Michael P. Kube-McDowell - Before the storm

Before the Storm

By Michael P. Kube-McDowell

Black Fleet Crisis - Book 1

Black Fleet Crisis

- Before the Storm

- Shield of Lies

- Tyrants Test

In memory of my grandfather ,
Dayton Percival Deich, 18961975 ,
who believed in a universe of wonders
beyond this Earth.

And for my children ,
Matthew Tyndall, born 1983 ,
and Amanda Kathryn, born 1995.
May their lives be joyful journeys
through their own universe of wonders.

Three people stand out above all others in deserving my gratitude and appreciation, though my poor words are hardly the equal of their gifts to me. Those three are Gwendolyn Zak, my best friend, SO, and POSSLQ, for her unwavering love, patience, support, and faith; Tom Dupree, my editor, for believing in me and giving me a chance; and Russ Galen, my agent, for going out on a limb and trusting me not to saw it off behind him. This book would not exist without them and their contributions.

I also want to thank Gwen, Matt, and Arlyn, for being such helpful (Didnt you blow up this ship in the last chapter?) and encouraging (All rightwheres the rest of it? What? Go write more!) first readers. Sue Rostoni at Lucasfilm saw to it that I had all the references and resources I asked for, and then applied her extensive knowledge of the Star Wars universe to keep me from violating the historical record as often as I tried to. Fellow SW novelists Vonda McIntyre, Roger MacBride Allen, and Kevin J. Anderson generously shared their insights and their maps of the minefields. Also pitching in with SW trivia and general encouragement were Rich Mason, Timothy OBrien, Matt Hart, Skip Shayotovich, and the rest of the Star Wars fan communities on GEnie and CompuServe.

The writing of Before the Storm bracketed a long-awaited move and the even longer-awaited birth of a daughter. Generous gifts of time and perspiration from Rod and Marion Zak, Tracy Holland, Greg Cronau, Arlyn Wilson, Mary Ellen Wessels, Faye Wessels, Mike Thelan, Roberta Kennedy, and other friends and family members allowed us to survive those transitions and me to keep working.

Finally, Id like to thank George Lucas, for his blessing to tell this story in his wonderful universewhich I first visited nearly twenty years ago in a theater in Mishawaka, Indiana. If someone had told me then that someday Id have a chance to add a few chapters to the life stories of Luke, Han, Leia, and their friends and enemies, Id have just laughed.

As it is, Im still smiling.

Michael P. Kube-McDowell
September 12, 1995
Okemos, Michigan

The Empires orbiting repair yard at Nzoth, code-named Black 15, was of standard Imperial design, with nine great shipways arrayed in a square. On the morning of the retreat from Nzoth, all nine slips were occupied by Imperial warships.

Under most circumstances, nine Star Destroyers together would have been an intimidating sight to any who might come under their guns.

But on the morning of the retreat from Nzoth, only one of the nine was ready for space.

That was the sorry assessment of Jian Paret, commander of the Imperial garrison at Nzoth, as he looked out on the yards from his command center. The orders he had received hours ago were still playing before his eyes:

You are ordered to evacuate the planetary garrison to the last man, at best possible speed, using any and all ships that are spaceworthy. Destroy the repair yard and any and all remaining assets before withdrawing from the system.

Parets assessment was shared by Nil Spaar, master of the Yevethan underground, as he rode the work shuttle up from the surface with the first commando team. The orders he had given hours ago were still ringing in his ears:

Notify all teams that an Imperial evacuation has been ordered. Execute the primary plan without delay. It is our day for retribution. Our blood is in those vessels, and they will be ours. May each of us honor the name of the Yevetha today.

Nine ships.

Nine prizes.

The most badly damaged, Redoubtable , had taken terrible punishment in the retreat from Endor. The others ranged from old medium cruisers being upgraded and recommissioned, to the EX-F , a weapons and propulsion test bed built on a Dreadnaught hull.

The key to them all was the massive Star Destroyer Intimidator , moored at one of the open slips. Spaceworthy but completely unblooded, it had been sent to Black 15 from the Core for finish work, to free up a Super -class shipway at the commands home shipbuilding yard.

There was more than enough room aboard it for the garrison, and more than enough firepower aboard to destroy the yard and the hulls within. Paret transferred his command to the bridge of the Intimidator within an hour of receiving his orders.

But Intimidator could not leave the yard as quickly as Paret would have liked. He had only one-third of a standard crew aboard, a single watchtoo few hands to quickly ready a ship of that size to fly free.

Moreover, nine of every ten workers on Black 15 were Yevetha. Paret despised the gaudy-faced skeletons. He would have liked to seal the ship in the interest of security, or to draft additional work details in the interest of speed. But either act would prematurely alert the Yevetha that the occupation force was leaving Nzoth, threatening the withdrawal from the surface.

All Paret would do was call a surprise departure drill and wait out its lengthy checks and countdowns, letting the normal work details continue until the troop transports and the governors shuttle had lifted off and were en route. Then, and only then, could his crew close the hatches, cut the moorings, and turn its back on Nzoth.

Nil Spaar knew of Commander Parets dilemma. He knew all that Paret knew, and much more. For more than five years he had worked to position allies of the underground throughout the conscript workforce. Nothing of importance happened without Nil Spaars swiftly hearing of it. And he had taken the information he had collected and woven it into an elegant scheme.

He had put an end to the rash of minor mistakes and accidents, demanding that those who worked for the Empire show diligence and strive for excellencewhile learning everything they could about the ships and their operation. He had seen to it that the Yevetha made themselves indispensable to the Black Fleets yard bosses and earned the trust of its commanders.

It was that trust which had allowed the work slowdown in the months since the Battle of Endor to go on unquestioned. It was that trust which had given his Yevetha the run of both the yard and the ships moored in the slips.

And it was the patient and calculating exploitation of that trust which had brought Nil Spaar and those who followed him to this moment.

He knew that he no longer need fear the Harridan , the Victory -class Star Destroyer that had been protecting the yard and patrolling the system. The Harridan had been ordered to the front three weeks ago, joining the Imperial force fighting a losing rear-guard action at Notak.

He knew that Paret could not seal the Intimidator against his men, even by ordering a battle-stations lockdown. More than a dozen external hatches in Sections 17 and 21 had been rigged by Yevetha technicians to report that they were secured when they were not, and to report that they were closed when they were not.

He knew that even if Intimidator got free of the slip in which it was moored, it would not have a chance to escape or turn its guns on the abandoned vessels. The packages of explosives concealed inside Intimidator s hull would break it open like an egg the moment its shields went up and blocked the signal that was safing the bombs.