StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Posted: **2006-12-08 11:17am**

Hi friends, this is a fanfic I started writing in during my hour break between class. This is my first attempt write anything fiction so please do not get your hopes up. In all honestly, I never really intended to put this online, but I figure someone out there might enjoy it. Also while I do not consider myself a write by any means, I do like to think of myself as a story teller (I enjoy telling stories to my little cousins when I go visit them) so when reading please think less about individual errors and details and more about the over all story.

None of this is my own, I take no credit for any of this subject material and do no really care if someone else uses it or copies it, or what ever.
I would like to thank the makers and writer behind Tie Fighter for making my favorite video game ever.

edit: Ok friends I looked around and have no clue how to center the text blow, so if someone would like to help a dumb coonass out I would really appreciate it.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars
Prelude to the Future

It is a bright time for the Galactic Empire. Over a remote forest moon Imperial forces are gathering, led by none other then the Emperor himself to undertake the final destruction of the fledgling Rebellion.

On the other side of known space; the traitorous Grand Admiral Zaarin, leader of a failed coupe attempt against the Emperor is once again on the run after destroying a significant portion of the Empire’s advance starfighter production facilities. Zaarin’s latest victory came with a surprise attack on an Imperial research facility housing the secret Vorknkx cloaking project known as To-phalion Station. Despite a heroic defense lead by Tan Maarek Stele’s Alpha Squadron, Zaarin was able to capture the corvette Vorknkx.

Currently, an Imperial Navy taskforce under the command of newly appointed Grand Admiral Thrawn has hunted down what remains of the rogue Imperial force in a remote sector on the border of Wild Space using a tracking device hidden on the Vorknkx.

“Excellent, the fool is taking the bait.” A faint smile edged across the red eyed aliens face. Observing this, Captain Raavin could not help being pleased with himself and his crew. This was the first time that had seen a candid smile on the Grand Admiral’s face in his many years of service, sure, there were past smiles, but they were all calculated and cold, much as the Grand Admiral himself. Raavin had been fortunate enough to be Thrawn’s second in command as captain of his flagship for the last three years. Originally tasked to pacify the Pakuuni system, its overall goal changed shortly after, when news of the Emperor’s Day coupe led to the force being reassigned to uncover and destroy the perpetrators.
“Yes sir. It appears that Zaarin is still onboard the Glory preparing to abandon ship, Alpha One acknowledges that he was not present on one of the evacuating shuttles.”
“Good. That leaves him with only one other means of escape. Have Alpha squadron regroup with the strike force and continue the attack on the Glory.”
Turing to relay the order, Raavin was immediately interrupted by Thrawn. “Wait, delay that; notify our forces to disable the Star Destroyer. We shall need information in conspirators in order to root out other traitors.”

******
“Copy order, Alpha One out,” damn, thought Maarek Stele. “I always wanted to play a part in destroying something the size of an ISD. Alpha Two, target nearest fighter and attack. It looks like we have to finish up all the dirty work while the gunboats get all the fun.”
“Roger that Alpha Leader.”
The Tie Avenger continued on its current path, locked on to one of the former Grand Admiral’s few remaining operational Tie Defenders. Maarek could feel the fear in the doomed pilot’s thoughts has he drove his Tie into the small space between the massive wedged Star Destroyer and the attacking Strike Cruisers. “Target locked, firing concussion missile.” A slight vibration shuttered through the cockpit as a missile rocketed out of the compact fighter almost instantly, weaving and turning as it homed onto the panicked fighter before vaporizing its shields and causing damage to the fighter’s weak fuselage. “Target hit! Proceeding to fire cannons”
“Too late Maarek!” blasted Colt, Alpha Two’s pilot as a debris cloud formed where the Defender once was.
“Damn, that was mine! Oh, and that’s Tan Stele to you!” Maarek replied, pleased at seeing his friend’s rapid improvement in the art of starfighter combat, but now was not the time to think of such thoughts. In the corner of his brain Maarek could feel a tingling, something was about to go drastically wrong. Could this be a message from the force? Sure he had been told by the priests of the Order that he was more then just a little force sensitive, hell, he was one of the Emperor’s leading operatives; The Emperor’s Reach, but he had never experience a sensation even remotely like this before. Sure he had some abilities other than uncanny reflexes and amazing luck, but nothing that he would consider to be more then limited skill in the Force. Of course he wouldn’t dare tell the Prophets that. He would continue to play along and listened to the prophets aboard the Order’s modified frigate Osprey, but he never thought he would be able to…

****** ISD Grey Wolf
“Sir, gunboats Tau and Rou have arrived and are proceeding to disable the Glory, reporting little in the way of fighter resistance thanks to Alpha squad,” said captain Raavin, standing in the center of the Grey Wolf’s bridge. Below him, he could see the countless officers and technicians working diligently to perform each order given to them through the chain of command. Directly in front out in the distance stood the formidable Glory, with turbolaser’s ablaze firing for this life against his proud strike force, but alas, all once formidable things must come to an end and this is one of those times. Zaarin’s crew, while traitors have put up quite an admirable fight.
“Good. Captain, order the…”
“Sir! The Interdictor Corvus has just lost shields and more enemy reinforcements have arrived, im counting two Carrack-class light cruisers, one Victory, and a number of what appears to be non-imperial cruisers, fighter craft, and assault transports such as T-Wings, R-41’s and Muurian transports!” shouted an officer.
A slight ridge appeared on Thrawn’s brow, “Move the Grey Wolf in place to protect her. Then have the Divine Wind intersect those fighters! Then once Zaarin’s reinforcements have committed to their formation, have the Interdictor Twister as well as task force beta jump in behind them as a precaution and engage operation gamma three. It appears our good Admiral is throwing in all his reserves. Good, less to find later.”

While this interchange was taking place, a man wearing a grey Moff uniform slowly emerged onto the command deck from the side entrance. “This better work Thrawn, the Emperor would not be pleased to lose both the cloaking devise and Zaarin at once.”
“You have doubts in my ability my good Moff Doss?”
“No, you must have me mistaken. I would never doubt someone with your high esteem,” smiled the young Moff, “I was just attempting to remind you the importance of this mission.” Moff Delose Doss had only recently transferred aboard the task force before serving as the regional governor of Arteria. He had been given this job by the Emperor himself in order to oversee any political problems that might arise with the locals during the extermination of the traitors in rim and wild space. His real reason for being though was only known to a select few in the command staff; once Thrawn’s initial mission was complete he was to be the supreme governor of all regions pacified in order to prepare the region for an unknown threat. This bit of information though was obviously kept secret in order not to needlessly offend the locals until Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin’s forces were eliminated.

