Chimaera Competition Story (SL Stolle)

SUBMITTED BY: SL Stolle / Epsilon 2-1 / VSD Vigilant
HOLONET REGISTRATION: <JWS4220@aol.com> 
SUBMITTED ON: 2000.05.30

Note from Grand Admiral Daemon: The italicised portion of the text below was composed by LT Raycav / Zayin 1-1 / VSD Stalwart <RayCav13@hotmail.com>. It indicates the default beginning to the run-on component of the Chimaera Competition, which each participant appended onto. 

*****

The Battle

"Sir! The Monarch's hull is breached!" LC Syrtaras yelled across the bridge from the station of a very nervous deck officer. CP Stele cursed beneath his breath.

"Can it reach us before we lose it?" Stele said a silent prayer. He had always liked that ship. Syrtaras looked down at the screen and hit a button.

"Uh, not a chance, but it might be able to get to the Vigilant if it shuts down it's lasers. That would be risky though." Stele's thoughts were interrupted by an explosion and a crash.

"Okay, order it to do all it can to reach them." The captain said, after regaining his balance. Syrtaras saluted and ran to the com center. Stele sighed, then spoke up again. "Have them send a few ships as escorts. Also, tell those frigates to center all fire-power on that Cruiser. We have to get some people out of here."

. . .

Lt Dan rolled to port, then fired and the Z-95 in front of him disappeared in a fiery ball. He snickered to himself and made his Interceptor do a 360 degree spin, then locked on to the next target. Then his com crackled.

"Lt, get your squad over to the Monarch and give it some cover! Don't let it die."

"Yes sir" Dan replied, and switched over to his own channel. "Stolle, Zwib, round up your flights and help me cover the Monarch." Zwibble was the first to reply.

"Um, I think my flight's gone." Dan stared at his com.

"Your kidding. Everyone's dead?"

"Well, um, Mike isn't. He went EV, and now he's back on the Vigilant."

"What about you Stolle?" There was a long silence, and Dan grew worried. "Stolle?"

"I'm here. I think I've got someone left." Explosion. "No wait, never mind. I'm alone."

"Well," Dan sighed. "All Epsilon members, follow me!" He veered off towards the damaged ship.

. . .

Farl Von Janser, Captain of the Monarch, stood in front of the main viewport on the bridge, hoping that his outdated ship could find the strength to reach relative safety in the shadow of the Vigilant.

"Sir!" Janser turned at the sound of one of his officers. "Sir, we've been hit bad! We're losing oxygen, and I'm not sure how much longer we can go on." Janser could hear the despair in his voice. A wave of nausea washed over him.

"Keep going, full speed ahead! We'll not die today!" The officer forced a smile.

"Of course we won't sir." He turned and walked away, shaking his head. Janser felt a tear slide down his cheek.

"Of course we won't." He repeated to himself. Then the viewport exploded in at him.

. . .

SL Stolle let his senses expand as the sights flashed by his cockpit viewport. An X-wing tried to shake him, and then ceased to be as his lasers hit it dead on. Then he noticed a group of signals moving towards the Monarch. He rolled to port and brought the attackers in his sights. A-wings. "Oh crap" he groaned out loud. He knew he would never be able to reach them before they reached their target. He did, however, have a trick up his sleeves. He set a torpedo to explode when a certain command was issued. Then he fired it straight between the A-wings. He waited, and waited, and waited. Then he hit a button. The torp exploded, and shredded the sides of both of the rebel ships. Then they simply veered into each other. Stolle smiled and leaned back. Then something caught his eyes. He had let an enemy torpedo go un-noticed.

Dan could only watch as the front viewport of the ship he was supposed to be protecting explode. Several bodies were sucked out of the gapping hole, and Dan noticed one of them was the captain. He closed his eyes to the carnage, then opened his com.

"Epsilon 1-1 to Monarch! Monarch, come in!" He shouted, hoping someone could answer.

"Epsilon 1-1, this is Monarch, kindly give us a hand." Dan grinned, and flew into escort formation. He saw Zwibble and Stolle do the same. The Vigilant loomed ahead, and he knew that the Monarch would be alright.

