The Assault Frigate Nightstalker exited hyperspace in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Empty blackness all around. On the bridge, Captain Wesley Vos of the New Order Special Forces scrunched his brow and stared at his navigaion officer. "Are you sure those were the correct coordinates?" he asked.
"Unless Sienar was lying to us, we're in the right place," came the reply.
Wes pursed his lips. Why would Sienar bring us out here? he wondered. Three days ago he had been approached by representatives of Sienar corporation, who said that they had developed something in secret that he might be interested in. What exactly it was they wouldn't say. Wes had been suspicious at first, as any good commander would be, but after running full background checks on both, he'd decided to meet them at the designated coordinates. His fears were returning now, though. This was the perfect point for an ambush.
Best to be safe, he thought. Raising his wrist to his mouth, Wes flipped his wrist comm on and said, "Commander Bates, scramble your squadron. We don't want to be caught with our pants down if this is a trap."
Within five minutes, twelve TIE Defenders were swarming around the frigate. Feeling a bit better, Wes waited for whatever was to come.
After a half an hour had passed, he began to wonder if anyone was going to show up. Just as he rose, though, three vessels dropped out of hyperspace. Two were clearly marked as Sienar transports, but the third was different from any ship he'd ever seen. It resembled the new Articus-class command ship, but it was at the least heavily modified.
The communications officer, a young lieutenant, turned to Wes and said, "Captain, we're receiving a message from one of the transports. Shall I patch it through?"
Wes nodded, and a voice came over the comm. "Captain Vos. Good to finally meet you. I've heard rumors of your work, but you do a decent job of keeping your doings secret. I'm Lomari Bost, official representative of Sienar Corporation."
Wes replied, "Mr. Bost. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."
"We had a bit of a problem getting started. Red tape stuff. I'm sure you know all about that. Anyway, I'm sure you want to get right down to business, so if you'll shuttle over to the Articus command craft, we'll get started."
***
As Wes's TIE Defender entered the hangar bay, he noticed that quite a few changes had been made. Gone were the shuttle racks that had once lined the floor. In their place were ships of unique design - black fighters. As the Captain landed, a small delegation of suits approached.
Climbing out, Wes removed his flight helmet and waited for the group. Bost spoke first. "Captain Vos, welcome."
Wes smiled. "Had I known the meeting would be this formal, I'd have actually brought a shuttle over. Dress uniforms don't go with fighters too well."
"Never mind about that, Captain." Bost led Wes towards the fighters as he continued to talk. "Now, Captain, these fighters I'm about to show you were designed in complete secrecy. Only select personell at Sienar know about them. Let me introduce you to the new TIE Phantom."
Wes moved to examine the exterior of the fighter. "It's black," he said.
"Yes, sir. Black matte fiberplast. Doesn't affect the flight of the craft, but renders it invisible in space. It also comes fully equipped with upgraded and retooled ion engines, four SFS L-s9.3 Laser Cannons..."
Wes cut him off. "Retooled engines?"
"One of the greatest features," replied Bost. "They burn TibannaX, a more refined form of Tibanna gas that turns black as it burns. That renders the drive train invisible." Wes nodded, and Bost continued. "As I was saying, the Mk. II Phantom also mounts two general purpose warhead launchers, sensor negators, and a gravitic modulator."
Wes raised one eyebrow. "Sensor negators? Gravitic modulator? You mean sensors won't pick this thing up at all?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Captain. You fly one of these things, you can get right up next to a ship, and it probably won't see you even then. I'm sure you can find uses for such a craft."
Wes raised both eyebrows now. Then a thought occured. "What about communications? Won't enemy vessels be able to triangulate the fighter's position through its comm signal?"
Bost smiled. "You would think so. However, Sienar has also developed a stealth comm. It sends a tight beam on a single frequency only to specific craft with similar devices. Unless the enemy is in the path of the beam, there's only a 1 in 100 billion chance of them picking up the signal."
Wes nodded. "I like it. Of course, I'll want to see it in action before I make a final decision."
"I understand," Bost responded. "Come with me, and you will."
The delegation began to move out of the hangar, but Bost continued talking. "Just so you know, Captain, this ship is no longer a command vessel. It's designed specifically as a Special Forces craft, if you're interested."
Wes glanced at him and nodded, indicating he should continue. After a moment, Bost said, "You are familiar with the design of the Articus, correct?" Wes nodded once more, and Bost continued. "Well, we replaced the shuttle racks with fighter docking stations to allow the Phantoms to fit in the hangar. The main reactor was seriously upgraded and two engines were added, giving a greater sublight speed and allowing multiple systems to be operational at once. The hyperdrive motivator was replaced, and the ship now has a hyperdrive rating of 3.5. We replaced the long-range turbolasers with standard heavy batteries and added two more, and we increased the number of dual cannons to ten. The warhead launchers are no longer delayed action, in order for the ship to be more effective in close-range combat. Short-range sensors were added, and we even added a stealth comm to the communications array."
