The Rebel Faction

Surreptious

In rather quick sucession the orange vessels began dissapearing from the 3-D model. A voice marked the departure of each craft and specified if any of the escape vectors had bene plotted. Several, including that of the Interdictor cruiser, had been; but it meant little. As Rellokater, it was not his orders to chase down pirates, or mercenaries or whoever the hell had attacked the Immolator. His job was to safeguard Belgardi Ltd property, planets and personel. Rico Belgardi, as the head of the company and his overall commander, superceded all other concerns. It seemed obvious to Orric that whomever had attacked the Immolator was after Rico- they had disabled the ship with ion weapons and sensor scans were showing some structural damage consistent with boarding action.

That report was rather disturbing as it was possible that Rico had been removed from the Immolator been whisked away by the Coalition vessels. The Immolator lay dead in space, and couldn't even raise enough powerful for short range communication. He had ordered the trio of battlecruisers to form a perimeter around the vessel, and ordered a team of security "Relocaters", a highly trained Belgardi group, onto the Immolator. Their shuttle had launched a few minutes ago, but hadn't docked yet. Hopefully they would be able to find Rico Belgardi alive and well on the ship.

"Sir, we have secured a line to the Imperial forces."

A portion of the tactical display close to Taylor morphed from empty space to the figure of an Imperial officer.

"Well"

"I assume you followed us here."

It was a statment, not a question.

"When I asked for this channel I assumed that we would be engaging those.."

He paused not knowing what word to use to describe the attackers.

"...enemy ships, and was going to inquire about your intentions in that engagment. However, since our friends have made an early exit that is no longer a problem we have to deal with."

With the original purpose of the channel no longer relevant, Taylor had nothing important to say. In an attempt to make the conversation worthwhile he added,

"Our scans revealed obviously modified transponder codes, and our preliminary visuals were inconclusive. It would of course be of interest to our company to identify the responsible party; though I don't know if you can be much help in that area."

He gave a weak smile. Wasting the Imperial's time was not what his orginal intention had been. If the Imperial captain didn't say anything, he was going to cut the link.

Immolator

The stun bolt caught the first guard by suprise, sending him to the floor of the corridor in a heap. Another bolt caught the second guard in the arm, and he felt it go limp by his side. Ducking back behind the corner intersection, he raised his good arm and kept the third member of the patrol from crossing into the line of fire.

Then, after fumbling with a pocket in his jumpsuit, he pulled out a com-link and sent out a message reqesting back-up...

OOC: Actually, I thought it was Trinity's turn.

The guard squinted around the corner. "Looks like... what, a half dozen droids? Can't identify the model, but whatever they are they're toting stun-rifles and look like they're guarding a perimeter."

"Well" said the second guard "Reniforcments should be here in a minute, we'll be fine so long as we stay behind cover."

It was at this point that both guards recieved stun-bolts to the back of the neck. Both collapsed in a heap instantly, and team two rushed forwards. At the same time, team one came around the other side of the corridor, running full tilt after them.

Without a word, both teams piled aboard the Stealth Intruder. Some security began to round the bend but were instantly forced back by wave after wave of stun-shots. The droids entered the ship, and the Airlock closed.

When the guards next rounded the bend, they saw the airlock had once again closed behind the ship, and out in space the Stealth Intruder became invisible once more.

J-1 leapt into the copilot's chair, a Coalition Intelligence Bureau agent sitting next to him had flown them in. "How is the fleet?"

"No casualties, it looks like everyone got away in time. But Belgardi weren't the only ones to send forces, it looks like the Empire is here too."

This would have prompted further discussion, but they would have to escape first. "All stealth systems initiated, full power to engines. Strap yourselves in back there, it might get bumpy."

(Apologies - I've been very busy of late)

The Captain of the Bounty squinted. The man had nerve, he had to admit that.

"I assume you followed us here."

The tone of his voice was cold enough that he could have been Imperial. The man wondered briefly if maybe this Belgardi man had indeed been one of them, and filed away a note to request a background check from Intelligence.

"When I asked for this channel I assumed that we would be engaging those.."

He pasued, obviously searching for the right word to describe the Coalition vessels.

"...enemy ships, and was going to inquire about your intentions in that engagment. However, since our friends have made an early exit that is no longer a problem we have to deal with."

Then why, the Captain wondered briefly, why are you still wasting my time?

"Our scans revealed obviously modified transponder codes, and our preliminary visuals were inconclusive. It would of course be of interest to our company to identify the responsible party; though I don't know if you can be much help in that area."

Which didn't say much, any company that could outfit a defence force like Belgardi had done had damn well better be able to tell a falsified transponder code from the real thing.

"Captain, communication from the Fleet."

"Right." Turning the holocom, he said, "Hold on a minute, I have another communications coming through. Perhaps I'll have a satisfactory answer for you."

The image froze, and beside it another appeared. General Vladimeer.

"Captain. You've been sucessful, then?"

"Yes, Sir. We've found the Belgardi fleet - preliminary evidence suggests that Rico Belgardi was ambushed."

"Do you have a lead on the attackers?"

The Captain stopped, thinking.

"I believe it was the Galactic Coalition, Sir. Scans of the attacking vessels matched what we have in our databanks as a Coalition design, and they fled as soon as we appeared."

The General nodded.

"Very well. Do the Belgardi people know who attacked them?"

"If they do, Sir, they haven't told us. They claim they don't know much at all."

"Good. Render all assistance you can to Belgardi, and escort him back to Pavo Prime. Don't tell them about the Coalition. Understood?"

"Aye, Sir."

"Very well. Vladimeer out."

The holoimage vanished, and the Captain turned back to the Belgardi officer.

"We're running our own analysis of the data we got of the attackers. Any sensor logs you might have from the Immolator may well be useful in determining who your attackers were.

"I've also been ordered to escort you back to Pavo Prime as soon as Mr. Belgardi is safely aboard a hyperspace-capable vessel. Any assistance we can lend..."

He left the thought unfinished.