The first hour passed pretty quickly, and we stayed inside the blind spot, drifting along its shifting edge whenever it happened. We were like a parasite, like a mynock, clinging to its food. Adrian had stopped commenting on it because we mostly did nothing, but kept observing the whole system and looking for any changes. But, besides the swarming droids, constantly going down to the planet, then back up to continue repairing the dreadnought, nothing else changed.
We were watching that monster as another slight correction followed, the Vindicator turning sideways through space without so much as a visible flare, keeping our signatures hidden. No matter what I was thinking of while we were slowly rotating, following our new angle... Nothing helped. The dreadnought's image still filled the projection, growing more and more whole with every passing scan as Adrian's computer refined its look, following its reconstruction. The Dominator was already online, both drives being fixed first... Fuck. They were working way too fast, and even if we did send out the messages without being caught... I don't know how long it would take them to catch it. Or believe it.
"Zoom in on the port side," Sareh said quietly, breaking the silence. A moment later, we saw how ships, small, medium, and even some larger transports, were now being flown into position, beginning to load... something onto the massive Star Destroyer. "Can we get anything? As for what they are putting on it?"
"Not without giving our position away." He shook his head, "That would require a pinpoint scan, and I bet the droids would pick up on it. The scatter scan my computer is working off of, reconstructing the projection, is something that blends into the cosmic background radiation. Without knowing what to look for, you can't notice it."
As he said it, more and more droids swarmed over it, cutting beams coming online, and some of the ships that were docked with it began to be dismantled. It was like tiny bugs eating something alive.
"They're dismantling it in minutes," Sareh said, shrugging, shaking her head, "They really want a capital ship, huh?"
"They've optimized the process," Adrian chuckled humorlessly. "That is for sure! After they have no use for the loaders, they become raw materials. I somewhat admire that."
"I'm not," I muttered as I watched a reactor core, still faintly glowing even on the image, being pulled from the gutted frame and guided toward a dark section of the dreadnought. And... Seconds later, that same section lit up, flickering before stabilizing. "Hopefully, we are talking about rebuilding alone and not upgrading it..."
That earned me some looks, but it was what kept prodding against me in the back of my mind. The Dominator's original structure was being, in a way, overwritten. So, who can say if they don't have some other, Sith-made lost technology to slap onto it...? I am not saying it will turn into something like an Eclipse-class monster, but we can't be sure.
In the end, we stayed silent and kept watching, because there was nothing else we could do. The first day blurred into the second, then into the third... fourth. Naturally, we didn't get any response; we didn't know whether our messages had gotten out either. The worst-case scenario was that we would try to sneak down to the planet when an opportunity presented itself.
But that moment kept missing us, and now it has been a week, and the dreadnought was pretty much functional, even if it still had massive holes in its frame. We saw how its weapon arrays came online one by one, beginning with asteroids, firing only a few small bursts before the main turbolaser batteries lit up in clusters, painting space green. Ion cannons followed after that... Great. It has everything now, huh? That theoretical question was answered when its missile pods, some clearly retrofitted from entirely different designs, were slotted into place and powered on.
"My computer says it has sixty percent weapons capability to its base version," Adrian reported at one point, his tone actually grim. "And the number is rising."
"Did this version have any capabilities to prevent Hyperspace-travel?" Sareh asked, looking at us.
"It isn't," Adrian answered like one, "The bulges you see on it are shieldings for the reactors. It was also the first thing they finished covering. Sadly, they aren't stupid."
[Statement: Optimal performance is our main signature, meatbag.]
"Don't start," Vila muttered, sounding tired.
"It will be hard to bring it back down, huh?" Sareh muttered, making Adrian grimace.
"Oh, yeah... It's eighty-five percent operational," he said, leaning back slightly in his chair. "Shields are fluctuating but holding. They just tested it an hour ago. They're working on the engines now because they are still unstable, but they're compensating. A few days and it will be fully maneuverable."
At that exact moment, every alarm on the Vindicator lit up at once, warning us silently.
"What is it?!" Sareh asked while I also tried to reach out with the Force, as subtly as possible.
"Contact!" Adrian snapped, already moving his fingers, reading, "Multiple hyperspace readings," he said in a hurry, "Small and medium-sized ones."
"How many?" Vila asked, looking back and forth between him and the projection, which was now changing to give us a view from further out.
