A Dark Empire Story by:Kopaka_Metru Episode V, "Reprise" Brenden attached the computer panel and placed on the cover. An Indigo hilt with a widened U shape[think master sword, zelda] at the top sat infront of him. He picked it up and pressed the deep red button just above the handhold. A silver-blue blade rose from the hilt. Brenden had shaped it to look like lightsabers of old, where the saber was a laser crystal in the shape of a sword, and was ignighted when power flowed from a powerback on the jedi's belt through a power cord to the saber hilt. A momento to old, Brenden had spent the latter part of a week to build it. As the droids anihillated worlds in their way, the Federation was hard pressed to find them. Arriving just after they had left, missing them by minutes. Brenden was begining to worry, the Droid's path of war was headed for Corellia, and they would have no indication if the droids ever hit there. Brenden glanced to his right. Along with his classic saber, he had constructed 2 modern sabers that had a 75cm blade each, for dual use. Brenden Stood up and moved for the door when his comlink bleeped. "Wilson here." He greeted "Sir, we recieved distress calls from Golan V, a droid attack." A voice chattered back. "Set course and engage at full speed." Brenden said and rushed for the bridge. *********************************************************************************************** "Recieving a distress call from Golan V sir." Adam gave a double take, "Set course and engage! With all hope, the Federation will have gotten the same call." Finnaly some news. The Federation Fleet, although returned to explored space, was zipping around the galaxy and was impossible to locate. Adam glanced at the Hyper Clock, a clock that had the remaining time in the current jump before arriving at the destination. 41:22 and counting down...Almost 2 whole days. Adam cursed, they might never make it in time. *********************************************************************************************** As the Turbolift doors opened, Brenden saw the electric tunnel of hyperspace dissaper and long white lines slowly depleat to pinpoints. A Flotilla of about 20 droid craft were assaulting the planet. Too few.... As the Fleet opened fire, 380 more droid ships pulled into the system. Too many.... Brenden stared out the viewport for a minute, then it hit him. "Angle all ships to protect the planet with their sheilds, tell them to get into position and put all power to sheilds, then move us 3000 km away from the enemy." He blurted out, "But sir, what are you----- "No questions do it, and do it fast!" Brenden said, then turned to his armorment officer, "Arm the remaining SD missile." The Federation fleet moved into a formation that overlapped the shields and protected the planet from droid fire, although was not a great tactical position. As the "Nerevar" reached the 3000 km line, they turned around and pointed the nose at the Droids. "Fire." ************************************************************************************************* Luckly for the sake of time, Adam remembered the Secret Hyperbooster installed in the escort frigate for emergencys. Cutting down the 42 hours to 2.45 hours. He grinned as the hyperspace tunnel reverted to real space. Although, maybe it wasn't such a good idea. As soon as the planet and opposing forces were in visible contact, a great bright explosion errupted from the middle of the droid fleet. A White sphere expanded and encased the whole fleet. As the explosion waved out in weaker blasts, Federation Ships protected the planet from any power that might reach it. Adam blinked in disbelief at the total destruction the blast had caused. a whole flotilla of 400 ships reduced to vapor in the void in seconds flat. But just as Adam thought that the fighting was over, a Droid WarShip Dropped out of hyperspace. And as if Adam thought the 'Decimator' class liberators were big, he had to change his view on things...the Warship that had dropped into realspace must have been atleast 100km long. And as it slowed to a halt, a swarm of millions of fighters poured from it's belly. Adam glanced at the federation fleet, who also released fighters, although a considerably lesser amount... "Those crazy nerf-herders" Adam almost laughed, and would have except for the truth behind the sentence....not many would survive an attack like that... ************************************************************************************************* Brenden Fired off 1 torpedo and it nailed a fighter head on. He pulled up through a loop and evened out behind a droid fighter. The Droid jinked left and right, Brenden stuck on him. "Rogue leader! watch it, two coming down on you from above!" Screamed rogue 2, his wingman. Brenden rolled to starboard and pulled a heavy turn. His scanners indicated that the droids were still on him. "where are you Tycho?" muttered Brenden, unaware his wingman was shot down and left floating for a pick-up. One droid fighter came and pulled infront of Brenden, then hit the brakes, giving the other a clear shot. Jinking to port, Brenden escaped with only a badly wounded back sheild. As the droids continued to follow Brenden they were gaining more hits. "Rogue lead, break to port now!" Rogue 3 yelled. Brenden broke a hard port turn and watched 2 proton torpedos streak past him, nailing the pursuing droids. "Thanks Corran." Brenden Breathed a sigh of relief "Anytime lead." More twisting turns and spirals, and the fleet was scorring hit after hit on the supercruiser, but they were only making craters on the surface. Where as the droid ship's huge heavy canons could take down a republic class cruiser with 1 or 2 hits. Brenden Dove and watched as a huge laser rammed into a RCL and it's whole frontal section just exploded away, Venting atmosphere and people. Brenden pushed his throttle to full, even redirecting laser power to the engines to increase speed. He leveled out and skimmed across the supercruiser's surface, looking for any sort of fighter sized acess hatch. Finaly he saw one of the starboard side, and pulled a loop