//------------------------------// // Hit and Run // Story: The Dragon and the Force // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Spike and Katara waited silently by the holo-projector on board Harmony, both of them looking anxiously at it as the seconds ticked by. Other members of the new crew were already preparing the ship, before Spike let out a sigh. “What’s taking them so long? How long does it take for someone to get permission to join a fucking war?” “Patience, master,” Katara smirked. “Didn’t you tell me once that a Jedi should be patient and wait until the time is right to act?” “Yes, I did, but the time to act is now,” Spike pointed out. “We just need coordinates to link up with the fleet and we can go, give us a chance to see what improvements they made to my ship when I was otherwise occupied.” “I kept an eye on her for you, master,” Katara assured him. “Give me a run down on them.” “Certainly,” Katara nodded. “Were placed the old Corellian pattern shield generator with a newer Alderaanian design. It draws less power and creates a more powerful shield, the only downside is its size, technically a ship of this weight shouldn’t be carrying something made for Heavy Cruisers, but the Republic decided risking the new tech on a private warship was better than on one of their own corvettes. We’ve tested it extensively, master. It works.” “Good, anything else?” “Well the engines are still top of the line, faster than most ships in the fleet in theory, we’ve yet to back it up in practice. The turbolasers have all been given an overhaul, new focusing crystals and the like, but the biggest upgrade is the one I’ve saved for last. A mass-driver cannon now runs along the length of the entire ship, rear-loaded, and capable of launching shield penetrating projectiles at speeds of six kilometres a second. May seem slow compared to laser fire, but this thing packs one heck of a punch. Problem is the power drain makes reloading and recharging it slow, and the fact that we have to turn the ship to aim it.” “So we get one easy shot then rely on our other weapons,” Spike shrugged. “In any case it should give Revan and his forces pause when we start pushing back against them. You’ve been keeping up with events in the war I assume?” “Yes, master,” Katara nodded. “I was due to be placed in another fleet in a few weeks to meet the main force head on, but I am glad that I’m here with you now. It’s good to be back aboard Harmony. Atris never let me take her out, something about being a ‘bad influence’ on me, but at least I still got her upgraded.” “None of that matters now,” Spike scowled at Atris’s name. “I’m out, Atris got put in her place by the rest of the council and told to button it, and I get to fight alongside the Special Forces once more. Things are looking up at the moment. Aside from the whole war thing.” “You seem to be taking it really well, master,” Katara pointed out. “I thought when you heard who was leading them you’d be off in a rage.” “Oh I am angry, don’t you worry,” Spike chuckled darkly. “If I see Revan I’ll tear him apart with my bareclaws, but for better or worse he knows me. He and I fought the Mandalorians together at the beginning of the war, he knows my strategies. He will be expecting my anger to trump my common sense and attack him straight on, or he would if he knew I was in charge of a few things. I plan to let him know who’s opposing him when his ships start to burn.” Katara opened her mouth to respond, before the holo-projector flickered into life, Kavar appearing before them, looking at Spike. “Spike, good news, the Republic okayed your command of the Special Forces and reinstated your old rank of General. Apparently Colonel Cortez was perfectly happy to stand aside as the commanding officer in your place. The Special Forces are anchored over Arcadia as we speak, they’re awaiting your arrival.” “Thank you, Kavar,” Spike nodded. “We’ll make Revan pay for what he’s doing, just make sure the council does something in this war, we’ll need everyone we can get this time around.” “We’ll be there, Spike, don’t you worry. Kavar out.” The link went dead as Spike turned to Katara, smiling as he headed towards his old command chair. “All hands, make ready for Hyperspace. Pilot, plot a course for Arcadia, all haste please.” “Aye, captain, course plotted for Arcadia,” the pilot replied, his hands dancing across the controls of the ship. “Warming up the Hyperdrive, moving to system jump point. Ready to jump, jumping in three, two, one, mark.” The ship shot forward on his words, speeding towards Arcadia and the fleet that awaited them there. *** “It is good to see you, old friend,” Spike laughed, pulling Cortez into a hug. “It has been too long.” “Agreed,” Cortez did his best to return the bone crushing hug. “I’m sorry to hear what they did to you.” “Think nothing of it, it wasn’t your fault,” Spike shook his head. “Now come on, we’ve got a war to plan.” “About the war, Spike. Is…is it true? What they say about Revan leading the fleet?” The rest of the room went quiet, the officers on board the Hammerhead that had served as the fleets command ship before Spikes arrival all turning to look at Spike and Katara. Spike let out a sharp sigh, before raising his voice. “Yes. Revan is leading the fleet against us. The man we once served alongside and under has turned his back on everything we are supposed to stand for. He may also have turned other Republic personnel to his cause, including ex-Admiral Saul Karath. If you take away one thing from today, take away this: These