Chapter 8

Deep in the city, Dara was leading the small Rebel party into the area that housed the blue hangars. Dara had heard of Caz before, but everything she had heard was just rumor. She had never met the man before today, and he didn’t seem to be a blood thirsty lunatic. Skeng still seemed visibly shaken by the bounty hunter and that was the only thing that had placed even the smallest seed of doubt in her mind. This was the first time she had actually seen the Carthain so bothered by something that he didn’t hide it behind a sly grin. Mekita of course had turned from fawning over him, to treating him as if he was the most dangerous and disgusting thing she had ever seen. Dara glanced back to the ex-Imperial and tried not to laugh. Mekita was still unaccustomed to being pressed so close to other races and clearly was miserable.

The morning crowds in the trade section were denser then they would be the rest of the day. Vendors from hundreds of different home worlds all hocked their wares at the top of their lungs, hoping their sales pitch will be better at luring customers then the being at the sales tables around it. The shoppers too enjoyed yelling, usually to barter with the merchants. So the air was filled with haggling prices. Tami Corez was keeping close to Skeng, a situation Cooper was probably more then pleased with Dara thought. Corez had spent most of the night in the cramped hotel room over her datapad diligently working on deciphering an encrypted message. Despite that she looked utterly lost in this environment, there was a burning in her eyes that said she was just waiting to get back to work. Dara looked over to Mekita, just as a thick grey alien of a species Dara had never seen before bumped into D’Amico. The scowl was enough to keep Dara smiling. In fact she assumed that she’d be smiling all the way to the hangar. Of course she had no idea what was happening just off the planet’s surface.

The inside of the freighter’s differed greatly from the calm exteriors. Inside Imperial crews moved like agitated insects, many of them complaining loudly about the layout of the antiquated crafts they were using to close in on the city. The order went out to all three ships at the same time and things spun into action. The boxy bulges underneath the craft opened up on the port and starboard sides. Each Taurus unleashed a squadron of TIE Bombers. The thirty-six attack craft quickly dropped into three formations and started towards Vasper. The city itself immediately burst into action. The warning signs that had been silent for almost a whole day roared back into life. Panic washed through the city streets as if it was the rushing water from a ruined dam. It hit the people on the street hard and then rushed over their head, the current sweeping them down.

Mekita quickly found herself pressed tight against the other members of her party. The rushing crowd was in a larger state of disarray then the day before. Mekita reached forward and tightly grabbed a hold of Skeng. Even though she shouted, her voice was barely able to shake itself free from the chaos of the street. “Cooper! We need to get to the hangar before that psycho takes off on us. I don’t care what you have to do, just get us there!” Skeng’s mouth curled into a tight grin and his eyes lit up as if they were on fire. His words were cut off buy a howl echoing through the air. At once all four of their bodies went rigid as their blood froze, that sound was very familiar to them. Six TIE Bombers streaked through the sky a second later, skimming the tops of the buildings. Mekita tried her best to push everyone to the ground as the city erupted around them. Explosions rocked the city block sending debris and bodies everywhere; dust and smoke creating a thick fog on the ground level.

The Black Peak base only took seconds to become an insane asylum. Colonel Sloan and the Captains under his command were still deep into a meeting discussing traitors when Minic burst through the doors. The Luvium male slid two feet and then looked over the men assembled. “Gentleman, I hate to interrupt your meeting, but I think you’ll all like to come with me into the command room.” Rian was the first out of his chair with Jace following closely on his heels. The command center was only two rooms away, so the group quickly reached it and realized just what had gotten their host so upset. There had been a cold kernel of doubt that had been lodged inside Rian’s stomach when they had started this mission. With each failure it grew, clawing at him from the inside. As his eyes went to the large screens taking up most of the command center’s wall, ones that had radar and camera feedback from the surrounding areas, the cold beast grew wicked fangs and bit deeply into him. The Imperials had found them again. Four very large Imperial drop ships were landing not far from the base, evidently they were being cautious of any shields or other defenses the small rebel base may have.

Colonel Sloan again proved himself more then the paranoid blowhard that Rian kept assuming he was. The man grunted once as he took in all the information the room had to offer. Minic had obviously never been in a situation anything like this, his hands shook and the fear was easy to read in his eyes. Sloan rested a hand on the man’s shoulder to calm him. “Captain Ikner, get your squadron to every ship we have available, I need them ready to take off. Captain Sardina, get to your bridge and have the crew set a course for the rendezvous point and broadcast the data to the fighter’s astromech units. I want you ready to take off as soon as we have everyone aboard. Captain Darkmere, round up the Void Spiders and have them make sure everyone going with us is on that ship as soon as possible.” Avery glanced back at the screens at then to his Captains again. Dismissed gentlemen, make every second count. As the three of them ran to carry out the orders, Sloan turned to Minic. “Now my friend lets discuss the options we have left for your people here.”