*****

The Dilemma

"So let me get this straight" Grand Admiral Daemon paced in his office as he spoke to CL Junon. "We received a distress signal from the Striker and the Vigilant after they were attacked by a fleet of pirate vessels. We denied the request for reinforcements because we were busy here. Then they reported a rebel ship in the area, and then their signal vanished?" Junon glanced at a small datapad in his hand.

"Yes sir. We sent a few scout ships to inspect, and there was nothing. Not even ship fragments. They did find something of interest though." Daemon eyed him.

"And this was...?"

"An area of space similar to this sector. The stars and so forth were visible, but there is a globe of, well, nothing just floating there."

"Is that it CL?" Daemon sat in his chair and put his forefingers on his temples. He did this when he was in his deepest thought.

"Um, yes sir, that would be it..." His sentence was cut off by a sudden buzz. The GA hit a hidden button on his desk and spoke.

"Yes?" The voice that replied was that of Captain "Agony" McDougall.

"Yeah, um, sir, us on the Artamus have found something that you might find extremely interesting." Daemon opened his eyes.

"What did you find CP?"

"Well, I...uh, you need to see this. I cant describe it."

"Can you bring it here?"

"Not really sir."

"Okay we'll be there as soon as possible" He switched off the com and turned towards Junon. "Order the ship to the Heutror sector at once, CL" Junon was already out the door.

. . .

Captain McDougall sat at his desk and studied the holoprojection of what his ship had found.

The door slid open, and he stood as Daemon walked in.

"Okay, now CP, what is this thing I need to see?" The GA sat across from him and stared at him. McDougall stuttered and then spoke.

"Um, well, if you look at the holoprojector, you will see what I'm talking about." He motioned towards the floating image. Daemon glanced at it, and then back at the CP. He raised an eyebrow.

"Um, CP, there's nothing there." McDougall reached over and hit a button. The image turned a reddish color, and a long green line appeared. "A hidden cloaking beam." The GA recognized it right off. "Where is it going?"

"That's the oddest thing. It spans from one side of the nothing orb to the other, that's it."

"Well, where's it coming from?"

"We cant determine it's source, but it seems to be coming from inside the sphere. Other then that, nothing is out of order. Our sensors don't even pick up the sphere." Daemon sat back and put his forefingers on his temples. Closing his eyes, he spoke.

"This is all very strange, CP, but something else takes priority. Have you heard anything of the whereabouts of the Vigilant and Striker, and there respective fleets?" McDougall fidgeted in his seat, and cleared his throat.

"Well, sir, um, that's another thing I needed to speak to you about." Even with his eyes closed, Daemon could sense something was wrong.

"What is it, Agony?"

"We were tracking them via a signal the Striker was sending out, but when we got to the source, nothing was here and the signal had stopped. From our best estimate, the signal had come from the sphere, but that would be impossible." Daemon took a deep breath and released it.

"What time did the signal stop?"

"At the same time that we got here, about 1500." Daemon opened his eyes and looked up.

"Hmm, that's the same time that the Striker reported the arrival of a rebel Loranor class strike cruiser. This IS strange. Contact the Stalwart and tell them to remain wary. Something bad is going on, and I intend to find out what that something is." With that, he got up and walked out of the room, leaving McDougall to his thoughts.

*****

The Conspiracy

LT RayCav smelled the dead body before he saw it. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and put it over his mouth and nose. The smell was still overwhelming, and he nearly gagged. The blaster hole ridden body was in a messy heap on the floor, and RayCav could tell that the man had been taken by surprise.

"Well, well Lyatrab, I guess you can't help us after all." He reached down and, gripping the man's shoulder, turned him over. He reeled back in surprise, as the face that met him was not that of Lyatrab's, but of the head of security. "What the...?" He quickly searched the dead man's body, and came up with a small code cylinder. He pocketed the device and then looked around the room. A desk, a chair, and an empty filing cabinet were all that occupied the small room. This is what confused him the most. There were no other doors, windows, or openings other then a small vent in the entire room. No way for Lyatrab to exit, other then the door that RayCav had been guarding. He walked over to the vent, and looked up into it. It was too dark to see more then a few inches, and it was securely wielded to the wall. Then he heard a noise behind him. He whipped around, and saw... Idanian.

"What's going on in here?" Idanian looked around, and stared at the body. He looked up at RayCav. "Your work?" He asked.

