Hello. Thanks for reading the adventures of Captain Tibur and the
Emperor's Revenge. This is the second installment of the series, and I hope to have alot more coming your way. So stay tuned!
Rock n' Roll
Captain Hob Tibur sat behind the large desk in his stateroom aboard the
Emperor's Revenge. He was a large man, but mostly muscle from working to keep his fighting trim. His black hair was starting to grey at the temples, but it only helped enhance his aristocratic image, while his blue eyes flickered with intelligence. The Imperial Star Destroyer was the newest in the fleet, and Tibur had captained her through her grueling shakedowns. The engines had only recently lowered two octaves into the gentle thrum of power common aboard all ships sufficiently weathered. Indeed the
Emperor's Revenge was ready to face any enemy of the Vast Empire.
A tone sounded from the small comm unit in his desk, and he pressed the button. "Yes?"
"Sir. Message coming in over the Holonet for you. Shall I relay it to your quarters?"
Tibur nodded, despite the fact the communication's officer on the other end couldn't see it. "Yes please do"
He sat up straight in his seat, and waited for a few seconds before the holographic display lit up with blue light that gently washed over Tibur's face. The blue image flickered with static, no doubt from the long range the comm had to travel as it travelled through hyperspace, before it resolved into the image of Admiral Niim. While a minor admiral that served a small post on the edge of the Vast Empire, he was still a powerful influence. Tibur plastered a smile on his face, though he was already on his guard. An admiral in the rear of the Vast Empire didn't contact the captain of an Imperial Star Destroyer that often.
Admiral Niim folded his hands over his chest. "Commander Tibur. It's good to see you again."
Tibur suppressed a wince. He'd met Niim once before, and he'd tried hard to drive the memories out of his head. Niim had led a botched operation against the New Republic as a captain, while Tibur was still working his way up the ladder of command. Niim had led his Victory SD
Demise, as well as several smaller vessels, including an Interdictor Cruiser, against a planet in the New Republic. Niim, believing his ship would outgun anything in the system, charged in and powered up his Interdictor. Unfortunately, a New Republic fleet known to be operating in the system came in and wiped out most of Niim's command. The
Demise escaped, but Niim spliced some records to make it appear he was actually innocent. That explained why he was still issuing orders, instead of floating as highly ionized particles between the stars.
"Admiral. A pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you?"
"You can help me by setting a course for the system I've sent with this transmission. I need you there as soon as possible. Don't bother confirming with Fleet Command, because I have already done so. I need you here fast Captain, so cut whatever corners you deem safe. I look forward to seeing you."
Before Tibur could respond, the comm flickered, and the admiral's image faded away, replaced by coordinates floating in the air. Tibur scribbled the coordinates on a piece of flimsiplast, then flicked his commlink on.
"Communications, confirm our orders from Admiral Niim with Fleet Command. Navigation, set a course for the following coordinates, but do not enter hyperspace just yet." Tibur rattled off the numbers, then got confirmations from both. He then settled back in his chair. Something was up, but he didn't yet know what it was.
The confirmation from Fleet Command had come, and the
Emperor's Revenge was quickly moving along known, and in some cases barely charted, routes towards the very edge of the Vast Empire. While the Vast Empire did border the New Republic, it also was close to Wild Space, the vast stretch of space that was well charted, but because of it's existance above the normal plane of the galaxy, it was rarely ventured into. Captain's found it far easier to travel on a level plane, and even though some planets were above and below the Galactic Plane, most coordinates were plotted with two dimensional coordinates.
Wild Space required three, and it was for this reason that only the more adventurous navigators tried to navigate it. Smugglers, murderers, criminals, anyone looking to escape made their way into the region, and often simply disappeared. The
Emperor's Revenge was heading towards one of the bases guarding the frontiers on the edge of both Wild Space, and the Unknown Regions. Captain Tibur stood on the bridge as the ship came out of hyperspace. The system's star was an ancient orange star starting to become red and swell. In a few thousand years the star would verge on the edge of collapse, but hopefully by then the system would be abandoned.
The only planet orbiting the star was a rocky planet floating just within the habital region, with large polar ice caps covering almost 25% of the planet's surface. The VE maintained a small shipyard according to records, so if the
Emperor's Revenge required much in the way of repairs, it would have to travel many lightyears to a proper shipyard. As the
ER neared the planet, the holoreceiver came alive, and the image of Admiral Niim flickered to life.
"Captain Tibur, Welcome! I'm glad you made it so quickly. I'm boarding a shuttle now, and will be there shortly."
Before Tibur could answer, the hologram dissintegrated into whisps of blue. Tibur didn't like any of this at all. What was wrong with Admiral Niim?
The dress uniform itched.
Tibur couldn't stand it, but only through years of Imperial doctrine and training, he stood at full attention as the Lambda shuttle came into the hangar. The hangar was smaller than the main hangar, ment to handle dignitaries. What Tibur didn't see was the Sentinel shuttle landing in the main bay. The ramp of the Lambda lowered, and Admiral Niim stepped down onto the polished black metal deck. Tibur knew something was off, and it finally hit him.
