Dawnbreaker Episode III/Part 2

CHAPTER 4: Obviously there's been a misunderstanding

NAR SHADAA - HOLDING CELL

Syren stirred slightly as the effects of the stun blast wore off. She slowly sat herself up and observed her surroundings. The one-eyed mercenary sat next to her, busily bandaging the knife wound she had given him.

"Well, I guess I now know you aren't working for Rowan." the merc muttered, not even raising his head.

"Sorry about all that, I was supposed to just capture you without a fight. I guess I've just learned to... like a fight." Syren said, as she moved closer to help Ty with his wound.

"What was your name again?" He asked, allowing the woman to take over the caring of the injury.

"Syren, yours?"

"I would have figured you'd know what my name is if someone wanted you to capture me!" the mercenary laughed, "I go by the name Ty294, but most people call me Ty."

"Actually, the man who hired me just gave me your description. Nothing else...I usually don't work off of so little information but the pay was good." Syren explained as she finished bandaging the wound.

"You must be a pretty good tracker if you can find me with little more than a description." Ty remarked.

"I'm more than pretty good if I do say so myself." She said as she stood up and began scouring the walls for any hint of a weakness.

"If you don't mind my asking, exactly who was it that hired you to capture me?" the merc asked, "Was it the Gatekeeper?"

Syren sighed and finally gave in. "I was hired by an Imperial Remnant man. His name's Commander Argon."

"Interesting. I've always had a good relation with the Empire, so I don't know what this guy could have against me." Ty said, slowly rising to his feet.

"According to Argon, you're not on good terms with them." Syren replied as she fingered the wall until she found a misplaced metal plate. "Aha! I just found our way out!" She slid her fingers into the crack and pulled. The plate came away easily. Syren then crawled into the hole and came out in a cantina. "Come on through!"

The mercenary wordlessly followed, and the two slipped into the near-empty cantina. Ty snuck up behind one of the three thugs in the room and grabbed him from behind. The other two thugs noticed, however, and drew their weapons.

"The prisoners! Get them!" one of the goons shouted.

Swiftly snapping the neck of the goon he was holding, Ty grabbed the man's blaster pistol and opened fire on the thugs. One of the men fell dead to a blaster bolt in the head, while the other dashed out the door. Syren grabbed a nightstick off of one of the dead thugs and turned toward Ty. "So, what now?"

"We get out of here before that coward can sound an alarm." Ty said as he began jogging toward the door.

"Well, I'm going to have a word with Argon." Syren said. "Seems there was a little 'misunderstanding' between you and him."

"We can go pay him a visit once we get out of here." The merc replied, "But we need to get out of here first." Ty then motioned for Syren to follow him, and he started running down the corridor.

Having already studied the building's layout extensively, the merc easily guided himself and Syren through the halls. Eventually he reached a room and entered, motioning for Syren to stay where she was. After a moment, he emerged carrying the pair's weapons. After handing Syren her saberstaff, the merc buckled his belt and checked over his shotgun.

"They didn't mess with it...how nice of them." he muttered to himself. The two then continued to maneuver the halls. Luckily, no guards spotted them until they had reached the main exit, where a pair of Chiss thugs was stationed. Ty and Syren remained out of sight, around the corner of a turn in the hallway. Slinging his shotgun over his shoulder, the merc pulled out his L-44 Magnum Pistol and whispered into Syren's ear. "Watch and learn."

With that he leaped around the corner, swiftly killing each thug with a single shot. With this done, he turned back toward Syren and gestured for her to come out and rejoin him. As she did, she twirled a knife around her fingers nervously watching for any sign of hostile activity. Suddenly, a group of guards came up behind them. One of them shouted and they opened fire. Ty and Syren both dashed toward the door, laser fire whizzing past them. Ty took a shot to the left arm just as they made their exit, but he made no outcry. Now outside the building, the pair had to quickly survey their surroundings. At the moment there were no thugs in sight, but the goons inside would soon be coming out, so Ty motioned for Syren to follow him down the street a ways. The thugs burst through the door moments later, and again opened fire with their blasters. Ty fired his pistol over his shoulder a couple times, hitting one of the goons in the upper chest and severely wounding him. Eventually, they reached the spaceport and screeched to a halt in front. Looking over their shoulders they could see the remaining thugs running after them. Quickly, Ty and Syren slipped into the lobby. Once inside, Ty headed for the entrance to the bay were the mercenaries' ship was docked. At the door, he saw a familiar tan-skinned Twi'lek, motioning for him to hurry over.

"You coming with me?" Ty asked Syren.

"I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Won't you boss be upset you didn't capture me?"

"Obviously there's been a misunderstanding. We need to sort some things out with my employer." A commotion interrupted the conversation. They turned to see the pursuing thugs rush into the lobby and point their blasters. The Twi'lek shouted for Ty to hurry, and the two dashed over to him. "Deek! Where the hell are the rest of them?" Ty asked. "Dead, we underestimated Rowan's security. Com'n, we better get outta here!" Deek replied. The trio then rushed through the door, into the bay, and up the boarding ramp of a transport. The goons rushed in, but before they could do anything, the ship took off and left the spaceport.

"Set a course for Dantooine, we need to have a 'chat' with Argon." Syren said as the ship left the Nar Shaddaa atmosphere.

IN ORBIT ABOVE DANTOOINE

Commander Ral Argon stood nervously on the bridge of the Spearhead, waiting for a transmission from the Admiral. Admiral Sorn Mardin. How he hated that man. The Admiral had suspected something from the beginning, and the latest developments hadn't helped anything. He couldn't keep this up much longer. The computer in front of Argon bleeped as a transmission came through. Taking a deep breath, he accepted the transmission, bringing up a hologram of the Admiral.

"Have you recovered the prototype?" Admiral Mardin asked.

Argon responded, "No, sir. We arrived at the scene, but we were ambushed by raiders. They-"

"You're telling me," The Admiral interrupted. "That your fleet was bested by pathetic raiders?!"

