From: creative-archive@anxst.com Subject: Star Traveler, Chapter 1 Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 23:22:25 -0800 (PST) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 18:50:46 -0800 From: Adam Watson <101604.607@compuserve.com> To: b5archive@anxst.com Subject: Star Traveler, Chapter 1 Here is that story I promised a while back ;). It has completely changed to a B5/Star Wars crossover, after reading about the other crossover stories. It seems like an interesting idea, and if you like this chapter of the full story, then I will get on writing the rest of it. Tell me what you think! ******************** "Project Star Traveler" Chapter 1 By Adam Watson * * * * * * * * * * This is a B5/Star Wars cross over. No spoiliers at all contained within. In this timeline, Grand Admiral Thrawn didn't go out to the Outer Rim to battle in the unknown regions, but instead, was sent on a very special mission... * * * * * * * * * * A new war has errupted among the stars, as the Earth Alliance triggers the mysterious race known as the Minbari into a Holy war by killing its religious and political leader. Victory means the everything, while defeat mean the loss of everything that everyone would hold dear. However, accross space and time, The Second Death Star is in its beginnings of creation. The Rebel Alliance strengthened by its victory over the First Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, seeks out yet more allies in its constant war against the Empire. The Emperor, infuriated by the string of defeats suffered by his apparently "superior" Navy, orders his many minions to begin a new string of projects. One such project, codenamed "Star Traveler", reaches a stage of near completion. The Emperor decides it is time to explore the possilibilities of project Star Traveler, and so sends a small taskforce to the secret base where Star Traveler is reaching almost one hundered percent completion. The destination of this taskforce is unknown, it is a trip into a new dimension. Armed with the all-powerful weapons the Imperial Navy has to offer, the taskforce ventures through the temperal rift into its new mission. The year is not important, The name of the place is, Welcome to the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Chimaera. * * * * * * * * * * Prologue It had been a year or so after an Interdictor Cruiser had accidentally used its shield energy to power its gravity mass shadow wells. The result of this, casued a tear in space, which opened a doorway into another dimension. In the ensuing battle, another face of the Empire was shown. Keen to explore the possibilities of this strange occurance, the Emperor had one of its research stations start work on this phenonoma. Several probes were sent through the rift caused by the experiments, all seemed to end up in different places. Pictures were sent back of planets and stars, but nothing more. Contact was always lost within a few minutes of the passing through the rift. The same was true now. Grand Admiral Thrawn sat in his command chair aboard Chimaera awaiting the reports from the sensor officers who were scanning this new system. Captain Pellaeon, looking over reports already coming in, turned to look up at the Grand Admiral. His red eyes seemed to stare out through the viewpoint at something the scanners couldn't see. Pellaeon's attention was attracted back to his display. He read the messages, preparing to speak to the Admiral. He turned. "Admiral, initial reports are ready." "Proceed, Captain." Thrawn said, his voice full of interest, yet so calm. "The systems star is a type 'F' yellow star, seven planets, with several moons orbitting the third planet. According to scans, none of these planets could support life. Most are gasseous gaints or barren desert planets with no atmosphere. Thrawn nodded understanding. "Begin scanning all stars for a two lightyear jump distance which you speculate as supporting life." Thrawn stood up. "I will be in my command room." Pellaeon watched as the Grand Admiral stood up, turned and left the bridge, passing through the security foyer. He passed out all the orders necessary, and it wasn't long before the initial reports came back. A total of five possibilities. Pellaeon glanced over at the navigation officer. "Lieutenant, label this system something appropriate." The man nodded. "How about 'New Beginning', Sir." Pellaeon surpressed a smile. "That will do, Lieutenant. Update starcharts on this galaxy accordingly and distrubute among the fleet. Order all ships just to sit tight." "Ayesir, coding now." Pellaeon walked up port crewpit steps, along the gangway, and past Thrawn's command to look out upon this new galaxy. Nothing he hadn't seen before, planets and a star. However, he could feel the unmistakable edge of excitement. A whole new galaxy to explore. Hopefully, with a suitable point for establishing a foothold base. As soon as an outpost was established with a fuel and ammo production facility, the Empire could begin its real exploration, explotation, and to continue its bidding of its master, the ridding of all enemies of the Empire, whatever form they might take... Pellaeon wondered for a moment. It would be a change not to make yet more enemies wherever the Empire went. Perhaps, once, just this once, they could make a positive alliance. Unlike most hardline Imperials, Pellaeon had no greviences against aliens. For instance, the Grand Admiral Thrawn was an alien. The pale blue skinned man with those peircing red eyes had a commanding look about him, and had an understanding of war like no other. He master minded the downfal of the traitor, Admiral Zaarin, and his traitorous fleet. A call from the port crew pit disturbed Pellaeon's train of thought. He turned and nodded. "Report." The white haired Cheif Sensor officer nodded. "Sir, we believe we have found a system which perfectly fits the description of a life supporting area. We read a possible two planets that should be looked into." "Good work Lieutenant. Keep scanning." Almost on que, Pellaeon's communicator bleeped harshly. He depressed the activate switch. "And progress, Captain?" It was the Grand Admiral. "Sir, we believe we have a system which is completely capable of supporting life." "Good work, Captain, please bring the results to me command room." "Yessir." The room was dimly lit as Pellaeon stepped through the double doors. Lurking by the doorway, Thrawn's bodyguard, a Noghri Death Commando named Rukh, watched tentavely as Pellaeon appeared in the room. Walking past at a brisk-but-normal pace, Pellaeon walked over to where Grand Admiral sat in his reclined chair. Around the room, holographic projections of peices of art lined the walls. Pellaeon had become accostomed to Thrawn's projections of art around the room, but seldom knew why. The white uniformed Grand Admiral peered up at Pellaeon as he approached. His eyes were distant and unfocused for a second. He took the datapad that Pellaeon offered and read the results. He nodded at each line. After placing the datapad on the arm of his chair, he pointed around the room at the holographic art. "Calamarian art, Captain." With the press of the button, the simple aquatically themed art dissappeared and was replaced by a more familiar art, art associated to the Empire and Coruscant's most brilliant artists. "What do you think, Captain, of this new situation?" The Admiral kept his stare locked on Pellaeon, there was no escaping those red eyes "Let me answer for you, Pellaeon. It is a dangerous situation but at the same time a most wonderous experience. We could find new powerful allies, yet at the same time we could end up in another war. The Empire can afford to fight more than one war, but it is more convienent to fight on at a time, don't you think, Captain?" Pellaeon nodded, plainly. Thrawn seemed amused. "What is it Captain, that troubles you so?" "Everything about this whole mission." "Such a pesemistic out look. I, myself, look forward to studying the arts of all civilisations we come across." Pellaeon nodded. Just what was it with Thrawn and art? Thrawn's com unit blinked. He took it out and pressed a button. "Yes." "Sir, we are ready to make a jump to the first system. What are your orders?" Thrawn thought for a moment. "The Illustrious, Imperator, Magnificent and Thunderer shall guard the rift and continue construction of the two space platforms. The Triumph and the Vanguard shall fly a patrol of the system, while the Chimaera, Furious, Glorious and Harpago jump to the first system." "Ayesir, ready to jump on your command." Thrawn cocked an eyebrow to Pellaeon before answering. "Go." * * * * * * * * * * Chapter 1: A Time of Change Part 1 Sailing through the dark night of space, the Earth Alliance Nova-class Dreadnaught Mars, accompanied by its two escorts, the Dreadnaught's Eridani One and Eridani Two, made significant headway toward their target destination. Standing alone against the backdrop of stars in the distance, a lone Minbari cruiser, left crippled after an earlier engagment. Returning to hopefully claim their prize, the small taskforce is overshadowed by the cost of the said engagement. In a surprize attack, four Minbari warships had appeared in the Beta Hydri system, apparantly on a scouting mission. One had fallen back to direct the action, engaging the ten ship taskforce of Dreadnaughts and support vehicles. Starfuries filled space, as the Minbari also sent their fighter gunships in. It had been a massacre on the Earth Alliance side, but it had resulted in a partial victory. Two of the Minbari warships had been destroyed, the third jumping out of the system, leaving the fourth mysteriously disabled. With only ten more kilometers to cover, Earth Alliance troops readied for the bording operation. The commander of the Nova, Captain Jaime Samsonov, and the ships second in command, Commander Laura Shadd, looked at the main display screen intently as they closed on the Minbari warship, sitting stricken in space. Jaime looked around to the Tactical Operations Officer. "Launch Rho Squadron." ordered the Captain of the Nova. "Rho Squadron aye." replied the officer. In a few moments, an extra twelve blips appeared on the sensor screen. "Order Rho Squadron to scan the ship for anything." added Jaime, almost as an after thought. "Ayesir." the communications officer replied. The twelve blips accelerated toward the cruiser to begin scanning it. One of the Earth Alliance's great pilots, Colonel Hanse Lio locked the com channel out. He brought up the Rho Squadron tactical frequency. "All ships, hang back in defensive vee formation. I'm going in to spy on the prey." After getting the positive replies back from the other members of the squadron, Lio firewalled the throttle and left the Starfury formation far behind. Lio looked up at the huge Minbari cruiser. A might ship indeed, he thought. The distance was nibbled down to nothing, and soon the computer began to report on the Minbari warship. The reports kept coming and coming as the computer reported how many elements and components of the alien ship it did not understand. Lio almost became tired of the droning voice, until it mentioned the act that a underside mounted hanger bay was launching unknown craft. "Rho Leader, you have six on you, get out of there!" cried someone over the Rho tactical frequency. Lio ignored it, and brought his throttle back up to full while checking the range finder to his first target. Five of the fighters had broken away and were speeding toward the other Rho Squadron ships, while one fighter stayed behind to engage