Seeds of Rebellion
2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven
years after Episode IV – A New Hope S.S.C Raven, 03:00, Noscage System “Sir, Ki-Ki forces are attacking the convoy in strength should we intervene?” The look that the young commander received from his captain would have reduced the Death Star to a smouldering pile. “Forget the convoy for a moment son, and concentrate on its escorts, I want to see what defensive pattern they use first.” Commander Dolman nodded his head and issued the required orders. The holographic tactical screen showed half of the escort ships splitting away from the convoy of freighters, whilst the heavier cruisers stayed with the transports. The captain smiled and watched closely as the Ki-Ki forces ignored the smaller fighters and went for the cruisers and the freighters. “Prepare Black Wing for launch and tell Tacyon Wing to stand by for orders. The smaller escort ships are going to double back and attack the Ki-Ki forces. When they do, I guarantee a second set of Ki-Ki ships will exit from hyperspace and try to cut off the escorts.” As if on queue, the escort ships doubled back and started to attack the Ki-Ki forces. The captain watched as the tactical display showed fifty more ships, all interceptor analogues, exiting from hyperspace. The escorts realised their error and the freighters started to split up and head for the planet. One freighter doubled back to help engage the Ki-Ki. “Get me a full close up on that freighter and bring up the ident code.” The image enlarged to show a graceful ageless design that made the captain smile. “Forget the ident, it will no doubt be false anyway. Launch Black Wing and patch me through to the captain of that ship.” “Hold on to your hat kid, this is gonna to be rough!” Jan Lomona pulled back on the controls and arced the Berone Sunrise in to a full flip. Thrusters strained as the overpowered freighter fought against its own momentum. Space wheeled past the view ports and for a moment the gravity plates gave a lurch. Then the ship was accelerating towards the attacking Ki-Ki and Jan grimaced in concentration as they scattered out of his way. Automatic tracking on the turrets allowed Brevis to take out three of the attackers before they even had a chance to relax. He felt a surge of adrenaline as he saw the intent across Jan’s face and realised why the older man had decided to lead this convoy. You could take the man out of space but you couldn’t take the space out of the man. “Never imagined I’d be getting to grips with the Sunrise on this journey. Thought it was just a look and see milk run.” Jan grinned as he took out two more of the Ki-Ki attackers and looped the Sunrise so that another collided. “Count yourself lucky I didn’t ask you along last week. You’d have been bored senseless. Besides, I thought it might get you out of that brooding mood you’ve fallen into lately.” There was a lurch as a barrage or blaster bolts hit the outside of the ship. “That was too close.” Jan raised his eyebrows. “Give me more cover to the rear deflectors.” Before Brevis could reply another series of energy bolts impacted on the deflectors causing the lights to dim. “Whoa, Jan, we’ve lost one of the rear deflectors and Aurran is reporting a drop in power from the core.” Lomona cursed, as he thought of the options available to him, but before he could apply them his com board lit up. “Patch that through to my headset.” There was a cursory nod and Jan had control of the com unit. “Lomona here, make it quick.” The channel cleared and a voice that Jan vaguely recognised laughed in his ears. “Captain Lomona, good to see you too. Please vector to 138 mark 6. I have a small force ready to guide you to safety.” Jan checked the scanners, which showed only Ki-Ki ships, his Trac-Tran Transit Company freighters and their Iron Claw outriders. “Not until I know who you are and what you’re doing here.” He twisted the Sunrise into a corkscrew as a Ki-Ki fighter opened up on him. The auto tracking on the turrets opened fire but missed. “And you’d better make it quick.” “My name is Mendip Khan. You have five seconds to make your decision before I’ll be forced to change my mind.” Jan took a chance. “138 mark 6 it is then.” The Sunrise flipped almost fully over and engines went to full burn as Jan transferred power from the weapons to the shields. Two nearby Ki-Ki ships overshot him and had to start a second attack run. Jan cursed as they started to gain. “The quadex is showing a fifty percent drain. Whoever this guy is he’d better show up soon.” Jan brought the ion cannon back on line and started taking pot shots at the following Ki-Ki forces. Dropping down the inertial dampers to the safest minimum, he opened the com channel he reserved for short-range contact with his haulers. He sent out the automatic