The Beginning

Grand Admiral Thrawn leaned back in his command chair and let his gaze sweep over the bridge. He was pleased with what he saw as he watched the bustle of activity prior to the hyperspace jump the Chimaera was about to make. "Captain Pellaeon, contact the Death's Hand, and reschedule their jump to five minutes towards battle eta."

Captain Pellaeon saluted and turned towards a communication terminal, and was lost from Thrawn's thoughts.

"What else could go wrong?!", grumbled Ketla as she ordered three Assault Frigates dispatched to the Sol System. The communications navigator sitting in front of her shrugged his shoulders and continued punching away at the keys of his comlink.

She sighed. "Alright keep me updated on any further attacks."

The navigator’s reply was a curt, "Yes, sir."

Ketla turned around and straightened out her uniform. Time to report to the General.

She walked out of the com-room with a brisk pace and had just entered the long hallway leading to the offices, when a ear-shattering blare sounded and the hallway lights changed tone to a bright red and began blinking. Nearby, a muffled explosion sounded. Ketla immediately turned back around and ran headlong into the com-room. "What’s going on?!!", she shouted, trying to be heard over the loud roar of conversation that had suddenly sprung up. Everyone ignored her question and continued about their frantic ways. She reached out and grabbed the communications navigator she had previously spoken to and wheeled him around. "What’s going on here!?"

"The b-base is under attack sir!" The navigator seemed ready to jump out of his skin, so Ketla let him go. My, the Imps are getting quite cocky…wonder what they’re up to?, she thought silently to herself.

There was a loud static sound and the room was suddenly quiet. As Ketla looked around, she saw that the personnel were gathering around a large video-screen where it looked as though someone was speaking…

She hurried over and pushed her way through the crowd. When she reached the center she turned around and faced the audience that had gathered. "As of this moment you are all under severe reprimand. Return to your posts at once and await orders!"

There were a few grumbles, but the group dissipated and returned to their various seats, but she knew that their mind was still on the screen. The Screen!! Ketla’s face turned red as she swiveled around and met the person’s gaze. She was greeted by a smirk. She took one look at the man’s uniform, and knew that it was an Imperial Commander.

"Ah, it is good to know that the rebellion is still operating at its maximum efficiency." The Imperial Commander gave Ketla a smug (but cold) smile.

She ignored the insult, and cleared her throat. "Who are you? And what is the purpose of this transmission?"

"I am Captain Illior of the Imperial Star Destroyer Nova. And in the name of the Empire I declare this system and the Sieniar Orbital Base to be under Imperial mandate. Lower your shields and prepare for a orderly transfe-"

"Spare us the standard Speech, Captain. And if you honestly believe this base will surrender, then let me laugh in your face and get it over with." Ketla couldn’t believe her ears. This captain actually expected the Sieniar New Republic base to surrender? Who did he think he was, marching in with only one Star Destroyer and asking a base swarming with NR (New Republic) ships to surrender!

On the screen, Captain Illior’s eyes narrowed. "Very well. Your reply has been- noted. We will now assume you are a hostile base and will act accordingly. But be warned, you have sealed the fate of all inside your base. We will not take any prisoners." The screen flashed off.

Ketla felt a knot in her stomach but that quickly dissipated as a flight of x-wings flew past the observation deck. She smiled to herself. This may be the yellow brick road to a promotion…Now, where is General Tel?

"Very good captain. Then all is proceeding as planned, I assume?"

Captain Illior swallowed. Damn, no matter how much I see those red eyes of his, I can never get used to them…But instead he answered, "Yes Admiral. Uh..?"

"A question, Captain?"

"Uh… actually, yes sir, I do have one.", Captain Illior glanced behind him and turned back to the vid-screen, "It seems they are sending a few squadrons of x-wings and three mon-calamari cruisers. We may be hold them off for 15 minutes or so, but then, should we sustain superficial damage, I was requesting permission to retreat."

Thrawn’s eyes narrowed. "You will follow orders as they are given to you." And then as an after-thought he added, "But do not worry about the safety of your ship. Chimaera out."

Illior vowed to himself, never to ask stupid questions like that again. He turned around and joined the battle…

Ketla watched as the X-wings made their first pass over the Nova. Bright blue patterns danced above the Nova as the concussion missiles and laser blasts rammed into the shield.

"I see you have taken command of the battle, Lieutenant Ketla." A deep voice resounded behind her.

