BY: Deathstrike
Meanwhile, across space/time, Emperor Palpatine, sat in his meditation chamber aboard
the Vindicator, cautiously force-probing the Blackness which had chilled his soul, and
using that Blackness to help him disrupt the Enterprise-D's energy sources. He recalled
his TIE squadrons, and prepared to unleash full might of the giant vessel's gun batteries.
Suddenly, the Blackness surged upon him, and Palpatine lost himself in a swirl of
force-impressions and chaos. Something had gone horribly wrong in the timestream.
As reality came gradually back into focus for Palpatine and the Vinicator, he called to the
bridge for a status report. The Force warned him that something had changed. The
Enterprise-D was no longer near, nor were any familiar systems. A holographic image of
Grand Admiral Thrawn appeared before him. Thrawn had come aboard prior to the encounter
with the Enterprise, for a routine strategy planning council, before returning once again
to the Rim and continuing his mission of subjugating new worlds for the Empire.
"My Lord," Thrawn began, his head bowed and glowing red eyes half-closed.
"Sensors show that we are no longer inside our galaxy. The stellar formations at this
location do not match any of our star charts. I put forth the theory that we have been
transported through space to unknown territory."
"You are correct, Admiral Thrawn." replied Palpatine. "Now we must
determine where we are." The Emperor's force-probes alerted him to the presence of a
planet nearby, teaming with life. "I sense a planet nearby, perhaps they can be
persuaded to...assist us." It was phrased as a command, not a question.
Thrawn glanced to his right, conferring with an unseen Imperial officer. He did not show
his surprise, but the Emperor could sense it. "A planet has been located .61 light
years from us. We are setting a course for it."
"Excellent. That is all, Admiral." Palpatine terminated the transmission, and
sat back to ponder this strange and unforeseen development.
The system penetration sensors on the planet of Twycross screamed in protest as the Super
Star Destroyer came out of light speed, heading toward the planet.
"Those damn Kurita bastards!" shouted Leftenant Davies, as he took in the
initial reports of a vessel approaching Twycross. "Opening another front against us. They are
bolder than I thought." The Combine border was quite near, but no one had expected
the Dragon to split its forces and invade the Commonwealth from two directions.
"Prepare our mechs for combat!"
"Aye, sir!" came the reply. "But I don't think its a Kurita vessel, sir.
Its far too big. Sensors show that it is over 8 kilometers long!"
Davies jaw dropped...that dwarfed any ship in the Inner Sphere. Before he could respond, a
message came over their communications net...
"Inhabited planet, this is Grand Admiral Thrawn, acting commander of the Super Star
Destroyer Vindicator. Your planet is subjugated in the name of the Empire. Surrender
immediately and you will not be harmed."
"This is Leftenant Davies, commander of the 8th Skye Rangers, commissioned with
defending Twycross. I don't know who you are or what House you represent, but we will not
give up this planet. Your presense here is an act of war against the Federated
Commonweath."
"Very well." replied Thrawn. "You have been warned." The message
ended.
"Sir, we show landing craft heading for the western continent, towards New Berlin.
The defenders there are preparing for an attack."
"Very good." said Davies. So this enemy knew that New Berlin was the center of
technology and commerce on Twycross. They'd chosen a wise target, but Davies had no
intention of letting them take it.
The forces of the AFFC defending Twycross thought they were ready for anything. But when
the first AT-AT's and AT-ST's came into view, they were stunned. They quickly regained
their composure however, and moved in to attack the huge but slow 4 legged mechs.
The Imperials' turbolaser cannons opened up at extreme range, and with devastating power.
Battlemechs shattered and blew in half as the energy blasts tore through them. The AFFC
mechs closed quickly, realizing that the Walkers could pick them apart unless they got
closer. Taking horrendous losses, they charged in at the Imperial war machines.
Missles, lasers, and PPC's began blasting against the armored bulk of the Walkers, but
seemed to do little damage, the super-alloy armor of the Emperor's troops absorbing the
punishment easily. It was going to take concentrated firepower to bring these walkers
down.
An Archer fired both LRM-20's into the knee joint of one walker, and was finally
rewarded with a satisfying explosion as the weaker leg armor finally gave in, causing the AT-AT to
slow to a halt. The Archer's torso was suddenly blown apart by an AT-ST. The AFFC forces
were doing damage, but it wasn't enough, and the Imperial forces were exacting a brutal
toll. TIE Bombers streaked overhead, dropping proton bombs onto the Commonwealth mechs, a
rainstorm of death that left an ocean of craters in its wake.
The Emperor, satisfied that a foothold had been obtained, turned his attention toward the
military command bases of the defenders. He ordered the Vindicator into attack orbit, and
began a planetary barrage against the large military bases of Twycross. The might of the
Empire had come to the Inner Sphere, and it would never be the same.
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