"They caught us by surprise, sir. We didn't-"

"I don't want excuses, commander. Raiders should be no problem for you, yet they have my prototype. You were given an assignment on Dantooine, to which you have yielded no results. You were given command of a military base, which has fallen into a state of disarray to the point where a mercenary was able to walk in and take my prototype. You are a disgrace to your rank, and you do not deserve the awards you have been given. I don't know what you're doing down there, but it isn't your job, and I am coming to oversee the operation. Personally." Mardin let the words sink in before continuing. "I suggest you get things under control down there, if you value your position in this navy."

Before Argon could respond, the Admiral cut the transmission. Argon let out an exasperated breath and lowered his head. That did not go well at all... Another transmission came up on the computer. This one from Nar Shadaa. Recognizing it, he left the bridge and walked to his quarters. He accepted the transmission on his datapad.

"Give me some good news, Galcyon." Argon said.

"Well, that will depend on what you count as good news. Syren got into a fight with the target, but before it ended, Rowan's thugs attacked and apprehended both of them. They were both alive last I saw them, but I don't know what happened."

"What about Rowan?"

"He got away." Galcyon answered.

Argon breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I want you to clean up any loose ends now. I don't want anything that could link to me, so find out what happened to the bounty hunter, and if she is alive, eliminate her."

"What about Ty294?"

"Leave him alive. Bring him to me if possible, but I want no harm to come to him."

"Yes sir. Galcyon out."

CHAPTER 5: They've got us blocked off!

IMPERIAL REMNANT OUTPOST DX-16

The 527th fleet of the SE Navy made its way through hyperspace. Its destination: The deep-space Imperial Remnant Outpost DX-16. But they weren't going there to check in on their friends. As per the Gatekeeper's orders, they were moving to eliminate the outpost. The Gatekeeper had decided to clean house of his allies and friends, who he felt were holding him back. He had already crossed off the TEC, at least he thought he did, and next on the list was the Remnant.

"Entering regular space in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."

The fleet exited hyperspace within close range of the station and its defense force, and immediately began deploying their TIEs.

"Engage at will. Obliterate this outpost," the Admiral ordered over his commlink.

The outpost commander, surprised by the sudden arrival of a fleet of Shadow Empire forces on an attack vector, almost immediately broadcast a message.

"This is Outpost DX-16 of the Galactic Empire, what is the meaning of this uninvited intrusion?" he demanded. "There is only one Empire in this galaxy," was his only response.

The line of Victory-classes, supported by several Broadside and Imperial-classes, began to shell the Remnant defense fleet, quickly taking out several small ships while the Broadside's focused on the Outpost itself with the Scimitars en route.

"What the--!" the commander sputtered before recovering and shouting commands into a broad channel, "Scramble all units! Repeat! Scramble all units!"

A look of shock on his face, the commander turned around toward one of his subordinates.

"Get a message to command immediately! The Shadow Empire is invading Imperial space!" he thundered.

TIE Hunters had reached the Outpost, and were providing cover for the Scimitars while they proceeding with their bombing run. Despite initial success at shooting down several Scimitars, there were simply too many, and the Outpost's hull was quickly breached in several places. The platform and the various light warships around it quickly launched their fighters, mainly outclassed TIE Fighters, Interceptors and Bombers, which stood little chance against the SE craft. As the defense force desperately tried to hold off the assault, transports began fleeing the station carrying officers, technicians and other personnel. The lone Remnant Star Destroyer, a Victory II-class, attempted to place itself in a protective position between the SE fleet and the retreating transports, targeting enemy bombers and light cruisers.

The TIE Hunters, upon confirmation from the Admiral's ISD3, broke off from their targets and immediately began attacking the fleeing transports, while the Scimitars continued their assault on the Outpost. The rest of the fleet, Broadsides included, shifted their focus to the Victory-II class, practically ignoring everything else. The old Star Destroyer's shields were quickly overwhelmed.

As the warship began to disintegrate, the last of the evacuation transports left the platform. The outpost commander had insured that a warning message had been sent to command before boarding his shuttle and attempting to flee. Unfortunately for him, the shuttle was obliterated barely after it had left the hangar. Only a couple of the faster transports and a single light frigate escaped into hyperspace. With the Outpost nearly demolished, inoperable and the defense fleet neutralized, the Admiral received a transmission from the Gatekeeper's office:

"Admiral, press deeper into Remnant space. You are to meet up with the 42nd and 935th fleets for an assault on another outpost, as per the Gatekeeper's orders," the pre-recorded transmission stated, then abruptly ended.

Switching off the line, he looked over at the ISD3's Captain, who was looking at him expectantly. "Onward. Set course for the rendezvous point," he said.

HIGH ORBIT ABOVE MYGEETO

"All systems check out sir, ready for the final tests."

"Proceed."

Outside the Black Dawn's viewport, a remote drone maneuvered across the viewing area, operating as if it were making a bombing run on the heavily modified Star Destroyer. Suddenly a beam of electric energy shot out from one of the vessel's defense turrets and fried the drone's circuitry almost instantly. The drone sparked for a moment then erupted into pieces.

"Very good." Grage commented, pleased that electrical energy-firing technology was now operating more efficiently.

More drones, in two-ship, four-ship and eight-ship waves, made their fake bombing runs on the ship. The point-defense weapons took them all down in succession, each time only one shot was required per-craft.

"Move on." Grage ordered.

A scrap corvette was brought into view. It was pelted with another form of concentrated energy, also firing from turrets on the Black Dawn's hull. The shots did extreme damage, although they had a rather slow rate of fire and took large amounts of energy from the Black Dawn's reserves. "Still not able to run those as standardized weapons; they take too much energy." the head technician told Grage.

"Still a deadly back-up." Grage mused, "Anything else?"

"The warhead launchers have been upgraded and tested. No problems. We've been working on upgrading the fighters, but so far we've only got 46% of them done." The tech responded.

"It'll have to do for now. And how is our prototype cruiser coming?"

"72% complete." the tech reported, making a point of being precise on the percentage.

"I see. Well, keep me updated on the progress." Grage replied, "Dismissed." As the technician left, Zerik walked up to Grage.

"Fleet's assembled sir. We're just waiting for the final checks on the Black Dawn's systems. About a fifteen minute wait."

"Good. Take your post and inform me when we're ready."