Ketla turned around and saluted General Tel. "Yes sir, I assumed command in your absence. Would you like to take over?"

General Tel ignored her question and squinted at the hologram battle display in the center of the room, where mini-holographic x-wings were flitting and avoiding turbo-laser shots being fired from the Nova. "Interesting….only one Star Destroyer. Either this Captain..er..Illior was it?"

"Yes sir."

"Yes then, either this Captain Illior has some kind of super-weapon concealed aboard his ship, or he is phenomenally stupid. But I suspect that some help may arrive…be prepared for an ambush."

That caught Lieutenant Ketla off-guard. "Sir, do you really expect an ambush?" She felt her hopes for a quick victory and a quick promotion ebbing away…

"I’m not sure, but if the Nova is one of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s ships, then prepare for a surprise."

Grand Admiral Thrawn! Of course! Ketla mentally kicked herself for not thinking this may be one of his great schemes. "Sir, if Thrawn is behind this operation, then perhaps we should alert Coruscant. I would feel better knowing reinforcements are on the way."

"Not yet, Lieutenant. I would prefer to wait and see what becomes of this battle. Note how the Nova is assuming a defensive position… I don’t think they plan to leave any time soon." General Tel pointed out as the Star Destroyer lined up to face the majority of the attackers on the holo-display.

"I see sir." A feeling of uneasiness flashed across Ketla’s mind.

"Sir, the Nemesis and Death’s Hand have jumped. Our jump time is approximately 4 minutes." Captain Pellaeon dutifully reported.

"I see. Has intelligence confirmed the location of the Marauder yet?"

Pellaeon found himself frowning. The Marauder was the mon-calamari Super Star Cruiser serving as the NR command ship in this sector. If it showed up at the Sieniar Base, the battle was as good as lost. "I’ll find out for you sir." Pellaeon saluted and left Thrawn’s quarters. He marched down the hallway and into the bridge where the Bridge Officer met him.

"Captain, I have just received the intelligence reports, and it seems that they have lost track of the Marauder." The Bridge Officer gulped and awaited Pellaeon’s response.

"Return to your position and record the names of the intelligence crew in charge of tracking the Marauder." A cold feeling settled itself in the pit of Pellaeon’s stomach. He briefly considered using Darth Vader’s method of handling failure…

The Bridge Officer turned around and headed down the main walkway. Pellaeon, likewise, turned and headed for the nearest intercom unit.

Thrawn kept his face cool and impassive as Captain Pellaeon delivered the tidings regarding the Marauder. "Very well Captain. This changes the whole plan a great deal… Order the Peremptory to join the battle. And set our jump ETA to 3 minutes and counting." "Oh yes, and as for the team in charge of tracking the Marauder, make sure they never make another mistake again." There was no mistaking the hidden message in Thrawn’s words.

"General Tel! Long range sensors indicate that two more Imperial-class Star Destroyers have jumped in 6 kilometers from the Nova! Their id is the Nemesis and the Death’s Hand! " The officer reported with a salute and a nervous glance at the battle holo-display.

General Tel nodded. "Keep me updated." He turned to Lieutenant Ketla. "As you can see, the Nova obviously had a back-up plan. But- three Star Destroyers still wont be able to take this base." Tel turned back to the battle-display, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Order those three cruisers and the X-wing squadrons to break attack. And alert Coruscant. I also want to see if they can get some back-up here." He watched as the three mon-calamari cruisers slowly banked away from the Nova. A sudden bright flash, indicated that an X-wing and just been destroyed.

Captain Illior breathed a sigh of relief as the sensors showed that the Nemesis and the Death’s Hand had appeared. Now these rebels will pay… "Shield Operator, I want you to lower starboard shields and deploy the TIE squadrons. Have squadron One and Two cover the TIE bombers. Order them to attempt to take out the Serene’s shields." He indicated towards one of the mon-calamari cruisers, as it began turning around, preparing to flee.

"Yes sir." The Bridge Officer bowed and stalked off.

"Sensor crew, scan the area and tell me what ships the base has protecting it."

The sensor operator nodded and turned back towards his screen.

"Sir, the reports are in. The base has eight mon-calamari cruisers, one victory-class Star Destroyer, two Golan defense platforms, and 12 assault frigates. And we are assuming that all ships are accompanied by their assortment of starfighters."

"Alright. Stand by for further orders." Captain Illior smiled as an X-wing exploded near the bridge view port.

