Commodore Aaron Rysell stood on the bridge of the 'Leviathan', staring out of the window. And so did the rest of the ship, one of the rare moments where Rysell let them cease their works to enjoy the spectacle.
For what was happening before them, was a complete massacre. Not just the Imperial Pilots that were turning the nearby Munificent's into scrap metal. But rather even further behind them.
Were a Lucrehulk and three Recusant-Class Light Battleships were suffering from chain explosions all across their ships. And nobody on that bridge, with the exception of Aaron Rysell and his chief officers, knew the reason.
For unknown to all onboard the bridge, and the sensor officer. 4 dots briefly activated on the sensors for a split second, each one near one of the four cruisers that were currently exploding in a fiery mess.
"That is enough gawking. Inform local authorities of battle status and transfer blockade positions to all fleet command, B-S9 positions. And prep all heavy warships for orbital bombardment, and place cronau sensors throughout the system. I want to know everything going in and out of the system." Commodore Rysell spoke as his crew then rapidly turned back to their tasks and began working.
Commodore Aaron Rysell, alongside most of his staff would remain on the bridge, supervising the tedious details of preparing an orbital bombardment and receiving casualty details.
Half an hour later, a ship-wide notification of a sensor mishap that reported a signature appearing directly in front of a side hangar onboard the Leviathan was heard by all sensors onboard the ship, and it was wiped from the archives.
...
Captain Maxim Vance watched as a Hammerhead Corvette that had gotten too close in an attempt to ram his flagship exploded in a fiery burst of flames. Some of the shrapnel sadly took down three TIE Starfighters in the nearby vicinity. A mistake on their part that had cost them their life.
Vance found himself engaging a rogue mercenary company. One that was hired by the Empire to eradicate a rebel cell; however, the mercenaries had gone overboard and slaughtered and mercilessly tore apart multiple other villages.
All of which had been caught on HoloFilm by a surviving rebel, and had then spread throughout the galaxy. And the Empire had, in response, declared no part in the actions, and therefore the mercenary corp had to be hunted down.
Vance's 1023rd Battle Group consisted of one Imperial-II-Class Star Destroyer, an Interdictor-Class Star Destroyer, and a pair of lancers. Serving as much-needed anti-starfighter hardware.
The crew then burst out into celebration as the last Hammerhead was shot down, all the while Vance was watching their celebration with a mix of disappointment and disgust.
"Lieutenant Henrik, what exactly are you celebrating?" Vance's voice rose over the celebration, as every sound ceased and everyone turned to look towards Lieutenant Henrik, the gunner.
"You missed a near point-blank classed shot at a bridge, with the shields down. Your target was clear, and you knew the shields had fallen. A destroyed bridge would have severely crippled the ship, preventing the Hammerhead from getting so close, and would have saved 3 pilots that now float in space."
There was no response as the Lieutenant took in his C.O's words. He knew very well that such a mistake onboard a vessel in units such as Death Squad would have earned him a repositioning.
"And you, Lieutenant Commander Dorr. Why were there three TIE Fighters in the near vicinity of a ship identified as a priority target for all turbolasers? Explosions are very normal when a ship is taken down through turbolaser." He continued, as Commander Dorr stared at the ground. Unable to face his commander.
"You all are aware of the expectation placed on you, not just as officers onboard my flagship. But as men and women of the Imperial Navy, an establishment tasked with the safety of Imperial Worlds. If these mercenaries had escaped, they would have killed thousands of civillians. And their blood would be on you."
"That is all, deploy scavengers and inform Imperial Fleet Command of the success. I want a detailed report from all crew on their successes, failures, and potential improvements within the fortnight."
"X.O has the bridge." He said before turning about and leaving the bridge, making his way to his own office near the bridge. As he sat down, his mind ran through the battle scenario.
He brought forth his own HoloNote before he began writing. "TIE Fighters once again show their frugality; a 35% casualties against outnumbered mercenaries is unacceptable for Imperial-trained pilots. Lancers have shown their worth, but can only do so much."
His mind then wandered towards another topic he had spent a lot of time debating as of late, the success of one man by the name of Aaron Rysell. A man whom Captain Maxim Vance looked up to, even though he was a year older.
Maxim had spent large parts of his education and early career rising through traditional means. Maxim had learned how to most effectively command his ship, standard strategies, textbook maneuvers, and which formations were best against others.
And Maxim had certainly succeeded, having never one lost a battle. And his books were clean, no unnecessary spending, no out-of-pocket maneuvers. But at the same time, there were none of the successes Commodore Rysell had accomplished.
