Star Wars: The Price of Loyalty · 8:19pm Jun 20th, 2023
Imperial Defensive Cluster, Balmorran Airspace Defense Zone B
Commander Kannov "Tolge" Tolgen hated his nickname. He hated it almost as much as he hated the situation the Empire was in currently. He and what was left of his forces were guarding a few orbital defense satellites, the ones the blasted Hawkeyes hadn't sliced and turned against them. Yet. And they were expecting Republic reinforcements soon. No, these were not good circumstances; on the surface of Balmorra, the Resistance was pushing back their ground forces and in orbit, the Republic was readying for an invasion. Or "liberation" as the Pubs called it.
They had so few forces to call on, they'd had to recruit mercenaries to help with the defense of Sith-occupied Balmorra. If they hadn't, it wouldn't be Sith-occupied for much longer.
Most of the mercenaries were on the ground, including a few Mandalorian clans hired to do some of the dirtier jobs. They excelled at that and freed up the regular Sith Imperial military to do more important things. But one in particular had joined Tolgen's defensive line just outside Balmorra's orbital perimeter- a bounty hunter that went by the name Marko.
Marko. Probably his nickname. Sounded a lot better than "Tolge" that was for sure, at least to his ears.
"You in position yet?"
"Yes," came the reply, quick and clear. Good. They didn't need any surprises, that was for sure. Marko was in a gunship, a rugged merc model with enough range and firepower to cause problems at a distance. He'd taken up position underneath one of the satellites at the edge of their defensive perimeter. With the way the defenses were set up in orbit, the Republic would have to engage them right here if they wanted to make landfall without being harassed. Marko would ambush them while Tolgen's strike fighters engaged their forces. Between them and the satellite's own defenses, they could fend off the Republic's initial assault and hopefully get some reinforcements from planet side or Imperial Command.
Tolgen gripped the controls of his Rycer, cold in his cold hands. Everything was ready, as ready as it could be for their ambush. He pinged the rest of his squadron and eleven green acknowledgement lights responded to him. He looked at his sensors and saw Marko in his gunship holding position, tucked right underneath his satellite. He didn't like trusting the mercenary but it was just another thing on the list of things he didn't like.
"Heard the Republic made you an offer, Marko. Quite a lot of credits to sabotage our defenses."
"That they did," Marko replied, again, instantly. No hesitation, completely clear.
"And you turned them down, correct?" Tolgen already knew the answer.
"Yes, I did."
Tolgen smiled. "Good man. It's nice to know at least some loyalties can't be bought these days."
"Can't speak for everyone. Mine just has a higher price."
That got a cold chuckle from Tolgen. "Indeed it does. And the Empire will make sure you are well-paid for this job, you needn't worry about that."
"I'm not."
Tolgen was an Imperial Intelligence agent. Not quite a Cipher Agent but a decent Fixer when they needed one. He'd intercepted the communications from the Republic, knew they'd gotten through to Marko's personal comms and that they'd made an offer in preparation for their invasion. For just sabotaging the Empire's satellite defenses, Marko had been offered money enough to buy a dreadnought. Quite a substantial sum, an amount one could live easy on.
Marko hadn't taken a single credit or even replied to the offer. Other mercs had not been so loyal- Tolgen had had to deal with quite a few of them. Captain Rigel at Sobrik, a city on Balmorra's surface had imprisoned at least a dozen mercs, even Mandos who had accepted some quick Republic change for some easy sabotage. An explosive here, cable severed there, misplaced keycard, or just maps and patrol routes of guards and forces, all were useful to an attack group. Hard for the defenders to keep track of it all.
Others had taken the credits but not Marko. Tolgen had checked his accounts and his communications. He would've still been under a great deal of scrutiny from Imperial Intelligence if they had the men to spare, but that was not the case. They needed every body they had and Marko was loyal enough. He'd taken enough jobs, done enough to prove his loyalty to the Empire. Tolgen had heard how effective Marko and his gunship were at the Battle of Kuat, the Lost Shipyards and even Denon. He was still not above scrutiny- nobody was, but it was enough to ease his suspicions now.
There it was- a ping from the sensor buoy. Lots of them. The Republic's fleet was inbound- the first scouting group would be there in a matter of seconds.
"Here they come. Get ready, all of you- for the Empire!!"
"For the Empire!!"
The engines on his Rycer flared. He toggled power them first and got ready for his part in the strategy. Whatever they did, he would react fast and do his best to lead their fighters into range of the defenses and his squadmates. Their position was fortified, they had every advantage. This was it. He checked his sensors one last time.
