Dark Lord: Bride of Vader

Chapter 12: Making Friends

I do not own any of the Star Wars and DC characters and ideas represented in this work.

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Commander Hro Talak: decorated war hero of the Thanagarian Empire, captain of a Thanagarian battle cruiser, the Warhawk, and betrothed to the love of his life, Shayera Hol.

Hro is a patriot of Thanagar, plain and simple. He has served Thanagar for nearly all of his life, went into battle against its enemies, and found many friends and comrades along the way. He had suffered greatly in those great struggles, however, not only in terms of physically but spiritually, and he knows this.

The Gordanians, the universe's most vile, despicable, and savage race that crawled out from the cold recess of space, were the mortal enemies of the Thanagarians for almost generations now. He had fought them before; many of his men did as well and knew what they were truly capable of. But, with all of his courage and love for his people, it wasn't enough to escape capture from the reptiles those years ago.

He can still remember those years in their prison camps; he can still smell the utter foul stench from the disgusting conditions; he can feel the torture and suffering they inflicted upon him, as well as their laughter at him and all who fell victim to their sadistic games.

A grim reminder of those horrible days was written on the right side of his face in the form of a scar. He kept it not only for the badge of honor and the sign of sheer will to survive their camps, but it was also to remind him of the promise he made those years ago to himself and whoever was unfortunate to be a Gordanian's prey.

Never again. Never will the Gordanians spread their havoc across space with impunity. Never will they get victims without a fight. He promised to himself and to every sentient innocent life, Thanagarian or otherwise, that he would do his very best to stop the Gordanian reign of terror. Whatever it takes, he will stop them; he must.

Ever since then, he has been fully committed to the war effort against the Gordanians. Every battle he won against them; every world liberated from them or lost but defiantly defended; every Gordanian he killed was in the name of freedom and honor of all Thanagarians.

Hro's strong commitment was so unwavering, his victories so great, that even the ruling council saw his achievements as the pure embodiment of the indomitable Thanagarian spirit and promoted him. His prestige and status in the military from his victories gave him the privilege of being able to involve himself and his men into secretive but critical missions against the Gordanians.

There was one mission that could be a vital element in Thanagar's total victory over the Gordanian Empire. An investment that has been in the works for three years at this point and was to be completed in the next two years. One gambit that could help Thanagar end this destructive conflict. It was a plan that centered around the love of his life.

One could say Hro Talak was one of those men who married to the job; in this case, he was married to Thanagar. He dearly loved his people, his culture, and their way of life and will gladly do whatever it takes to protect it. But he was not the type of man that strayed away from personal love or ignored it either.

Shayera Hol, a lieutenant in the Thanagarian military and probably one of its best espionage officers, and his bride. They met some years ago. At first, they were peers and nothing more, but over time, they grew fond of each other. It was out of respect for one another's duty and commitment, but that too changed into something else. Some time after they met, he proposed to her, in Thanagarian tradition, of course, and she happily accepted. They were engaged, but not married, or at least officially at any rate. The wedding ceremony was postponed due to their duties towards Thanagar.

The gambit that could save Thanagar and end the long war it only knew for so long—the fate of the Thanagarian race—was set on her, his Shayera.

The secret risk that the Thanagarian high command and engineer corps devised was to create a chain of hyperspace bypass relays in select strategic areas where one could use them and go through the Gordanian static defenses that ringed themselves around their home systems and their homeworld, Karna. The bypasses would need to be carried and constructed onto several worlds and moons, then activated so they could carry this supposed invasion fleet and attack Karna.

The Thanagarian navy has made several attempts in the past to attack the defenses of the Gordanian home systems but found those defenses overwhelming. And so that plan was made so that instead of using full-on brute force to attack Karna and end the world, they could launch a sneak attack against them before they knew what hit them.

While they already surveyed, calculated, and projected which celestial bodies would need to have a bypass generator so this hyperspace chain could work, there was one world that could prove to be troublesome.

