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For If I Fall...

"VSD Vigilant aborting mission!" A crewman shouted from somewhere in the pit. La Forge couldn't tell who amidst the chaos.

"What's their status?" La Forge shouted back.

"Hull is at 50% and falling! They're getting quite hammered out there, sir. Do you want me to have them stop the pullout?"

"No, let them go. We've already lost the Dominance." The words were still bitter on La Forge's tongue. This would not be something he would enjoy explaining to Vice

Admiral Fel. Better that the Vigilant make it out than two VSDs be lost for this operation. The Chimaera rocked with impact. "What just happened?!?"

"Another torpedo hit, sir! Shields are failing!"

"Intensify forward batteries!" La Forge echoed the famous last words of Admiral Piett... knowingly or not.

The Chimaera slammed again, harder. "Where's Alpha squadron? They're supposed to take out the bombers!"

"This is Stark, sir. It's all we can do not to get shredded out here! We're doing the best that we can!" Stark was evidently listening in on the bridge comm channel.

La Forge and the crew were thrown to the floor by the hardest lurch yet, this time with a loud klaxon La Forge had heard only in the academy training exercises: Hull

Breach.

"Hull breach, deck seven!" One of the crewmen in the pit, a Zabrak, stayed on his feet through the whole thing and was reading the status display he was closest to.

"Get a repair crew down there. Any critical systems affected?"

"No, sir, but the mess hall isn't just a mess, it's missing." The bit of humour in the heat of battle was strangely not out of place.

"Somebody shut off that siren," La Forge ordered, "move us across and up to the following vector..."

Muscat's fighter streaked across the hull of the INT Hammerhead. The Hammerhead was the whole reason the Empire had come all the way here. Targetting the bridge with his

lasers, he opened fire and the energy ripped through the hull of the craft. "Captain La Forge, I'm reading an energy buildup in the Hammerhead..."

"We see it too. Looks like a reactor overload."

"Aren't they going to cut the gravity wells and eject the core?"

"They don't look that sane right now, Commander... Just leave them be right now. We're in serious trouble at the moment."

"Righto, on my way out."

The Chimaera pitched yet again. "Sir, that was a kamikaze attack from a Rebel fighter."

"Sir, our hull is taking damage. We should pull out now!"

"We can't, crewman, the Hammerhead is still operating gravity wells, even through their engine overload!"

The crewman swore in his native tongue, which La Forge didn't understand the meaning of, only the intent.

The Chimaera cut down another small Rebel capital ship, finally, the explosions doing little to soothe La Forge's situation. The Vigilant had cleared some time ago; La

Forge wasn't sure when.

Another lurch of the ship, and a sickening creak of durasteel bending as a main column in the bridge buckled and collapsed at the back, blocking one of the precious escape

routes from the exposed bridge tower.

It was La Forge's turn to swear. They were targetting the bridge, and the lasers were beginning to take their toll.

Another creak of durasteel as a support column bent, but held for the moment. Outside the window an A-Wing burst into flames as an Alpha squadron fighter emerged from

behind it. Another A-Wing flashed by, lasers bursting, as the Chimaera was hit with another volley that sent it lurching.

La Forge heard an unfamiliar whistling noise. Hull breach on the bridge. It was a small one, but enough that the bridge was decompressing fairly rapidly. "All hands, to

the auxiliary bridge!" La Forge was so incredibly upset, at the Rebels, at himself, at everything.

The crew evacuated quickly -- the regular drills paid off -- and La Forge was almost out when he found the commission plaque of the ship had fallen. La Forge paused to

pick it up, wasting precious seconds before the blast doors sealed off the section, leaving himself just enough time to literally dive under the sealing blast door as the

last one out.

Running through the corridors down to the auxiliary bridge, La Forge still received status reports from Muscat. "How's the Hammerhead?"

"Going critical, I think, sir! I'm seeing escape pods!"

"Good. Engine room, ready the hyperdrive!"

"Sir, this is the engine room, we've got a problem."

"The last words I wanted to hear."

"Sir, I don't know if the hyperdrive will start."

"Why not?"

"We've had a failure of one of the engines as is, and the ship's power system is heavily overtaxed as it is. On top of that we've got a cut power conduit somewhere in the

ship and it's draining power like you wouldn't believe."

"Can we throw everything to the engines for a short jump and sort it out later?"

"I recommend against it, sir. Better to finish up here and get out cleanly. If we've got as bad of a problem as I think we do, this might blow if we try to jump right

now."

"Noted," La Forge said as he climbed down the access ladder to the auxiliary bridge deck and continued running. "Muscat?"

"They're blowing now, sir, I can see electricity lancing all across the hull!"

The Chimaera shook again as the interdictor cruiser blew and the explosion shockwave sent energy out everywhere. "Was that the end of them?"

