Edward Norrington

"This is mercenary Edward Norrington. Codename: Nebula Blue."

The man in the Xenary Fighter answered. Yagun turned around to directly look at the hologram, scrutinizing the mercenary in the process.

"What happened to the Xenary Cruiser? Are you responsible for it, if so, how did you do it?"

"Yes, it was me who destroyed its engines. I used an HD-V43 Starfighter to break through the hull and enter it. Afterwards, I made my way towards the engines, where I deployed SE V5 droids on a 10-minute timer. Lastly, I hijacked a Xenary Starfighter to escape."

"I see. You are a capable man, Mr. Norrington, don't waste it with suicidal behaviour. Our cruiser has sufficient space for the starfighter, you may dock for the time being."

The call ended afterwards. But Yagun still spent some time thinking about what the mercenary had said. While the man may be capable, he wouldn't be a good soldier, but his suicidal behaviour is fitting for a mercenary. After all, they will be paid for military achievements, things like taking down fighters and killing enemies, but only if they survive. And taking down a whole cruiser by himself is no small achievement. The money he will get is a significant amount and his reputation will skyrocket. But Yagun shouldn't distract himself, after all, the battle is still ongoing.

Edward made his way towards the Republican Cruiser, which luckily stood some distance away from the heat of the battle. But he did not allow himself to relax yet, as he still had to reach it. Just then, the pain reminded him of his wound, which he could ignore due to the adrenaline that now declined. His whole left arm was numb, but luckily there was no serious blood loss. Other than his handgun, which functions like a coilgun and creates considerable wounds. The Xenary rifle instead uses small plasma bolts which, while strong, cauterize the wound. Meaning that Edward now had two cauterized holes, the size of a finger, in his left arm. Holes that went through the arm.

"Luckily it's only the arm instead of the chest or an artery. Either way, the wound has to be closed and the armour repaired. But I should have enough funds now to be able to go the next step, my life should get a bit less suicidal now. But how much would I get for incapacitating the cruiser? As a mercenary fighting for the Republic, I get about 1500 Credits for every Starfighter that I take down, a cruiser should have about 30 to 50 Fighters, so 75.000 Credits? But two months ago I managed to take down a corvette, which gave me 20.000 Credits, so logically speaking, a cruiser should give me at least 100.000 Credits. To get the most out of it, it should demand twice the amount."

Closing in on the Republican Cruiser, he flew towards the closest Hangar. The Cruiser was shaped like a 1500-meter-long bullet with large ogival wings and a large ellipsoid command centre embedded at the top. The Hangars were located right beneath the wings, protected against enemy screen ships.

Once Edward entered the Republican Cruiser with the Xenary Fighter, he noticed the many empty spaces of starfighters who either still fight or have already fallen. The ground crew signalled for him to land at one of the empty spaces, where three hangar guards already waited. Greeting them with a salute, the leader responded.

"Greetings Nebula Blue. You will be brought to a private quarter, where you shall remain for the time being. We will send over a doctor to check on you and later talk about the contract. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir! I will follow your orders." Edward followed the rules of military standards, as mercenaries were hired guns, thus soldiers for a battle or as long as the contract demands.

Following the three men through the corridors and lifts of the spaceship, he arrived at the assigned room. It was a small, blank ship quarter with a bed at the end and a cupboard embedded in the wall. Above the bed was a large monitor that showed a view of the star system and the current battle.

A button panel was right next to the door, with which, Edward could change the scenery, activate the functions of the cupboard as well as change the light.

But looking at the galaxy, he decided against changing the view. The battle was coming to an end. The Xenary only had one cruiser and a few screens left, while the Republic still has all five cruisers and the majority of the screens. Looking at the Xenary Cruiser that Edward managed to take down, a warmth spread through his body. He has finally done something extraordinary. A lone human with just a fighter managed to take down a ship nearly 200 times its size. The Xenary Cruiser, once a dangerous warship, now a ruin left to scavenge.

With the press of a button, a compartment in the cupboard opened, revealing a mirror. Standing in front of it, Edward finally took off the helmet and looked at himself. He had long and messy black hair, pale white skin and blue eyes, along with an angular face and a stubble beard.

"Five years ago I suddenly appeared in this weird galaxy. Five years..." Edward lamented. He had done various things through the years, but the majority he still remembered clearly.

