Acts of State by COL John T. Clark Winner of the RtF 2016 Fiction Bonus Comp! (Note: This fiction assumes the events of my RtF 2015 Fiction "Plausible Deniability" to have taken place. Though it's not terribly important, for the full 'reading pleasure' find the start of the storyline in my Karana Initiative Fiction "Void Hammer".) With a slight shudder the TIE Phantom found its resting place in the makeshift cradle on the old asteroid base. Slowly Colonel John T. Clark powered down all systems, finally disengaging main power and opening the hatch. The ladder they had brought didn't really fit as well as those aboard the Hammer, but well, the base was supposed to be clandestine and not luxurious. The post-flight checks took a little longer than usual, but the guard complement of Storm troopers had improved their deck-crew skills considerably in the past couple of weeks. ------- "Thus the Republican Senate -- by a wide margin - accepted the bill that shall now be known as Prisk'ia's law." The blonde HNN newscaster gave the camera a big smile and turned to the human sitting next to her. "Minister Granger, you have had a large hand in passing this bill into law, and you have been one of the most outspoken critics of -- what you called repeatedly -- an unsustainable appeasement policy towards the smaller Imperial Factions." Coming into full view the middle aged men -- dressed in an immaculate suit - nodded affirmingly, and started his -- obviously prepared -- speech: "Through their actions, the smaller factions of the Imperial remnant have repeatedly shown that they are not ready to be a reliable party for a serious peace treaty. Especially the so called Emperor's Hammer -- and it's use of weapons of mass destruction against a minor pirate threat - has clearly shown that the Republic has offered the Olive Branch long enough.", Granger gave a state manly smile, "With the passage of Prisk'ia's law we are finally able to put the full might of the Republican Navy behind an economic blockade, and either a peaceful surrender of this dictatorship or a regime change by force. Furthermore we..." Colonel Clark switched of the Holonet transmission and shook his head. He had read the ISB reports about the Baradium plot from half a year ago. The findings had been clear: a faction of the Republican Senate, and obviously members of government, had orchestrated an incident involving Baradium bombs. Clark's ISB contacts had been very graphic in the description of the punishment received by those directly responsible. Unfortunately it had become quickly apparent, that there had been a further line of consideration from the plotters. Shortly after Oktra Prisk'ia's death had been officially declared an 'unfortunate accident', rumours had been pushed into the Holonet, claiming the officer accidently killing her had been an Imperial sleeper agent. This kick-started the weeklong campaign of a radical wing in the Senate, pushing for military action against the largest 'independent' Imperial factions. Mon Mothma's war-weary government had fought hard to avoid direct confrontation, at the price of admitting several of the 'Hawks' into government. After a brief respite one of the Deputy Ministers for Defence, Horatio Granger, had started pushing a resolution based on economic warfare. The Senate debate had been furious, and had lasted weeks, but in the end most Senators felt that it was better to grant the dog a -- metaphorical - bone, than to risk further turmoil for the embattled Republican Government. John's COM chimed, and he was not surprised to see Admiral Dempsey setting up an emergency meeting right away. This was going to be interesting. ------- Clark hardly stifled a yawn as he pattered along the long empty corridor. They had drawn straws, and Flight One had lost, getting the quarters furthest from the mess and closest to the sanitary tract. At least he had been able to 'enjoy' a freezing cold shower before breakfast. He paused to check the operations log, posted on the door to the biggest non working area of the base. As scheduled Major Berkana was on main patrol, with Commander Starfire being on back up while CM Arkson was on CAP stand by in Major Fenn's TIE Advanced. John shook his head, as he filled up his plate with re-hydrated eggs and grabbed some strangely translucent coffee. The base really needed that supply flight -- or some decent loot - soon, or he'd have to start recruiting Zero-G troopers fly Combat Air Patrols. "All systems nominal, drives recharging for the next jump.", the young man turned to the Twi'lek on the Captain's chair. "I still believe we're too far of the trade route to be safe, both the Reps and the Hammer will try to take us out..." 