Post by Darth Exolus on Aug 30, 2015 1:28:58 GMT
The lights flickered on in Titanic's mess hall. Slouched over the desk in the dim, nursing a lukewarm cup of caffa and a headache, sat Grand Moff Maximillian Seerdon, peering wearily at his datapad. He felt a nudge at his shoulder, completely unaware of the presence of lighting. His hair was a mess, and his uniform was unbuttoned at the top. He was, as Captain Elias Faber noted, an exhausted wreck.
"Are you awake?" probed a voice Seerdon half-heard, rousing him from his trance-like concentration.
"Hm? Captain Faber. Sorry. I'm a right sorry state aren't I?" he chuckled, sliding his cap back onto his head. Max started pacing feverishly about the deck, inputting command after command into his device.
"You should sleep Max," insisted Faber, scooping up Seerdon's datapad, "it's not healthy to fret like this."
Seerdon frowned, poking his head back up at the standing captain.
"When we're safely home Captain, then I'll sleep."
"Max..."
"Elias... Please. We're several thousand men and women, about as dangerously far from our safe havens as we can be right now. I need to help figure out a way of gett-"
Faber held the datapad out of Seerdon's reach, as he made for it.
"You should sleep, Max. Or at the very least get something to eat."
He nodded.
"You're going to wear down the floor Max. How are you going to explain that to Lord Exolus?"
Seerdon stopped, shooting Faber a strange look, and tossed his hands up in defeat.
"You're incorrigible Elias! Fine! I'll eat, but that's all, you understand?"
"That's all I'm asking."
The mess doors slid open, and in stepped a weary group of engineers. The first of the morning inspection and maintenance crews. The Moff and Captain settled down - the latter suggesting they vacate to the ready room on the bridge.
They entered to find Darth Exolus, sitting with both Telsin Drobin, and a secure holocall to ImpSecCom. Scattered about the table were a series of dated starcharts, and some hand-drawn extrapolations mapping possible and probably hyperspace lanes.
"Gentlemen, I was just about to call you," he began, "early hours notwithstanding. I was hoping I could call on your collective expertise.
Seerdon and Faber both took seats, dragging the etchings and starmaps toward themselves.
"These are hyperspace routes?" queried Seerdon, tracing the lines with a gloved finger, "uncharted territory between systems?"
"That would be one assessment Grand Moff Seerdon, yes," started Telsin, "we have been extrapolating alternative means of returning to Union Space. The Hydian Way presents us a major block, in that we will no doubt be pulled into a waiting interdiction field at every system and buoy along the route."
Faber shook his head at the verbose man, but followed regardless, examining the charts for himself.
"Ventooine is our jump point to... To Mytus? We evaded the Alliance on Oricon Doctor Drobin. Ventooine is the closest major system. Assuming we reach it, you wish to make a blind hyperspace jump toward Mytus?"
"Ah, no. No Captain. Ventooine and her parent star are our point of reference. Cross-reference to be precise. We will be navigating by the orbital positions of the major stars. Ventooine, Telos, and Listehol are the trio of stars that we shall be plotting a new hyperspace lane past. We are roughly halfway to the Maltha Obex System," Telsin continued, pausing only to take a breath. He produced an inker, and a sizable sheet of flimsiplast, "Say Ventooine is here. We will be utilizing small-scale hyperspace jumps until we reach the Mytus system. From there, Farana, and down to Vaynai. It will take weeks. But considering the nature of the galactic conflict brewing, we have no other choice, unless we wish to sit out the war in Remnant Space?"
Seerdon had nearly fallen asleep by the time Telsin had returned the cap of the inker back upon it
"We have the upper hand gentlemen. The Corellians have Mytus under their current control. If the whispers around CEC are anything like rumor, Corellia is preparing a massive re-armament of their sector fleets. A CEC ship, on a Corellian world."
"I wonder about that Doctor." an unconvinced Faber interjected.
Farana System
So desperately close to home, Titanic was torn from hyperspace, some several trillion kilometers from the edges of the Farana System. From the bridge viewports, an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer drifted lazily toward them. Immediately, the communications were abuzz. Captain Faber narrowed his brows, noting no Union or Stygian markings on the vessel, even from afar. The incoming hail was decidedly not friendly.
"Attention. Union vessel ISS-401VNB, this is the Alliance destroyer Mon Mothma, power down your primary systems. You will taken into Alliance custody. Failure to comply will be taken as an act of aggression, and we will respond appropriately."
The call ended abruptly, offering them no chance to respond. A concerned tactical ensign looked up from the command well.
"Captain?"
"Shields up. I'll be damned if I hand any of you over to those scum."
The Mon Mothma gave no second chance, and opened fire, launching bolt after emerald bolt at the much smaller cruiser. The shields held firm. Faber gave the order to return fire, hurtling ruby bolts back at their attackers. The two ships inched closer and closer to one another, Titanic clearly outmatched. Their shield systems began to falter, while the Star Destroyer's were relatively unscathed. Tactical alert noted them of an incoming hyperspace wake, and the crew began to fear for their lives. A darker Star Destroyer emerged from hyperspace, moving forward. It opened fire, curiously, upon the Mon Mothma.
"Captain Faber? This is Admiral Sarek, of the Vaiken. Break away from combat, we are engaging the enemy."
The new vessel showed itself to be the Vaiken-class Star Destroyer, ISD Vaiken. Easily capable of challenging an Imperial II in a straight fight, and with her shields at maximum, the Vaiken pounded the Mon Mothma's shields with turbolaser fire. With the combined firepower of the two vessels, the Alliance ship powered up its hyperdrive, and beat a hasty retreat before it was destroyed. On the two Imperial vessels, tactical alert had been reduced to safe, but they themselves began their retreat, back into Union territory, lest the Mon Mothma return, with a greater force if they lingered.
