Ghosts of the Empire

[Khendon Sevon]

The Death Advocate plowed through the borders of the Federacy. A sleek vessel of the newly commissioned Insuperable-class, the star destroyer was the epitome of technology and experience; its lineage was long and filled with fear.

Commander Xavrielus stood proudly at the bridge view port, harsh eyes cast out on the ever-expanding star field. The silence that filled the room was efficiency, not a moment was spared to communicate words. The Death Advocate was there for one reason, to search and destroy all incoming vessels.

Three fighters, all of the Executioner design, flanked the massive battleship. Scanners painted the surrounding space, categorizing and making note of every piece of space debris, every spec of stardust.

Weapons bristled from every port, traversing the expanses that lay before them. An anomaly occurred, suddenly everyone on the bridge snapped to focus, their minds racing and orders being sent through the voiceless CTS system.

A ship was coming out of hyperspace... right in front of them.

[Khendon Sevon]

Commander Xavrielus blinked as the sensors read every centimeter of the vessel that had just been spat out of the halls of hyperspace and directly send the data into his CTS chipset. “Hmm,” the commander said to himself, “an unmanned and heavily modified Imperial shuttle…”

“No signs of life,” continued the commander, his face tightening in confusion, “no entry way?” The shuttle lacked view ports or access hatches, it was as if they had all been covered in durasteel and welded in place. “Odd, odd,” continued Xavrielus, “no shields, no generator activity… Officer Tsun!”

“Aye, Sir!” responded a feminine voice bristling with attentiveness.

“Send in a mobile infantry squad, heavy armor, full space gear, burn and blast tactics.”

“Sir, yes, Sir!” shouted the officer as she went about transmitting the orders.

“So strange,” mumbled Xavrielus, “who would do such a thing? Fighter Command, launch a quartet of TIE Shriekers, have them continue our patrol route.”

From the belly of the magnificent star destroyer four sleek, single winged fighters emerged. Blue blazes burnt steadily as they propelled off into space, following an unseen territorial borderline.

[Khendon Sevon]

A shuttled left the Insuperable-class star destroyer’s bays like a bat out of hell, full thrusters. The craft manuvered and began its preprogrammed coarse towards the unknown shuttle.

Due to the Death Advocate’s combat ready status, hundreds of mobile infantry troopers were ready at a moments call. It just so happened that at that moment, Sergeant Vasquale and the rest of his three man specialist team were suited up in heavy gear, prepared and geared for the assigned “burn and blast.”

Vasquale grinned underneath the armored mobile infantry helmet, “You ready boys,” he said through his secure team comm.

“Yeah, Pappy,” said Scavier in his usual rough voice.

“As ever,” came Gelixar’s bored response.

Like every mobile infantrymen, Vasquale was a veteran of Federacy campaigns. He had served aboard the original Death Advocate, a Dominator-class star destroyer during the Guild years, and had been one of the first officers trained in mobile infantry tactics and equipment. Pappy, as his troopers often called him, had a long list of medals for heroism and valor. Vasquale was so used to fighting that it had become a daily thing for him; breakfast, quick shave, go out and kill some border invaders, lunch, guard a convoy of technicians, practice entering planetary atmosphere, dinner, sleep.

A red light barely reflected off the black curves in the Federacy soldiers’ heavy armor. Each trooper was equipped with a Sevon Rifle, Co. Ultima Commando assault blaster rifle, heavy space combat armor, and various other necessities. All in all, each armored mobile infantrymen looked like a large daemon formed in carbon fiber.

Suddenly the light in the quick launch airlock went green, “Listen up, Boys,” said Pappy’s voice over the comm., “Prepare for ‘cold’ insertion, burn and blast.” Four clicks returned, two per man, they were ready.

[Khendon Sevon]

The term “cold” couldn’t actually describe the feeling of suddenly being shot into space. Although the combat armor each trooper wore was insolated against the vacuum and shielded against micrometeorites and radiation, going from artificial gravity to no gravity and the warmth of a room to the sudden freezing temperatures of space were noticeable.