'Captain' Ordro Manga smiled at his new navigator: "That's why I hired these expensive mercenaries to cover us.", the Twi'lek stood and reassuringly put his hand on the man's shoulder, "Besides we'll be gone in less than ten minutes." Just as he was about to turn back, a fireball filled the forward screen. "Tallyho, scumbag!", Phoenix Berkana shouted into his helmet. Three more A-Wings to go, these mercenaries were some of the easier kind. He pulled the spectre that was a TIE Phantom into a tight turn and another short burst of the quintuple Lasers turned another aging fighter into an expanding cloud of gas. That was finally enough warning for the other two 'expert pilots'. Their plan was simple: Run and leave the stupid Bulk transport behind! Ordro Manga was aghast as he tried to make sense of what was actually happening. There was not a peep on the scanners and his escorts had not only simply exploded but had turned tail to flee. Not that it had been much use to them, as they now also filling the void of space on a molecular level. Ordro virtually leapt from his chair as the COMs speaker suddenly sprang to live: "Bulk Transport 'Rylothian' you are in a restricted area and are a valid prize as established by interstellar law.", a voice announced, "Open the commander channels of your NAV-computer or be destroyed.", one could clearly hear some delight in the voice, "You have thirty seconds to comply." Major Berkana stood next to his CO and watched the 'Rylothian' jump to light speed from the asteroid base's command centre. The transport had been carrying large amounts of rare foodstuff from the Mid Rim and had been heading deeper into the Galaxy to find a buyer for the exotic wares. Coincidentally the long overdue supply vessel had arrived while Phoenix had been away on his mission. Now they not only had restocked the galley but could also bring their Squadron up to strength again. ------- "And he's through!", General Coranel Both checked his scanners. The Republican ambush had occurred surprisingly deep inside Emperor's Hammer space. Apparently the NR task force had not expected an Imperial II class Star Destroyer to respond within minutes of the engagement. The enemy Interdictor had been easy prey for Beta's heavy missiles. While the Hammer's main goal had been to shield the small convoy of transports, the engagement was now turning into a complete rout of the enemy. With the last transport jumping in to Hyperspace, the coast was clear for some real combat. Both's computer showed his second flight finally leaving the hangar. The Missile Boats had just returned from a long range patrol, and had been fitted with a scanner payload, which was now hastily replaced by proton torpedoes. "Flight two, engage the fat boys, and target their drives. The rest move out for a sweep and cover!" Colonel Clark watched the engagement from the Hammer's CIC. He had been on his way to Admiral Dempsey when the frantic call for help had come. When the last modified frigate succumbed to a torpedo volley, the Admiral gave a last couple of orders and encouragements and then motioned the Colonel to follow her. With a hiss the doors of the Commodore's quarters closed behind John, and the Admiral sat on her chair behind the big desk. PADs and report forms filled the wooden behemoth, and a small hologram of the EH's border regions floated on the top right quarter of the table. "Actually, this is a very good example of why I asked you to this meeting, John.", the Admiral began and motioned her Colonel to take a seat across her 'workday mess'. "We simply can't continue to be the fire-brigade for the whole sector and at the same time Woody had made absolutely clear that the High Admiral is not exactly keen on a full blown war." Dempsey fumbled around her desk and finally found the PADs she'd been looking for. "What you're about to see is classified and on a need to know basis.", she handed the PAD to John, "Congratulations Colonel, you're going to be a Corsair!" ------- Major Silvius grinned behind his helmet and barrel rolled his Spectre Missile Boat, before heading into the grasp of the Hammer's hangar tractor beams. This was the third attack group of the Republican Navy they had destroyed in as many days. After a quick shower and some much needed food Alpha's commander finally came into his private quarters. A couple of massages had arrived on the secure COM. Pouring himself a drink, Silvius started to browse through them. After having read through the third message twice he stormed out of his office. The brush pass had been perfect. Diaboli had been close to calling it a day, riding around Coruscant's abysmal public transports. Finally his contact had delivered the message, it was on a simple piece of paper and coded in a simple cipher. The undercover ISB agent turned around and chewed it down after stifling