"Counting… counting…"
The projection flickered just then, and then space itself got lit up with new indications. Multiple of them, in fact, ships, dropping out of hyperspace, right on the edge of the habitable zone.
"They're coming in formation," Adrian said, inhaling. "That's a military one..."
"And... That's not them," Sareh said, trying to get a read, but the signals weren't clear yet.
"No," I agreed, getting a different feeling myself, "They're not Sith or Sith-related."
Then, finally, the first ship fully became clear on the projection, a cruiser-sized one, then another... and another. Their weird, almost hammer-like shape told me all I needed to know.
"Republic," Adrian and I both confirmed at once, while he continued, "There are four Nebulon-class cruisers, two Nebulon-C and two Nebulon-B."
More followed, I mean, more signals, much smaller ships. They formed a cluster of ten, which grew to twelve and just a moment later, twenty. According to the readings, they were X-Wing fighters, a complete squadron, taking up a battle position... which didn't feel like much. Not with the Bellator-class dreadnought already turning.
"Scouting force," Adrian said, biting his lips, "Has to be. Which means, they got our message but had doubts. I just hope they can send a message out that this was not a trick!"
The Republic fleet spread out slightly, maintaining formation as their sensors began sweeping the system and also noticed the issue at hand... they wouldn't be able to take the Dominator down.
"They don't know what they're walking into," Sareh groaned, crossing her arms, "I bet the damn bureaucrats refused to send a proper fleet!"
"We can't do anything about that," I grunted as we did nothing but watch the Sith system react.
Their previously stable orbiting patterns broke instantly, reorganizing themselves into defensive positions as the orbital stations lit up.
"Oh no..." Adrian breathed, "This is not good!"
"What?" I asked because I could tell he indeed disliked what the sensors picked up.
"They are jamming communications and hyperspace travel... The Dominator is generating a massive gravitational signature..."
"I thought you said they can't do that!" Sareh moaned, pinching the ridge of her nose.
"It shouldn't. Which means... It's an addition."
Great... By then, bright streaks of energy kept flashing across space, striking the outer edges of the Republic formation. We could do nothing but watch as their shields flared, holding, for now, as the droid-controlled fleet reacted, tightening its formation, and their stations began to fire. Their X-Wing fighters flew forward, intercepting the incoming swarm of droid-controlled smaller ships... but the moment the Dominator gets close, it's over.
"Kael..." Vila started, but I just shook my head.
"We stay," I said immediately. Even Sareh and Adrian looked at me, "We stay," I repeated, my voice firm. "We can't help them from here," I added, "Even if we join, we are not a warship."
"He is right," Adrian agreed, "If we move, we're seen, and if we're seen..."
"We're dead," Vila finished, shrinking in her chair, "I know..."
The battle intensified in just a moment as the Republic fighters weaved through incoming fire, engaging the smaller ships in a very chaotic dogfight. At the same time, the Dominator finally got close enough to fire the main batteries, with a full broadside. The sheer power of it lit up the projection, multiple turbolaser batteries discharging in unison. The blast struck one of the escort cruisers, its shields collapsing under the impact as its hull took the hit and went up in flames, destroyed in one blow.
"And... it's gone," Adrian said, shaking his head, "It will pick on them, one by one."
"Try to find a moment," I muttered, holding myself steady, focusing on the Force itself, "While the battle is on, we have to get down on the planet... somehow."
Another cruiser took a hit just then, causing another one to turn into rubble. A full turbolaser volley slammed into its midsection, and the shields didn't have any chance. The ship split along its spine, breaking apart in a bright explosion that scattered molten debris across the battlefield.
"Damn it…" Adrian muttered, shaking his head. "This will be a total loss for them."
"Kael…" Vila said, her voice tight. "We can't just..."
"I know," I cut in, my eyes fixed on the projection. "But we still don't move."
She didn't like it, and neither did I... but we couldn't do anything else.
"Wait." Adrian's voice rose just then, "More signals!"
The projection shifted instantly, zooming outward as new hyperspace ruptures began to form at the edge of the system.
Then something massive dropped in, then another... and another. The shapes soon became visible, and we could tell it was another group of Republic ships, but this time... a more prepared one. Maybe the scouts managed to get out a cry for help.
"This isn't a scouting force," Adrian hummed.
"No," I agreed, too, "They may survive."
The new arrivals formed up very quickly, rushing to help their comrades before they were completely wiped out.