Always unnecessary losses. TIE-Fighters, hull damage, turrets destroyed. Maxim could control the full spectrum of the battle, but there were always minor characters or movements that spiraled out of control.
A Hammerhead Charge, an frigate that blasted through his fighters, boarding troops. And perhaps it was wishful thinking, but Vance wanted to solve these problems. And there was only a few which he knew of had somehow managed it.
Grand Admiral Osvlad Teshik's iron defense, forming defensive lines that ensured only numbers far surpassing his own could punch through. Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, his fleet was the most technologically advanced fleet. His average cunning was equalled out by sheer technological superiority and constant new inventions. Grand Admiral Thrawn, his ability to manipulate his opponents through psychological warfare and understanding of culture let him to achieve some of the greatest feats. And recently, Commodore Aaron Rysell.
The man's use of elite units, varied fleet composition, and ability to predict the minds of rebels had seen him become one of the most talked-of strategists in Imperial Circles. Commodore Rysell had a way of drawing enemies into his own traps, even if he was the offensive factor.
He also played the Rebels' strength against them, meeting them in equal force through a fleet composition that did not just spam Star Destroyers, and through advanced fighters that all but ended the Rebels' ability to play on unique talents and ideology.
'My career has been stagnating; fighting pirates and mercenaries can only get you so far. And there is an utter lack of true fighting opportunities in the Galaxy. I will remain as a Captain for decades without an opportunity to prove my worth.'
'My old classmate is currently in I.I, reports indicate I.I has some form of link with Rysell. And perhaps they can get me a few more.... interesting missions.' Maxim thought, before sighing. 'Well, it's worth a shot.'
-------------------
Agent Varn Issik was getting increasingly more and more agitated by this new investigation he was included it, he doubted there was any task that could annoy him more than this.
Sitting inside an interrogation chamber on Virgilla, a base set up by I.I to monitor the Virgilla Free Alignment that had been slowly gathering power and growing. However Agent Varn Issik was there for another reason.
For inside, sat a surprisingly beautiful blonde girl with an alluring body shape and a lethal face-card. But also the creator of all of Varn Issik's annoyance. For, the force gave just as it took. And it had given Tyria an alluring body, but removed all form of intelligence from the womans brain.
Which was perhaps why Moff Cassian Thrunn took a liking to her, and a lot of her likeminded friends. Aka, dumb bitches. Which is why this was an annoyingly difficult task for Varn. For the girl did not care to lie, or defend the Moff.
But she was just too stupid to be of any proper use through her raw information. So rather, Varn spent most of his time gathering the intelligence and piecing it together to reach some form of conclusion.
And through it, Varn, Hannah and Aaron had slowly been uncovering evidence.
Varn was tasked with interrogating close staff and companions of the Moff, and through it he had discovered a series of meetings with an unknown man simply named the 'Freerider', though the I.I had quickly identified him as the Rebel Cell Leader Darion Jaha.
Similarly, they had discovered that the Moff was often in contact with other shady figures. Some were identified as black market military hardware resellers, whitewashing agents, and three identified slave-traders.
Of course, these were all witnesses with no hard or concrete evidence. And the witnesses were all shady individuals who would not stand up in military court- not that it would ever reach that point. For that was Aaron and Hannah's playstyle. They solved their problems quickly, and away from unnecessary involvement.
From what Varn had understood, Aaron Rysell had already been in contact with a governor who would eventually be the replacement. And Varn cared little for the move for power from the Commodore's side.
The Commodore had been investigating into a 'suprising' number of clashes between Imperial and Rebel Forces in the sector, leading to an abnormal amount of requests for funding to fix up the forces under his command. And he had already been finding hints towards something funky about it.
Meanwhile, Hannah was retrieving statements from some of the Moff's less 'trustworthy' subordinates, aka the people that were clearly abandoned and secluded by the Moff. They did not want to alert them of their little investigation but also knew it would not take long for people to begin seeing what was happening.
Everything was moving rapidly forward, and Aaron had already contacted the Imperial High Command, having received the go-ahead from the council of Grand Moff's, and had been given authority over fleets and naval assets in the sector from Imperial Fleet Command.
Of course, both Hannah and Aaron knew they needed an impenetrable defense of proof, for taking down a Moff was a whole different level. It was not like court-martial, where one could be removed effectively and silently.
This would entail a massive political battle, and Varn did not doubt that he'd most likely be pulled into this clusterfuck of a task as well.
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