"3, 2, 1, Chimaera proceeding to jump co-ordinates."

Pellaeon watched the stars meld into starlines as the Chimaera accelerated to light speed. Almost immediately, the starlines changed back into stars as the Chimaera arrived in the Sieniar System. "I want a full status check on all the base defenses and contact the Peremptory to find out their arrival time."

Captain Pellaeon strode across the bridge walkway and gazed out the viewport. In the distance, he could see three Imperial Star Destroyers take up defensive positions, as the NR base fleet advanced.

A large fireball suddenly erupted on the battlefield and Pellaeon swiveled around to face the sensor crew. "What was that explosion? What was destroyed?" He demanded.

An operator quickly fumbled with the controls and glanced up at him. "The ah.. um.. the Serene was destroyed sir. It was one of the three mon-calamari cruisers retreating towards the Rebel fleet."

Pellaeon smiled.

General Tel’s face was a raging cloud. "What happened!!?" "Order the two remaining cruisers to keep shields at full power. And have them deploy their fighters to provide cover!"

There was a momentary lull in the hum of conversation in the bridge room of the base, when the Serene had exploded into a fiery mess.

"Lieutenant Ketla, what of the reinforcements?" General Tel spat out, pointing to the holo where yet another Imperial Star Destroyer had appeared. It registered as the Chimaera. "Order the advancing ships to halt and form a defensive perimeter around the base. Move the Golan defense platforms into maximum efficiency position! And order all ships to deploy fighters! We have to attempt to weaken the Star Destroyers before they reach the sentry perimeter!"

"Sir! Another Star Destroyer has appeared…it registers as the Peremptory!" A crewman delivered the news with a nervous voice.

Ketla watched amazed as the general spat out one order after another…it was rather amusing to watch the bridge crew stumble over one another to get those orders completed. A loud beep shook her out of her thoughts as the face of the communicator appeared on the com-screen. "Coruscant Defense division. Sieniar Base, we have deployed the Marauder to the base. Its ETA is…" The communicator glanced away from the screen and then looked back. "…approximately 2 hours. Think you can hold out for that long? I am also diverting three NR Star Destroyers but their ETA will be within 4 hours. Keep us updated. Coruscant out."

Ketla glanced up to where General Tel was still spitting out orders. "General Tel, the Marauder will be here within 2 hours! That’s about the only ship we can expect for another 4 hours!"

At once, hearing about the Marauder, General Tel smiled. "The Imperials have given us their surprise, and soon, we will give them ours…" And then Tel resumed yelling out orders.

Lieutenant Ketla was briefly puzzled at his sudden change of attitude. She punched in a few keys and the information on the Marauder appeared on her com-screen. Ah…Now I see. I guess we may survive this one after all, she silently thought to herself.

"This is Captain Drell reporting from the Peremptory. What are your orders Chimaera?" Captain Drell saluted as he asked the formal question, awaiting the formal response.

"The Grand Admiral has ordered the Death’s Hand and the Nemesis to take up our right flank. The Chimaera, Nova and the Peremptory will form a wedge and advance to meet the outer sentry position. Deploy all TIE squadrons and have them target the two Golan defense stations. Meanwhile, our capital ships will engage the enemy fleet. But keep in mind that our objective is to destroy the Sieniar Orbital Base. Chimaera out."

Captain Drell took a deep breath and turned around. "Bring us in line with the Nova and Chimaera. Our orders are to engage the fleet. Deploy all TIE squadrons and have them target the Golan defense platforms."

"Sir, six assault frigates have broken from the rest of the enemy fleet and are heading on a vector for us." The bridge officer saluted as he poured out the latest scrap of news.

"Very well. Have TIE squadrons one, two and three break from the attack and slow down those assault frigates. Contact the Chimaera."

The bridge officer bowed and walked away. Captain Drell turned and looked out the viewport. He watched as the six assault frigates made a beeline for the Peremptory. Hmmm… I don’t like the looks of this.

"Move us closer to the Nova." He barked out the order and then turned back around. Suddenly, small flashes and puffs of smoke appeared from the three leading frigates. At first Captain Drell thought that the TIE’s were making their first runs, but then he realized that the TIE’s were still too far away. Then it hit him with a shock. He whirled around and just barely managed to yell out, "Prepare for impact!", when the first of the concussion missiles slammed into the Peremptory’s shields. The next concussion missile took out the shields and the third and fourth impacted along the surface of the Peremptory.

