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Star Wars

Civil War

Star Wars Story
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

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Copyright 2000
GetRealistic & CRN 		  4. REVENGE

Haywater looked out at the fledgling Chrysslistian fleet. He was glad to be back. The cloud of escape pods from the Intrepid had flown to a small fleet of Sol freighters and damage-control vessels. About 85% of the crew survived.
Outside, the CRN, or the Chrysslist Republic Navy, formed up. The shipyards had delivered on the first contract. Two powerful Nebula-class frigates, mounting 40 turbolasers, formed the core of the fleet. Complementing these were one CAF and one CAB.
The CAF's still ceased to amaze Haywater. It's 20 turbolasers and four ion cannons classified it as a frigate, but the most amazing thing was it's massive wing pylons. Each pylon had 14 torpedo ports, with the capacity for 40 torpedoes per tube. The ports were rapid fire, delivering a powerful punch. The CAB, or Chrysslist Assault Boat, could carry 500 troops, as well as fighters and walkers.
Also, the first purchase of ships from Zan Coltariot had arrived. First and foremost was the Coltariot Cruiser. This two kilometer long ship had a massive cargo bay, along with 100 turbolasers and 60 ion cannons. Two Claw frigates rounded up the purchase. Armed with eight lasers, fifteen turbolasers, and four ion cannons made them formidable vessels.
Right now, only a Nebula and Claw frigate were fully crewed. The training center was struggling to keep up with the fleet's growth. To combat this problem, Covrusa volunteered to crew several ships. This would strengthen their alliance with the CRN. Already the alliance was bringing benefit to Chrysslist's trade.
Haywater turned as the door to his space station cabin opened. In walked the Cyrll. "Captain Haywater, a pleasure to find you here. Of course, you live here now, don't you? Oh well."
Haywater eyed the Cyrll, then spoke. "A pleasure to meet you too. Of course, you don't live here now, so there must be a reason for your visit."
"Ah, yes. How about this? Captain Haywater, I hereby promote you to admiral in charge of the fleet."
Haywater was speechless for a moment, then saw the Cyrll's outstretched hand. He took it in a firm handshake. "Admiral Haywater, you are to give your briefing on your plan to take Binari tomorrow. After that, you can take the Poseidon..." He referred to the name of the Coltariot Cruiser. "...to Zan Coltariot to pick up the Intrepid II. After all, an admiral needs a flagship."
Haywater couldn't believe his ears. The Cyrll gave him a datapad. "Oh, yes. I took the liberty to put the first stage of your plan into effect. Colonel Nabuk is being smuggled into Binari as we speak."
"Thank you sir."
"This datapad contains information brought to us by Aburrado's spy network. See you tomorrow."
As the Cyrll walked out of the room, Haywater looked at the information. His blood ran cold. The big trade planet of Huskusia had joined the empire. But even more alarming was the fact that a huge supership was being built over the planet. This ship could lay waste to any fleet arrayed against it.
Haywater heard a muffled sound from his closet. "Admiral, I appear to have walked into your closet."

Kashar looked out the viewport of his claw frigate, the Invincible. He had been chosen by the Cyrll to lead a taskforce to the base of the pirate that had almost taken the Intrepid, Verml. The rest of his taskforce consisted of the fleet's sole CAB. Inside were carried 500 troops, a walker and a Juggernaught, and five watercraft. The countdown clock ticked down and the taskforce jumped into hyperspace.

Colonel Osh Nabuk looked over the hanger. It was actually a landspeeder repair building purchased by a phony corporation. His trip onto the planet had been uneventful, and everything was going according to plan. He was to command what would eventually be a force of 500 troopers, but for right now he was helping the advance teams find safehouses and black market areas. His troops were coming in unarmed, so they would have to buy weapons wherever they could find them, legal or illegal.
He looked into another corner and saw Colonel Vie Nesh. Nesh's ten Headhunters would provide air power for this force. It had been rumored that Nesh was one of the first people to be inserted. Vie's Headhunters would come in dismantled, and would have to be reassembled in this hanger. Everything was going according to Haywire's, or whoever he was, grand plan.