Lio. Their biggest mistake possible, thought Lio. He double checked the four Pulse cannons of his Aurora, and moved into strike distance of the Minbari fighter. The small ship made a small barrel roll, then came in with its cannons firing. Hanse made several small shimmies before opening fire himself, sending all of the aliens shots wide. His own pulse cannon shots skeeted over the top of the Minbari ship as it closed, but upon entering point blank range, and with a quick shift in course using the omni-directional thrusters, Lio was able to blast the Minbari fighter to molten slag. Powering around in a loop, Hanse fired a few shots into the hull of the Minbari hanger bay to discourage any further fighter launchers, if they were at all possible. "This is Captain Jaime Samsanov, breaching pods are launching, cover them Rho Squadron. Psi, Phi and Xi Squadron's are launching to support." For Sergeant Natasha Jamerson, rifle in hand, this was just no ordinary boarding operation. She had never been aboard a Minbari warship before, and didn't know if she was mentally prepared for such a boarding action. Then again, no human had ever been aboard a Minbari warship. There was a shudder as the Breaching Pod landed on the surface of the Minbari ship. The loud hissing sound of the fusion cutters reverberated throughout the cramped pod as hole was cut into the ships hull. It took unusually long to cut the hole, but that was to be expected, the hulls of the Minbari ships seemed to be especially strong. With a loud explosion, the door of the pod was whisked open. "Lets move!" barked the company commander, Captain Anar Pearson. Natasha was running behind a fellow Sergeant as they leaped out of the hole created. The events of the next few minutes were so bizzare that Natasha didn't know what to make of it. The walls and ceiling, including the floors, seemed metallic in construction as they moved through the Minbari ship. The Captain didn't have a clue where he was going, but Intelligence had given him several possible points to check out. Rounding a corner, the Captain called out for a standard firing wall. The Sergeant in front of Natasha knelt down next to a line of other soldiers, and Natasha moved up behind the other. Standing at the other end of the corridor, four black robed Minbari, or so everyone assumed. They all held large metallic poles, a sort of staff, but shorter than a full length wooden one. One of them pointed at the Captain and burbled something. No one had a clue what was being said, until the Captain broke it all up. "Fire!" Depressing the trigger, Natasha sent her blasts directly at the head of the Minbari who had spoken, or whatever it was. All four dropped in a crumpled mess onto the ground. The wall began to move on. They rounded another corner, and sure enough, a large group of twenty Minbari stood there with rifles in hand. The fire fight started. The Minbari seemed to have a much better aim advantage with their weapons. It became more apparant as the troops standing near the front of the firing wall fell. More troops continued to fall and fall as the Minbari fired again and again. A hussling behind Natasha changed her attention. Running up the corridor was another two Company's of soldiers. Feeling like everything was won, she began to fire with more vigure. Sending her shots with almost deadly accuracy by the Minbari cover positions. A telepath caught Natasha's eye. It must have been, for the next few seconds became a blur. Natasha's vision faltered slightly, as she collapsaed. After blinking a few times, she realised she had not infact been knocked unconcuious by the Minbari, but that a trooper had tripped her up. Several soldiers had filled Natasha's point, and began to concentrate their firepower with more effect. A field medic administered something into Natasha's blood, before she was rolled onto a soldier. Her musceles felt a little weak, and she tried to resist, but every time she resisted, she seemed to grow too weak too fast. She decided to stop would be a better idea. Her mind felt slightly numb after that encounter with the telepath. She began to wonder what damage could have been done, if any. Her mind began to drift as the drugs began to take yet more effect... everything slowly faded to blackness as sounds gained an echo... now more so... the calls for a retreat... the ringing of boots in her ears... then darkness consumed her... "Rho Leader, as soon as those Breaching Pods are clear, shift to escort." "Roger that Mars." Like its namesake, the Mars began to advance on the enemy in a defiant manner. The greek translation of "God of war" had been true in every engagement, the ship only ever taking minor damage if any. The Eridani One and Two were hot on the heels of the Mars, all moving into attack positions on the new arrivals. Two Minbari cruisers. In a bright flash, the Minbari's opened fire. The squadrons from the Eridani One and Two were already in firing range on the new Minbari fighters as the fighters of the Mars prepared to cover the evac of its troops from the Minbari cruiser. The ship could still be taken, but reports coming in from the Company Commanders indicated that there could be far too many troops aboard the warships, and that the four available companies were sorely outnumbered. A retreat was the best option, the only option. The Breaching Pods began to break away from the Minbari cruiser. Colonel Lio firewalled the throttle as he noticed a pair of Minbari fighters making a wide arc out of the main battle to hit the Breaching Pods. Ordering the squadron to stay back and only break escort if the fighters got through, Lio moved to intercept. The two fighters began to open fire on Lio as he entered their range. Upon entering his range, it changed. Using full power in the left engines and cutting the power back in the right engines ever so slowly, Lio prepared to hit the fighters. Quickly changing direction, throwing all power into the right engines and full reverse into the left, he shifted his direction and flight path. With his four pulse cannons blazing, the two Minbari fighters scattered left and right. Choosing to follow the fighter moving left, Lio piled the power back into the engines. He looped in behind the Minbari fighter with his guns blazing, as the other ship came in from behind. With a good concentrated quad blast, the Minbari fighter in front exploded. Reversing the thrust of the right engines, the fighter spun about sharply to be greeted with the other Minbari fighter ship. The Minbari's blasts flew harmlessly by as Lio fired again and again, tracking his prey as the ship tried to move. It faltered in its evasive manouvers, and Lio blew the small ship to peices. "Breaching pods are recovered, all Starfuries withdraw!" Lio hit the Rho Squadron tactical frequency. "Rho Squadron, get back to the Mars, I'll cover." Reluctantly, the others withdrew. A flight of four Minbari fighters changed into a flanking formation, to cut across and obliterate the squadron. With a quick change in direction, Rho Squadron turned and opened fire on the closing four fighters. They all vanished in a cloud of debris. For the time being, the area was clear, and nothing remained that could threaten the Starfuries. The Mars, Eridani One and Two began to open fire with their plasma cannons. Blast after blast smashed into the Minbari cruisers. The return fire was extremely vicious. The beam lasers tore a huge gash into the Eridani One, while the Mars suffered only a scourching of paint as the blast missed, but only just. Their surfaces severly torn and gouged, the Minbari ships turned away, and back to their disabled warship. Not without returning fire however, for a concentrated blast into the damaged section of the Eridani One caused a hurrendous series of explosions. The ship began to tear its self apart. The section of the ship that had been hit began to glow with fire, followed by the rest of the ship, till it exploded in a huge fireball. The last few shots were fired by the Eridani Two, before the surviving starships turned and prepared to leave the system. Moments later, seven jump points opened. Minbari warships began to fill the system up. However, moments after that, the Mars and the Eridani Two jumped out of the system. A shame, however, for they had no idea how wrong their target coordinates were... * * * * * * * * * * Part 2 "What!" exclaimed as he looked out of the viewscreen at the unknown ships ahead. He turned to the navigation officer. "Confirm that this is the Beta Hyrdi system." he ordered. "Sir," the man was most surprized. "According to these reports, we are actually in the Iobeti system!" Commander Laura Shadd sighed. "Why aren't we in the Wolf 404 system?" The officer looked confused for a second. Then he seemed to blush a little, before looking up. "It appears that when the Eridani One exploded, the computer picked up the wrong set of coordinates for our intended jump destination. Don't ask me how, but we went in the completely oppossite direction." "And what do you make of them?" asked Captain Jaime, refering to the four unknown ships. "There is only one way to find out. We can gather one thing though, if they were Minbari, they would have fired by now." Jaime rubbed his chin a little. "Move us closer, open all coms and transmit greetings messages." And so, the Mars and Eridani Two powered up and closed the two hundered kilometers distance between them and the unknown ships in the distance. Looking at the wire-mesh models of the unknown ships, Jaime tried to recall having ever seen such ships. An arrowhead was the best was to describe it. The distance shrank bit by bit... * * * * * * * * * * "Interesting, isn't is Pellaeon?" asked the Admiral. Pellaeon nodded grimly. "I don't like it though." "I expect not." Thrawn replied. He pressed a button on the arm of his command chair. "Yes, Admiral." replied the officer at the other end. "Contact the unknown ships, ask for identification or something. I am on my way." Thrawn rose from his chair, his glowing red eyes brushing across Pellaeon's line of sight. "Care to join me, Captain?" Pellaeon nodded, shaking away his train of thought. Preceeding the Admiral, they both left the Command room, walked through the security foyer, and then moved up to Thrawn's command chair. Pellaeon could here the com officer trying to hail the unknown ships. "...this is the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera to unknown vessels, identify youselves..." and so on it droned. The ships continued to loom larger, perhaps oblivious to the messages being sent to them... then again, perhaps not... Thrawn stared intently at his monitor. He nodded to Pellaeon. "Quite an advanced race, but their ships lack any sort of art to them." Pellaeon almost laughed. "Star Destroyers hardly have an art to them." "Star Destroyers were never built with art in mind, Captain, but fear. The task was accomplished, do you agree?" "Yessir." replied Pellaeon. The unknown vessels continued to loom larger. The com officer shouted up form the port crewpit. "Sir, we are reading a weak signal coming from those unknown ships." "Let me hear it." replied Thrawn, sitting back almost impassively. The com officer pressed several buttons, till the transmissioned played over the ships internal speakers. "This is the Earth Alliance Dreadnaught Nova, under the command of Captain Jaime Samsonov, to unidentified vessels. Please identify yourselves!" Thrawn cocked an eyebrow. He looked down at Pellaeon who was already looking back up. "They obviously don't have technology very