“Problems, form up we’ve got trouble,” echoed through the hangar as Captain Ikner ran in and began throwing his flight gear on. They quickly broke from their relaxation and were around him suiting up before he even had the chance to start strapping on his flack vest. He pushed his comlink into his ear and looked expectantly towards Ash as the mechanic moved through the pilots. Captain Ikner smiled, “just the man I wanted to see. What is the status of the fighters?”

Ash ran a hand over his baldhead and looked to the fighters that had been pulled out of the Renaissance during their stay. “I’ve already pulled all the fuel out of the two damaged fighters and when we landed here, I siphoned it out of two more. The eight right behind me are fully equipped and ready to go as soon as your astromechs plug in.”

Rian nodded and clasped the mechanic on the shoulder. “Good job, thanks.” A beep sounded in his ear and he pressed the comlink, as if that made it easier to hear the voice coming from the headset. Ash had already left his side and started working. His pilots watched him anxiously, all but Nihil. He was obviously distracted with his family suddenly endangered. The youngest child was cradled in his arms and crying loudly. Over his squadron’s shoulders he could see the ground crew busily getting the droids secured into the X-Wings. If nothing else, he was happy he’d be getting to take off the breather mask soon. Orders streamed into his head via the comlink, and he nodded silently as he tried to sort all of Sloan’s commands.

Jace Darkmere was far to busy himself too take more then a second’s notice of the pilots. He had already watched Captain Sardina run aboard the Renaissance, so he knew the ship would be ready for take off very soon. Observing the hangar for a few seconds proved he didn’t need to tell anyone in it what to do. The news of the impending attack had already burned its way through all the occupants like a wildfire. He reached into his pocket and slid out his comlink. It made a slight click as he activated it. “Nox, come in.”

Seconds later a female voice came from the small cylinder. “Nox here Captain. What can I do for you?”

Jace smiled. “I want you to take up a position on the entry ramp and keep track of who gets on the ship. I’m going to check the rest of the base for stragglers.”

“Sir, you weren’t armed for your meeting. I should go in your stead.”

Jace suppressed a laugh. Sava Nox had learned to speak Basic easily, and tried to fit in with the human culture, but her Rodian heritage had always shown through. She still thought of most things in the terms of hunter and hunted. While he was sure the Imperials were far enough away not to have to worry about being armed, Sava was never an arms length away from at least a hold-out blaster. “I’m sure I’ll be fine Sava. Just make sure everyone gets aboard. We don’t want to leave anyone behind.”

“As you wish Captain.”

Jace attached the comlink to the collar of his shirt, so he could hear it more easily if someone happened to call him. He jogged into the hallway leading out of the hangar and was amazed at how many people were already in action. The Luvium crew that manned the base were already armed and in a flurry of motion. There were at most, thirty people manning the base before the Renaissance had landed. There were quite a few rooms in these halls to cover though. He knew most of the crew that came in with him was happy to get off the transport and had wandered every inch of the base. Collecting everyone was going to be an exhausting task.

Halla Caster pushed herself into one of the far offices. As she looked into the comfortable looking office she noticed a large Luvium male sliding back a bookshelf. A sealed blast door was peaking out from behind the case and it was obvious that moving it strained even the muscular man fighting with it. Halla smiled, a grim look that radiated an icy cold. She looked around the rest of the room; it was a well-furnished office, most likely used by someone in command. All the furniture was made of the same thick wood that the bookcase was made from. Her gaze traveled the room looking for a suitable hiding place; finally resting on the large desk. The alien had given her an escape route the perfect means to finally distance herself from the Rebels. She pulled the hold-out blaster from her vest and aimed it at his back. The man took that moment to realize he wasn’t alone in the room anymore.

“Just give me another moment and I’ll have the tunnel completely open.”

“Oh, take your time. I’m in no hurry.”