All his fighters were in position. Marko was in position. The first Republic attack group was moments away from entering the edge of their defense zone. Their fighters jumped in.
And then, Marko's gunship turned. And it fired.
"Shade-Two is down, Shade-Two is down!"
The shot from Marko's railgun vaporized Tolgen's wingman in an instant. Before he could gun his engines, Shade-Three was destroyed.
"Evasive!! Evasive!!"
He gunned his engines, bracing as another railgun shot reduced one of his squadron to atoms. Marko's position was perfect indeed; he had a clear shot at all of them right on their flank.
Bootlicking son-of-a-bitch! He must've taken the money, funneled it to another account somehow, something hidden from Imperial Intelligence. He cursed himself thrice for trusting him, putting his faith in that traitor. He should've kept him planet-side- no, he should've sent him off-world or to a detention center, organized the defense on his own. He could still salvage this situation, though- all he had to do was vape that scum. They still had the satellite defenses on their side.
Except they didn't. Not all of them, at least. As his squadron raced towards the satellite Marko's gunship was perched under, the satellite's remote defensive turrets opened up on them. All the defenses opened up on them. Between the drones, mines and other sentry turrets placed near his satellite, it was almost overkill for one squadron. Of course, they had been expecting to fight off multiple Republic squadrons and had prepared.
Or perhaps Marko had been prepared for them.
Their power was still toggled to their engines, reducing power to their shields. The satellite's turrets ripped through half their squadron and Marko's gunship kept blasting them as they were coming. Half Tolgen's squadron didn't make it to the satellite and the few that did were cut down by the secondary defenses or Marko himself.
Tolgen keyed his comms to Marko's personal frequency. "You scum! You disgusting, worthless, sickening, mud-sucking scum!!"
He flew his Rycer under the satellite and opened up with his laser cannons. Tolgen knew Marko's ship- a K-52 Demolisher, a gunship like that couldn't take much punishment at this close range. His lasers splashed against Marko's shields. The merc had his own power usage toggled for defense, probably switched after the first volley. He could finish him if he got around him and hit him from his own flank.
The satellite defenses were cleared, thankfully, along with the last of his squadron. The remaining pair of wingmen that had made it through the turrets were no match for Marko himself, but now was his chance. Marko's shields were low, his weapon power had to be recharging, he had nowhere to maneuver and Tolgen had position. He gripped his controls tight, teeth gritted as he was about to fire.
Tolgen flew past the satellite, quickly turned around and took aim at Marko's gunship. And then he looked up past the satellite and saw the Republic fleet. The first of the Republic's own gunships fired right at his cockpit.
As Tolgen's own ship was consumed in fire, he hoped that Imperial Intelligence would not use his nickname when they reported his death.
Republic Flagship Gallant, Balmorran Orbit
Admiral Deyessa Massa'Korveyanna thought of shortening her name to something easier, maybe just Dey-Mas, something easy. If only so the reports wouldn't take so long. But when she got to one detail in particular- the taking of a certain satellite defense cluster, she stopped and decided it was important to thank the individual responsible for their success personally.
"Comms, could you ping Mr. Marko, please?"
"Got him, ma'am."
"Mr. Marko, this is Admiral Massa," she said. Sounded pretty good. "I wanted to thank you for your help in the liberation of Balmorra. Our reports indicate you provided much-needed assistance. We're very grateful."
"You're welcome," came his reply.
Admiral Massa watched as his ship flew past their formation, heading away from Balmorra.
She kept him on comms. "You accepted our offer, but you didn't take the money. Why is that?"
A short pause. He answered, "The price of my loyalty is higher than that."
"I see," Massa said. "For what it's worth, thank you."
"Don't mention it." Marko's ship made the jump to hyperspace and the Republic began the liberation of Balmorra. The remaining defensive satellites were all under their control.
Admiral Massa thought it was good to have loyalty, whatever the price.
Hyperspace
Marko let the autopilot take over and leaned back in his chair, thought for a few moments. He looked over to the side of his cockpit, to the chest plate of a Republic armor that hung on the wall. He thought back to the person who had worn it last, the man who it had belonged to, to the person he had never looked in the face when he'd been ordered to kill him. The Republic soldier who had attempted to stop him at the Balmorran Arms Factory, Tempest Squad.
He touched the armor. The price of loyalty was high indeed.
Is this perhaps for a story your making?
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Bit of a short character intro. I might use him in my Dan Vs. crossover, I might use him one of my Star Wars crossovers but I don't know which one he will fit in with yet. Definitely one or the other but I don't know which so I made this a standalone intro. He's supposed to be a foil to Drake, the coffee-loving space pirate.