Loyalties

Chapter 10

Three days later
Betanine Command Center, Betanine, Eastmarch

I walk amongst the shipyard, looking at all the cruisers stationed on Betanine. Now, since we know where the Black Sun Empire is located, picking them off will be a breeze.

"Glad you're feeling well again, sir," my second in command, Thomas LaPorte, says, walking towards me as a small inspection team looks at a transport.

"Ah, Thomas," I say, smiling. He's older than me by a couple decades, but he doesn't mind. "How's the X-11 looking?" I point at the transport.

"Excellent," he says. "The shields can absorb laser fire and deflect rockets. Perfect for any ground assault on any Black Sun planet. The weapons systems are good for bombardment."

"Perfect," I say, smiling at the ship. The hull looks like a giant freight container, with the front angled towards the cockpit. The wings are vertical, perhaps to provide cover for the troops landing. The cockpit has a large viewport, and can seat 5 crew members.

"I'll see you on the bridge," I say to Thomas, smiling. Walking away, my comm link buzzes to life.

"Admiral Gershwarve," I say.

"Admiral! This is General Lok Daar of the command center," the caller says, frantic. "You need to load up your fleet! Orders from home. You are launching an attack on Tantus with four other admirals at your command."

"Thank you, General," I say as I sever the link. Tantus is the first planet between the Empire division and the Black Sun division. It's large, around 160, 000 miles. Although the planet looks like it is made of wood and ice, according to sources, the planet is able to sustain life. The size of the planet is perfect for a base, and the Black Sun has control of it. There's a blockade, made up of thousands of every ship.

This is just great, I think as I walk towards my ship, the Dread Armada. The ship, 6500 meters in length, looks like a triangle with the top cut off, making it a flat area. In between, a dual-level hangar splits from the middle to the front end. The bridge is at the bow of the ship, and is raised a couple hundred meters from the rest of the slightly inclining middle. It's shaped like a rectangle, with a long and wide viewport that reaches the middle of the bridge.

On the ship's starboard side, a loading ramp is filled with soldiers, battledroids, and supplies, mainly munitions. This is going to be a tough fight, I think, starting to worry as my ship is being filled with at least five times as many more munitions crates. I bite my lip. I haven't had such a battle since the training simulator's final test.