"Yes sir." Zerik said as he snapped off a salute.

As Zerik walked away, Grage picked up the microphone and contacted Imperial Command. "Admiral Grage here, the 9th Experimental Fleet will be ready to move out in approximately fifteen minutes."

"Affirmative admiral." an alien's voice responded, "SE forces have moved in on Mygeeto and our defenses are crumbling. We need you to try and lift the siege. We don't have any specific instructions, nor intel to help you. Just do what you can."

"Very well. I'll report back when I've reached the front lines." Grage stated.

"Good luck. Command out." The alien responded.

The communication ended there, and Grage looked back out the viewport as the Black Dawn took up position at the front of his fleet. After several minutes, Zerik walked up and reported that the systems were all checked and functional. With that, Grage gave the order: "All forces enter hyperspace."

Meanwhile at Mygeeto, SE forces were devastating the Mal-prepared defense forces. Among the vast numbers of SE craft deployed were 65 Imperial-class Star Destroyer MK4's, 100 on-the-dot Gladiator-classes, and over 150 other craft including Tyrant Missile Cruisers. The SE was clearly not fooling around in this battle. At the forefront of the destruction, already responsible for single-handedly destroying a space station, sat an Imperial-class Super Star Destroyer with an Interdictor-class, gravity well generators online, preventing all survivors from escaping and delaying any new arrivals. Although the Remnant had very few reinforcements to spare. Most reserves had already been called into service along other fronts, and only one small task force had been able to join the battle as of yet. However, Grage's fleet wasn't far from Mygeeto, and the trip was relatively short.

As soon as his fleet emerged from hyperspace, Grage began surveying the situation. It wasn't good. His own force only consisted of a half-dozen Star Destroyers of both Imperial I and II-classes, about 15 Victory-class Star Destroyers, and a little under 50 smaller vessels. Only a few actually had undergone modifications. His one strong point was that he had a dozen Escort Carries, each carrying its sizable load of 72 starfighters. But even with them and the Imperial forces still in the area, it was a long-shot to actually win the battle. At the very least, he could buy time for a ground evacuation.

"This is Admiral Alexander Grage of 9th Experimental Fleet, we're here to help." Grage announced over an open channel.

"Commodore Vassahl here; good to see you admiral." an exhausted voice responded, "Our forces are on the verge of utter collapse. My own ship has lost its shields and is rapidly losing hull strength. If your fleet can just hold them back long enough for our ships to regroup, we may be able to put for a more respectable defense, or an organized retreat at the very least."

"We'll do what we can." Grage assured him.

With the Black Dawn at the lead, Grage's fleet formed into several heavy attack lines and advanced toward the SE armada.

The SE Admiral of the battle, with a smug look on his face, said into his fleet-wide comm channel, "My SSD alone can probably take out most of that pitiful defense. But just in case, we'll stick to standard fleet procedure. Form up in Dual Star Destroyer and Skirmish lines," he ordered.

The masses of SE craft, save the TIEs, immediately began to reconfigure into their respective formations, easily distinguishable to the opposing Remnant units.

"Move toward the new arrivals."

With the Admiral's SSD at the lead, the line of Dual Star Destroyer lines, flanked by Skirmish lines, resumed their approach to the incoming enemy fleet, seeming to work more efficiently now that there was some order amongst the chaos.

Rather than take the lead, the Black Dawn headed one of the flank lines. Most of the modified ships were also in that line, although they were not as noticeably different from their standard variations as the Black Dawn was. The Escort Carriers remained behind the battle lines, launching waves of experimental TIEs, mixed with standard Remnant starfighters.

The SE Admiral recognized the Black Dawn immediately, but he couldn't place it; he had read some sort of report about it somewhere, but he couldn't remember. Thinking it was just a repainted Star Destroyer appointed to serve as a flagship, thus an ethical target for both a physical and emotional beatdown, he shouted out: "Scimitars, attack that grey Star Destroyer!"

On the bridge of the Black Dawn, Grage could clearly see that the small horde of Scimitars from the front lines was heading his way, while TIE Hunters preyed upon the weaker TIE/n Starfighters, having not yet reached any of his experimental craft. One of the Remnant's Star Destroyers went out, taking down the two SE Gladiators that shot the final salvos with it.

"Try to hold the bombers back as long as possible!" Grage commanded, "I want to save the element of surprise for when we reach the enemy capital ships! Divert K-Alpha and K-Delta squadrons to intercept."

On Grage's orders, two squadrons of TIEs, one of Interceptors the other of Bombers, moved in to try and cut-off the approaching Scimitars. Having been launched in one of the later waves, these fighters had not yet reached the dogfighting, and were thus able to avoid contact with the SE Hunters.

The Scimitars, although armed with laser cannons, were of no use in dogfighting and most were quickly shot down, though a few somehow managed to slip by the wave of fighters and got lost in the mix of Remnant ships.

Tyrant Missile Cruisers, as per the Admiral's pre-existing orders, were concentrating on the main garrison in the area: a mid-sized station that ran out of TIEs awhile back. Already there were several holes in the shields. The Admiral's Imperial SSD and the rest of the Star Destroyers, now in the thick of the standard Remnant ships, were taking moderate damage to their shields, and had lost at least 7 Gladiators, but had destroyed twice the amount of enemy craft in the process, and were slowly carving a path to Grage...

"How many clicks until they're in range of the Turbo-bolt turrets?" Grage demanded.

"Less than three clicks and closing." was the immediate reply.

"Train the turrets on the closest Imperial-class; we'll see if they back down after losing one of those." Grage remarked.

As the rival sides drew closer, the two large starboard turrets on Grage's flagship, which may have appeared to be gravity wells to the unobservant eye, turned to face the closest ISD.

The Imperials, having no idea what was going to happen to them, kept charging forward, and continued destroying the Remnant standard ships that got in their way, as two more Star Destroyers bit the dust. Then finally, they were in range.

"FIRE!" Grage screamed.