Earth, a backwater planet that really held no significance in the scheme of things in this war or even the greater Galaxy. Yet, it was the key to the Thanagarian-Gordanian war; it was the weight that could shift the balance between a Thanagarian victory or lean to a Gordanian victory—it could change life or death to the Thanagarians.

It was calculated that Earth was to be the last hyperspace fix point of this chain, and due to its proximity and positioning, a bypass on its surface could easily make a hyperspace jump make a straight trajectory towards Karna, and in that, victory. However, due to the extreme power and mechanics of a hyperspace bypass, with its artificial gravity well being created after its activation, any planet or moon that had a bypass will be destroyed when the device activates, including Earth.

The ruling council of Thanagar, the wisest, oldest, and most skilled hawkmen of all Thanagar, was disturbed by this consequence at first and came to the hard conclusion that Earth will play a role to end this devastating conflict, and therefore their deaths will not be in vain. Hro Talak couldn't agree more.

While Earth's defenses wouldn't put up a real fight, they held a select group of beings called the Justice League capable of repelling most standard Thanagarian attacks. Rumors of the world's "heroes" being able to repel most alien attacks made high command conclude that they will need a spy to infiltrate the world's defenses and feed Thanagar information for their future takeover.

That candidate to be the spy was his love, Shayera Hol.

He couldn't entirely argue against it; she was Thanagar's best of the best in terms of subterfuge and espionage; she even was a top-tier instructor of the infiltration schools. As a patriot, he let her go to Earth. But as a lover, he couldn't. She was to be sent alone, into hostile territory with a few resources other than her nth mace and a highly sophisticated holo-transmitter with an encrypted channel to feed information to Thanagar.

She was alone, and he couldn't do anything about it.

He knew that she would accept it; she was a patriot herself as well. He wished she didn't, though. But for the sake of all Thanagar, their love for each other will have to be kept on hold for the time being.

Three long years have passed since he actually saw her, kissed, and touched her; actually held a smile at her or looked into those jade eyes of hers that could rival the beauty of nebulae. Because of his extraordinary service accord, he was thankfully assigned to this secret project, though to assist Paran Dul and the engineer corps construct and guard the hyperspace bypass generators.

This also led him to be the project's main director for the time being, for high command, and the ruling council entrusted him with such an important task due to his leadership and history. All of this led to the privilege of receiving Shayera's encrypted holo transmissions for her reports. Which was better than not seeing her at all.

Regardless, it wasn't the real her; for every holo-call she made, a ghostly green image would be constructed through the camera. It looked like her, talked like her, had her voice and smile, and everything. But it wasn't her. Every time he tried pressing his hand onto her near-transparent cheek, it would go right through her.

Even then, she didn't make a lot of reports on her mission. She infiltrated Earth's defenses, was still gathering information, and even joined the Justice League as the disguise of "Hawkgirl". It was a silly name that made him laugh and, by result, her. She had gained their trust for the moment and continued to do so. But the severity and amount of Justice League missions she goes to while trying to not rouse suspicions forced her to transmit messages and calls ever so often. The distance between holo-calls could be weeks or months.

He didn't like it, and he found some sort of ironic comfort that she didn't like it as well. To him, it was torture to see her figure in a green holographic form—so close yet so far. He was sure that she thought of the same; he hoped at any rate.

But their love will have no bounds or limits. They will survive, just as Thanagar will survive this war, one way or another.

Currently onboard the bridge of the Warhawk, Hro stood in his command station as the men and women that made up his crew manned their respective duty stations. Communications and scanner sections of the bridge monitored any possible frequencies that they would be able to detect. The bridge's observation window showed a void that had only white dots sprinkled around its surface.

While the Warhawk was assigned to help construct and guard the hyperspace bypass project, it was called into action for a reconnaissance mission far away from contested space between Thangar and Karna, and especially away from Thanagarian-held space.

Just shy from the borders between Khundian space and Gordanian territory, she was called here in this region for a search and destroy mission of any possible Gordanian freighters that could venture out here. The Warhawk's communications array was one of the best in the whole navy, and her being alone meant she could travel lightly with no strings attached.

