Empire's End

Jakku

After the battle of Endor, the Empire began to collapse. Its forces separated from each. It's lost its grip over the galaxy as countless of systems flock to the new Republic. As the months passed, it was clear that the Empire was losing.

Now, a large portion of the Imperial Fleet has gathered over Jakku for a final stand against the New Republic. A battle almost as decisive as the one raged over the moon of Endor, almost a year ago.

__________

A silence ensued inside the lift as Sorfe continued to straightened his uniform and his hair. He sprayed a scent of lavender on the uniform, giving the divine scent of Naboo to the lift. Peace, he thought. Alone in the lift was the second state of peacefulness he could ever be in the ship. Beaten only by hyperspace.

The metallic doors of the elevator slid open with a clank as he was greeted by the bridge of the Star Destroyer Obedience. He took a deep breath and began walking forward. The scent of the lavender fades away into the room as it was replaced by the smell of sweat and exhaustion of the bridge crew. Many of whom have been working tirelessly the last few weeks and are eagerly awaiting rest. The sound of the ventilation system could be heard faintly over the chatter of the skeleton crew. Some were talking indistinguishable words to one another while others were glued to their respective stations.

As he approached the window of the bridge, he gazed out. He saw a dozen Star Destroyers all in formation, waiting for an impending arrival of the New Republic fleet. Their intel had informed them that the New Republic has recently mobilised their fleet and now, they were prepared for it. At the center of the formation was the Super Star Destroyer Ravager with Star Destroyers forming a defensive perimeter around it. Only 23 Star Destroyers left, he murmured to himself. 

Only 9 cycles ago, Galius Rax had ordered all remaining Imperial forces to Jakku for a final stand against the New Republic. It wasn't long before their ship arrived at the system and prepared for the upcoming battle. As he continued to gaze upon the massive Imperial fleet, his second in command came towards him.

"Captain?" He asked. "Here are the logistics report of the munitions of the ship left after our recent skirmish over Mimban."

"Yes of course." Answered Sorfe in response. He had completely forgotten about the request but tried his best to sound glad anyways. Recently, there wasn't much to do but wait for the Republic to arrive. He took the data pad and examined it, though his mind was on something else. Just last year, he was enjoying his daily routine patrolling the busy skies of Corusant. Before Endor. Course, his second in command noticed his peculiar behaviour and questioned.

"Sir, is everything alri-" just then alarms started to go off somewhere beneath the catwalk they were standing on. The sudden noise gave everyone a shell shock as their eyes immediately went to check the screens of their respective stations.

"Captain, Republic ships are approaching out of hyperspace. Dozens of them, all in attack formation. Coming out of sector 6-C" Voiced one of  the skeleton crew underneath the catwalk. Just then, a Mon Calamari cruiser appeared from the blackness of space. Followed by another, support ships soon appeared as well accompanied by squadrons of star fighters. The New Republic has arrived.

The initial barrage of fire was what shook their ship first. The vibrations of the impact travelled along the Star Destroyer and caught most of the crew by surprise. Sorfe himself lost balance as his face met the cold metallic floor of the bridge.

He was nearly knocked down again when he tried to stand up, but was caught by his second in command who held him in place. Now the Republic ships were beginning to encircle the Imperials while they stood their ground.

"Orders Sir!" Demanded his crew as desperate as they can sound to Sorfe's ears. "They are targeting our shields. Shields at 86% integrity and holding."

"Fire on the cruisers, target and disable their shields and their weapon systems." Said Sorfe after realizing the state of the battle. As if by command, other ships around the Obedience soon started firing at the same time. This managed to effectively damage some frigates but due to top notch Mon Calamari shielding, only weakening most. Though it did not seem like it, everything was going just as planned.

"Captain, a Republic corvette is severely damaged, it's shields and weapons are offline, should we give chase?" Asked one of the crew.

"Do not break formation! Our fighters would finish the job." Shouted Sorfe in a stern manner, one that actually managed to turn some heads in their direction. Before the battle, every ship was given specific orders by Rax himself to stay in formation.

Right then, two ships in view of the Obediance began shifting to the side exposing the Ravager to a cruiser. Suddenly an intense barrage of turbo laser fire streamed across the battle and just like that, a Mon Calamari cruiser was off the radar. Not long after, there was another opening, as another Republic ship fell.

One by one, ship after ship, corvettes, frigates and cruisers blossomed into fire as the Imperials continued on with their strategy.

They were winning the battle.

When it almost seemed like a decisive victory for the Imperials, a Republic Star-Hulk ship collided with an Imperial Star Destroyer. This collision had surprised everyone on the bridge with even a few gasps were heard from somewhere in the bridge. Sorfe himself was shocked by it, though he did not not make his reaction as obvious as the others in the bridge. The crew needed a leader. He assumed it was a last resort action from the crew of the Star-Hulk when they knew their inevitable demise was approaching. Pathetic.

After the collision, almost nothing was left but chunks of debris cluttered in space. This however, made it clear that there was now a gap in their defensive formation. Another ship, badly damaged have made it through the blockage. Another Star-Hulk. Sorfe had requested he moved his ship to cover the hole. But the response came in too late.

"Captain?" Voiced a member of the bridge crew, her voice filled with dread and uncertainty. Sorfe turned to look at her.  "The Star-Hulk ship that made it through the blockade it's tractor beam is-" A slight pause and then she muttered the words "operational"

"What?!" Questioned Sorfe in disbelief. He didn't think it was a major issue until he remembered the first class tractor beam retrofitted into the new Star-Hulk design that could bring down an entire fleet. Sorfe started thinking of the worst possible outcome before he asked the crew it's target. The answer, froze him in place.

A long pause and then, "The Ravager" voiced someone near the back of the room. Everyone then looked at each other, shock, fear and disbelief in their eyes. Sorfe himself was shocked but tried to hide his expression by looking out the window panels of the bridge. He removed his cap, straitened his uniform and his hair and took a deep breath before wearing back his cap. He turned around, almost gracefully and began the onslaught of orders.

"Move our ship in between the Ravager and the Republic ships, provide cover fire for it and try to contact the Ravager's bridge. Order all TIEs to intercept any hostile star fighters that are targeting the Ravager, I don't want a single one through." He took another deep breath and saw to it that everyone on the bridge was up on their feet and scrambling around the room. He turned to see the Ravager and touched his forehead. He felt drops of sweat slowly making their way down his face, the stress of the battle and the fear in his heart. The tables have turned.