"Are you awake?" probed a voice Seerdon half-heard, rousing him from his trance-like concentration.
"Hm? Captain Faber. Sorry. I'm a right sorry state aren't I?" he chuckled, sliding his cap back onto his head. Max started pacing feverishly about the deck, inputting command after command into his device.
"You should sleep Max," insisted Faber, scooping up Seerdon's datapad, "it's not healthy to fret like this."
Seerdon frowned, poking his head back up at the standing captain.
"When we're safely home Captain, then I'll sleep."
"Max..."
"Elias... Please. We're several thousand men and women, about as dangerously far from our safe havens as we can be right now. I need to help figure out a way of gett-"
Faber held the datapad out of Seerdon's reach, as he made for it.
"You should sleep, Max. Or at the very least get something to eat."
He nodded.
"You're going to wear down the floor Max. How are you going to explain that to Lord Exolus?"
Seerdon stopped, shooting Faber a strange look, and tossed his hands up in defeat.
"You're incorrigible Elias! Fine! I'll eat, but that's all, you understand?"
"That's all I'm asking."
The mess doors slid open, and in stepped a weary group of engineers. The first of the morning inspection and maintenance crews. The Moff and Captain settled down - the latter suggesting they vacate to the ready room on the bridge.
They entered to find Darth Exolus, sitting with both Telsin Drobin, and a secure holocall to ImpSecCom. Scattered about the table were a series of dated starcharts, and some hand-drawn extrapolations mapping possible and probably hyperspace lanes.
"Gentlemen, I was just about to call you," he began, "early hours notwithstanding. I was hoping I could call on your collective expertise.
Seerdon and Faber both took seats, dragging the etchings and starmaps toward themselves.
"These are hyperspace routes?" queried Seerdon, tracing the lines with a gloved finger, "uncharted territory between systems?"
"That would be one assessment Grand Moff Seerdon, yes," started Telsin, "we have been extrapolating alternative means of returning to Union Space. The Hydian Way presents us a major block, in that we will no doubt be pulled into a waiting interdiction field at every system and buoy along the route."
Faber shook his head at the verbose man, but followed regardless, examining the charts for himself.
"Ventooine is our jump point to... To Mytus? We evaded the Alliance on Oricon Doctor Drobin. Ventooine is the closest major system. Assuming we reach it, you wish to make a blind hyperspace jump toward Mytus?"
"Ah, no. No Captain. Ventooine and her parent star are our point of reference. Cross-reference to be precise. We will be navigating by the orbital positions of the major stars. Ventooine, Telos, and Listehol are the trio of stars that we shall be plotting a new hyperspace lane past. We are roughly halfway to the Maltha Obex System," Telsin continued, pausing only to take a breath. He produced an inker, and a sizable sheet of flimsiplast, "Say Ventooine is here. We will be utilizing small-scale hyperspace jumps until we reach the Mytus system. From there, Farana, and down to Vaynai. It will take weeks. But considering the nature of the galactic conflict brewing, we have no other choice, unless we wish to sit out the war in Remnant Space?"
Seerdon had nearly fallen asleep by the time Telsin had returned the cap of the inker back upon it
"We have the upper hand gentlemen. The Corellians have Mytus under their current control. If the whispers around CEC are anything like rumor, Corellia is preparing a massive re-armament of their sector fleets. A CEC ship, on a Corellian world."
"I wonder about that Doctor." an unconvinced Faber interjected.
Farana System
So desperately close to home, Titanic was torn from hyperspace, some several trillion kilometers from the edges of the Farana System. From the bridge viewports, an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer drifted lazily toward them. Immediately, the communications were abuzz. Captain Faber narrowed his brows, noting no Union or Stygian markings on the vessel, even from afar. The incoming hail was decidedly not friendly.
"Attention. Union vessel ISS-401VNB, this is the Alliance destroyer Mon Mothma, power down your primary systems. You will taken into Alliance custody. Failure to comply will be taken as an act of aggression, and we will respond appropriately."
The call ended abruptly, offering them no chance to respond. A concerned tactical ensign looked up from the command well.
"Captain?"
"Shields up. I'll be damned if I hand any of you over to those scum."
The Mon Mothma gave no second chance, and opened fire, launching bolt after emerald bolt at the much smaller cruiser. The shields held firm. Faber gave the order to return fire, hurtling ruby bolts back at their attackers. The two ships inched closer and closer to one another, Titanic clearly outmatched. Their shield systems began to falter, while the Star Destroyer's were relatively unscathed. Tactical alert noted them of an incoming hyperspace wake, and the crew began to fear for their lives. A darker Star Destroyer emerged from hyperspace, moving forward. It opened fire, curiously, upon the Mon Mothma.
"Captain Faber? This is Admiral Sarek, of the Vaiken. Break away from combat, we are engaging the enemy."
The new vessel showed itself to be the Vaiken-class Star Destroyer, ISD Vaiken. Easily capable of challenging an Imperial II in a straight fight, and with her shields at maximum, the Vaiken pounded the Mon Mothma's shields with turbolaser fire. With the combined firepower of the two vessels, the Alliance ship powered up its hyperdrive, and beat a hasty retreat before it was destroyed. On the two Imperial vessels, tactical alert had been reduced to safe, but they themselves began their retreat, back into Union territory, lest the Mon Mothma return, with a greater force if they lingered.