Stars of Glory

Chapter One- New Adventures

Admiral Karlon was having a bad day. The Imperial fleet had dropped out of hyperspace around the planet Hoth several hours ago, and preparations were being made to begin dropping the strike force to the planet’s surface. But Moff Karlon and his two ships, the Imperial Star Destroyers Dominance and Enforcer were not to be part of the attack. Lord Vader himself had ordered them to the far side of the planet, there to stand guard in case any of the rebels tried to escape from the fleet waiting for them. Moff Karlon was furious that he was being denied the chance to fight the Rebels, and to remove the scum from the universe.

Admiral Karlon was standing in front of the main view screen looking down upon the planet below, silently praying for a ship to come rising out of the atmosphere. If he had the chance to fire upon but one Rebel ship he would be satisfied. His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion coming from the sensor pit behind him. He turned to find one of the many lieutenants who lorded over the pit walking briskly towards him.

“My lord, sensors indicate a large number of ships in hyperspace. They should be arriving in a matter of moments.” said the lieutenant.
“I did not receive any information about reinforcements. They must be Rebels, come to aid those on the planet below. Sound battle stations, we shall meet them when they come out.” Karlon ordered.

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Khan Karl Pryde stood on the command deck of the jumpship Jade Falcon as it dropped out of hyperspace. He watched as the blur of the stars contracted back into tiny pin pricks of light. The Jade Falcon had been in hyperspace for the better part of a year, part of a large fleet of such ships that had departed the Terran galaxy over a year ago. It had been fifty years since the Inner Sphere had made peace with the Clans. Now they shared power from a united Terra, Comstar settling any disputes that may arise. There had only been one major conflict during this time, when several houses from the Draconis-Combine had tried to spark a war by impersonating members of Clan Wolf. This didn’t go over so well, not once they had attacked holdings of House Davion. What followed was a series of lightening raids against the raiders. As the had been claiming to be from Clan Wolf, they had been turned over to the Clans for trial and judgment. Confessions were quick in coming, and the houses of the Draconis-Combine responsible for the attacks had been annihilated down to the last follower.

Karl watched as the war ships Mars and Jupiter vanished back into real space. The fleet consisted of several dozens of the large war ships, selected for the large cargoes they were capable of carrying. It meant the fleet was capable of carrying all the supplies they needed, dropping out of hyper space for short periods only to distribute food to the smaller jumpships. After a few seconds they became visible again as the Jade Falcon returned to normal space as well. All around them space went from empty to occupied as ships dropped out of hyperspace. Karl turned as the Irina Kerensky, captain of the Jade Falcon joined him at the view port. The screen was filled with the image of the white ice planet below them.

“Its beautiful is it not?” Irina asked.
“It truly is. What do the sensors say about it?” Karl asked.
“Too cold. Temperatures are registering near freezing, with high winds. Atmosphere is good though. It may serve as a home for an out post later.”
“Any signs of life?”
“There is a large cluster of life signs on the far side of the planet, with smaller clusters around it. Possibly some sort of herd animal.”
“Very well then. Onwards Captain. There are many other planets for us to search, and I think your crewman would like a word with you.” Karl nodded towards the man waiting patiently behind them. Irina turned and the man began to speak.

“Captain, sensors are registering two ships of unknown type orbiting the planet below. They have not responded to hails.” The man reported.
“Why was this not discovered earlier?” Irina demanded.
“My apologies Captain, but with the fleet dropping out of hyperspace the sensors were registering contacts too quickly. The ships were not discovered until the summary report.”
“What are the ships doing now?”
“They are currently approaching the fleet at high speed. Sensors show energy spikes in different sections of the two ships. They may be weapons banks.”
“Sound battle stations. All hands prepare for combat.”

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“Sir, the ships are exiting hyperspace. The ships are of unknown design. We have not encountered their types before.” Moff Karlon turned towards the lieutenant who had reported.
“New types of ships? Lord Vader will reward us well for their capture. Order the crews to switch to ion cannons. Use the turbo lasers only if they are needed.” Karlon turned back to the view screen. “It seems the fates are with us today.”