advanced on the communications side of things." Thrawn wondered for a moment. He gave Pellaeon a curious glance. "What do you think, Captain, if we lowered our shields, launched an unarmed shuttle, and tried to make them launch a shuttle to meet our shuttle." "It seems like the only alternative." replied Pellaeon. Thrawn shook his head. "There are many alternatives, Captain, but this could create a better impression." The blue skinned Admiral thought for a moment. Pellaeon grimaced at whether or not the Admiral would risk himself in some diplomatic mission. "Have our TIE Advanced and TIE Defender squadrons ready to launch if they are needed." "They are already on Ready Five status, Admiral." "Good." Thrawn thought for a moment. "Change in plan, Captain, bring us to two kilometers, then roll the ship and present the hanger to them. If they are indeed intelligent, they will fly their shuttle in." Pellaeon smiled and nodded a bit more enthusiastically. "A better idea in my mind." "Yes, I believe so." Thrawn looked over at the navigation officer. "Roll the ship to present the hanger to our unknowns. Have Eta, Gamma, Iota and Omega Squadron's ready to launch on my command." The stars outside the ship began to spin out of view to be replaced by different stars. The ship took a full minute to complete its manouver. With the hanger bay presented to the unknown ships, the first move would be theirs. However, should they make a wrong move, the other three Star Destroyers were ready to move in. * * * * * * * * * * Captain Jaime Samsanov looked on as the arrowhead began to turn. The other three were holding back, staying out of the way of the lead arrowhead, but no doubt fully ready to advance. The arrowheads were a good kilometer and a half long, a few many times longer than the Dreadnaught's. As the ship turned, Jaime noticed the large rectangular opening in the underside of the ship. It continued to turn to fully present itself. "Possibility of that being a hanger?" asked Jaime. "Nearly one hundered percent, sir!" reported an unseen officer. Jaime rubbed his chin. He turned to his second-in-command. "A sign?" asked Jaime. "Indeed. I think they want us to go aboard." Jaime frowned. "What makes you think that?" "They turn their ship, into what we presume, is their most defencless arc. They couldn't launch fighters, assuming they have any, without us being able to fire on them, assuming they presume that we can fire on them." Jaime smiled. "Too many presumptions, but it will do. A shuttle, Commander?" "Indeed. Shall we?" The two left the bridge. In a few minutes, a shuttle launched from the forward hold, outbound to the unknown ships to meet with their unknown race... * * * * * * * * * * Part 3: The face of the unknown Captain Jaime Samsanov and Commander Laura Shadd looked up with awe at the huge arrowhead. The controls suddenely froze, and the small shuttle jolted. Jaime fought the controls for a moment, but then gave up. "They have control." he muttered. The shuttle turned, and began to ascend up into the hanger. As soon as they could see within the hanger, they were most surprized by the number of people wearing very shiney white clothes, possible armor. They weren't in any sort of attack formation, more display or parrade formation. The shuttle was brought forward a bit, and then brought down. With a loud jolt, the shuttle set down on an obviously metallic deck. Jaime and Laura both got up, and walked back through the shuttle, to the loading ramp, to meet this new race.
As the two figures appeared walking down the ramp, a trooper shouted for his troops to snap to attention. In a almost deafening double stamp, the thousand assembled troops snapped to attention. The two figures seemed surprized for a moment at the sheer number of troops, something that most Imperial officers were most used to. Thrawn began to stride ahead of Pellaeon. Pellaeon, growing closer to the age of retirement did his best to keep up without breaking into a jog. Thrawn stopped ten meters before the two figures, still standing in the shadows of the small transport type ship. Pellaeon drew up at Thrawn's side, with Rukh standing a few meters back, but ever ready. They waited. The figures took a few nervous steps forward, then took up a more defined pace. As they left the shadows, Pellaeon could see the faces of the figures, humans. Surprize was one way to describe it. They were dressed in a blue uniform, with some kind of black animal hide strip down the right side. One of them wore a larger golden strip on the right breast than the other, so Pellaeon assumed that the man was the commander. The other person, a female, was quite striking yet still retained an air of command, strange, for among the majority of the Navy, you would only find males. The two figures stopped two meters before Thrawn, and snapped to attention and saluted. A completely similiar gesture used throughout the Navy. Thrawn and Pellaeon returned the salute and then relaxed from their posture. The male spoke first. "I am Captain Jaime Samsanov of the Earth Alliance Nova-class Dreadnaught Mars. This," taking in the female with a small gesture. "is my second-in-command, Commander Laura Shadd." Then Thrawn spoke. "I am Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Chimaera. This," motioning to Pellaeon. "is my second-in-command, Captain Pellaeon. I am one of twelve Grand Admiral's chosen by the Emperor to serve him directly. I am his envoy to you." Both the male and female seemed relieved that the silence had been broken, and questions had been answered, yet a thousand more lay unanswered. "May I ask what your interest is in this system?" Thrawn smiled. Pellaeon noted no malevolence, just amusement, but then, Thrawn's expressions were always hard to read. "I came here to make contact with some kind of civilisation. I suceeded." The male, this Jaime character smiled. "Indeed you did." "May I inquire your interest in this system." inquired Thrawn. The Captian glanced at his second-in-command who nodded. Upon turning back, the smile was lost from his face. "We were returning to an Earth Alliance base for a refit after a pretty disasterous mission against the Minbari." Thrawn cocked an eyebrow. "The Minbari?" The Jaime character nodded. "The Minbari. Two months ago, a Dreadnaught came across a strange unidentified ship. We don't know what happened exactly, but the Dreadnaught fired and destroyed the unknown ship. Ever since, those same kind of ships have been attacking on all fronts, pushing us back with every engagement. We have had very little sucess overall, but our taskforce had been doing well until we were ambushed in our previous system. We lost many ships and many good people." Thrawn nodded at each break in sentence, already, he was studying these new people. Pellaeon watched the Admiral while watching that Jaime character. Thrawn was indeed worthy of the rank of Grand Admiral. "The Galactic Empire is also currently engaged in a war, though our war has raged for many years. It was not so long ago since the Clone Wars. Things have changed, but the enemy has not. The Rebel Alliance is starting to gain momentum, and their ships are surprizingly powerful for what they really are." "Which is?" asked Jaime. Thrawn's gaze turned cold. "Traitors, defectors, murderers and fugitives. They are rabble made up of the alien races, which believe they can over throw the Empire." Thrawn almost pointed a finger at the Jaime character. "They only destroyed the First Death Star because its commander was foolish and reckless." The smile returned to his face. "But the Second Death Star is now under construction, and soon, things will change." Jaime nodded a little, in partial understanding. "Sounds like we could use a Death Star at the moment." commented Jaime. "Enough of this banter, Would you and your executive officer wish to attend a formal dinner aboard our ship?" asked Thrawn. Jaime nodded. "I would be most greatful." replied Jaime. "We'll make it in, two hours?" asked Thrawn, realising that this Earth Alliance may use a completely different time system. Surprizingly, Jaime nodded understanding. "In two hours then. We will go back aboard our ship to prepare." With a final salute, Jaime and Laura turned and began to walk back toward their shuttle. Thrawn stood and watched them leave. The loading ramp raised up, and the engines of the shuttle came on line. The tractor beam picked the shuttle up, and moved it out of the hanger. Thrawn turned to Pellaeon. "An interesting situation, do you agree?" Pellaeon was struck for words. "Too many similiarities." he replied. "Yes indeed." Thrawn considered for a moment. "I think may make some allies out of this Earth Alliance, and at the moment, it sounds like they need it. Unfortunalty, we needthem as well. However, our mission objectives are at hand, it won't be long now." Pellaeon wondered for a minute. He had very little idea what the 'mission objectives' were. Only the Inner Circle of Grand Admirals and the Emperor and his Envoy's knew anything of these so called 'objectives'. A million thoughts began to run through Pellaeon's head as he followed Thrawn back to the turbo-lift. Did they have Force sensitive people in this galaxy? Did they have a hyperspace capability? Was there really anything to learn from them? Then it occured to Pellaeon. Is there anything we could steal from them? He wondered. Their ships didn't seem particularily advanced. 'Heavy armor with an engine strapped on' is how one crewman described it privately. Then again, the same could be said about a Star Destroyer, apart from the fact that Star Destroyers could devestate ground bases or cities, and which they had done oh so many times before during the destruction of the Jedi and the ending of the Old Republic. Lost in his thoughts, he walked into the turbo-lift. * * * * * * * * * * Jaime, followed by Laura, walked back onto the bridge to the call of 'Captain on the bridge!'