Luke found Hobbie and Mara first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The borrowed U-wing had already been ferried back to the Independence<\/em>‘s main hangar, leaving Auxiliary Two feeling oversized for the half-dozen X-wings taking up space. We have ten pilots now<\/em>, Luke noted, and six X-wings. I hope Rieekan comes through on the rest of the fighters we need.<\/em> The idea of the squadron being filled to its paper-promised twelve pilots brought a smile to his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two pilots were sitting on the port s-foil of Hobbie’s X-wing. An access panel on the upper laser cannon was open, and they were clearly in discussion about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “…know that Wedge has it installed backward. And I know he claims it works better that way,” Mara was saying, tone cross. “I also know that is not<\/em> the Incom spec, and there is zero<\/em> reason it’d work better reversed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You’re going to argue that Wedge is wrong?” Hobbie asked doubtfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No, I’m just taking Incom’s side in the argument.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Good evening,” Luke said mildly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both heads turned to look. “Commander,” Hobbie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’m checking in on everyone who flew today,” Luke said easily. “Nothing formal.” He frowned for a moment. “I thought we were finally getting a maintenance crew in tomorrow to work on the X-wings properly. Why are you two working on Hobbie’s fighter now?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Mara said briskly. “I bet the air wing has an emergency tomorrow and needs them instead. Wouldn’t put it past S’man.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hobbie snorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I wanted to ask you two, since you flew the transport: what did you think of Tycho Celchu?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hobbie shrugged. “Hard to get a read on him. Don’t doubt the defection is real. He’s hurting, real bad, from losing Alderaan. Told me he was talking to his family on the HoloNet when it happened. But I didn’t get any feel for what he’ll be like in a month when he’s had time to sit with everything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke nodded as he filed the observation away. “Mara?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She looked uncomfortable for a moment. “He’s observant. Smart. And he definitely has no loyalty left for the Empire. Outside the pain I have no idea what drives him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And you two? Anything I should know?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n They both shook their heads, and Hobbie added, “We’re all green here, Commander. I’d rather be in my X-wing the next time, though.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke suspected there was something being left unsaid, but he decided to let it go for now. “No one has to do the scut work every mission,” he reassured him. “Any idea where Sarkli and Puck are?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “They talked about hitting up the simulators with the newcomers,” Mara volunteered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’ll start with the sim bay, then. Thanks.” Luke offered a casual nod, then headed out of Auxiliary Two and to the simulator bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The walk from Rogue Territory to the simulator bay wasn’t long, but it did mean entering Pilot Country proper. Luke passed a number of air wing pilots along the way, with mixed reactions. Some he clocked as admiration and surprise, but some expressions flashed irritation or even outright contempt. He chose to ignore it all. Celebrity doesn’t keep pilots alive, and while S’man may not like the Rogues, he <\/em>does care about the air wing. I’d bet every credit I have that the air wing pilots are loyal to him.<\/em> He frowned to himself as he neared the simulator bay. Wedge might not like it, but we’re going to need to figure out how to work with him. We have enough enemies shooting at us that we don’t need enemies inside the Alliance, too.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The simulator bay was a larger chamber than any the Rogues had claimed, save the Auxiliary Two hangar itself. At a glance, Luke estimated at least fifty simulator pods filled the room in paired rows, with the pods grouped by type. The X-wing simulators were easiest for him to pick out, both due to his own experience training in the T-65 simulators and the presence of a group of his Rogues, including Sarkli and Puck. He didn’t hesitate before heading over to his pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only two of the X-wing pods were active, and the master control panel showed the occupants were running through familiarization training. Luke had a twinge of recognition. Those were the first sims I flew, before the Death Star arrived.<\/em> Only when Luke was within earshot of the Rogues watching the display could he make out the Aurebesh notation that the current pilots were Zev Senesca and Karie Neth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “…is decorative,” Puck was saying cheerfully. “The scorch marks make it look faster.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Absolutely,” Wes Janson agreed. “When Hobbie’s fighter has them, it’s usually going really fast<\/em> into the ground.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarkli shook his head. “Naeco, I thought a man with eleven kills would be more aggressive. The whole mission to Dantooine and you only scored a single kill.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The kills weren’t the point,” Luke said mildly as he stepped into the circle of pilots, which also included Cesi Eirriss. Several of the Rogues stiffened at his unexpected arrival. “At ease,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Commander, the kills are absolutely<\/em> the point,” Sarkli said, still stiff. “We’re fighter pilots. The four TIE pilots I vaped over Dantooine are neutralized. They’ll never threaten Rebel forces again. The Empire has to spend credits and time to replace them and their ships.