A new God in the sky: The launch of the Shadowstalker (closed)

[Lion El' Jonson]

Space: An infinite blackness according to some, the piercing dark broken only by the blinding light of stars...and still, that light looked like a pinprick against the dark backdrop of the night sky.

Tonight was another normal night on Mon Calamari. Lion El' Jonson looked up at the stars and reminded himself how insignificant he really was, in the grand scheme of things.

Lion and a small team of New Republic Intelligence Operatives had been inserted into the Mon Calamari system by one of the New Republic's stealth corvettes, an aging modified corvette aptly named the Bleeding Darkness. The ship had served as Intelligence's flagship for over a decade, and had the telltale "thrum" in its engines that gave away the ship's age. Despite the ship's sleek lines and powerful sensor-mask system, Lion was amazed that the ship hadn't been replaced years ago.

Nevertheless, the ship had performed its duty admirably. After dropping out of hyperspace outside of Mon Calamari's sensor range, the corvette had dropped off its stealth shuttle and then exited the system as quietly as it had entered, leaving no sign that it had ever been there...

...besides the shuttle. Colonel Lion El' Jonson...actually, Admiral Lion El' Jonson, since ranks differed in the intelligence community...had been crammed aboard the tiny shuttle with 12 other Intelligence Officers for 14 hours as the small ship began its approach at sublight speed towards the planet. Their arrival had been timed so that they'd enter Mon Calamari's atmosphere as it passed into the night cycle.

The small craft had docked unnoticed aboard the floating city Cilghal, and the staff aboard had been hurried aboard a small stealth boat that had shuttled them to the floating New Republic base Ackbar.

Ackbar was an immense floating platform that served as sector command for the New Republic navy in the Mon Calamari Sector. Lion had met with Admiral Karlan and General Reltar, heads of the Army and Navy here, and then had met with Colonel Saliam, New Republic Intelligence's liason here.

After that tiring two hours, Lion and his team had been boated back to the floating city Cilghal and given orders to "blend in".

Basically, they had told him to enjoy himself, because he wouldn't be getting much rest for the next week. His thoughts snapping back to the present, Lion got up and began walking back to his cabin. A spray of seawater washed over him, and it shocked Lion awake a bit. He had been booked a suite on the New Republic's Bill, and was trying to enjoy wasting the governments' money.

He walked inside and towards a turbolift, stretching his jedi senses. The few people that were in the plaza registered little surprise that a man was awake at 2:00 am. Lion stepped aboard the turbolift and announced his destination.

His stomach tingled a bit as he descended. He stepped out of the turbolift as the door opened and strode to his suite, number 1257. He placed his palm on the lock-scanner, got a flashing green of comfirmation, and then opened the door. His eyes flashed to the viewport that made up his window...since every room up to the 40th floor was below sea level, the really nice suites were the lowest, to ensure that the highest-paying got the best view of Calamari's fearsome sea creatures...

...Lion had awakened to a shock when he noticed a fearsome Krakana swimming past his viewport.

He stripped off his shirt but was too tired to bother getting fully undressed...he fell onto his bed and fell asleep. His last thought was that he had "A Lot" to do tomorrow...like checking up on a starship...

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion strode through one of the wide corridors that made up a Mon Calamari shipyard. He had awoken this morning and had then been shuttled up to a shipyard located near Mon Calamari's moon. He had so far had to pass through 12 security checks, but he had a feeling there were a few more.

As he passed a pair of towering wookie guards, Lion marveled at what he was doing. The New Flagship for the New Republic's intelligence fleet, an immense MC-90, was being placed under the command of Lion El' Jonson. This placed him in command of the New Republic's elite "Spooks" navy, the nickname given to Intelligence by most members of the regular armed forces.

He finally passed through an immense meter thick blast door, had his retina and handprints scanned one more time, and then proceded towards three men who were waiting in the corner of a large room. 3 sides of the room were surrounded by heavy durasteel, and an immense window faced out towards space.

Lion only really knew one of the men personally, but he knew who the others were through intelligence reports.

"Captain Silayar...it's excellent to see you again."

Lion had served with the Mon Cal in the regular navy many years ago, and had been almost unnerved with how cool the Naval Commander had remained in battle...he was an excellent tactician and complimented Lion's natural intuition perfectly. He was dressed in the white uniform that most Mon Cals wore. Lion turned to the other two people.

"Commander Mironia? Colonel Tellard? Very nice to meet you."

Commander Mironia was one of the highest ranking female Naval officers in the republic. She had commanded a Nebulon-B frigate during the battle of Belsavlis, but was a fighter-pilot at heart. Lion had had her assigned as Wing Commander of the fighter squadrons aboard his MC-90. Colonel Tellard was almost a legend. He was a former member of Page's Commandoes, and had climbed the ladder of the New Republic's ranks so fast it looked like he had wings. He was in command of the elite Intelligence regiments aboard the cruiser.

The two people nodded their greetings towards him, and then Lion said:

"Well, shall we inspect our ship?"

