Conspiracy in the Stars

SUBMITTED BY: LT Pavz / Kappa 1-1 / VSD Striker
HOLONET REGISTRATION: <PAVZ99@aol.com> 
SUBMITTED ON: 2000.03.12

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. 

*****

        All was quiet as GA Daemon sat comfortably at his desk. The only sound to disturb this silence was the hissing of the automatic door as CL Junon entered the room, just as the Grand Admiral had asked. He had several maps laid across his table, all detailing several nearby sectors. The Admiral was holding one in particular, the map detailing the sector the Chimaera was now located in. It was this map that the Admiral was mostly concerned about. He laid the map in front of the CL and stretched it out before the two of them.

        “Interesting sector, isn’t it?” asked the GA. “We have scanned this sector over and over, and nothing.” The GA seemed unusually casual this moment.

        “I have talked about it with the Chimaera’s chief navigator several times before, and we still haven’t come to a conclusion.” The specific lack of “something” the two were talking about was infact a literal meaning; there was no star systems, no nebulas, absolutely nothing within this sector. “Sir, I suggest having the Artemis come at once, it’s TIE scouts would perhaps be of use to us.”

        “Very well, then, captain. Send the Artemis at once.” The GA then turned back to his seat.

*****

At the Heutror sector:

The VSD Stalwart had been docked for repairs. Meanwhile, the ship’s two Lieutenants, Idanian and RayCav, along with LC Rhys, were interested in one of the inhabitants onboard this remote station. As the two LTs escorted the LC down the long corridors along the promenade, they were confronted by a very mysterious and dark looking stranger. He had introduced himself as “Lyatrab.”

        “May I interest you in some spare hydrospanners?” the mysterious figure pulled out his cloak to reveal some rather rusty hydrospanners, amongst other various pieces of junk.

        “No thanks,” replied LC Rhys, “but we are interested in some information you may be able to provide.”

        “Ah, perhaps there is something I can provide you with after all!” The mysterious figure then proceeded to race across the promenade in a single, quick action. At that moment, a suspicious look occupied the LC’s face. “RayCav, go and follow him! I want to know what he is up too.”

        With a slight nod, the LT proceeded to do as ordered. He managed to chase the darkly cloaked figure down some long corridors until he witnessed the man enter a dilapidated room. Seeing as he had not been detected yet, RayCav decided to remain until the figure had returned.

*****

Aboard the VSD Striker:

The force of the explosions began to rock the office of Captain Stele. He was nearly knocked off his feet when LC appeared.

        “Sir, Omicron and Kappa have been launched, they are making their strike, although LT Pavz reports in heavy causalities. He recommends additional support.”

        “Fine then, order the Cavalry to launch its fighters in support, but have Monarch and Protector continue to have theirs cover the fleet. Go ahead and send in the frigates into battle.”

        The Striker’s sector group had come under attack by pirate forces. One of their dreadnoughts had all ready collapsed the Monarch’s shields, forcing the VSD to withdraw, leaving its starfighters behind to help cover the fleet. LC was continuing his battle report, “Sir, the Vigilant reports in that it’s doing the best it can to help, although the Stalwart’s in dry-dock. ISD Chimaera reports in it’s too busy in another sector.”

        Just then, an R-41 Starchaser blew out the Monarch’s sensor globe.

        “Sir, the Monarch reports that they will have to enter hyperspace, otherwise, they face destruction. However, if they do so, they’ll leave their starfighters stranded.”

        “Looks like they really have no choice. Order them to hyperspace.”

        “Sir, looks like we’ll have to belay that order after all. A Loranor-strike cruiser like interdictor has just entered the area, identifying itself as Sparrow. It has a Rebel ID signature!”

*****

At the Heutror sector:

        LT RayCav had been waiting for nearly four hours, and began to grow inpatient. Worse still, he had grown sick of the recent smell permeating from the man’s office. After a while, he decided he could stand no more, and broke into the office. Taking his blaster, he aimed with precession at the doorknob and fired. The old-fashioned doorknob-equipped door lost its operating device and immediately swung open from the force of impact, revealing a dead, cloaked body and a bloodstained floor...

