The biofactory specialized in creating diseases for germ warfare against any population the Empire desired humbled, weakened, reduced... or eliminated.
Deepdocks could be outfitted with a variable number of configurable work bays. A lesser number would allow the dock to service, build or repair a small ship, like a corvette or a light cruiser. This particular Deepdock had over two hundred bay modules combined and was performing construction on two Imperial Star Destroyers simultaneously, 70% completed, as well as building a small but respectable handful of lighter weight combat ships in various stages of completion.
The immense tanker was there to top off the fuel reservoirs of the cargo ships that stopped here, delivering parts and other consumables like food. The adjustment of their fuel stores enabled most of the transport line records to pretend this little stop didn't exist, making for much increased secrecy and security (also it was games like this that inspectors weren't supposed to notice that let so much else misfiling and theft run out of control).
And if secrecy failed there were two Victory Star Destroyers assigned on permanent guard. Old and due for replacement and retirement, they were still sufficient overkill for any pirate or group of anything that might stumble across this location and need to be eliminated.
The Gungans had only an address where the disease was shipped from. Only that, and it was encoded in a private data terminal for the depot's chief intelligence officer - who had happened to leave the machine on, logged in, and the decoder files up and running. The man himself had been hiding under a chair when the droids broke into his office.
Hey, you got what you asked for when you staffed your Empire with lazy bullies.
So it was that three Gungan cruisers showed up out of hyperspace at the Deepdock with a pair of Flamberge cruisers escorting. Long terms of guard duty fray anyone's nerves. The attackers had the advantage of a few seconds of surprise before the patrol units raised their shields.
The attacking Flamberges used this advantage to close at immense velocity to very close range, peppering the defenders with turbolasers all during this charge. Once at extreme missile range they both let loose full volleys at the Victories, intending to overcome them with a quick assault. While those missiles were still in flight Broadsword pulled away at a sharp angle to intercept the Deepdock and begin boarding operations, and the other bent toward the biofactory. The much slower Gungan ships intended to cover those capture attempts by engaging the two Star Destroyer head on.
The battle did not go as the attackers' quick plan had intended.
Victory B began broadcasting at extremely high intensity on all comm channels, effectively trying to jam, but diverting most of the simple warheads to itself as the most tempting target. The blast reduced it to rubbish.
Victory A opened up with a fullisade of eighty torpedoes, streaking across to the lead gug-nought (Jar-Jar's Gooberfish) and converting to a roiling sea of flame writhing against their shields for an instant before the defense fields caved in, effectively destroying that vessel.
Both Flamberges continued their fire at Victory A even though they had pulled off toward different missions. The Vicstar's shields crackled up into place slightly after the attack began, increasing the time they'd require to reduce its defenses.
A second fullisade of eighty missiles launched toward the second gug-nought (The Sequel) and the third gug-nought (Return of the Sequel) tried to add its fire in shooting down the attack, using anti-fighter balls to great effect in taking out huge swaths of the incoming barrage, only to stare in horror as the Victory launched a third.
Both Flamberges spun, revealing their missile racks to the enemy once again, getting off their second barrage and simultaneously using their tractor beams in a fierce attempt to pull some enemy missiles off course, while both gug-noughts fought desperately to destroy enough of the missile artillery to evade the rest.
It failed. The Sequel burst into a roiling ball of flame, atmosphere combining explosively in a plasma fireball that reached the core reactors and ignited both generators and drives. The detonation reduced the ship to tiny scraps of spinning garbage in a display of pyrotechnics that left a miniature asteroid belt.
In return, the concussion missile barrage from the Flamberges found holes ready from the Gungan's abortive attempts at return fire against the Victory. Shields were shredded at the impact and the upper decks consumed in flame.
Burning, the Victory fought on.
The last gug-nought closed to ideal range for their weapons and was caught in a tractor beam, prevented from spinning to reveal her weapons, and brought close to shield the Victory from some amount of the fire of both Flamberges. The gug-nought and the Victory locked in lethal struggle as the Gungan ship fought with drives to stay above the Victory, out of arc of its remaining targeting sensors and away from the missile launch tubes packed along its belly, while the Victory struggled equally hard to bring its attacker into those same arcs where the tubes' own targeting arrays would enable a quick kill - and struggling also to keep the smaller vessel as a shield against its other attackers.
Broadsword had begun her docking maneuver with the Deepdock, sending across a full strike of available combat droids in hopes of terminating this quickly. As their droids, being droids, missed a pocket of armed Imperials in their rush forward into the station, the cruiser had to disconnect or fall victim to a counter-boarding operation organized by a quick-witted Imperial officer.
The capture of the biofactory went more successfully.
Han Organa of the Broadsword looked at the struggling Victory and felt a premonition of some sort. "I don't like the look of this. Send out shuttles. Begin to gather Gungan escape pods. We may have to retreat in a hurry."
Jar-Jar's Gooberfish surprised them all by reigniting drives and resuming power to many systems fitfully. This time it was excellent damage control work by engineering, not a tactic by a commander, restoring the battered vessel to a fight. But she was badly wounded.
The Victory continued to take damage as it grappled with the Return of the Sequel, but the real danger lay in the fact that the Sequel's debris were shortly going to begin to shower over them both, adding chaos and confusion in a swarm of chunks and energized particles.
Unable to adequately control her steering, the Gooberfish rammed the derelict Victory B at modest speed, crushing girders and welding both ships together.
The ravaged Victory A, in a swirling tangle with the Return of the Sequel, finally launched its two squadrons of TIEs.
Han Organa saw this just as two signals came. The Scimitar reporting the capture of the research and bio station, and his own droids reporting control of the Deepdock's bridge and main section, including drives and engines.
Then he saw the struggling Victory launch a full spread of concussion missiles at the floating bulk of the enormous tanker ship, intending to destroy them all in the fantastic explosion that could only follow.
Han ordered a retreat, his ships jumping off to hyperspace with their captures alongside moments ahead of the impacts and detonation.
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(Posted Thu, 06 May 2004 00:30)
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