The bio-ship began to enter the Coruscant system, as an object appeared in deep space the size of a standard moon. The ship reflected Pan-Fu's feelings that something dark and ominous lay ahead. Drawing inward upon "The Force," he saw the same metallic monstrosity that had wiped out every living thing on Alderaan in his previous vision when moving through the system, which formerly held it. He took a long deep breath and through the ages, he could still smell the aroma of Alderaanian Fir tea. A single tear fell as he recalled the sweet odor and then recalled the horror that he felt in the Alderaan system. As the bio-ship approached the battle station which lay between Pan-Fu and Coruscant he realized that the Jedi council and the Senate must be alerted to the presence of such a fiendish device. Through his empathic link with his ship, Pan-Fu instructed his bio-ship to send a message on the galactic HoloNet. "This is a priority signal to the Jedi council and the Senate. There is a massive war device of unimaginable destructive capabilty entering the Coruscant system. You must bring all systems to an immediate defensive posture." He waited for a response until the ship emoted to him the worst possible reply, silence. Unknown to Pan-Fu the massive computer sorters and coders that maintained the matrix of coordinated hyperspace simutunnels had been recoded and secured by Emperor Palpatine when he had originally came to power. After a long pause, Pan-Fu realized that a communication interruption could mean only one thing. Disaster may have already fallen to Coruscant. It was hard to think that the same fate that had befallen Alderaan may have already happened to Coruscant. His bare feet itched to walk amongst the soft green fields of Coruscant. The situation was indeed grave if Coruscant was silent. What possible catastrophe could stand between him and the Jedi council? His loathing for out of control technology had been bitter since the rape of his home world. He remembered all too vividly the wholesale mass slaughter, which included all his family. While his wife was at home, as were all of the warrior caste with his son and daughter, he was with the gathering of tribal shaman and chieftains who tried to parley peace with the strangers that came in the night. He stood by, helpless that night and afterward he swore that he would never stand by again when innocent lives were in danger. It was that reason primarily that he had agreed to leave home for the first time some three thousand years ago. That same decision had brought him to this galaxy and the Jedi. He realized if not for the safety of Coruscant then for the safety of the galaxy he must learn more about this evil which loomed ahead of him. Somehow, he knew many answers lay ahead of him onboard the instrument of death. The ship emoted a sense of grave reluctance for his next thought. "Don't argue with me old girl, I know what I'm doing. Set a course for that thing." He steeled himself for the task ahead as he issued the command. "Are you sure about this old man?" The ship tried her best to dissuade him from what she considered to be a foolhardy adventure. "I am sure." His tone was brief and to the point, he was leaving no ground for argument. As the ship approached the battle station, it grew larger and larger in size until suddenly an incoming ship fired on them. It was a small fighter craft powered by twin ion engines, a TIE fighter. Neither Pan-Fu nor the ship recognized the configuration, however they both recognized the pot shot that was taken at them. From the exterior, the ship had made herself to appear as a small asteroid fragment. Pan-Fu and the ship hoped that they were being mistaken for just such a fragment. Alas their hopes were swiftly dashed as the TIE fighter made another pass, this time he had a firing lock on them. The ship made a quick evasive maneuver; this would bring further attention to them. "Flight Lieutenant Mitchell to command, I have a small asteroid fragment that is making maneuvers that only a ship could make, request assistance." Inside the TIE fighter cockpit and behind the pilot's helmet a voice crackled out a transmission to her base. "This is Commander Devonshire veer off we are engaging a tractor beam." The reply was almost as swift as the forth-coming net of darkness. "Aye sir, permission to return to patrol." Calmly and routinely the pilot reached to make adjustments to return to his previous business. "Permission granted." The commander's voice granted his request with a tone of utmost urgency. A soon as the bio-ship relayed the messages she had intercepted between the battle station and the TIE fighter Pan-Fu felt a sudden lurch as the bio-ship rocked to and fro. The Imperials had locked on with a tractor beam and was drawing them inside. Soon the magnetic field would be deactivated and the landing bay would be cleared, as a team of Imperial technicians with scanning equipment would await the incoming asteroid fragment or rather unknown bio-ship. End Coruscant Rising, Death Star Eclipse
Go To:
Part 5
Cantina Archives
Members Only Main Page
What's New Page