Disclaimer: All of the characters are mine, but most of the rest
belongs to Mr. George Lucas.
The two Z-95 Headhunters
zoomed through space, performing maneuvers that could, at best, be called
dangerous, in the hope that one of them could get a good shot at the other.
Gent Jerrold, one of the pilots, gritted his teeth as his ship went through
a twisting split-S, as wildly aimed laser beams from the other ship blasted
past harmlessly. Unfortunately, the move allowed Gent's opponent to get
on his tail. Inverting, Gent tried to brake and do a tight loop, but the
other pilot was ready and slowed down in response. Gent felt the ship shake
as multiple lasers hit him, then penetrated his shields and blasted apart
his ship.
The screen in front of Gent
faded to black, and he laughed. "Next time, Bult. Next time."
"Somehow I doubt that,"
came the reply.
The canopy of Gent's 'fighter'
rose, revealing a bay full of simulator pods. Gent unstrapped himself,
then rose and stepped onto the metal deck of the ship that he was on. Gent
was 16 years old, with short brown hair and hazel eyes leaning towards
green. He was wearing an old flight suit of his fathers, dark green and
baggy.
"Beat you again, Jerrold!"
Gent turned to see a tall,
muscled young man with black hair and eyes walking towards him. "Yeah,
you beat me. You're also three years older than me."
"But you have your precious
daddy helping you," Bult replied in a teasing tone.
"At least my father can
do something useful. All your father can do is drink," Gent said nonchalantly.
Bult launched himself at
him, but Gent dived forward and flipped him onto his back. They would have
gotten into a fight, but just then a figure interposed herself between
the two. "Stop it. Now."
Gent got up and stood beside
her. "Don't ever make fun of my father again, Bult."
Bult got up menacingly.
"Next time your little friend won't be here to help you. I'll make sure
of it." With a final scowl at both of them, Bult walked away.
Gent breathed out inaudibly.
"Thanks, Inrisa."
The young woman relaxed
visibly as well. "No problem." Inrisa Solea was also 16, tall for her age
with shimmering brown hair and water-blue eyes. Inrisa was the only person
close to Gent's age on the ship, and they had been friends since Inrisa's
mother and father joined the mercenary organization twelve years ago. Inrisa's
parents had died when she was 14, and after that Gent and Inrisa had become
nearly inseparable.
Gent looked around. "You
know where my father is?"
Inrisa shrugged. "Haven't
seen him around. Is he on his shift?"
"No. He's probably in his
quarters. Come on."
They walked through the
metal corridors of the ship that had been their home all their lives, idly
chatting as they went. They were still a few minutes away from reaching
their destination when Gent's comlink beeped. Gent took it from his belt
and turned it on. "Yes?"
Gent's father's voice came
through clearly. "Gent, is Inrisa with you?"
"I'm here," Inrisa called
from beside Gent.
"I want you two to come
to my quarters." His voice sounded grave. "I have some important information
about Inrisa."
Looking bewildered, Inrisa
motioned to Gent and the two ran the last few hundred meters. Gent hit
the door open button. As they went in, Gent noticed that the room was in
total disarray, belongings flung everywhere. Gent and Inrisa glanced at
each other and both drew their blasters. Going through the doorway, Gent
heard the sound of the safety being snapped off on a blaster rifle. A raspy
voice came from behind them.
"Safety your weapons and
put them on the ground next to your feet."
Inrisa looked at Gent, and
he nodded. They both whirled around, tracking and firing their blasters
into the shadows. A grunt came from the recess by the door, and they saw
a figure clutching his stomach, and raising his blaster rifle. For Gent,
everything went in slow motion. The figure aiming his blaster rifle at
him, triggering a shot. Inrisa's return shot coming a split second too
late. The bolt coming in at him. The figure collapsing, a second wound
in his chest. The bolt burning into his left shoulder. The smell of singed
clothing and charred flesh. The pain as he fell to the ground and into
oblivion.
Gent woke up slowly, feeling
like his body had been shaken out thoroughly by a large Wookie. He opened
his eyes and relaxed as he realized that he was in the medical bay of the
ship. He stirred, trying to sit up. He heard footsteps, then a nurse appeared
and gently pushed him down. "Don't try to get up, sir."
Gent sighed and laid back
down. "All right. How long until I'm outta here?"
"Your last bacta treatment
is in 30 minutes," the nurse replied. "Oh, and there's someone to see you."
The door opened and Inrisa,
a somber expression on her face, came in. She managed a weak smile as she
looked at him. "Hey, Gent."
"What's wrong, Inrisa?"
"It's your father, Gent,"
Inrisa blurted out before she could stop herself.
Gent heard the panic and
sadness in her voice and felt a sense of doom enclosing his heart. "What?
What about him?" He asked frantically.
Inrisa looked up at the
nurse, who nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Inrisa
reached out and took his hand. "Gent, they...they found...him. Dead."
Gent felt the sense of doom
squeezing his heart dry. "No...no...it can't be..."
