Chapter 1: Baptism By Fire

[Drake 53]

The blast door closed behind the group as they entered. Aston and Jya stopped on either side of the door with Aston next to the door terminal. At the moment, he didn't touch it.

Tak looked around casually, gauging the defensive strength on the bridge itself. While the anteroom to the command centre was guarded by turrets and a half dozen Stormtroopers, the bridge defenses were surprisingly lax. Only a pair of troopers stood on either side of the Captain, who was at the other end of the bridge, speaking to a weasely-looking officer. The Captain himself was a burly man with thick arms and a red mane of hair. Certainly not the posterchild of the Imperial Fleet.

As Tak got closer, he could hear snippets of the conversation through the enhanced audio pickup in his suit.

"...progress on the hangar doors?" asked the Captian.

"We are having difficulties accessing the controls, sir" said the weasely man. "It would appear that one of the intruders is quite adept at slicing our networks. They have encrypted the security so that the code will change as soon as we enter the wrong code."

The Captain scowled. "I don't care. Cut through it, if you have to."

"Bu...but, sir..." began the smaller man.

"Would you rather I knock it down personally? I could start by using your head as a battering ram!"

The weasle man shrunk back and stalked away. As the Revenants approached, the Captain turned to regard them. As Tak and Jareth moved aside to stand next to the two normal Stormtroopers, the Imperial Captain walked right up to Captain Tunon and sneered at him.

"Ah, and you must be the one in charge of the little invasion on my ship, eh? Well, we're going to have a nice long talk about proper ship procedures. Heh heh. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Yeah" said Aeric as he stood up straight to face the Imperial Captain. "In the name of the New Galactic Republic, you are under arrest."

The Captain looked at Aeric for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Oh, really? With you in stun-cuffs and the rest of your squadron dead?"

"Not dead" said Takeshi.

"WHAT!?" shouted the Imperial Captain. He spun around to face Tak.

"Now!" ordered Aeric and everybody moved as one.

Immediately, Aston's fingers were a blur as he sliced into the door controls in order to lock out the Stormtroopers outside. The door rose about a foot before he stopped it. Jya shook her head and rolled a pair of frag grenades through the crack.

Tak flicked the dagger out of his gauntlet and stabbed the Stormtrooper standing next to him. The other trooper raised his blaster but Jareth quickly snapped his neck. Meanwhile, the rest of the squadron had already begun stunning the bridge crew. Aeric, Nat, Atuarre and Nima shed their stun-cuffs and grabbed extra blasters from their comrades.

Soon, Aston had the door completely locked down and the only Imperial left standing was the fuming Captain.

"Now, Captain. Where were we?" began Aeric. "Oh yes. Proper ship procedures. Should we start with proper Stormtrooper blaster training? Or maybe proper door security? Shall I go on?"

"No need" started the gruff Imperial, "I have one you missed. It's called proper prisoner search!" Before anyone could stop him, the Imperial captain touched his belt buckle. He was instantly surrounded by a blue glow. He knocked Jareth aside, sending him crashing into the wall. The squadron opened fire on him but the stun bolts had little effect to the shield. He laughed and ran out a side door. Tak and Jaim gave chase. Takeshi pulled out his Mandalorian Ripper. It's slug would ignore that shield. When they got to the door, they were met by a shockwave directly in front of them. Both men went flying back, landing back-first on the central platform.

By then Jareth had gotten up and walked over to them. "And I thought my fall was bad. That looked like a Stouker Concussion Rifle. Lucky for you two, you didn't take a direct hit."

Tak just groaned.

[Rogue 4]

"Don't worry about it." Layla remarked, gray eyes glinting as she removed the cumbersome helmet and placed it on a side console. "Tak's used to being shot down."

She looked to the door, whistling as she went over to the downed crew-men relieving them of their weapons as Atuarre bound the hands of the unconscious to keep them from doing anything when they awoke. "You know, I understand why nobody wanted to pat that Hutt-ugly human down, but in hindsight it was probably a good idea."