****** ISD Glory

The space around the Imperial Star Destroyer mrk II Glory was alive with the glowing green beams of turbolaser fire and eerie blue light of ion cannons frantically firing back in forth, its broad triangular hull showing the obvious signs of battle scaring. The gunners aboard the Glory were fighting for the more then their lives now, after seeing the blue ion bolts, knowing fully well the amount of pain and torment that would surly befell them by the imperial interrogators if captured.
“Admiral, our reinforcements have arrived; moving to attack the Corvus”
Zaarin could not help but smile, all is not lost he thought as he glanced down at a near by display panel confirming the information he had just heard, “Good prepare the Vorknkx for an emergency evacuation. I am on my way there now.”
Outside the Star Destroyer, the Strike Cruisers Daring and Ebolo where converging on the new arrivals, leaving the seemly doomed destroyer it the hands of the Assault Gunboats. Targeting the frigate Harasser, they released a coordinate barrage of Turbolaser fire upon the frigate from both sides, causing catastrophic damage to its shields. Moving in to help their wounded comrades, a pair of Carrack light cruisers lunging in to position themselves between the attackers and the reeling Harasser. At the same time a squadron R-51’s moved to outflank oncoming Tie Interceptors in order to give a wide birth the T-Wings who where attacking the gunboats with their enormous missile payload.

“Alpha Two this is Alpha One, watch out for those fraggin cannons and don’t get in the way of those Strike Cruisers, evasive maneuvers! We have to get out of here and protect the Corvus from those assault transports, leave the T-Wings to the Interceptors. Divert weapon’s power to engines and go to max speed!”
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, buzzers and lights started to flash all throughout the cockpit. “Colt! I’ve got a missile locked on my ass, going to try to evade it, cover me and see if you can get a shot on the damn thing!”
“Copy Mr. Tan Stele sire!”
“Tan is enough thank you very much!” Smirked Maarek as he weaved his Avenger to a hard port. Using all his combined knowledge and skill in the Force to avoid the missile, he diverted power from his shields in order to up his thrust. Suddenly an explosion rocked the small craft as a lucky shot from his wingman laid waste to the missile.
“Nice shot Alpha Two! Thanks a lot Colt.”
“Not a problem buddy, ok time to take out those transports im locking on to Omega Two, you take Four”
The pair of Avengers dodge in and out fire as they moved closer to their pray. The Muurian transports were large and heavy armored compared to any Tie, but hopelessly sluggish when stacked next to the Avengers. As laser fire racked the side of the transports, explosions erupted above the necked hull of the Corvus as Alpha group managed to destroy or force into retreat close to one third of the assault group in less then a minute.

*****Vorknkx
“Damnit!” sneered Zaarin bracing himself against the nearby wall. He had almost fallen from that last torpedo hit. Hatred grew inside him as he contemplated how the Emperor dared send a blue skinned alien posing as a Grand Admiral of all things to defeat him. Was it enough that the old man spent valuable resources and time devoted to the ways of old wizards? Thrawn, he was trash! A nonhuman barely fit to wax his boot in the ideals of the New Order. Oh the shame to be brought down by one of them and an Empire no better then the kriffing alien loving rebellion. No he thought, this can not happen now, not when he was on the verge of gaining the ultimate tactical advantage, a working cloak! “You must activate the cloaking device at once!” he screamed over the com to the bridge.
“Admiral Zaarin,” cried a young ensign over the com, “the device is very unstable, we don’t know the consequence of activating it while engaging the hyperdrive, much less on the edge of two interdiction fields!”
“We have no choice! Start the initiation process immediately,” Zaarin gritted not attempting to hide his contempt at the ensign for stating the obvious.
“We are now currently cloaked sir. They appear to not be able to obtain a sensor or visual lock, but the power on the ship is finite it will no be able to hold it for much longer.”
“Very well, prepare to engage the hyperdrive,” sighed Zaarin as he finally made his way to the bridge and his command chair, located in the center of a fairly crammed bridge in the frontal portion of the ship, commonly referred to as the “hammer’s head”.
“Engaging hyperdrive”
Good, thought Zaarin. “Once again I have been able to evade Thrawn’s grasp,” he mumbled, “I knew I would be able to beat that…”

Then all went black on the corellian corvette Vorknkx.

****** ISD Grey Wolf

“Gunboat Tau Two reporting that the Glory disabled, and what appears to be the corvette Vorknkx leaving the hanger… Wait now it is gone, it appears to have cloaked.
“Good,” said Thrawn, “My final plan is coming into play. Let’s see how far he gets when he tries to engage the hyperdrive.”
“Sir, where the corvette should have been is now well I don’t know!”
“What? Report commander!” cried captain Raavin, looking feverishly down at the lower control stations then immediately out the view port when he noticed frightened stares. “What the frag is that!” Pointing at the large dark blue vortex located near where the Glory and half of his task force once was.
“Im not sure sir, sensors can’t make sense of any of the readings it must be some kind of subspace disruption caused by the Vorknkx attempting to enter hyperspace, all we do know for sure is that its expanding at an ever increasing rate and appears to be pulling everything in its void…” the obviously nervous commander replied.
“Contact the Interdictors have them drop their fields and prepare to go to enact emergency hyperdrive procedures!” interjected Thrawn in a cool commanding voice.
“Too late sir it’s…” And suddenly the mighty Imperial Star Destroyer started to vibrate and buckle and it turned to and fro inside the vortex.