“What? Who are you?” The Luvium spun around, giving Halla her first real good look at the man. Even under his mask his face was like a square block. Every feature coming to sharp points and looking like they were chiseled out of rock. His hair looked dirty blonde through the thick air and was cut close to his scalp. His eyes went wide when he saw the blaster. Jumping towards her, he hoped to wrestle the gun from the smaller woman. Caster though, had years of training that made the move not only useless, but made it seem foolish. Halla’s leg snapped out and drove her boot into his throat. The impact stopped all his forward momentum and caused him to cough out a mouthful of blood into his breather. Before he could recover, she rammed the barrel of the blaster into his stomach and squeezed off three shots. His body jerked with each shot, finally falling limp against her in the end. He was heavier then she had expected, but she caught him nonetheless. Linking her arms under his, she began the slow process of dragging him towards the desk. She was breathing heavy from all the exertion and she knew once she entered the tunnel she’d have to return to using the breather. Just another reason she’d be happy to get away from this planet.

As she pushed the bulky man under the desk she thought about it in more detail. She was about to be rid of the Rebels, and gone from Jace. The thought of leaving him gave her pause. The irritating man had been at her side every moment his duties hadn’t called him elsewhere. There was a passion that drove him that she hadn’t seen elsewhere. He cared for those under his command and treated them more like family. These things were starting to grow on her, and she was beginning to wonder more and more what it would be like to wake up in his strong arms. She pushed the feelings down again, that kind of thinking wouldn’t help her mission. Confident that the body was hid from view she holstered her blaster and started for the tunnel. The door opened with a slight hiss and Halla spun on her right heel to face who ever was coming in. One hand was already going for the handle of her weapon. Her hand fell away instinctively when she saw whom the intruder was.

Jace had half burst into the room, his appearance disheveled. For a split second she had forgotten her surroundings and let a genuine smile come over her. The dark haired men filled the doorframe and his breathing was audible in the silent room. Reality kicked her thoughts hard, shattering budding daydreams with the grim truth of her mission. The potential lover that Jace was melted down in seconds, revealing what he truly was to her, an obstacle keeping her from completing her mission. His voice interrupted her inner turmoil, “Sabina, we have to move. The Imperials have found the hangar somehow.” Although completely unaware of its cause, he saw the chaos in her eyes. “Sabina, please we don’t have much time.” He closed the distance in a few quick strides and slid an arm around her. This close he could feel she was shaking.

“Jace...don’t.”

He backed slowly, confusion creeping upon his features. She looked up into his eyes and read the hurt as easily as one read a datapad. She moved closer to him, putting both hands on his cheeks. “If you’re scared, Sabina I’m here. They aren’t going to take you away again.” His voice was quiet and laden down with concern. She shushed his soft words and leaned up, pressing her lips against his. His arms wrapped around her, holding onto the kiss. The seconds seemed to stretch out as Halla tried to gain control of her emotions. It was still possible to go along with her plan, it would mean killing Jace, but it was still possible. Her options disappeared when someone cleared their throat behind them. The noise caused her to jump; the whole mission was beginning to wreak havoc on her nerves. Jace turned, effectively turning her also, to look at the source of the noise.

Sava Nox was standing in the hallway with a blaster rifle slung over her shoulder and despite still being in the airlock, she was still wearing her breathing mask. “All personnel are currently in the hangar Captain.”

Halla looked towards the Rodian with a mixture of feelings. In one instant she ruined Caster’s chance for escape, but she also guaranteed that she’d be able to spend more time with Jace. Jace had tinges of red across his cheeks as he looked over at Sava. Still holding Halla close, he cleared his throat and gave a nervous smile. “Thank you Sergeant. Head on back to the Renaissance, we’ll be right behind you.”

Rian had finally suited up and the squadron’s droids were already snug in their sockets. Ikner looked over to Dire, the man was looking at the X-Wings with an unfocused gaze. “Carson, you going to be okay to fly out there?”

Carson looked up, startled out of his thoughts. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

“Good, but you and I are having a long talk when we get out of here.” Rian smiled, one potential problem down, one two go. He turned to Nihil, who was still holding his youngest child. The scene was heart wrenching even to watch. He wasn’t sure the last time Nihil had seen his family, but he knew it had been more then a year. Now they would have to be split up again. Rian walked to the gathering and offered his best smile. “Nihil, we need to get the X-Wings off the ground. Your family, if they won’t be safe here, we can take them aboard.”

“Not necessary Captain, we have a number of tunnels to use to ferret the personnel here to safety.” The voice was Minic’s. The man’s whole stature seemed strengthened since his talk with Colonel Sloan. “I’ll lead them out personally.”