beacon that would guide ships in to his coordinates and switched the scanners on to maximum search. Something blipped on his screen. “Brevis?” He heard the young smuggler grunt as he fought against the G-Force generated by the now spinning ship. “I’m on it. Got fifty blips heading this way, but they’re hardly showing a signal. Very close.” Something black shot past the cockpit, followed by several other something’s. Jan dropped the cockpit lights to emergency levels and waited for his eyes to adjust. There was a flash of light from behind the ship as both pursuing Ki-Ki craft ignited in balls of incandescence. “Four of them are doubling back to take point and rear guard. The rest are chasing off the Ki-Ki.” Brevis looked around towards the cockpit Plexiglas window. “What they hell are they?” Two small fighter scale craft closed on the sunrise and took defensive positions. Jan squinted and was able to just make out their jet-black shapes against the star field. “X-wings I think, but like non that I’ve ever seen.” Jan opened the com and was about to signal the ships when the scanners lit up. “Will you look at that.” At three clicks distance, the seven hundred metre long carrier filled a quarter of the view port. Previously unseen running lights came online and Jan could barely make out the massive shield generator mounted on the front of the ship. The matt black paint reflected very little starlight and seemed to absorb any light shone upon it. His communications board lit up and Jan opened the channel. “This is S.S.C Raven, please lower ray shielding and prepare for tractor guidance.” Jan Lomona did as requested and lowered the ray shielding. The Sunrise moved in a graceful curve barely shuddering as the tractor beam pulled her in towards one of the massive docking bays. Jan noticed a series of guidance lights come on line as he approached the entrance to the bay. He noticed that he was now alone as the modified freighter was tractored over small landing pad, barely able to accommodate it’s bulk. “You have control captain. Please await confirmation of umbilical attachment before exiting through your airlock.” As the tractor disengaged, Jan used the repulsors to bring the Sunrise to a perfect landing. He noticed a series of magnetic lines extend and clamp on to the base of his ship. There was the sound of metal scraping against metal as the umbilical docked with his upper hatch. “Keep the systems powered up and wait right here. I might need you, don’t take no for an answer.” The young trainee Trac-Tran smuggler gave Jan an annoyed look but knew enough to keep his mouth shut and just nod. Jan cycled the lock and exited into the much larger umbilical. The gravity shifted subtly as he climbed then walked up the tube. It changed again as he reached the top and he had to climb a short ladder into the airlock at the other end. Two mean looking guards greeted him with a salute and a helping hand. Jan nodded in acknowledgement, noting how the gold bird like emblem on their epaulets contrasted with the smart black uniform. “Captain Lomona, would you follow us please. Captain Kahn is awaiting you on his private observation platform.” Jan followed the two men, noticing that two more dropped in behind him as he exited the airlock. They guided him through darkened corridors into a small round chamber. A single turbo lift sat in the centre. Two of the guards waited by the lift doors as the other two entered the lift ahead of Jan. Lomona followed them and they were soon moving rapidly upwards. The doors opened and the two guards remained in the lift as Jan stepped out to hear a now familiar voice. “Greetings Captain Lomona. I hope you arrived here without any further problems?” Mendip Khan examined the look on Jan Lomona’s face as he exited the lift onto the observation deck of the S.S.C Raven. A grin split Lomona’s features as he held his hand out in greeting. “I didn’t get the chance to thank you for the assist the last time. Looks like we’re back in the same situation. Somebody might think you’d planned this.” Khan took Jan’s hand and reciprocated the smile. “Good to see you too Captain Lomona. You are a hard man to track down.” Jan allowed the smile to linger on his face a moment longer then turned the conversation to more serious issues. “What happed to the rest of the convoy? Did they get away?” Khan nodded and waved his hand over a nearby panel. The walls of the hemispherical room became opaque then translucent as stars replaced the dark metal of the walls. “As you will see momentarily, they are being guided towards us. Their crews will be given full hospitality and your ships patched up. However, the Iron Claws are being a little stubborn about leaving you behind and want confirmation that you are okay. If you don’t mind?” He signalled towards a holographic