Saga The Hunt for the Executor--Similar to "The Hunt for Red October"--New post 12/2

cool update, cant wait to see the imperial elite when they hear of the defection of their flagship, lmao now that would be amusing

 

I feel sorry for those rebels... I hate waiting.

But I did like the thought of a dignified Leia sitting around a "dorm room" setting with pastries instead of her typical furnishings... Try getting Vader or Palpy in a setting like that.

 

The meeting with Lord Vader had been unpleasant to say the least. Gilead Pellaeon had felt his throat constricting at one point, but could not tell if it was a result of nervousness or Lord Vader's capricious temper.

Despite that one ambiguity, the rest of the message was clear. Pellaeon had failed to intercept the Executor and he had one chance, one final chance to prove that he was not prone to failure a second time. That alone underlined the gravity of the situation--Lord Vader was notorious for his tendency to kill an officer before the second time.

Whatever the circumstances, one thing was abundantly clear. If they did not find and commandeer or destroy the Executor in a timely fashion, Pellaeon would not be the only one to suffer Lord Vader's wrath. In fact, he would most likely be saved for last just so he could suffer the guilt of watching others be punished for his incompetence.

Now, his primary concern was ensuring that they would not reach that point.

In theory, it should be a simple task. There were enough lookout posts scattered throughout the Empire that someone was bound to have a third cousin once removed who had seen the Executor in the last day. Rebel moles could be contacted, but more practical measures had to be taken first.

The Empire was, first and foremost, a power by force. Lord Vader had dispatched the majority of the Fleet in behalf of this task so that, wherever Piett appeared, he would at least have the opportunity to be intimidated into surrender. It was the most courteous thing to do. When the niceties were, at last, over, they might have the chance to reward Piett properly for his treason.
*****
"We will be breaking by battle groups," Pellaeon explained. "The main objective is not destruction, but capture."

"We believe, then, that Admiral Piett has gone rogue?"

This came from Dorja, the youngest commander of a Star Destroyer that was currently assigned to this particular task. He had the unfortunate tendency to speak his mind.

"We believe that the Executor is under the control of rogue elements," he said cautiously.

"Sir," Dorja replied stubbornly, "you have not said whether or not the good Admiral is one of those rogue elements."

"He has given as much information as is necessary," Admiral Zsinj snapped. "If you would stop jumping to conclusions, we might be able to get on with the mission."

Zsinj had a flair for the melodramatic, but at times, that was exactly what was needed. Pellaeon nodded in gratitude, but kept his face straight. This was no time for pleasantries.

"As I was saying," Pellaeon added solemnly, "the Executor may be under the control of rogue elements. Our primary objective at this point is to make contact. If we are able to establish that this is the case and that the ship is in danger of falling into Rebel hands, we will send boarding parties.

"If we are unable to board, we will report to Lord Vader and, if necessary, proceed with an assault on the Executor," he concluded. "Understand that this is a last resort in every sense of the phrase. No one is to fire a single shot without the personal sanction of Lord Vader. This is, after all, damage control of the highest priority."

Among less experienced officers, there might have been uncomfortable shifting in seats at the thought of having to fire on any man who had served among them. This was, however, a coterie of the Empire's finest officers and, experienced as they were, it was hardly the first time that they had been required to face this situation. It was, however, the first time that there had been such extensive strictures.

?I will be sending out the assignments within the hour,? he concluded. ?Until then, I would like you to review the available data and compile a list of possible trajectories.?

There was a general murmuring of assent and Pellaeon stood as a signal that the meeting had ended. The others followed suit, gathering their things and heading for the door. Undoubtedly, there wo

 

Man, sucks to be Pellaeon at this point. Awesome use of some of the named fleet commanders, too. One more chance... lucky him, and also very unlucky if he messes up.

 

You know they may be officers, but they have to see the corruption...

Lets see if Piett gets away first...

 

Interesting perspective to watch the empire crumble from within, especially Vader's most loyal men. Please pm me when you update. I like Piett already.