Haywater looked at the ten captains assembled in the Poseidon's briefing room. He was surprised to see that about most of the captains were not from Chrysslist. Bok Quesh, a Rodian, was the Poseidon's commander. Two Covrusean captains commanded a Nebula and the CAF. The other former Imperial officer commanded a Claw frigate. In short, all ships currently in the navy were commanded by outsiders.
Haywater cleared his throat. "I would like to welcome you to the briefing on our strategy to take Binari. You all know about Binari, so I will cut to the main plan. The first stage is the insertation of 500 soldiers and ten fighters. These troops and pilots will blend into the general population, conceling their identity. Each of them will be given money to buy weapons, since it will be difficult to smuggle weapons in with the troops. These men will also try to contact members of local resistance groups. When all the troops are ready, they will launch an attack on the shield generator and ground weaponry emplacements. When the shield goes down, our fleet will jump in and take the planet. I know this is thin on details, but you will all receive detailed plans for your ships closer to the assault. NO ONE hears of this plan. Any questions? No? Thank you."

After a week in hyperspace, Kashar's task force was starting to feel the cramped confines of their ships. He could sympathize with his 500 man assault force. They were cramped into small rooms with almost nothing to do. At least his crewman had duties to perform. He was beginning to think that most of his people would rather fight to the death then stay cramped up.
But it was all over. The Invincible task force was prepared to drop out of hyperspace. Kashar's translating computer could not stand up to loud outbursts, so he nodded to his second-in-command. The commander nodded. "All crew to battle stations! RED ALERT! Prepare for reversion to realspace on my mark. MARK!" Starlines formed and the Claw frigate came out of hyperspace. To his right, the boxy CAB reverted and began its run to the planet. Kashar began issuing orders. "Helm, bring us to the courdinents of Verml's base. Guns and shields, power up."
The officers complied, and the ship began moving into position. Kashar watched as the lush green world came closer. Revenge. The Cyrll was wise to chose a Wookie for such a mission.
"Sir, we are in bombardment position now. The ground forces have landed and are going in."
Kashar smiled the best that a Wookie could. "Let 'em have it, guns."
Immediately after the order was given, the turbolaser batteries opened up. A small entrance bunker was the main target, and it was soon torn apart. The jungle burst into flame as ruby-red bolts continued to pound the planet. Intelligence had verified that most of the base was underground, so the pounding continued.
Soon a hole had been drilled into the ground where the bunker had been, leaving torn decks and levels. The ground commander called to the Invincible, saying that the bombardment could cease. Kashar gave the order, then pulled the ship into stationary orbit.

On the ground, 500 soldiers converged on the pit, while the walkers created a perimeter. Immediately the order was given, and ropes, ladders, and a special repulsorlift elevator were sent to the edge of the pit. The troops that scrambled down the ladder immediately found they had been tricked.
The pit extended five stories down, testament to Kashar's firepower and the collapsible levels under the bunker. Three stories down, there were two levels of sealed blastdoors. The commander of the ground forces, seeing this, sent a communication to the Invincible.

Kashar slammed his furred fist onto the bulkhead. Zan Coltariot shipbuilding had obviously not planned for angry Wookies on their plans, so his fist left a gaping hull. But Kashar was unconcerned about that for the moment.
He'd been tricked. Him and Chrysslist intelligence. The agent he had spoken to had no doubt that directly under the bunker was the entirety of Verml's base. Instead, there was collapsible fake levels that gave the impression of a base. Now, his troops would have to go on a bloody invasion of the base.
The thought of withdrawal formed itself in Kashar's mind, but he knew that he couldn't do that. The Cyrll had said himself that Kashar should withdraw only if he lost a ship or was in serious danger of losing one or his troops. No, his troops would have to attack.

Among the rubble at the bottom of the pit, a lieutenant had assembled 50 troops. They placed a charge on each of the bottom five doors. He backed his group toward the middle of the room and set off the charges.
With a deafening roar, the doors blew open. As the advance wave moved through the door, troops poured in from all sides. Jumping off the ladder or rope they were on, they joined their comrades in the base.
The lieutenant led his group of 20 troopers down a hallway to a blast door. Before he could give the order for some charges, he heard the distinct sound of a door closing. Behind him. They were trapped. "Uh-oh", one soldier said quietly.
The lieutenant could feel the temperature rising. Then, without warning, the hallway exploded. Charges tore the wall apart while a flame pit on the floor started up.
The lieutenant and his men, as well as the men in the other hallways were buried and burned before they knew what hit them.

On the Invincible, Kashar slumped into his chair. This pirate had managed to beat the mighty CRN twice. He looked at a display. Haywater had warned him that it was imperative that he bring most of his troops back for the assault on Binar. He had been given a schedule of three weeks, two for the round trip and one to destroy Verml's base. Two days were up.
"Your orders, sir?" It was his second in command.
He sighed. "Pull the troops out and start another bombardment."
"Yes sir."