RayCav’s hand instinctively went to the blaster at his hip. He fingered the pistol grip, eyes darting around the inside of the dark room. He reached for the comlink:

"Keiran, this is RayCav… Something’s happened to—"

Someone charged out of the shadows at the Lieutenant. He drew his blaster, but was thrown to the ground before he could aim it at this attacker. The assailant fell on top of him; the blaster fell out of RayCav’s hand and scattered across the cold steel floor. The attacker, having caught the Lieutenant off guard, landed several heavy punches on RayCav’s face, stunning him. The figure leapt off RayCav and ran towards the far corner of the room where the blaster was. RayCav, regaining his senses from the ambush, got up just as the man reached the blaster and picked it up. The man clumsily began fumbling with it. RayCav saw this hesitation and dashed towards the intruder, his fist meeting the man’s jaw with a sickening crack. The man stumbled back and RayCav swept his leg through the attacker’s, sending him to the floor with a thud. The bloodlust came over the imperial Lieutenant, as he dove upon his attacker and struck him with several powerful blows before he came to his senses. He heard a voice crackling over the comlink:

"RayCav, Lieutenant RayCav! Come in! Are you ok? It’s Keiran, answer me. RayCav!"

RayCav sighed and got off the now unconscious figure on the floor. He picked up his comlink, "Keiran, I’m here. A bruised ego, but otherwise, I’m ok. Come down to Level 6, section 4, corridor 22. We’ve got a problem. RayCav out."

"I’m on my way," Keiran acknowledged.

The two lieutenants searched the room diligently, and all they found was other than the dead body unconscious man and the hydrospanners that Lyatrab had tried to sell them before. Other then that there was only a few things to eat and trivial personal possessions. The two Squadron leaders decided to take the attacker back to the brig aboard the dry-docked Stalwart before they reported the incident to the Imperial Security Bureau. They would only conduct a superficial investigation of the murder anyhow – Lyatrab was a nothing as far as the Empire was concerned; he wouldn’t be missed.

*****

Meanwhile, on the Chimaera, Grand Admiral Daemon was pacing in his office, deeply in thought. The pneumatic doors hissed open and the ship’s commander, Line Captain Junon, entered and greeted Daemon with a sharp salute. "Sir, the Artemis has just arrived. What orders shall I give them?"

"Have them send out their scouts and conduct a very sensitive scan of the area. I want no square meter within this sector that we don’t know about! Also, have them report in every hour, on the hour." Junon nodded and exited the office.

Daemon sighed and sat behind his desk, taking out the last report of the system. "One Class two comet and thirty-seven particles of space dust," he read aloud. He shuffled the papers and examined another report. Rebel warships and supply ships had been seen on courses to this point outside the outer rim of the galaxy for the past year and a half. They had been arriving regularly at this point every 3 weeks or so, and Daemon had taken it upon himself to scan the area, but when he arrived – nothing. Damn, he thought, where the hell is everything? He shook his head. Well, he had gotten here slightly less than three weeks after the last rebel ships had been sighted heading here. Hopefully he’d get to see some action before this mission was over. Daemon closed his eyes and lay back in his armchair, deep in thought.

*****

"Port batteries are being hit hard!" the ship’s tactical officer reported. The ship shook violently as it was being hit with the pirate’s weapons. "Shield’s at 31 percent, Omicron and Kappa’s have lost a flight each!"

Stele narrowed his eyes as he stared at the tactical display. A sparkle of excitement shown in his eyes, one that existed only in the heat of battle. "Send damage control teams to sections 4 and 6! Lieutenant, make a course for that Sparrow, full speed! Comm. officer, patch me through to the fleet."

"Aye, sir," the nervous sub-lieutenant nodded and punched a few buttons. "You’re all set, sir."

"Lepidus, get your subordinate ships and cover the Monarch! I’ll have your hide if we lose that VSD! Calvary, you and your strike craft head for the new Loronar-class, swinging right. Protector, you do the same, swinging left. I’m going to plow through the middle. Frigates, corvettes, and everyone else, provide cover fire! We’re winning this battle!"

"Pavz, Kreed, how’re you doing?" Stele said through a direct link to his two squadron leaders.

"Ok," Kreed reported. "We’re taking out more of them then us"

"Our squad would be faring better if we had Scimitars, sir. These things are not too maneuverable," Pavz told him.

Stele smiled. "I’ll check into that if you get back…"

"IF? Thanks for having faith in me, sir," Pavz quipped, chuckling. I’ll show you what these things are really made of! Pavz out!"

The older, calmer Lieutenant Kreed’s voice buzzed in: "Don’t worry sir, I’ll cover his ass."

"Godspeed, Lieutenants. Give ‘em hell for me," Stele beamed with pride at the enthusiasm of the two lieutenants. Yet another impact explosion rocked the bridge, and Stele settled into his seat, coolly taking control of the battle situation again.

