When an Imperial Moff is assassinated by a terrorist group, a member of the Imperial Forces' most experienced and deadly division, The Imperial Guard, is dispatched to track down the rebels and administer The Emperor's punishment.
"Here comes the air support." The general pointed out of the limo to the aircraft approaching from the city. The craft swooped in and took up a position behind the limo, about 50 meters above the road.
Peering out at the aircraft, the general suddenly gasped.
"That's not a Rixian Security Forces' fighter. Teebot, where's the air support. Get it here now and tell them to take this guy out, before he kills us."
The general's aide stared, motionless, at the general. The general turned to look at Teebot when, with a roar of engines, the impostor dove down and over the limo. A device of some sort detached form the craft's belly and landed in the path of the speeder ten meters in front. A second later, as the speeder passed over the device, it exploded. The speeder appeared to expand as it filled with flame before the roof split open allowing the super-heated air to escape. The speeder continued forwards but the explosion had picked it up and thrown it into the air. The chassis disintegrated into molten metal and only the engine, now a mass of welded parts, arced through the air, landing 200 meters from the crater marking the point of the explosion.
Chapter 1
Excerpt
Faylan adjusted his stance into a fighting posture and reached for another syringe. He had lost the first one in his leap to safety. The snake reared its head so that it was level with Faylan's, and began to swerve slowly from side to side in a typical threatening action for snakes of this kind. Faylan prepared for the attack to come. He had hunted and fought dozens of dangerous animals before, and had come close to being killed on more than one occasion. But he was still alive and was determined to stay that way. Keeping his feet apart and his weight evenly spread, Faylan watched and waited. The Hornsnake was apparently in such mood. Obviously annoyed by the loss of its meal, the snake was determined to replace it with his new foe. Again with surprising speed the snake sprung forward, diving into the air then arching downwards on top of the prey. This tactic usually worked well on normal jungle creatures, but Faylan new what was coming. He dove and rolled to one side, then leapt to his feet and span round. As the snake plunged head first to the ground, momentarily stunning itself, Faylan jumped astride its broad body and plunged the syringe into the flesh just behind the base of the skull.
Chapter 2
Excerpt
"Many of the people of the galaxy respect and admire the Jedi. They believe them to be the reason for our peace and prosperity. I intend to give them another group to follow. For years I have been nurturing a group of force adept individuals, such as yourself, in the Imperial Guard. Your number is small and you are spread across the galaxy serving me. One day I hope to replace the Jedi council with the Guard."
Chapter 3
Excerpt
The Colonel turned to the others in the room with a questioning look.
"Was our intelligence wrong?"
"No, definitely not." A thin, grey hared man responded with surprising force.
"You are so sure, Colonel Jenters?"
"I am, Colonel Waerish. We spent almost a year planning this mission. I've had men on Verix for months, men I trust. Our assessment of the situation was correct. There must have been a leak elsewhere."
"You're suggesting a traitor in our organisation?" Waerish responded.
"The Empire have spies, many more than us. Perhaps you need to review our security?"
"Looks like trouble to me."
Corbi Nuloo, captain of the Avareen Moon, fidgeted nervously with the display controls at his fingertips. The image of the two Golan space platforms zoomed annoyingly in and out.
"I don't see we have much of a choice" replied the woman seated at the navigation controls. Her fiery red hair matched her temper, but she was remaining surprisingly cool at the moment. The comms officer, a Dreen named Q'yala, wasn't so calm.
"Billety, are you mad?" Q'yala's fur ruffled indicating his agitation. "If they scan us and see what we're carrying, they'll have a tractor beam on us in no time. It's too risky. We can pull out of the lane and hit hyperspace before they realise what we're doing."
Faylan went from a jog to a sprint as he heard the first shots come from the bay beside him. He passed through the doorway, dove to one side, narrowly avoiding a shot coming from the roof on the opposite side of the bay, and found a blaster pointing squarely at his chest.
"Oh, its you" the rebel said grudgingly, obviously recognising him from his performance in the street. "Any good in a shoot-out?"
"Sure, who're we shooting at?"
"Imperials, as usual" the rebel answered, firing off another couple of shots at the roof.
"Sir, do you have a moment?"
General Searew looked up from the datapad he was half way through and motioned the Major standing at the door into his office.
"What can I do for you, Sid?"
The Major entered, followed by a young, clearly nervous Lieutenant.
"General, Lieutenant Breisk here may well have solved our little problem."
"Really? That would be nice." The look on the General's face was not one of complete confidence.
As the helmet snapped on and the pressure built inside, Faylan stood and took the two short steps to the airlock. He was just stepping into the small chamber when a thought occurred to him. He twisted round and plucked a firearm from the rack opposite, attaching it to his belt. He wasn't sure how well it would work in the environment outside, and he hoped he wouldn't have to find out. The inner door closed and the outer door slid open with a hiss. Five figures were already waiting. By the way they held their rifles they were sure their weapons would work.
Chapter 8
Excerpt
Layel Mree threw his Mark III PIEI fighter into a tight downward corkscrew and risked a glance over his shoulder, searching out the pursuing craft. It was a moment's lapse that almost cost him his life. Even as he found the small Kereel fighter, still doggedly matching his every move, another enemy cut in front of him from nowhere and fired a volley of lasers.
Chapter 9
Excerpt
"How much did you pay General Searew to write this?" Major Worsh asked, his eyes still scanning the datapad in his hand. It took Breisk a moment to realise he had been asked a question. He wasn't at all sure if it was rhetorical or not.
"Sorry, Sir?" he answered.
"Its OK, Son. Just a joke." The Major put the datapad carefully to one side and studied the young man before him. "You did a good job on Rixia. The General thought so and I agree with him. I've read all the reports, so I should be able to form an opinion." The Major's voice was soft and he spoke very slowly as if he was considering everything he said with the greatest of care. "I'd better warn you that there will be some people who do not appreciate the work you've done to earn this promotion. The security service is a high profile element of the Imperial forces and a great many people want to get in. People will be aware you've got friends in high places and they'll assume you've bought your way in.
Don't forget, there are no secretes in this job. You are going to have to work twice as hard as anyone else to earn your peers respect."
The majority of characters, locations and plot lines are original creations of Martin Assirati.
Star Wars and the Star Wars universe are the creation of George Lucas and the legal property of George Lucas and any other entities who have a share in them.
Star Wars: Defender of the Empire is an original story written by Martin Assirati and is not intended for profit, or to infringe upon or undermine the established copyright of those mentioned above.