Posted: **2006-12-08 11:39am**

SW vs. ST: Incompertus Terra

Chapter One: Undiscovered Country

Along with many other ships from the two opposing strike forces, the ISD Grey Wolf laid dormant in the dark vastness of space. With most of the crew members still unconscious from their turbulent journey, those responsive tried feverishly to get the damaged systems back online.
“Agrrh,” moaned captain Raavin as he slowly rose from the floor, grabbing his head and looking around, he noticed that only about a fourth of the bridge crew appeared to be active. “What’s going on, where is the main power? I want a full sensor sweep now!” he blurted, trying his best to sound dignified professional despite his current condition.
“Sorry sir, but almost nothing is operational and from looking out of the view ports, it appears the other ships are in the same situation.”
“Good, at least don’t have to worry about Zaarin’s surviving forces gaining an upper hand,” he commentated. Then suddenly while surveying the damaged bridge, it hit him, “Where’s the Grand Admiral?”

“He left about three minutes before you awoke sir. He said he was heading to the top level observation deck for a better view of the surroundings.”
“Well start getting everything operational I want com systems on as soon as possible. Make them your first priority, im heading up to see the Grand Admiral.”
“Aye sir.”

The corridors leaving the bridge where mostly dark, except for intermediate and sporadic lighting from the emergency flashers, but they gave enough light to perform their duty. Thank the sith, thought Raavin, that the damn sirens weren’t blasting, lord knows his head couldn’t take much more. The hallways were mostly empty except for an occasional technician or droid hurriedly making repairs to pivotal system. As he walked down toward the turbolift he suddenly realized they wouldn’t be working, with all available power being used for lighting and life support. Gruntingly he headed toward the stairwell, bracing himself for the long climb ahead.

Stopping before the door to the observation lounge to catch his breath, Raavin quickly examined his uniform and looked himself over, wrinkled; not unexpected given the circumstances he thought. Pressing the button on the nearby panel, the door quickly opened revealing in it a room completely surrounded by observation portals and dormant tactical displays. In the rooms center stood the Grand Admiral in his starched white uniform free of all wrinkles. Standing one and eight tenths of a meter, the alien had a commanding sense about him even in the silent room; his glowing red eyes could be seen in the reflective view port gazing at the surrounding ships and the phenomena that brought them here. Next to him was the young Moff Doss also staring out into the darkness, while displaying a presence in his own right, it was his charisma ability to persuade that was to known to all onboard to be his calling card, even in the overwhelming presence of Thrawn. In the nearby corner shadows Raavin could barely make out the shape of Thrawn’s Noghri body guard Mugh.

“Ah captain, nice of you to join us,” Thrawn said without removing his gaze from the nearby wormhole, he continued on. “Good to see that you do not have any negative effects from our little journey,” he continued, while motioning for the captain to walk forward towards the dimly lit central platform that was raised about 2 meters above the rest of the lounge. “It does appear we are not where we started. Is there any news on fleet or this ship?”

“Almost everything that can not be run off emergency systems offline sir, I have the crew working to get the com system up as a priority. It also appears that Zaarin’s forces are in the same predicament,” replied Raavin, noticing that Doss had a very worried look on his face.
“Anything to add Moff Doss?” asked Thrawn casually, still staring at the silent ships in space.
“No, just wondering where the Kriff we are.”
“Agreed, that is a question deserving of an answer. Let’s get a little information shall we? Captain Raavin will you do me a favor and head down to the pilot’s briefing center and asked the cloaked man in the corner to come join us?”
“Cloaked man sir?” asked a slightly baffled Raavin. “I’ve been down there several times during briefings and have never noticed someone with that description.”
“That’s because you have not been actively looked for him before. Have you? You shall discover soon that there are many things in this universe that you will not notice at first, without it being suggested by others.”
Captain Raavin attempting to hide his confusion nodded his head and turned around, heading for the exit.

“And one more thing Capitan, show the man a good amount of respect when you meet him. He is quite powerful indeed.” A slight calculated grin appeared on his face as he turned around from the portal for the first time during the impromptu meeting.
Raavin trying to force a smile turned back and headed towards the door when suddenly he came to full stop. Standing at already opened passage, was a cloaked figure. The man stood about one and a half meters tall had an indescribable chill being emitted from his body. The hood he wore had some kind of shadowing effect on his face, covering it much more intimately then one would expect. From what Raavin could gather he was human male with pale wrinkled skin and a malevolent smile.
“Ah High Priest Xian, good of you to join us, I was just sending our dear captain to retrieve you so we can discuss this predicament of ours,” Thrawn said, turning completely around from the view port to face the newcomer.
“I have lost contact with the Emperor, there is no impression left from him in force. He has either been defeated or…”
“Or we have been transported very far by that vortex. Yes, that had been my conclusion as well and with the information you have just given me it appears it was correct,” finished Thrawn.
A glimmer of fear passed along the faces of Moss Doss and Captain Raavin upon hearing Thrawn statement, when suddenly Raavin’s comlink start beeping, “Capital we have sensors and the com system is up as you requested.”

Thrawn turned back towards space as he tapped on the comlink, “Good, get ready for a fleet wide broadcast on my mark, but first I want you to do a full sensor scan on the surrounding area, focusing mostly on the vortex.” Finishing, he turned back to the gathered group of Imperials. “It is time to lay down an ultimatum. It appears we might be stuck in a predicament if we are not able to get back to Imperial space. We can not risk any losses in pacifying an already defeated enemy.”
Suddenly an anxious voice came over the com, “Sir, initial scans show that the anomaly appears to be stable, but only one directional. Using maximum thrust it is believed that we would not be able to even get near to the entrance, much less travel through it, but I would like to remind you that we are engineers and technicians, not scientist so this is only a preliminary observation.”

“Thank you officer, continue scanning the region. I want to know everything about the area by the time I make my way back to the bridge. Prepare to relay a message to the both the fleets.” After waiting a few seconds Thrawn began to open his mouth, “To all Imperial forces, both those loyal to the Empire those once under the command of the traitorous Zaarin. This is Grand Admiral Thrawn on board the Imperial Star Destroyer Grey Wolf. As you have no doubt noticed, we are currently in a dilemma with us having been transported through some sort of wormhole against our will. It appears that this was a one way journey and as such it would constitute a useless task to continue this battle. No Purpose would be served in a continued conflict other then weakening our forces anymore then necessary in this possibly hostile location. We have no way to know what is out there and thus, I have decided that I will offer full pardon to all scientists, Jr. Officers and below. The commanders will be pardoned on a case by case basis. My command staff will wait for notification for one hour, any ships powering up and attempting to escape will be destroyed immediately.” With that Thrawn turned around and proceeded to head towards the exit, “Shall we make our way to the bridge and see what their decisions are?”