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke smiled reprovingly. “The extraction <\/em>was the point,” he corrected. “When we climbed out of the canyon, you were right to engage that element coming after the U-wing. You led with a proton torpedo, which was a great tactic. But if you’d aimed at the leader instead of the wingman, you’d have broken the element and you could have extracted cleanly. If they’d tried to pursue when you were on the climb, Puck could have covered you. Instead you took on all three by yourself.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I didn’t need Naeco,” Sarkli said. “I put all three of them down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Yes, you did,” Luke agreed. “And your flying was phenomenal. But you left Naeco alone escorting the U-wing instead of operating as part of a team.” He lost his smile. “Red Squadron lost almost everyone at Yavin. Wedge and I want to build a squadron that does better than that. And that means relying on each other, even when you’re sure you can handle a fight yourself.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What about you, Commander?” Puck asked, oddly serious for once. “You jumped out in front and tangled up with the TIEs that were dropping on us from altitude.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I did, yes, because we were short on options and I knew you two were both climbing after me. If it turned bad, I was certain I could survive long enough for you two and the U-wing to reach me.” Luke shrugged. “I won’t pretend there’s always a clean answer, but we need to trust each other.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarkli bristled, but closed his mouth firmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke nodded at the simulator pods. “Who’s been training?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’ve been beating up on the newcomers,” Wes volunteered. “Senesca insisted on running Neth through the early training. Something about making it fair?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Wonderful,” Luke said dryly. “Wedge and I will put together a training schedule when we can stop and take a breath, which probably means tomorrow. Tonight, though, I’m just checking on the pilots who flew today.” His eyes landed on Puck. “How are you doing, Puck?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Well, I joined your squadron three days ago. I’ve flown two combat missions since. This is the most excitement I’ve had since I left Denon.” His smile came easily, though Luke could see a bit of fatigue in his eyes. “I’m sure the maintenance crew will complain about the beating my X-wing took the last few days, but I’m good, Commander.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke nodded, then turned. “Sarkli?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarkli’s expression was composed, now, a mask over the irritation Luke knew he had to be feeling. “I’m ready to fly whenever you need me, Commander.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don’t doubt that.” Luke offered him a reassuring smile. “The next time the call comes, I’ll need you on my wing. You’re a great pilot, Sarkli.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thank you, Commander,” he said, tone flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke decided not to press any further. “Don’t forget to get some sleep, Rogues,” he said lightly. “Maintenance crews will be going over our X-wings tomorrow, and we’ll be hitting the simulators hard. We’ve gotten lucky so far. Two missions with no casualties, but no training as a squadron. I don’t want luck to carry us any further.” He offered a casual nod instead of a salute as he turned to leave. “I’ll see you all in the morning at 0700 for breakfast in the mess in Pilot Country. And if you’re not there, I’m sure Wedge will get creative.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n A kilometers-long warship like the Independence<\/em> did not truly sleep, but it did operate on a standard 24-hour Coruscant day. For eight hours of the day the ship’s lighting in non-critical sections was dimmed. Silence did not settle, but the ambient noise was usually quieter. Most of the ship’s occupants rested or slept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara could not sleep. Celchu’s question still echoed when she tried to quiet her mind. You’re from Alderaan? <\/em>And some part of her wanted to answer. No, I’m not. It’s complicated.<\/em> But that was more than what she’d tell Wedge or Hobbie, let alone a defector she’d just met. So why did it bother her so much?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mess in Pilot Country wasn’t staffed during ship’s night, but shelf-stable food was available and caf dispensers offered the dark liquid with a flavor only moderately worse than usual. Mara didn’t particularly care for the caf, but a warm mug in her hands felt more comfortable than the caf was palatable, so she sat at a table with her back to the bulkhead and mug held firmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A handful of ship crew came through the mess while Mara stewed over her mug: a few starfighter technicians, a pair of patrol pilots from the air wing, and a Mon Calamari in a fleet lieutenant’s uniform that Mara suspected was more smuggler than Rebel officer. It came as a surprise, then, when an older man with greying hair wearing a pilot’s jacket without a unit patch approached her table, his own mug of terrible caf in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “May I?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara looked around at the nearly-empty mess hall. “I suppose it would be impolite for me to say no, given how crowded it is.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He laughed once, though it sounded genuinely amused as he sat himself down opposite her. “Usually it’s the squadron leaders in here this time of night,” he commented. “Not flight officers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I aspire to leadership,” Mara said dryly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Interesting way to go about it,” he said agreeably. “I heard that a young combat pilot from Skywalker’s squadron pointed a blaster at Colonel S’man this morning. She didn’t even have the decency to wear a uniform while she was doing it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara’s lips quirked upward in spite of herself. “I was holding it, not pointing. And it was early.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The older man laughed again, longer this time. “I can see why S’man was filing complaints,” he chuckled. “Mara Jade, right?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Yes,” she said. He clearly already knows who I am.<\/em> “And you are…?