a galaxy far far away (galaxymod) wrote in thegalaxy, @ 2016-03-04 20:32:00 |
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General Levitte stood at the back of the room, ice blue eyes sweeping out over the vast expanse of space, their target dead center. The planet of Hevurion once belonged to the New Republic, though largely in name alone, as their senator had been in the pocket of the First Order for quite some time before he was discovered. With the Republic decimated and its senator's betrayal leaving plenty of Republic sympathizers with a bad taste in their mouths as far as the planet was concerned, Levitte thought it a fitting choice as the first Republic planet to be absorbed into the Order's now swiftly-growing list of territories. They had dropped out of hyperspace not long ago and were steadily working to complete maneuvers in order to get into position. The fleet wasn't a terribly large one because they were after the handful of Republic Navy ships they knew to still be present on Hevurion. Not only the ships, but the arms for the soldiers of those ships. The Cold War that stretched out between the Republic and the First Order was now over, the Republic no longer a viable combatant, and that Levitte had argued passionately for the acquisition of Republic military assets before the Resistance chose to take them over. They would land and begin swift assessment of the planet for its resources. While the military did its duty, politicians were brought along to achieve some sort of 'diplomacy'. The government of Hevurion would fall in line or they would perish - as were always the options laid out before those the First Order encountered. Levitte thought it wouldn't take much urging if they were anything like their senator had been. Money and the promise of life was enough to sway just about anyone. Levitte had learned that many members of the Republic were complacent and satisfied with the status quo. They held onto no dogma and had no passion, which made them malleable to the will of the First Order and the Supreme Leader. ----- "Uh oh," a voice crackled over the comm and Johkri Belmau groaned. "Uh oh's not good," he pointed out from where he stood in the hangar. "Why the uh oh?" "We've got company," the voice returned. "First Order," they clarified and Johkri swore. They were here for whatever they could glean from the small portion of the Republic Navy that they knew was housed here. While it stung a little, the idea of looting the Republic for scraps, Johkri knew it was what needed to be done. His parents had never understood that the First Order was a threat and needed to be handled like one. They never understood that diplomacy and politics wouldn't quell the First Order and its greed and its evil. His father, a member of the Senate, believed so strongly in the strength of democracy that he'd been blinded by the fact all the only policy that was being passed around had been one of appeasement. And now both his father and his mother were just bits of stardust floating around the Hosnian system. So while it felt a bit like looting, Johkri knew it had to be done. And obviously, the First Order had thought the very same thing. "Wrap it up! We need to move and we need to move now!" he shouted to the men and women who had been packing crates and loading them onto the cargo ship they brought in a handful of hours ago. "First Order's here and you can bet they won't be looking to take any prisoners." He pressed a button on the comm, "What's their ETA?" he asked, jogging to the entrance of the hangar to look up into the atmosphere, searching for any pinpoints of light that looked sinister. "They just dropped out of hyperspace not too long ago, but as soon as they know we're here-" "Yeah, I know," Johkri said grimly. "We're hurrying." ----- "Sir," a woman appeared at his side and Levitte glanced over at her. "We've reason to believe the Resistance may already be here." He felt his neck grow hot as agitation flushed through him at the information and he nodded curtly at her to continue. "We've reached our contact on the ground and she says a cargo ship arrived about five and a half hours ago, and has been in the Navy hangar since arrival." He took a deep, calming breath and the woman tensed. Levitte was hardly known for outbursts and he spoke with little of the spitting fervor General Hux was known for, but Levitte's cold and quiet fury was a different sort of intimidating. "Send fighters down and take out the ship. If it isn't the Resistance, its looters and either way, we'll say we were sparing the people of Hevurion any further disgrace." She nodded and quickly scurried away. ----- "TIE fighters inbound," were definitely words that Johkri hadn't wanted to hear today. Or any time ever, really. He straightened up from where he'd been hastily helping load a crate of supplies and tried to slow his racing mind down long enough so that he could formulate a plan. "Advise," he finally had to say because he couldn't fight the cold sweat that was now beading across his forehead. These people couldn't die here. "Take what you've got and leave. Whatever we got is more than what we had." He shook his head, angry at the predicament. It was good advice. And yet - he looked to the ships, still in perfect flying condition... just waiting for the First Order to step in and take them. So more people could die. They had to do something, but Johkri was at a loss. Finally, he sighed heavily. "You got it. We'll be out in five." "Better make it two," the voice warned. It didn't take long for the crew to abandon their loading and rush into the ship. The last thing they really needed was an encounter with the First Order. Their backup wasn't anywhere near close enough to really helping them. The fighters were far enough out of orbit so they wouldn't draw attention to themselves and were really only serving as eyes in the skies - not defense. Loading into the cockpit, Johkri angrily buckled himself in and signaled for take off. "What a waste," a comrade sighed wistfully as they exited the hangar and then it hit him. What a waste. "We've got guns, right?" he asked quickly. "Yeah but... we can't out maneuver a group of TIE-" "No, we turn them on the hangar." Johkri was already unbuckling and heading down to man the gun. He could hear the protests behind him, but he didn't care. He couldn't let the First Order get even a handful of pristine ships. Republic ships that served the government his father died for. There was no way in hell. He could hear the shouting in his headset, over the comms, and even as they warned that the TIE fighters were almost within range, he didn't care. He hopped into the gunner's seat, flipped the switch, and immediately opened fire. He knew he couldn't destroy them all, but he'd make them work to repair them. At least it would buy them some time. ----- "They're.... opening fire on the hangar, sir," the incredulous voice came through the comms and Levitte slammed both palms down on the control panel. "Well, stop them!" he snapped, voice still quiet. It was a tense several minutes that followed. The volley of communication between those in his ship and the TIEs that were engaging the Resistance - it had to be the Resistance - seemed far away as Levitte simmered in his rage. It was wasteful. It was infuriating. He wanted the cargo ship blasted straight out of the sky. In the end, he didn't get his wish and the cargo ship burst from the atmosphere of Hevurion and quickly leapt into hyperspace, effectively fleeing with whatever it was they managed to secure before the First Order arrived. The only thing that managed to soothe Levitte's fury was the fact that, despite their desperate attempt at foiling the First Order, only 3 ships had been damaged and only 1 was completely rendered useless. All the better that one Hevurion was injured. When the First Order reached the ground, they rounded that one injured up to 3 deaths, then a fourth when someone threatened to complicate things. In the end, while the Resistance made off with all the arms the planet had, not all was lost. Levitte was left with not only five ships - four of which would be entirely functional in a few months' time - but it also left him with a fantastic story to spin. The Resistance was desperate. And desperate people made mistakes. |