Vasquale and his team had done combat insertions before. They had had situations where enemy vessels fired upon them as they “descended” and others in which fighters had tried catching them in their washes, it could get messy. However, after the explosive launch from the shuttle, space was as calm as it could be. Of course there were stars going supernova somewhere, and at least on one given point on the Federacy border a battle was raging against smugglers and Imperial authorities, but that was natural.

Gelixar was the first to break comm. silence, “Hey, Pappy… no automated defenses, you think that thing is dead?”

“Can the chatter,” came the somewhat distorted voice of Sergeant Vasquale, “concentrate on your flying, try not to break a leg this time.”

“That wasn’t m-“

“CAN IT, SOLDIER!”

The mobile infantry suits angled for their target, 20 meters. Each suit curled up upon itself, legs moving up and arms downwards, 10 meters. Heavy thrusters fired, slowing the descent of the troopers significantly, 5 meters. With a flash, thick beams of energy fired from the Sevon Rifle, Co. U-C blaster rifles. The energy lashed out and collided with the ship’s armor, which bubbled and turned to superheated liquid instantly, 2 meters.

Secondary barrels on the rifles of the troopers quickly self attached, spent secondary fire cartridges ejected into space, 1 meter. An eruption occurred as explosive decompression sucked out all of the non-bolted down contents of the shuttle. The first trooper punched through the hole in the vessel.

[Khendon Sevon]

Gelixar was first into the breach, legs extending to meet the durasteel flooring of the shuttle. Sensors quickly scanned the trooper’s surroundings, painting the area in various spectrums for the soldier’s CTS chipset to sort through. “Clear,” came the crisp voice of Gelixar as Vasquale’s command suit burst through the opening and landed with a resounding thunk.

They had aimed for a portion of the vessel that would contain the engine room and from the looks of it they had calculated correctly. Wires from slagged machinery and exposed systems hung like thick jungle vines. Showers of sparks breathed life only to die on the cold deck seconds later.

Scavier’s suit landed softly, one knee down, rifle extended in one hand, “Nice of you to join us Mr. Scavier,” scoffed Pappy, “now burn me a hole in that door!” Vasquale’s suit’s plump finger pointed towards the prow of the vessel.

“Sir, yes, Sir,” responded Scavier with an invisible grin. Electro magnets activated and deactivated at the command of Scavier’s CTS chip as he bolted forward at an amazing speed in zero g. The trooper placed a round charge over the keypad for the door and backed off, Gelixar and Vasquale taking up firing positions.

[Khendon Sevon]

The charge superheated and created what would have been a loud explosion if there were some sort of atmosphere within the chamber. Again decompression forced out anything not bolted down, which in this case was only a few pieces metal.

“Go, go, go!” shouted Pappy, his two soldiers moving in quickly and turning in opposite directions. They entered a corridor lit by deck level flickering lighting. Sealed doors lined either side and a single one went forward.

“Clear,” came the signal from each as Vasquale checked point.

“Alright,” started the Sergeant, “I’m not picking up any life, or motion. Gelixar, you’re coming with me, we’re going to check the cockpit. Scavier, clear the passenger rooms, report in when you’re done.”

“Why do I always get the clean up job, Pappy!” argued Scavier.

“Because,” mocked Vasquale, “you always complain the most! Now, quit your whining, and find me something informative!” With that, the group broke up and moved out.

[Khendon Sevon]

“Oh, and Scavier,” said Pappy as he began to walk away, “seal up that hole we made in the door, don’t want to lose whatever there might be in those rooms.”

“Yes, Sarge,” Scavier responded with a shake of his head. From a pouch the trooper produced a clear, wrap-like material. He applied this to the exposed entryway, pushing down the corners until they changed color. The change in hue was due to a chemical effect that symbolized a seal had been established. “Time for some oxygen,” Scavier set his rifle to high powered and slagged the lock mechanism on the nearest door, kicking it in and entering with weapon ready.

Vasquale shook his head and chuckled a little, his troopers were always this way. The pressure in the room stabilized and Gelixar set a small tool on the heavy door in front of them. The hardware was an odd little device, cylindrical with all sorts of blinking lights and buttons. The mobile infantry trooper stepped away and sparks erupted from where the plasma torch was, splashing off the soldiers’ armor like lazy ocean waves.

Gelixar kicked the door with one of his enhanced legs, metal meeting metal with a screech as the door gave in and opened wide.

