A Titanic Ransom

[Alric Kuhn]

There was something to be said about happiness.

Alric was not entirely sure that he had ever felt it before. Up until a week ago he had not been entirely sure he had been capable of such an emotion. Yet it had been proven that he was. The thoughts and emotions that now ran through his mind were singular in the intent and cause. He knew what he was feeling, he knew what it meant.

A smile crept over his face.

His eyes cast towards a holo-display on the dresser for only a moment before shifting back to his own feet. She wasn't with him here now, they were both far too busy to spend every waking hour together, but as always she was in his thoughts. Lingering in the back of his head even as he ventured across the stars.

Alric supposed it would be like that from now on.

He didn't seem to mind.

“Sir?”

Something crackled over the comm-line. Alric leaned over and plucked the small device from the nightstand. “Yes?”

“Sir. We seem to be having some troubles with the hyperdrive. We'll have to drop out for a while to effect repairs.”

Alric let out a groan. That would mean the trip would be delayed, meaning his journey home would be delayed. A scowl slipped onto his face. The Wyyrlok-class Star Destroyers were all exceptionally designed, all well put together, problems with the hyperdrive were unheard of. “Get it back online as soon as you can. I want to be on time.”

Wouldn't want to disappoint her after all.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

It didn't take him long to slip on the rest of his clothes. Though he didn't really need to at this point, Alric still without fail wore a suit each and every single day. Even when he attended no meetings, held no parties, or really did anything, he would wear that suit. Of course at home it would come off and at times with Silara it would definitely come off, but when it came to showing his face in public?

Always with a suit.

It helped create an image around him, one of professionalism. He thought perhaps that it was almost like a uniform, it helped him get into a routine, a mindset that aided him in his day to day affairs.

Scoffing at himself in the mirror Alric shook his head slightly, knowing how silly that actually was.

A sudden lurch of the Wyyrlok told him that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace. The tiniest nudge of the deck that told him of extreme deceleration. He nodded to himself, then suddenly stumbled as the entire ship began to shake.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“The Kark-” Alric said as the ship shook again.

He braced himself against the dresser this time, the long mirror nearly falling over as the ship shook two more times. The shaking was quickly followed by the shutting off of lights. In the Darkness Alric looked up, panicking for a hint of a moment before gaining his composure.

A sear of red suddenly flooded him.

Emergency klaxons began to sound within the ship, and Alric looked around curiously. From his dressed he pulled his HUD-G's, top of the line of course, nightvision enabled. He placed them on his face and activated them, scrambling for the blaster that he kept in the top drawer.

He didn't actually know what he'd do with the weapon, he was a lousy shot, but when your ship randomly began to shake and emergency klaxons started, it was good to have a happen.

Tapping the side of his glasses Alric yelled. “What the feth is going on?”

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric stepped out of his room, greeted with the sound of klaxon and static in his ears. It appeared that communications were down. He let out another curse, holstering the blaster in his waistband and turning to the right, beginning to stalk down the hallway.

It came as no surprise that the place was empty. This section of the ship, located in the far forward compartments, was usually reserved for officers and special guests, people who were mostly on the bridge or doing other important things at this time of day. So when he heard the clatter of boots, Alric became noticeably paranoid.

He drew the blaster from behind his back, pointing it down the hall just as two figures turned a corner.

Alric shifted slightly, brandishing the blaster until relief suddenly came over him. The two figures stared at him for a second, bright blue skulls shifting as they spotted their father.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

They were Sons of Titan, his sons in a way. All of them trained by him and his corporation to be loyal and steadfast Soldiers. There was no question as to whether or not he could trust them. No question if he could utterly relax. With them, he was always safe, with them he could always relax. Of course, whatever was going on right now likely had them on edge, but their presence caused Alric to relax slightly.

“What the bloody kark is going on?” Alric asked the two rapidly approaching men.

They both carried ancient DC-17 Blaster Rifles, old Clone Wars tech that they had likely taken from some museum and upgraded to meet certain standards.

He gave all of the Sons a certain leeway with the technology they used. All they had to do was wear the armor and it was okay. Of course most of them chose to go with the standard Blas-Tech weapons and the Titan Tomahawk, but a certain few preferred something more...eccentric. It seemed that these two were of the sort.

They fell into step with him. Skulls shifting slightly as they began to move.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“We don't know sir.”

Well that was typical. He couldn't really blame them. Alric knew that their stations were only a couple dozen meters down the corridors, they wouldn't have anymore information than he did. Of course, he didn't actually know how many Sons were on board this ship.

The Sons of Titan remained mostly independent in operation. Though Alric oversaw them, it was Kiran who really made sure the day to day activities, missions, and training happened for the Sons. As far as Alric knew these two were only part of a detachment of a hundred.

“How many of you are on board?” Whatever the problem, the Sons could handle it.