The Dominance and Enforcer broke from their planetary orbit, accelerating towards the ships above them. Reaching the limit of their range their batteries opened fire, spitting bolt after bolt of blue energy at three of the ships above them. The Dominance began to climb away from her sister ship, separating them to widen the field of fire. At such extended range many of their shots went wide, but a few found their targets. Bolts of blue lightening arced across their hulls.

Above, the Jupiter and Mars dove below the Jade Falcon, seeking to protect their small sister. Turning to bring their big guns to bear they unleashed their own weapons upon the two Star Destroyers. Gauss rounds hurtled through space while PPC blasts trailed behind them. Just as with the imperials many of the shots were off, but a few found their targets. The PPC blasts were absorbed by the deflector shielding the two Star Destroyers carried, but the Dominance twisted as several gauss rounds smashed into her hull, their tremendous velocities blunted slightly by the energies of the shields, but not enough to prevent them from punching through the armor into the ship below.

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“Admiral Karlon, the ion cannons are having no effect on them!” The lieutenant reported. Karlon scowled at the man.
“Then switch to turbo lasers you fool! If we can not take them alive, we shall have them dead! Alert the fleet to our-” Karlon was cut off as the ship shuddered from a volley of hits.
“Sir, we’ve just lost communications. Those last hits took out the system generators!” It was one of the lieutenants from the pit. Karlon cursed.
“Fine then, on our own! Bring us between them, we shall take the smaller craft and depart!” Karlon strode back to the main view screen. “We shall have them!” he vowed.

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As the four ships closed on each other the two Star Destroyers switched tactics. As the Dominance veered between the two Clan war ships the Enforcer moved to follow her sistership. The two concentrated fire on the Jupiter, pouring volley after volley of turbo lasers into the ailing war ship. Her armor peeling away under the onslaught, the captain of the Jupiter ordered his ship to break combat. Though it took the guns out of play, it also put fresh armor plating between the Jupiter and her tormenters. The Mars pursued, firing her gauss cannons into the rear of her enemies. The heavy slugs pounded into engine block of the Enforcer, crippling her.

The Dominance was spared further damage as the Enforcer was sacrificed. The Dominance turned its forward batteries on the Jade Falcon, beams of energy lancing out into the jumpship’s engines. There was a flash as the engines exploded, leaving the Jade Falcon trapped on a dead course. The Mars broke off the attack to render what assistance to the Jupiter.

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Irina smashed her fist against the arm of her chair as her ship went quiet, the sounds of the engines no more. She turned towards Karl, who had yet to leave the bridge.

“Launch your dropships. Take them and get away from here. NOW!” Irina commanded.
“No, as Khan my place is here-”Karl began to protest.
“As Khan your place is to lead the Clan. To do that, you must live. Now go!” When it looked like he was about to protest again she raised her hand. “Besides, we shall survive this. We are Clanners of Clan Jade Falcon. We have weathered worse, and shall do so again.” Karl had no argument against this, so he simply nodded.
“Then we shall leave. We shall land the ships near that mass of life forms from earlier. That is where you shall find us.” Karl informed her.
“Aff. Now go!”

Karl raced to the Talon class dropship which served as the base for his command star. The battlemechs had been waiting in storage since the beginning of the journey. Spare parts for modifying them for use in colonizing, but the weapon systems had yet to be removed. After all, weapons grade lasers were excellent for cutting down trees, and missile packs were not much different from the explosives packs used by mining mechs. The pilots had been living on their dropships as well, having no real need to spend time on the larger jumpship.

His own command dropship was joined by four others, bearing the mechs, elementals, and equipment for his command cluster. They each separated from the jumpship, forming into a V formation as they entered the planet’s atmosphere, their hulls glowing cherry red from the friction heat.

From her position on the command deck, Irina smiled as she watched them disappear through the atmosphere. Still smiling she turned to her second in command.

“They are away now. Launch the aerospace fighters.”