Massive electric bolts shot out from the starboard turrets, directly impacting the targeted SE Star Destroyer. The first blast strained the shields to a point of almost buckling them entirely, while the second finished the shields off the rest of way. The remaining energy surged throughout the vessel, electrocuting anyone in the area near the impact and shocking anyone further away as the energy dissipated across the ship's circuits. Most of the systems were taken out of commission and a massive black char-mark was left on the Star Destroyer's hull.

The Admiral did a double-take as he saw the surges of energy. "What the devil was that?!" he shouted, then quickly regained his composure and issued a string of orders: "Nevermind! So, they decide to throw electricity at us! Fine! Scimitars! Come free and wreak havoc on that Star Destroyer! Tyrants, forget the base! Its history. Focus fire on it as well! All Star Destroyers, surround the Remnant fleet! Use your Tractor Beams! We'll crush the life out of them!"

As the targeted SE Destroyer was destroyed, the SE fleet began to reconfigure themselves again, as the Scimitars came from seemingly everywhere towards the Black Dawn.

By now, however; Grage's experimental TIEs were well into the battle, armed with weapons similar to the ones the Black Dawn had. Modified TIE Bombers, along with standard Assault Gunboats, were assaulting several of the lead Star Destroyers, while modified TIE Fighters and Interceptors were harassing the SE bombers, although they couldn't prevent all of them from reaching the Black Dawn.

"Finish it!" Grage roared, pointing at the damaged SE craft.

Only one of the turrets fired, but it was enough. The shot struck closer to the bridge and caused a massive overload of the ship's entire electrical grid. The vessel, powerless and with nearly its entire crew fried by electrocution, began to fall toward the planet. The second turret had already targeted another, smaller SE ship and fired.

Meanwhile, the Black Dawn's fighter defenses had begun to display themselves against the assaulting bombers. Although it didn't take a single shot to destroy an enemy ship as with the test drones, each bolt of electricity caused heavy damage to the craft it hit. The first several waves of Scimitars were thrown into chaos.

But quickly regrouping, the survivors successfully began their bombing runs, and despite Grage's superior weapons, he was vastly outnumbered, and the Star Destroyers were beginning to tractor-beam his ships and close off his escape routes. Seeing this, the SE Admiral smiled.

"We've got them now... if the Remnant is anything like I remember, they'll fight to the death."

"Open fire with the Blast Cannons!" Grage shrieked.

Zerik glanced at his superior, whose skin had grown pale and veins were bulging.

"Admiral, yo---" Zerik began.

"Stowe it captain!" Grage thundered, "Blast Cannons, NOW!"

"Yes sir." Zerik responded.

The Blast Cannon turrets became active, firing their deadly orange-colored pulse blasts. More Scimitars were shot down, but the Black Dawn's energy reserves were becoming rapidly depleted, and its shields could not recharge.

From the second the blast cannons hit his ships, the Admiral knew he was in serious trouble. They tore right through the shields on his Star Destroyers. With most of his bombers now scrapped, he gave his fleet new orders: "Okay, Scimitars, lay off your attack on that grey Star Destroyer. Tyrants, keep shelling it. You're depleting its shields rapidly. Star Destroyers, back off and focus on its attending fleet. Take them out first."

Little did the Admiral know, he was still playing into Grage's hands: he had just ordered his Star Destroyers to attack the Remnant ships that were upgraded with the Fury relics. There wasn't anything else left to attack.

As the fleet complied with their orders, they shoved past the Black Dawn, and towards its fleet, only to be met with more electric bolts and Blast Cannons. Almost every ship in the attack line behind the Black Dawn had been refitted to one extent or another. Corvettes, frigates, cruisers and Star Destroyers alike returned fire with their powerful weapons. Grage's TIEs had also begun weeding down the SE Hunters, although they had suffered significant losses themselves.

The SE Admiral did a triple-take as he watched his ships get picked apart one by one again.

"Ok, that's it. We're out of here! We'll come back tomorrow better prepared!" he ordered, which was exactly what his fleet wanted to hear. Abruptly disengaging their targets, the SE fleet began to fall back and line up and the edge of the system.

As the SE forces turned to retreat, cheers went out among the crews of the Remnant ships, who had never quite faced such overwhelming opposition before and were clearly overjoyed to have survived, much less won the day, if only temporarily. Zerik noticed that Grage was shaking now, a vicious smile plastered on his face.

"Admiral, we need to get you some rest." Zerik suggested, motioning for a couple other crewmen to come over.

Grage didn't respond, as one of the crewmen injected him with a medication. Grage calmed down somewhat, but he was still clearly in need some sleep.

"You're right captain." Grage finally responded, "Assess our losses and position the fleet in standard defensive formation. Inform command that we've held off the attack for now."

"Very well, sir." Zerik acknowledged as Grage left the bridge.

Zerik glanced at one of the lieutenants standing nearby. "He's getting worse." Zerik commented, "He never used to get like that so fast. And I know for a fact that he had taken his meds just before the battle."

The lieutenant only nodded slowly in agreement. Zerik quickly changed the subject: "Well, let's check on those casualty reports."

THE NEXT DAY

"Hit it."

With the Admiral's words echoing in the minds of the SE crewmen, a new fleet entered hyperspace en route to Mygeeto. This one more advanced than the last, with focus on durability and long range attacks rather than hard-nosed frontal style. Mainly comprised of ISD3's, ISD4's, Tyrant Missile Cruisers, and Broadside Cruisers, all of which were capable of shelling opponents from long range, the Admiral was confident that this time he was ready for whatever those weapons were that nearly killed him yesterday.

Back at Mygeeto, the Remnant garrison had received orders to prepare for a full military evacuation of the planet, as no reinforcements could be mustered to strengthen the defenders. Grage eventually resumed command of the situation, much calmer now that there was no longer a battle being fought. The main station had been able to recharge its shields, but the hull was barely holding together and could take little punishment. Already there was only a skeleton crew, mostly droids, left on the base. Overall the Imperials had suffered a near total loss of the original defending force, with only a corvette and a handful of fighters surviving. Grage's fleet had lost well over 50% of its original strength, although the modified ships had suffered few casualties. There were plenty of fighters left, but not near enough to counter what the SE could put into the battle. Everyone knew they couldn't hold another attack, and it was only a matter of getting out before the enemy could return, and if the SE had their way, they weren't going to get the chance.