The Wyyrlok likely just had a blown hyperdrive which wouldn't be too big of an issue, there was a backup afterall.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

They walked together, moving in synchronous motion. The klaxons had stopped for now, but the bright blinking red lights still continued. That was a good sign, it means that the ship wasn't under attack, at least not yet. Alric wasn't willing to rule anything out.

“Just us two, Sir.”

He let out a sigh. Of course.

“Commander Kiran or-”

Alric raised a hand. “Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. This little interruption will have ruined your mission. You'll be with me.”

The two men did not protest, if anything they seemed to stiffen and walk more upright, as if what they were doing now was a hundred percent more important. Alric simply smiled. He like the Sons, they knew how to listen.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

They passed through the corridors of the ship quickly. Taking corner after corner. Eventually they encountered people. Soldiers pacing to action stations, officers running to the bridge, engineers heading towards the hangars or the engine compartment. It didn't matter where they were going, all of them gave Alric and his Sons a wide birth, not wanting to get in the way.

Eventually they made it to the bridge. On a Wyyrlok the bridge was held deep within the bowels of the ship. It was hidden away within the vessel itself so that it could not be targeted by fire. Hardwired cameras planted all over the vessel provided the bridge with a three hundred and sixty degree view of its surroundings.

Couple that with advanced sensors and the Wyyrlok was almost never blind.

Alric knew this, because the Wyyrlok had been one of the first ships he had ever designed. It was also one of the ones that he enjoyed the most. The beautiful Killik Vessel was smooth and almost alive, ad that was of course the whole point of this trip.

Bringing the Wyyrloks next step to life.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The doors slid open.

“Commander o-”

“Oh shuttup.” Alric said before the officer could continue his sentence. Alric Kuhn was no commander, admiral, general, or anything of the sort. He knew nothing of fleet battles and even less about general combat. The most he could do was get into a fist fight and win.

Yet every time, every single time without fail when Alric entered the bridge of this ship some stupid little git would make everyone salute him.

His ego wasn't small enough to need that. “Whats happening on my ship?”

Alric barked in annoyance, the Sons beside him seemed to snicker, though they made no noise and their body language did not change a hair.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“Sir. There was a malfunction in the hyperdrive. We had to drop out of hyperspace to prevent it from going critical while still in use, if it had the ship would likely have been torn apart. As it is we've managed to contain most of the damage, but we lost engines two and four.”

Alric's eyebrows shot through the roof.

What in the nine hells could have caused such a thing? There was no conceivable explanation save for one, and even that was pretty dark. The Wyyrloks themselves were impeccably maintained. Titan Industries held its corporate fleet together with regular maintenance, refits, and repairs. No damage should have been done...could have been done since there.

“How?” Alric asked out loud.

He quickly found that there was no answer.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“HOW!?” Alric repeated himself, loud enough to cause some of the less experienced ensigns to jump up in their seats.

Of course, none of them wanted to admit to Alric what they all knew had happened. None of them wanted to say the truth or even think about the consequences. No, because that would mean that they could be at fault, that they would be under suspicion. That was what humanity was like after all, never wanting to take blame for anything.

“We...we suspect the hyperdrive was sabotaged.”

The Captain spoke, timid as a feinting goat. Alric looked at the man, scowling. Of course it had been. That was really the only logical explanation for this, the only thing that made sense. If it were not that then Titan Industries had created a deffective product, and Titan Industries did not make defective products.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric let out a deep seething breath of air. His eyes shifted over towards the captain, then scanned the crew. He could feel the Sons of Titan stiffen slightly at his side, looking around the room with their strange holographic skull Masks.

Their hands shifted on their Blaster Rifles.

“If the hyperdrive was sabotaged, that means there was a purpose for it. Since no one aboard this ship is capable of smuggling the entire army necessary to take it over, that means that enemy ships are likely on their way.” The man nodded in response to Alrics logic. “I suggest you power weapons.”

The two Sons stiffened.

They knew what was about to happen. That certain sixth sense that had been beaten into them was tingling.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“Sir?”

Alric shifted his gaze towards the ensign that spoke. The Two Sons of Titan beside him seemed to shift as well. Their grips tightened again, and Alric found himself wondering if the two men though he was going to order the slaughter of his own crew.

Some men perhaps would have. Out of rage or anger, out of being embarrassed like this. Alric however was not that kind of man. He was not about to order the killing of these men, not right now anyway. The crews of the Wyyrlok were important. It took practice and training to work on these vessels, mostly because of the odd intricacies that came with such a unique vessel.

The crews of the Wyyrlok would be instrumental when the Maladi's were built.

“Sir...how could you know that?”

Alric shifted slightly again, considering his answer.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“The Wyyrloks were designed to be held together, they were designed to last. The ships has an outer hull and an inner hull. The vessel, even if damaged in combat, is very unlikely to have a broken hyperdrive.” He was not an admiral nor a starship engineer, but he knew the vessels that Titan Industries built.