What the hell is this? Since when did the rebel assault frigates start carrying concussion missiles? "Contact the Chimaera and notify them that the assault frigates are armed with concussion missiles! And take evasive maneuvers…we’re in for a fight!"

"Interesting tactic Captain. Launching concussion missiles from a distance. Order the Nova to deploy four TIE squadrons to patrol the space in front of the wedge. They are to intercept and destroy any incoming missiles or star fighters." Thrawn gazed thoughtfully out the viewport. "And captain, see those ships in the docking facilities?" Pellaeon gave Thrawn an affirmative nod, and Thrawn continued, "I want a long range sensor focus. I believe they are part of an elusive convoy we were trying to capture several weeks ago."

Pellaeon was already giving out the orders as he half-listened and half-nodded to Thrawn. "Sir, the sensor focus has concluded that the docked ships are loaded to maximum capacity …and.." He waited as more information appeared on the screen. "…and are carrying…" Pellaeon suddenly sucked in his breath as the information came up. "…sir, they are carrying concussion missiles! And it appears that small transports are carrying those concussion missiles to the fleet."

Thrawn remained silent as he digested the information.

Pellaeon watched in awe as a massive bulk cruiser, nearly the size of a Super Star Destroyer, floated into view. He did a quick sensor focus and concluded that it was also loaded to maximum capacity and was carrying concussion missiles. My Lord! This must be the rebellion’s entire concussion missile shipment! I bet the whole rebel fleet is depending on them for munitions!

Pellaeon shook his head in wonder.

"Captain, order the other Star-Destroyers to advance now. And deploy squadron two to form a wedge in front of us. Order them to intercept and destroy any incoming missiles." Thrawn still gazed out the viewport, but there was a new fire in his eyes…

"Yes Sir."

Ketla watched as tiny transports whisked back and forth, delivering the concussion missiles to the larger capital ships. She then shifted her view and saw that the Imperial line was beginning its advance. It seemed as though the Nemesis and the Death’s Hand were covering the three Star Destroyers who were in the wedge formation. She watched as they met with the outer sentry ships and the blackness of space was beginning to light up with turbo-laser blasts from the two opposing parties.

"Lieutenant Ketla, incoming transmission from Coruscant." A voice called from the back of the room. Ketla briefly wondered where General Tel was as she noticed his absence. Ketla hurried to where the communications operator was waiting.

"Lieutenant Ketla, I am Admiral Antaari. I just looked over the names of those Imperial Star Destroyers and I have shocking news. It appears that the Chimaera, is Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship!" Admiral Antaari hesitated for a moment and then continued, "We believe that the Grand Admiral himself may be on that ship! If your base is able to destroy the Chimaera, it would strike a great blow to the Empire, perhaps even giving us the means to end this war!! Do not let the Chimaera escape! We are currently diverting eight NR Star Destroyers and two Super Star Cruisers. Their ETA will be 4 to 5 hours. Can you hold out that long?"

"Ah…yes sir. With the Marauder already on it’s way here, I believe we can. Sir…do you really think Thrawn is on that ship?" Ketla couldn’t help herself from asking that question. She knew that if she were the one to destroy the Chimaera, her road to becoming an Admiral was secure…

"Intelligence is still confirming that. But yes, I personally do believe that the Grand Admiral is directing this battle." Admiral Antaari turned away from the com-screen, "Coruscant out."

Ketla felt her heart pounding… "Where is General Tel?", she called out.

"He wanted to direct the battle from his flagship." The communications operator explained.

Ketla nodded and then strode back to the viewport. This battle was taking on a whole new twist…

An X-wing screamed by the viewport and Pellaeon involuntary drew back. Memories of Endor surfaced as remembered seeing a lone A-wing slam into the Executor’s bridge, and moments after, the Executor had spun into the Death Star.

"Starboard turbo-lasers, open fire on Assault Frigate mark 12. Have TIE bomber squadron 7 take out the shields on the Depth." Pellaeon gestured to one of the seven remaining mon-calamari cruisers, which was slowly edging its way into a fortress position.

"Belay that last order. Have the TIE bombers destroy the Depth’s engines. It would serve our purpose better if the base had to send out additional ships to defend it." Pellaeon bowed as Thrawn walked out onto the bridge and stood by Pellaeon’s side.

They stood together silently on the bridge and watched the battle unfold.