“Admiral, is it wise to just give such blanketed pardons?” Moff Doss asked, straitening up after finishing his little comment, “I mean im not quite sure you have the authority to do that.”

Walking slightly ahead of the group Thrawn turned his head around quickly responding, “Your right but with your co-signature on the order we will be able to convince the traitors that they are safe for now. Besides as I said, this is not the time for us to do battle. We are in an unknown situation and I will not risk valuable Imperial lives and machinery in a futile attempt at revenge, the perpetrator Zaarin has already paid his price.”

******
Deep in the bowls of the mighty ship; engineering crews were hard at work rebooting and repairing the damaged systems of the Grey Wolf. Elsewhere in space lights were starting to shine brighter as more and more ships gained power and started to respond to the ultimatum.

“Admiral, we are receiving reports from the VSD Red Claw, Nebulon-B escort frigate Harasser, Dreadnaught Tal'cara as well as Carrack cruisers Modelo and Vigilant; they are willing to surrender. Now just the Glory, corvettes, transports and fighters need to acknowledge, but they all appear to be so damaged that im not even sure they received the message.”

“Good, Captain Raavin?”
Straitening up almost immediately, Raavin maneuvered to Thrawn’s side, “Yes Admiral?”

“Have the tugs and transports launch immediately to tow the disabled ships into the hanger, start with ours then proceed to Zaarin’s. Once the hanger is filled, move the empty ships out into space for temporary storage. Our priority is saving the pilots. Then when you’re finished, send boarding parties to the Glory. Also as soon as we have Ties operational I want them to be put on a defensive patrol. I’ll be in my quarters discussing the situation with Moff Doss, notify me when we have full control of the fleet. High Priest Xian would you care to join us?”

“Yes sir,” replied Raavin. With that three turned around and headed out of the bridge towards the Grand Admiral’s quarters. He couldn’t help but to think about what was to be talked about between the three and why that old wizard had been invited over him. That sith, thought Raavin, something about him wasn’t right. “Ok you heard the Grand Admiral, I want those ships recovered and the Glory boarded before the day is done, now get working.”

******
Raavin always felt nerves when he was about to enter the Thrawn’s chambers. Sure he wasn’t know to take his anger out on his subordinates like the dreaded Vader, in fact he was considered by many including Raavin to a very fair man and a great superior officer. That was of course, once you got past his alien blood, which seemed to be forgotten by most of the crew once his brilliance was proven in battle. Sith! Raavin thought, he even had good news to tell him, what was wrong with him? Why was he so nervous? Then he realized it. It was that damn sith, for some reason ever sense they met earlier he had had a horrid feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Oh well,” he mumbled, once again looking over his uniform, before preparing to enter.

“Ah Captain, will you please enter I look forward to reading your report on our new position.”

“Well sirs,” Raavin replied, noticing that both Doss and Xian were sitting at a table near Thrawn and listening intently. “It appears that your initial assumption was correct; from our preliminary attempts to match this area with known star charts it appears that we are no longer in our galaxy. It is impossible for us to currently calculate where we in fact are, but we are indeed far, far away.”

“I see,” interjected Moff Doss. “Any further updates on our ability to reenter the anomaly, or even send a transmission?”
“At this time it appears that our initial assessment was also correct in that it is stable, but it impossible for either ships or messages to travel back through it, but be rest assured we will continue looking into it. Once we have Zaarin’s scientist we should have a better understanding of the situation”

“Speaking of which. How goes the taking over of the Glory?”
“Well, currently we have taken over engineering as well as the bridge; we have about 30 percent of the ship left, but meeting little resistance. In fact, most of the stormtroopers surrendered immediately once the announcement was made over the ships internal comsystem. The only real fight was between the officers and the battle droids under their command, but that was only until we took command of the central computer control room.”
“Battle droids! Where the kiff did those come from?” Moff Doss quickly asked striating up almost instantly.

“Well, as you can see,” Raavin replied as he stood up and handed out data cards to the surrounding officers. “It appears that Zaarin, running low on loyal ground troops and technicians so he contracted out a major droid force from a third party and filled his cargo holds to the brink. All in and between the Glory and his other forces we now have about fifty thousand battle droids. Other relevant good news is that we now also have manufacturing abilities, it appears that those reinforcements that entered the battle near the end were actually an escorted supply convey delivering machinery for mining and ore smelting. Apparently the Admiral was in more dire need of forces and resources then we first realized. This would also account for the third party vessels, which are mercenaries chartered by the Neimoidian Corporate Alliance. All of which information can be seen on the data pads. Also note that fighter complements have not been reorganized to deal with losses.”

Posted: **2006-12-08 11:46am**

Posted: **2006-12-08 11:50am**

******

Out in the cold darkness of space among the many silent ships; drifted the seemly lifeless Tie Avenger Alpha One, its small dark frame nearly invisible among the vast planes of deep space. “Kriff!” blasted Maarek, in his black spacesuit. “Does anyone read me? This is Alpha One. I appear to be without any form of external power besides my jumpsuit, requesting an emergency transportation back to hanger… Damn, nothing but static,” sighed the obviously fatigued pilot. The suit must not have enough power to reach any of the nearby ships, either that or they are in the same boat I’m in, thought Maarek. Peering through the fighter’s front portal he could barely make out a few dormant star fighters, but none of the capital ships from either task force. Looking over the darkened command consol, he noted that even the most basic controls were non-responsive. Then suddenly out of no where he started hearing near silent whispers. Trying hard to listen and understand, Maarek attempted to calm his body using a technique taught to him by the Dark Side Prophets. Slowly, after reaching a stance close to a deep sleep, the near silent voice quickly became a roar. “High Priest Xian, is that you?”
“Yes, my friend it is I. It is good to see that you are still among us.”
“Yes it is friend.”
“Tell me my young ally; do you feel anything different now?”
Those innocent words were like a trigger flowing through the young pilot’s subconscious; suddenly opening up a new plane of senses and power that were never known to him before. Much like a light bulb flashing in a person’s mind after coming up with an idea, a whole new realm of powers seemed to be in his grasp.
“Yes, my master,” stated Maarek in a much deeper tone then earlier. “It appears I have lost something familiar, something controlling… The Emperor!” shouted Maarek, “I can’t sense him anywhere.”
“It appears my young servant that we have been separated from our master. Go deeper; allow your fear and power to enhance your being. Tell me Maarek, what do you feel?”
“I feel nothing. I feel no other beacons in the force. It is like an empty galaxy.”
“Yes my young adept, but that is not all. I sense there are some users of the Force, but they are on a different level. We will know more in time”
Suddenly, before Maarek could respond a loud beep broke the static in his ear.
“Alpha One, this is CT-11 Space Tug AF89-D requesting permission to perform preliminary docking operations, can you respond?”
“Roger AF89-D, go ahead, how long until we reach the Glory?”
“You were pretty far out in the battle field sir, so at this rate it will take about an hour till we enter the hanger.”
“Copy that.”
Slowly as tiny craft maneuvered itself into position directly above the dark fighter and engaged its powerful tractor beams, Maarek once again delved deep into meditation.