a yawn. The plan was a go, and they were sending some force sensitive as back up. As if he'd ever needed back up... ------- "So that's why you've taken our CO from us!", CM Archenksov exclaimed loudly, to the amusement of the assembled Wing. Even Admiral Dempsey let a brief smile touch her eyes: "Indeed, Commander. And I assume you haven't noticed that a whole squadron has been 'missing' for a couple of months now...", she took a sip of water and waited for the banter of the Hammer's pilots to cease. "The plan has been in the making since the start of the year, and our colleagues in the ISB have rather accurately estimated the enemy reactions.", Dempsey rolled her eyes a little, "Or rather they had it accurately estimated by the time we knew first-hand what was happening on our borders." "Nevertheless the plan we have come up with is well thought through and will do some considerable damage to the Republican forces that are currently close to our borders. I also assume that the intelligence side of the operation will work as planned." The Admiral tapped down on her PAD, "At least I believe it would be wise to get rid of any Incom stock options." Clark read through the classified briefing documents one last time, and then took a deep breath. The strike from both TIE Corps wings and their respective battle groups would be a hard blow against the Republican forces arrayed for border control. His final deep strike operation would further complicate any larger fleet deployments around the fringes of EH space. At least know he knew for certain that it hadn't been wasteful to seize dozens of freighters in the past months. Smiling, John keyed the COM for the galley: "Prepare all the good stuff for tomorrow, we're moving out." Then the Colonel set the system to base-wide and spoke some words everyone was eager to hear: "We're packing up, operation Rusty Box is a go!" He really needed to speak to the guy making up those cover-names. ------- The new guy had been surprisingly competent, and the plan appeared simple yet effective. Why change a running system? And this time an actual interview with Granger had been arranged weeks ago. Diaboli knew that the Minister had some interested in that stupidly blonde HNN mouthpiece. Luckily that pilot had been easily transformed into a busty woman, with an ISB grade facial masks and a load of composite padding. Well they had to hide their weaponry somewhere. "Just send them up, and tell the third floor team it's time for their coffee-brake." Horatio smiled at himself. He had been told the meeting would be an actual private one this time, with the tech-wiz just setting up the equipment and then leaving. He had waited a long time for this and after all a mistress was just what a man in his position needed. Silvius was glad for his force powers as he took brisk steps in the 15 centimetre heels. That Diaboli fellow had actually done a tremendous job. For the next hours nothing short of a full medical scanner would be able to discern that he was not actually the person he pretended to be. Well nothing, but someone looking closely at how bad he walked in those shoes when he wasn't fully concentrating. It took some more concentration to not jump out of his skin, when the door to the private lift opened and a squad of clearly armed security personnel left it. One of the younger men smiled lasciviously and held the door, most likely to get a clear look at the backside, wrapped into a too-short dress. Granger opened the door and was a little surprised to see that holo-technician barely hiding a broad grin. When he turned his gaze he quickly forgot his worries and let the two enter. The door guard took notice as the HNN operator left the lift. The two men shared an insider smile and the guy moved on to sign out by the main door. ------- Colonel Clark watched the last of 'his' transports go to light-speed and put his TIE into a lazy figure eight, with the -- now again empty -- asteroid base in the middle of one of the loops. Just a couple of minutes until the last of the Rusty Boxes were underway. Then it would be time for some more action and, finally, the return to the Hammer. Eventually, a light on the tactical display went a nice and friendly green and Clark keyed his COM: "All right, time to go Razors. You all know the plan, good hunting!" With that Delta Squadron moved into formation and made the jump towards the Battle Group's target sector. 