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 Star Wars Civil War Star Wars Story Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Getrealistic Home Copyright 2000 GetRealistic & CRN |
2. THE CIVIL WAR Captain Osh Nabuk of the space station Cyrll's government defense force had been waiting for this moment for a year. Several hours earlier he had received word to start the takeover of the station and the Imperial ships protected by it. His plans called for his 100 troopers to first secure the other half of the stations, then proceed to capture the Imperial ships. He looked around the group of troops assembled around the barracks. "You five guard the doors. Let no troops escape from the barracks. There may also be crewmen trying to get to armory. Stun them and lock them in the closet." He saw nods from each of the men. He turned toward the group of men assembled down the hall. "Let's get going!" he bellowed. The rebel troops were met by ten men who would fly whichever ship they managed to capture. Nabuk tapped on his comlink twice. Inside the drydock's command center, the four guards stationed there rose their rifles and began to spray blaster bolts across the room. The night duty controller took two bolts to the chest and was flung back over his chair. The supervisor took a bolt to the head and fell out of her chair. The tech took a fatal shot to the neck. It was all over by the time Nabuk and his men arrived. Osh looked out of the viewpoint to see the Nebulon-B and Carrack Cruiser encased in the dry-docks. "Which one shall we take?" he asked. "Sir, the Carrack does not have life support on the front section. She took a shot to the bridge." a soldier answered. "Well that narrows down our choices." Nabuk gestured to the crewmen. "I will assign five soldiers to guard you. Wait until your cover arrives." They all nodded. "Good luck." A shaft of light lit up Haywater's cabin. After the trial, he had been showed to his new post-the Chrstll Star. The converted passenger liner had quarters better than any he had seen in the Imperial Navy. His light and cheery room contained his bunk, a desk and a small refresher. In the next room, Kashar had the code that allowed him to lock or unlock the door to Haywater's room. Even though he won the case, he would be monitored for a period of six standard months. Haywater looked at the forms in his doorway as he tried to clear his head. Standing at the door was Devin and Kashar, brandishing blaster pistols. "Get up, commander." It was Devin. "We have a job to do. You shall command this ship in its quest to liberate this planet." What? "Begging your pardon sir, but I don't understand. Liberate from whom?" "Haywater, we will deal with that question for your benefit later. In this insurrection, our ship has been given specific tasks to perform. I have been appointed to be a supervisor to the naval force. In my absence, you will command the ship." Haywater was now fully awake. "What are those tasks?" "Now we're getting somewhere. Your first task will be to notify the crew that they are now part of a revolutionary movement. Next you will destroy the frigate to our left. Once that is done, you will fly up to the Cyrll space station. There you will escort a captured Neb-B or Carrack Cruiser out. Then you will join the attack on the sloop Crystal Sea." He handed Haywater a datapad. "This contains more detailed instructions and coordinates. My headquarters will be the communications room. Kashar will be your second-in-command. Good luck." Devin left the room as Haywater turned to Kashar. "Let's get to the bridge." Vie Nesh looked over the landscape of his planet from the cockpit of his Headhunter. The scene looked beautiful except for one thing-he was on an assault mission against his own people. The idea did not rest easy on his mind. A month earlier, a man had come up to him and pointed out the faults in his home's government. Vie had decided to join the resistance movement. Just an hour earlier, he discovered that his squadron shared the same ideas. Now they were united. Chrysslist maintained four squadrons of fighters, two of Headhunters, and two of uglies. Nesh's Headhunter squadron had been assigned to attack a base containing two of those squadrons. The plan was to destroy the hanger before the enemy knew there was a revolution. It's murder, nothing less. But murder for a cause. He keyed his com. "Blue squadron, we're coming in on the target. Switch to missiles and get a lock. Fire on my command." Vie switched weapons to concussion missiles and centered his aiming recitcle on the main hanger and immediately got a lock. "Fire!" Twenty-four missiles shot out toward the hanger. The missiles sheered through the hanger doors and detonated. Huge explosions told Nesh that the fuel tanks and missile magazines had exploded. A quad laser turret opened up but was abruptly consumed by the explosion. A strange feeling settled in Vie's guts. He had flown with all of those pilots against Imperial fighters less that a week ago. He had laughed and joked with these pilots. He forced these thoughts out of his mind. He had a mission to perform against Chrysslist City. Haywater walked onto the bridge. It lacked the grandeur of Imperial bridges. Instead of a crew pit, a row of consoles lined each wall. The full bridge crew was waiting. Just makes my job easier. He walked to the front of the bridge and turned around. "You know better of these issues than I do, but for whatever reason Captain Devin has decided that his ship should be part of the revolution to free this planet." Apparently the crew understood what he was talking about, because they burst into cheers. "Captain Devin has other duties, so I have been appointed to command this ship. Guns, engines, begin powering up." He gestured out the viewscreen. "Guns, also give me firing solutions for that frigate out there." It took a few moments for what Haywater was saying to sink in. The lieutenant in charge of the guns spoke up. "We are going to destroy a defenseless