"You think so, Three?" Nat asked in annoyance.

"Yes, sir. But who would have thought someone of his size could run like a nexu?"

[Drake 53]

Tak threw off his helmet then propped himself up on an elbow. He looked about ready to throw up. "Ugh...those cannons sure pack a punch. You alright over there, Eleven?"

Jaim had pulled himself up to sitting and looked about as bad as Tak felt.

He didn't wait for the answer. Mostly considering Jaim didn't look too up to talking quite yet. "Yeah, I know how you feel. Nima, how's about a little something for the headache...and the gut ache...and the back ache."

As the Twi'lek medic set about patching up Eleven and Thirteen, Captain Tunon called Aston over. "Six, get to a command console and work on getting the security systems to our side...and see if you can find our wayward Captain. I don't want him breaking anything important. Two and Three, see what you can do about neutralizing the rest of the crew. And Ten...care to try flying an interdictor cruiser?"

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

Atuarre flexed her wrists, happy to be rid of the stun cuffs. They had been too tight for a being of her size, but then, the Imps wouldn't have cared anyway. She was surprised the Imp captain had bought their little charrade. In her opinion, it had been quite comical for so few plastics to be guarding a big Trianii who was still conscious. Had those been real Imps, she could have--would have--easliy snapped their necks and gone down fighting the reinforcements. She turned to Aeric. "What can I do, sir?"

[Mara 29]

"Yes, sir."

Kaden was surprised. He hadn't done a whole lot since they got aboard, but all his nervousness and uneasiness left him. He had lots of flying experience, it was true, but he had never had the opportunity to fly an Interdictor before. But most larger ships and cruisers were about fundamentally the same.

Without any more worry of Imperials, he removed his helmet and gathered in his surroundings with his own eyes. Artie would have been a good help. He could download up information that he didn't know about the ship, but he would just have to give himself a crash course. It wouldn't be the first time.

He set down his rifle and headed towards the controls to acquaint himself. Hello, there....

[Drake 53]

The Captain nodded at Atuarre's question. "Yes, Four. I would like you, Five, Seven and Nine to fortify our location. I wouldn't be surprised if a counterattack is already being formed. Check out the side rooms for any durasteel tables that we can set up to camp behind."

He went over to where Aston, Arlan and Layla were working. "How's it coming along?"

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

Atuarre nodded and set off with her squadmates to barricade the door. There wasn't much in the way of tables, except for one large on in the adjacent war room, so they propped it diagonally against the doors and threw a few of the console chairs in for good measure. Once that task was completed, Atuarre began to assemble her sniper rifle. It was a specially modified X-45 with a larger than normal scope and trigger assembly to accomadate her large hands and claws and a reinforced frame to withstand the harsh forest conditions of Trian. She hunkered down at the least covered area and pointed the barrel toward whatever the Imps might be sending their way.

[Bad furday 57]

"Well, " replied Arlan, " the security cameras here show that reinforcements haven't arrived outside that door yet. I'd expect them to be here very shortly though...considering how fast that guy ran off!"

He gestured to the rest of the crew, which had been tied up, courtesy of Layla convincing them that they DID want to be tied up.

"I think they're a bit...out of it at the moment."

[Drake 53]

"So I see" said Aeric. "Anything you can do with the droids on the ship to stir up a little chaos?"

[Bad furday 57]

"Well...I can have them spread the word that there is a fire in one of the hangars..." mused Arlan.

"And the mouse droids and R3 units will be affected if I broadcast a code within an ultrasonic tone through the onboard transmitter. Their processors will become confused with the interference."

From across the room Jya looked as if she was about to say something, before staring off into space. The vacant look disappeared from her face, and, shrugging her shoulders, went back to the task at hand.

Arlan clicked a few keys on the computer interface.

"There. Several of the hangar droids have now reported a fire, and claim that the automatic fire suppression system isn't working!"

Layla watched them on one of the security cameras and cackled, as fire crews and stormtroopers rushed along a hallway leading to the hangars.

Arlan set to work on the code for the other droids.

