sight, but out of reach and untouchable. As Kain stared at the old ship, it disappearing in a flash – First it was there, then it wasn’t. “A cloaking device!” he thought to himself. But that didn’t seem right, even in light of the evidence. Whatever had happened, Kain knew it was still watching, waiting for his next move. Kain resolved to make it a good one.
To be continued...
Episode 2 is significantly longer than Episode 1, and divided up into multiple parts. Episode 1 was an introduction, while Episode 2 is more along the lines of the kind of story I want to tell moving forward.
ReplyDeleteI have been editing up until post-time, which drives me crazy. Every time I look at my writing, I see ways to improve. I think that's fine, but this is an exercise is getting content out on time as well as working in as much quality in the time constraints. If I waited to make it "perfect", it'd never get out there.
Notes on the names - Captain Fordice of the Bold Born was Captain Donnel up until recently. Again, I pick names because I like how they sound, but I never want a Sauron-Sarumon thing happening, and I already have a Dolan.
Thanks again for reading. Please do comment, and share.
"For the Empire!"
-Nas