*****

Keiran and RayCav stood side by side as they finished their report to the command officers aboard the Stalwart, Captain Rhys Von Pohl and Lieutenant Commander Estat Polanski. "After searching the entire room, we only found this on him," Keiran handed over a small bloodstained dagger.

The captain stroked his chin. "Interesting, lieutenants. Let’s see that prisoner. Has he been interrogated yet?"

RayCav shook his head as the four officers got up and proceeded to the ship’s brig. Entering, they found a strongly built, of slightly overweight man lying on the uncomfortable metal cot in his cell. Rhys gave a signal to the security officer, who took down the force field that was surrounding the prisoner.

Polanski turned to his commander with a happy ‘sense of duty’ in his eyes. "Can I question him now sir?"

The Imperial captain nodded and motioned for everyone to leave the room. Polanski remained, a smile threatening to turn up the corners of his lips…

*****

Nothing had happened in the 48 hours that the Chimaera had spent in the empty region of space. The Grand Admiral took a deep breath as he paced the observation deck aboard his ship. Line Captain Junon stood bye, watching their superior and trying to solve the dilemma himself. The officers snapped out of their trance as the double doors hissed open in the far end of the room. Captain Agony stepped into the observation deck and gave a salute. "Captain Neil McDougall, reporting as requested, sir."

Daemon motioned the attending officers to join him at a table. The three leaders sat down and began discussing the current dilemma. "You have something to report, Captain?" the Grand Admiral asked Agony.

McDougall nodded. "Yes sir, although it’s not much." Daemon signaled him to continue. "Our scans conclude that there is still the class two comet and thirty-eight, not thirty-seven particles of space dust in this sector."

The Grand Admiral snorted in disgust. It was as if they came out here to investigate nothing. However, his instinct told him something was indeed taking place in this "empty" region of space…

*****

RayCav and Keiran were in the pilot’s bar, trying to find a solution to the conspiracy that they had become so deeply involved in. RayCav sipped at his lomin ale and turned to his fellow lieutenant. "What do you make of it, Kieran?"

Keiran shook his head. "I dunno, but we should get going soon. The Stalwart is near done with repairs. We might be called out soon."

RayCav nodded in agreement. "I have a feeling this has something to do with what’s been happening with the Chimaera lately. It—"

"Lieutenant RayCav and Keiran, please report to the Captains office immediately," the Captain’s voice fizzled over their comlinks. The two officers shot knowing glances as they finished their drinks and sauntered out of the bar.

*****

"Sparrow’s at 52% hull, we’re at 69%!" The tactical officer informed Stele. Kappa and Omicron report heavy casualties, but most of the pirate fighters have either been destroyed or withdrawn. The Cavalry and Protector have all turbolasers trained on the Sparrow, her hull should be going critical soon!"

Captain Stele smiled at the news. The pirates had already lost a dreadnought, two frigates and several corvettes, in addition to the dozen or so starfighter squadrons his subsector group had made short work of. He had lost about 4 squadrons of his own fighters, and two corvettes, and he desperately hoped he could get this loronar cruiser out of commission, so that the Monarch, now at 13% hull, could flee to safety. He wrung his hands together, knowing it was only a matter of time before the pirate warships started fleeing – some already had – and so he could close this seemingly endless campaign. He knew his career was coming to a close, and this battle would be his last. He would have finally conquered the Silver Blade, the main pirate force that had been harassing this sector for the last decade, and he was happy. He did not, however, want to lose that VSD under his command…

*****

So far the two captains and grand admiral had not been able to come up with any solution. "What if they used this as a rendezvous point with a pirate group or another black ops affiliation?" Agony was suggesting. "I think they—"

"Sir, our probes are reporting massive energy spikes within the vicinity," Lieutenant Commander Priyum reported in. "Sir, there appears to be…" His voice was lost in static as the officers in the observation lounge rushed to the window.

They gazed outside in amazement as a hole in space just started to appear. Magnificent blue and red beams of light sliced through space as an immense whirlpool of lights appeared out of nowhere and opened up about 200,000 kilometers off the Chimaera’s port bow. Captain McDougall gasped in excitement. "I never thought these existed… A wormhole." His jaw dropped in amazement.

Junon and Daemon exchanged glances between each other. They were silently thrilled by the brilliant display of colors before them. Suddenly a frigate exited the wormhole, escorting a small convoy of cargo ferries. "Commander," Junon called through his comlink, regaining his alert battle sense. "What’s those ship’s ID signature?"