Inrisa nodded, unsuccessfully
fighting back tears. "Yes...I'm so sorry..."
Gent was overwhelmed. He
couldn't focus on anything. His father dead. His last bit of family, his
best friend...gone. He couldn't believe it, yet here was Inrisa, telling
him differently.
They sat there and talked
and cried for the next half hour, then the nurse came back in and drugged
him, so, mercifully, he wouldn't have to be awake for the bacta tank...
As soon as Gent woke up,
he knew one thing: that he couldn't stay on the ship. Everything that was
there would only remind him of his father. When the nurse came in to check
up on him, Gent asked for Inrisa. A minute later, she walked in, still
very downcast. "You look better," she said in fake pleasant tones.
Gent almost smiled. "You
shouldn't try to do that with me. I know you too well."
"Sorry."
Gent took a deep breath.
"Look, I've decided something. I'm not going to stay here. It would just
be too painful for me."
Inrisa nodded. "I understand,
but I want you to know one thing."
"What?"
"I'm coming with you."
"Inrisa, you can't."
"Why not? She straightened
up and put her hands on her hips. "Look, since my parents died, your father
has been like my father. I have just as much pain as you do. Plus the fact
that two people sharing pain is much easier then bearing it alone. Plus..."
She hesitated.
"What?"
Inrisa quirked a smile.
"I care about you, Gent. You're all that I have left. The truth is, I don't
know how I would survive here, either. So we're going together."
Gent smiled and nodded slightly.
"All right."
Inrisa flipped a switch in
the cockpit of the Star Ranger, hearing the reassuring hum of engines
revving up . The medium-sized freighter had been given to them by
an old friend of Gent's dad, and was a pretty good ship. About 40 meters
long, she sported two turbolasers along with four quads set equally apart
on the cylindrical part of its hull. As the ship brought itself online,
Inrisa let her mind wander. She thought about her parents, and how they
had died. Then she felt that same feeling she felt every time she thought
of her parents. That there was something hidden in her, something that
would not reveal itself...
Her thoughts were interrupted
by a beep from the control console signifying that they were ready to take
off. Inrisa told the ship to stay in ready mode, and went back to the lounge
area. Gent was sitting on one of the two facing couches in the middle of
the room, staring off into space. She had seen him do this many times as
they were preparing to leave, and was worried that he might break down
in the worst time.
"Gent," she called softly.
"We're ready to take off."
Gent suddenly seemed to
break out of the trancelike state. Shaking his head to clear it, he stood
up and composed himself. "All right," he said firmly, as if he was trying
to convince himself that he was ready. "Let's go."
They went to the cockpit
and lifted off from the docking bay. Sailing away from the ship, they prepared
for the jump to hyperspace, their escape from Gent's father's death. Gent
checked the coordinates, then sat back and tried to untense his muscles.
"Inrisa, are we clear to hyperspace?"
"Ye...wait a second. We
have unidentified craft directly in our path! Looks like a custom job.
Starfighter size, no markings."
"How far?"
"Ten clicks. Just one so
far...wait! Eleven more jumping in!"
"Great. A full squadron."
Gent leaned forward and activated the weapons. The computers would now
automatically aim and fire at any enemy craft that got within range.
Inrisa shot a glance at
the range sensor. "Almost here. Ready?"
In response, Gent revved
the engines up to full, clearly suprising the ships. They fired at the
Star Ranger, but all of their shots were behind the ship. Meanwhile,
the Star Ranger's weapondry wrecked havoc on the formation. Three
of the enemies were destroyed outright, and two more were disabled. The
remaining seven made a tight turn and came up behind the Ranger.
Before Gent could twist the ship around, the fighters fired and hit, scoring
a solid hit on the shields.
In the cockpit, Inrisa winced.
"Shields at 37 percent," she reported. "Those lasers are strong!"
Gent turned the ship into
a fast split-S, but the other ships stayed with him and fired again. This
time the blasts got through the shields. Sparks flew from one of the consoles,
and the ship rocked enough to send both Gent and Inrisa to the floor. They
scrambled back to their seats. "We need to go to hyperspace, now!"
Inrisa started to answer,
but another blast threw her from her seat. On the way down, her head hit
the side of the cockpit and she collapsed.
Gent rushed out of his seat
and knelt, shaking her. "Inrisa? Answ..."
Another shot from the fighters
rocked the ship and Gent was knocked on his back. He rolled over, got up,
and reached towards the control board. Yet another blast hit the ship,
and alarms went off in the distance. Gent's entire world focused on the
hyperspace lever. He lunged for it, wildly hoping he could get there before
the attackers shot again...
A/N: The Star Ranger is basically a smaller version of the Corellian Gunship, for people who have played the game Star Wars: Rebellion. For people who haven't, the ship is kind of like a cylinder that tapers off as you go forward. There are three "compartments", seperated by smaller cylinders. The design is different from the Corellian Gunship, though, and someday I'll get around to making some blueprints for it. Any other questions can be sent to twister_fanfic@hotmail.com. Any reviews can be put in the box below. Thanks!