Diaries of a Jedi Knight: Dark Forces part 11
The nava card wasn’t the good news we had been hoping for. The smuggling route didn’t lead to the Arc Hammer, but instead to the Executor - Vader’s ship. The Arc Hammer never stayed in the same place for very long and the only place in the galaxy that knew where it would be was the Executor, so we had no choice. Vader’s flagship is known to be restocked from Fuel Station Ergo and it was decided that our best bet for infiltrating the biggest Star Destroyer ever constructed would be through there.
Jan landed the Crow under the guise of the smuggling ring, and we said our goodbyes - I wouldn’t see her again until the end. I entered the outer ring of the station, stealthily killing the Imperial troops on board. I looked out of the window and saw the cargo ship I needed to hijack. It was docked on the other side of the station - the pathways would need to be moved to give me access. I headed down towards the central ring and pulled out the repeater - this would be one hell of a firefight.
The door slid open and I was greeted by very confused Stormtroopers. I knocked out half of them before the rest could aim their blasters - an energy canister behind the remaining soldiers exploded, blowing them far against the wall. This place was littered with both soldiers and energy canisters, so I would desperately need to watch my shots or be blown up myself. I moved around the ring, and entered the central room on one corner of the station.
I had entered a large rotating room with only one access point. It looked like it was designed for multiple people to operate at once, but I’ve used more complicated systems since I started chasing the Dark Trooper project. The first switch was on the ground below the south-west column, and I broke into a sprint as I pulled it. Jumping on the elevator back up, I leapt across from and just landed on the platform as it slowly swung to the south-west.
There was another switch on the wall in front of me as the platform reached the column. I flicked it and the room began to rotate around back towards the south east. I jumped back on and rode it past where I had entered and towards the north east. The north-east corridor was well guarded, with a squad of Stormtroopers hiding in the circular corridor. They stood so close to each other that a single thermal detonator took them all out, the small explosion also revealing a hidden armory. I restocked, then returned to the platform and activated the last switch.
This took me to the north west corridor, which led up towards the control room. Taking the elevator up, I was greeted by a half dozen soldiers who were completely unaware that galactic criminal Kyle Katarn was murdering his way through their space station. With a few more kills added to my wanted poster, I moved the boarding platform to the refuelling Imperial ship that was due to leave for the Executor shortly. Satisfied with my work, I walked back into the inner ring and headed up towards the other docking port.
There was an elevator at the top of the stairs which took me down to the boarding corridor, and the airlock at the end opened up granting me access to the cargo ship. There were only a few thugs on board, and a single Imperial Officer who had the key to the bridge. I punched him through a door, took the key and headed straight to the bridge. I then radioed Jan to let her know the mission was successful so far, and that I would be leaving Ergo shortly.
Staring out into the inky blackness of space, I had plenty of time to think back on the events that had led me there. I hadn’t been particularly stealthy, and I doubt it would take long for my exploits on Ergo to reach Mohc. The closer I got to him, the more I telegraphed my movements.
COMMENTS
DCello - 01:32am, 27th April 2017
"the biggest Star Destroyer ever constructed"
The Executor is not the biggest Star Destroyer ever constructed, the Eclipse surpassed it in size, volume, and mass (though not in length). This should be ammended.
TheSphericalCat - 02:07am, 27th April 2017 Author
This is a recollection of a the Dark Forces missions as told by Kyle Katarn between missions in 1ABY, 3 years before the Eclipse class Star Destroyer were first introduced. Kyle at this time has no knowledge of those ships and as such when he says that the Executor was the biggest Star Destroyer ever constructed, he tells the truth. If this series were set significantly after that period, you would be correct - the Legends universe Kyle Katarn lives in does indeed have a Star Destroyer's with a larger volume but not length.
DCello - 02:30am, 27th April 2017
Besides the fact such a definitive statement is out of character for him, he would only be telling the truth if he said "one of the biggest Star Destroyers ever constructed" -- Kyle has no technical knowledge about the Executor, except that it is a big ass ship. As a bonafide Imperial Officer, he would know better than to brashly state such a naive claim; he had no intel to make that assumption, and he would definitely *not* be so absolute having just discovered the titanic ten kilometers long Arc Hammer shortly before.
From a character viewpoint that is incorrect, from a factual viewpoint that is incorrect, and from a chronological viewpoint that is incorrect. The only correct reason for not ammending that statement is "because I don't wanna".
TheSphericalCat - 03:01am, 27th April 2017 Author
I feel we have vastly different ideas of what Kyle's character is - I see him as a cocky battle worn merc who likes killing anything that reminds him of his time in the Empire. As I've already exhibited in this series, Kyle does have some technical knowledge of the inner workings of the Empire, and it's widely shown in universe that the Executor is the biggest ship ever constructed (at that time at least). Considering that the Arc Hammer is little more than half the size of the Executor, I would say his experience with that particular ship benefits my claim.
Finally, it's a diary, and as such is subject to a small amount of exaggeration and hyperbole. Kyle is writing this as he travels towards what he thinks could very well be his death, unaware of what General Mohc has waiting for him.