* * *

Haywater looked out his cabin's window at the Poseidon's massive cargo bay. Completely enclosed in it was the Nebula-class Intruder, crewed by Covrusa. In his hand was the latest news about the Imperial fleet. Someone with a sense of humor had decided to send this to him.
He sat back, remembering his navy days. Back then, the officers would gather in their wardroom, discussing politics, the Rebellion, and traded gossip. Usually some fine drink imported from far away, as well as a card game. All of this was strictly against regulations, but the higher-ups usually ignored it.
Back then the gossip was about Grenden, a crusty admiral in control of the entire Imperial fleet. He was on the Death Star when it was "reassigned", in the words of the emperor's propaganda minister. Eventually the truth of it's destruction began to sink in.
Thinking about the Death Star brought tears to Haywaters eyes. Both of his roommates had been transferred to the space station and odds are, they didn't survive.
He forced his eyes to the datapad. Ozzel had the fleet now. What all officers strived for was an appointment in the Imperial main battle fleet. It was sent to do the emperor's bidding and received the latest in ships and fighters. If he remembered right, Ozzel had commanded Coruscant's defenses. If Ozzel had the fleet, that meant Veers would have the ground forces. Veers prided himself with his designs for special military situations. He could equip units, in small numbers, with gear to operate in sand to snow. The downside was that you couldn't bring overwhelming force to bear.
His thoughts were jarred by his watch alarm. Twenty minutes to Zan Coltariot and the Intrepid II.

Rear Admiral Horacio Devin sat on the bridge of his flagship, looking at the stars. How he wished to be fighting among them. But he was stuck babysitting mining ships. Sure, the mining fleet produced needed revenue, but he was sure that every one of his crew viewed their job as punishment.
His "fleet" had twelve assorted ore haulers, several miners, and two Dreadnaughts. The Dreadnaughts, along with a Juggernaught, had been found in the possession of a trader who had stumbled across the cache. The Dreadnaughts were once the mainstay of the Old Republic fleet, bringing their massive turbolaser assortment to bear in numerous engagements. But there was nothing magnificent about the ships he had come into possession of. The weapons were in terrible condition, as were the engines, but it provided needed firepower.
Devin had heard the rumors. Most of his crew thought Devin was being drove insane. When he named his Dreadnaughts the Happy and the Spirit House, the rumors went up to a fever pitch.
An alarm sounded. "Sir, transmission from Admiral Haywater."
Devin looked at the message. The Poseidon's hyperdrive engine had malfunctioned just outside the system. The mining fleet was supposed to watch for the Intrepid II's entry, then direct it to the mining fleet.
Devin watched as the Intrepid II came in system and gave it the new courdinents. The Victory Star Destroyer turned and headed toward it's new destination. "Ambush", an officer said behind him.
He looked at the officer. "What did you say?" "Sir, with all due respect, we should have seen it coming. Ambush, sir. Look." He pointed to the viewscreen. Devin turned just in time to see several frigates pull into position and begin to pound the Star Destroyer. The ship, carrying a bridge crew with only shields to protect it, began to disintegrate. The shields collapsed, allowing the frigates to pound its hull.
It was over as quick as it began. The frigates withdrew, leaving a charred hulk of a star destroyer. Devin turned to his crew. "Whose ships were those?" he asked.
"Sir, they were Huskusian."

* * *


Colonel Osh Nabuk sat in a small room across from the leader of the so-called Binar Militia.
His small group had met up with a group of Osh's soldiers, and contact had been made. Osh had been led to this building for negotiations. The rebel leader looked at him. "When did you say this assault will go off?"
Osh prepared to give the answer he had been giving to his troops since he arrived. "I'm sorry, but I just can't give you that information. I will contact you two days before to get your men in place."
The scraggly rebel eyed him. "I am leading my forces into action, so I need to know when this will go off. If I've read you correct, my fleet of airspeeder bombs are needed to give your forces a decisive edge."
That male whatever had a point. "I need to speak with my second-in-command."
"If you wish."

"He has a point." Vie Nesh scratched his forehead. "My fighters can't do the job by themselves."
"And we need more assets on the ground. The shipyards are working around the clock to fill the orders, but Haywater won't have an overwhelming force when he arrives. And if the Verml expedition goes badly..." Osh left the thought unfinished.
"Go for it."

"I have decided to give you the date of the attack in return for your assistance of our forces."
"When, Mr. Nabuk?"
"Ten days."