 

As anticipated, the Executor entered the system well within the appointed timeframe, running either under radio silence or refusing to respond to hails. The good news was that, despite the fact that it left hyperspace well within firing range, it did not open fire. The less reassuring thing was that the Executor's first order of business was to lock a tractor beam on the Mon Remonda.

It was a testament to the Executor's size that it could tractor a ship of the Remonda's size, but that was not the primary thought in the mind of most officers.

"You'd better be right about this," Onoma said quietly to Leia as the Super-class Star Destroyer quickly filled their viewports.

"If not," Leia assured him, "I'll be the first one to admit my mistake."

It went without saying that, if she had made a mistake, she wouldn't have time to admit her mistake. In this sort of situation, it was theoretically the thought that counted the most.

"What's the plan if it does turn out to be a trap?" Luke asked. "Do we try and fight our way out or hope that we can escape sometime later?"

Her immediate instinct was to tell him it wouldn't come to that. Instead, she flashed a grim smile at him and turned back to the viewport.

"We'll have to play it by ear," she explained. "I don't want to give the orders to go down fighting if this goes badly, because I can't be sure that it will be the best course of action. I will say that I want them to fire first and that, in that situation, we should fight back. Any other orders will have to wait until we know what's going on here."

Still, there was no contact from the Executor. They could be operating under a general radio silence, but it still did nothing to calm her nerves. The entire thing was too reminiscent of Bespin for comfort.

She turned to Luke, arms folded across her chest and her face pinched. "Can you sense anything from them?" she asked.

"Nothing ominous," Luke said quietly. "The Admiral is nervous, but not in a way that seems like he's getting ready to sell us out."

"Well, that's always good," she said dryly.

A moment later, she turned to the comms officer. "Send another signal," she requested. "We will dock with their primary access, but the ship will not come on board."

"I'm not sure setting conditions on this will help," Onoma protested as the comms officer obeyed.

"It's worth a shot," Leia retorted. "It also might give us an indication of how cooperative they're..."

"Message from the Executor," the comms officer interjected. "They have no problems with that."

The tension on the bridge eased just barely at that, since it was the first clear sign that they wouldn't be shot on sight.

"All right," Leia said. "It looks like we might just have been right about this man. Let's go see what else we can find out."
*****
There was a completely surreal feel to the scene, as if he were still trapped in a nightmare and unconscious of the fact.

For years, every officer on the Executor had anticipated the day that they might catch up to Luke Skywalker or one of his comrades. On the futile, frantic chase from Hoth to Bespin, Piett had hoped to live to see the day when Leia Organa would stand at his mercy on the Executor. Even now, there was a slight temptation to abandon the defection and bring her before Lord Vader as a peace offering.

There was no going back, though. Even if there had been a means of reconciling with Lord Vader, he could not bring himself to consider it to be a viable option any longer. It was unconscionable to think of serving Lord Vader any longer.

Still, his hand trembled as she clasped his hand in greeting. There was a small amount of consolation in the fact that she was no less nervous, if expressions were to be believed.

"Your Highness," he greeted.

She let out a shuddering breath as if she had expected to be addressed as "Rebel scum."

"Admiral," she acknowledged. "We weren't sure whether to expect you or not."

"That w

 

I sssooooooooo need to catch up with this...

 

Wow... he really did it. Loved the tension on the Mon Remonda, there. I cannot wait to see how this goes!

 

I missed two updates. Things will get really intersting now.

 

OOH, I liked the last minute temptation to return with Leia and Luke. Glad that he knew better than to make the offer.

Now what? How do you hide a ship that size? Does it have Vaders records and personal affects? Perhaps a picture of Padme? This could be interesting.

 

Piett is an honorable man, or at least seems to be. Let's hope Vader does not catch up to him! I like, I like!

 

Leia was not aware that she had been holding her breath until left her in a quiet hiss of relief. She could see Luke's broad "I-told-you-so" grin out of the corner of her eye, but Wedge kept a diplomatically straight face.

