Jack knew something was horrible wrong with the situation on Aurora Prime. Moments earlier, an emergency broadcast transmission sent to every HoloNet receiver on the planet reported that the Auroran Defense Fleet, away on a mission in the outmost regions of the Aurora system, had been ambushed and destroyed. Jack's father and stepmother were both aboard the ISD-II Nebulax's Fist, commanding the fleet in a recon mission to confirm or deny the rumored pirate activity in the area.

Now, if this information was correct, the duty fell upon Jack Nebulax to defend his homeworld at all costs.

As the result of an earlier agreement between the ADF and the Vast Empire, Jack had to serve half of each year as third in command of the defense fleet. Normally, Jack's brother Jake was third in command, but during this half of the year, Jake was away on duty as a freighter pilot, delivering bacta to needy systems.

Jack rushed to Planetside Defense Command, where the ADF was headquartered on-planet. Upon entering the installation, numerous employees came up to Nebulax and offered him their sympathy. As much as Jack appreciated it, he had work to be done.

"Give me the full report on the attack," Jack said, stepping into his role.

"As of now, there is no report," a lieutenant said.

"Then how does the media know about this if we don't even have an official report?" Jack asked.

"The pirates apparently sent them footage of the attack. We've analyzed it, and it appears to be authentic. We told them not to release the information until we could fully investigate the incident, but some overzealous reporter apparently saw this as a boost to his career, and released it anyway," another officer said.

"What's the name of this reporter?" Jack asked, furious.

"He's remaining anonymous. He involved the right to freedom of the press," the officer said. "Under current law, we can't touch him."

"Ah, but there's a loophole," Jack said. Before anyone could ask, Jack said, "Get me the planetary governor on the comm." As the officers mobilized to grant their commander's request, Jack smiled.

A minute passed before an officer reported, "Sir, he's on the line."

"Good," Jack said. "Send the audio over the loudspeaker. I want everyone to hear the conversation."

"Yes, sir," an officer replied. He then nodded for Nebulax to begin.

"Governor Travv," Jack began, "as acting leader of the defense forces of Aurora Prime, I request the name of the reporter who released the information regarding the attack on the Auroran Defense Fleet."

"Commander," Travv began, "I realize how devastating this must be to you, but I can't give you the name. You know the law as well as I do."

Jack nodded. "Then, according to the law the we both know so well, I have the right as commander of planetary defense to place you under arrest for interfering in the investigation of a matter of planetary security."

"What?!" Travv said. His face showed signs of extreme anger. "You cannot do that. You're relieved of you command, Nebulax."

"No, I'm not. According to law, the planetary governor looses all power once legally placed under arrest," Jack said. "Now, as both acting commander of planetary defense and acting planetary governor, you are to step down." Then, he added, "For the time being. I'm sorry, Travv, but it's the law."

"Very well," Travv replied. "I hope this incident does not end our friendship. We can discuss this later, though."

"Of course," Jack replied. "Now, give me that name."

"The name of the reporter is Gast Y'hg. He's a Givin," Travv said. "Now, when can we meet?"

"I'll be arriving at the planetary governor's office in an hour," Jack replied.

"I'll be there, gathering my things," Travv replied, the defeat clearly evident in his voice.

***LATER***

Having sent armed forces to bring Gast Y'hg to the planetary governor's office when he was captured, Jack entered the office to see Travv putting his possessions into crates.

The stress of the day having left him, Jack said, "Travv, I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do this. But I need to destroy these pirates with want weapons we have left."

Travv looked up. "I understand. And my removal from office is temporary, correct?"

"Yes. Once the matter of planetary security is over, you are free to return to office," Jack said. He sat down in the nearest chair, resisting the urge to sit in the governor's. "And I've kept this under wraps. To everyone else, you're stepping down for the time being because you're ill and need to be taken care of."

"I appreciate that, Jack. Good luck with this," Travv said sincerely. Gathering his crates, he left the room.

Still refraining to sit in the governor's chair, Jack waited for the armed forces to come in with Y'hg. Soon enough, they walked in with Y'hg in stuncuffs.

"What is the meaning of this, Governor Travv?" Y'hg said without looking up. After finally doing so, he said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jack Nebulax, acting commander of planetary defense," Jack said, standing. "Governor Travv is on leave for medical reasons. And you, Gast Y'hg, are under arrest for broadcasting media regarding the concern of planetary defense."

"You mean the holoimage on the destruction of the ADF?" Y'hg asked, afraid.

"Yes. Where did you get that?" Jack asked, impatient.

"It was sent to the media center by an anonymous being," Y'hg said. "I knew that we weren't supposed to show it, but - "

"I don't want to hear you reasons for showing it. Now, is there anything else?" Jack asked.

"No! That's it. I swear," Y'hg replied.

"Guards, find a cell for him," Jack said, much to the dismay of Y'hg. "I may have some more questions for him later."

"Yes, sir," the guards said in unison before dragging Y'hg out.

Jack did his best to cover his ears so he wouldn't have to hear Y'hg cry for help as he was dragged down the hallway, into the turbolift, and down into the prison center below ground.

-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together.
------------------------------------------------------------
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 2 (1-2)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [VC:S] [VC:B] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply

Jack didn't want this takeover of the Auroran government. Jack was not a politic; he had no experience in government what so ever. But the stress of the day had affected him greatly. His entire life had been turned upside-down.

Jack sat in the planetary governor's office, reading over the interrogation of Gast Y'hg. It offered very little, but it did give him one name: a person by the name of "Ion Bursts", apparently a code name of some sorts. This "Ion Bursts" was apparently the leader of the pirate organization that had somehow destroyed the Auroran Defense Fleet, which was filled with Imperial warships.