"No, of course not. I waited outside the office, and after four hours, I decided to break in. This is what I found." RayCav gestured to the body. Idanian looked down at the body again.

"Is this Lyatrab?"

"No, he disappeared. This is the head of security, Hanrud Gilff or something. I can't really remember his name. In any case, he's dead, and Lyatrab is gone. There are no exits other then that vent and I..." Idanian interrupted him in mid-sentence.

"Um, what vent?" RayCav pointed to where the vent had been, and looked up.

"What in the Empire? There was a vent there!" Idanian stroked his chin.

"Hmm, well, I don't know what to say to that." Suddenly they heard a noise from out in the hall. They both turned to run out in the hall, and almost ran into the closed door. "Okay, now I know that was open." Idanian said.

"It was more then open, it was half way off it's hinges!" RayCav exclaimed. "Look at the knob! I blasted it into nothing, and now it's in perfect condition!" He grabbed the knob and pulled at the door. "It won't open!"

"Step aside." Idanian took a step back and charged at the door. He slammed into it, and it gave as easily as if it were made of cardboard. "Okay, that's it, we're getting out of here now." He got up and walked down the hall. RayCav ran after him.

. . .

LC Rhys couldn't believe what he was hearing. RayCav and Idanian were standing in front of him, giving a report on what happened that defied belief.

"So then the door just, closed and locked?" He asked skeptically. RayCav nodded his head.

"Yes sir, then when Idanian ran into it, it just gave away like it was nothing. Something weird is going down, and I want to know what it is." Rhys scratched his head and held up a datapad.

"After you two went after Lyatrab, I did some thinking. I knew I had heard the name Lyatrab somewhere before, so I punched into my pad here, and this is what came up." He held it so that the two LT's could see what was on it:

        'Lyatrab:Twi'liken word for Shapeshifter, He who changes his form'

"I think I see what's going on." RayCav said. Just then Rhys's com beeped. He pulled it out and hit the power switch.

"Yes?"

"Sir, we have a bit of a situation. You might want to get back to the ship."

"Okay, we'll be right there." He switched it off, and turned towards his escorters. "RayCav, it'll have to wait. Come with me, both of you." He hurried down the hall towards the ship.

. . .

The nervous EN looked up at LC Rhys and tried look calm.

"Well, what is it?" Rhys asked impatiently. The EN took a step back, and started to talk.

"We got a transmission from the Artamus."

"McDougall?"

"Um, no sir, it was from Grand Admiral Daemon." Rhys let a look of surprise pass over his face.

"What did he want.?"

"He wanted us to look for anything strange, out of the ordinary. He said some strange things are happening, and he wants all of us to stay alert in case anything comes up." He was confused when the LC smiled a bit.

"He wasn't kidding when he said some strange things were happening." Then he turned and walked towards his office, leaving the befuddled EN to think what he wanted.

. . .

Lt RayCav sat across the desk from LC Rhys.

"Okay RayCav, now you can give me your hypothesis on the situation." RayCav shifted in his seat, and then set a data pad with a code cylinder port built in to it, and a code cylinder on the desk. Then he started to speak.

"This code cylinder was found on the body of one Hanrud Gilff, the head of security on this station. He was killed by multiple blaster shots in the upper and lower torso, and one in the leg. There was very little, or no noise, I know because I was right outside the door, and the killer left by unknown means." RayCav stopped and plugged the code cylinder into the datapad. Data instantly started scrolling down the screen. He continued. "As you can see.." He glanced at the data scrolling down at lightening speed. "..um, or not. Well, anyway, this is an encryption key to every code we have used to communicate with the Imperial outpost on this station. That's more then two-thirds of the codes the Empire uses in all it's official communications. Now, when I first saw the suspected murderer, Lyatrab, I thought something was odd about the way he looked. When he disappeared in that room, and when the vent also disappeared, my suspicions started to be confirmed."

"Does this have something to do with what Lyatrab means?" Rhys asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting there. Hold on. Now when you told me that Lyatrab means shapeshifter, I was sure that my theory was true. I have heard about these things. They are called, well, Lyatrab. They are assassins-for-hire, which they are real good at, since they can change their form into almost any inanimate object. I looked into it even farther, and found that Gilff was also working for a group of revolutionist pirates calling themselves the 'Dark Horizon Group'. Now, you have heard about disappearance of the Striker and the Vigilant. 'Dark Horizon' has been known to test cloaking beams and matter compression units.