Standing next to him at his command station was Lieutenant Paran Dul, one of the finest officers amongst his crew and a soldier he greatly respected. A highly trained and distinguished engineer, Paran Dul studied amidst the greatest minds Thanagar can offer. She was so good at her craft that she has many great contributions to the hyperspace bypass, which was of her own design. A genius of her generation, for sure.

Not only does she have white armor to signify her unique rank and status, her personality was much different from any other Thanagarian. She wasn't cut from the same cloth as usual Thanagarians were. While some hawkmen can be boastful and loud, she was quiet and reserved. Many Thanagarians valued the overwhelming strength and courage; she valued the smartest, unexpected approach that saw less resistance.

She was a very calculating and observant person, a trait few Thanagarians can or are willing to have. This was not to say she was'machines-like'; there were times where Paran expressed some sort of anger, frustration, envy, or pride in the past; she was more...professional, which was valued by the Thanagrian military of course but not as much compared to strength and boldness.

They have been patrolling empty space, searching for any identified Gordanian ships, for at least a week or so. There were rumors from passing traders they've come across that there was some sort of new Almeracian empire not too distant from the Khunds, but after all, Thanagar does not have much reach or influence over this side of the galaxy.

Talaks's inner musings were interrupted when an electrical, buzzing alarm screamed out from the scanning station. Its operators click and go through the readout so they may decipher why such a call would be made.

It wasn't a good call at all.

"Commander!" The lead scanning officer said, alert and somewhat shaken, "We're detecting two..." he looked back at the scanning readout then corrected himself, "Three, three unidentified vessels coming into a conflicting vector to our front from hyperspace."

Hro pivoted to the scanner station with Paran doing the same; a grim possibility filled his gut, "Gordanian?" He didn't hide his feelings about the reptilian race.

The scanning officer looked at the readout again and said, "We think so; size and speed would suggest as such, sir. But we're not getting sufficient data on what ship class they might be."

Hro absorbed the developing information. He shouldn't be surprised that a small task force of Gordanian cruisers would intercept his own ship; after all, since the start of their search and destroy mission, they have destroyed at least seven Gordanian cargo freighters. Clearly, the Gordanians had enough of their hit-and-run tactics and brought a quick reaction force to stomp them out.

He looked over to Paran Dul who was studying the scanning readout data sent to her corner of the command station. "What are you thinking, Paran?"

Lieutenant Dul kept on gazing at the screen for a few seconds, eyes going to different spots and areas of data and calculated trajectories, then she faced him with an expression that showed she didn't like it one bit, at least in her way of not actually saying it directly. "They may have detected our ion trail." She said in a collected, cool voice that showed no sign of panic at that moment.

Hro considered her explanation as much time he could afford: "It could be a patrol that detected us."

"Perhaps," Paran thought about it but then indicated at the scanline-filled screen with her finger from her gauntlet. "But data suggests that they are at least cruiser size, and to be honest with you, sir, they are most likely Class-7s."

Hro sighed within himself. Gordanian Class-7 cruisers were known to be one of the deadliest assets of the Gordanian navy's arsenal. Their electrical shield being tricky to penetrate was one obstacle; those two powerful heavy laser cannons on their front were deadly in long-range engagements was another. Hro had dealt with the cruisers before and won, but only when he had more than one ship and developed tactics.

This was an ambush, preplanned or otherwise. Even if it was an escort near their defenseless ships that spotted them, it wasn't in Gordanian standard naval doctrine to drop everything and attack the enemy.

He didn't like the odds of this situation.

In a loud voice, he ordered out to the bridge, "All crew, Battlestations!"

The bridge crew immediately went into alert; instincts and trained responses kicked in; klaxons screamed across the ship; crew mates all over went from their daily routines and recreational activities to their assigned posts and prepared for a deadly conflict.

During the bust cacophony of relaying orders and crewmen shuffling around the bridge, Lieutenant Kragger entered the fray from the main doorway and to the command post. To Talak, Lieutenant Kragger was like any other Thanagarian: arrogant and predictable, bold and narrow minded sometimes.

