Unification: Civil War III Chapter Eight

Command of the station was transferred to the engineering section, and it was there that Larin gave them the bad news.

"It's not good, sirs. Many of the key systems—long-range sensors and weapons among them—are offline. The bomber knew exactly where to hit!"

"How long for the repairs, Major?" asked Connor.

"At least a month! The damage is that bad!"

Then, Larin saw a beeping from his console. The news was not good, and Larin looked grim.

"We've just lost power to the shields!"

Connor joined him at the console. With Larin, he attempted to reroute the power from the replicators.

"Is it enough?" asked Spock.

"The power is now up to only twenty percent," said Larin. "It's not much, but it will have to do!"

"Captain!" Sevrina called. "I'm picking up something on the short-range sensors! It's the Scotsman! And they've got company!"

"On screen!"

They looked on to see the Flying Scotsman returning to the station. Not far behind were a whole horde of Imperial TIE fighters.

"Red alert!" Connor ordered. "Scramble the fighters! Not just ours, but the Rebels' as well!"

 

It was a sight to see as the Free Federation and the Rebel Alliance fighters joined forces to face the oncoming hordes. If those of the Free Federation had any doubts about the courage and ability of the Rebel pilots, then those doubts were dispelled the instant the battle began. Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker, and the rest were just as good as their counterparts. They were more than a match for the Imperial pilots.

"The battle is going in our favor," said Spock.

"A jump-point is forming three thousand kilometers away!" said Sevrina. "A Star Destroyer... the Chimaera! Thrawn's ship!"

The pilots looked on in horror as it carved a path right through them, heading directly towards the Pegasus station.

"They're coming straight for us!" said Sevrina.

"No!" said Connor. "Wait! They're moving past us! Taking up an orbit around the Time... directly above the Shire! Ro! Alert the Time defense forces! This could be the start of an invasion!"

 

The Time of Legends defense forces were put on full alert. It was obvious the Shire was to be the first target, and with that in mind, Free Federation forces stationed on the planet began evacuating the Shire's populace. But they could do nothing as a group of massive transporter beams began to energize deep in the heart of the Shire. Everyone looked on in horror as half a dozen giant AT-AT walkers appeared. The people of the Shire feared for their very lives.

The lead AT-AT began to move off. It took one step forward, then another half step, and then... it clunked to a halt. The commander of the AT-AT began to panic. No matter what he tried, nothing worked. It was as if the power just drained away. As far as he could see, he had no other choice; he ordered all of his troops for combat readiness. The door to the main compartment had to be forced. The stormtroopers swung down to ground level on ropes. Then they took up their attack positions, aiming their blasters at the fleeing hobbits. They squeezed their triggers... and nothing happened. The blasters just didn't work.

Once again they tried, but again, the same result. Almost at the same time, each trooper checked the power levels of their blasters. They were all empty. No power at all.

Across the entire Time of Legends, the same scene was taking place: at Camelot, Mount Olympus, Asgard, all across Middle-earth—everyone. The Imperial invasion force was powerless. Even the battlesuits of the Imperial stormtroopers were beginning to fail. They had no idea what to do. In a normal situation, swords, bows, and shields would do no good against a good blaster, but on the Time of Legends, a good blaster became a bad blaster. The Imperial forces, without weapons and without a plan of action, had no idea what to do; they were easily overrun.

 

Connor looked on in horror at the sensor panel.

"Jump points are forming all around us!" he said. "I'm picking up literally hundreds of ships coming through—Imperial, Jem'Hadar, ex-Federation, Centauri, and some I've never even seen before!"

"They're powering up their weapons!" said Sevrina. "They're targeting the station!"

"Larin! We need more power to the shields!"

But there was not enough time. All at once, the new ships in the battle targeted the station. Within three seconds, the shields had completely gone.

"Picking up transporter activity from the Star Destroyers!" said Sevrina. "Several boarding parties are coming aboard!"

"Alert the security teams!" Connor ordered. "Sevrina, Ro, you're with me!"

With an emergency beam-out, the three of them beamed aboard Connor's quarters on the station. It was there that Ro handed Connor a phaser.

"No thanks, Commander! I'm going prepared!"

Connor reached into his chest and pulled out his trusty Japanese katana sword. Holding it to the light, it was like welcoming back an old friend.

"Come on! We've got work to do!"