Just under a half an hour later, long range scanners picked up the SE fleet incoming; it was a massive one, too. Bigger than yesterday's and clearly with mostly bigger ships.

"Sir, hostile craft approaching. And there's alot of sir..." the radar man reported grimly.

"Speed up the evacuation." Grage commanded, "Try to at least get all the ground personel out of the system. Move the fleet into battle position facing the projected entry point."

What Imperial ships were left formed into a large battle line, with the Black Dawn at the head this time rather than at the flank. The few unmodified ships were mixed in the middle of the line, both to help protect them and to confuse the SE as to which were standard and which weren't. The fighters were fitted and placed on standby, so they could launch before the enemy fleet arrived...

Out of the darkness of space, they appeared again. Over a hundred of them. Mostly Star Destroyer MKIIII's, which the Remnant had only heard about, but never actually seen in combat, as last time they were driven off before they had the chance to fire, with a few III's scattered about, plus over 30 Tyrant Missile Cruisers and Broadside Cruisers and Escort Carrier, plus the Admiral's SSD. Simple, but effective.

Seeing the Remnant ships dead ahead, the Admiral smiled. "This time, we have them. Full power to shields on the approach. Once we get close, they'll be in for a nasty surprise..."

"Move in." Grage ordered, "We'll try and keep them as far from planet as possible. Focus firepower on their command ship; we can give them a black eye at least."

The Imperial fighters, already deployed, were well on their way to intercept the SE screen. The Remnant warships followed behind, keeping in a steady formation as if on a slow march toward certain doom.

"They're going to attack us..." the Admiral muttered, amused, "Fire at will."

From the back, the line of ISD4's opened fire, and the first wave of ion cannons fully depleted the shields of a Star Destroyer, and the first wave of turbolasers finished it off, taking everyone in the Remnant fleet by surprise.

The missile ships, ignoring the crippled station, focused their fire on the fleet this time, while the Allegiance obliterated a corvette. This was obviously going to be a route. Two ISD4's, within range of Grage's Fury weapons, opened fire on the Black Dawn itself, but Grage was in for an unpleasant surprise when he chose to return fire...

"Return fire!" Grage ordered to all his craft.

As Grage's Fury weapons began to impact the two Star Destroyers, Grage began to realize; they weren't working. Something about the ISD4's setup was preventing pure energy weapons from having an effect on them.

"Admiral---?"

"I see it lieutenant!" Grage snapped.

After a few moments of observing the bolt cannons doing almost nothing against the SE ISD4s, Grage turned and barked out new orders: "Cease fire with the bolts! Open up with Blast Cannnons and WASPs! Shell them with everything else we've got! And get us in range of their flagship!"

The deadly WASP missiles began to launch from various craft, whilst the the main turbo-bolt cannons were shut down and only the point-defense bolt turrets remained active. Blast Cannons continued to fire however, as the Black Dawn attempted to move past the ISD4s and toward the Allegiance.

The ISD4's, being slow, could do nothing as Grage's ship raced past them, except get in a few parting shots. The blast cannons, although very powerful, were significantly muffled vs. the larger SE ship's shields, too. The only Fury weapon that had a full effect on them it seemed was the WASP missile.

On the SSD, the Admiral was having a hard time understanding Grage's aggressive tactic with his command ship. "Does he not realize that his Star Destroyer, even with those weapons, would be destroyed by my Super Star Destroyer in under 10 minutes?" he wondered aloud. He was shaken out of his reverie when the Black Dawn entered weapon range...

One the other side, Grage had abandoned any rational tactics. He was focused solely on doing as much damage to the SE flagship as he could.

"Open fire with all batteries!" he roared as the two ships entered each-other's range, "Target the bridge and individual weapon hardpoints. Focus the attention of our bomber craft on it as well! All other warships move past those big SE Star Destroyers and attack the missile cruisers beyond!"

The other Remnant warships complied, firing WASPs and any standard lasers they still possessed at the ISD4s as they passed. Many were unable to, however; and only about half of the craft made it beyond.

To Grage's dismay, the Allegiance' shields were proving to be even more of a problem than the ISD4's, although his remaining forces had success versus the missile cruisers, which only had point defense weaponry for direct engagement, but the ISD3's in the back quickly cut off the route, and soon Grage's surviving ships were taking fire from all sides, as the Tyrants bode a hasty retreat.

The Allegiance' ion cannons roared to life and focused their firepower directly on the Black Dawn, having nothing else to shoot at, quickly draining the ship's shields to the breaking point, and then the turbolasers came flying from the behemoth: although several turbolasers had been destroyed by the WASP missiles and bombers, there were just too many. But the Allegiance' shields were weakening bit by bit under the pressure of the blast cannons, though it probably wouldn't matter for long, considering the state the Black Dawn would soon be in when the shields failed it...

Then the last thing Grage wanted to hear: short-range sensors had picked up an incoming fleet, with one monstrous ship at the helm, larger than a Super Star Destroyer...

But what baffled Grage was why a large fleet would be approaching the sector. The Shadow Empire clearly had the current battle in hand, why would they devote even more ships to it? It couldn't be Remnant reinforcements, Grage would have been notified, and there were no extra forces to be dispatched to his aid anyway. It couldn't be the New Republic, as they lacked any real large ships, nor would they have the audacity to launch an assault against the SE far from their own territory. Regardless of who it was, Grage realized that what was a hopeless situation had turned into a useless situation; his forces would be completely cut down and would do little damage to the enemy in the process. The only option was to attempt a withdrawal.

"All forces form up at .589!" Grage bellowed into the microphone, "Ignore all previous orders and only engage enemies who are pursuing you. Have hyper-coordinates prepared to move to Assembly Area 51."

The surviving ships attempted to flee the fight to Grage's ordered area, with the smaller ships finding it easier to outmaneuver the larger SE Star Destroyers. By now only a small handful of ships remained.

"Must be our support fleet. I didn't think they'd send a Super Star Destroyer, though... Anyway, Dominators! Activate the Interdiction Field!"