. Jaime sat in his command chair, while Laura checked her console on the way past to standing by the Captain's chair. They both looked out at the four arrowheads that the Grand Admiral had described as Star Destroyers. "Fearful machines indeed." commented Jaime. "What do you make of this Empire then?" asked Laura. "Too early to say. Initial observations would suggest they are in majority control. If they can send a Grand Admiral no a diplomatic mission, then they can afford a lot. Strange thought, the entire crew seemed to be human, but Thrawn was different. Why?" "Perhaps the humans are enslaved under the Empire?" "Unlikely, they could over throw one man easily. Perhaps this Emperor has chosen an alien to lead them for some special qualities he posses." "Maybe. I think we should watch our hides around this guys." "I do agree, would you call a diplomatic ship a Star Destroyer?" "Doesn't create a peaceful intention does it?" "We have little to worry about their galaxies battles rolling over into this galaxy. What we do have to worry about is that we still haven't reported back at the Starbase for debreifing. How far overdue are we now?" Laura glanced up at the wall mounted cronometer. "Eight hours." Jaime shook his head. "We'll be listed as Missing In Action by now." "It'll be a bit of a surprize when they see us return with some friends-" "-assuming they will come back." interjected Jaime. "Yes, if we can convince them to join us in arms against the Minbari, we could stand a chance. If not, well..." After an uneasy few seconds, Jaime coughed. "Time to get ready I think. Continue to monitor communications. When we go across, I will inquire about some kind of communications system to be setup between our ships so we can coordinate things better." "-coordinate battles better." interjected Laura. "Yes, that as well." * * * * * * * * * * Thrawn, with all of the holographic projectors displaying tactical information beamed from their forces at New Beginning, looked pleased. He pressed a few keys, and the data sheets were replaced with art again. He looked up at Pellaeon. "So, Captain, it is time to consider our next move." Before Thrawn could start his next sentence, the door to his Private Command Room opened, and a robed person swept in. The door sealed up again with a hiss, and Rukh stood back from his guard at the entry of the robed figure. That meant only one thing. It was the Emperor's Envoy aboard the Chimaera. The cloaked figure seemed to shuffle towards Thrawn's large high backed chair. The figure stood there, starring down at Thrawn who starred back with equal intent. With a short bow, the envoy began to speak. "I am my fellow Jedi Knight's have sensed a strange twisting in the Force in this galaxy, there seems to be a great distortion. We have little idea of what is going on, but we conclude that both Captain Jaime Samsanov and Commander Laura Shadd are not Force sensitive." "Interesting." commented Thrawn. "Your predictions." The envoy shrugged, an unusual gesture for him. "We have no predictions." "Again, interesting." Thrawn considered for a moment. "Your guesses?" The envoy bowed. "We predict that no one within this galaxy is Force sensitive, and that, there is no divide among the Dark and Light side." Thrawn now seemed very interested. "Is your cadre of five Dark Jedi Knights capable of controlling the Force in this galaxy then?" "Without any Jedi Knight's to oppose us, its ours for the taking." "Could the forces of this galaxy oppose you though?" That one took a little longer to answer. He shook his head a little, contemplating an answer. "There is a great darkness currently dorment that I have felt in my meditations. They will be a powerful ally. However, there is an even greater light which seems to be spread across most of the galaxy. It is hard to describe." "No, I understand. This could be helpful, but it could also affect the mission. I want you and your Knights to use whatever means necessary to tip the balance of the Force to our side. If we get involved in this war, which I believe we shall, we will need all the power we can muster. We cannot even predict what kind of weapons of destruction without seeing what this Earth Alliance can field. It will take time, but we must have a good standing in this galaxy. "And if long dead Jedi Masters decide to meddle in our affairs." "Prey they don't. Prey they don't." * * * * * * * * * * "More jump points forming, General!" "What? How many!" barked the General. "Uh, eight." The General's face froze. He glanced down at his tactical screen to see his defending forces become outnumbered by the attacking Minbari. So far, fourteen Minbari Cruisers had entered the system. Unfortunatly, there were only ten Earth Alliance Dreadnaughts to defend the starbases with. The situation had turned from bad, to worse in an instant. "Did our distress signal get out?" asked the General. "Unknown, jamming by the Minbari was started just as we began to send out the distress signal." "Damnit." He thought for a moment, looking at the tactical situation unfolding. He could see only two options. The first was for an all out attack, to push them back and hopefully force a withdrawl. This would be costly, and could very well fail. The second option called for all the forces to rally back around the starbases in a tight defensive net. Losses to both sides would be astronomical, but at least there was a chance at defending the station. Pressing a button, on the com console, the General opened a line to all commands. "This is General Shepperd, I want all ships to pull back into a defensive net around the starbase. Exact positioning coordinates are being transmitted now. All Starfury squadrons are to stay close to their ships and only move out to engage from cover if threatened by Minbari fighter squadrons or cruisers." Turning his head, the General looked over to the navagation officer. "Move us into our assigned place according to the picket formation." "Ayesir, engines coming up now." Slowly but surely, the Dreadnaught turned, and began to travel back toward the starbase, while the other Dreadnaughts did likewise. Starfuries began to hug the hulls of their motherships, trying to avoid any fire from the Minbari ships. The Minbari seemed to be grouping up around twenty kilometers out, waiting to gather their full forces before making a direct assault. That meant they had a little time for some reinforcements to arrive, otherwise... * * * * * * * * * * "I must compliment you on your ship and crew, most impressive." Commented Commander Laura Shadd. "I'm sure it is true likewise." replied Thrawn, taking a sip from a mug of liquir. He placed the mug back down and used a surviet to wipe away the remnants of the drink from around his mouth. "Please, if you will forgive my curiosity, explain a little about the Empire if you would. Some background, you know." asked Captain Jaime Samsanov. Thrawn smiled. He took another drink, then set the mug down again before speaking. "The Galactic Empire was forged out of the Old Republic. The Jedi Order is what held the Old Republic together. A young senator named Palpatine began to make his distaste of the Jedi known. He recruited a servent, known as Darth Vader, you was actually Anakin Skywalker, to help destroy the Jedi Order. With a mighty fleet, he crushed the Jedi Order, save a few Dark Jedi Knights and Masters of his own Inner Circle. "Then, the senate was dissolved. Almost overnight, a rebellious faction was created, simply called, the Rebel Alliance. "Palpatine dispises aliens. He cared for them not, and so, when the atrocities began to mount up, the Rebel Alliance gained strength from those races. "Several years ago, the Galactic Empire's real symbol of power, the Death Star, began its reign of terror. First, the planet that help create it was destroyed, then another, I forget its name, then Alderaan. Some of the Jedi have told me about the sense they have felt about the Alderaan asteroid field. I think you can imagine it. "Anyway, continuing. Palpatine, but this time, had declared himself Emperor. His armarda of Star Destroyers began to scour the galaxy trying to destroy his last bit of opposition that was the Rebel Alliance. The Death Star located the Rebel Main base, and entered the Yavin system. Using only thirty or so starfighters, the Alliance actually managed to destroy the Death Star. Or more preciesly, son of the Emperor's dark servent, Luke Skywalker, destroyed the Death Star. "In his rage, the Emperor took an even harder line on Rebels caught in defiance of his law. However, by now, the Rebel Alliance was gaining severe momentum. With the aid of the Mon Calamari, they were able to raise great space fleets, and soon were able to challenge our mighty Star Destroyers. "Then, there was an unexpected turn of events. An Admiral within our own Navy, a Harkov if I am not mistaken, tried to defect his fleet to the Alliance. Our forces pursued and captured him. Then, a second traitor appeared. Admiral Zaarin. He abducted the Emperor, almost, but in the end, he was also killed by his achillies heel, his reliance on technology. "While I tracked the traitours Zaarin, our main armarda began to stage at Endor, where the Second Death Star was being put together. I was reassigned to project Star Traveler. In my final days of tracking Zaarin, I was promoted to Grand Admiral, an honor only given to the greatest commanders the Navy has. My fleet is mainly staged throughout the Core World systems, defending essential installations. I have brought ten Star Destroyers with me into this galaxy on my initial scouting mission. And here I am." Pellaeon could see the number of questions on the lips of both Jaime and Laura. "If the Emperor hated aliens so much, how did you make Grand Admiral? Perhaps that is a stupid question, just curious." asked Laura. Thrawn smiled. "I wondered why myself sometimes. The Emperor appreciated my sound grip on military tactics, and quite frankly kept my on his leash while destroying his enemies." "I get the impression you don't really approve of the Emperor." asked Laura. "No, not the Emperor, just his methods. I would not a Grand Admiral were it not for his foresight. He has an uncanny ability to forsee important events. Already, I hear he has forseen the completion of the Death Star Two, and the ending of the Rebel Alliance." Jaime and Laura could see the trap they'd fallen into. Not quite so technically speaking, they'd fallen into the camp of the enemy from a different galaxy. However, this was useful, for the commander of this new force was at least reasonable. Jaime was about to speak before he was cut off. The small attachment on his hand blinked a few times. Thrawn looked on curiously as Jaime lifted it to his mouth. "Sorry about this," he said. "Go ahead." "Sir, we have a distress signal from Wolf 404." Jaime's eyes widened. Thrawn noted the change in expression instantly. "We must return to Wolf 404, the Minbari are attacking our Starbase there." After pressing a button to shut of the strange hand mounted communicator, Jaime looked over at Thrawn. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, I, Captain Jaime Samsanov, offer a temporary alliance until a more formal proposal can be laid down." The Grand Admiral's face did not move for a second, and his glowing red eyes seemed to be lost in thought. Jaime almost thought the Admiral would say no, but then he smiled. "I accept this temporary alliance." he looked round at Pellaeon who nodded. "I would also be honored if you would accept a few of our most trusted officers aboard your ship to help with communications between our ships. However, we need to ask something of you." "Anything." replied Jaime. "We need full starcharts of this galaxy, or whatever you have." Jaime rubbed his smooth chin. "Yes. Once your crew arrives on board our ship, they will transmit back all the necessary information." "Excellent then." In minutes, the two Earth Alliance officers had boarded their shuttle, accompanied by two Imperial officers, Lieutenant Hawksworth and Lieutenant Charrette, who would operate the communications equipment they took with them. Not long after that, a link was established, and the starcharts transmitted. They were distrubuted among the Star Destroyers, and all charts updated. A link was established, and Captain Samsanov began to coach Pellaeon their hyperspace technology. It seemed that even a mighty Star Destroyer could pass through what they called, a "Jump Gate". Ten minutes after the two Earth Alliance officers left the Chimaera, two jumppoints formed. The Mars dissappeared into one, while the Eridani Two dissappeared into the other. The Chimaera and Furious followed into the Mars's jumpgate, while the Glorious and Harpago followed the Eridani Two. The trip would take twenty minutes... Would they make it in time? ************ Well, thats it. So, was it any good? Catchya later! Adam Watson From: creative-archive@anxst.com Subject: Star Traveler Chapter 2 Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 21:17:10 -0800 (PST) Hiya all! Here is Chapter 2 of the possible 5 chapter story. All comments greatly appreciated! Catchya later! Adam Watson ************************************************************* "Project