"Sir, the point three shields are severely weakened. I request permission to take them down and let them recharge."

Captain Illior ignored the frantic request of the crewer and watched silently.

Four assault frigates and two mon-calamari cruisers were confronting the Nova and Death’s Hand. The space around that scene looked as though it were alive as the star fighters flitted around, dodging fire and in return, firing. They’re going to have their hands full for a while. Captain Illior decided that it was a lucky day for them because the rebellion had not yet converted the mon-calamari cruisers into full-fledged warships. Many of them still only had about 40 or so turbo-laser batteries. No match for a Star Destroyer by itself, but in numbers… Captain Illior decided not to think about losing a Star Destroyer. He turned and looked the other way, where the Chimaera and the Peremptory were busy dealing with the remaining four mon-calamari cruisers and eight assault frigates.

Illior wheeled around and faced the crewer who had previously addressed him. "Permission granted." He then turned to the battery officer. "Have all turbo-laser batteries concentrate on the Silence. Lets see how badly the rebels want to protect their cruisers." Illior then turned back to the viewport and watched.

Outside, all the Nova’s turbo-lasers opened up at once, with all their firepower concentrating on the rebel cruiser Silence. Blue waves splashed wildly all over the cruiser as the shields took the brunt of the attack. As the next barrage of shots took off, the Silence began to waver as its gunners tried to launch a counter-attack against the Nova. The shots radiating from the Silence seemed pathetic when compared to Nova’s barrage. But nevertheless, a few turbo-laser beams broke through the Nova’s shields and impacted against the superstructure.

Captain Illior grasped the viewport railing as the bridge shook from the turbo-laser impacts. "Damn it! Intensify super-structure shields! And continue the fire against the Silence!", Illior shouted above the bridge crew’s cries of pain and wonder. Over the noise, he heard a few acknowledgements. Illior turned back to the viewport.

The Silence, encouraged by it’s direct hit of the super-structure, had halted it’s evasive maneuvers and was trying to line up all of it’s guns to bear on the Nova. Illior narrowed his eyes. Like hell, I’m going to give you another chance to fire on us…

"All turbo-lasers, FIRE!" He shouted into his com-link.

The Nova lurched as all the turbo-lasers fired at once. A hail of bright laser beams sliced out across space and slammed into the Silence. Multiple explosions rippled along the Silence’s hull as it’s already weak shield completely collapsed. Illior watched as the Silence slowly spun out of control, and escape pods began jettisoning off its surface. The out-of-control Silence collided with a assault frigate that was previously taking cover in it’s shadow. The frigate was ripped apart with a massive explosion that flared like a star and then subsided into a million drifting particles . The Silence continued on its wayward course but caused no further damage. Illior smiled.

Lieutenant Ketla was no longer smiling. "Get me the reports on the damage done to the Imperial Force!" She ordered the bridge officer who was gawking at the battle-holo. Ketla couldn’t blame the man. They had just lost another mon-calamari cruiser and not one Star Destroyer was out of commission!

"Sir, I have the damage reports…", the bridge officer cleared his throat, "the Chimaera is still at full functionality, the Nemesis has suffered a starboard shield loss but has suffered no surface damage, the Nova has lost bridge deflector shields and has suffered severe superstructure damage and it is currently out of the battle and strengthening it’s shields, the Peremptory’s shields are weak and it has taken several concussion missile hits, but it is still at 94% capability, the Death’s Hand has lost most of it’s shields and has lost one of it’s shield towers." The officer concluded and bowed.

"Alright, order the Freedom and the Gem to concentrate fire on the Death’s Hand. I want it destroyed. And have the assault frigates provide cover for the remaining mon-calamari cruisers that are holding off the Chimaera, Nova, and Peremptory. Order that front to fall back to the protection of the Golan defense platforms! And where’s our victory-class Star Destroyer?" Ketla searched the star field but couldn’t locate it.

"The Delegate is providing cover for the NR concussion missile convoy."

Ketla looked at the convoy, which was huddled together, and sure enough, there was the victory-class Star Destroyer standing guard. "Send the Delegate to cover the retreating line! The convoy wont be a target for the Imperials until they overcome the base defenses!"

The Star-Destroyer slowly lumbered across the battlefield and joined the fray.

Pellaeon watched with growing concern as the victory-class Star Destroyer came closer. So far, the rebel mon-calamari cruisers and assault frigates hadn’t been too much for the Imperial-class Star Destroyers, but the addition of even a victory-class Star Destroyer could greatly affect the battle. Pellaeon frowned.