"As of thus far, they have not been known to be successful. They have a deep hatred of the New Republic, and they're not too found of us either. They have ships with rebel ID's and with with Imperial ID's. I believe that Gilff was about to give over our encryption codes, and somebody did not want this to happen. I haven't ruled out somebody in the Empire, but I doubt it. I've already talked to ISB, and they're looking into it. I'm gonna look into it further, but I have an idea on who might have done it. I'm not gonna tell anything until I'm sure." RayCav leaned back and waited for Rhys' response.

"Well, I see that you've done extensive research in this matter, and I'm glad that you want to look into it further. There is one thing though, and your not going to like it. Investigations are not a Navy matter, and you are not supposed to be investigating at all." RayCav's shoulders drooped and he looked disappointed.

"Well, I know your right, but it's not fair. I really want to be a part of this." Rhys smiled.

"I know you do, and I expect a full report on my desk when this case is concluded." RayCav grinned from ear to ear and stood up.

"Thank you sir!" and he saluted and practically ran out of the room.

*****

The Clash Of The Titans

CP Calcyon stood in front of the holoprojection of CP Stele as they discussed the situation at hand.

"We lost contact with the Chimaera at 1502, just as the rebel frigate Sparrow entered the fray." Calcyon was speaking. "Right before our link was broken, our sensors picked up a strange electromagnetic pulse, and then it was gone. The Sparrow seems to be holding us here, via interdictor-like technology, but we can't find any gravity generators on it at all. Without support, we are suffering severe casualties, and I'm not to sure how much longer we can hold up." Stele spoke up.

"My ship is badly beaten, and if we don't get help soon, we're dead." Just then Calcyon's com beeped. He turned it on.

"Yes?"

"Sir, this is LT Dan. One of my pilots has discovered something you might want to know about."

"Okay, put me through."

"Yes sir." The com crackled as a channel changed, and SL Zwibble spoke.

"CP, as I was strafing the rebel ship, I noticed that the ID changed. I inspected it as best I could, and I found that it's not a rebel ship at all. I'll transmit the info to you." Both Calcyon and Stele wore shock on their faces.

"Okay SL, proceed with the transmission." On his screen, the ID of the Sparrow changed from a green blip to a purple one, and the name changed to the Dark Herald. Also, an insignia of a dark sun coming over a black horizon appeared on the other screen, as the computer identified it as the flagship of the pirate fleet, which it also identified as a radical terrorist group called 'Dark Horizen'. It was shown to be some sort of cloaking/compression beam that led off to nowhere. A look of recognition washed of Stele's face.

"So that's how they're keeping us here. We are not here at all. I've looked into this kind of thing before. We're stuck in a kind of man made limbo. Set your com to 12.65.91 and shoot it off in a pulse transmission. Tell the rest of the fleet to assemble at our coordinates. Then send a ship with a large bomb to blast the tip of the Dark Herald. Then, everything should be okay." There was an explosion, and Stele's image blinked off.

"Stele? Stele, are you alright?" The com buzzed.

"Yeah, I'm alright. They just knocked out the holotransciver on my ship."

"Okay, good. I'm gonna do what you said, okay?"

"Okay, do it." Calcyon ordered the command and he spoke into the com.

"All Imperial ships, I repeat, all Imperial ships, come in. If possible, come to the following coordinates." Then he entered their location. Then he sat and thought about who he should send on this near suicide mission of blowing the front of the enemy flagship. Just then the com crackled as random pilot chatter pushed it's way through the channel. It was SL Stolle's voice.

"WooHoo! I am the greatest!" Calcyon stared at the com and smiled. He hit a button.

"Stolle, report to the docking bay for a new assignment." Then he got up and headed for the docking bay.

. . .

SL Stolle sat in his Interceptor and waited for the techs to finish loading the bomb. He was not happy about what he had to do.

"CP, if this kills me, I'm gonna sue you for all your worth." Calcyon waved at him from below and smiled.

"Stolle, if this kills you, I wont care who sues me. I'll be too damn happy to care." His voice came over the com. Then he gave the thumbs up and walked of laughing at his joke. Stolle grumbled a response, and got ready for anything.