Where Paran Dul was an individual who had many talents that set herself apart from other Thanagarians, Kragger was painfully normal and bland in comparison. Not that Hro Talak was immune from being too overconfident and aggressive; that goes for Paran Dul as well, but Kragger was nonetheless very mediocre. Still, Hro couldn't exactly complain about having the officer; the Empire was stretched too far for him to request a transfer or another officer to replace Kragger.

As Paran quickly briefed Kragger on the situation, the scanner officer warned Hro, "Sir! They'll be exiting out of hyperspace in thirty seconds!"

Hro could only nod understandingly and give out orders while Klaxons still blared out, yelling at the crew for the inevitable struggle soon coming. "Shields up!" He ordered, "Divert auxiliary power to the main batteries and ready fighter command that they will need to get out of their hangars now!"

While Hro continued to call out more orders and got done with them, Paran Dul went to him. "I believe the best course of action, sir, would be to retreat the fastest we can to the nearest nebula or asteroid field," she advised.

Kragger pivoted his head toward the chief engineer and gave her an accusing look. "And we run like cowards?"

Lieutenant Paran Dul replied that she held no vexation to Lieutenant Kragger. Hro, however, knew she deeply did not like Kragger or saw him to be beneath her, but she kept it to herself. "It is a tactical retreat," she answered, collected as ever, "we are not cowards by any means, Kragger."

She looked back at Hro, "If we make a jump to hyperspace now toward the closest star cluster or nebula, the dense gasses should interfere with their scanning equipment while we strategize our next plan of action. If they decide to follow us, we'll be the ones to ambush them."

Hro Talak thought about the strategy and rebutted, "And our communications and navi-computers would be just as equally jammed as theirs, Paran."

"Perhaps so," she conceded, "but if we are that desperate, retreating to an asteroid field might deter them to follow."

"Are we that crazy to consider going into an asteroid field?" Kragger disbelievingly said.

She glanced at him for a second. "If they aren't crazy, then they won't pursue."

"Enough," Hro issued, and both Lieutenants pulled their attention to their commander, "As much as I would like to pull back and regroup, going into hyperspace will make us more vulnerable than before." He shook his head and turned to the observation window where the battle would untimely occur within moments. "We will have to make a last stand here."

Paran nodded. Kragger had an invisible sense of petty pride come to him for being right. "Three Gordanian cruisers against one of our own are not good odds, Comamnder." Paran Dul warned.

"I know," said Hro Talak; the eve of battle was so close, he could smell it in the artificial air. "But the time of changing tactics is over. We make a stand... or we lose ourselves to space."

On que, three Gordanian Class-7 battle cruisers came out of hyperspace, kilometers away from the Warhawk. The orb-shaped cruisers in a triangle-like formation made no wait to attack and began firing their long-range heavy laser cannons at their front bows. The Warhawk's shield stood defiant, however, absorbing much of the shock, though the ship shuttered and rocked from the impacts.

Heavy galvanized beams of energy exploded from colliding on the Thanaganrian cruiser's thermal shielding, rupturing great balls of light like fireworks and creating short 'booms' that reverberated against the ship. Interior lighting flickered on and off with no pattern, then stabilized itself. She had strong shields, but Hro knew that even then it wouldn't last long if the bombardment continued. They will need to strike fast.

Class-7 cruisers were known to be deadly at long-range distances due to their two frontal cannons that were their main armament; however, the warship was vulnerable to medium- and close-range broadside brawling. A tactic the Thanagarian Navy would employ to counter against the Class-7s.

But at a number of disadvantages—a three-to-one fight—getting close was a short prospect; it was to think they'll be able to get broadsiding range if they don't die from the heavy vollies. Hro Talak knows what his ship can and cannot do and will do his best to lead his men to victory, disadvantage or not.

"Full thrusters ahead!" He commanded the helmsman, "Get the fighters out of their hangars and relay orders that they must harass the enemy." He turned to Paran Dul as his orders were being carried out amongst the bridge crew: "Go to engineering and see if you can reroute any more power to the shields."