men are no longer Republic soldiers. They’ve cast off their oaths, destroying the very thing they helped to create. We were forged in the fire of the Mandalorian Wars, every one of us, now we were have to temper ourselves in a new war. Whatever we do, we cannot let who these animals once were stay our hand, even for a moment. If we do, the Republic we all love will fall.” There were a few murmurs around the room as Spike spoke, but finally the majority of the officers present nodded, Cortez walking over to the planning table, activating a hologram of the galaxy, a thick red arrow pushing in from the unknown regions of space, carving out a section of space either side of it, representing the boundary of the new Sith Empire. Korriban was predictably within the newly controlled space, the ancient Sith home world having been one of the first places to swear allegiance to Revan and Malak unconditionally. “The Sith are pushing for the Core World of Duro, if they take the world they will have a foot in the core and will be able to pour their fleet through the Hyperspace Lanes that lead there,” Cortez started, indicating the map. “We do not have the strength in ourselves to oppose them, that is best left to the Republic Navy itself. We are going to fall back on what we know, fast hit and run tactics, aimed at destroying Sith supply lines and disrupting trade within their new Empire. We did this with the Mandalorians, I see no reason why we cannot do it again.” “Because Revan is in charge,” one of the other officers pointed out. “And I’m in charge here,” Spike countered, leaning forward. “Revan was a great tactician, there is no doubt there, and this new fleet of his may be advanced, but so far he has only advanced down one corridor of attack. I believe he is committing everything he has to this attack, meaning he will have little defence on his trade ships. If we split our forces up, hitting from all angles at once, we can force his hand and make him turn some of his ships back. We can do this, but we need to be committed. We will be operating deep behind enemy lines at times, you need to be able to hold your nerve when pressed. Hold true to the Republic, and she will see you through this. The Republic was formed over twenty thousand years ago, it has been assailed time and time again by Sith, Mandalorians, crazed warlords, and all other manner of beings, and yet it has stood. Revan will not shake its foundations if we stand firm, and we will stand firm because its foundations will not waver. Do you understand?” “Sir, yes sir,” came the unanimous reply. “Good,” Spike nodded. “Now, we must make plans for splitting up our forces quickly, I want to get to grips with the Sith at the soonest possible opportunity. It’s been too long since I killed something.” *** Harmony shot from Hyperspace, five other Hammerhead Cruisers exiting Hyperspace beside her as they bore down on a fleet of trade vessels. Most of the fleet they were moving towards were simple freighters, but more than one were warships, turning towards the sudden interlopers in their midst and charging their own shields. “Analyse the approaching enemy, and get me firing solutions on that capital ship at the front,” Spike ordered from his command throne, before activating his comm system. “Katara, wait until I give you the go ahead, then escort the bombers to the freighters. We’ve got to do this quickly, we don’t want them getting away from us.” “Yes, master,” Katara replied, his Padawan already strapped into her fighter, ready to leave at a moments notice. “Sir, seven Sith vessels have been identified. Weight categories place them as five destroyers, one light cruiser, and one battlecruiser. Targeting trajectories on the battlecruiser are set.” “Let’s show them our new teeth then,” Spike snarled, his lips pulling back to reveal his own teeth. “Spike to all ships, open fire!” The whole ship shuddered as the mass-driver fired, the lights dimming slightly from the massive power drain as the burning orange projectile shot towards the Sith fleet. They were still a hundred kilometres away, but in space terms that was point blank, the projectile moving too fast for the battlecruiser to avoid it. That didn’t stop it trying though, turning to the side to try and avoid the projectile. The shell hit it directly on its side, passing through the shields as if they weren’t even there, before punching through the first layer of the hulls armour. A second later the shell detonated, an explosion ripping through the inside of the ship, its own shields containing the blast. The ship began to list heavily to one side, barely missing hitting one of the destroyers, before its engines flickered out, the lights aboard it dying as the fire continued to spread through the ship. Large sprays of frozen oxygen shot from the ship, allowing the flames to burn in space for a fraction of a second before being snuffed out by the vacuum. “We have a confirmed kill,” one of the bridge crew called. “A few life-pods are leaving the ship right now. “Yes!” Spike roared happily, punching the air as the ship died. “Good shooting. Katara, the battlecruiser is down, all fighters protect the bombers, take out the engines of the freighters, we’ll handle the rest of the fleet up here.” “Yes, master. Good hunting,” Katara replied, her fighter coming into view before Harmony a moment later, avoiding the main Sith battle line and speeding towards the freighters, the few Sith fighters that were deployed from the remaining cruiser quickly being swarmed by Katara and her wing. “Alright