Nowhere/Chapter 3

CHAPTER III: THE BLOCKADE
The Nowhere continued to drift slowly through space. Anders sat in his bunkbed, toying with a small wooden figurine he managed to retrieve from his farm before it was destroyed. It was the only memory he had of a simpler life – before the Empire. The figurine was in the vague shape of some humanoid person. He did not know who it was or what it represented. It was just an object from his past that provided him with a sense of nostalgia. That was enough to him. While in his peaceful state, an alarm sounded and red lights started to shine. The crewmembers ran across the corridors, alerting Anders as he walked towards the door. He saw Reemo running and stopped him. “What’s going on?” He asked. “Blockade! Straight ahead! Come on!” He answered. Without hesitation, Anders ran after him.

The crewmembers raced to the bridge, gathering near the cockpit. The captain watched stoically as a long line of Imperial Star Destroyers manifested on the horizon, growing slightly larger as the ship approached it. “How are we ever gonna get past that?” Reemo asked, his heart racing in his throat. “Men, get to your stations! Man the cannons but don’t fire unless I say!” Captain Rylex ordered. The crewmen did so, taking their seats at large AG-2G quad laser cannons. Anders kept standing near the bridge, unsure of what he had to do. The captain turned around to him, his eyes wide with anger. “What are you still doing here?! To the cannons!” He roared. Anders looked at him in confusion. Did the captain really expect him to pilot one of those cannons? He was a mechanic – not a gunner. “Sir – captain, I’m… I’m a mechanic. I don’t know how to…” Anders softly tried to explain. “GO!” The captain screamed at Anders, who frantically raced off to the nearest cannon.

At the cannon he saw a screen and some sticks to hold on to. His heart was racing and his hands were trembling. He never knew how to operate these things and feared he would be dooming the ship if he were to fail. Marius sat next to him, the same fear marring his face. “D – do you know how to even control these things?” Anders asked in a trembling voice. Marius looked at him, his face pale, and merely shook his head.

“We are never getting past those! What does that idiot captain expect? I’m a sodding physician, not a soldier!” Reemo complained in panic. “Easy, big guy. We’ll get through this.” Serenity allayed his fears. “Quiet down, all!” The captain ordered. “Master Briggs. Activate the cloaking device.” He stoically ordered. The scared pilot pressed a blue, glowing button, and the sound that responded it sounded like a large electronic shroud covered the ship. “Cloaking? I can still see the ship!” Marius called out. “It’s the ship’s exterior that’s invisible, idiot.” Serenity chided him.

“Sir? How’s this going to work? Those dreadnaughts can still catch our sensors.” Briggs stressed. “Yes, but not as a ship.” Captain Rylex explained. “They’ll pick up an anomaly, but they’ll think it’s an asteroid or some space debris. If we get past them fast enough we can evade their sensors before they figure out what we are.” He continued. Anders grabbed a firm hold on the sticks, half-expecting some TIE fighters to come after them. Meanwhile, the Nowhere continued to move ever slowly towards the blockade. The gargantuan Star Destroyers getting larger and larger, until their shadows completely towered the Nowhere.

“Easy, easy.” Rylex whispered to the pilot, sweat dripping off his brow. It was quiet, eerily silent. Safe for the slight creeks of the hull. It was now evident how quiet space actually is. Even the dreadnaughts almost made no sound. They were massive, Anders observed them as nothing but a big grey hulk of metal covered his entire purview. “Easy does it now…” The captain continued.

The crewmembers were uneasy, they nearly held their breaths as the Nowhere passed slowly underneath the Star Destroyers. Some sensors went off in the ship, scaring the crewmembers. “They spotted us! They spotted us!” Nok whispered in his native tongue. “Not yet! But they know something’s flying underneath them…” The captain answered, his eyes wide. “Master Briggs, how long until we lose the signal?” He asked. Briggs checked his radar. “About two minutes, maybe three.” He answered.

Then, the crew heard an all-familiar sound. While none of the men had ever been in any space combat before – the sound of a TIE fighter was nonetheless unmistakable. To Anders, it sounded like a dying animal. A screech which was almost ear-deafening. “TIE fighter! TIE fighter!” Serenity yelled. “DON’T SHOOT IT!” The captain ordered. “It’s checking our signal. Do not engage!”

Anders firmly grabbed the cannon. Waiting for the signal to fire, yet he prayed with all his heart that the captain would not give it. The TIE fighter kept swarming around the ship and checking beyond. “Hold your fire…” The captain whispered. “Hold it…” He continued. “I think we’re holding for long enough!” Serenity protested. The TIE fighter got terrifyingly close to the cockpit. Rylex could just about exchange glares with the TIE pilot. After a little while, however, it flew off back to the Star Destroyers.