Grand Admiral Thrawn, standing next to him, took notice. "Do not worry captain. That Star Destroyer will only delay the inevitable. If you look at it’s approach vector closely, you will notice that it is not on a direct assault course, but instead it is meant to provide cover while the rest of the force falls back into the cover of the two Golan defense stations. Observe."

It was indeed as Thrawn had predicted, the star-destroyer eased into position below the mon-calamari cruisers and opened fire with its turbo lasers.

"And now Captain, I fear we have only 15 minutes or so before the Marauder arrives." Thrawn said grimly.

Pellaeon felt himself start. "But Admiral, are you sure? We haven’t received any reports as to it’s location, and besides it was last seen in the Nay-" Pellaeon was cut-off as Thrawn raised his hand, indicating that Pellaeon be silent.

"There have been no reports for two reasons. One- The intelligence team is quite incompetent. And two- The Marauder is in hyperspace. It won’t be seen until it arrives here."

"Yes sir. Ah… should we prepare to leave when it arrives?"

"Not necessarily. I wish to see at which location it arrives from hyperspace. It could have a great impact on the battle."

"As you wish sir."

"Captain Illior, the Delegate, is firing at the damaged superstructure area! The shields there are already weak and won’t be able to take much bombardment!"

"Then turn our superstructure away from them. We do not have orders to leave the battle, if that’s what you’re thinking." Captain Illior narrowed his eyes at the officer.

"Yes Sir, but.. ah.. if we turn away from them, it will largely neutralize our turbo-laser offensive capabilities."

"Just do as you are told." Illior turned away from the officer and looked out the viewport.

The victory-class star-destroyer was pummeling away at the Nova’s shields. So far, it hadn’t been able to break through, but the splashes of blue against the shield were getting lighter and lighter, indicating that the deflector shield could fail completely at any moment. And then suddenly, they did fail.

Captain Drell was watching as the Delegate’s turbo-lasers began to chew away at the Nova’s superstructure armor. "Bridge Officer Nettle! Order the starboard batteries to attack that Victory-class!"

"Yes sir." Officer Nettle bowed and then scurried away shouting orders. Captain Drell turned his attention back to the battle, where the Nova had managed to get the superstructure out of the path of the Delegate’s lasers. As he watched, the Nova began launching concussion missiles from the rear launchers and was attempting a quick counter-strike, meanwhile, the Chimaera was shifting position so it could also target the Delegate.

The Delegate, as if suddenly realizing that it was out-matched, began to slide away and retreat back with the rest of the NR force.

"Lieutenant Ketla, the Marauder’s ETA is approximately 6 minutes and counting.", a voice called up from a communications pit. Ketla nodded and continued looking out the viewport,

The Imperials seemed to be winning the battle, where the NR had lost two mon-calamari cruisers and three assault frigates, the empire had only gotten their Star-Destroyers damaged. Ketla sighed and wished the Marauder would hurry up.

She turned and looked out the viewport, where the NR forces reached the relative safety of the Golan Defense platforms and were lining up in a defensive position. The Imperials had decided not to pursue and had halted at the edge of the base like hungry dogs just waiting to sink their teeth into the flesh of the NR ships.

Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke all along the NR lines. Ketla squinted but distinguished nothing. "Officer, what was that smoke?", she asked a nearby crewer.

"Ah.. I believe that our line has just launched a salvo of concussion missiles."

Ketla smiled as she remembered just how much firepower was at their disposal. They could virtually keep firing salvo after salvo of concussion missiles. They had a whole convoy of them here!

Miniature explosions began springing up on the battle-holo display as the concussion missiles began colliding with their targets. The Nova, which had already suffered considerable damage, was trying to avoid them by slinking in the shadow of the Peremptory. The remaining TIE fighters that were still swarming around the Star Destroyers, were clambering to try to destroy the missiles before they hit the capital ships. But still, more then a few missiles hit their marks and caused considerable damage.

"Sir, should we launch our own concussion missiles? We are well within range." Pellaeon asked after the bridge shook with the impacts of the enemy missiles hitting their marks.

"No. Just hold position and inform the rest of the force to do the same. We will be needing those missiles when the Marauder arrives." "Order the Nova to move in behind us so that we may shield them for a while."