Niim's uniform was white.
That in and of itself wouldn't make Tibur suspicious, except for the fact that ever since the death of the Emperor at Endor, several commanders had chosen to wear white uniforms like the Grand Admirals. Grand Admiral Thrawn was the only one who truely earned the rank, but the many warlords making a bid for power had long corrupted the name and honor of the title. Tibur managed to hold his salute, hoping the admiral hadn't gone rogue.
The admiral stopped infront of Tibur and smiled. "No need to stand at attention Captain. We're old friends, and there's no need to stand on ceremony. Oh, and before you get suspicious or anything silly like that, I'll go ahead and tell you. I'm taking command of your ship."
Tibur nearly let his jaw drop. "Sir?"
Niim ignored Tibur, and walked towards the exit. Tibur stood in confusion, as well as several of the officers under his command.
"Sir?" asked a young lieutenant. "What's going on?"
Tibur only shook his head "I wished I knew."
The
ER had been in hyperspace for almost ten hours before Niim finally retired from the bridge. Tibur had tried to intercept him, but Niim's bodyguards kept him from speaking to Niim. So instead he went to the bridge. The rear doors had been coded to Niim's personal lock cylinders, so Tibur had to walk around in the crew pit to find answers to his questions. His inquiries turned up several intresting facts.
1) Niim had plotted a course into Wild Space.
2) No communications had left the
ER since leaving the system.
3) Niim had brought an entire support crew of over 900.
4) Several female officers had gone missing.
Tibur knew something was up. He got his most loyal men, as well as several stormtroopers, and headed for Niim's quarters. The guards tried to stop them, but several stun bolts left them twitching. When the doors to Niim's quarters (Tibur's former quarters), Captain Tibur commanded the stormtroopers to blast the doors down. The blasterbolts heated the doors from red, to orange, then yellow, then white, before exploding inward. Stepping through the smoke, Captain Tibur looked around and couldn't believe his eyes.
Several holograms of a Super Star Destroyer littered the room, but their blue lights cast shadows everywhere. But they illuminated clearly what was in the center of the room.
Admiral Niim, surrounded by dead female officers.
Their blood had been spilled everywhere, and Niim's uniform was now a deep crimson red. He was laughing hysterically, a vibroblade in his hand. One of the officers behind Tibur threw up, and Tibur didn't blame him. Niim was still laughing when the stormtroopers moved around the officers and levelled their blasters. Niim looked at them as a child who's just had his fun interupted, then he threw the vibroknife. The blade pierced the stormtrooper's helmet, causing him to clatter to the floor. But Niim soon followed, crimson bolts of energy burning him down. More blood in a room filled with it.
Before the stench of burnt flesh could reach Tibur's nose, his commlink went off.
"Uh, sir? We've come out of hyperspace... I think you better see this."
Tibur quickly spun, and he and the officers ran back to the bridge. Some slipped because of blood on their boots, but they kept running, incase Niim had led them to some sort of trap in his fit of insanity. He got to the bridge doors, but they didn't rise. He cursed and pulled his blaster, shooting the controls. He then tapped two wires together, and the door rose.
To reveal a Super Star Destroyer.
Tibur gaped in awe at the sight. The massive ship filled the forward transparisteel windows, and Tibur found himself standing before them without moving his legs. He didn't remember walking the distance. He shook his head, and turned "Sensors, scan that ship. I want transponder codes."
The lieutenant looked up at him "Sir. She reads as the
Resurgance. Scanners read mininal life forms, but consistant of a skeleton crew of that size."
Another officer grabbed Tibur's attention. "Sir! Incoming communication from the SSD!"
"Put it on"
The bridge speakers came alive. "Niim. I told you to be here a week ago!" The voice was raspy, and sounded like the speaker suffered from several diseases of the lungs.
Tibur took a deep breath and spoke. "I'm afraid Niim isn't available right now. He's preoccupied being dead"
Silence was Tibur's return for several seconds, before the comm filled again with a shrill shriek. "Insolent fool! Who am I speaking with? Hecz? You bumbling fool, why did you let him die!?!"
"I don't know who this Hecz is, but I can assure you, I'm not him. This is Captain Tibur of the Vast Empire Cruiser
Emperor's Revenge. Mind explaining to me why I shouldn't send boarding shuttles over to claim you vessel for the Vast Empire?"
A raspy laugh came over the speakers. "I'd like to see you try captain! I command more firepower than your pathetic ship! Surrender, or die!"
"Cut him off. Shields up, all guns aim and fire at will! Helm, take us up, Z minus 500 meters. Flank speed. Sensors, I want a full holographic display of the system. Launch all fighters. Have interceptors run interferance for the bombers."
The bridge became a myriad of activity. The
ER rose straight down below the plane and moved forward. TIE interceptors and bombers boiled out of the hangar bay, protected from the turbolasers of the SSD by the shields of the
ER. Red lances of energy from turbolasers and blue ion bolts lanced from the
ER to splash against the pink shields, but only began to chip away at them. Aboard the SSD, shields had come up, and now the turbolasers with crews were starting to stab out at the
ER in return.