As Grage's ships lined up for a retreat, the 6 Dominator Star Destroyers lit up the vacuum with their gravity well generators, trapping the surviving Remnant ships. The slower Star Destroyers held back, as the Gladiator's in the fleet, which had arrived some twenty minutes earlier undetected, moved up for the final blow...

But then the unthinkable happened.

Out of hyperspace came the new arrivals. But they were not SE reinforcements, nor a New Republic assault fleet: it was the Ekatra. Six battlegroups of them, consisting of over two-dozen Raptor Battleships, 120 Karavan, Adjudicator, and Karakas Destroyers, 18 Folsom Carriers with Blue Corvette support, and a Vera Command Cruiser. The new arrivals instantly made haste for the SE fleet, launching Englad and Warcraft squadrons the whole time, but there was no sign of the super-sized ship...

"Remnant forces, this is Grand Admiral Patricia Reynolds of the Ekatra Sentinel Starfleet. We'll take it from here. Just try to survive. We'll explain our purpose later," a young female voice from the Vera broadcasted via comlink to the Black Dawn.

As shocked as the SE commander was, Grage was more so. He had never heard of the Ekatra Sentinel, nor had most any Remnant officers for that matter. Regardless, he realized his only chance was to trust the new arrives.

"Form into defensive position and loop toward the planet." Grage ordered, "All fighters remain close to the fleet."

The Admiral was stunned. So much so that he spent over half a minute watching as the ES fleet and his own engaged in a heated firefight.

"Admiral! Snap out of it! We can't win a direct firefight with the Ekatra!" his subordinate snapped.

As the Ekatra began to push the Imperials back past the Remnant fleet, the vacuum of space rippled in the back, behind everyone, as the gigantic form of the Despair appeared from the darkness. On the bridge of the giant stood the man responsible for the Ekatra' intrusion of the SE's certain victory: Remus Von Grath, himself.

"Fire at will," he said, beginning to pace the viewport.

The massive guns aboard the vessel came to life, unleashing a devastating volley of Mass Drivers and Maser Beam at the SE Star Destroyers, who were too far out of range to even think about a counterattack. The first volley alone claimed a dozen Gladiator's...

The sudden appearance of the Despair snapped the Admiral out of his reverie again.

"All forces! Fall back to the edge of the system!" he ordered in a panic, as the Despair loomed ever closer to his ever thinning fleet.

"Sir, we can't! They've got us blocked off!" a bridge crewman yelled, pointing out to the side. The Admiral turned, and realized he was right. The Ekatra fleet was herding the SE back TO the Despair, firing at anything that got close and driving forward. He knew upon sight that this was his last stand.

Taking off his hat and placing it over his heart, he issued his final order: "All forces, target the Despair."

Grage's fleet reached the battered station, forming a perimeter around it. Everyone who could was glaring out the nearest viewport. And they must have been enjoying the sight, considering what the SE fleet had put them through. Group by group, as the Star Destroyers approached the Despair, they were disabled completely by the Maser Beams, and then shredded seconds later by the Mass Drivers. Even the Tyrant Missile and Broadside Cruisers weren't safe. The Hypermissiles aboard the Despair easily outranged them, and they too were sniped off. After a few moments, only 25 ISD4's and the SSD were left standing. The rest had either been destroyed by the Ekatra fleet, or slaughtered single-handedly by the Despair.

All at once, they converged on the behemoth, and the Despair opened fire again. But it had more difficulty this time around, as the ISD4's and the Allegiance' shields were much more sophisticated than the other Star Destroyer's.

Seeing this, and now willing to waste time here, Remus made a simple call: "Disintegration Array. Short range. Target them all," he said.

The front of the Despair, namely the middle-projector, began to glow a bright yellow that got brighter with each passing second. As it intensified, so did the heat. Eventually, the entire bow of the ship was consumed in this heat charge. Then all at once, it was unleashed. The beam, nothing more than light, was almost as hot as the surface of a star, and as it rippled through space, it grew wider and taller. As Ekatra and Remnant alike shielded their eyes, the light struck the 26 ships...

It was all she wrote.

Each ship, and everything and everyone in them, was disintegrated. And as the light ceased, all that was left was a dust cloud.

There was a deathly silence on board all the Remnant ships for several minutes. Grage slumped down in his chair, his hands quaking. One of the other officers finally managed to turn away from the viewport and noted Grage's shakes. Like the other bridge officers, he had been briefed on his commander's condition, so he knew what to do. His own hand shaking somewhat, the officer turned toward the medical officer who never far from Grage and pointed at the Admiral. While Grage was getting med shots, Zerik remained fixated at the viewport.

"What in the Force was that...?" he could only whisper to himself.

On the Ekatra ships, all movement had stopped. It was the first time any of them had seen the Disintegration Array used in battle. Even the hardened CyberSoldiers, who weren't even mostly human, were awestruck. Admiral Reynolds took it the hardest, though. She, like Grage, was quivering.

Then Remus broadcasted onto an open channel to his forces, though the Remnant could overhear his demonic voice: "Get your acts together. All of you. You have a job to do," he growled, showing absolutely no remorse.

Patricia, finally getting her act together, looked away. "Yes my Lord..." she muttered, already opening a channel to the Remnant fleet: "Remnant forces, this is Admiral Reynolds again. We have scanned the surrounding systems. No sign of SE forces. You are safe here for now. Who is your commander?" she said, still clearly shaken.

Grage did not immediately answer, as the medication was still taking effect. Zerik finally decided to respond himself, but Grage got up and pushed him aside at the last moment.

"Admiral Alexander Grage of the Imperial 9th Experimental Fleet." he said coldly, his suddenly calm demeanor surprising the officers around him, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your very timely intervention?"

"Ah, so you did survive the battle... Good. Anyway, the fact that the SE is now looking to destroy the Remnant, yourself included. Already they are moving in on your territory, in case you haven't figured it out yet by their attacks on your deep space outposts," Patricia responded, shaking off the effects of what just happened and getting down to business.

"I am well aware; SE forces have already penetrated our lines on several fronts." Grage stated.

"I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation here, Admiral. Specifically your situation..." Patricia said, feeling exposed out in the open, despite the flagship's presence.

