Timothy Zahn - Specter of the past

Specter of the Past

By Timothy Zahn

Hand of Thrawn Duology - Book 1

Hand of Thrawn Duology

- Specter of the Past

- Vision of the Future

Slowly, silently, its lights a faint glitter of life amid the darkness, the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera glided through space.

Empty space. Oppressively dark space. Long, lonely light-years from the nearest of the tiny islands that were the star systems of the galaxy, drifting at the edge of the boundary between the Outer Rim worlds and the vast regions of territory known as Unknown Space. At the very edge of the Empire.

Or rather, at the edge of the pitiful scraps of what had once been the Empire.

Standing beside one of the Chimaera s side viewports, Admiral Pellaeon, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, gazed out at the emptiness, the weight of all too many years pressing heavily across his shoulders. Too many years, too many battles, too many defeats.

Perhaps the Chimaera s bridge crew was feeling the weight, too. Certainly the sounds of activity going on behind him seemed more muted than usual today. But perhaps it was merely the effect of being out here, so far from anywhere at all.

No, of course that had to be it. The men of the Chimaera were the finest the Fleet had to offer. They were Imperial officers and crewers, and Imperials didnt give up. Ever.

There was a tentative footstep at his side. Admiral? Captain Ardiff said quietly. Were ready to begin, sir.

For a moment Pellaeons mind flashed back ten years, to another very similar moment. Then, it had been Pellaeon and Grand Admiral Thrawn whod been here on the Chimaera s bridge, watching the final test of the prototype cloaking shield Thrawn had recovered from among the Emperors trophies inside Mount Tantiss. Pellaeon could remember the excitement hed felt then, despite his misgivings about the insane Jedi clone Joruus Cbaoth, as he watched Thrawn single-handedly breathing new life and vigor back into the Empire.

But Mount Tantiss was gone, destroyed by agents of the New Republic and Cbaoths own madness and treason. And Grand Admiral Thrawn was dead.

And the Empire was dying.

With an effort, Pellaeon shook the shadows of the past away. He was an Imperial officer, and Imperials didnt give up. Thank you, he said to Ardiff. At your convenience, Captain.

Yes, sir. Ardiff half turned, gestured to the fighter coordinator in the portside crew pit. Signal the attack, he ordered.

The officer acknowledged and gestured in turn to one of his crewers. Pellaeon turned his attention back to the viewport

Just in time to see eight SoroSuub Preybird- class starfighters in tight formation roar in from behind them. Cutting tight to the Chimaera s command superstructure, they passed over the forward ridgeline, raking it with low-power blaster fire, then split smoothly out in eight different directions. Corkscrewing out and forward, they kept up their fire until they were out of the Star Destroyers primary attack zone. Then, curving smoothly around, they swung around and regrouped.

Admiral? Ardiff prompted.

Lets give them one more pass, Captain, Pellaeon said. The more flight data the Predictor has to work with, the better it should function. He caught the eye of one of the crew pit officers. Damage report?

Minor damage to the forward ridgeline, sir, the officer reported. One sensor array knocked out, leaving five turbolasers without ranging data.

Acknowledged. All theoretical damage, of course, calculated under the assumption that the Preybirds were using full-power capital-ship turbolasers. Pellaeon had always loved war games when he was younger; had relished the chance to play with technique and tactics without the risks of true combat. Somewhere in all those years, the excitement had faded away. Helm, bring us around twenty degrees to starboard, he ordered. Starboard turbolasers will lay down dispersion fire as they make their next pass.

The Preybirds were back in tight formation now, once again approaching their target. The Chimaera s turbolasers opened up as they came, their low-level fire splattering across the Preybirds overlapping deflector shields. For a few seconds the opponents traded fire; then, the Preybirds broke formation again, splitting apart like the fingertips of an opening hand. Twisting over and under the Chimaera , they shot past, scrambling for the safety of distance.

Damage report? Pellaeon called.

Three starboard turbolaser batteries knocked out, the officer called back. Weve also lost one tractor beam projector and two ion cannon.

Enemy damage?

One attacker appears to have lost its deflector shields, and two others are reading diminished turbolaser capability.

Hardly counts as damage, Ardiff murmured. Of course, the situation here isnt exactly fair. Ships that small and maneuverable would never have the kind of shields or firepower were crediting them with.

If you want fairness, organize a shockball tournament, Pellaeon said acidly. Dont look for it in warfare.

Ardiffs cheek twitched. Im sorry, sir.

Pellaeon sighed. The finest the Imperial Fleet had to offer Stand by the cloaking shield, Captain, he ordered, watching the faint drive glows as the Preybirds regrouped again in the distance. Activate on my command.

Yes, Admiral.

There was a sudden flare of drive glow, partially eclipsed by the Preybirds themselves, as the enemy kicked into high acceleration. Here they come, Pellaeon said, watching as the single glowing dot rapidly resolved itself into eight close-formation ships. Lock Predictor into fire control. Stand by cloaking shield.

Predictor and cloaking shield standing by, Ardiff confirmed.

Pellaeon nodded, his full attention on the Preybirds. Nearly to the point where theyd broken formation last time Cloaking shield: now.

And with a brief flicker of bridge lighting, the stars and incoming Preybirds vanished as the cloaking shield plunged the Chimaera into total darkness.

Cloaking shield activated and stabilized, Ardiff said.

Helm, come around portside: thirty degrees by eight, Pellaeon ordered. Ahead acceleration point one. Turbolasers: fire.

Acknowledged, an officer called. Turbolasers are firing.

Pellaeon took a step closer to the viewport and looked down along the Chimaera s sides. The faint blasts of low-level fire were visible, lancing a short distance out from the Star Destroyer and then disappearing as they penetrated the spherical edge of the Star Destroyers cloaking shield. Blinded by the very device that was now shielding it from its opponents view, the Chimaera was firing wildly in an attempt to destroy those opponents.

Or perhaps not quite so wildly. If the Predictor worked as well as its designers hoped, perhaps the Empire still had a chance in this war.

It was a long time before the Chimaera s turbolasers finally ceased fire. Far too long. Is that it? he asked Ardiff.

Yes, sir, the other said. Five hundred shots, as preprogrammed.

Pellaeon nodded. Deactivate cloaking shield. Lets see how well we did.

There was another flicker from the lights, and the stars were back. Mentally crossing his fingers, Pellaeon peered out the viewport.

For a moment there was nothing. Then, from starboard, he spotted the approaching drive glows. Seven of them.

Signal from Adversary Commander, Admiral, the comm officer called. Target Three reports receiving a disabling hit and has gone dormamt; all other targets have sustained only minimal damage. Requesting orders.

Pellaeon grimaced. One. Out of eight targets, the Chimaera had been able to hit exactly one. And that great feat had required five hundred shots to achieve.