right into it. As he dissapered into the hole, 3 droid fighters went after him. The tunnel was full of pipes and power lines, vents and power dicapators[think 2nd deathstar run] The tunnel broke into 2 parts ahead, hesiting till the last minute, Brenden pulled port and left one of the droids to crash into the superstructure. Purple lasers flew by, alerting him to the fact that the droids weren't going to give up easy. Brenden was hoping for another fork in the tunnel, maybe he could lose the fighters there. Instead he was given a dead end. Brendens eye's widened and his heart sunk. He had no room to pull a loop, and if he inverted his fighter, the droids would colide with him. In the moment of sorrow, one though popped through his head. He pulled the trigger and held it. Blowing the wall away Brenden was blasting through the small hallways in the ship that allowed for battledroids and mantenance droids to pass through. The arwing scrapped through and ripped apart the hallways, taking heavy damage itself. The cramped hallways finally gave way to a big emptey chamber that housed the main generator[again, think 2nd deathstar] Brenden pulled around the generator which hung the center of the chamber and checked for the droid fighters, no sign, although a few wing debris pieces lined the way Brenden had come in. Brenden looked around for an exit, a larger tunnel entrance sat beneath the generator and was venting the atmosphere it was giving off. Brenden snapped off his last torpedo at the generator and dove for the tunnel. It was straight forward and Brenden could see the exit to space ahead, although it was a long way ahead. The fire from the explosion was catching up with brenden. He put all power from lasers and sheilds into the engines; surging forward, he just escaped from the ship as the fire engulfed him, shooting out from the flames, he opened up his comm channel to all federation ships, "Break away from the supercruiser, it's gonna blow!" As the Fleet pulled away towards the planet, small explosions cratered the ship's surface before it finally just blew skyhigh. Brenden headed for the 'Nerevar' and set his ship down. He noticed an escort frigate docked to the underside of the ship[as the main hanger is on the top]. He climbed out of the cockpit and threw his helmet back in. Sitting to rest on the wing, a cadet ran up to him. "Sir, Adam Grit is waiting for you in the galley." End of Episode V *********************** Episode VI, "Sudden Strike" Adam had stayed to talk a bit, mostly about whats been happening. He left soon after to report the news to kapola. And said he might try and contact the NTA's 'New Order'. Shortly after his Escort Frigate jumped out of the system, the fleet was back on the move. Following civilian reports of a droid convoy somewhere between Incka Prime and Venoomous, the fleet pulled out of hyperspace with weapons loaded. Nothing. Brenden sat down in the captain's chair on the bridge of the 'Nerevar'. The report was a reliable one, unless of course it was forged. Brenden was about to ask one of his deck officers to run the report through several encryption filters, but the officer got up and headed towards Brenden anyways. As Brenden opened his mouth to ask the question, the officer's hand reached out and grasped Brenden's throat. After a moment of blind confusion, Brenden went into a jedi trance. Through the force he opened his ready room door, and unlocked the big cupoard beside his desk, then pulled on one of the shorter lightsabers and had it whisk towards his attacker. The crew on the bridge was more amazed by the fancy force tricks, then by the fact that Brenden pretty much looked dead in his attackers hand. The butt-end of the lightsaber smacked the officer across the forehead, forcing him to let go of Brenden, who then snatched up the lightsaber, ignited it, and slashed the officer's face. Skin peeled off..although not to reveal flesh...but machinery. The officer ripped of the rest of the skin on his face, revealing the mechanisms of an advanced battle droid. Brenden though the situation couldn't get any worse, when the whole bridge crew ripped off their faces, to reveal the same. At once, Brenden got his stuff from his ready room, and slashing droids as he went, headed for the hanger. People emerged from thier rooms, as droids...in seemed the whole crew had been replaced by droids, all right under Brenden's nose. He crawled through access tunnels towards the hanger, hoping the droids hadn't destroyed his fighter. What he found was something he really didn't expect. The other pilots of rogue squadron were being surrounded by droids, and laser fire was flying everywhere. Although it might be trick, Brenden eased himself down onto the hanger floor and drew his blaster. Downing three droids, he quickly replaced his blaster with the dual lightsabers and ran out full speed. One droid lunged a fist at him. Brenden ducked and slashed one lightsaber through the droids stomach, before standing back up and used the other blade to sever the droid's head. The others went down quick and the pilots got into their fighters and took off....just to see the rest of the fleet jump into hyperspace... "Oh great...this is perfect.." Brenden said. "what now?" Corran asked. "Let's just get away to begin with. Turn to point .05 and and set course 454678293." Brenden said. As they jumped into hyperspace, Brenden launched a tractor device on the 'Nerevar's' hull. "Just out of curiosity, sir, How'd you get off the bridge?" Gavin asked. "I was lucky on the bridge, a few force tricks and i was out...but i was lucky to get to the hanger the droids weren't aiming very well. maybe a computer or networking glitch." "Can't be, they were right on us, if it weren't for those shock pads from mammoth inc. we'd all be dead....their aim was smack on." Orryl said. Brenden thought on that for a second...obvisouly Brenden was a more important person than the pilots...what if the droids weren't aiming for a kill. What ever it was, he was sure it had something to do with the sithly droid Brenden found on the droid cruiser.. The End of Episode 6.