Nihil kissed his daughter and handed her off to Minic. “I owe you much cousin.” Nihil’s wife was in his arms instantly, sharing as long an embrace as the situation afforded them. Words weren’t needed between them, and it would have only wasted the precious few seconds they had. She knew his dedication to the Rebellion and the love he had for his family. She was fiercely proud of both those things.

Laynig’s eyes began to fill with tears as he watched his father. Rian kneeled to face the boy and put one hand on his shoulder. “You have to watch over your mother and sister for a little while longer. You do that for me and I’ll make sure nothing happens to your father while he’s gone.” Laynig looked up to him, blinking large eyes red from crying. “And maybe well take you up for an X-Wing ride.”

Cron Sar Teas emerged from the turbulent ocean waters in what appeared to be a monsoon. The rest of his team surfaced behind him. They were all in Tasa Bay five miles from the garrison, but the normal tranquility offered by the sheltered waters was nonexistent thanks to the storm. The twenty Volmi had traveled since morning via water sleds, small vehicles little more then sleds with submersible engines, to reach the bay. Tasa was the closest beach to the Imperial base and contained an estuary that would allow the team to close the distance to the base by another three miles without having to set foot on dry land. The Wens River snaked all over the landmass, cutting through the thick vegetation that sprung up in the middle. By following it up river the Volmi team would only have to cross two miles of jungle to reach their strike point.

The team anchored their sleds to the bottom of the bay and swam towards the river’s mouth. As they moved deeper into the Wens, they were less affected by the large waves that the storm was kicking up. It was barely midday, and the sky was as dark as it could be. The soldiers pressed on, keeping a close eye out for any detection devices that the Imperials may have set up on the river. Cron had chosen not to take the sleds up river for this reason. Not even half a mile from the bay the jungle sprang up in an explosion of green. The trees formed a canopy so tight; it was as if the very jungle had a roof. Despite their best effort to block out the sky, the rain was still falling hard to the jungle floor and pelting the Volmi every time they surfaced for air.

A sense of unease filled Cron as he swam, but he locked his visage into one of determination. The others were nervous, it was easy to read, but he had to be stronger then that. He had done his best to take the burden of their doubts, but he wasn’t sure how successful he had been. They had traveled for three hours now in complete silence, an effect that to Cron was nerve-wracking. The silence left him alone with his thoughts. Visions of everything that could go wrong danced gaily through his mind. With Ara and he just coming to terms with their feelings for each other, the danger seemed even greater then before. The figure of their forward scout surfaced and began heading towards the bank of the river. The group’s water travel was coming to an end and they’d have to go the rest of the way by land. Cron took a long, slow deep breath in an attempt to keep his composure and then made the hand signal that told his attack party to head in for dry ground.

Skeng was the first to burst into Blue Hangar 15 and he did so at a full sprint with his head lowered. The small Rebel group had barely made it through the streets of Vasper once the bombers had shown up. All four were covered in dirt, mud, and dust from the unstable terrain and exploding landscape. Skeng had done well though, leading them through short cuts that took them through shops, alleys, and numerous other places Mekita would have never thought to use had she been leading them. After nearly being blown up and crushed numerous times on the trip, Cooper had thought he was safe once he got to the hangar and saw a starship still inhabiting it. He relaxed so much; he almost didn’t hear the blaster rifle fire. The Carthain dove to the ground, skidding across the ferrocrete as he drew his own pistol and aimed where he thought the blast had come from.

The others ran in behind Cooper, their weapons clearing holsters almost as quickly as his. Standing before them was a large black craft resembling an oversized Lambda shuttle. A sleek tapering cockpit pointed down from the larger body of the ship. It’s two side wings were folded up in the landing position, so they were parallel to the fixed wing that sat in the middle of the craft’s top. Where the cockpit and the body of the ship met, an entrance ramp was lowered to the ground. Standing in the middle of the ramp was Caz, a smoking gun in his hand and smoking cigarette between his lips. “About time you got here. We were just about to lift off.”

Skeng peeled himself off the ground with a sneer. Before he could comment though, Mekita’s voice filled the air. “What do you think you’re doing firing on us? Are you crazy?”

Caz’s eyes grew cold and hard like polished steel. “You have a choice dear; get aboard or stop wasting my time. I’m not going to wait for the Imps to make another bomb run for you to make up your mind either.”

Mekita bit down on her bottom lip, the realization that she would lose control of her landing party as soon as they stepped aboard the bounty hunter’s ship. It was also painfully aware that if she didn’t take the group onboard, they’d probably die on the planet. “You heard him, move it everybody!” None of the trio underneath her command needed any other prompting. The thief turned freedom fighter and the bounty hunter traded glares for a moment before Skeng pushed himself inside.