Before Lieutenant Dul could issue an accepting reply, the Warhawk was arrested by a massive quake; the ship rumbled as the crew held onto the built-in equipment that made up their stations and railings for purchase. Paran Dul held onto a nearby console as Hro Talak and Kragger did as well.

When the large quake fell away and the commotion of battle became the sound that replaced it, Paran Dul made her answer, "Of course, Commander." She made a prideful chest salute as Talak returned the hardy Thanagarian gesture, and she made a brisk pace out of the bridge.

Hro hoped that there would be enough power to be rerouted to the shields, whether by removing it from certain life-support systems like lighting and HVAC systems or removing power altogether from unimportant components and rooms. Any available energy that can be transferred to the shield would be a gift at any rate; even the tightest fracture could be a saving grace.

The Warhawk got closer to the Gordanian line, returning hail storms of energy as well; formations of Thanagarian starfighters spewed out from its ventral hangar and made attack vectors to the Gordanians. The enemy sent their own starfighters as a protective screen in turn. The Warhawk's class of ship already had a reasonable fighter complement, which would've slightly overwhelmed a single Class-7, but with two more of the cruisers, the Thanagarian pilots in their claw-like fighters would be fighting against major odds.

He supposed that they were against the odds regardless altogether when he came to think about it. They couldn't retreat much to the dismay of Paran Dul. A full-on engagement would only quicken their fate. Hopeless, it may be, but to Hro Talak, nothing is ever hopeless. He had learned that hard lesson in the Gordanian camps. In those dark days of his life that will always give him horrible memories and scars to his being, he knew that one way of hope, one slither of a chance of survival was all it can take to strengthen one's resolve for their will to live.

If this was the Talak during his time in the camps, his resolve to fight and live wouldn't have been to take vengeance on the Gordanians. This Hro Talak was different, though that desire wasn't entirely forgotten either and still burned in him. This Talak in the here and now would fight back not only for his people or his personal vendetta, but for the love of his life—Shayera— and the chance to see her again. Even if he has more chances of surviving a black hole or being stranded on a desolate planet than ever seeing her again, he will fight to the bitter end just out of the microscopic chance of seeing her, the real her.

He'll fight these cruisers to see her. He'll fight a hundred, no, a thousand. He'll go back to the camps again and again so that one day, one beautiful day, he can see those sparkling jade eyes, her soft red hair, a bright smile that can illuminate the darkest days, and a personality to make any man proud to be hers.

He'll do all of that to see her, just one more time.

The ship shuttering hard rocked Hro out of his thoughts and brought him back to the thick of the fight. Quick flashes of discharging flak and energy beams glitter outside of the observation like miniature supernovae. Gordanian and Thanagarian starfighters danced in maneuvers out of the sympathy of death, twisting and turning away while chasing one another and blasting their quarry into superheated flames. Comm chatter and battle commands were heard.

As much as he could be confident in this battle with his previous engagement, this one looks grim.

Escaping was a fool's option; doing a tactical retreat prescribed by Paran Dul would only delay the inevitable; fighting head-on, though, wasn't any better. Perhaps they could ask for reinforcements? Yes, they could try to send an encrypted message to the nearest Thangarian installation that they are being attacked. Messages that might not even reach Thangar, seeing how they were far from any Thangarian-held space.

Maybe he wants to send a message out of the hope that an entire strike force comes from hyperspace in their more desperate hour. Or maybe it was because he wanted to send a message to Thanagar in the chance of them not returning—the chance of not seeing her. To give them clarity on what happened to Commander Hro Talak and the crew of the Warhawk; killed by a Gordaninan patrol that outnumbered them.

If anything, it was to give clarity to Shayera that if he perished, she would know that he fought to the bitter end for her and Thanagar.

"Kragger!" Hro yelled loud enough to be heard by the Lieutenant.

"Yes, Commander?" Said Kragger.

"Get our coordinates and ready the communications relay; we'll be sending a distress call soon."