******ISD Grey Wolf

“…as for our location, it appears we are in the center of a fairly large portion of space home to volatile nebulas and plasma storms. These phenomenons are wreaking havoc with our sensors, thus we are unable to know how much of the galaxy is like this. As for our immediate surroundings: we are located in what appears to be a mid size asteroid field with asteroids ranging in size from a few meters to several hundred, the largest being eleven hundred meters in diameter, code named Alpha Four.” Taking a break to look around the room Raavin noticed that only Thrawn seemed to be playing close attention, Doss was still busy looking over the data card while the high priest appeared to be deep in some sort of meditation. After a short break, mostly waiting for the Moff to give him some sign that he was caught up, Raavin continued, by pulling up a new image on the projector. “A class M planet is located here, slightly outside the turbulent space” Raavin stated, pointing to a location roughly a fourth of the way between the wormhole and the edge of active sensor scans. “Initial scans show that it is inhabited by a race of aliens that is just now experimenting with the beginnings of space travel. There are no space craft in the area, but there are a number of primitive artificial satellites in orbit.”

“Any idea on their on their culture or the planets resources?” Thrawn asked, obviously curious about the new subject.

“At this time very little, the planet does have what appears to be some industrial areas, but they are very inefficient by even our most basic galactic standards. On both of the major planetary landmasses there are massive farmlands and crop grazing areas.”

“Looks like we found a source a food,” Moff Doss interrupted, “should we start preparing for an invasion force?”

“Not yet,” Thrawn replied, “there might be other ways to control the planet without committing valuable forces. Captain, tell me do we know anything about their culture?”

“Unfortunately no Admiral, so far the protocol droids have been unable to even develop a basic understanding of their language. I was just about to recommend having all the protocol droids in the fleet be reassigned to monitor the transmissions coming from the planet.”
“You have permission, anything else?”
“No sir.”

“Well then, our first order of operations is to secure this area and start exploring our surroundings. I want gunboat group Tau to jump out to the edge of our sensor range and start scanning the soundings, passive only. I do not want anyone to know we are here. Then we need to launch a series of sensor bacons using our transports around the region to form a sensor net. I want to know anything and everything the passes within 3 light years of our area. Finally we need a star base to act as our new headquarters, even if we do manage to peacefully pacify the planets population, I do not want to have to trust it as a location for our headquarters. I want plans on my desk as soon as possible outlying ideas for turning asteroid Alpha Four into a hidden base of operations. Captain Raavin, you are excused to continue your work; everyone is dismissed, except for you Moff Doss, I would like to have a few words with you.”

After waiting for everyone else to leave the room Grand Admiral Thrawn turned to the young Moff and began talking. “As I just said, it appears that we need to start to develop this area as a base of operations until we can find away to contact the Empire. I want you to be in charged of running the day to day operations and seeing to it that we have enough supplies and resources to survive. For your first order of business, I want you to overhead the dealings with the nearby planet. We need to obtain as much information as we can before opening up diplomatic relations with the inhabitants. You need to coerce them into joining the Empire as quickly as possible.”

A big smile was evident on Doss’s face, “I will start immediately,” he quickly replied, not even attempting to hide is joy at the assignment. “They will be Imperial servants before they even know what happened.”

“Good, but I would like to remind you that it would be best if they join freely and eagerly.”

“I wouldn’t think of doing it any other way,” Doss remarked, already getting out of his chair and turning towards the exit. “You can count on me Grand Admiral.”

******

“Do we have an understanding of their language yet?” demanded Moff Doss as he entered the makeshift communication center located off the main bridge. The room was full of nearly one hundred protocol droids of all types converged from all parts of the fleet. All of which were interacting with each other while listening to the primitive radio waves that were being emitted from the planet.

“Yes sir, it appears we have an understanding of roughly 64.8454 percent of words that have been currently been used in the Agroid transmissions,” responded the nearest protocol unit. “It is quite amazing to have found a language without any part of it in our databanks. I personally am fluent in over…”

“Enough! The Agroids, is that what they call themselves?” asked Doss looking over the many rows of bickering droids to his right hovering over displays picturing the planet’s primitive visual communications.

“Yes sir, it appears that is what the primary culture on the planet calls itself. From what I have gathered they control roughly seventy percent of planet. They appear to have both an understanding of semi advance machines, while at the same time no understand of anything. Instead they spend vast amounts of planetary resources in comradeship as well as comedy. ”

“What? How the hell could that be?”
“I am not sure master Doss. It as you can see here, these visuals depict nothing more then a rudimentary understanding of basic tools,” the droid relied, while at the same time pulling up some visuals on the screen directly in front of the Moff. “Which defies my logic circuits seeing how if this was accurate, they would not be able to transmit these signals. The only logical conclusion must be that part of the planet is very much isolated from the majority, but we have not seen or found any information to prove this.”

“Agrrh,” sighed Doss, putting his hand on his forehead. “Over a hundred of the Empire’s most advance protocol droids here and you can not even distinguish between a basic two dimensional holodrama and their actual modern culture!”