Five years ago, he woke up on a damaged ship drifting through space. Luckily, he was found by some scavengers of the Republic, who took him into custody. They mistook him for a sailor who was illiterate and unable to speak, thus leaving him to the authorities of a starbase. From there, they sent him to the navy, to have them deal with him. There he learned a bit of the language and got an ID, after which he was sent to a naval academy and training camp. Edward spent there three whole years, becoming a soldier of the Republic. Since then, he had fought against the Xenary. In space as well as on the ground. During one of the missions he was assigned garrison duties, but he still shivers thinking about it. He luckily survived it, but was heavily wounded and thus left the army. The time after he mostly spent on day jobs in a habitat, before he accumulated enough wealth for a starfighter. This enabled him to fight as a mercenary and gain more money. That he used to buy stronger and better starfighters, to achieve greater military success and earn even more money. And today he achieved his greatest success to date, taking down a cruiser.

"After all those years, I will finally step on the bigger stage and buy a proper starship. One, on that I can live as well as fight and explore. A military-grade gunship. Once I am back at the mercenary enclave, I will go to the shipyard."

This is what Edward desires. A proper ship that will act as his home and gateway for greatness. So that one day, Edward may be someone with political power and military might. But for that, he needs starships. Various classes of starships, alongside large and powerful ones.

The classification of a starship is decided by size and purpose. From smallest to largest, it would be:

Fighters: fast strike crafts that can reach up to ten meters.

Gunboats: spaceships for a small crew, that are 10-50 meters long.

Corvettes: The weakest and smallest ship of a proper galactic war fleet, can range from 50 up to 200 meters and have a sizeable crew.

Frigates: Spaceships that can execute missions on their lonesome as well as participate in large battles. Equipped with point defence against starfighters and torpedoes against larger ships. The size varies from 200 up to 450 meters.

Destroyers: For many smaller civilizations or crime syndicates it is their largest and most powerful ship, that can stand on its own against small fleets and sometimes fight well against larger ships. The equipment varies from point defence to large turrets, torpedoes and sometimes small hangars for starfighters. The smallest are 450 meters long, while larger destroyers can reach up to 800 meters.

Cruisers: The backbones of many fleets with a crew size of well over a thousand. Equipped with powerful turrets and often large hangars. With varying sizes from 800 up to 1500 meters, well over a kilometre.

Carriers: The leading ship of a medium-sized war fleet and an important part of every large fleet. Not many turrets, but enormous hangars that can carry hundreds of starfighters. They are generally 1500 meters long, but some larger ones can go up to 2000 meters.

Battlecruisers: Specialized warships, with many thousands of soldiers on board. Equipped with heavy turrets that can decimate enemy warships. They are 1750 meters long but often reach 2500 meters.

Battleships: Ships built for one sole purpose, war. They are generally the mightiest of ships for large civilizations. With sizes varying from 2000 up to 3500 meters.

Dreadnoughts: Larger and deadlier battleships that dwarf other battleships, with some reaching lengths of 10.000 meters.

Other than that, there are the superclass ships, like the Super-Carriers and Super-Dreadnoughts, that can reach lengths of 25.000 meters. But these are considered the trump cards of greater civilizations.

"Good day, Sir. I am the medical droid of the CFC-25. May I enter?" As Edward was lost in thought, a knocking could be heard. It was the doctor who was sent over.

Opening the door, a white droid stood in front of Edward. It was humanoid, but made out of white alloys and instead of a face, it had two camera lenses. Above the cameras was a green cross symbol that marked it as a medical unit.

"The two holes in your arm will be fixed in no time, but they should have called me over sooner. Are there any other complaints on your side?" The droid analyzed Edward's wounds while complaining.

"I advise you to sit during the procedure, as regenerating many cells in a short time weakens the body." With that, Edward sat down on the bed while the droid held his arm. With its second hand it moved closer to the wounds while the fingers retracted to make room for a needle-like appendage. A blue, glue-like substance came out of the needle and stuck to the dead cells. Shortly after, Edward felt a light burning sensation, that signalled the healing of the wound.

"It may take half an hour, but this should close the wounds and restore the arm. Please consume enough nutrients so that the arm can heal easily." The droid left shortly after, leaving Edward to once again wonder about the marvels of futuristic medicine.

Looking at the battle that was entering its last phases, Edward once more thought about this universe. Why is it, that someone can hear what is happening in space, that he can stand upright in a spaceship even thou there shouldn't be any gravity? The reason, as Edward discovered, was a unique force that exists in this universe. It is called galactic essence, or essence for short. Everything in the galaxy is made of, stores and releases essence. It is comparable with something like the Force of a famous sci-fi universe, or the mana in a fantasy realm. With this essence, civilizations developed methods to function and thrive in the galaxy. But not only that, as essence also exists in every living creature, there developed a way to use their essence. This allowed the essence users to do supernatural feats by awakening their dormant essence and developing their essence abilities.