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hal,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara paused for a moment to study him. The hair wasn’t prematurely grey, she concluded, and even in the dim lighting she could see the age in his skin. The hazel eyes had some sparkle of energy, but not the vigor of youth. And a closer look at his flight jacket showed traces of old insignia that had been removed in the varying discoloration, barely visible in the darkened mess hall. He’s seen some battles<\/em>, she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And what do you want?” she asked, deciding on the direct approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hal paused for a moment, taking a sip of his caf. He didn’t wince at the burnt flavor. “I like meeting interesting people. You strike me as interesting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Interesting? How?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You’re the youngest combat pilot on the Independence<\/em>,” he noted, then waved dismissively when he saw her expression. “I’ve known younger, though. And you’re part of the squadron Skywalker and Antilles are putting together. Rogue Squadron,” he said, barely smothering another chuckle. “S’man was furious when he saw the paperwork for the official name. But you<\/em>, you don’t fit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Don’t fit how?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The same way Skywalker doesn’t fit,” Hal said with a wave of his hand. “Too young. Not enough combat hours. But maybe that’s what the Alliance needs. Young pilots who come in without the baggage of us old veterans, officers who might see new things that we retirees can’t anymore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara lifted an eyebrow. “You’re retired?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Do you see a rank insignia?” he asked rhetorically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “A three-kilometer-long Mon Calamari warship is a hell of a place to retire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If I stay long enough, maybe it’ll turn back into the luxury starliner it used to be,” Hal answered cheerfully before taking a drink of his caf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara took a drink from her own mug and only mostly managed to hide her grimace. This stuff is practically a solvent. I bet the maintenance crews use it to clean their tools.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rogue Squadron,” Hal mused aloud. “I’ve seen a few units like it before.” His eyes flicked up and met Mara’s, seeing the unasked question. “Sometimes a squadron like this is a vanity project. Skywalker’s a big hero after the Death Star, and sooner than later the Empire will know who he is because the political opportunities for Mon Mothma are too good. And honestly, it’s too big to keep secret forever, so using<\/em> it makes sense. Now, most of the time, that sort of squadron becomes a parade unit. Flashy, but in real operations, average at best. But neither Skywalker nor Antilles strike me as the type that would be satisfied with that.” He smiled at her knowingly. “And you’re not the sort who gets picked for those units. Pointing a blaster at a colonel would be rather frowned on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Holding, not pointing.” Mara shook her head. “Who are you? Really?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Told you. I’m Hal.” He rose to his feet, both knees cracking. “I’m sure I’ll see you around. Mess hall is quiet this time of night. Good place to clear my head.” He smiled. “And I really like the caf.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No one likes this caf.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It’s better than the water, not as good as the whiskey.” He grinned. “Good night, Mara.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She shook her head. “Good night, Hal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mara watched as the man vanished through the mess hall door before deciding she should make another attempt at sleeping. Morning would come all too soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was nearly time for the midday meal when Luke’s plan for the day, such as it was, fell apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ground crew from the main hangar had been smaller than expected, with Colonel S’man co-opting some of the assigned technicians to his own emergency maintenance. Mara hadn’t bothered with an “I told you so”, but her expression wore it nonetheless. Wedge had been exasperated, Luke had decided it wasn’t a battle worth fighting, and together over breakfast they’d sketched a quick new plan for the day. Wedge had taken the four Rogues still waiting on a spaceframe, along with Hobbie and Puck, to start running pilots through the simulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke, Sarkli, and Mara had returned to Auxiliary Two after breakfast to oversee the maintenance work on their fighters. The mechanics had grumbled, but Luke’s misspent youth in a T-16 Skyhopper with no credits to pay a mechanic left him with a distrust for flying a fighter he hadn’t touched himself. And what the ground crew lacked in enthusiasm for pilot oversight, they made up for in thoroughness. With their reduced complement of mechanics, they had opted to work on three X-wings at a time. Proton torpedo magazines were unloaded, Tibanna gas cartridges removed, fuel drained, power cells pulled, and then a full teardown of the major systems. The sublight engines were gutted, checked, and rebuilt; laser cannon components were pulled and scrubbed clean of corrosion before reassembly; even the proton torpedo alleys were polished clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unhappy or not, the maintenance crew was thorough. The three Rogues found nothing to complain about; even Artoo-Detoo, who had a reputation for demanding standards for Luke’s X-wing, warbled approvingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With just rearming and refueling left, most of the maintenance crew descended on the remaining X-wings, starting with the engines. A handful of junior team members and a binary loadlifter droid restocked torpedo magazines and fueled the completed X-wings. On Yavin IV, fighters wouldn’t have been fueled and armed until a mission was imminent; the Independence<\/em>, however, had standing orders to keep all fighters ready to fly at a moment’s notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And then General Rieekan stalked into the hangar, a single aide trailing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke saw Sarkli’s gaze catch first, and followed his line of sight until he saw the general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Commander Skywalker,” Rieekan called, his voice gravelly. “We have an emergency.