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Empire Reforged
Chapter 50: Shadows in the Field
Location: Outer Bellis Run, Near Onderon Orbit
Date: BBY 6 – Day 10 of Operation Apex
The void around Onderon was quiet — the kind of quiet Lucan had learned to mistrust.
The Silver Lance held formation near the tail of the convoy, flanked by two Gozanti-class transports. The lead freighter, Hardlight Mercy, was running slow — underpowered and badly shielded, but packed with classified surveillance beacons for drop deployment.
Above them loomed the planet, its stratosphere painted in amber and ash, marked by storms and high-altitude dust fields. Onderon's outer moons were little more than mined husks, and in their shadow, the Partisans moved like ghosts.
Darran's voice cut through the bridge. "Long-range scopes picking up multiple micro-sensor pings. Scattered. Faint. Could be solar echo…"
Lucan stepped beside the console. "It's not solar echo. They're watching us."
Veya leaned over from the operations chair, eyes narrowing. "We're lit up on every scanner in this quadrant. Even rebels with sticks and rocks could see us coming."
Lucan frowned. "Prep alert fighters. I want our TIEs on hot standby."
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The attack came twenty-three minutes later.
Without warning, a flurry of ion bolts erupted from a nearby asteroid cluster — followed by laser fire stitched in tight patterns. The lead Gozanti took two direct hits to its starboard nacelle and began listing immediately, venting gas and flickering power.
"Multiple bogeys — modified Y-Wings and Z-95s, mark ten inbound!" Milar shouted from tactical.
Lucan spun to comms. "Launch interceptors, grid formation! Shields up, brace for pass!"
The Silver Lance pitched hard, dorsal cannons tracking independently under coordinated fire control. A half-squadron of rebel craft screamed overhead — small, fast, and perfectly timed to distract while a second wave came in from below.
One of the convoy freighters erupted into flame, its unshielded cargo deck torn apart by a cluster of magnetic charges.
Lucan moved without hesitation. "Bring us forward and rotate to present full arc. Target strike craft only — avoid collateral on the field!"
Veya was already relaying information. "IFF tagging shows two enemy corvettes using passive stealth screens. They're launching drone pods — suicide ordinance, close-range."
Lucan cursed. "Where's our support?"
"Konstantine's other ships are ten minutes out. He sent the Venator to the wrong vector — chasing false signals."
Lucan ground his teeth. "Of course he did."
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The Silver Lance held formation — the only thing between the rest of the convoy and annihilation. Its CIWS batteries lit the void with sharp pulses of emerald, downing three inbound drones and two starfighters in rapid succession.
But the pressure was rising.
"Weapons overheating on dorsal node three!" Milar called.
"Vent manually and rotate the tower to ventral grid. Compensate with port batteries," Lucan replied without pause.
One of the drone pods struck the disabled Gozanti amidships, triggering a shockwave that rocked the Lance's forward decks.
Sparks erupted across the bridge.
Lucan didn't flinch.
"Target the remaining corvette. Ion solution only — disable, don't destroy. I want prisoners."
Veya raised a brow. "We're taking losses."
"That's exactly why we need answers."
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Ten minutes later, the field was quiet again.
The enemy corvette was adrift, its crew stunned or unconscious. The rest of the insurgent craft were either downed or in full retreat — but not before damaging three Imperial supply vessels and cutting the task force's sensor relay capacity by half.
Lucan stood in the corridor outside the Lance's medbay, blood smeared across his glove from helping pull a wounded crewman out of a collapsed lift.
He watched silently as stormtroopers carried injured off stretchers, and junior officers ran damage control checks.
Veya approached, datachip in hand.
"They weren't just ambushing," she said. "They knew our exact route. Our supply contents. Even our launch timing."
Lucan's voice was cold. "Which means we have a leak."
She nodded. "And it's not from us."
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