"Rebel," Junon replied.

*****

Keiran and RayCav were full of anticipation as they entered Rhys’s office. They gave casual salutes. "What’s the word, Cap’n?" RayCav asked.

Seems you’re instincts were right, Lieutenant. He did have something to do with the Chimaera happenings after all. I’ll let Polanski brief you further."

Polanski explained to them how Lyatrab had been a smuggler for the pirates in the subsector, and how he was suspected to be an informant to the Empire. He had recently found out about the operations going on in the sector where the Chimaera was. The assassin, named Excrantor, had been sent to kill the snitch before he had told anyone. Although the assassin himself was kept in the dark about the details, he knew it had to do with a large fleet massing somewhere outside the outer rim.

"The captain has arranged for us to meet with the Chimaera in a few days, once we’ve finished repairs. As for now officers, get some sleep. You’ll need all your energy to fill out a report early tomorrow." Polanski smiled as the lieutenants groaned. "Dismissed!"

*****

Stele sighed as he scanned the battle scene displayed on the holoprojector in front of him. The last of the pirate ships were in flames or fleeing. He lay back in his captain’s chair on the bridge and smiled. "Good work people. All ships please report in to me with your kill and damage status. Then you’re free to go back to your bases for repairs." The captain felt as if he had to say more, but there were no other orders to give.

*****

Daemon strode onto the bridge, beaming with pride. His crew had captured the frigate and cargo ferries expertly and they would now know about the wormhole. Rumor was that a rebel fleet was gathering on the opposite side. And he knew just how he would handle it.

*****

The Stalwart unlocked its docking clamps and pulled away slowly as its sublight engines roared to accelerate. It was heading for a rendezvous with the Chimaera, as was the Striker, the battered Victory-Class Star Destroyer she was escorting. The two massive ships exploded into hyperspace, disappearing in a bright flash of light.

*****

Daemon held a conference with all the superior officers involved with this conspiracy. "Who would have known we would all be involved in this devious plot by the rebellion?" Daemon began. "Captain Stele, I commend you on your exceptional direction of your subsector group during the battle with the Silver Blade. Excellent job helping the Monarch survive." Stele beamed with pride at the supreme commander’s compliments and nodded solemnly. Daemon continued: "Captain Rhys, Lieutenant Commander Polanski, Lieutenants Keiran and RayCav, thank you for your swiftness in solving this dilemma. As for all of you, I’m sure no one knows the whole story, so I’ll let Junon fill you in on that one…"

Junon cleared his throat. "Well, the pirates were protecting a shipping route for the rebel supply ships and were also allied with the massing rebel fleet on the other side of the wormhole. Lyatrab, a smuggler for the pirates, found out about this plan and was going to inform the Empire, but his life was cut short by an assassin. Now for the main part: a large rebel fleet consisting of two Mon-Cal MC90 Cruisers, seven MC80 Cruisers, and two dozen assorted frigates and corvettes, along with various attack, escort and supply craft. They are all on the other side of the wormhole. Our problem is this: how do we keep them there without going into a major battle. We would lose a significant amount of ships battling a fleet of this size, and we would not like to risk this. Any suggestions?"

Captain Stele raised his hand. "How about collapsing the wormhole? Then they’d be stranded far away."

"Couldn’t happen, we don’t know much about it," Agony replied.

Keiran and RayCav were whispering to each other at the far end of the table. "Would you like to share something with us, Lieutenants?" Junon asked.

"Er, umm…" they stood up. "What about laying an extremely large minefield around the wormhole? It would ambush any ship that tried to come out. We could always include a monitoring station nearby, perhaps a moderate space station in case anything significant happens. Also, we should have constant minelayers ready, or make the mines self-replicating, so as to constantly have enough firepower to reduce an attacking rebel force to scrap metal." Everyone was quiet when the lieutenants finished relating their elaborate idea.

"That just might work…" Agony started. "In fact, it’s brilliant!" He jumped out of his chair.

"Fine then, it’s settled," Daemon ended. Agony, you will be in charge of preparations for the wormhole minefield. We have three weeks, is that enough?" The Recon captain nodded. "Stele, Rhys, keeps your ships here on until everything is completed. Have the Stalwart’s fighters fly patrols while the Striker makes repairs and recovers from the battle." He turned to all officers in attendance "Gentlemen, you all have done a superb job. You will be commended. Dismissed!"