. . .

Back on the Chimaera, GA Daemon stood looking out of the main bridge viewport. Then CL Junon came up behind him, and Daemon turned around to face him.

"Sir! We received a garbled transmission from the Vigilant!" Daemon spoke.

"Really? Where in the blazes are they?"

"I'm not sure, but they requested that the fleet assemble at these coordinates." He handed Daemon a datapad. Daemon looked over it, and then looked up.

"Well then CL, we had better hurry to get there." Junon saluted and hurried off.

. . .

LT RayCav walked up to LC Rhys and handed him a datadisk. Rhys looked at it.

"What's this?" He asked, and RayCav smiled and stepped aside, allowing a full view of the person standing behind him. It was Lyatrab. He stepped up and bowed.

"This disk," Lyatrab started, "is my full confession on the murder of the head of security." Rhys looked down at the shorter man and started to speak.

"You turned yourself in?" He asked.

"Yes. Let me explain. For years I have been an Imperial loyalist, always doing what I could to help with their cause. I had come across the information that the group 'Dark Horizon' was planning on trapping and destroying several Imperial ships, and using there new cloak/compress technology to do it. They were going to use satellites with the cloak/compress units on them to cloak an entire sector as a distraction. Then, they would find an area with the most ships in it and trap them. They were then going to disable the ships, and download any and all info on them.

"They knew that the info would be encrypted, so they contacted one of there plants within the Empire to steal the encryption codes they would need. I caught him just before he left to send the data. He attacked me, and I killed him. Then I noticed the LT waiting outside the door, and I wasn't sure if he was a security officer or not, so I shifted into the first thing I could think of. A vent. I attempted to leave as the two LT's were talking, and they noticed, so I became the hinge on the door and held tight. When I saw the other man charge the door, I let go, and as he was stunned, I got out of there as fast as possible." With that, Lyatrab stepped back.

"Well, then I need to thank you for your help. You might have saved the Empire." Rhys stepped up and shook his hand. "You do understand that I'll need to keep you here until further questioning can happen?" Lyatrab nodded his head, and was escorted off by a pair of troopers. Rhys turned to RayCav. "Good work LT." RayCav's smiled widened, and he bowed.

"Thank you sir." And he walked off after the troopers. The com beeped, and Rhys hit the button.

"Hmm?" It was Daemon.

"LC, relay to the CP that we need you to come to the coordinates 29.45.36, and do it quickly."

"But sir, we are not fully repaired yet. We're only at 92%."

"Good enough, now do it." And the com went dead. Rhys went to tell the CP.

. . .

SL Stolle could see the immense frigate in front of him, and he hoped it wouldn't be that last thing it saw. SL Zwibble was providing cover for him, he was glad for that. Sometimes a laser of torpedo would com a little too close though, and those were the times that he cursed his life. As he grew nearer, his targeting HUD turned yellow, and then turned red when he got a lock, though he didn't dare fire yet, as the slow moving bomb would be easy pickings for a Headhunter. Then Zwibble had things cleared up. He fired the bomb, and pulled up and went as fast as possible in the other direction. Zwibble did the same. Even though he was a fair distance away from it when it struck home, he could still feel the impact. For a second, all his readouts went crazy, and then returned to normal. The stars shimmered for a moment, and then the Imperial fleet came out of nowhere, and instantly hundreds of fighters came pouring into the fray. The Chimaera personally went up against the Dark Herald, and in minutes, the battle was over. Any pirate ships that ran didn't make it very far. Stolle breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.

. . .

GA Daemon stood and made a toast to all that had help save the Empire, including LT RayCav, Lyatrab, CL Junon, LC Rhys, LT Idanian, LT Dan, SL Stolle, SL Zwibble, CP Stele, CP Calcyon, and of course, himself. They partied for hours, and when it was finally over, Daemon retired to his personal chambers. He sat and put his forefingers on his temples and closed his eyes. He couldn't shake these feelings of dread that he felt. He didn't know why, but he felt that this situation with "Dark Horizon" was far from over. He realized why he felt this way, and it shocked him. He, Grand Admiral Daemon, Supreme Commander of the entire Galactic Empire, right hand man to Emperor Palpatine himself, was, for some reason, afraid.

Not The End