“Two of you can strap in the back of the cockpit, the other two will have to go strap in at the end of the hall.” As the group moved Caz slapped the landing ramp’s controls and followed Dara and Mekita into the cockpit of the shuttle. The cockpit of the shuttle was spacious and housed six chairs one of which was already seating a woman with a shaved head and white topknot. “Jaelley, get us airborne now!” Caz almost fell into the chair as the woman pulled hard on the controls and sent the starship blasting out of the hangar. As the bounty hunter strapped himself in he looked to the to passengers. “Neither of you touch anything unless I say so.” Before either woman could respond he was pushing a headset comlink into his ear. “Ren, are you in the turret? Well get in there, things are about to get hot!”

The black shuttle moved over the starport, it’s engines flaring brightly. From their new vantage point those in the cockpit could see the destruction that the bombers had already caused. Where the buildings weren’t spewing thick smoke their now jagged edges resembled crushed eggshells. Caz shoved the cigarette in his mouth into an ashtray and glanced over to his co-pilot. “Alright, I’ve got control. Get on the navicomputer and get us the coordinates for Ciadel.”

Caz’s co-pilot, named Jae-le, answered him in a voice that was thick and husky. “I’m on it, watch for those TIEs though. Looks like they are coming around for another run.”

Caz laughed, “Please, those pieces of podoo can’t keep up with the Devil’s Daughter.” As if to punctuate his point he poured more power into the thrusters as six TIE Bombers loomed in over the horizon. A rapid beeping suddenly emerged from the control panel. “Frack!” Caz’s yell echoed through the cockpit as he looked down at the radar. Mekita leaned over and could read that three more bombers had come in close enough to obtain a missile-lock. The black ship pulled into a steep climb as two missiles shot underneath its belly. One of the missiles shot close enough to make the other TIE group break formation, but none were hit.

Mekita felt more then helpless strapped into the chair. She didn’t like depending on others, but really disliked it when it was someone she didn’t trust. “Caz, if you have more then one turret, tell Dara where it is. She’s an excellent gunner!” The Twi’lek shot Mekita a puzzled glance. Mekita met the gaze confidently. “Well, I got a look at your partial file.” She only let Lin’Say take her attention for a moment. “Caz? What’s the answer?”

Caz pulled hard on the controls and sent the ship into a spin. A task made difficult in the atmosphere by the Devil’s Daughter’s large wings. The bounty hunter gritted his teeth as he completed the maneuver. “Down the hall and to the left! Watch your step sweetheart, were encountering a littler turbulence!” TIE Bombers had evened out on both his starboard and port sides. As Dara unbuckled her seat restraints the ship rattled as lasers slammed into the ship’s shields. “It’s down the hall, take your first left, and then go into the first hatch you run into. Don’t get comfortable though, we’ll be in hyperspace real soon.” The ship rattled again as the bombers on port side opened up.

“Shields are down to eighty percent!” Jae-le barked to Caz as she glanced at the controls. The shuttle had more speed then the bombers, but the TIEs had higher altitude, a decided advantage in atmospheric combat. The pilots were doing their best to keep the shuttle from climbing. Dara ran down hall leading to the main body of the ship and skidded to the left. Skeng and Tami looked up expectantly as the Twi’lek ran past them. Dara found the hatch quickly and dove into the chair. Her hands powered up the guns and she gasped as she gazed out the viewplate. The shuttle was pulled into another climb and one of the bombers had managed to fly right above it. Even without the comlink against her ears she could hear Caz and some alien yelling loudly. One hand tightened on the control, the other sliding the head set on. She saw the other gunner’s blaster bolts go wide of the target and shook her head. The bomber’s doors opened up, as the pilot tried to drop it’s payload on the climbing shuttle. Dara’s body tensed, she wouldn’t get many shots and from the looks of it, the other gunner was unreliable to make the important shots. Bombs began to tumble down as Dara opened fire.

Her first shot streaked between the two bombs and punched into the bomber’s stomach. The blast detonated the rest of the bomber’s arsenal and the fighter erupted into a giant fireball. The bombs still fell, and the shuttle still streaked toward them. She felt the sweat running down her lekku as she targeted the next bomb. Two more shots arced out from her cannons; the first streaked off harmlessly, the second shattered a falling bomb. That left one more. Dara fired more hastily the proximity of the bomb caused her to panic. The bomb took up most of her view and she began to mentally prepare herself for impact. The bomb exploded and flash almost blinded her. The other gunner had finally found a target and not a second too late. She breathed a long sigh of relief and heard an alien chattering of the comlink again. She blinked a few times as she listened. It sounded remarkably like a Jawa. How could Caz coax one of those vermin off of Tatooine? And why would he want to?