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke raised an eyebrow. “General. I’ve got more pilots than fighters and we’re in the middle of a maintenance cycle.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rieekan approached him, showing him a hand-held holoprojector. When he’d closed the gap, he powered the device up. “I apologize, Commander. I know you’ve flown two sorties in two days, and this will be three. I already spoke with S’man, and the air wing is already committed to an emergency operation elsewhere, and he’s looking at a twelve-hour delay.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The smile on Luke’s face was grim. “What’s the situation?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hologram finally shimmered into existence between them. “Ralltiir,” Rieekan said. “We’ve been debriefing Lieutenant Celchu. He’s an observant man and has a good head for prioritizing sensitive information. The Empire had an operation planned to seize a civilian research and engineering team on Ralltiir under the guise of nationalization. They’re a specialist group working on a new model of planetary defense shields.” Rieekan glanced around. “The Imperial military has been cracking down harder on anything with military implications every week. They’re trying to prevent the next Mon Calamari or Incom incident.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke studied the hologram. A Star Destroyer was visible in orbit, along with a number of smaller symbols representing support ships: Gozanti freighters, Raider corvettes, Arquitens light cruisers, Nebulon-B frigates. “If that’s an orbital blockade, it’s configured wrong,” he said slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The pending seizure on Ralltiir was the first topic Celchu brought up,” Rieekan said. “That Star Destroyer is the Accuser<\/em>. Captain Derlin volunteered to take a team to recover the specialists. The Corellian corvette Bright Wake<\/em> left thirteen hours ago. Derlin made contact with the research team and they chose to come to the Alliance, but it took time to gather their research material and families. Before the Bright Wake<\/em> could launch, the Accuser<\/em> and its task force arrived.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That’s why it looks wrong,” Luke said, still studying the hologram. “A blockade usually is built to keep ships away from a planet so no supplies can reach it. Here, they’re trying to keep Derlin from escaping.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Correct.” Rieekan shook his head. “Ralltiir is about ninety minutes away for your X-wings. Derlin’s last transmission, before the Accuser<\/em> started blanket jamming, reported the Bright Wake<\/em> was safe for the moment under a city-wide shield generator prototype the development team was testing. Standard Imperial tactics in this situation will land ground teams with heavy armor to move in, penetrate the shield, and bring it down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “General, you can’t possibly think my squadron can defeat the blockade by ourselves,” Luke commented with a raised eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Not defeat, no. Derlin doesn’t need the blockade broken. He just needs a seam.” Rieekan tapped a button on the holoprojector, and the image magnified. “He had enough foresight to include the Bright Wake<\/em>‘s sensor data of the orbital picture. If your X-wings can open a hole by pulling one or two of the Accuser<\/em>‘s support ships out of position, and then provide some cover from TIEs, the Wake<\/em> can punch through the orbital blockade and escape. CR90s are nicknamed ‘Blockade Runners’ for a reason, and the Wake<\/em>‘s crew is very good.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How soon?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thirty minutes ago.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke shook his head. “The mechanics have three of our X-wings pulled apart. We need at least three hours to put them back together, then more time after that to fuel and arm.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rieekan folded his arms. “Three hours is too long. If we give the Empire that much time, the Bright Wake<\/em> will be caught by ground forces or, if they take off, caught in the air by the Accuser<\/em>‘s task force.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke studied the hologram again. “How many?” he asked quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Commander?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How many people?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rieekan looked at him askance for a moment. “Forty-nine crew on the Bright Wake<\/em>. The Ralltiir research team was twenty-two people, but I have no idea about their families. Fifty? Sixty?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke chewed his lip. “I can have three X-wings in the air in less than twenty minutes. It’ll have to do.” He glanced at the general. “If we’re going to keep doing this, Rogue Squadron needs more ships. And we need time to train. I know lives are on the line, General Rieekan, but we’ll start losing pilots if we keep going like this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Alderaanian officer had enough humility to look abashed. “If I had somewhere else I could go, Commander, I’d be there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Sarkli, Mara,” Luke called loudly. “Start preflight on your X-wings. We’re skids-up in fifteen!” He dropped his voice. “Send over all the orbital data, raw, to my astromech. We’ll figure out our plan in hyperspace.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thank you, Commander.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We’ll get our people out alive, General,” Luke said, wishing he felt nearly as confident as his tone sounded as he turned toward his own starfighter. Wedge is going to kill me if this mission doesn’t first.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Luke found Hobbie and Mara first. The borrowed U-wing had already been ferried back to the Independence‘s main hangar, leaving Auxiliary Two feeling oversized for the half-dozen X-wings taking up space. We have ten pilots now, Luke noted, and six X-wings. I hope … Continue reading
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n