Star Traveler" By Adam Watson * * * * * * * * * * The war between the Earth Alliance and the Minbari continues. The line is crumbling, and the Minbari press the attack back into what had once been Earth Alliance territory. Far in the Outer Regions, in the Iobeti System, a pair of Earth Alliance Dreadnaught's come across a mysterious race, which are surprizingly similiar in every single way. A temporary alliance has been sealed, and their help is about to debut in a battle at Wolf 404. For the crews of the Imperial Class Star Destroyer Chimaera, this new galaxy couldn't have been a better place to appear. Ever since travelling through the rift, they had wondered where they would end up. They had hoped not to end up in the middle of a war. They had, but that didn't matter. The Imperial Navy's greatest commander was at the helm of the situation. Could Grand Admiral Thrawn predict the Minbari way? Would his mighty Star Destroyers be a match for their war cruisers? Even now, they are closing to their exit points. The year is not important. The name of the place is. Welcome to the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Chimaera. * * * * * * * * * * Chapter 2: First Blood Part 1: Glory to the Empire! General Shepperd looked down at the tactical display. He grimaced as another green icon dissappeared. He looked up at the viewscreen to see the flash of another Dreadnaught exploding. The ship spewed out fire in all directions as its Starfuries scattered. The Minbari fighters shifted their attack vector, and followed the tiny Starfuries, destroying many of them. A relief group of Starfuries raced in, scattering the Minbari ships. Two warcruisers began to shift their course to move into a strike position on the Saturn. Shepperd snarled. "Sir, jump points forming!" The General snarled again, and looked up at his Commander. "How many?" "Two sir, we have..." there was an eere silence as the Commander identified the incoming ships. His face lit up as he looked up. His smile was huge. "Reinforcements sir." The General looked on as two Dreadnaught's appeared, followed by four huge unknown ships. Shepperd looked out of the viewscreen, and ordered that they zoom in on the new ships. They were massive! Over a kilometer and a half long! "I hope their on our side." commented Shepperd. The Minbari ships seemed surprized by the arrival of reinforcements, and four warships began to turn to cover the flank. Accelerating, they approached the new danger, unknown to them was the true danger... Grand Admiral Thrawn looked at the tactical displays. "Interesting." he commented as four of what the Earth Alliance called cruisers changed course to protect their flank. The ships began to accelerate toward the Imperial ships. "Signal the Mars to hold off deploying fighters, and move to protect our aft." Pellaeon looked surprized for a moment, but passed the order on to the communications officer. The response was immeadiate, but Thrawn was quick to convince them. The distance was now down to ten kilometers, and Thrawn began his new reign of terror. "Launch all squadrons. I want all starfighters to hold back, except TIE Defenders. Let me see what we have." For squadrons of TIE Defenders were now in space, one from each Star Destroyer. Also, two squadrons of TIE Advanced from each ship, along with one squadron of Missile Boats from each ship. Sixteen squadrons of the Imperial Navy's greatest starfighters were ready for action. "TIE Defender squadrons, engage fighters first, then perform straffing runs on cruisers. Make sure you keep in a line abreast formation throughout." The Wing Commander reported affirmative, and Thrawn seemed to shuffle in his command chair, as if getting more comfortable to watch a holo-vid. Pellaeon could never work out what was going on within the mind of his commander, but he knew one thing. He would make a decisive display. Commander Romano Captison redirected laser energy to shields to balance them out at super charged level, and then directed his recharge rates in favor of lasers. The distance on the range finder kept ticking down, but there was still plenty of time. He tried to measure the incoming speed of the enemy ships. So far he could only conclude that the TIE Defenders were moving at only a touch below double of there speed. Such an advantage was, to him, devestating. It would hinge on strength of their hulls and their weaponary. Could they strike at over the Imperial's missile distance? Could they strike with weapons strong enough to blast fighters to peices in one? The range finder flashed below four kilometers, and all flights reported ready for action. His flight of four TIE Defenders were leading in on the first straffing run. His targetting computer seemed to have little trouble picking up the lead enemy fighter, which was quite small compared to the tri-solar panneled TIE Defender. The tri-winged shape of the enemy looked very fluid, and almost artisticly done. He wondered what his commander would think of it. It was no secret that Thrawn was quite obsessed with art, but then only a few of his closest officers knew anything about it, like himself, the original Captain of the Chimaera and one or two other crewers and security personel. His train of though died as the computer pinged a missile lock attempt. The crosshairs turned red, and he squeezed the trigger. A pair of red/orange Advanced Concussion Missiles protuded forth, racing toward the small Minbari fighters. His missiles were joined by others form the Wing of TIE Defenders. There were only fifteen incoming fighters, and in an almost sickening explosion, ever single one exploded. The debris field was astonishing. The TIE Defenders were buffeted considerably by the shower of parts form the remains of the fighters. Most had been considerably in the explosions of the missiles. Opening the com, Romano began to inform his Wings of enemy strength factors. "Try one missile per fighter from now on. If possible, keep with lasers. On the first pass with their capital ships, keep your shields up and be ready to avoid all their laser fire. Missiles on the first run, then switch to lasers until targets are destroyed. Then hold in perimeter patrol unless otherwise ordered." Replies from all fourty seven other TIE Defenders came through and Romano picked up the lead cruiser. Each Squadron Leader picked a cruiser, and they began to home in. As they closed, they could tell they had attracted more attention than they could want, an extra four cruisers turning to attack the Imperial ships. The six kilometer lock flashed good, and a total of fourty eight missiles began to home in on each cruiser. Romano began to wonder about technological level as the missiles continued to close on the enemy ships. They did not launch any anti-missile warheads. They did try even to use concussion grenades to destroy the missiles. Small pin points of light began to line the ships in small clusters as the missiles impacted cleanly. Debris was sprayed high and low as the ships defiantly continued on. Huge dark gouges could be seen as the Imperial ships continued to close. One cruiser seemed to be drifting irregularily. The ship seemed to tip, and then fall out of formation, casually spinning away. In a titanic explosion, the ship was incinerated. Cta squadron, responsible for the destruction of that ship changed to support the lead squadron, Beta Squadron in destroying the lead cruiser. Upon entering one point five kilometer range, the Imperial ships opened fire with their quad laser cannons. Emerald darts stabbed into the exposed points along the Minbari ship hulls, and soon, the cruisers began to bellow fire. Moments after the Imperial ships pulled up and away, two of the Minbari ships had exploded, including the lead ship. A huge laser beam lanced by Romano's cockpit, and he barrel rolled to avoid it. He came around hard on the final cruiser, as did the other three squadrons, and opened fire. The Minbari's fire was directed completely on individual targets. There wasn't a huge array of turbo laser turrets, but instead a forward array of weapons. The sickening scream of dying pilots filled Romano's ears as a pair of TIE Defenders were consumed in the laser blasts of the cruisers guns. Romano cursed, and ordered all ships to open fire with missiles. The fourty six TIE Defenders began to move away from the advaning Minbari line as the last cruiser of their first wave exploded. Grand Admiral Thrawn's voice came over the com. "Excellent display laides and gentleman. All ships, return to patrol formation. Advance only on my orders. Our Star Destroyers are going to split Minbari line." Romano watched as the TIE Defenders formed up. The Star Destroyers, the Chimaera, Furious, Glorious and Harpago, were now reaching maximum speeds, and they flashed by the Imperial fighters as they joined into formation. The Minbari suddenely seemed scared. The four cruisers that were to oppose them turned, and dissappeared into jump points. The other six cruisers, which had been attacking the space station and the protecting Dreadnaughts, turned toward the advancing Star Destroyers. They were not as tame, and advanced to meet the Star Destroyers. The six three hundered meter long ships seemed oblivious to the advancing danger. Sixty heavy turbo laser turrets. Sxity ion cannons. What could they meet the Imperial ships with. As Romano watched, the Minbari fired. The Star Destroyers simply absorbed the energy into their shields, and returned fire, with a feirceness only capable of a Star Destroyer. The battle was short, and three cruisers turned and ran. The other three were completely obliterated in the short range fight. As the three surviving Minbari warships vanished into hyperspace, every single com channel was lit up with a cheer. The recall offer was issued, and all fighters responded. The first engagement had taken place. The Imperial Navy had demonstrated its superiority. What would come of it though? Part 2: The unknwon shows its face Standing on the deck of landing bay five, General Shepperd and his staff awaited the incoming shuttles. Shepperd lifted his hand to tend to a bleeding nose, which had been broken when his ship, the Dreadnaught Saturn, suffered a hull breach. The familiar shape of incoming Earth Alliance shuttle craft could be seen, but the unfamiliar ship of the unknown races shuttle stood out more. The tri-winged craft was sitting in the rear of the formation, but if the performance from the battle was anything to go by, it could probably travel at twice the speed. The Earth Alliance shuttles began to set down, and their crews began to make their way toward Shepperd. They all bowed, made a small comment, then took their places in the meeting precesion. The strange tri-winged craft was the last to set down. A ramp seemed to lower, and two red-cloaked people walked down, holding something comparable to a pike. Then, someone dressed in an olive grey uniform, a cap above his head in the same colour, with a rank insignia above his left breast. The man stepped to the side as the next person walked down. This one wore a white uniform, huge gold shoulder pads supplimenting, with a massive rank insignia and a very regal stride. This one had to be this Grand Admiral Thrawn. The next thing to walk down the ramp was a small creature completely covered in brown and black fur. Its protruding jaw displayed a wedge of glistening teeth, and it did look decidedly dangerous. The small precesion moved forward. Shepperd moved forward a few steps from his gathering of capital ship