[Khendon Sevon]

Gelixar’s face contorted as his eyes saw what stood before him. It perched there, huge, enormous, and metallic. Armor was what it would have been called if it weren’t for the heavily modified star fighter laser gatling attached to its arm and the droid brain that activated when the shuttle came out of hyperspace.

Red, gleaming eyes pierced through the smoke that the heavy combat droid was releasing, calculating weak spots in the mobile infantry suit. A stream of red laser bolts erupted from the virtual volcano attached to the guardian’s arm. The first few blasts dissipated prior to contact with Gelixar’s armor, however, the following barrage penetrated the EMC field being generated by combat gear and ripped through the first carbon-fiber layer, gel quickly sealing the holes.

The mobile infantry trooper rolled back, his armor smoking and the smell of burnt carbon wafting throughout. Vasquale clenched his teeth as a few of the energy bolts dissipated on his armor, he cursed in every language he knew, firing his Sevon Rifle, Co. Ultima Commando at its highest setting and fastest recycle rate. Silver blast after silver blast collided with the heavy armor of the droid to no avail. Return shots found empty space as Pappy ducked and launched a high explosive rocket grenade from an attachment to his rifle.

Optical sensors on Scavier’s suit quickly picked up the problem and tracked the droid through alternate spectrums, a mesh of the most visible being sent to his nerves. The trooper wheeled to one knee, the settings on his weapon changing with the mere impulse, a spray of silver energy erupting from the rifle. “Pappy! Gelixar!” he screamed over the comm.

[Khendon Sevon]

Gelixar first looked at his smoldering chest, then at the daemon that now faced him. “Frell,” he mumbled as he spotted Pappy’s situation.

“Pappy, Gelixar!” came Scavier’s frantic voice over the comm..

The trooper didn’t have time to respond, the combat droid’s blazing eyes narrowed on him as he attempted to get to his feet. A literal rain of energy bathed Gelixar’s armor, more smoldering holes forming and quickly sealing.

Searing pain suddenly erupted in Gelixar’s chest, “AH!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, a hand quickly clenching his chest as his crimson blood turned to bubbles in the zero-g environment. His suit had caught the brunt of the blow, but fractured parts of the armor had been pushed into his torso from the impact.

Pappy snarled as he heard the scream. My trooper… MY TROOPER! he thought upon seeing the scarlet message emanating from Gelixar’s upper body. Vasquale threw down his rifle; obviously it wasn’t working against the tough armor of the droid. The veteran jumped forward with all of his might, his CTS controlled legs propelling him forward with amazing speed and might.

Energy burst forth from Vasquale’s hands, Pappy sprang forward with his advanced-electrified vibro-talons bearing. The droid didn’t have time to react. In a fraction of a second the team leader was upon him, talons slashing at exposed wires, claws being shoved into its most important portions.

Scavier ran over to Gelixar, nearly tripping over Vasquale’s fallen weapon. The demolitions specialist and team medic, Scavier went to work administering meds to his brother-in-arms, firing off the occasional aimed shot from his Sevon Rifle, Co. KG sidearm.

The two dooming, red eyes of the apocalyptic combat droid faded to a cold, glassy black as, with one smooth swipe, Pappy decapitated the beast, its head rolling into one of the corners of the cockpit. Curses flew from the trooper as he went about disemboweling the droid, gutting every wire, frying every piece of hardware he found.

[Khendon Sevon]

Vasquale panted hard, his entire torso moving as he gulped down full breaths of air, “No one shoots at my men!” he shouted at the hulking remnants of the assailant. “Scavier, how’s Gelixar?” he said with a hint of concern.

“He’ll survive, Pappy, but he’s taken a beating. I gave ‘em some pain suppressors.”

“Alright, check those rooms, and Scavier?”

“Yeah, Sarge?”

“Be careful,” he said softly. Vasquale kicked the slagged combat droid and walked over to the shuttle’s command console. The mobile infantry officer inserted a universal interface into the craft’s dataport and began slicing past the thin layers of security.

Scavier smiled at Gelixar and shook his head, “looks like you’ll be getting a couple weeks of leave, lucky bastard.”

