Chapter One: Cameroon

The sleek, crescent shaped ship twisted, turned and then darted between two large pieces of debris as several red laser blasts lit up the space around it. Three small starfighters followed, closing in for the kill. The lead ship, carrying two large racks, one beneath each of its wings, leapt forward and strafed the space yacht, the shots failing to breach the shields. The yacht bucked and lurched as the pilot sped through the debris field.

The husks of several ships were scattered about, the remains of a space battle from long before the Clone Wars. They had been picked over by scavengers long ago for anything useful and all that was left was the discarded shells of the once proud starships. This was an area still very much avoided due to the piloting hazard that the debris placed on most, if not all, ships.

The Cholar debris field, named for the mighty dreadnaught husk that inhabited it, was a haven for pirates. Recent reports had stated that they had been eradicated by the Star Destroyer Chariot, which patrolled this region of space known as the Minos Cluster. There was no reason to think otherwise, as the trade ships that passed near the debris fields hadn't been molested by pirates, gangs or thugs for the past few weeks. This particular trade lane was now deemed safe. It was a surprise when the three Starfighters emerged from the debris field and began firing on the yacht.

The pilot of the yacht was heading towards a rather large piece of debris; the remains of one of the old dreadnaughts, its name no longer remembered or honored. This was a place no sane spacer would visit on a whim. To enter this debris field meant that you were either running from trouble, getting ready to start some trouble or just plain insane. At this particular moment, the pilot of the space yacht felt that she was in the third category.

"Yom, honey, now would be a good time to power up the lasers and return fire, don't you think?"

"Get us closer to the dreadnaught, we can use it for cover. I'm waiting for a kill shot. These guys are in Headhunters, and they are very good. Not your typical run-of-the-mill pirate-type. They have either been trained or have quite a bit of experience. I'm letting them get a bit closer."

"Closer? Sensors show he's armed with torpedoes! He hasn't charged them up yet. If they are plasma or ion, we could be in real trouble!"

Several chirps and whistles seemed to agree with her.

"Gypsy, have some faith. It's not like we haven't done this before," said Yom sitting in the gunwell perched atop the ship.

The small, all black R2 unit, with white trim chirped again.

"That was a long time ago. No need to bring up the past. You just keep the shields up, Phy will pilot the ship and I will shoot back when absolutely necessary."

"Honey, it's absolutely necessary that you return fire. He's charging his torpedoes. Readings indicate that they are plasma. They will make quick work of our shields," she said worriedly.

Several affirmative chirps and whistles concurred with Phy again.

Yom powered up the twin laser cannons and turned them to face his pursuers. He checked his gun controls before setting his sights on the lead ship.

"Fine, I'll shoot the bad-guys. Just get us as close to the dreadnaught as possible, without hitting it."

The R2 unit made a low whine.

"Exactly Gypsy. I couldn't agree with you more," chuckled Yom.

"Hey now, that was a long time ago. I was just learning how to fly this thing. It was a learning experience."

"An expensive one," he said quietly.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

Gypsy chirped and beeped several times.

"Yom Beekus! When this is over, I'm going to box your ears!"

Yom rolled his eyes.

"Thank you Gypsy," he said sarcastically, "I need to update your programming to better understand sarcasm."

The droid whistled and beeped angrily.

"Keep it up tin can," he began sarcastically, "and I will turn you into a trash receptacle when we get home. Now keep the shields up to full. He's in range."

Yom pressed the buttons on his hand grips and the twin laser cannons spewed concentrated laser fire at the rapidly closing ship. The laser blasts caught the ship just under the left wing, hitting the torpedo rack placed there. The rack exploded and the ship careened and spun away, having lost most of its left wing.

The blast was bright enough that it forced the plasteel glass of the gun well to darken down. Yom raised his hand to shield his eyes, as he tried to scan for the remaining two ships.

"We are nearing the dreadnaught," Phy gasped.

She'd seen the ship several times during their trips through this particular space lane, but she'd never been this close before. She didn't realize how big it actually was. Not as big as a Star Destroyer, but still big enough. Soon enough, the ship blocked out her view of the surrounding space.

"Almost there, Honey."

"Run us along the length of the ship. Once we do, I'll release some of the electro-magnetic junk from the cargo bay. This will confuse their targeting systems, so they will have a harder time hitting us." It will give me a chance to chase off the other two. They don't seem to be closing in, so I'm guessing they've lost their stomach for this fight.

As the yacht reached the derelict dreadnaught, Gypsy began chirping excitedly. Phy checked her scanners and quickly confirmed.

"I've got three more ships incoming. They're cresting the dreadnaught and are right on top of us!"

"Evasive maneuvers! Gypsy, empty the cargo hold now!"

"Yom, we've got three more ahead of us. They are boxing us in!"

"It's a trap! Phy, get us up to full speed!"

Yom saw the three ships as they appeared. He turned his lasers on them and opened fire. One of the ships exploded into a million pieces, adding more debris to the already clogged debris field. As the two newest members of this fight began to perform evasive actions, Yom fired again and tagged one of the fighter's engines. It flared briefly before dying out and causing the ship to slow. The pilot turned hard to the left, away from the yacht.