"My entire fleet has just barely been saved from eradication, admiral." Grage replied, slightly annoyed that this woman was telling him that he didn't appreciate the situation the Remnant was in, "If I don't understand the seriousness of the situation, would you care to enlighten me?"

"Certainly," Patricia said, her own tone growing cold. "The SE wants your Fury weapons. They know that if they can get their hands on them, they can combine their technology with some kind of tech they've recently came up with. Naturally, we cannot let that happen. We have run computer simulations on the results of this technological blend, and trust me, you wouldn't like it," she said bluntly, "Furthermore, they plan to invade Bastion and threaten it with orbital bombardment unless you give up the relics."

"But," she went on, "You would never have the chance to give up the relics. SE spies have already infiltrated the Remnant fleet structure, and are working their way to you, posing as regular Stormtroopers. When the SE invades Bastion, they will steal the relics from your ship, escape to Komm, and then the SE fleet would destroy you, your fleet, and your homeworld."

Noticing the lack of noise on Grage's end, she continued: "Personally, I don't give a damn what happens to you. But our leader, the man you heard speak earlier who is on that giant superdestroyer out there and authorized the firing of the Disintegration Array, does. For some reason he is fond of you, and does not wish your story, or the Remnant's, to end like this. In other words, he, and subsequently the Ekatra, wish to work with you and the Remnant for your own good, and to thwart the SE's plan," she finished, stepping back from the comlink and muttering to herself.

"I truly do not understand the Kamen's motives for this..." she thought.

"May I speak with him?" Grage asked.

Patricia, annoyed that Grage didn't even address 99% of her speech, shook her head and said, "Fine. I'll forward you to the Despair."

After pressing several buttons, her side of the commlink was switched over to Remus, who had been listening the whole time.

"Yes?" Remus asked as politely as he could make his voice sound.

"Captain of the Despair." Grage adressed him, since he had not been given a real name, "Your admiral has informed me that SE spies have infiltrated the Empire's command structure and are intent on stealing the Fury relics. I'm curious as to how you know of this, what your interest in the Empire's future is, and how we can work together to stop the SE."

Remus, briefly amused that Grage thought he was a mere Captain, replied, "I will address your curiosities all at once, Admiral. First, we have spies of our own embedded deep within the SE government and military. This is one of the items they brought back to discuss with me. I took an immediate interest because I recognized your name from last year's battle with the True Sith, and remembered you playing a role in said battle on the Gatekeeper's side, and since the Empire's conception from the ashes of the Republic, something about the organization has intrigued me, and I certainly prefer Imperials over the so-called New Republic." "As to how we may work together to stop the Shadow Empire, that is up for debate," he added.

"I see. It will be up to the Moff Council and Supreme Commander Pellaeon to discuss any strategies with you." Grage stated, "But be assured that I am most grateful for your intervention. How am I to address you?"

"My name is Remus Von Grath," Remus replied, "And I look forward to working with you. Immensely. Now, for the time being, I have instructed my fleet to hold the line here, so I do believe we should be paying Bastion a visit?"

Patricia rolled her eyes. She did not understand why Remus was doing this at all, but she knew she'd warm up to it eventually.

"Yes, although I can only spare a single craft for myself. The rest of my fleet must return to my research station to safeguard it." Grage responded.

"Very well. I can only hope Bastion Command doesn't recognize my ship as hostile," Remus said, his tone changing just a little bit, but enough for Grage to notice.

"I'll send a message notifying them." Grage assured, "Allow me a few moments to communicate with Command then transfer myself to another ship; I'm having the Black Dawn return to my base for repairs."

"Of course."

Remus looked over at the CyberSoldier operating the controls to the NaviComputer.

"Lock in Bastion. Type 1. I want to get there quickly," he ordered.

"Yes my Lord," the heavily automated voice of the cyborg responded, as he began punching in the coordinates.

Over the next few minutes Grage sent a communiqué to Bastion with a very brief report on the situation at Mygeeto and that Remus would be arriving along with himself. Grage himself held reservations about these newcomers, as did the Imperial leaders who received his report, but they all knew they had little choice at the moment. Afterward, Grage was transferred to his only surviving Star Destroyer, a Victory II-class.

The rest of the fleet, now under Zerik's command, entered hyperspace on their way back to the secret research station, although they were not taking a direct route, since they didn't want anyone tracking their hyper-vector. Once he had arrived at the bridge of the VSDII, Grage re-opened communications with Von Grath.

"We are ready to travel to Bastion. Imperial Command has been notified and is awaiting our arrival."

Remus, sensing that Grage wasn't quite trusting of him yet, felt much better about the whole thing: anyone who was too quick to trust newcomers generally had another thing coming, in his mind. Mentally deciding that Grage was a good candidate for further evaluation, he replied, "On your mark, Admiral," after several seconds.

"Entering hyperspace now." Grage stated as his ship made the jump.

CHAPTER 6: We have a breach in security

DANTOOINE, IMPERIAL BASE

Ty and Syren walked through the corridors of the Imperial base on Dantooine. They were both clad in Stormtrooper uniforms that they had stolen from a patrol they ambushed outside the base. Being semi-dragged in-between them was Deek, wearing old, tattered garbs and posing as a criminal being taken in for processing.

I'm glad they loosened the restrictions on women being Stormtroopers. Ty thought, as he glanced over at Syren, It woulda been a pain getting her into a man's uniform.

The trio navigated the halls, passing several scattered squads and officers, before reaching the commandant's quarters.

"You're sure this is where you had your meeting with him?" Ty asked, again looking at Syren. Before Syren could answer, a pair of Stormtroopers walked up behind them.

"Halt! Where are you taking that prisoner?" Ty shot a quick look over to his companions before replying.

"Uh... This guy's a dangerous fugitive. He might have important information and the commander wanted to see him." Syren looked over at Ty uneasily, her hand hovering over her E-11.

"The Admiral isn't here right now, he is in hanger 12, greeting Admiral Mardin." the Stormtrooper replied.

The two troopers looked at each other briefly before continuing. "What are the authorization codes for this facility?"

Ty turned toward Syren, hoping she had the codes. She glanced back at Ty for a second before taking a datapad from her belt, which she hoped contained the codes. The Stormtroopers looked at the data pad and then stood aside.