There was agreement all around, and the four Officers stepped through the docking tube and walked aboard the cruiser's bridge. Lion and the others just stared around at the spotless white of the cruiser's interior, the delicately handcrafted control systems, the Figisii wood that ran around the bridge.

"Jeez...this bridge looks more expensive than the Coral Vanda...where did we get the funds for this thing?" Lion asked. Colonel Tellard's face cracked into a smile.

"Intelligence hasn't bought anything with their own budget for 12 years...We've been...diverting...the money from other sources. Ever wonder why that Palace Renovation was taking so long and kept running low on funds?"

Lion had to smile at that. Commander Mironia looked up at him, her blue eyes shining with held-in laughter...it seemed like everyone present here had a much deeper grasp of New Republic intel then he did.

"So, Admiral, have you thought of what you're gonna call her?"

Lion nodded...he had thought about this all of last night.

"I think I'll name her something fitting. We're Intelligence. We don't officially exist. If we're incriminated in something, our existence might be denied and our records changed. We're supposed to slip in, do the job, and then slip out. We're not supposed to get caught. We live against the blackness of space, always there, never seen...I think I'll call her Shadowstalker."

And from the looks on the faces of his senior officer's faces, Lion knew he had chosen a fitting name indeed.

"So, can anybody bring me up to speed on this vessel's capabilities?"

Captain Silayar nodded his domed head, blinking his huge eyes. He began to speak in his gravelly Mon Cal voice.

"This MC-90...the Shadowstalker, as you so artistically put it...is a miracle of Republic engineering. As you know, the standard MC-90 cruiser can take on an Imperial II Star Destroyer and win. This vessel has retained all the power of its cousin...increased it, actually."

He paused to take a breath, then continued.

"As you know, this is the only Mon Calamari cruiser ever designed specifically for stealth operations. The cruiser's hull has been stretched almost 150 meters long and was widened by 20 meters, increasing the ships mass by several hundred tons. The ship uses the new Mark XII Ionization reactors originally designed for use in the MCC-104gg Super Cruisers, giving us plenty of power. Two turbolasers were added to the bow, and the mounts on the guns were improved to allow the turbolasers and ion cannons a wider range of motion and faster target tracking."

Lion nodded...he'd appreciate the added firepower.

"To accomadate our stealth ops, new technology was added to this cruiser. The recent capture of an Imperial Intelligence corvette gave us access to several classified technologies. For instance, stealth silencers were placed on the engine baffles...besides reducing engine noise, thermal radiation was reduced and engine flare is only visible if you're behind the vessel. The hull is coated with SAM paint...that stands for Sensor-Absorbing-Material. It reduces our sensor returns to a 1000th of our normal size, meaning that we can be mistaken for an asteroid."

Captain Silayar paused again to survey Lion and the other two officers, then began speaking again.

"We've been equipped with three false transponder signals identifying us a vessel of the Sacorian Triad, an Imperial Star Destroyer, or as Bulk Freighter. The hull is painted a blackish-gray reminiscent of the Katana-fleet...we're practically invisible in space. Our running lights are disabled unless we are in a port, otherwise we'd probably be run into by some hapless freighter. We also have powerful static-damping and a full communications array, including Holonet transcievers and a prototype Holonet-Intercepter/Decoder Device."

Captain Silayar paused, and there was a faint note of pride in his voice.

"Frankly, Admiral, this is one of the most advanced ships in the fleet. Colonel Tellard has 10 full regiments of elite Republic Infantry, as well as 12 squads of Intelligence Operatives. Wing Commander Mironia has command of a full wing of veteran fighter squadrons...and you, Admiral, have command of Shadowstalker, four Nebulon-B2 frigates, and the limitless resources of NRI's navy.

Lion nodded.

"Thank you, Captain. Thank you, Commander, Colonel. I think it'll be a pleasure bossing you three around and commanding this vessel. Can you meet me again tomorrow at the [i]Ackbar naval base? I'll arrange transportation."

The three officers nodded.

"Any idea when we'll be ready to launch?" Lion asked as he began leaving.

"Dockyards says a week, sir...though we can "motivate" them, if you want to launch sooner." replied Colonel Tellard, grinning.

Lion also smiled.

"That won't be necessary, Colonel...see you tomorrow. Dismissed!"

Lion strode back through the security checkpoints towards his shuttle, extremely interested in the ship he was being given command of...good fortune, indeed.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion stood up and slammed his fists on the table.

"General...Respectfully, I don't quite CARE what you think right now. We need those fighters, and we need them now. I'm not setting out from that space dock without fighter cover."

They were in General Reltar's office. His three senior officers had arrived aboard Ackbar earlier this morning, and had been ushered into the spacious office.

Admiral Karltan had been supervising the construction of a new MC-80, so he hadn't joined the group until 1500 hours. The six hours that took place before that had been some of the most excruciatingly boring and frustrating moments of Lion's life. First, the General had told them their departure had been delayed by a week, due to Admiral Haelen's 6th Battlegroup suffering heavy damage. The fleet had limped to Calamari and were given priority over Lion's cruiser. Right now, his Shadowstalker was sitting abandoned in its stardock, uncompleted.