The deck started to vibrate, but with the small crew on the SSD, the fire wasn't coming in by the torrents known to be accomplished by the SSDs, but the few shots coming out equalled the
ER in firepower. With the ship moving, the gunnery crews had to keep aligning their shots to hit the ships. Hitting an SSD wasn't hard, but unless they hit the same spot, the shields would remain strong.
The holographic display on the starboard side of the bridge came alive, and revealed the system. The star sat in the middle, with three small planets outside of the asteroid field. The second planet was where the two ships were, two small daggers against the backdrop. Tibur looked at it, then nodded.
"Helm, turn us to heading 270 mark 330."
The
ER turned and headed for the asteroid belt. From the looks of it, it was fairly large and safe for a ship like the
ER, but for the SSD it'd be nearly impossible. Tibur was counting on it. "Tractor control, prepare all ten tractor beams to lock onto targets I'll provide. Engineering, on my command transfer power from weapons to tractor beams on my command."
The crew looked skeptical, but knew Tibur probably had a plan. The ship was quickly approaching the asteroid field, and Tibur zoomed in at the asteroid field. Once he had his targets selected, he relayed the information to the tractor beam control.
A deep rumble in the deck nearly pitched Tibur off his feet. "Rear shields down to 25%"
"Tractor control, how long till we're in range?"
"3 minutes, sir"
"How long till we loose rear shields?"
"1 minute sir"
Tibur nodded "Reinforce rear shield. Engineering, transfer power to tractor control."
The
ER kept moving towards the asteroid field, and the
Resurgance turned to keep it's guns trained. While it couldn't accellerate as fast as the
ER, it managed to keep within firing range, and pummelled the smaller ship's rear shields.
Tibur clenched the railing in the front of the ship. The bombers were flying like gnats around the
Resurgance, but even with their concussion missiles and proton torpedoes, they couldn't bring down the shields. But Tibur knew that some of the guns would try and pick off the slow moving ships, keeping them busy instead of trying to shoot the
ER.
A violent shaking finally threw Tibur to the floor, and with a grunt he got back up. "Damage report!"
"Sir! Rear shield has failed. They're hitting the engines."
"Tractor control, how long till we're in range?"
"Sir! 15 seconds!"
Tibur clenched the railing, gritting his teeth. The exposed rear of the
ER ment the
Resurgance could pound the engines, and possibly disable the ship. Finally came the confirmation from tractor control.
On the
Resurgance, the small bridge crew was crewed by hooded men in dark cloaks. On the command deck stood a man in red and black robes, a silver lightsabre hanging from his belt. He looked at the
ER, laughing. She was running, and that would prove fatal for her. Black scoring started to surround the engines, but none of the fatal secondary explosions came up yet. But soon, so very soon.
One of the black hooded men looked at the Dark Jedi. "Sir, they're activating their tractor beams" He said in a bubbling voice.
"HAHAHA! They're trying to throw rocks at us! Shoot them dead!"
The tractor beams sent invisible hands out to grab the solid masses of rock floating in space, and move them. They started slow, their weight making moving them difficult. But then they started moving faster and faster. Their course was straight for the
Resurgance. Lances of red energy pounded into the asteroids, sending chips of molten rock out into space.
"Sir" came the bubbling voice "The asteroids are not coming apart"
"WHAT!?! KEEP SHOOTING!"
Tibur could only grin. The asteroids, unlike the ones in known space, weren't hollow. They were filled with iron, commonly one of the first sources of metal exploited when a civilization went into space. The iron made the asteroids mass much more, and their intertia and density were much higher. Though the rocks turned molten and broke off, the iron underneith kept the rock from breaking apart.
The first rock was blown apart, causing Tibur to frown. He'd also hoped the lack of gunnery crews would make it impossible to shoot any of them to pieces. The rocks that spread out towards the
Resurgance battered against the shields, which managed to stay up, but severely weakened.
The second broke through.
The asteroid slammed into the ship. While nowhere near as large as the SSD or even the Imperial Star Destroyer, the asteroid's main function was that of a giant battering ram. The rock plowed into the ship and crumpled deck after deck, causing the SSD to warp and bend.
The third plowed into the engines. The engines ripped free, still trying to push forward, but without fuel they shut down. But the fuel hit sparks and exploded. The huge SSD was consumed in fire, causing the bridge transparisteel on the
ER to dim to almost complete opacity. When they could see again, the SSD was only a floating collection of large pieces floating in all directions. The crew pit erupted in cheers.
Captain Tibur sat in differant quarters. While his quarters had been cleaned up, the thought of returning there felt wrong. He would move back in eventually, but for now he was in the XO's quarters. He read over the report he would send to Fleet Command, and sighed. So much had happened, Tibur felt like at any moment he would wake up. But with a sigh he realized things like what happened over the past few days were one of the many reasons why the galaxy would never be a boring place. He hit the transmit key on the datapad, then turned off the desk lamp. He was going to get some sleep before fate decided to make his life intresting again.