"The codes check out, we'll contact you when the Admiral gets back. In the meantime, take this prisoner to the detention facility."

Ty nodded and motioned for Syren to follow as he tugged Deek forward, then the trio proceeded down the hall. "Now what?" Ty asked as soon as they were out of the troopers' hearing range.

"We take Deek to the detention facility," Syren said as she looked apologetically at Deek, "There's no other option."

Ty nodded in agreement. "Heh, not exactly what I signed up for." Deek muttered. Laughing slightly, Ty pushed the Twi'lek mercenary along, and they all made their way to the detention facility.

Before entering, Ty turned toward Syren. "I hope these guys don't get too nosy about the prisoner." he said, just before opening the door.

As they walked inside, an officer and several troopers turned to see the new arrivals. Ty eyed the officer nervously, hoping he wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Where are you taking this prisoner?" The officer asked.

Syren looked over at Ty hoping he had an explanation."Temporary holding until the commander returns to his office." Ty replied, "This guy will be needed for questioning later, but we need to put him somewhere in the meantime."

"Why I wasn't informed beforehand?" the officer pressed.

"Uh..." The merc glanced over to Syren briefly. Syren's hand twitched over her E-11 as she began to speak to the officer. "We just caught the prisoner. We were going to bring him to the Commander but he wasn't available, so we brought him here. We're sorry that you weren't warned, but that's not our job."

The officer glared at Syren for a moment, before typing something into the console. "Take him to detention block B11."

Ty let out a slight sigh, before pushing Deek forward and escorting him down the cell block. Once they reached B11, the door opened and they pushed the Twi'lek in.

"Sorry about this mate." Ty quipped before closing the door on his mercenary comrade. That done, Ty and Syren started back toward the main room.

"Great, when Argon gets back and they tell him about the prisoner; we'll be dead meat." Ty muttered. "Should we go to the hangar?" Syren asked.

"Why would we go to the hangar?" Ty replied, "It will be well guarded and Argon is gunna be heading back to his office. We should go back and see if those two troopers are gone."

Before Syren could say anything, Ty grabbed her arm and led her back to Argon's office. Stopping just around the corner, Ty peeked around to see the troopers were still there, guarding the door into the office. "Let's just take their places." Ty said, setting his blaster rifle to stun. The merc stepped around the corner and fired two shots with deadly precision, which knocked out both troopers. Then Ty and Syren dragged them into a nearby maintenance closet and locked them inside, before rushing over and taking their former positions on either side of the door. They had barely taken position when the mercenaries heard voices around the corner, just before two imperial officers walked into the hallway. One was taller, with graying hair and an admiral's uniform. Presumably Mardin. What caught Ty's attention however was the man accompanying the admiral, clad in a commander's uniform, was the man he knew only as the Assailant.

Ty and Syren stiffened to attention as the two officers went into the room. The merc was distracted by the Assailant for a moment, and Syren had to reach over and grab him to regain his attention. Remembering why they were there, Ty nodded and the two stepped into the office after the Mardin and the Assailant, blasters set to stun and at the ready. Syren immediately fired at Mardin, stunning him instantly. She then took a knife from her belt and charged the Assailant, who side stepped to avoid the initial attack, before grabbing and twisted her right arm, which caused her to drop the knife. He then drew a small holdout blaster and aimed it at Ty. A well-placed shot from Ty's rifle knocked the blaster away and the stun blast numbed the Assailant's hand. Before another move could be made, Ty threw off his helmet and pointed his rifle at the Assailant's face.

"You're Argon? How the hell did you wind up in the Empire? And what is it you want with me?" he screamed, moving closer to the Assailant and switching the E-11 from stun to kill. "Give me some answers! Commander!"

A look of confusion and shock came over the Assailant's face, as he took a couple steps back from the mercenary. "Ty? What...What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I came to find the man who put a bounty on my head." Ty replied, again moving closer to the Assailant, "Now, I'll ask the questions!"

"Whoa, take it easy..." The Assailant said as he staggered backwards into a desk. "I couldn't let you kill that slaver. I can explain!"

"Then start explaining." Ty growled, "And start by telling me how you knew I was out to kill Rowan?"

"I've been tracking Rowan for weeks now. That's why I'm here, posing as a commander." The Assailant looked around the room briefly before quietly speaking. "Something's after me. I don't know what it is, but Rowan is my key to him. One of my contacts on Nar Shaddaa said that you were hiring mercenaries for something. I told him to find out what was going on, and one of your merc friends said that you planned to take Rowan down. I sent a bounty hunter to capture you, not kill you."

"Why didn't you just send word to me not to attack him yet? I woulda listened to you. What's the purpose of sending this girl to capture me?" Ty paused for a moment before continuing, "And how do you know Rowan is connected with the thing that's after you?"

"I couldn't risk blowing my cover here. You wouldn't believe it if someone else had told you, and I couldn't have you looking for me. I only sent the bounty hunter to stop you from killing Rowan."

The Assailant looked to the floor as Admiral Mardin began to stir. Syren repositioned her blaster and stunned Mardin again. "Well, it's all good and well that you two are friends, but there's just one small issue." She said, "How the bloody hell are we going to get out of here?"

No sooner had Syren spoken, then the trio heard the sound of Stormtroopers running down the hall, towards the office.

"Well commander, I hope you have a bright idea." Ty said as he moved to recover his helmet. As soon as Ty turned around, the Assailant kicked him hard in the back of the leg, causing his knees to buckle. He struck the merc hard with a follow up attack to the back of the neck, as a holdout blaster flew from his left sleeve into his hand. The Assailant fired a single shot, which imbedded itself in Syren's arm, just as three Stormtroopers burst into the room.

"Men!" The Assailant barked at the Stormtroopers. "We have a breach in security. These two imposters attacked the Admiral and I during our meeting. Take them to the detention level!"

Ty scrambled to his feet, only to stare down the barrel of an E-11 Blaster Rifle. He gave a brief glare at the Assailant, while trying to decide whether or not he was on the level, or had just betrayed him. The troopers then led him and Syren out of the room and toward the prison block.