Then, General Reltar had informed him that the fighter squadrons scheduled for Lion's cruiser had to be switched over to replace losses aboard the 6th Battlegroup's flagship, Absolution.

This statement had raised a flurry of protests from Captain Silayar, Colonel Tellard, and especially Wing Commander Mironia.

"Admiral 'El Jonson...while I respect your claims, there's no way that your ship's priority can match that of an entire Battlegroup. Admiral Haelen's 6th has to return to the Kitaran Battle Plane immediately, before the enemy can gain too much ground."

Lion nodded grimly in resignation. The 6th, or the "White Lions" as they were more commonly referred to, had been heading a campaign to take back the Kitaran system. They had been ambushed by the combined fleets of Admiral Teradoc and Admiral Reylest, and only a hastily computed hyperspace jump had saved the fleet from total destruction. Reinforcements had been pouring in to backup the 6th, who were due to return as soon as repairs had been completed.

"So, how long will it take to get us new fighters?" Lion growled.

General Reltar shook his head.

"Oh, around 3 weeks. Our starfighter yards are going to take at least another week just to replace the losses the 6th took."

Lion hastily stood up again.

"What? Three Weeks? We need to get out of here!"

Commander Mironia also stood up, her accusing eyes glaring at the General.

"With all due respect...sir...There's no way that Shadowstalker can defend herself from an Imperial TIE wing without suffering heavy damage that would compromise our stealth capabilities."

General Reltar began to get up, but the door swung open. Admiral Karlan strode in, followed by a short woman wearing a black uniform...she carried a heavily modified blaster in her left hip holster, and was holding a large duffel bag. Lion just grinned.

General Reltar smiled at the Admiral and waved his hand idly at the chair next to Colonel Tellard.

"I was just about to tell Admiral 'El Jonson why he isn't going to be departing for another week...as you can see, the 6th is much more impo-"

General Reltar's speech was cut short by the blue stun shot that struck him in the forehead. The man keeled over like his legs had been cut off. All heads in the office turned to find the source of the shot. The woman that had followed Admiral Karlan in was holding her huge blaster-pistol in one hand, looking for more potential targets.

"Nobody move. This is a New Republic official investigation." spoke the woman, her soft, melodious voice somehow sounding more threatening than a Star Destroyer.

Admiral Karlan stepped forward.

"Ma'am, I demand to know the meaning of this!" shouted the Admiral. She grimaced and shrugged.

"Shut up, I'm ordering you to remain silent..."

The Admiral glanced up and made a move to draw his blaster pistol. It was only halfway out of its holster before the woman shot Admiral Karlan too, then stunned the two guards as they entered the room. Finally, she holstered the weapon and turned to Lion. He just smiled.

"Colonel Akima, I presume?" Lion said, holding out his hand towards the woman.

The woman nodded, and accepted his handshake. Colonel Tellard grinned. Commander Mironia and Captain Silayar just stared.

"Thank you for calling me in, sir. I had a bad feeling about these guys when I saw them..."

Lion nodded. He had ordered Colonel Tellard to check out the fighter delays, and his men had uncovered the true destination of the fighters...to Admiral Teradoc's battlegroup. With that knowledge, Lion had called in his true Shadowstalker...Colonel Akima, codename "Eagleshard". Even Lion's own Intelligence teams hadn't known she was on Calamari, but she had been on this planet for almost 2 months. Operational Mimicry was her greatest skill...nobody suspected she wasn't what her cover claimed her to be...a starship mechanic.

Only Colonel Tellard had noticed her, and just barely at that.

"Sir, these men are off for a quick war trial...I suspect they'll be locked up for good for engineering the destruction of the 6th Battlefleet."

"Good..." Lion said. "Excellent job, Colonel Akima...and may I say it is a great pleasure to be working with you again, ma'am. Any word about the fighters?"

She nodded.

"The pleasure is mine, Admiral. One of our Interdictors managed to intercept the convoy, so your cruiser will be fully stocked when it launches in...two days..."

"Excellent, Colonel...Checking recent updates, you've been assigned to my command staff as head of the Spooks aboard..."

In that, Lion meant the small squads of operatives that were needed when Colonel Tellard's regiments were too big and noticable to be used...Their jobs were to take down a shield generator to open the way for an assault, or for sniping an Imperial official as they came down the stairs for breakfast.

They were totally invisible, completely trustworthy, and some of the most rigorously trained men in the New Republic.

"So, gentlemen and women...I'll see you aboard the Shadowstalker in two days for launch ceremonies..."

Lion gathered up his datacards, and walked out of the room with Colonel Akima. They waited for a turbolift at the end of the corridor, and when one arrived, 20 New Republic troops spilled out, responding to the blaster shots fired in General Reltar's office.

As they stepped aboard, Lion glanced at his watch. The troops' response time was three minutes...

"Hmph...Amateurs...."

Their laughter was lost as the turbolift doors slid closed...