The captain let out a big sigh of relief, then tapped the pilot on the shoulder. “Get us out of here, Master Briggs.” He ordered. “Aye-aye, captain.” He sighed. The Nowhere picked up a little bit more speed, until the blockade behind them gradually became tinier until it just about vanished in the horizon. “Coast is clear. Good job, men.” The captain announced to the crewmen, who sighed in relief. Some even hugged each other. “That was the scariest thing I ever did in my life.” Reemo spoke to Anders. “And I performed surgery on a lucid Trandoshan.” He laughed. Anders chuckled along, finding relief. At this moment, he felt like he was truly a part of the crew. They experienced something terrifying with each other, and they defied the odds as they slipped right past an entire Imperial blockade.

The men gathered back on the bridge, the captain addressing them. “You have performed admirably. You were thrown into a situation of crisis and yet you kept your cool and responded well to my orders. We have now reached the Gordian Reach – Yavin 4 awaits.” He spoke. The crewmen nodding in approval. “Briggs – get us into hyperspace.” He ordered. “Aye-aye.” The pilot responded. “Hold on to your butts.” He spoke to the crewmembers as he pulled the lever that would get them to hyperspeed. Yet, nothing happened. No response was given. No sound, no hyperspace, nothing. “What are you waiting for, Briggs?” The captain asked him. “It’s not working.” Briggs replied in a surprised tone. The crew chattered amongst each other, confused. “What do you mean ‘it’s not working’? Get us into hyperspace, man!” He chided. “I’m trying! Nothing’s responding!” He answered. The captain sat next to him, checking the buttons and the screens. “Don’t tell me it’s broken…” He snarled beneath his teeth. “No, it’s… it’s just not responding. It’s as if we don’t have a hyperdrive at all.” Briggs looked at the captain. Rylex stared at him in anger and then stood up. “Have you forgotten to install a damn hyperdrive?!” He yelled. “Of course not, sir! I was there when they installed it!” He responded in defiance. “Damn it all! MASTER ANDERS!” He yelled, Anders walking forward – fear in his throat. “Check the hyperdrive. On the double!” He ordered. “Y – yes, sir.” He stuttered.

Anders raced below deck, stumbling upon a large engine, filled with familiar wires and buttons. The hyperdrive had to be installed here. Yet, when he checked it, there was no hyperdrive. An empty place where it should’ve been. The most vital component of a starship’s engine – and it was missing. He dreaded to tell the captain, yet walked up to the bridge anyway, each step filling him with more dread. “Sir – there’s no hyperdrive.” He spoke to Rylex, looking downward. The captain’s face grew red with anger, until he grabbed a chair and threw it at the wall. “YOU MEAN TO SAY – WE’RE STUCK INTO DEEP SPACE, SURROUNDED BY AN IMPERIAL BLOCKADE, LEAGUES AWAY FROM ANY ALLIANCE OUTPOST WITHOUT A HYPERDRIVE?!” He yelled into Anders’ face as he grabbed his collar. Anders’ face grew red with fear, tears rolling down his cheeks.

The captain released him, screaming in frustration. “How – how is that even possible?” Briggs asked. The captain breathed in and out, trying to calm himself. The crewmen looked away in shame, not wishing to aggravate their captain further. “You are one-hundred percent sure that you installed a hyperdrive on this ship? This ship in particular?” He asked Briggs. The pilot nodded confidently. “It was a SSP05 hyperdrive generator. The same one used on the Millenium Falcon. I connected the wires myself.” He spoke. The captain nodded, coming to a conclusion the crew was not ready to hear. “Then this can mean only one thing. We are sabotaged.”

The crew looked at each other, unsure on how to react. Anders wiped away his tears as he stepped back into the crowd. “S – sabotaged?” Marius asked. “Yes, Master Uvall.” Rylex answered. “We have a traitor in our midst.” He sneered. “Most likely someone working for the Empire. When we passed through the blockade he removed the hyperdrive and jettisoned it into deep space. Or maybe even before we took off from Orion IV.” The captain theorized. The entire crew were silent in disbelief.

“So – if one among you is not who he says he is, at least come forward.” Rylex invited. Everyone was silent, not making a sound. “You have set us to die. We will be captured by the Empire soon, anyway. AT LEAST GIVE ME THE DAMN COURTESY OF REVEALING YOURSELF.” He roared. No response yet again. The entire crew continued to look down. “I will find out. Mark my words! This isn’t over!” He declared, angrily staring at Anders, before storming off. The crewmembers were left flabbergasted. Everyone eyed each other in mutual suspicion. Anders felt like he was in a cage surrounded by monsters. He was unsure who was telling the truth and who wasn’t. A greater nightmare than this it couldn’t have been. He was stranded in deep space, surrounded by potentially malignant men, waiting for the Empire to come. To describe himself as afraid would be a massive understatement.