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“Admiral Karlon, they are dead in space, and the enemy war ships are disengaging, and the enemy fleet is to far away to engage. What are your orders sir?” the lieutenant asked.
“Deploy the TIEs. Have them shepherd our new prize until we get with tractor range. Then we shall head to fleet.” Karlon ordered.
“Yes sir, right away.” The lieutenant departed to fulfill his orders.
Sir, sensors are reading new contacts from the enemy ship sir! They appear to be launching fighters.” A lieutenant in the pit reported.
“It is too late. Our own fighters shall deal with them.” Karlon smiled as he anticipated this new development in the battle.

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Marcus smiled as his aerospace fighter launched. He had been cooped up on the jumpship for far too long. One of the few freebirth aerospace pilots on board, he had also been somewhat of an outcast. He hadn’t minded, being a loner by nature. It was what he enjoyed about flying, the freedom it gave him. Now he would be able to fly, and not only that, but he would fly in combat for the glory of his clan.

He pulled into his position as the other members of his flight formed up around him. He waited for the flight leader to begin the call.

“Jade Flight this is Jade leader, count off.”
“Jade leader this is Jade 2.”
Marcus smiled as he answered, “Jade leader this is Jade 3”
“Jade leader this is Jade 4”
“Jade leader this is Jade 5”
“Jade flight this is Jade leader. We have go on combat operations. Target is the unidentified enemy ship. Weapons are hot, repeat weapons are hot.”
“Roger that Jade leader. Let us go get some.” Marcus replied.

The aerospace fighters accelerated towards the already damaged Dominance. Before they could open fire they were met by a cloud of TIE fighters as the Defiance launched its own fighters. The TIEs were quicker on the draw, and several fighters from the lead wing exploded as green laser bolts tore through their bodies. Seeing the demise of their comrades the rest of the aerospace fighters broke their formations, each picking a target. With the coordination only achieved through many long hours of training the lead elements fired their first missile salvos. The TIE pilots dodged past the missiles, only to perish moments later when the missiles altered course, homing in on their targets before detonating. Bits and pieces of fighters spiraled through space in the wakes of the explosions. The surviving TIEs broke their formation, flying off to pursue their own individual combats.

It was an intricate dance of death. The pilots on both sides were experienced and skilled, and they quickly took the measure of their opponents. The TIE pilots jinked and juked, but were no match for the far more maneuverable aerospace fighters. The thrusters on the fighters had greater effect then the fields used by the TIEs. Blossoms of fire bloomed all along the battle line, but more of the deaths were suffered by the Imperial fighters then by the Clan fighters. As the TIEs exploded their opponents flew to aid their allies, and More then one pursuing TIE found itself flying into an oncoming missile salvo as its prey flew towards help.

As the numbers altered to favor the Clan warriors, a flight broke off, heading towards the Imperial Star Destroyer. Their first salvoes were aimed towards the visible gun ports, trying to disable the weapons on the massive battle ships. The missiles impacted the heavy shielding of the destroyers destroying themselves against the energy barrier. The fighters peeled away from the massive vessels, only to turn around for another attack run. They began to dodge as the Dominance and Jade Falcon closed to weapons distance with one another, their capital scaled weapons capable of dealing far more damage then the missile carried by the aerospace fighters. Jade Flight ignored the danger to their much smaller ships, choosing instead to pursue the attack against the Star Destroyer. Missiles rained down along the length of the ship, all of them detonating against the shield. As Marcus passed the large structure they had assumed was the bridge, he noticed the large sphere standing next to it. It seemed out of place in comparison to the rest of the ship, which had seemed entirely geometric. Marcus fired of a flurry of salvoes towards the sphere, only to have several of the surviving TIEs move to intercept him. He managed to avoid their attacks, their laser blasts decapitating against the shield, though one pilot followed too close, his ship disintegrating when it collided with the Dominance’s shields. Deciding this meant he was on to something, Marcus decided to alert the rest of his flight.