"If it is truly your intention to offer your allegiance, we will not hold back the privileges of freedom," Leia said formally. "How do we know we can trust you to not stick a vibroshiv between our ribs?"

"How do I know we can trust you not to kill me here and now?" he rejoined. "This is probably a less than ideal situation for either of us where good faith is concerned, but I have gone to great pains to come here. That must count for something."

She nodded, allowing herself a tentative smile. "It does," she agreed.

Before commenting further, he stepped aside by way of invitation. "Perhaps you would like to see the ship?"

It would take hours to tour even one half of the ship, but she would not turn down an opportunity. "I will accompany you," she agreed. "Would you allow some of our officers to join the effort? They will report back to me and we will be able to talk in private."

Luke stiffened at the idea of her doing anything in private with an Imperial Admiral. She kept her gaze steady and her smile in place, waiting for Piett's answer.

"Certainly," Piett said guilelessly. "Gather as many as you'd like and we shall commence in ten minutes' time."

Leia bowed her head slightly, and then turned to head back onto her own turf. The moment that she had gotten out of earshot, she looped one arm through Luke's.

"Behave yourself," she admonished. "This is not comfortable for any of us, but they deserve the benefit of the doubt, at least for now."

"Sorry," Luke murmured. "Survivor reflex."

She knew the feeling too well and it, most likely, had been the reason for her unease about this situation. Still, it was something worth considering.

"Did you sense anything from them?"

"Relief," Luke informed her. "They're pretty glad that we didn't blow them out of space already. A couple of the officers are just as suspicious of us as we are of them, but there isn't any malicious intent. I think they're mostly second-guessing themselves."

"You think this was a good idea, then?" Wedge asked.

"I think they are here for the same reasons that they told us," Luke confirmed. "I'm not sure if that'll change if we run into Vader, but for now, it's a pretty good sign."

"It is," Leia agreed.

"Who do you want touring?" Wedge interrupted.

"Onoma for one," Leia said immediately. "I will want him with me in case any formal negotiations are required. Golorno from sensors so we can check out their equipment. I want the Rogues on hand to obligingly wander around and look out for any trouble. Do you think that's possible?"

Luke grinned. "We're Rogues. We're always looking for trouble."

"You know what I mean."

"We'll do it," Wedge assured her. "We can even have all of our commlinks set to a specific channel that will transmit to the ship's recorders, but not receive on that channel."

"Do it," Leia commanded. "It may be an unnecessary precaution, but if anything goes awry, I want to know the reason for it."

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused.

"All right," she said with a sigh, "let's get ready. Be back here no later than four hours from now and we'll have a better idea of what we're facing here."
*****
They had surveyed the bridge, fighter complement and were on their way to the mess hall to 'inspect' the supplies there before Leia finally broached the subject that they had only touched on earlier.

"You'll have to pardon us," Leia said. "Defections are not typically this formal or this drastic."

"I understand you concern," Piett said with a slight smile. "When I began my training at the Imperial Academy, I never expected that I would come to this point."

"What brought you here?" she asked.

She could see his expression harden, but his voice remained steady. "A number of things," he commented. "For one thing, Alderaan."

"Ald

 

Luke grinned. "We're Rogues. We're always looking for trouble."
Very true.

Interesting that you have Piett married to Pooja. Makes him related to Luke and Leia, though no one knows it of course.

 

Nicely done. I look forward to seeing if they make a getaway.

 

Hmmmmm.....so Piett is related to the Skywalker family by marriage and doesn't know it? Any chance he'll find out before the end of the story? I like how Piett and Leia are interacting with each other and attempting to meet on common ground. Many thanks for the new chapter! And I love the line about the Rogues, but with Wedge and Luke in command of course they'd be good at scoping out trouble!

 

So... Piett is stealing a (very, very, very big) ship from his... uncle? by marriage and giving it to his cousins by marriage.

And people say that Skywalker family dynamics can't get any worse.

 

More, please!

 

Sorry I missed this one. Hmm, good reasons for Piett. loved the line about the Rogues always finding trouble. An awesome piece, here.