“But Master!” the droid screamed waving its metallic arms up and down, “might I remind you that data analysis is not a key part of my programming…”

“So using these new parameters that I have given you, can you give me a basic summary of their culture?” interjected the Moff, showing his obvious frustration with the golden droid. “Of all the models in the room I had to pick a standard commercial loudmouth 3PO series,” grunted Doss.

“One second sir,” the droid replied while simultaneously shuffling its body towards its nearby companions.

After a few minutes of conversation with its fellow droids, the original droid slowly walked back towards the Moff. “It appears sir, that since you have solved our initial quandary, I can now report with the highest probability of certainty about the Agroid culture. While a pre-space fairing species, they have a quite a number of artificial satellites in orbit, as well as a small number of primitive space probes exploring the planets in their solar system. The Agroids themselves are a militaristic race, in which everyone over a certain age must join the local militia. This gives the planet a large standing military approaching three hundred million; but since by all reasonable standards the planet is under the control of one leader, they are not highly trained or experienced. In fact many members of the of the species consider their brief military career nothing more then a prolonged retreat from their otherwise dreary work on the many farms covering the planet.”

“So they have nothing but a large fake army with little experience?” asked Doss with a large smile on his face. “This will be even easier then I initially thought. What is their industrial capacity?”

“It is incredibly small for their planetary population. Most of the manpower is either used in their military or in farming. Over 69.3421 percent of land under their control has been converted to large plantations. With little machinery, it is necessary for a large potion of their population to farm in order to keep a positive population growth.”

“I see, how long until you are able to understand enough of the language to help perform negations?” Doss asked, while inspecting a video feed that currently was feature what appeared to be a primitive military column parading through the capital.

“Relative total comprehension should be achieved in 12.3 hours,” relied a monotone alien like LOM-series protocol droid from behind.

“He was talking to me! You repulsive insect like heap pile, for the world of me, I do not even know why you were aloud on this fine Imperial cruiser,” interrupted the original 3PO series.

Allowing the two droids to continue to bicker, Doss turned headed towards the bridge. Already deep in thought on ways to conquer the planet, he ordered the X.O. in on duty to notify the Grand Admiral that he transferring to the Red Claw in order to proceed with his mission. Moff Doss during these last few days could barely contain his glee after being given full command to do as he sees fit in order to gain command of the near by planet. Grand Admiral Thrawn’s only directive was that there be minimal losses if any at all and that the planet would not require an overly large garrison. The perfect way to show the Grand Admiral that he wasn’t some impudent bureaucrat and that he truly deserved the power entrusted in him by the Emperor.

****** VSD Red Claw

After arriving on the Victory Star Destroyer Red Claw on his personal Lambda shuttle Moff’s Pride flanked by a pair of Zaarin's newly modified shielded Ties, Doss had to remind himself that he was not just entering an Imperial vessel, but one that only a few days ago was commanded and loyal one of the biggest traitors in galactic history. Thinking over this as he prepared to exit the shuttle he couldn’t help but marvel at what strange bedfellow’s necessity and revenge were. As the landing ramped extended giving way to the massive hanger by, Doss noticed that a platoon of Stormtroopers had already arranged themselves in front of the ramp. As his head finally made its way clear of the shuttles fuselage, Doss could see through his unobstructed view that waiting at the end of the long procession of troopers was pair of vaguely familiar human like droids dawning white robes, each of which grasping a large metallic staff. In the center of those two was a senior officer, standing about 1.6 meters tall. The officer reminded Doss of his old chief guardsman during his childhood day when he was still nothing more then an Arterian aristocrat busy trying to do the sorts of things innocent children did. That Doss was long gone though; he was sacrificed in a gambit arranged by his father in order to curry favor with the newly formed Empire after being vocal supporters for separatist movement.

“Welcome aboard the Red Claw Moff Doss,” said the officer. “I trust your flight was to your liking.”

“As uneventful as expected.”
“Good to hear. I am Command Zander, current captain of the Victory Star Destroyer Red Claw and these here,” Zander continued, pointing towards the two droids, “are your new IG-100 MagnaGuards IG-184 and IG-112a specifically directed by Grand Admiral Thrawn himself to be your personal bodyguards from now on out.”

Looking at the two droids, Doss finally realized where he had seen them before; they where the same type he saw in his families royal estate while his father was negotiating with General Grievous during the waning days of the Clone Wars. Unlike the late General’s though, these showed no sign of battle scaring at all. They appeared to be in immaculate condition and with their long flowing white cloak reminding Doss more of an Imperial Royal Guard then a battle droid. Embroidered on their cloaks as well as on their breastplate was a dull grey Imperial Cog which Doss presumed meant that Zaarin intended to keep the symbol in use after his little rebellion.

Motioning for the Commander to follow, Doss preceded to walk towards the nearest turbolift. “I trust the ship has undergone enough repairs to complete this mission.”

“Yes sir.”
Walking into the turbolift doors, Doss noticed that the two droids took their places almost immediately to his sides, bracing their staff in their hands. “Don’t say much do they?” smirked Doss as he directed the turbolift stop near the bridge.

Once on the bridge, Moff Doss began issuing his orders and slowly the massive Victory Star Destroyer began making preparations for atmospheric flight.

Posted: **2006-12-12 05:20am**

Chapter Two: Initial Conquest and Consolidation

****** Planet Agroid

“Chief observers log, Stardate 48388.8. This is head researcher Doctor Derek Barron performing today’s observation report. Today marked an extraordinary chance to research and truly understand the deeply traditionalist Agroid culture. It is currently the six hundred anniversary of the rise to power of the contemporary Frantone dynasty and as such is a day of massive celebration and military parades. This day also marks the first day after the initial crop harvest of the year in the northern hemisphere, which houses the traditional capital of the dynasty; the fortress city of Byacegeion, which is located at the heart of the regions farmland. Starting at different times throughout the week local militias began their yearly trek towards the capital city. We are currently watching the processions on the local video broadcasts and it truly an amazing site to see.”

“Doctor Barron! Get over here Revil Slocum is about to make his historic speech!” yelled his young intern Lois Warren.

“Just a second, let me finish up these preliminary reports.”