Then a thought struck Jack: What if "Ion Bursts" was an anagram for the pirate's real name? He wrote "Ion Bursts" on the top of a piece of flimsi and began rearranging the letters.

After an hour of trying to find a name Jack recognized, he found himself writing "Nirt Subos" - the name of an anti-Imperial protestor who had threatened the government of Aurora Prime that he would conduct suicide bombings of random locations. He had been arrested and sentenced to death, but before he could be executed, he was abducted out of his prison cell and presumably taken off-world following that. If Subos was working with a pirate organization, that would mean he was finally fulfilling his promise. Presumably, his first suicide bombing had been the destruction of the ADF.

Jack pulled out his comlink and keyed in the frequency for planetary defense headquarters. "This is Jack Nebulax," he said. "Prepare a small armed starship for me immediately."

"Yes, sir," came a lieutenant's reply.

Jack left the office of the planetary governor and walked down the grand staircase that was in the center of the government plaza. Many citizens he passed by stopped to say their were sorry for Jack's loss. Jack thanked them, and then continued on. Upon reaching the starship docking bay for planetary defense ships, Jack looked over the list of assigned vehicles for his name. He found it placed next to the words "GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat Survivor". Jack asked the officer on duty where the ship was, and he pointed it out. Jack walked over to the Blastboat and inspected it inside and out before departing in it.

Upon reaching the upper atmosphere of Aurora Prime, Jack keyed in the coordinates of the ADF's last known location. A short in-system jump followed, and Jack emerged on the fringe of the system, where an asteroid belt, formerly a small planet, guarded the system.

"The asteroids will make it harder for me to find wreckage," Jack said into the ship's log, as per ADF regulations. "I'm currently doing a sensor sweep of the area, looking for any homing beacons that may have been activated when the ships exploded." ADF ships carried special homing beacons that activated upon exposure to vacuum; that is, if they weren't vaporized first. When the results of the first scan came back negative for any operational beacons, Jack made a second one to double-check, this one sweeping a larger portion of the asteroid belt.

"Nothing on first and second senor sweeps," Jack said, defeated. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught a glimpse of a piece of metal reflecting sunlight. Jack moved in closer, noting what he saw into the ship's log.

Upon putting his craft directly in front of the piece of metal, Jack noticed writing on the side of the ship. The word "Glory" was clearly visible. It was then Jack realized this was a portion of the hull of the Carrack-class cruiser Glory, one of the newest ships in the ADF.

Jack took a breath before saying into the log, "I have sighted a piece of the Carrack cruiser Glory's hull. I will continue my search for what's left of the ADF."

He moved the Blastboat further into the asteroid field, noting the wreckage of what must have been a pirate Y-wing starfighter into his log. As he continued through the asteroid field, he saw more pieces of hull, but he didn't know which side in the battle the hull plating had come from.

Soon, however, instead of seeing wreckage, he saw intact craft. Jack noted the presence of X-wings and more Y-wings. Jack didn't get dare close enough to examine them, but he did see them from a safe distance. Now, Jack caught glimpses of larger ships - Corellian gunships, CR90 corvettes, and a Nebulon-B frigate. It became clear to Jack that these weren't pirates.

This was a Rebel Alliance taskforce.

And it was preparing to strike at Aurora Prime.

Quickly, he picked up his comlink. Into it, he yelled, "Red alert! Red alert! There is a Rebel Alliance assault force on the edge of the system! I'm transmitting my coordinates now. Prepare all craft available for battle and launch immediately!"

A lieutenant back at the planetary defense bunker responded, "Yes, sir!"

Jack's transmission, however, caught the attention of the Rebel fleet. "Attention, Skipray Blastboat," a Rebel pilot said, "you are to power down your weapons immediately. We will escort you to our base. If you attempt to fight, we will fire upon your craft and destroy it."

Jack obeyed, only because of the fact that he would not survive long against the current opposition. But this also gave him an advantage - he would be inside their base, and at the right moment, he would escape and do whatever he could to disrupt the Alliance's plans.

When Jack's craft landed inside the hollowed-out asteroid the enemy was using as a base, Jack was escorted into an interrogation chamber. They did the best to get answers from him, but Jack refused. He was then escorted into a cell.

Along the way, however, Jack saw the faces of fellow ADF members. Jack then realized that a portion of the ADF was probably still intact. Then, he was thrown into a cell with two familiar faces.

"Jack? Is that you?" Jack's father asked.

"It is him!" Jack's stepmother responded.

"What happened?" Jack asked his parents. He listened to the story of the previous battle, and how the ADF was deceived and defeated. Jack also learned that the ADF's Star Destroyers were still intact. "Do we have enough crew for all our ships?"

"Yes, we should. They only took out Glory and Starburst," Jack's stepmother replied.

"Good," Jack said. "Now, what available craft we have left on Aurora Prime are headed this way. When the battle starts, we'll create a distraction. Here's the plan..."

-----------------------
Revenge is what holds this galaxy together.
------------------------------------------------------------
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack Nebulax, Nazgul Squadron, Imperial Navy, Vast Empire.
FM/WO2 Jack Nebulax/Nazgul 2 (1-2)/Wing 1/mSSD Atrus/Defensive Fleet/VEN/VE (=A=) (=*SA*=) [SV] [VC:G] [VC:S] [VC:B] [GWC]
Rep|Int/Rep Jack Nebulax/Rep: 4/Reporters-Interviewers/VE/VET
Jack Nebulax: King of the Reply