“Nice shot Ren! You handled yourself well in there too sweetheart.” Caz laughed again, as if he was enjoying the firefight. The shuttle was level with the bombers and beginning to pull away from them. The craft lurched to the left and a number of laser bolts flew past them. “Jaelley, I hate to interrupt your beauty sleep, but where the frag are those jump coordinates?”

Jae-le’s voice was drenched with sarcasm as she worked. “Coming up in seconds your liege.” The shuttle pulled to the starboard, but still shook as lasers slammed into the rear shields. “By the way, your down to twenty percent shields.”

“Cute, real cute girly.” The Devil’s Daughter again went into a steep climb. The TIE bomber’s lasers eagerly reached for the rear of the ship, but the shuttle’s speed and the tight climb made it an unattainable target. The blue of the sky faded away and turned a dark black as the shuttle finally escaped the grasp of Vasper’s atmosphere. Glancing down at radar he saw the TIE Bombers beginning to peel off and go back to the city. “Well we lost them. We’ll be out of here in a moment.”

Mekita felt her stomach tightening as the asteroids were beginning to loom into view. Heading towards the ship though, where three old Taurus freighters. “Don’t congratulate yourself yet. Looks like we have more company.”

Caz looked up and his jaw fell open a bit. “You see. That isn’t even funny.”

“I can’t see a thing!”

“How did you learn to fly in this stuff Six?”

“It isn’t really difficult for my pe-”

“Cut the chatter and keep your eyes out people.” Rian fixed his own eyes out the transparisteel windows of his cockpit. The planet’s atmosphere wasn’t currently ranking as one of his favorites. The thick cloud cover made flying close to the jagged mountain spires dangerous. He was leading Carson Dire and Soto Madry in escorting the Renaissance. Once the transport had safely gotten out of the atmosphere and into hyperspace he would rejoin the remainder of his squadron. Zwick was in charge of the others, holding off the Imperial forces until both the Luvium force and the Rebel transport could get away safely. “Watch your speed Cray and stay down for a little longer. We’re not out of radar range yet.” The quartet of ships were streaking through one of the numerous valleys that had eaten their way throughout the Black Peak Mountains. The serrated rocks on the cliff edges waited patiently in the thick clouds for one of the crafts to edge within range of their bite.

Rian watched as the Renaissance corrected its course. Cray Mikkel was doing exceptional at job at maneuvering the large ship in such a confined space. It was the second time he had done so; he was also at the helm when they landed at Black Peak. Once the transport exited hyperspace it would wait for the others and then continue on to Ciadel to meet with the team lost on Vasper. Rian couldn’t stop thinking about the four they had left behind. Mekita had taken a lot of accusations of being the traitor, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. She still clung to some of her old beliefs, but there was something in her eyes that told him she was sincere. There was also a chance, that Skeng might abandon everyone once he was placed back in his old element. The Carthain defiantly wasn’t the spy, but Rian had used some pretty underhanded tactics to get the man to join. Rian made the decision to apologize to him the next time he saw Cooper, if he was still alive. Rian shook the thought from his head; they’d be alive. They had to be.

Zwick felt himself jostled a little in the turbulent clouds. A flash of lightning brightly lit up his cockpit and gave him a good view of the Imperial Walkers heading towards the base. Two scout walkers ran ahead of the slower four legged walkers like chickens, quickly darting about on two thin legs. There were eight AT-ATs according to his sensors, with the smaller AT-STs upping the Imperial force’s strength to ten. The lead scout walker took a pair of shots at him, but at his altitude it only took a slight nudge of the control stick to dodge. Zwick grinned, even if it was difficult to fly in, the clouds would give them an advantage over the slow moving ground craft. Skifter’s loud beep snapped him out of his thoughts. His eyes scanned the control panel and a sinking feeling moved into his stomach. The radar brightly showed aerial objects moving towards them very fast, in a number that would equal two squadrons.

“Heads up people, we’ve got fighters incoming. I want Three and Four to slow down those walkers. Everyone else, peel off into wings. Stick to the clouds and fly by sensors. If you take anything close to a serious hit, pull out and get to the rendezvous point. Is that clear?”