stop gawking at the fighter boys,” Spike called out. “Order the Hammerheads Senates Hand and Redoubt to form up in front of us and close to attack distance with the Cruiser. We still have them on the back foot, I want to capitalise on our advantage as much as we can.” Spike lapsed into silence as his orders were carried out, the two Hammerhead Cruisers moving forward, their shields absorbing the Sith fire as best they could, allowing Harmony to approach unmolested. “Alright break off, one each side, let’s give these bastards a proper welcome to Republic Space,” Spike grinned. “Gunnery Chief, get me targeting solutions on their bridge, I want to hit them until their shields drop then cut off their head.” Harmony shuddered as all of the turbolasers fired as one, speeding across the tiny distance between her and the Sith Cruiser and slamming into its shields, just as the two Hammerhead cruisers fired, bombarding the enemy from both sides. The Sith shields went white as they fought to repel the fire being directed at them, before finally flashing brightly and disappearing completely. “Don’t let up, burn their mongrel hides,” Spike snarled, thumping a fist on arm of his command throne. He didn’t really need to give the orders, the turbolasers still firing at max speed, slowly chewing through the ships thick armour. The bridge was the first thing to go, a laser slamming into it, blowing out the glass and exposing it to the void, those inside who survived the initial shot being sucked flailing out into space. Next the engines were destroyed, both of them blowing out spectacularly, the ship catching fire from behind, explosions ripping through the super structure. “Pull back! Now!” Spike ordered. “Helmsman, all ahead back! That things going to blow and I do not want to get caught up in it.” Harmony shuddered as her reverse engines flared into life, pushing the ship backwards, her own internal gravity exerting heavy G-force on the occupants. Never the less she did start to quickly pull away from the stricken Sith Cruiser, the Hammerheads peeling away and heading for the destroyers. A moment later, the cruiser exploded, a for an instant it was like a new star had been birthed in the void, before it was stuffed out, leaving only a few atomised particles floating in space, forming a slight haze, marking the death place of an entire ships worth of Sith. “Take us close to the freighters,” Spike ordered as he stood up. “Prepare the boarding boats we have and signal for the rest of the fleet to prepare their own. Make sure they only deploy their boats when they are sure they will be safe.” With that, Spike left the bridge, heading down towards the hanger. The few marines that Harmony carried were already there, loading into the shuttle that would ferry them to the freighters, while Spike ran his organic hand over his Basalisk, feeling the cool metal beneath his fingers and sighing. He had gotten quite used to flying this now, having practiced extensively after the end of the last war. Most of the war droids had been destroyed per Revan’s instructions, making this quite possibly one of the last of their kind. Only time would tell if the years he hadn’t been able to use it had been kind to his piloting skills. Climbing on, he pulled the one modification he had made to the craft out, attaching a large cable that fed into the droid to a port on his back. As soon as he did so he could feel the fuel of the Basalisk slowly entering his bionics, heating them up, and spreading the warmth across his whole body. The only problem he had flying in space was that it was freezing, and this rectified that problem somewhat. It was still not comfortable, but he wasn’t in danger of freezing to death anymore, and that was good enough for him, the discomfort being a small price to pay to not be forced inside a cramped shuttle. The shuttle lifted off from the deck, edging forward past the hangers ray shields, heading towards the now completely disabled freighters. Spike followed suit, soaring out into space, heading for the closest freighter. As he flew, he saw Katara speed past him, her fighter far outstripping the droid in terms of speed, and Spike could almost imagine her grin, before he landed in the enemy hanger, the Marines already putting down the last bits of resistance. “Report,” Spike ordered as he climbed down from the droid, heading for the Marine captain. “All signs of resistance have been crushed, general,” the man saluted quickly. “We will continue to scour the ship of course, but we believe there to be just non-armed crew now, they are surrendering in droves.” “Kill any who resist, I would not have snakes coming aboard our ships. Put the rest in bonds and get them back to the ships. I also want to know what this ship is carrying. If we can repair the damage we’ve done then we can take the ship home, otherwise take what we can and destroy the rest.” “Aye, sir,” the man saluted again. “Where are you going, if you do not mind me asking, sir?” “I’m going to the bridge,” Spike popped his neck bones. “If there is any resistance left, I think it is likely to be there. I think I’ll have a little chat with the captain. Alone.” “As you wish, sir,” the captain nodded, before turning back to his men. “Alright, squad three, round up the prisoners and get them back to the fleet. “Squads one and two, with me, we’re heading for the holds.” Spike watched the men go, before igniting his Lightsabers. He was eager to ensure that his skill in battle had not left him, and with that thought, bounded off towards the bridge.