* * *


A group of sailors were quickly patching up a fifth hole in the ship's bulkhead. Kashar had seen several attacks smashed by the holed-up defenders of Verml's base. The Invincible's garrison had been thrown in to the assaults and had been totally annihilated by a huge mine.
The only good news was the successful repulse of a Verml infantry attack. But that victory had come with the destruction of his five amphibious craft.
Kashar slumped into his chair and checked his watch. Two more days to go.

In a launch tunnel far from Verml's battered base, a small droid exited and jetted toward the horizon. He had an appointment to keep with victory.

A small shuttle flew up from the CAB. Even the massive ship's hospital had been unable to cope with the battle. The crew had been running wounded soldiers all day. They were trying to clear the hospital in preparation for a renewed assault scheduled for the next day.
The pilot knew without a doubt that this assault would also fail, like so many others. The whole expedition had turned out to be a failure. And so, as he headed his craft toward the blip that was the Invincible.

The droid maneuvered in close to the shuttle and magnetically attached it to the shuttle. The next step was the dangerous one.

The Invincible's shields dropped for a moment to allow the shuttle to pass through. The pilot brought down the shuttle gently and he sat back during the unloading process for some much needed sleep.

The droid took itself around the shuttle and to the nearest air duct. Extending an arm, it pulled the cover free and brought itself into the tunnel. It pulled from it's memory a blueprint of the ship stolen from Aburrado's military. The droid expected ten minutes of free flying before it was detected.

It took five. Kashar and his XO looked at the main computer screen where the exact same blueprint was shown. "Sir, he appears to be headed for the reactor", observed an ensign.
Not good. "Can we block him in some way?" asked Kashar.
"Doing so now."

If the droid could laugh, it would of. This had been expected. Poor humans. It simply extended it's built in blaster and tore the door apart.

"Well that didn't work." the ensign observed matter-of-factly.
"You think? XO, take over this operation." Kashar was in no mood for casual comments. "Get someone there to take it out."

Kashar looked on as the ensign raised himself into the air duct. He carried a blaster rifle and was shielded in body armor. The sailor let loose a flurry of shots, then climbed in.

The droid dodged the poorly aimed shots. It had no time for this. A thermal detonator shot at the human.

"Detonator!" screamed the ensign as he tried to work himself back out.
Kashar turned and leapt into another room. The sound was deafening. He picked himself back up and looked at what was left of his non-existent garrison's quarters. His comlink beeped. "Bridge to Captain."
"This is Kashar."
"Sir, he is moving very quickly. He should be at the reactor core very soon."
"Last ditch plan, Commander?"
"I'll try to slow him down by pushing it back with air."
"Let's try it."

The droid knew it was very close to the completion of it's mission. It could literally feel the energy coming from the reactor. The droid detected a change in air speed against it. It automatically increased speed to compensate.
Soon the air became a rushing wind. It increased speed and continued to guzzle it's precious fuel supplies. Then it saw it's objective. It was just the side of the tunnel, but the droid knew what was behind it. It let loose a flurry of laser bolts.

"Sir, it's in the reactor!" the commander yelled, "Setting charges and escaping. No way we can defuse that in time."
Kashar turned. "You sure!"
"Yes, sir."
"Start the evacuation. NOW!"

The crew scrambled for their escape pods. Unfortunately, most of the wounded had to be left. The pods ejected and oriented themselves toward the designated pick-up point. Kashar took one last look at his first command, then jumped into the escape pod.

The droid knew it would never make it out. It had no fuel, so it stopped and watched the humans flee. It had accomplished it's mission.

Kashar's pod was rocked by the huge explosion of the Invincible. Another pod was hit by debris and was destroyed. Another. The debris was all around him now. Kashar had never been through a reentry like this.
Another pod was hit. The escape pods automatically started braking. Kashar looked through a porthole. No debris, I'll survive.
All in all, Kashar thought, he had failed.

Kashar nodded to the CAB's captain. The crew of the Invincible had been picked up by the CAB. It left the planet immediately.
Now I will have to suffer through cramped quarters. "Set course for Binar. On your mark, captain."
"Three, Two, One, MARK!"

* * *


Haywater looked out over his new ship the Intrepid III. The Cyrll had finally forced the trader to deliver the ship directly to Chyslisst.
The fleet was now fully crewed and they were going over their final practices. For Haywater, it was time to finalize his plan and brief the captains. As he pulled out his datapad, he looked to a star that he had identified a month earlier.
That star was Binari.

Chapter 3

Chapter 5