"Yes, sir, it was, now we're just down to straggling fighters, but a few of them are still making warhead passes."

"Engine room, can we do it?"

The Engine room filtered through. "Sir, I'm begging you, don't ask for this."

"Okay, okay, I won't." La Forge trusted the engine crew enough on this call.

"Brace for impact!" Stark's voice came through far too loudly on the comm a moment before the Chimaera pitched and rolled.

Artificial gravity went out for a second and returned, dropping La Forge to the floor sharply. He picked himself up and turned the last corner and sprinted down the hall

to the auxiliary bridge. As he got there the Chimaera was slammed again and the ship was plunged into darkness as every panel shorted out; a few exploded. A scream from

the crew pit: A crewman was burned by the explosion.

"Medical emergency on the auxiliary bridge!" Someone had her head on straight; La Forge couldn't discern amongst all the chaos.

"Engine room, what happened?" La Forge was finally able to speak and get out that crucial question, floating a fraction of a meter above the deck.

"Power surge has overloaded all systems, sir. We're a sitting duck."

"Muscat! Stark!"

"Sir, we-" Muscat began.

"There are no more bombers, sir, just a handful of A-Wings, many of them damaged," Stark interrupted.

The emergency lights flicked on and artificial gravity came on to a minumum level. "Emergency power is on, sir," the engine room crew reported, somewhat redundantly.

"Right now all systems are offline, and they're not likely to come online any time soon. We're going to need a rescue, Captain."

"This is Stark... all the enemy vessels are destroyed, We're on our way back."

"Acknowledged," said La Forge.

"Iota squadron also on its way back."

No response.

"Sir?"

La Forge was collapsed against a panel, still clutching the commission plaque tightly.

"Admiral Wedge, we've got a distress call coming in... it's from the Chimaera!" Laithlis read the display quickly in his head.

"What's their status?" Wedge was handling crew assignments in his office with the first officer.

"Badly damaged; main systems out. They need us to come get them quickly. Also, as far as I can tell, the signal is directed over a wide range, so it's possible this has

been picked up by Rebels, too."

"We'd better get out there." Wedge hit a button on his desk. "Bridge, get ready for a hyperspace jump. I'll be on the bridge in two minutes."

"Aye aye, sir," came the response through the comm system.

One minute and fifty two seconds later, Wedge and Laithlis came onto the bridge walking quickly.

"Communications, get me Captain Vortagh and the Warhammer."

The comm officer acknowledged and complied.

The life-size holo of Captain Vortagh was projected on the brige. Wedge preferred life-size holos, but Vortagh was an imposing figure at 3/4s size, let alone full size.

"Good morning, Wedge. What is it that you need?"

Wedge conveyed the scenario to the captain, and proceeded on to his request without letting Vortagh comment or ask further questions: "And so we need you here, right away,

to cover the shipyard." In the distance the last piece of superstructure was being dragged to its position.

"I was thinking that, actually. Though I wouldn't mind going to rescue the Chimaera," Vortagh smiled.

"We'll handle it for now, but thanks for the offer."

"Right, we'll keep our eyes open for incoming Rebels. I bet they'll come."

"Me too," Wedge replied. "That's why we're asking you to cover us."

"Will do, Wedge. Good luck out there. And don't try to save the whole sandbox," Vortagh winked and grinned.

Wedge smiled. "We know better than that. Nemesis out." He turned to the crew pit to his left. "Set course for the Contruum system, but do a short jump in another direction

to mask our incoming vector. Let's not tip them off as to where we came from."

The Nemesis moved out past the shipyard at top speed, and into hyperspace, on its way to the Contruum system... to rescue the flagship.

Colonel Jagged Fel handed over the datapad to General Jansen. "I just don't know how this Imperial Datapad was waiting for us when we destroyed the pirate command centre."

The General looked it over. "I'll be sending it in for analysis."

"Sensor scans also picked up something very peculiar. An energy signature on the third moon."

"Pirates?"

"We actually think it's Rebel."

"So close to the pirate stronghold?"

"Looks like it, sir. It might mean they're working together, or perhaps the pirates didn't know. It was quite well hidden."

"Well, let's not waste any time. Get Captain Vortagh on the comm and we'll get to the moon in no time."

Jagged nodded. "Aye, sir."

A few moments later, Captain Vortagh was in miniature holo on the General's transport projector. "I'm afraid we can't pick you up. We've got to head over to the shipyard

right away."

"I understand, Captain. We're only going to the third moon anyway, so we'll make it there on our own. Good luck, though." Jagged knew just how important of a mission it

would be.

"See you guys soon, though. Vortagh out." Vortagh's holo evaporated.

Jagged picked up the comm. "Imperial troops, to the transports. We've got another one on our hands."

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