'This was the easiest job in the military you could possibly get without being posted to one of the big ship-yards', Fleet Officer Taquana thought as he was manoeuvring his Zero-G suit around the large supply platform. Taquana ignored the brief flash of a transport leaving hyperspace, after all this happened often enough around here. By the fifth flash he decided to turn. But it was too late. The last thing he ever saw was a battered bulk transport heading at full speed towards the station. The blue whirl of hyperspace turned into white lines and then distant starts again, and Clark found himself only a few klicks away from the Republican force. Timing could hardly be better. John checked his tactical again less than two minutes for Rusty Box, the Hammer would be here in not even ninety seconds. As planned the three TIE Phantoms penetrated into the enemy fleet at full possible speed, their cloaking devices shielding them from enemy scanners and eyes. The Phantoms were sluggish, their hard-points filled with two space bombs each. Delta's job was to cause mayhem the second the Hammer entered the system, and for that they were to drop their payload on the enemy flagship a brand new MC80B Star Cruiser. The Phantoms advanced into knife fighting range, with hardly any time to spare Clark volleyed his bombs at close range. Seconds later the friendly shape of an Imperial II Class Star Destroyer and her escorts left Hyperspace. "Have the Wrench start its gravity well generators. All ships engage pre-planned targets!", Admiral Dempsey enjoyed fighting her Battle Group again. "Seems Mr. Clark is a little of his timing..." she confided into her OPS officer. Suddenly a few bright flashes appeared in the middle of the enemy line. Their Flagship followed in a bright fireball of expanding plasma. "Flights two and three stick together and take out the heavy fighters. One, disperse for free hunting!", Clark waited a few seconds for the replies and then concentrated on finding his first 'real' target for the fight. Killing an unsuspecting cruiser was even easier then blasting Rebel recruits in their A- and X-wings. Speaking of which, a flight of A-Wings was launching from the nearest Frigate and John headed for them. Nobody saw the obscure shape of the TIE Phantom approach and a double volley of laser fire burst the two closest fighters. The Colonel put his fighter into a small evasive turn, but these guys had to be rookies indeed, manoeuvring frantically without any real regard to get into a mutually supporting position they proved not more than kills three and four. Clark's display showed multiple fast movers coming in from the Hammer, their speed making them missile boats at full SLAM. With the enemy command in disarray Beta's second flight cut through the thin line of defenders and started volley firing heavy missiles. Just behind the missile boats the rest of Beta came into range of the fighter screen. Only a few of the enemy pilots had enough experience to actually not abandon their posts into a hasty, but obviously useless, pursuit. But they had been way too few to be a serious obstacle for half a dozen TIE Advanced slicing into them with abandon. Rechecking his tactical display John decided on his next course of action. The active Combat Air Patrol of the Rebel Raiders was close to being devastated. There was a single carrier trying to get into position to launch his squadrons. Clark smiled as he headed towards his new pray, wondering how many fighters would be launched before he could destroy that ship. ------- Francis Skr'ein had been on the Defence Minister's staff for only a few weeks, and he hated to be the bringer of bad news. Now there was no time to turn back, he swallowed, knocked and entered the Ministers office without waiting for a reply. This resulted in a raised eyebrow and a hand gestured that demanded an immediate explanation. Skr'ein saluted sharply and spoke: "Sir, it seems Deputy Minister Granger has fled Coruscant for unknown reasons." Before the Minister could speak another man entered the room, without barely any warning and virtually ran the few steps to the Minister. "Sir, the blockade forces deployed against the Emperor's Hammer are under general attack. And we can't get connections to any of the supply posts." The Minister's snarl turned into a sigh: "Get me Ackbar in here!" ------- "Records provided by the office of the Chancellor clearly show that former Deputy-Minister Granger's efforts into military action against other galactic powers have been the result of large payments made by Incom Corporation into his private accounts.", the new HNN speaker took a deep look into the camera. "In light of these events -and the recent losses of the blockade force- further action has been deemed economically and politically undesirable. Please see our holonet page for further information on these issues!" Admiral Elwood entered the small room aboard the Challenge and found a broken figure sitting across a bare metal desk. "Welcome aboard 'Minister' Granger, shall we have a talk about your friends in the shadows?" By COL John T. Clark/DELTA for RtF 2016 |