The First Strike

Cedric Oswell ran through the corridors of the Victory-class Star Destroyer Relentless, followed closely by two individuals wearing the same uniform as him.

A black suit, adorned with the symbols of the Galactic Empire on both biceps, and polished black boots. Cedric was barely 23 years old—the same age as his commanding officer—yet he was far beneath him in rank. Still, that never bothered Cedric.

In fact, he had repeatedly thanked the gods for his posting under Aaron. Even the bitterness he held toward the nepotistic brat who had corrupted their instructor into giving Cedric the lowest grade—forcing his early assignment to an Arquitens-class cruiser—had faded. Captain Aaron had recognized Cedric's talent, promoting him after only two field evaluations to the rank of lieutenant, placing him in command of the gunnery section aboard a Victory-class Star Destroyer Mark II.

And with great power came great responsibility. Cedric was now forced to handle a pair of incompetent gunnery officers. The Relentless had already jumped into hyperspace alongside the majority of its fleet, yet these two assistant gunners were missing from their stations.

They had just arrived from the Junior Gunnery Academy on Eriadu, and their nerves had clearly gotten the better of them. Cedric had to suppress a groan at their excuse.

"We got lost."

Cedric understood better than most how terrifying a first battle could be, but even he knew that such an excuse was far beyond acceptable. Discipline had to be maintained, and the pair of 21-year-old gunners would have to face consequences.

He glanced at his datapad.

02:32.Time until arrival.

Moments later, Cedric and the gunners stepped through the blast doors onto the bridge. The Relentless command deck stretched before them.

And there, at the center of it all, standing on the command walkway, was Captain Aaron Rysell. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared into the swirling vortex of hyperspace. The moment the doors opened and the trio entered, Aaron turned.

All three froze in place and offered a crisp salute, more out of reflex than discipline.

"Are you expecting a verbal thrashing? You'll be disappointed. Stop gawking and get your asses in position," Aaron barked, then turned back toward hyperspace.

Cedric would kill to know what went through the captain's mind. Was he nervous? Strategizing? Filled with nonsense like most organics? Or, he mused, was he thinking of Cedric?

Pushing aside his musings, Cedric moved into the portside pit, which housed twenty control stations—one for each of the Victory-class Star Destroyer's twin turbolaser batteries. He slid into his seat and began his routine system checks. Everything had to be flawless.

After all.

Aaron, meanwhile, remained fixed on the mission.

Two days had passed since the social gathering. Three since their arrival on Christophsis. Now, they were about to confront the Black Vow rebel cell.

Three Dreadnaught-class cruisers had departed Christophsis, heading for Rodia to deliver food imports intended to relieve the planetary shortages. The commodore had made countless such trade arrangements—offering protection in exchange for a small percentage of profits.

But this particular convoy had been ambushed at Rodia's port. Rebel forces had boarded the vessels, initiating combat aboard the ships themselves.

Suspiciously, however, the commodore had diverted the bulk of his stormtroopers away from the convoy, assigning them instead to protect his own Star Destroyers. The decision reeked of self-interest, and it planted further doubts in Aaron's mind.

He glanced at the chrono.

00:32.

"Commander Luca, run full station checks," Aaron said without turning. Luca, his second-in-command, nodded from the comms station.

Aaron's fleet had departed Christophsis at full strength, each warship equipped with a 0.75-class hyperdrive. Coordinating such a feat had been nearly impossible—but Kuat and Moff Roran had delivered, albeit at a steep cost.

The result: a fleet tailored for one purpose—hunting.

Aaron checked the clock again.

00:10.

"Initiate active combat procedures," he ordered calmly. The crew didn't need further clarification—they'd been drilled repeatedly under his command. Every captain in the task force knew the playbook.

And with that, all 33 warships of the First Squadron tore out of hyperspace—mere kilometers from the planet Rodia.

The formation was messy, disorganized from the unpredictability of hyperspace travel. But that didn't matter.

"Activate the interdiction field—now!" Aaron snapped. His eyes had locked onto three Dreadnaughts attempting to jump back to hyperspace.

The communications officer sprang into action, relaying the command to the Swift End. Within eight seconds, the interdiction field came online.

But it was already too late for two of the Dreadnaughts. They escaped, jumping to hyperspace just before the field engaged.

"Launch fighters and fire all ion cannons. I want that sh—" Aaron began, only to be cut off by a violent explosion.

The third Dreadnaught had erupted into flame, its reactor core igniting and tearing the ship apart in a brilliant, brutal flash.

"We didn't fire any weapons... did we?" Luca asked, stepping cautiously beside Aaron from the communications nook, his eyes wide.

"No. They'd rather destroy the ship and crew than let us take it," Aaron muttered grimly, struggling to comprehend the sheer fanaticism of the act.

A suicide charge... an attempted escape... I'd respect the tactics if they hadn't murdered their own crew in the process. These aren't rebels. They're extremists. Zealots, willing to die for the cause.

Aaron's eyes remained on the burning wreck.

"Send a TIE patrol to sweep the debris. Prepare landing craft. I want a full report on both the space and ground engagements within half a rotation," Aaron ordered, before turning and exiting the bridge.

He stepped into a turbolift headed for his quarters, leaving a silent, stunned command crew in his wake.

Only when the lift doors closed behind him did Luca snap to attention and begin issuing orders.

______________________________

patreon.com/pondsfyre - +20 chapters, alongside 4 other stories of mine. Each 50+ chapters.