"That's an MC90 Star Cruiser," Adrian said, pointing at the middle of the new fleet joining the brawl, "Heavy command ship, hopefully it's up for the task." Flanking it, more vessels came into view by then, "Nebulas again… multiple… and, yeah, some Endurance-class Fleet Carrier ships," he continued, identifying them, "They brought a full wing."
Fighters poured out in waves, this time, hundreds, spreading out, to go and start disabling the defensive stations that kept bombarding them from all directions, while the main ships focused on the Dominator. The pressure on the first fleet eased as reinforcements slammed into the patchwork Sith vessels, tearing through the smaller ships with coordinated strikes.
"At least," Adrian said, leaning back, "That's what a real fleet looks like."
The Dominator attacked at that exact moment. It started with its ion cannons, attacking the shields, then a sustained barrage from its turbolasers, saturating entire sections of space in overlapping fire. One of the incoming Republic frigates was caught mid-turn, its shields collapsing under the combined assault before its hull buckled inward, torn apart in seconds.
"We spoke too early..." Sareh groaned, "The droids aim way too precisely..."
"They're focusing fire," Adrian agreed, "They've adjusted already, and my computer says their tactic is... exactly what it would have chosen to break the Republic forces. Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
"What now?" Vila asked, flinching.
"Another signal," he said slowly, furrowing his brows.
"From where?" Sareh gulped, hearing the nervousness in his voice.
"Different vector," Adrian replied. "Outer approach… not Republic..."
"That... doesn't sound good..." Vila whispered, biting her lips.
The projection zoomed again as another hyperspace mark opened and the first ship dropped out, its triangular silhouette unmistakable even before the projection fully resolved it.
"Well," Adrian inhaled, looking at us, "Let's hope it's not more salvaged Star Destroyers... Because that's not the Republic's force coming in."
It shouldn't be, because watching the data, how the vessel stabilized, its engines flaring with steady power without any of the instability the Dominator had shown. Behind it, more followed, dropping out in formation numbering... ten. A full line of warships, each identical in shape and signals.
"That's an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, and, well... All of them are, in fact," Adrian said, his voice gleeful and smiling. "And one of them is the Stormbringer."
"And that is...?" Vila asked, glancing at me as my feelings fluctuated.
"Our 'dear' Father's ship." I muttered, "He came to save his favorite son. Or he doesn't want his prototype to get snatched by the Republic forces."
"Probably both," Adrian chuckled as he watched the lead Star Destroyer adjust its angle, bringing its full forward battery to bear.
A coordinated volley erupted from the entire Imperial line, green turbolaser fire lancing across the void in a perfectly synchronized barrage as the Dominator took the hit. Its shields flared violently, the overlapping energy rippling under the strain as the impact slammed into its already unstable systems.
"Direct hit," Adrian laughed, "Multiple battery impacts, shields holding, but not everywhere. Against Dad's fleet? It will go down."
Still, the dreadnought responded immediately, returning fire, but this time, it wasn't overwhelming. The Imperial Star Destroyers spread out, maintaining distance while cycling their fire in controlled patterns, avoiding the chaotic close-range engagement that had crippled the Republic's initial approach and keeping the Dominator under fire from all possible directions. It was like a group of predators surrounding their injured prey, picking at it.
"They're spacing their volleys," Sareh observed, "And they work together perfectly..."
"Yeah, it's our standard tactic, when engaging anything at that size," Adrian nodded. "We are to rotate shield impact zones and not let it focus fire. This both weakens its defenses and its attacking power." As he was saying, another barrage struck the Dominator, and an explosion shook it from within. "Hull breach," Adrian said, his tone delighted. "Port side, mid-section. Yeah, this is as good as a victory!"
As it was happening, the Republic fleet regrouped, adjusting their approach now that the pressure had shifted. With the Imperial force drawing the Dominator's attention, they began flanking maneuvers, targeting the supporting ships and orbital platforms more.
The chaos was at its highest point, and... A feeling struck me all of a sudden.
"Monitor the planet!" I said, glancing at Adrian.
"What? O-okay, but... why?" He asked, switching scanners.
"Because we may not be the only ones who would use this chaos to slip... away." I said, my focus wholly turning towards Dormund Kass, no longer trying to hide my presence in the Force, "If we let our target escape because we aren't looking, I'm going to give up being a Jedi!"