“Jade Leader this is Jade Three. They don’t want us to hit that sphere. I repeat, they don’t want us to hit that sphere.” Marcus called over his radio.
“Roger that. All Jades, target the sphere. I repeat, the sphere is the target. Jade Two, Jade Three, you two with me. Jade Four, Jade Five, give us cover. Keep those fighter’s busy while we make our attack run.” Jade Leader pulled ahead, and Marcus smiled as he pulled into position. Several TIEs moved to engage the three aerospace fighters, only to find salvoes from Jade Four and Jade Five waiting for them. The missiles easily dispatched the lightly armored TIEs, scattering bits and pieces of their wreckage across space. Jade Leader fired his salvoes mere microseconds before Marcus and Jade Two fired their own salvoes. The missiles trailed in behind each other, Jade Leader’s missiles disrupting the Defiance’s shields just long enough for the trailing salvoes to pass through. The sphere exploded as the missiles smashed into it. The explosion hurled shards of debris into the hull of the Defiance, annihilating several turbo laser batteries as a result. With her shields gone, the Defiance was at the mercy of the Jade Falcon, and the rest of the Terran fleet, which by now had moved into range of the combat. Gauss rounds, heavy lasers, and Arrow IV missiles battered the hull of the Defiance. Explosions rocked the ship as power conduits and energy banks were vaporized in the assault.

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Aboard the doomed Star Destroyer Admiral Karlon watched as the hull of his ships spouted flame, while blue lightning played across its hull. Fierce impacts from missiles and Gauss rounds sent chunks of armor plating and metal structuring spinning off into space. The lieutenant hurried over to Karlon, dodging sparks as a display panel erupted as he passed.

“Sir, we need to evacuate now! Lord Vader must know about this immediately!” The lieutenant cried. Karlon merely shook his head.
“Lord Vader already knows. The deaths of so many will surely be noted by him. As it is, there is no time. Look.” Karlon pointed to the main view screen behind him. He turned, standing at ease, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched.

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Jade flight formed up in front of the bridge, heading in for one final attack against the towering structure. Jade Four and Jade five fired their final missiles first, Jade Four breaking off to the left, Jade Five to the right. Marcus and Jade Two fired theirs next, each breaking in their assigned positions. Jade Leader held his shots to the last moments, pulling up in a gentle corkscrew as his missiles flew on to their targets.

The missiles from Jade Four and Jade Five hit first, smashing into the outer portion of the bridge. The missiles from Jade Two and Marcus smashed into the bridge near the center of the structure, exploding seconds after the first salvoes hit. Karlon watched as the missiles from Jade Leader homed in, the ten missiles spiraling to avoid the nonexistent antimissile fire. They hit the view port in a perfect circle, their detonations shattering the view screen, filling the bridge space with their lethal fires. Karlon was immolated by the fires, a small mercy sparing him the death he would have faced now that the bridge had been exposed to open space. The vacuum tore lose any equipment that had been in the bridge, all the connections having been weakened in the previous attacks.

Marcus turned back around to watch as the Star Destroyer went up in flames. As explosions tore through her hull the Defiance was pushed back by the force towards Hoth below. Soon the once mighty ship became caught in the gravity well of the planet, causing it to spiral into the atmosphere. As the friction from the entry caught, the Defiance began to glow cherry red, the last of her contained atmosphere igniting from the heat. Marcus watched the ship go from weapon of mass destruction to fiery meteor. Marcus watched as it disappeared through the clouds, a small smile spreading across his lips.

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A/N: First, the disclaimer. The Star Wars Characters, their ships, planets, settings, and anything else that George Lucas may have had a hand in creating, does not belong to me. The mechs, Clans, and Inner Sphere titles and references are property of Wizkids and half a dozen others. The only bit of this I actually do own are the mechwarriors themselves. Fortunately, I don’t have any intent to profit from this, so no one really cares.

That said, please review. Any comments, criticisms, and suggestions welcome. Feel free to correct any bit of Star Wars trivia I may miswrite. I happen to be more familiar with the BattleTech universe.