projection plate embedded in the floor. Jan stepped onto it and was immediately surrounded by a holocam beam. The face of one of the Iron Claw commanders was projected on to the wall in front of him. “Sir, are you alright?” Jan recognised the young commander and nodded. “Fine. Tell your crew to take some R and R and signal your boss that I’ll be talking to him soon. Bantha Blue is on the move, Lomona out.” Khan smiled as he listened in on the conversation. “Bantha Blue is on the move. Doesn’t that mean situation under control?” Jan frowned as he stepped out of the beam. “How do you know that? Only a handful of people know the codes between the Iron Claws and the Trac-Tran.” Khan just smiled and moved his hand over the console again. A small cylinder rose from a hidden compartment in the floor. Khan took it of the repulsors beam and handed it to Jan. “This contains information on Ki-Ki spies located within your organisation and the Iron Claws. Between them they have access to sensitive tactical information that may give you trouble. I’ll give you the code to unlock this cylinder if you’ll do me a favour in return.” Jan’s face went deadly serious. “Exactly how reliable is this information? I don’t need information unless it’s absolutely tight.” Khans smile disappeared and a frown appeared on his forehead. “This information comes from the Raven Corporations less…reputable side. It’s as tight as it can be.” This time Jan thought for a moment before answering. “I’d heard that Raven has made some errors lately. How come you fell in with the group?” Khan sighed and motioned Jan to sit down on one of the comfortable looking chairs that sat central to the room. Jan took the seat nearest the console. “Strictly off the record, the raid on my old ship was not unexpected. In fact, it was a trap, set by Raven and the Setnin Defence Force. However, the one thing we could not have foreseen was the treachery of Nias Derril. By the time the S.D.F arrived, there was nothing left to clean up but wreckage and space dust.” He paused handing Jan a Duarga from a concealed chiller unit in the console. “The Jedi stopped the whole situation from becoming a complete shambles, but they also took heavy damage. It will be a while until their transport is fully operational again.” Jan took a sip from the Duarga and relaxed into the chair. “So why tell me all this? What has this to do with the favour you need to ask from me?” Khan leaned forward and motioned to the vast expanse of space visible on the walls. “The Ki-Ki are going to take the Setnin Sector. Nothing we can do at the moment will stop that. However, there will be a time in the future when we might be able to retaliate.” Jan was about to protest but Khan motioned for him to keep silent. “At this moment in time there are several diverse and self-interested parties working towards the same goal, the defeat of the Ki-Ki. We must band together and work as a team. My employer has suggested a meeting between such parties, to take place at an as yet undefined location. He wishes to know whether the Iron Claws and Trac-Tran would be interested in discussing the possibilities of joining with us and forming such a team.” Jan sat motionless at the controls of the Sunrise as he thought over what Khan had told him. Brevis entered into the cockpit behind him and sat down in the co-pilots chair. “Fifteen minutes.” Jan turned around to Brevis. “What?” Brevis smiled at Jan and pointed to his chronometer. “You’ve been sitting there for nearly fifteen minutes now. We received permission to leave five minutes ago.” Jan grimaced inwardly. Until now he hadn’t really thought too deeply about his role in the Setnin/Ki-Ki War. Sure, he’d pulled in alongside the Setnin government, and helped to set up the hidden funds for the construction of the new Heed, but he hadn’t realised how deep he had dug himself. He looked around at Brevis and realised, not for the first time, how he reminded him of his own youth. He fingered the small data cylinder in his hand. “Power up the engines and take us to Chancai. I think I might have an idea.” Seeds of Rebellion
2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven
years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – The first story to bring Jan Lomona
100% into the New Underworld Age, and the story showing the involvement of the TTTC and the Iron Claws. Introducing Jans new co-pilot Brevis Doole,
this shows the mysterious Raven
Corporation, information gatherers
and military hardware specialists truly taking sides against the Ki-Ki and
making early plans to form a Setnin alliance.
Leading directly into the When Push Comes to Shove story, this Louis Turfrey tale informs us of how far into Setnin the Ki-Ki
have driven.
Cast of Characters Captain Mendip KhanJan Lomona Brevis Doole Commander
Dolman |