Battle of Narth – Two years since the start of the Republic/Sith War The battle was going poorly. The Empire’s forces had perfectly led the Republic into an ambush. After an initial charge and hasty retreat by a small attack force, the Empire had managed to pull a fast one, flanking the Republic forces with more than triple the amount of ships that intelligence had reported. The lure worked perfectly, and unless a miracle occurred, the Republic’s ships would be completely annihilated. Dargo Karr, recently promoted to Captain, specialized in such situations. Having been called in from advising a ground battle on Byss that was now firmly in the Republic’s favor, he was the only hope of survival for the troops in the command ships, and the pilots in the star fighters. He had been told on the way to the command center that the situation was dire, but now, seeing it for himself, even he doubted his ability to salvage the battle. He analyzed the situation: nine Imperial Command ships to three Republic ships, twenty Sith-piloted fighters to six Jedi fighters, over five hundred Imperial fighters to just over one hundred Republic pilots, Republic forces surrounded on all sides, and the Empire’s forces laying down continuous fire. No sooner had he taken the battle’s measure than the Imperial ships began to implement a maneuver that Karr was very familiar with. With the Republic forces completely surrounded, the Empire’s fighters pushed the Republic ships into a mass group in a concentrated area, while spacing their own ships in a close perimeter around the mass, leaving the Republic’s forces trapped like a fly in amber. Karr immediately recognized the battle plan and knew exactly who was on the Imperial High Command ship; a former friend named Xen Bats, who highly favored the maneuver. Which also meant that any moment, the Imperial ships would riddle the Republic forces with an area-encompassing barrage of laser fire and proton torpedoes. Karr knew Bats. He wasn’t a bad person; he was actually a good man, he just hadn’t seen through the Sith’s lies like Karr had. If Karr could talk to Bats, maybe convince him to accept their surrender, the Republic soldier’s lives may be spared. Karr opened a comm channel to the Imperial High Command Ship. “This is Captain Dargo Karr of the Republic Command Forces requesting an open comm channel to Xen Bats.” The line was silent for several tense moments. Karr began to wonder if he might have been mistaken, when the holo-projector flickered to life. Xen Bats, his old friend, stood in silent judgment. For the sake of the people fighting, Karr had no time to waste. “Xen, I want –“ “That is Colonel Bats to you. Traitors do not get to address me by my first name. If you contacted me because you wish to ask my forgiveness for your treason, you waste your time.” “Xen, please, listen to –“ “I have nothing more to discuss with you.” The image blinked out and the holo-projector went dark. Karr’s spirits fell. He should have told someone else to negotiate. He should have known Bats would not listen. Now, knowing that he was watching, Bats would kill these men out of pure spite. In Bat’s eyes, Karr would never be more than a deceiver… Wait. Deceit. That gave him an idea. He turned to the Command Center’s ranking officer. “Colonel. Open an all-stations comm channel and announce our surrender!” Colonel Tine, a proud Twilek officer, could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Surrender?! The Sith will never accept a surrender when they have us in such a vulnerable position! This is why you were brought in!” Karr could not control his temper. The thought of what he was about to do made him sick. “Just do it! Tell the Empire we will jettison our ammunition and dock our fighters as a show of good faith. Just keep the Imperial Command talking for five minutes!” Karr ran to the personal office of Colonel Tine and sealed the door. Colonel Tine was one of the few officers capable of broadcasting encrypted messages to all the Republic’s ships simultaneously. Karr waited until Colonel Tine began broadcasting the Republic’s surrender, and the fighting ceased for a moment, to broadcast a secure message to all the Republic ships. “Attention all Republic vessels, this is Captain Dargo Karr, listen up. In a moment, Colonel Tine is going to tell you all to jettison your ammunition and dock your fighters. You will comply. Fighters will jettison everything, even fuel. Command ships will jettison all ammunition with the exception of a single armed proton torpedo. While this is happening, pilots of the command ships will calculate jumps to light speed through any opening in the enemies perimeter that you can find. The moment the Imperial Command Ship refuses to accept our surrender, all command ships will fire their proton torpedo at the jettisoned ammunition and then immediately make the jump to light speed.” Many pilots, most notably the Jedi, found the plan distasteful, but, seeing no other way out, agreed to comply. On orders from Colonel Tine, all the remaining ships jettisoned their payloads and docked on board the Republic Command ships. Karr walked back into the Command Center a few minutes later, just as General Svol, commander of the Imperial forces, issued his reply. “Well Colonel, it would seem that you are as good as your word. You can always trust the Republic to take the noble path. Thank you for docking your ships. They will be so much easier to destroy this way. Consider your surrender denied.” Without further prompting, the Republic Command ships fired on the derelict ammunition as they made the jump to light speed. With the Republic ships already at a safe distance in hyper space, they didn’t even feel the shock wave as the chain explosion of the accumulated mass of ammunition and fuel destroyed the surrounding Imperial vessels. A chorus of cheers erupted in the Command Center as the Republic ships reported back safe and sound. Hollers of elation and claps on the back echoed throughout the room. Colonel Tine strode purposefully toward Karr. “Dargo, you saved hundreds of lives, destroyed thousands of enemies, and pulled a crushing victory out of certain defeat! I will personally see to it that you are commended by the Republic High Command! Mark my words Karr, you are going to be a General one day!” Karr left the room. He didn’t respond to the praise. Didn’t hear the congratulatory shouts. Alone in the hallway outside, he collapsed against the wall. He had abandoned the Empire because of their merciless tactics, and yet he had just used manipulation, trickery, and deceit to kill a good man. Xen was his friend once, and his last words to Karr were the venom spat at a traitor, devoid of honor. Karr tried to tell himself that it was necessary, that the Imperials would not have shown mercy, but the more Karr replayed the battle in his mind, the less he was able to convince himself that Xen had been wrong.