ship?" "Do you have a problem with that, lieutenant? That ship is not part of the revolution, so it is now our enemy. Destroying that ship now means less people will die in the longrun." "Yes sir." The lieutenant turned back to his console. "Sir, we have firing solutions." Haywater knew with these next words he would be thrust into a conflict that he had no business in. Better to die here now than in service to the Empire. "Fire at will." The broadside battery of eight turbolasers and two ion cannons tore into the lightly armored side of the frigate. Blue lightning played over the ship, leaving explosions in its wake. The lasers stabbed deeper into the ship, piercing to the reactor. A titanic explosion tore the ship apart. The shockwave would have torn the larger ship apart, but the Chrstll Star was already in the air, it's shield protecting it from the shrapnel. Inside the bridge was a mixture of celebrations and tears. Haywater looked on from a distance. He had never been in a civil war, but he knew it would only get worse. The Chrstll Star flew out of the atmosphere as the crew calmed down. Haywater strode over to the sensor screen. On it he saw the rest of the defense force fighting it out in one corner and two frigates already in combat with the Crystal Sea in the other corner. As he watched the screen a ship came out of hyperspace. The computer tagged it as a Star Galleon. How'd he get his hands on one of those? A corvette left the battle and joined up with the cargo ship. His thoughts were jarred with Keshar's translator's voice. "Sir, the Nebulon-B Chrysslist reports it's ready for an escort." "Ah, yes. Tell them we're ready. Someone tell me what the station's doing. Shields, bring up to full," Haywater ordered. "Sir, none of the station's weapons are powering up and it is not using communications. I think it'd be safe to assume our people have taken it over." "We are in a war zone. We assume nothing. Shields?" "Up at full." "Sir, ship leaving the dry-dock. Nebulon-B." Haywater cleared his throat. "Pull up behind them and escort 'em out." The Chrysslist cruised out in front of the Star. It quickly reached the edge of the system. The Star pulled up alongside it. If it were to be ambushed, it would be now. With a burst of light the Chrysslist jumped to hyperspace unmolested. The Star pulled around and began moving toward the Crystal Sea. Haywater spoke. "Someone tell me what is going on in our combat area at this moment, please." "Sir, the Sea is remaining stationary. The two frigates are on both sides of the sloop and are firing into it." The sailor turned back to his screen. "Sir, one of the frigates has lost its shields!" Haywater turned to the forward viewpoint. As they neared the ship, he could see the larger ship's guns tearing into the side of the frigate. Turbolasers exploded and bulkheads were pierced under the withering assault. The frigate lost power and started being drawn into the planet. He knew that if he didn't do something unorthodox, his ship would end up the same way. "Helm, turn to the left and move in to broadside position. Guns, link together and get firing solutions for the bridge." When the Star came within range, the sloop began to pour fire from its forward batteries into the smaller ship. The crew braced as the bridge shook with the impact. The Star's guns began answering. The broadside guns all fired at the small bump on the hull that was the bridge. Haywater looked at the shield indicator. Holding, but just barely. "Give me full shields starboard. Engines give me a full shutdown. Reroute engine power to the shields," he ordered. The crew looked at him with disbelief. "Sir, we can't shut down the engines. What if we half to maneuver?" It was power control. "The sloop is content to stay in one place and pour fire down on us. We won't need to maneuver," Haywater countered. "But..." "Did you see what happened to that frigate once the shields were down? We have next to no armor. The shields are our only protection. Do we have full shields starboard?" There is no need to overdo it, he thought. "Yes sir." the lieutenant looked around nervously. "Waiting for power flow from engine control." A sigh. "As ordered." The fresh power increased their shield power half-again, but changed the engine start-up time to several minutes. This had better work, Haywater thought. Through the side viewport he could see the battle continue. His guns were starting to have an effect on the sloop's shields, which had been seeing combat for the last hour. The one spot on the shield where the guns had been concentrating was showing signs of heavy damage. Suddenly, twenty concussion missiles flew past him and hit the forward shield. The shield collapsed amid heavy explosions. Haywater looked around in amazement. What? "Sir, transmission coming in." "Thought you guys could use some help." It was Vie Nesh. His fighters were done securing the city and had responded to the most urgent need. As he made a flyover of the Sea, he saw the frigate pour fire into the unshielded bridge. The bridge was gutted, and the guns abruptly stopped. A transmission shot up from the planet and reached every ship. It was Pash. "Members of our glorious navy..." "...today we have won a victory for the people of Chrysslist. We have freed them from an oppressive government that sought to take away their rights. This revolution is over." Haywater slumped back in his chair. It was over. The sloop has surrendered. He abruptly felt Kashar's furry hand on his shoulder, jolting him from his thoughts. "What's next?" the wookie asked. Before Haywater could answer, he saw two blips come out of hyperspace. One was the Neb-B that he had escorted out, but the other drove a cold dagger into his guts. It was a Victory-class Star Destroyer going by the name Intrepid. Whatever came next, the Star Destroyer assured him it wasn't peace. Pash Riekken sat in the planetary throne room. Outside, his staff rejoiced. "Now to reveal my true identity and bring this cluster to its knees." |