“The damage had to come from inside of the ship.” Alric continued on. “Since its very unlikely that it was an engine failure on its own, that means sabotage.”

The crew members began to nod along with him, understanding his point.

It's not like he was making this difficult for them. In reality most of them should already have figured this out, or at least the intelligent ones. Alric reminded himself that in the future he should hire smarter Starship captains, perhaps ex-naval officers or defectors from the Republic. “And there is only one reason to sabotage one of my ships. To capture and take it.”

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Titan Industries after all was known for creating the best and grandest of all starships. If Pirates wanted a vessel to overpower shipping lanes, then Titans ships were the best choices. Of course Titan did not sell to pirates, nor did it ever intend to do so. That meant the only remaining option was for a pirate fleet to ambush Titans ships.

Most often this was done while Titan was delivering projects.

Alric knew this because it was a known phenomenon. Pirates had been attempting to ambush Wyyrloks, Dark Blades, and once even an Immortal. Each time they had been rebuffed, and each time a report had been made.

It wasn't very difficult for Alric to figure out what was now going on. Pirates wanted this Wyyrlok for themselves and so they had managed to either hide away on board or get themselves hired by Titan Industries so they could come aboard. Either way, it didn't really matter. Alric knew what was happening, and he knew what was about to happen.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Sure enough, seconds after Alric had spoken the alarm klaxons began to blare.

“Told you.” Alric said almost too calmly. The Sons at his side both shifted slightly, looking at one another then renewing their grip on their Blaster Rifles. Both of them knew what this would mean. The Wyyrlok ordinarily had marines aboard, dropships and gunships, this one however didn't. It had the crew and a small detachment of what was to be Titans Security division, but no where near a full compliment like a normal Wyyrlok would hold.

He wondered if that was coincidence of if the Pirates had known.

“How many?” Alric asked one of the ensigns. “Ships I mean.”

It was a very real possibility that the Wyyrlok could still fight them off. After all the vessel was no push over and had more guns than an Imperial Star Destroyer. It was more than capable of holding off a fleet of smaller vessels.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“It...It looks like fourteen Sir. Fourteen ships of at least Cruiser size.”

Alric's eyes bulged open.

Fourteen? That wasn't a fleet, that was an armada, at least when it came to pirates. Titan Industries could field many more ships than that, but for Pirates? That was unheard of. Especially when all of them were cruiser sized. That meant nearly all of them sat above five hundred meters. His stomach churned slightly, and Alric shifted on his feet.

“None of them above one thousand meters.”

Well that was a blessing in disguise.

Alric looked towards the captain of the Wyyrlok, his eyes locking with the mans for a moment. The Captain began to sweat, but then slowly he nodded, knowing what to do.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The Two Sons of Titan looked towards their commander. They both knew what was about to happen. Fourteen ships. There was no way the Wyyrlok could destroy fourteen ships. Half that number would have been enough to simply overwhelm the Wyyrlok, especially in its immobile state, but Fourteen? That was simply too many.

No.

The pirates would be coming aboard.

It seemed that whoever had planned this was due more credit than Alric would ordinarily give to any pirates. Perhaps the man...or woman, would come aboard and he would get to meet them. Shifting slightly Alric tapped one of his Sons on the shoulder, giving the man a single hand motion. The Son nodded, and then quickly left the bridge.

“Target their largest vessel.”

The Captain spoke, looking to Alric for approval.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He could have slapped the man.

Alric Kuhn was not a damn stupid of military tactics!

“Yes.” Was the answer he gave instead. There was no use in arguing with the man right now, no use in pointing out his lackluster ability in the area of military strategy. The crew was likely already panicking, there was no need to add to that.

Besides, logic was what drove his answer.

In Dejarik it was often a good idea to take out the biggest bruiser first. In this case it was slightly different, the largest of the Pirate Ships likely contained the largest amount of Pirates. It would carry the most amount of the Pirates boarding party and their supplies. Without it their assault would be slowed, if not halted entirely.

That was what logic told Alric.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

It began simply enough really. The firepower of the gundecks, the sound of the turbo-lasers beginning to fire. It resounded throughout the Wyyrlok, pushed at every ear drum. The massive Killik Star Destroyer was over gunned for its size, holding more weapons than the typical Star Destroyer and far outpacing other ships of its size and class.

This was because of Titan Industries theories on miniaturization. The Idea that a large amount of firepower could be fitted to a smaller package. Most of Titans ships followed this theory. The Dark Blade, the Immortal, all of the most important vessels. It was a design element brought on by the Yuuzhan Vong, and it was one that would be featured prominently in Alrics new vessel, the Maladi.

He frowned slightly, turning his head back towards the door.

Suddenly the Wyyrlok began to shake It rumbled slightly, and alarm klaxons sounded again. He frowned, shifting and gazing at one of the nearby readout screens. The aft hangar bay had been struck by a lucky missiles.

It seemed these Pirates had fortune on their side.