A few minutes later Dr. Barron hustled over towards the main audio visual laboratory. It was a large room bristling with recording equipment posted on every wall; well large compared to the rest of the quarters within the observation post. The entire post though, while cramped, was still the largest one Barron had served in. In fact it was well known in Federation anthropological circles to be one of the most luxurious and largest of its kind, though luxurious would probably not be the word most travelers would use to describe it. Still, it was nothing like his old duck blind on Mintaka Two. Mintaka Two… thought Barron, back then he had been naïve idealist; he believed that all that was needed was a small two room compound and basic technology, specifically the hologram emitter to keep him and his staff safe. The results of these beliefs had haunted him for these last five years. Now more then ever were these feelings present with his former assistant Mary Warren’s (may she rest in peace) niece now finishing up her final years of education under his tutelage here on Agroid. Helping her get some real world experience was the least he could do for her and her family after all the help Mary had been over the years. This time though, to prevent an event similar to incident from happening certain precautions were taken in the design of the facility. First instead of having just one power source, this model had three; all of which were buried deep underground to prevent the local’s primitive scanners from detecting their power signatures as well as protection in case of an explosion similar to the one that started the Mintaka tragedy.

“So what is that old aggy talking about?” asked Barron towards Warren, in an elderly voice as he maneuvered his way to the front of the room main view display. Slowly he raised his hand and switched the secondary viewer to a different frequency in order to record the different viewpoints of the event.

“Oh you know. The same old thing the all the state reporters have been blaring about for the last few days. They are really excited about that new nuclear weapon of theirs. It is currently being pulled in circles around the imperial palace,” replied the young apprentice, eagerly attempting to show a bit of humor that her family had been known for. Leaning back in her chair, she carefully began moving some of the data pads to the side to make room for dinner.

“Those fools, to bad we can’t warn them about all those nasty side effects of splitting the atom.”

“Doctor, you know the importance of the Prime Directive more then anyone!”
“Bah, Miss Lois you know this old man was just kidding,” replied the aged man while finally sitting down in front the screen. While refusing to take his eye the viewer, he ordered from the portable replicator his taco dinner.

“Shhh!” replied the young blue eyed women playfully, “he is about to resume the second part of his speech. Randy, Sherrill, you might want to get up here!”

****** Agroid capital city of Byacegeion: Kyle Castle

“My dear subjects,” spoke the hunchback Revil Slocum, “I am pleased more then ever to watch you celebrate these glorious times.” Far below the aged Revil as far has his weak eyes could see marched his armed forces. Sure they were nothing compared to the forces used to raise his family to power, but that they were still deeply devote in their loyalty. Slowly he raised his hand, showing famed royal scepter to the crowd below. Fully dressed in maroon robes and hood, the fury creature continued on his speech highlighting the past accomplishments of his house. “Then like in decades past when our ancestors finally defeated the great Varsity with his horns and banished him from this world. Our past protects us and by allowing them to view this yearly assembly they defend us from the evil Varsity and his Godless Sips.”

Suddenly as the Royal 5th mounted Calvary division began its second point turn across from imperial garden the sky above which was predicted to be a quite twilight as the sun went down suddenly became alive with clouds and lighting. The once clear sky began to crackle with electric discharge as more and more clouds began to develop in the distance. Slowly almost beyond the line of site, shapes started to appear deep in the sky.

“What in Varsity’s name is going on here? I was under the impression that tonight was going to be…”

“My Revil!” screamed an aid from the other side of Royal balcony. “What is that?” he said while pointing up to a large dark wedge shaped object in the sky.

****** Planet Agroid: Federation Observation Post

“Barron are you seeing this?” yelled Warren watching the images on the monitor.

“Yes, what are those? Do you recognize those starships?” replied the doctor moving his plate aside and grabbing the nearest data pad in order to look up none space faring species inhabiting the area. A pointless task, he already knew that if these ships had been documented in the area he would have been informed.

“No not all judging from the news feed an what little scans we can get from here they appear to be about nine hundred meters long… about three hundred more then a Galaxy-class. Oh well there goes the Prime Directive. Randy you seem to be more in the know about starships do you recognize any of the design configuration?”

“I see zero familiar lines. Nothing about its design seems to point to a known species. In fact the only know entities to claim the space in this area are the Cardassians, Marquis, Tzenkethi, and Ferengi and this ship matches none of their designs even slightly. It appears that this may be the Federations first contact with this race.”

“What should we do Dr. Barron?” asked the obviously shaken Lois. “I mean should we try to make contact with them or should we send an emergency broadcast to Star Fleet?”

“Humm,” the old man thought out loud. “No, we can’t risk being discovered until we know their intent. It is too late to attempt to prevent the Aroid’s contamination either, for now we just sit and watch. Plus it will take weeks for our message to reach Star Fleet and who knows if we will ever be able to even get it past what ever jamming means they have with out being discovered.”

As the four members of the anthropology stared at their screen they noticed that two more similar shapes appeared flanking the original. The terror coming from the Agroid populace could be felt even through the video projections. Most of the military ranks had broken a long time ago, once an example of prefect harmony and execution that would make even the Romulans jealous was now nothing more then frightened chaos. The Agroids were coming to the realization for the first time in five hundred years that they were not the undisputed leaders in technology or military power and that terrified them beyond belief.

“Where has the Revil gone, anyone notice?” asked Sherrill from the corner of the group. “I don’t see him or his cronies anywhere.”

“They must have been swept down to a command bunker by their secrete service, not that surprising.”

“I see, just seems like with all their pride he would be up there out in front attempting to communicate.”

“Speaking of communicate,” interrupted Warren, “have those ships made any attempt?”

“None yet,” replied Doctor Barron. “It appears the three monsters are still just floating over Byacegeion.”

“Any chance they can detect us?”
“Highly unlikely, our generators should be deep enough to cover our power signatures from that distance, but without knowing the ship’s full sensor specification it is impossible to be certain.”

“Well I guess that is something to be relieved about, at least for now.”
“Indeed,” replied Barron.

Posted: **2006-12-12 12:32pm**

“Any chance they can detect us?”
“Highly unlikely, our generators should be deep enough to cover our power signatures from that distance, but without knowing the ship’s full sensor specification it is impossible to be certain.”

Nice nice, being reasonable in the assumption instead of presuming superiority (from these here Feddies)...