“Yeah,” whispered Gelixar weakly, “looks like.” Scavier patted his friend on the shoulder and picked up his rifle, checking the charge before heading into the first room. After several moments of bursting open locks and kicking down doors, he returned to the cockpit where Vasquale was.

“Anything?” asked Scavier.

[Khendon Sevon]

“Uh, yeah, you could say that,” responded Vasquale, “I found where she jumped into hyperspace from.”

“Where’s that?”

“You’re not going to believe this.”

“Try me.”

Pappy cleared his throat, “Planet S-C001… Thyferra. That’s Sovereignty space.” A mixed array of emotions pummeled Vasquale at that moment. The populous of the Federacy knew the Sovereignty was evil, every night there was a news story about the atrocities or the fiends behind the black curtain. Why the hell would they send a shuttle into Federacy space in this condition and with these defenses… why? he thought to himself, throwing around scenarios and circumstances.

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, one thing,” said Pappy slowly. “Catch.” The officer threw an object in a high ark. Scavier caught it reflexively.

Scavier’s eyes went wide, “you know what this is, Sarge?” The item was crystalline, transparent, and very small.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. And I know the Commander will want to see it. I tried slicing it already, some sort of weird encryption that my suit’s software can’t even crack.” Pappy sighed heavily, “this better be worth it, I don’t enjoy having my skilled troopers replaced, even temporarily.”

“Hey, thanks, Pappy! Never knew you thought we had skill!”

Vasquale snorted, “You don’t. I was talking about Gilexar.”

[Khendon Sevon]

Two shuttles intertwined momentarily in space, arms reaching and clasping one another with an airy sigh. The vessels rolled and banked, matching each other’s pitch and yaw. Jets fired and the connection was severed, the sleeker of the two vessels rocketed away.

A huge cone of fire signaled the destruction of the intruding craft. “So, Boys,” began Vasquale in the dimly lit shuttle’s trooper bay, “you ready for the hard part?”

“What’s that?” said Scavier narrowing his eyes.

“He means the paper work,” said Gelixar coughing heavily, chest wrapped in blood stained bandages.

Pappy grunted, “No, explaining to the Commander why one heavy armor suit and soldier are so frelled,” his face was dead serious for a moment, but then the entire squad broke out in laughter.

The shuttle lurched forward as it was pulled into the Death Advocate’s tractor beam for docking.

[Khendon Sevon]

The Galactic Empire’s logo rotated in a complete 360-degree hologram above Commander Xavrielus’s personal holo projector in his study. “Damnit!” he screamed at the top of his lungs as for the twentieth time he attempted to crack the contents of the encryption.

Every time the Commander ran the slicing software it returned that his clearance wasn’t high enough and that it was to be brought to someone with GE-CC-2 clearance. The Death Advocate’s computers just weren’t strong enough to break down the guards for the information within, and that scared Xavrielus.

Commander Xavrielus had contacted the nearest Dirk-class vessel, Actuaria, and requested she head for his location at best speed. He only had a few more moments before he would have to turn custody of the crystal over to her commander to deliver to the Imperator.

“Sir,” came the voice of an officer from the bridge, “the Actuaria just came out of hyperspace.”

The Commander growled, “That was fast!” perturbation seething in every word.

“Sir?”

“Nothing, nothing. I’ll be at the bridge in a moment with what I have to send.”

<center>**************</center>

The blunt bow of a Dirk-class vessel sprinted from hyperspace, shedding golden flakes as it broke through the slip’s divide. A priority message was instantly sent to the heavy combat space stations of Delteon.

[Khendon Sevon]

Weapons platforms all around Delteon suddenly went onto high alert as an unexpected hyperspace jump was calculated on entry vector. Gun ports smoothly slid open as batteries were moved into a traversable position. Planet side heavy guns moved out of hidden silos and fighters were instantly scrambled.

Heavy inferno batteries locked onto the entry point for the craft, generators pumping ion energy into the weapons’ chambers. “This is the Dirk-class Federacy vessel Actuaria,” spoke the commander of the craft as it rushed forth from hyperpsace, “here with priority message for Imperator Sevon.”