captains to meet the unknown. The two red cloaked guards stopped and parted, allowing the white uniformed Grand Admiral through. The man's blue skin, and blue/black hair reflected the light in a soothing way, but the signs of strain could be seen around the eyes. The eyes though... those red eyes. They glowed! "I, am Grand Admiral Thrawn, envoy of the Emperor of the Great Empire to you." he smiled and bowed, only slightly, rank in mind. It was Shepperd's turn. "I am General Shepperd, commander of the 6th Earth Alliance Assault Fleet and current commander of the Wolf 404 Sector Command Base." Shepperd kept his voice even but light, hoping to keep it calm, despite what had just transpired in the battle. "I am here, as per a meeting with Captain Jaime Samsanov, to sign an alliance with your government." said Thrawn, still smiling, looking over at Jaime in the rabble of Captains standing a few steps back from Shepperd. "I wouldn't want to ask this of a new found ally so soon, but the Minbari will be back, and this station musn't fall. Can you help us defend it?" Thrawn turned back to the olive grey uniformed person. They conversed for a moment, and the olive uniformed man turned away and began to speak into what Shepperd thought was a communicator. "My Executive Officer, Captain Pellaeon is calling in six more of our Star Destroyers. I assume next time the Minbari arrive, they will arrive in greater force. We shall meet that force." "I applaud your dicision. Please, allow me to invite you to dine with us aboard our station. You, and your Captain." Thrawn paused for a split second, but bowed with the same smile. "Of course." "Who are they?" asked the first. "Could the humans have found some new technology?" asked the second. "Unlikely." replied the third. "So where have these new ones come from?" asked the fourth. "I think the question should be how do we send them back!" said the fifth, a demand quite audible. "No, perhaps there is something we can learn here." suggested the second. "And let our forces be oblitterated in the process! I think not." said the fifth, still agitated. "Perhaps a different approach?" suggested the second. "Enlighten me." said the fifth, voice full of scorn. "The Religious Caste has always enlightened the Warrior Caste." commented the third. "I enjoy this banter, but we need a solution." the voice of the one in the centre bellowed louder and reverberated around the area. There was a moment of silence as everyone considered the situation, and likely reaction based on the actions by this new ones. "Could they be some of the First Ones?" asked the fifth inquisitively. "More than likely. Perhaps we should seek other First Ones to consult on this affair." replied the fourth. "Pah, you mean the Vorlons. I think we can handle our own military situations." replied the fifth. "Really? How many warcruisers were destroyed? Can your warriors handle this new enemy!" replied the Third. "Do we know they are an enemy?" replied the second. "What is that supposed to mean!" said the fifth. "They could well be, and this is unlikely, mercenaries." suggested the second. "Mercenaries? What are those?" replied the fifth scornfully. "You should study your enemies better," started the second. "Mercenaries are hired guns from Earth history, indeed, they still operate to this day, but only two organisations have gained anything to rank as a military strength, and both are stationed at Earth on an ongoing contract. "Mercenaries are more interested in money than taking sides. They have been known in the past to flee from a contract with their prize or to steal their prize and destroy their employer. "What I am saying, is that, given enough money, perhaps we could buy them." "Never!" screamed the second. "The Minbari Navy has no place for what you describe as Mercenaries. No sooner as they start their contract would they get up and run!" "I only offer an alternative. I do however, have a better idea. A much more simple, cleaner way of getting some invaluable information." said the second. "Oh please praytel." said the fifth. "The Blackstar is not far from the new ones position. Perhaps her fleet could go in, capture one of their fighters, or better yet, one of their cruisers, and then get out with minimum casualties." The fifth liked what the second was suggesting. "It will take some planning, but that is the best thing I've heard so far, and might I add, the only thing even slightly worth considering. Do we have a better way?" There were several seconds of silence. "Then it is settled," declared the one in the centre. "I will leave it to you to pass on information to the Blackstar's commander about the engagement. I will not tolerate large losses. "We are winning this war. Who would have expected otherwise, and soon we will have pushed the Earth Alliance back to its homeworld, then, all members present, we will have our revenge!" Spread around the large hall were the crews and Captains of the many Earth Alliance ships which had arrived at Wolf 404 since the battle in which the Imperial Navy had interviened. An unfamiliar presence was in the form of several crews and officers from the many Star Destroyers which had now arrived. The construction of the Space Platforms was still taking place at New Beginning, which also happened to be called Inafa. The Imperial engineerers had given a construction schedual of two weeks for completion of the first Type A platform, with the three Type C's and one Type D taking a further week. Also, a mining colony was being setup on the third planet to begin mining raw materials. Left in defence was one of the best Assault Gunboat Wing's, which would be quickly swapped with a standard TIE Advanced patrol Wing as soon as it was necessary for the Gunboats to join the Star Destroyer fleet. The cadre of six Dark Jedi Knight's were present in the room, wearing cloaks and all, but naturally only the Imperials knew of what they were, the Earth Alliance humans merely looked on curiously. For the leader of the cadre, Uhim Falcon, it was a time of observation. He talked with many of the EA Humans, learning gradually of what they were and their origins. Most laughed at some of the inquisitive questions, but all answered without thinking. Its not like the information would be damaging. However, the pleasent chat ended when Uhim came across a Human wearing a different uniform. With a small silver plaque attached to the left breast, Uhim became suspicious. He addressed the women with a bow, and introduced himself. "Greetings, I am Uhim Falcon. Excuse my curiosity, but why do you wear a different uniform to the rest?" The women did not seem offended and even suppressed a small laugh. Uhim could feel through the Force a sense of curiosity and deception. A tricky customer indeed. "Greetings to you also, I am Sue Hartley. To answer your question, I wear a different uniform because I am of a different organisation completely. Psi Core, with a rating of P7. I am a telepath Now, you don't mind me asking why you dress differently do you?" Uhim sensed danger, something was not right. With his five other Jedi Knight's, he had tried to reach out and touch the minds of other Force sensitive beings, but none responded. It seemed as though the galaxy was ripe for the picking. But this one, this Psi Core... "Certinaly," said Uhim. He decided they would find out eventually anyway, so gave up the information for free. "I am Uhim Falcon, the Emperor's Eyes, Dark Jedi Knight." Sue Hartley looked on suspiciously for a moment. She seemed to be looking at Uhim, and through him, she seemed to be... them Uhim noticed. She was probing him. Reaching out with the Force he rasied a mind shield to stop further probing, and Sue Hartley seemed taken aback for a minute. She seemed to take a large breath. "Would you excuse me for a moment." she asked. Uhim bowed and replied. "Of course. Until we meet again." She looked surprized at that remark, but turned and walked away. Melting from the crowd, the other five Dark Jedi's appeared. They all walked up toward Uhim a grave face showing on all. "We have a new challenge, my children, new challenges indeed." Captain Pellaeon bowed again to address yet another Captain. The mans blonde spiked hair stood as proud as the man did. He bowed and extended his hand. Pellaeon met it and shook it. The mans grip was strong, and Pellaeon looked on curiously. "Hi, Captain John Sheridan. Your the Grand Admiral's XO?" he asked. "Yes I am, Captain Pellaeon." "So, tell me Captain, how many battles has your ship seen?" the question was a little casual, and Pellaeon winced at the thought. He couldn't even dare try and count the number of planetary bombardments and convoy raids. They were far too numerous. "Personally, I have led somewhere in the region of four hundered battles." replied Pellaeon taking a complete guess. "Not all of them sucessful mind, but most were. When the Grand Admiral assumed command, every battle we have fought has been won. Some very impressive victories indeed." "Oh, a few more battles than me then. The Galatea has seen a lot of action, only a day ago we were fighting a small Minbari taskforce a few systems away. We took some heavy damage, and ended up withdrawing, but in the end, our other ships finished the battle." "I commend you. I hear that this war is becomming more desperate with every passing battle." the comment didn't seem to go down well, but there was no taking that smile of the mans face. "True, we have lost more than we've won, but we'll finish it, we always have, and we always will." "A noble philosiphy, and I wouldn't doubt it for a moment. Well, you have our help now, that counts for something at least." "Your damn right it does. I'm a bit of a pilot myself, what do you think are the chances of me getting a look at one of your fighters?" Pellaeon had been ordered to not divulge any information regarding technology, but how would just looking at a fighter harm that order? Before Pellaeon could reply, Thrawn suddenely melted out of the crowd into the small circle of people listening in on the conversation. He nodded Pellaeon's tension. "Ah, Pellaeon, what is on your mind." Pellaeon knew he would now get his answer. "Captain John Sheridan was asking about the possibility of taking a look at one of our starfighters, he is a pilot himself, as well as a starship commander." "Ah, yes, your name I have heard mentioned many times." "I hope it was related to good things." said Sheridan. "Oh it was Captain. I am intrugied by some of the tactics people mention in conjunction with your name. May I invite you on a small tour of the Chimaera, and as you ask, a look at several of our different starfighters?" John Sheridan smiled. "That would be great." After the mass gathering began to dispearse, and all formalities over and done with for the time being, John Sheridan was cleared for the trip to the Imperial Star Destroyer, and accompanied Thrawn back over on his Lambda-class Shuttle. The Lambda-class Shuttle's wings retracked and began to hold up as the shuttle entered into the hanger. With several hisses, the shuttle moved into landing position. With a loud clang, the shuttle set down on the deck. After several hisses, the ramp lowered, and Thrawn walked down, with Captain John Sheridan walking close behind. John looked at the gathering of white clad troops all around. With a double stamp that was near defeaning in volume, the troops all stood to attention. Following the white uniformed Grand Admiral down the ramp, John made sure he did not overstep his pace or trip up on the way down the strangely