[Rogue 4]

Still watching out of the corner of her eyes as people started heading to the secondary hanger bay to stop a non-existant fire, Layla's fingers worked over a control console. " Aston's unlocking the systems and then we are searching the security protocols for something that will come in handy. It's only a matter of time. They have to have something in here a little more fun than locking down all the doors remotely."

Edited July 24, 2007 by Rogue

[Andy 60]

Aston looked up from his console, "well speaking of locking down doors, I've managed to lock down most of the security doors across the ship. Basically, they'll have to physically destroy them to get through. Will seriously slow them down. And they shouldn't be able to over-ride the lock other than from this console. Heh. Working on the sentry turret controls now, they seem to be uncooperative at the moment..."

"Any sign of our runaway Captain yet?" Aeric asked.

"I haven't spotted him, but with the security doors locked down he's not going to be able to get far."

[Drake 53]

Tak had been eavesdropping. He got up from the chair that Nima had sat him in while working on him and moved over to the consoles.

"If he's got that Stouker, I doubt doors will slow him down much. Aston, is there any way to monitor large energy outputs? Maybe we could pinpoint him that way."

[Andy 60]

Jareth nodded, "only the heaviest doors will stop that thing. We'll be safe in here though. These blast doors will be sufficient."

Aston pondered for a moment then said, "I've got an easier way along the same lines. Energy readings will be distorted by other equipment on board. The internal sensors aren't specialised enough to discern the different readings," he tapped away at the console, "but sound, however, that's a different story. Concussion rifles are noisy things... I'll get the system to alert me for loud sounds near the locked doors."

[Drake 53]

"Good work, Six" commended Captain Tunon. "Keep me informed." Aeric moved over to the forward viewing windows and stared out. One of the two Star Destroyers was flanking them to the right and just ahead. The other was most likely to their left and behind. TIE fighter squadrons flew circles around the interdictor. They're waiting to see what the outcome of this fight will be, he thought.

Tak was looking over Layla's shoulder when he spotted something. "What's that system?"

Layla tapped at the console, going into the system. "It's called 'Foothold', that's all it says. It looks like some kind of anti-intrusion system. I wonder why they didn't use it on us?"

"The Imperials were probably too confident that they could keep us contained" said Tak. "Or they forgot about it."

"Either way it might be worth using against the rest of the crew. Can you figure any of this out, Aston?" she asked.

[Mara 29]

Having gotten used to all the controls, Kaden swiveled his chair around.

"Captain, what's the plan? Are we running with this thing? We won't get any speed out of this thing with the gravity well projectors still running."

[Rogue 4]

Layla frowned, running a search in the system. "Captain, we can't shut the grav wells down remotely. With the ship on lockdown mode it has to be done manually at each of the four locations."

She typed in a command, bringing up the ship schematics on the 2D display.

[Mara 29]

Kaden also ran up something on his own display. "Sir, there's also.... uh, four shuttles still on board in the shuttle bay, as well.

As a last resort," he added.

He waited to see what the plan was. He knew he wouldn't want to leave their new ships aboard this Interdictor, so he didn't think they would abandon it. Not a nice prize like this. The New Republic could use it. Besides, he couldn't leave Artie. Whatever happened, he needed to get his droid.

"Once the wells are down, we can get a vector and jump out of here."

[Drake 53]

Aeric nodded and turned from the forward window. "We will need to take care of the crew first. Six, what have you got for me on the Foothold system?"

[Ender 8]

Jaim finally managed to pick himself off the ground and stagger over to the gathering.

"Sithspit, I wish I could say that's the first time that's happened. What can I do to help?"

[Andy 60]

Aston looked over the console, "I can't seem to find out exactly what it does... It is some kind of defence system though. Just give me a few minutes longer and I can have it ready to be activated to our advantage. Would prefer to know what it does though."

An alert flashed on the screen next to Aston, "oh, I think I've almost got our little friend's location. He's just blasted his way through a door... Hmm, not sure which direction he's headed in at the moment, so i'll just have to flick through the security holos."