No one had a chance to answer. A loud yell filled the com channel as Thrash let out a furious battle cry and sent his X-Wing into a power dive straight at the AT-STs. His cannons were set to single fire, but his thumb slammed the trigger so many times it looked like there was a constant stream of laser bolts coming from them. The walker was being attacked from directly above, and with a velocity that once the pilot realized what happened; he was unable to do anything about it. The lasers ate through the thick steel and erupted the cockpit in a fiery ball. Thrash’s X-Wing pulled up as he saw the walker explode, but a pair of blaster bolts from one of the AT-ATs slammed into his belly. The impact depleted the shields and sent the craft whirling out of control. Before the walker could take another shot, Ruade’s X-Wing dropped from the thick black clouds and strafed the walker’s head with laser fire. The bolts burned deep into the armor, but failed to penetrate. It did give Talos enough time to regain control of his fighter though. Both men began to climb again, taking a moments refuge in the black clouds. “Thrash, you do something like that again without telling me, and I’ll shoot you myself!” Over the com, all the frustrated Volmi could here was laughter.

Further over the mesa the four remaining X-Wings streaked through the thick smog towards the approaching TIE fighters. Lightning continued to arc across the sky at an alarming pace. Zwick kept his eyes glued to his instruments, flying by what he could see outside would be impossible. The TIEs would be on him within seconds and he prepared himself for battle. A flash of green laser streaked past his cockpit and he felt his grip tighten on the X-Wing’s controls. Nihil was just off to his portside, keeping tight on his wing. “Five, your eyes are better in this cloud cover. You have lead.”

Nihil’s X-Wing edged forward just as Zwick could make out the silhouettes of four TIE fighters. Nihil was already firing. Zwick followed the Luvium’s lead, but his blasts flew harmlessly through the air. His partner’s did not. Twin beams cut deep into one of the TIE’s wings and sent it spinning towards the rocky flat lands below. Both ships shook a moment as the TIEs passed them and then the air was clear again. There was a eerie silence in Zwick’s cockpit. Three fighters had streaked passed him and there were eight more still ahead of him; yet at the moment, he could see nothing besides dark smog and brief flashes of lightning. He gave himself a moment to glance at Nihil’s fighter, which was still slightly ahead of his. The pilot’s craft looked to be unharmed, as was Zwick’s. Zwick only hoped everyone else was faring as well under such odds.

Black clouds whipped past Shiel’s vision as she poured more speed into her engines. She and Vied dropped out of the thicker smog directly behind three TIE fighters. Their appearance had surprised not only the Imperial pilots, but the sisters as well. Vied’s eyes grew wide and she jumped in her seat, only the restraints keeping her tight in her chair. While she didn’t realize it, she must have let out a shriek when she saw the rear of the TIEs directly in front of her. Her sister’s voice came over the com, “I see them.” As if to prove the point one of the TIE’s was peppered with laser blasts until it shattered into flaming pieces. The other two fighters immediately went into a dive.

Her sister had already destroyed one of TIEs, Shiel was not going to let to let the other two get away without claiming at least one herself. “Oh no you don’t ya frag, you’re mine.” Her X-Wing followed the fleeing fighter tapping the flight stick left and right trying to line up the juking craft in her targets. She was so intent on the TIE’s she didn’t look at her instruments, but she knew Vied was on her wing. She didn’t need to see her; it was something she felt deep inside. The mesa was zooming into view when the TIEs pulled up out of their dive. Shiel tapped her laser’s trigger and sent two red beams of light into the rocky ground. Gritting her teeth in frustration she followed the TIEs into the Black Peak Mountains. Rock rose up around them and she felt herself easing the thrust on her engines. The TIEs were doing the same, this wasn’t the same as flying over the mesa, one hard crosswind or lightning strike could send a light fighter into the mountains. Red lasers flew under one of the TIEs and Shiel smiled; she had known Vied was next to her.

The two TIEs where starting to drift to the port side, starting on a long slow turn that would return them to the mesa and the walkers attacking the base. The Luvium people had taken them in and given them the supplies they were so in need of. Their involvement had brought the Empire to the Black Peak base and she felt a pang of guilt burning in her side. She wanted the TIE in front of her destroyed, more so then in any other combat she had ever been in. They were after innocent people, because of her. She wasn’t going to let that happen if she could help it. They were nearing the edge of the mountains and she knew away from the rocky outcroppings that the fighters would be speeding up again soon. She hit her thrusters first. A spire of rock hurtled toward the nose of her X-Wing, but she drifted to the side. She streaked towards the TIE and let out a barrage of laser blasts. Three bolts struck home making a line from the port wing support to the starboard one; the center shot boring into the craft’s engine. The TIE fighter slammed into the rocks and exploded. She was so close that debris ricocheted off her fighter.