surfaced shuttle ramp. The small furry creature that Thrawn had called Rukh seemed to hiss quite audibly, very disspleased with the whole situation. A Noghri is what Thrawn had called them. Interesting, thought John as he followed the Grand Admiral. "Impressive, don't you think, Captain?" "Please, call me John." Thrawn half turned and smiled, his glowing eyes looking over the Captain before continuing back in his original direction. "As you wish, John. Just call me Thrawn. Please understand if I do not tell you my first name." "Of course, Thrawn." The two men walked through the vanguard of Imperial troops, and then to set of double doors. The doors opened, and Thrawn walked in first. John followed in, assuming it must be a kind of lift. The doors opened again, and Thrawn and John stepped out, shadowed by Rukh. The lights all around were pulsating red, and fighters were all sitting in ready launch position. A Missile Boat was being tended to by a group of technicians, while pilots were standing at the far end nearby the ready room. They all snapped to attention upon the Grand Admiral's entrance. John was impressed by the fanaticism of the Imperials, it seemed as though they would follow this Thrawn to hell and back. "These," started Thrawn, pointing at a row of fighters. "are TIE Advanced. Twin Ion Engine starfighters, the first to be equiped with deflector shields and Hyperdrives. Quad lasers, two warhead launchers and an optional tractor beam." John walked up to the fighter. Enscribed on the side was a pilots name, along with a unit logo and a huge array of small icons painted below. When he noticed icons resembling the fighter he was looking at, he turned to ask Thrawn about it. Thrawn must have read his mind, for he was already answering the question. "From my most recent campaign. A traitor, an Admiral, tried a coup de tat, and failed. I was sent to destroy him. That is what I did. We lost many good ships, including numerous Star Destroyers, like the Ardaga. "Traitors never escape justice." "I don't doubt it." commented John, moving up to the pilots entry gangway. The small platform was wide enough for the pilot to quickly hurl him or herself into the cockpit, for which the hatch was already open. "What do you think?" asked Thrawn. "They certainly beat our Starfuries." "Theres more, if your interested." John smiled. "Lead the way." A short walk through the first fighter launch area, to another area on a lower deck, they came up to another fighter storage area. These fighters were larger, and were the ones that eliminated the Minbari fighters and cruisers in the first engagement. "TIE Defenders. Designed by the traitor himself. Appropriate that they were used to destroy him." Upon closer inspection, the TIE Defenders generally bore a huge number of small icons, representing kills as John was now told. The different colours simulated either single kills, whole squadrons or entire Wings of sxity fighters. "It is a shame that I could not have my entire taskforce equiped with TIE Defender squadrons or even TIE Advanced before starting this mission. My other ships are still equiped with older model TIE starfighters, most of which are unshielded. But then, your fighters seem to survive alright without shields. Tell me, how do those engines work?" John began to notice Thrawn's close examination of the situation, he was picking up all the facts and forming the answers for himself. He had already proven his superiority over the technology of the Earth Alliance, and so far, over the Minbari. Suddenely, the thought occured to him of whether or not these Imperials were fully commited to this temporary alliance. They had indeed defeated the Minbari attack on Wolf 404, but that was nothing compared to the overall military situation. With the Minbari pushing yet further on the Earth Alliance all the way back to Earth, could the Imperial's be relied on to help? They seemed very ruthless and efficient, they didn't tolerate any form of disrespect, no matter what, and they seemed to rule with the gun. However, whatever the Imperial Navy were reputed for in their galaxy, it made no difference here. They could well be the last chance to turn the tide of the war, perhaps push it back to wherever the Minbari reside. "Dual mounted thrusters, wing tip mounted." "Four on the aft arc, four on the front, with individual engine control. Interesting." John wasn't surprized, for Thrawn had made such comments all throughout his visit to this, well, huge ship. The Imperial Star Destroyer was unlike anything John had ever seen before. It was quite frankly a large armor plate with weapons and an engine attached. Or so it looked from the outside. Aparantly, over twelve thousand people lived and served aboard this vessel. Incredible. "Please, this way." said Thrawn, motioning with his arm. They walked on. A technician, or so it seemed, pressed a series of switches, and the TIE Defenders dissappeared from view. With several loud thuds and hisses, hatches closed behind them, giving the room the impression of a simple empty cargo area, except for the fuel pipes spread about. Entering through another doorway, they came onto another fighter filled deck. These were different, not as large as the TIE Defenders, but based on a completely different design. They had four large warhead launchers, as the protruding warheads announced, and two short wings. "These are my creation." started Thrawn. He strolled up to the nearest fighter, and touched the warhead launcher. "The Missile Boat. Designed to counter Admiral Zaarin's TIE Defenders. The plan was sucessful, and a single pilot was able to destroy most of Zaarin's TIE Defenders." "Some pilot." commented John. "Oh yes." replied Thrawn. "These have shields, hyperdrive, overdrive and a tractor beam as standard. They never made mass production because of Zaarin's attacks on the Empire's starfighter production facilities all throughout the Empire. "However, Zaarin's reliance on technology was his downfall. When I presented him with a new technology, with glitches I neglected to mention, he made a grab for it. He did capture the technology, but its glitches were his downfall. We lost that new technology, not completely you understand, but it has set the research back many a year." "What kind of research?" asked John casually, peering into the starfighters cockpit. When Thrawn didn't reply, he looked round, not knowing what to expect. He found Thrawn's gaze locked firmly on him. Thrawn seemed to release the tension showing on his face before speaking. "I suppose it would not harm us to tell you. We had designed a workable Cloaking Device. The only problem was is that it would not work in the presence of a hyperdrive." "I am curious. You mention a hyperdrive. Do you think it would work using an already generating jump gate?" Again, Thrawn didn't respond. He seemed to consider the idea in his head, way up the advantages and disadvantages, then got around to replying. "Possibly. Too many risks." That comment surprized John. "When you said you had lost the technology, was that the official line, or the truth?" Thrawn smiled, his glowing eyes softening. He was obviously enjoying the game. "There were many more than one cloaking device made. True, the prototype was captured then destroyed, but the other production models were distrubuted to other testing sites, where new updates could be made. "It was a very impressive set of results I recieved before embarking on the unknown with this mission. Might I add that I am quite pleased at how this mission has gone so far." "I don't see how you can say that. You've landed in the middle of a war, with a technologically advanced enemy. Surely thats a bad thing." "You miss the point. I am a Grand Admiral, fighting is what I do." "No diplomacy?" "Why bother? In our galaxy, there is only one war. Two sides. The Empire, and the Rebel Alliance. It has torn the galaxy in half. Soon, one side will be consumed in total oblivion." "You don't seem confident in your sides chances." "No, I never approved of the Death Star in the first place, but to build another one, no, that isn't a very smart idea at all. As many other Admiral's have said, you must be at one with the enemy in the fight, not sitting in some glorified battle station the size of a planet." That comment sent a shiver down his spine, with a small prayer, never to have to witness a Death Star, under any circumstance, ever. "I am curious," started Thrawn. "What is the capital world of the Earth Alliance?" John smiled. "Why, Earth of course." "An alliance between different nations on one planet." added Thrawn. "Right." John took a sip from his mug of hot choclate, and smiled. "Tell me about your capital world." Thrawn seemed to tut for a moment. "Coruscant is quite frankly, just one large city. Almost the entire planet is covered in tower blocks. There are swift weather changes, almost constantly. There is no greenery, nothing worth looking at. Coruscant lacks any artistic style, lacks inspiration. Lest, the cost of progress." "Earth seems to be quite the opposite. Sure, it has its built up cities, but there are great stretches of greenland. Not to mention so many other types of terrain. "You mention that lack of artistic style from Coruscant, are you an artist?" asked John. "No, I merely study the arts of others." Thrawn took a sip from his mug. The large officers mess area was partially filled, with people sitting at the bar, some sitting in conversation circles. It was fairly easy to guess what they were talking about. "I see the Earth Alliance has turned you into a sort of liason." said Thrawn casually. John smiled, and took another sip form his mug. "Thats one way to put it." "There is another?" Thrawn asked suspiciously. John smiled. "Of course. We want to make this a lasting alliance, I'm the insurence policy." "Interesting way to phraze that." Thrawn commented. He took out his communicator, and spoke into it breifly. John could not hear what Thrawn said, but it was short and sweet. "Good, phaze one of Project Star Traveler is completed." John wondered what Thrawn meant as they walked back up to the bridge. As the turbo-lift doors opened, John was surprized by the shear size of the bridge. Walking through the security foyer, and onto the gangway, with both crew pits either side, they walked. Phaze one of Project Star Traveler, John repeated to himself. What could it mean? His question would have to wait, as a crewer shouted up to Thrawn. "Sir, EA Command requests that Captain Sheridan return to his Cruiser for a high level breifing." Thrawn smiled. He walked up to John and extended his hand. "It has been a pleasent expereicence, Captain John Sheridan. Fight hard, and fight well, I will see you soon." John bowed, and offered his thanks. He was escorted by Captain Pellaeon back to the Hanger Bay, and then was taken back to his Heavy Cruiser aboard a Lambda-class Shuttle. Part 3: The Blackstar "Are you sure?" asked John Sheridan. "Certain. Advanced Scouts report that the Minbari are fairly pissed about having several cruisers destroyed. They are sending their command ship here to 'exterminate those pitiful humans'." reported the communications officer. "Are our Starfury squadrons ready for launch?" asked John. "Yessir, but we will be several ships down." John rasied his hands to his head and gently began rubbing his temples. "How many ships are they sending here?" "Unknown, but I'd say lots." "How many ships are we getting as reinforcements?" The officer snorted. "Less than we need." John frowned. He looked out at the view display, and