"Excellent," Aeric exclaimed.

"An the Foothold system is ready," Aston hesitated, "something to do with gas... Presumeably just a knock-out gas. I can activated whenever you're ready."

[Drake 53]

"Will it be released on the bridge?" asked the Captain.

"No, sir" said Aston. "I can choose which areas to flood with the gas and I have it set for everywhere but here."

"Good, then release it now. Hopefully we can take down the Imperial Captain while we're at it."

Aston typed in a command. There was an alarm as the system activated. Camera viewscreens showed nothing. One was of the secondary hangar bay and showed crew members trying to deal with errant droids.

"Is it working?" asked Layla.

After a moment, the invisible gas took its toll and one-by-one, the crew began dropping.

Several of the Revenants gave a cheer.

Aeric smiled. "Right. Now pump out that gas. I want to..."

"Sir!" Layla cut him off. "Sorry, sir, but you need to see this."

"What is it?" the Captain asked as he moved over to her console. The vid screen showed two dozen Stormtroopers marching down a hall. "Oh, I see. They must have sealed their suits in time to stop the gas. I was afraid of that."

"What should we do?" asked Tak.

"They will be coming here" said Aeric. "We should be ready for them. However, we still need to take down those gravity well generators. XO, I want you to lead a strike team to the four locations to shut those generators down. You will take Seven, Nine and Thirteen. Get ready and move out asap."

[Mara 29]

"Sir, what's the plan once the wells are down? Do we have coordinates?"

He motioned to Jareth, Tak and Jya, who were getting ready. "We'll also need to communicate with them in case we need to leave in a hurry once the projectors are turned off."

Edited July 24, 2007 by Mara

[Drake 53]

"Plot a course to Coruscant. We're going to take this ship directly to the top of the Defense Force." Concerning the strike team, he added. "And we all have our comms. Communications shouldn't be a problem."

As he said that, the bridge comm system crackled on and the deep laugh of the Imperial Captain carried across the command centre. "Nice trick, that gas, kids. I'm afraid that you missed me. Heh heh. I hope you enjoy the little two-dozen strong present I've sent your way."

Aeric had a hard look on his face. "Aston, find out where that comm is coming from!"

The Imperial laughed again. "No need, Captain. I think you know where I'm going." His voice was followed by the loud sonic blast of the consussion rifle and an explosion as a door crumpled under it's power.

"That blast came from just outside the engine room" said Aston.

"Very good, boy!" said the Imperial Captain. "It will be hard to run back to your precious New Galactic Republic if the engines don't work!"

Aeric made a chopping motion across his neck. Aston deactivated the bridge comm.

"XO, new orders. Take your team to the engine room. I want that Captain dead or alive. Fix whatever he breaks. Aston, see what you can do about slowing him from here."

Nat, Jya, Jareth and Tak saluted then left to carry out their mission. They opened the bridge blast doors and went into the anteroom before they closed again behind the group. They got into the turbolift and rode it down. Once down, they would have to cross half the length of the ship before getting to the turbolift that would take them to the engine room.

The doors slid open and they stepped out. There were crewmen scattered around. Jya knelt down and checked the pulse of one. "It was knock-out gas, for sure. These boys are still alive" she said.

There was a noise behind a sealed door to their right. It sounded like laser cutters and soon enough, the torches began burning through the metal, sending showers of sparks raining to the floor.

"Move" uttered Nat Riamor. "This is not our fight."

The group hurried down the corridor leading straight away from the turbolifts. There was a door about a hundred metres away so they had to sprint to get to it before the Stormtroopers broke through and spotted them. There was a loud crash as the cut door fell to the floor. The Revenants pushed themselves and finally made it to the door. It slid open and then closed again once they were through.

After taking a breath of relief, they continued down the hall, wary of more Stormtroopers.

[Mara 29]

Kaden nodded and turned to the navicomputer, setting a course towards Coruscant. He took the liberty in programming a couple jumps along the way, so they wouldn't be going straight to the head of the government.