Vied was lining up a shot as her sister streaked ahead of her. “Slag it Shiel, be careful,” she muttered to herself. The TIE was lining back up in her sights though. Thunder boomed loud enough to be heard over her engines and a flash of lightning collided with the TIE. The impact sent the craft straight down into the rocks. Metal tore and curled under the impact, cutting a trench in the ground before it’s engines exploded. Shiel smiled wide, all three eyeballs had been dealt with, even if they needed help from nature. The two X-Wings cleared the mountains and headed to join up with Zwick.

Carson Dire was the first to break the radio silence. “Lead, we’ve got a squadron of eyeballs coming up over the trench.”

Rian glanced at his radar and frowned. One to four odds, it didn’t bode well for his men. He didn’t dwell on it for long. “Twelve, stick to the Renaissance, as soon as the TIEs enter the trench both of you make a break for space. Then I need you back here Twelve, double time. Two, we stay down here until the TIEs come into the trench.” The seconds dragged on as the TIEs closed in. They had started on the outer edge of radar range and were closing fast. Rian held position, waiting for the coming battle. Tubby beeped once and Ikner looked over his shoulder. The black clouds were thicker higher in the atmosphere, but the TIEs were just emerging from the clouds into the thick, smoky wisps that made up the lower atmosphere. “On my wing Two.”

“Acknowledged Lead.” Both X-Wings eased back on their throttles and fell deeper into the trench and further behind the other two ships. Then the TIEs were there. Half dropped directly into the trench, the others staying just above the rocks. Carson looked at the two flights of eyeballs and thought over their options. His head was throbbing, a side effect from the rotgut whiskey he had been drinking. No one else understood his drinking, but they didn’t have the ghosts of all those people clinging to them. He shook the lingering spirits of the dead out of his thoughts; this wasn’t the time. He’d drown them later.

“Renaissance, go. Two, take it to the upper deck.” Both X-Wings put their noses up and headed for the bellies of the uppermost TIE fighters. The modified Gallowfree and its lone fighter escort fired full thrusters and made a run for the clouds. The lower TIEs sped up, trying to outdistance the upper grouping before making a climb. The grouping was too large though, and one of the large hexagonal wings caught the rocks. The wing tore free and sent the rest of the ship to the trench’s floor. The upper level ships were preparing to fire when the red laser blasts ate into the eyeballs. The blasts only hit two of the TIEs, sending them both into fiery explosions, but the surprise was enough to startle another of the pilots into making a mistake. As explosions rocked his port side, he jerked the control yoke to the starboard, directly into another TIE. They didn’t explode, but both TIEs were quickly outdistanced by the firefight as they regained control of their ships.

With their initial target fleeing and three of their pilots dead, the Imperials decided to target the two fighters responsible. The five remaining trench bound craft decelerated and were suddenly behind the X-Wings. The upper level were pulling into a loop. “Two, go on up. I’ll take our friends underneath.” Rian saw Carson respond to the command as Dire’s fighter peeled off higher into the sky. Rian instead plunged deeper into the trench and throttled more speed into his engines. There were flashes around him, but it was no longer lightning. Green blasts from the pursuing TIEs tried desperately to reach him. His X-Wing shook as one struck his rear shields. A switch closed his strike foils, making the X-Wing sleeker as he dove even lower to the rocky ground. He rocked his body back and forth as he juked his ship from left to right to avoid the rocks. An explosion behind him told him that at least one more TIE had hit the rocks.

Tubby shrieked in a number of beeps. Rian’s eyes went to the radar; the trench was ending, quickly. He pulled back hard on his flight stick unable to slow down if he didn’t want to be riddled with laser blasts. Just to show how close they were another volley of shots came at his craft, but none of them were well aimed. Rian’s X-Wing popped over the edge of the trench and his blood froze. Two TIE fighters, most likely the two that had fallen behind earlier Rian though, were heading straight for him. The other TIE’s pulled up behind him. He was caught, they may all only get one pass on him, but that still meant six TIE fighters all would get at least one shot on him. He could feel the sweat blazing a trail down his face. The TIE’s behind him shot again, despite his juking another blast shook his craft. His shields had held, but wouldn’t stop another dual blast. His S-foils opened and he switched to single fire. He mentally focused himself, he wasn’t going to make it out of this, but he was taking some of them with him.