Posted: **2006-12-13 08:11am**

****** Deep Space

Out among the terrifying plasma storms a lone Delta-class DX-9 transport was maneuvering into position to launch its payload. Ordered out to far reaches of its fleet’s limit sensor range, its job to position sensor pods at preordained intervals approximately three light years from the vortex; charged to create a secured parameter the crew of the transport made work with haste, knowing full well their work would soon people the only line of defense in this unknown alien galaxy. After delivering the beacon and waiting for a conformation from home base that the signal was being received, the small craft proceeded to chart a path to its next destination. Unlike this earlier location though, the next one required incalculable precision dealing with the fact of its close proximity to cluster of unusually dense asteroids. Slowly the small craft positioned itself towards its destination and engaged its hyperdrive.

As the transport entered normal space once more, it began again on its mission, with little knowledge that floating adrift in among countless asteroids and roving storms the Maquis Ju’day class raider Châtiment was in the midst of a nine hour patrol. Slowly maneuvering with only basic thrusters in order to prevent impact with one of the many nearby asteroids the raider was taking care not to release any undue power readings in order to remain hidden the two Maquis continued to study their read out display.

The raider itself was one of many located through out the Badlands charged with orders to monitor and protect the borders at all cost from hostile Cardassian patrols. While varying with size and potency, all raiders were similarly designed with idea of durability and stealth; thus as long as none of main systems were powered up, the small crew of two could live in near perfect confidence that they were as hidden as near as possible without a cloak. Inside the Châtiment's small cabin, the two Maquis continued to look over their instrument cluster noticing any change that their limited ranged displayed.

From the corner of his eye, Ryan Santos could see that his co-pilot was starting to get a little frigidity. Sure, he could relate, these patrols on the non-militarized border sure not what he himself had signed up for when he decided to join this little freedom outfit. Unlike him though, Lon Suder had not joined in defense of his family or planet. In fact, no one was quite sure why Lon had join the Maquis, well that was not entirely correct, Ryan thought as he continued to punch in commands, there was something in Lon’s eyes, something that scared him. Lon had a reputation back at base from people of being a little over zealous in a fight. Not that it was necessary a bad thing come hell and high water, but at times like this could be a little disconcerting.

Right when Ryan had finally thought of a conversation to bring to get Lon’s mind distracted alarms started sounding through out the small cabin.

“Got one!” yelled Lon, his excitement giving Ryan chills.

“One what?” replied Ryan. “Can we get a visual? I wanna know exactly what’s out there before we go all hob-snobbin into some kind of ambush,” trying his hardest to keep from snapping at the other mans apparent rush to death.

“Just confirmed the initial sensor reading with an echolocation burst, I was right only one and… It is a small one at that, less then twenty meters!”

“Must be some kind of shuttlecraft of sorts… Are we sure it is even a Cardy?”
“Who cares, if they go much further they are bound to discover our entire base of operations. I am taking us out,” commanded Lon, while pushing a few buttons on the controls. Suddenly the bow began to vibrate as it maneuvered itself free of a nearby asteroid.

“Damn dampers are on the frits…” mumbled Ryan as he nodded and began powering up the defense systems. “How long until visual range?”

“About three seconds, there is a pretty nasty storm interfering… There we go.” With full power to weapon’s systems, the bird like barreled through the storm hunting it’s pray.

“What kind of ship is that? It does not appear to match any known Cardassian designs.”

“Who cares, we can ask questions once we tow it back home.” The raider exited the storm about three hundred from the unidentified ship when suddenly it disappeared before the crew’s eyes. “What the hell was that? I wasn’t aware of anyone in this sector having a cloaking device, much less on a ship of that size.”

“I have no idea Lon, scanners are showing nothing… Wait; take that back, I'm picking up some kind of metallic object near where the ship was. See there.” Ryan said while pointing to a location on the screen. “See there? It’s only about a third of a meter in diameter. I’m going to beam it in.”

“What? What the hell are you thinking? You want to transport this thing in? It could be a bomb for all we know! So not only do we not know what it is that you want to beam in here, but to do this we would to lower our shields with a possible cloaked vessel around!”

“Enough, ok, I get the point. So what do we do now Mr. All-Knowing?” replied the slightly annoyed Ryan in an obviously sarcastic tone just when proximity alarms started blaring. “Oh now what, where the fuck did those come from!” yelled Ryan pointing to the two objects that just recently appeared.

The two assault gunboats jumped directly behind the lone alien spacecraft responding to an emergency distress signal from the transport. Under stranding orders from their Grand Admiral to capture alive any ships located within the vicinity, the pair of winged predators converged on solitary raider.

“We’ve got two bogies on our six Lon!”

“I see, I see, you just try to get some evasive maneuvers going, I’ll operate the weapons.”

The raider turned a hard port and fired its phasers on the attackers. “Damage?”

“How the hell should I know? These readings on their shields are making absolutely zero sense! It is like they are operating on a whole different system of…” Before Lon could even finish speaking sparks began to fly all over the cabin. “Shields down to twenty percent!”

“What? I didn’t even feel a hit! Are you sure?”

“Ya, it’s those damn blue things they are shooting at us. They appear to drain our energy and fry the system… The shields aren’t recharging.”

“Evasive maneuvers Santos beta two. Can we get a signal out?”

“Unknown, they appear to be jamming most of the spectrum, but for some reason the frequencies are only occasionally dipping into subspace.”

“Ok, well computer record this transmission,” stated Ryan, while pausing for a second to gather his thoughts. “This Santos of the Raider Châtiment, under attack from unknown forces, requesting immediate backup, I repeat under…”

Unable to continue transmission, the comsystem is currently damaged beyond repair.

“Damnit!” basted Ryan as he continued to swear under his breath. “Looks like we are on our own… Well at least maybe the base can get a forewarning.”

“That’s if the transmission got through.”

“Just shut up and concentrate on getting some kills!”

The Châtiment turned attempting to outmaneuver the small nimble gunboats as blasts of iron cannons seared its circuits. Before long, the once proud raider was dead in space. “Blast, we are dead in water.”

“That’s the least of our problems, the containment fields are down we have about 15 seconds before…”

“Ryan Santos, it has been good fighting with you.”

“You too Lon Suder”

And with that the Châtiment ceased to exist.