Pellaeon did as Thrawn ordered. When he finished giving the last order, he was frustrated. "Sir, if you don’t mind me asking? What exactly are we going to do when the Marauder arrives. I know it isn’t armed nearly as much as a Super Star Destroyer, but it still has enough firepower to lay us to waste. Especially with the rest of that fleet still out there-" Thrawn held up his hand and Pellaeon fell silent.

"Tell me captain, do you see those ships over there?" Thrawn motioned to the convoy that was still by the base.

"I do, sir."

"And tell me Captain, what is each of this ships carrying, to maximum capacity?"

"Concussion missiles. But sir I don’t see what any of this has to do with the Marauder!"

Thrawn’s voice remained cool. "And now Captain, if each of those ships is loaded to capacity with concussion missiles, do you know how big an explosion they would make if we managed to destroy that bulk cruiser which is in the midst of them?"

It suddenly dawned at Pellaeon, what Thrawn was thinking.

Captain Illior was looking at the base when the Marauder arrived. There was a flash, and then suddenly, the eight-kilometer long ship was there. Captain Illior gasped and turned to the bridge officer. "Activate the hyper drive and ask the Grand Admiral for orders."

"Sir, we’ve already been given orders. They are to remain here and get a target lock on the bulk cruiser that is part of the convoy.", the young officer explained, pointing to the massive bulk cruiser which was nearly the size of the Marauder itself.

"Target lock with what?"

"Concussion missiles."

"Very well. Await further orders."

"Yes sir." The officer turned back to the crew pit.

Ketla watched in awe as the massive super star cruiser altered its course and began to head for the Imperial line. No way the Imperials are going to win now…

Pellaeon watched with iron nerves as the Marauder slowly made it’s way past the base and towards the convoy and Imperials…

His pulse quickened and his heart raced.

"Now!", he heard Thrawn order behind him. The ship lurched as nearly 40 concussion missiles streaked away towards the bulk cruiser. He looked out the viewport and saw that the other four Star Destroyers had done the same. Perfect timing…

Nearly 200 concussion missiles were bearing down on the bulk cruiser, which had still apparently not realized that it was the target of the missiles. As if that would do it any good now. It was far too slow to effectively get out of the way in time.

Ketla watched in confusion as the missiles streaked closer. "What is the approach vector for those missiles the Imperials launched??!", she asked frantically.

"Uh… Oh my God!", the bridge officer next to her went pale. As Ketla looked at the read-out, her heart skipped a beat. "EVERYONE TAKE COVER!!", she screamed as the readout counted down the seconds to impact.

General Tel was watching the bulk cruiser as it exploded.

For him, seconds seemed endless. He saw the first of the missiles impact against the cruiser’s weak shields and bring them down and then he saw the rest slam into it from the side. He also saw it erupt like a great cosmic volcano. Massive blue shockwaves extended outwards in a arc as the explosion itself expanded and gobbled up the rest of the convoy around it. That caused scores of additional massive explosions. Then he watched in horror as the Shock wave hit the Marauder. Even as huge as the ship was, it stood no chance against the cosmic shock wave. The Super Star Cruiser split in two as the shock wave hit in the dead center. The front end drifted a short way before exploding . The back end was enveloped by the explosion and was thrown against the base, which was also disappeared into the flames.

Then the General shut his eyes as the shock wave reached out for him.

She heard sizzling and sparks. She heard screaming and the sound of running feet. She heard her own heart beat. Ketla looked up and saw the remains of the bridge room of the orbital base. It was a mess. Smoke poured out of every console, the sparks were continuos, and one part of the room was slowly igniting on fire. She slowly lifted herself up and stumbled over to the viewport to survey the damage. What she saw shocked her. Or rather what she didn’t see did. The Marauder was no where in sight and what was left of the NR fleet and the Golan defense platforms was a flaming mess.

Ketla sighed in defeat as she saw the five Star Destroyers heading for the base.

Behind her, the vid-screen came to life. She turned around slowly and found herself staring into the face of Captain Illior.

http://www.dowco.net/purelove/intro.htm

"Well, lieutenant Ketla, it appears as though we have won. And do you recall what I said to you when we last spoke?" Illior paused and waited for Ketla to respond.

"Yes. I do." Ketla answered, clinging to her dignity.

"I said we would take no prisoners. And now, allow me to make good on my words."

Ketla turned around to look at the viewport, where the Nova’s turbo-lasers were turning to face the command room.

The Star-Destroyer fired once. And it fired twice. All was silent.