As he finished, the turbolift arrived on the bridge. The 360 degree view was desirable, Wes had to admit. He'd always hated the single direction viewports on most craft. Bost strode forward and flipped on the comm. "Launch Test Craft One."
A TIE Fighter launched from the bay of the first transport and began flying a defensive pattern. Bost provided a running commentary. "The TIE's been fully automated and programmed by our best techs. Watch now. You won't see the Phantom, but keep your eye on the TIE."
Wes watched the TIE for a full minute before anything happened. Out of nowhere, four laser bolts appeared and slammed into the TIE, destroying it immediately. Wes barely caught the outline of the Phantom as it slid in front of the explosion, then it was gone again. "Impressive," he commented. Glancing at the sensor screens, he was even more impressed to see that the Phantom didn't register at all.
Bost flipped another switch. "I'm turning on the stealth comm now. This will give me a direct link to the Phantom."
As he did, Wes commed in to his communications team on the Nightstalker. "See if you can pick up a comm signal." His team was the best in the Empire. If they couldn't catch the signal, no one else could.
Bost was talking over the comm. "Nice flying, Yorst. Commence transport attack."
"Affirmative," came the reply.
Wes again commed in to his team. "Anything?" he asked.
"Nothing, Captain," came the reply.
Bost looked up. "Satisfied?" Wes nodded, and the Sienar rep continued. "This time, watch the other transport. It is also fully automated."
Wes watched until he saw two explosions on the ship's hull. He turned to the sensor screen and briefly glimpsed the heat signatures of two proton torpedos before they too slammed into the side of the ship. These ended the transport's short life, tearing it in half.
Bost explained, "We've also covered the torpedoes in the fiberplast and are making them to burn TibannaX. We can't seem to figure out how to eliminate the heat signatures, though. Still, they're hard to see and hard to target."
Wes smiled. "I like it," he said. Thinking a moment, he continued, "Alright, I'll bite. How much do they cost?" When Bost replied, Wes whistled. "That's the same as a flight of Defenders! But it's worth it. Alright. I'll take...one gross of the fighters and four modified Articus carriers. How soon can I get them?"
"That's a lot of ships, but you're in luck. We've already made forty-eight fighters and can have the rest done within the next two weeks. As for the Articuses, it'll take about the same amount of time to modify three more. Payment will be expected on delivery, of course."
Wes smiled. These new ships were going to make the entire galaxy fall to its knees in the face of the New Order. When unseen ships could make strikes without hope of detection, fear would reign supreme, and capitulation would follow on fear's heels. "You will be compensated, Mr. Bost," Wes concluded. "I'll expect the ships to be delivered to these coordinates in two weeks time. Until then," he nodded, then turned and strode from the bridge.
"Unless Sienar was lying to us, we're in the right place," came the reply.
Wes pursed his lips. Why would Sienar bring us out here? he wondered. Three days ago he had been approached by representatives of Sienar corporation, who said that they had developed something in secret that he might be interested in. What exactly it was they wouldn't say. Wes had been suspicious at first, as any good commander would be, but after running full background checks on both, he'd decided to meet them at the designated coordinates. His fears were returning now, though. This was the perfect point for an ambush.
Best to be safe, he thought. Raising his wrist to his mouth, Wes flipped his wrist comm on and said, "Commander Bates, scramble your squadron. We don't want to be caught with our pants down if this is a trap."
Within five minutes, twelve TIE Defenders were swarming around the frigate. Feeling a bit better, Wes waited for whatever was to come.
After a half an hour had passed, he began to wonder if anyone was going to show up. Just as he rose, though, three vessels dropped out of hyperspace. Two were clearly marked as Sienar transports, but the third was different from any ship he'd ever seen. It resembled the new Articus-class command ship, but it was at the least heavily modified.
The communications officer, a young lieutenant, turned to Wes and said, "Captain, we're receiving a message from one of the transports. Shall I patch it through?"
Wes nodded, and a voice came over the comm. "Captain Vos. Good to finally meet you. I've heard rumors of your work, but you do a decent job of keeping your doings secret. I'm Lomari Bost, official representative of Sienar Corporation."
Wes replied, "Mr. Bost. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."
"We had a bit of a problem getting started. Red tape stuff. I'm sure you know all about that. Anyway, I'm sure you want to get right down to business, so if you'll shuttle over to the Articus command craft, we'll get started."
***
As Wes's TIE Defender entered the hangar bay, he noticed that quite a few changes had been made. Gone were the shuttle racks that had once lined the floor. In their place were ships of unique design - black fighters. As the Captain landed, a small delegation of suits approached.
Climbing out, Wes removed his flight helmet and waited for the group. Bost spoke first. "Captain Vos, welcome."
Wes smiled. "Had I known the meeting would be this formal, I'd have actually brought a shuttle over. Dress uniforms don't go with fighters too well."
"Never mind about that, Captain." Bost led Wes towards the fighters as he continued to talk. "Now, Captain, these fighters I'm about to show you were designed in complete secrecy. Only select personell at Sienar know about them. Let me introduce you to the new TIE Phantom."