“Roger that, Actuaria prepare to be scanned, cut all engines and await further instructions.” Two trios of TIE Shriekers suddenly became visible, their cloaks being deactivated, in formation around the monstrous Dirk-class ship.

“Alright, Actuaria,” came the voice again, “you’re cleared. Sending coordinates for your orbital slot now, welcome home. The Imperator will meet you in orbit.”

“Thank you, Delteon Command. Over and out.” With that the craft went to half burn and entered the planet’s orbit. The group of TIE Shriekers cloaked anew and suddenly the huge number of weapons that had been brought to bear vanished.

A sleek, jet-black Imperial shuttle ascended from the planet, a large, red Federacy crest on the upper wing. “Actuaria this is Federal Pride requesting permission to land.”

“Permission granted, Federal Pride, welcome aboard.”

[Khendon Sevon]

The shuttle’s gaping mouth yawned open, the metallic dark hull barely catching any light in the main dock of the Dirk-class vessel. From the belly of the beast marched four Federal storm guards, eyes sweeping the area, weapons cast down. Each trooper wore the insignia of Sergeant and had seen more missions than days with their families.

Khendon strolled down the ramp, Imperial black cloak flowing wildly behind him. He was garbed in armor, a long hilted lightsaber slung low on his right hip. The Imperator of the Federacy made an impression on the gaping eyes of the Federal soldiers as he calmly walked towards Commander Chivel.

Mobile infantry and stormtroopers lined the crowded docking bay, each standing at attention as their great leader greeted their ship’s commander. “Imperator,” began the young, chiseled commander that stood before Khendon, “welcome aboard the Actuaria.”

“I’m pleased to be here,” said Khendon as a grin crept across his face. Although he had overseen the design team for the Dirk-class cruisers and had done most of the development himself, he had never actually been in one before, “very impressive craft you have here, Commander.” The Imperator looked around at the shining faces around him, “I commend you on your crew and their recent actions in dealing with those pirates on the board.”

The commander’s eyebrow went up, “You heard about that? It was just a few hours ago.”

Khendon’s face eased in a friendly manner, “I spend a great deal of time monitoring all Federacy fleet action. That is why I know the reason you’ve sent for me, and that’s why I’ve granted you an audience. Now, Commander, shall we go to the bridge? I’m sure your officers and soldiers have better things to do.”

“Yes, Sir!” said the commander. With that, the troops dispersed and Khendon followed Chivel to the bridge, dismissing his storm guards to his shuttle.

[Khendon Sevon]

Khendon almost envied Chivel. He tested the mettle of his crew and commanding abilities daily, risked everything and was on the bridge of one of the most high tech vessels in the Federacy armada. Yet, something made the Imperator know he wouldn’t be satisfied as a commander. The Imperial had worked up the ranks and knew well that officers like Chivel were only bound as far as admiral.

Few people had the true sense of self and internal strength to be a leader of worlds. Khendon woke up every day with an understanding of what he was made of, what he was capable of. That simple realization was what separated him from Chivel and billions like him.

Khendon had emptied the bridge and respectfully asked Chivel to also await further instructions. With a slight sigh he felt around in his pocket, his hand closing on a sharp, crystalline structure. “I hope this isn’t what I think it is,” the Imperator mumbled to himself as he slipped the crystal into a holder and keyed in a long string of commands not used since the Galactic Empire.

With the last keystroke a brilliant hologram was projected. The man that stood before Khendon was blue tinted and old, beard haggard and his face looked tired. Something stirred in the Imperator when he looked into the man’s eyes; they were filled with vigor and youth. “Hello, Vice-Diktat,” began the recording.

The coarse voice continued, “I’m sure you’re wondering exactly why one of the few True Empire’s spies is contacting you. I am also sure you’ve already figured out the exact nature of my message. By now you’ll have traced the origin of the shuttle I conveyed this module with.

“I’ll get straight to the point, Vice Diktat. The Sovereignty has breached a sacred trust. They have declared an Emperor. In the depths of this data module you will find information with the location of an installation built during the ancient Galactic Military Alliance days, I’ll trust you’ll know what to do from there.” Khendon’s eyes had grown narrower and colder with every passing moment, finally the image faded.

The Imperator bit his lip, Grave news. Grave news, he thought somberly to himself.