the ten arrowheads spread about Wolf 404. They sailed menacingly, warships that were eight times the size of the Galatea, and possibly eight times more powerful. But this Minbari flagship. Could they stand up to it? He snorted to himself. What chance would a Hyperion Cruiser stand against the Minbari flagship? If only he knew how good those odds were... "We have new jump points forming!" called out a crewer. "How many." asked General Shepperd. "Twelve..." replied the crewer, his voice losing his previous stature of conviction. "Alert all commands, give me a link." "Link ready." replied the communications officer. "This is General Shepperd. This is a fight for out lives ladies and gentlemen. The Imperials are going to form the main blockade, our ships will form up and make the rear, flanks and centre of the formation. I want all Starfuries to hang near their motherships. The Imperial fighters will be making the initial attacks. I have every confidence in The Imperials ability, as I have faith in ours. Grand Admiral Thrawn has come up with a plan that will suceed in showing just how powerful the Earth Alliance really is. Be ready for anything, ladies and gentlemen, there is no turning back now." "Engineering, flank speed." "What do you think, Pellaeon?" asked Thrawn. Sitting in his Private Command room, his circle of monitors displaying all sorts of tactical information. Pellaeon tried to take in all of the information, but it was impossible. "We are outnumbered by capital ships in a ratio of two to one. In fighters we outnumber them. Overall, considering the anti-starfighter capabilities of those cruisers as a whole, it is an even fight." "Imagine if we were not here, Captain, to help this Earth Alliance." Thrawn began to tap buttons. "Wing Commanders, I want a Marg Sabl manouver. Go as soon as ready." The replies came back positive. Pellaeon eyed Thrawn, looking for some sort of answer. A Marg Sabl was a simple manouver, and could be easily countered, if the Minbari knew how. "All starfighters have launched." "Good, bring us up to flank speed." The starfighters flew straight out of the hanger and away from the Star Destroyers. They came about, and started flying straight in toward the lower arc of the Minbari formation. The Star Destroyers were picking up speed and moving to crunch the pathetic defence formation formed by the Minbari. It would not be long now. "In the name of Valen!" commented the first. "We really do have a problem." commented the second. "Nothing we can't handle." commented the fifth, with the usual confidence. "We shall see about that." said the fourth. "Are our fighters in position yet?" asked the third. "They are trying to counter this manouver by the unknown race. Our shuttles and transports are forming the rear of the formation. We will strike and extract as quickly as possible. Are you certain you want to risk the Blackstar in this attack?" replied the fifth. "Yes. The time has come to shut down this system." replied the first. "Then let it proceed, in Valen's name, shall we achieve victory!" Romano Captison noted the positions of the advancing Minbari attack ships. They've fallen for it, thought Romano, as he passed an order to his wing mates to get ready for a missile spread. The Imperial fighters of the Star Destroyer Chimaera, Furious, Glorious and Harpago were making the head of the vanguard. They were all the latest model of Imperial starfighters. However, fighters from the other Imperail Star Destroyers present, the Illustrious, Imperator, Magnificent, Thunderer, Triumph and Vanguard, were all older model starfighters. TIE Fighters, TIE Bombers, TIE Interceptors and Assault Gunboats. Most were unshielded and didn't have warhead capacity. How- ever, the shear numbers of Imperial fighters outweighed the Minbari, and soon, one side would lie, vanquished, the other battered and destroyed. Which would be victorious? The same side that was always victorious. The Imperial Navy. "Glory to the Empire!" yelled Romano, as he tightened down on the firing buttons. Green darts answered his call, stabbing forth, wreaking havoc. Minbari fighters began to explode soon after the first shots were fired. As the two formations passed through each other, Imperial fighters, the unshielded ships forming the rear, also began to explode. Squadrons began to split up into flights to gang up on the outnumbered Minbari, but they're dismissal of the small shuttle type craft several kilometers out proved to be a greivous mistake... "Beta Two, cloak and dagger, confirm?" said Romano into the com. "Comfirmed Beta Leader, ready five." replied the pilot. "Go." The five Minbari fighters following Beta Two's fighter tried to stay with it as it moved into a quick high G turn, and continued to follow, blindly into the guns of Romano. As the TIE Defender flashed by his cockpit, he opened up with his quad laser cannons. The emerald beams raked the hulls of three of the Minbari ships, all three exploding. The other two Minbari fighters changed targets, and subsequently almost crashed into Romano's TIE Defender. Their blasts knocked the forward shields down significantly, and left him open to attack by another group of Minbari fighters which were following. This time, the blasts went through the shields... and instead of the TIE Defender exploding, its systems began to go offline. Before the com system went out, he got one quick message out. "They have ions, repeat, they have-" Everything blacked out, every monitor. The shield recharge pannel exploded. The laser recharge rate display went black and the target computer went black. Everything was dead. He watched from his cockpit view as his TIE Defender slowly barrel rolled toward the formation of shuttles. He then realised why the Minbari made such a pathetic defensive formation against the Marg Sabl. They were luring the Imperials into a trap to capture them! All hope faded as the auto-repair monitor died. The hum of the Twin Ion Engine died, and there was only one thing left for it. Reaching up, Romano felt for the eject release. After jabbing the large button several times he realised that even the seperate reserve power packs were down. So this was it... The Minbari fighters hugged close to the Imperial fighter as it rolled toward the advancing shuttles. All Imperial attempts to help their comrade were met with the increasing fire from Minbari fighters and cruisers as they circled around the Imperial fighter. Then, the mighty Blackstar rolled overhead. As the TIE Defender turned again, Romano got a look at the ten advancing Star Destroyers. They were coming in at full burn, and they would be quick to fire. Would they destroy his fighter... Could they save him... Or could they truely save him? All hope faded as the TIE Defender turned over again to be presented with the underside of a Minbari shuttle. The small craft, though four times larger than a TIE Defender, grabbed hold of the fighter with clamps, and began to move it. A jump point formed, and the shuttle, with the TIE Defender attached, vanished into hyperspace... Thrawn watched as the TIE Defender dissappeared from all scopes. Pellaeon watched Thrawn, expecting an explosion, for him to suddenely draw a blaster and shoot Pellaeon for his incompetence. Any other Imperial Grand Admiral would have... But Thrawn was no ordinary Grand Admiral... "A set back." commented Thrawn. "They have no use for our technology, they are more concerned with organic technology, they only want the pilot. "Who was it?" Pellaeon thanked whatever gods there were, and replied. "Romano Captison." "Ah, Romano of the Captison family, govermental family of Bakura." said Thrawn, almost regrettably. "They will never know. "Is General Marthe O'Conner ready?" "Ayesir, her TIE Defender is ready for launch." "Then it is time to play our ace in the hole. Pass the order." Clicking the restraining straps into place, General Marthe O'Conner readied for launch. All systems reported go, fuel was good, weapons were check, warheads were ready, a single load of Advanced Missiles in one launcher, and a single load of Heavy Rockets in the other. The hanger bay doors opened below the TIE Defender, and the launch claw began to lower the TIE Defender into space. Lights flashed red everywhere as the TIE Defender was lowered. Marthe made final checks before take off. The claw retracted, and Marthe eased the throttle forward. In her career, she had clocked up one of the highest kill ratios ever. Nearly two thousand to date. A pilot was lucky to survive a year, but Marthe had flown starfighters for ten years. She had been given the nickname, the 'Angel of Death', when she single handedly took on the might of Zaarin's last TIE Defender squadrons in defending the Imperial Star Destroyer Grey Wolf and Interdictor Corvus. The Star Destroyer Glory had stood off in the distance, being pounded by the dying Strike Cruisers Ebolo and Daring, and a smattering of TIE Bombers armed with little or nothing. On that day she had destroyed two full wings of TIE Defenders. She had destroyed the Glory. She ultimatly destroyed the traitours Admiral Zaarin. And now, she would destroy the Minbari. Ever since the Empire had came to her world, she had flown a simple Z-95 Headhunter for lesiure. Her skill earned her the rank of Captain, and a place with a TIE Fighter assault group. Technology advanced, as did her rank. She quickly progressed to a TIE Interceptor group, then an Assault Gunboat group, then TIE Advanced, and now TIE Defender. She brought the nose of the TIE Defender up, and pointed it at the Minbari formation. She reached inward with the Force, and let it control her actions. She became one with the starfighter, she no longer controlled its movements. Slipping into the Jedi trance, she closed into the fray. Not long after, a Minbari Cruiser exploded... Followed by another... And another... * * * * * * * * * * "So, the Minbari shuttles have escaped, the Blackstar managed to blunt the attack of ten Star Destroyers, allowing the escape of all Minbari ships, and now, you tell me that something else even worse has occured." said Grand Admiral Thrawn, his voice full of distain. "Ayesir, it appears that a strange ship has appeared in the New Beginning system, and has found the Space Platforms. Our reinforcements are here, and managed to force the ship to retreat-" "Not good enough, they know where our base of operations is, and more importantly, where the Rift is." Thrawn rubbed his head. Dilema time. The Wolf 404 base had fallen a day after the Imperial pilot was taken, this happening while the Imperial ships were returning to New Beginning to resupply with ammo and fuel. Earth was screaming for all ships to return there to make the last stand for the Humans. The Imperials were so heavily pleaded upon to go, and help defend the core of the Human existence. Thrawn had to answer that call... but... The Rift had been discovered. If the Minbari travelled into the Core Worlds... Yes, the Imperial Navy, even the Rebel Alliance could overpower and destory them. But those ships were not Minbari. They were more powerful. It had taken the reinforcements a significant amount of time to drive the new imposter away. Several starships had been destroyed. What was the right choice? Proceed to Earth and protect the Earth Alliance and the lives of billions? Or return to New Beginning to protect the lives of millions of billions? Pellaeon was glad that Thrawn was in command, for only he could have masterminded what transpired... ************************************************** There ya go, hope you enjoyed it!