Wes moved to examine the exterior of the fighter. "It's black," he said.
"Yes, sir. Black matte fiberplast. Doesn't affect the flight of the craft, but renders it invisible in space. It also comes fully equipped with upgraded and retooled ion engines, four SFS L-s9.3 Laser Cannons..."
Wes cut him off. "Retooled engines?"
"One of the greatest features," replied Bost. "They burn TibannaX, a more refined form of Tibanna gas that turns black as it burns. That renders the drive train invisible." Wes nodded, and Bost continued. "As I was saying, the Mk. II Phantom also mounts two general purpose warhead launchers, sensor negators, and a gravitic modulator."
Wes raised one eyebrow. "Sensor negators? Gravitic modulator? You mean sensors won't pick this thing up at all?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Captain. You fly one of these things, you can get right up next to a ship, and it probably won't see you even then. I'm sure you can find uses for such a craft."
Wes raised both eyebrows now. Then a thought occured. "What about communications? Won't enemy vessels be able to triangulate the fighter's position through its comm signal?"
Bost smiled. "You would think so. However, Sienar has also developed a stealth comm. It sends a tight beam on a single frequency only to specific craft with similar devices. Unless the enemy is in the path of the beam, there's only a 1 in 100 billion chance of them picking up the signal."
Wes nodded. "I like it. Of course, I'll want to see it in action before I make a final decision."
"I understand," Bost responded. "Come with me, and you will."
The delegation began to move out of the hangar, but Bost continued talking. "Just so you know, Captain, this ship is no longer a command vessel. It's designed specifically as a Special Forces craft, if you're interested."
Wes glanced at him and nodded, indicating he should continue. After a moment, Bost said, "You are familiar with the design of the Articus, correct?" Wes nodded once more, and Bost continued. "Well, we replaced the shuttle racks with fighter docking stations to allow the Phantoms to fit in the hangar. The main reactor was seriously upgraded and two engines were added, giving a greater sublight speed and allowing multiple systems to be operational at once. The hyperdrive motivator was replaced, and the ship now has a hyperdrive rating of 3.5. We replaced the long-range turbolasers with standard heavy batteries and added two more, and we increased the number of dual cannons to ten. The warhead launchers are no longer delayed action, in order for the ship to be more effective in close-range combat. Short-range sensors were added, and we even added a stealth comm to the communications array."
As he finished, the turbolift arrived on the bridge. The 360 degree view was desirable, Wes had to admit. He'd always hated the single direction viewports on most craft. Bost strode forward and flipped on the comm. "Launch Test Craft One."
A TIE Fighter launched from the bay of the first transport and began flying a defensive pattern. Bost provided a running commentary. "The TIE's been fully automated and programmed by our best techs. Watch now. You won't see the Phantom, but keep your eye on the TIE."
Wes watched the TIE for a full minute before anything happened. Out of nowhere, four laser bolts appeared and slammed into the TIE, destroying it immediately. Wes barely caught the outline of the Phantom as it slid in front of the explosion, then it was gone again. "Impressive," he commented. Glancing at the sensor screens, he was even more impressed to see that the Phantom didn't register at all.
Bost flipped another switch. "I'm turning on the stealth comm now. This will give me a direct link to the Phantom."
As he did, Wes commed in to his communications team on the Nightstalker. "See if you can pick up a comm signal." His team was the best in the Empire. If they couldn't catch the signal, no one else could.
Bost was talking over the comm. "Nice flying, Yorst. Commence transport attack."
"Affirmative," came the reply.
Wes again commed in to his team. "Anything?" he asked.
"Nothing, Captain," came the reply.
Bost looked up. "Satisfied?" Wes nodded, and the Sienar rep continued. "This time, watch the other transport. It is also fully automated."
Wes watched until he saw two explosions on the ship's hull. He turned to the sensor screen and briefly glimpsed the heat signatures of two proton torpedos before they too slammed into the side of the ship. These ended the transport's short life, tearing it in half.
Bost explained, "We've also covered the torpedoes in the fiberplast and are making them to burn TibannaX. We can't seem to figure out how to eliminate the heat signatures, though. Still, they're hard to see and hard to target."
Wes smiled. "I like it," he said. Thinking a moment, he continued, "Alright, I'll bite. How much do they cost?" When Bost replied, Wes whistled. "That's the same as a flight of Defenders! But it's worth it. Alright. I'll take...one gross of the fighters and four modified Articus carriers. How soon can I get them?"
"That's a lot of ships, but you're in luck. We've already made forty-eight fighters and can have the rest done within the next two weeks. As for the Articuses, it'll take about the same amount of time to modify three more. Payment will be expected on delivery, of course."
Wes smiled. These new ships were going to make the entire galaxy fall to its knees in the face of the New Order. When unseen ships could make strikes without hope of detection, fear would reign supreme, and capitulation would follow on fear's heels. "You will be compensated, Mr. Bost," Wes concluded. "I'll expect the ships to be delivered to these coordinates in two weeks time. Until then," he nodded, then turned and strode from the bridge.