The third ship flew over and past the yacht as Yom chased him with laser blasts, but failed to score any hits. He then turned the guns towards the front of the ship to engage the three coming straight at him.

The yacht bucked as several laser blasts found their marks at the rear of the ship. The two ships that had lagged behind earlier were now tight on the rear of the yacht and blasting away.

"Gypsy, clear the cargo hold. Clear the cargo hold now! Phy, get us closer to the dreadnaught!"

The droid whistled loudly.

"Yes, I said closer."

"Closer? If I get any closer, I might hit it!" complained Phy.

"Well, it would be better than being blown to bits! Just do it, and don't think!"

"Don't think?"

"Don't think about what you are doing, just clear your mind and concentrate on flying. Think only about flying."

"What about those Z-95's?"

"You worry about flying, I'll worry about those fighters. Trust me on this."

Yom opened fire on the three ships coming straight at them. He clipped one of the wings of the lead ship and forced them to scatter as he kept firing in their direction. The ship rocked again as more blasts assaulted the rear of the ship. Yom spun the turret around and faced the two ships behind him. He opened fire on the ship to his left. The pilot tried to dodge just as the blast pelted the nose of his ship. His shields flared and the pilot suddenly jerked to the left. The ship spun once before colliding with the hull of the dreadnaught and it exploded upon impact. The second ship suddenly dove beneath the yacht.

"Roll the ship! Roll the ship! He's beneath us!" yelled Yom.

Phy quickly obeyed and the ship went into a barrel roll. He searched in vain for the ship, but he could not find it. Suddenly the ships sensors went wild.

"Yom, I've got two torpedoes locked on us!"

"Keep rolling the ship, I'll try and catch them before they hit!"

After one complete roll, he spied them coming at him from the port side. He spun the turret to face them and began firing. The two torpedoes closed in fast, before Yom was able to take one out. The second one closed in for the kill.

"Crap! Brace for impact!"

The ship rocked and the plasteel glass of the turret turned opaque and Yom closed his eyes tight and held on. He could hear Phy screaming and Gypsy wailing as if screaming, as only an R2 unit can do.

"Damage?" Yom yelled into his headset.

Gypsy beeped loudly and excitedly.

"Engines are good, but we have no shields. They absorbed most of the impact from the torpedo. They are overloaded and will need to be recharged. We won't be able to get them back up quickly enough, I'm afraid," replied Phy.

"Well, at least we are still mobile," he looked out into space, "and I don't see any of the Headhunters at the moment. They must be regrouping for another run at us. Take us out of the debris field as quickly as possible. Gypsy, I want you to start to plot a course for a hyperspace jump as soon as we clear the debris. Understood?"

Gypsy chirped and beeped and Phy acknowledged, "Sure thing."

Phy angled the ship to the edge of the debris field and pushed the engines to full power, dodging the floating pieces of junk. Several blips suddenly appeared on the screen in front of her.

"I found them. Six of them on our tail. They aren't in range yet."

The yacht suddenly broke out of the debris field and Yom yelled, "Punch it!" as the six ships behind them began to fire. The star field before Phy began to streak as the ship entered hyperspace when it suddenly lurched and clanked and the stars reappeared.

"What happened?" questioned Yom.

Gypsy chirped and beeped.

"I don't know. Maybe the hyperdrive malfunctioned. Maybe it was damaged by the plasma torpedo that hit us?

Gypsy beeped and whirred.

"A gravity well perhaps?" she offered.

Yom felt uneasy.

"No, I don't think so."

Gypsy beeped excitedly.

Suddenly, a huge triangle shaped ship appeared in front of them. A Star Destroyer.

Phy said quietly, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You and me both," agreed Yom.

He checked behind him and could see the six starfighters, several thousand meters behind them, peel off and retreat back into the debris field. It suddenly occurred to Yom, crystal clear in fact, that the trap had now truly been sprung. The prey had been caught, as he felt the ship shudder as a tractor beam from the Star Destroyer locked onto the small yacht. Yom powered down the guns and unstrapped himself from the gunwell. He quickly made his way to the cockpit, where Phy sat, staring at the Star Destroyer as it filled the view port.

"It's so…." she began.

"I know."

"It's over, isn't it?"

"Yes. I believe so."

"What about the kids?"

"They will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"They are going to have to be. Start transferring all files into Gypsy. Wipe the ship's computer memory cores. The less they discover from us, the less likely anyone else will be discovered."

"How did they find out?"

"I don't know, but I think we are about to find out."

A bright red light began blinking on the console that informed them that there was an incoming transmission. Phy pressed a button and watched as a holo-cam image appeared on the console. Phy gasped, "Katarina?"

"Space Yacht Cameroon, I am Lieutenant Katarina Screeb of the Star Destroyer Chariot. Prepare to be boarded and searched."

Yom leaned in close and asked, "Under what cause?"

"Suspicion of smuggling illicit materials to those committing treason against the Empire."

The transmission ended as quickly as it began.

Yom and Phy looked at each other and turned to regard Gypsy.

"We've only got a few minutes," warned Yom.

"Gypsy, plug in. I'll begin the download," Phy said.

Her fingers ran over the controls as she rerouted the computer's core into Gypsy.

"I'll find a safe place for the 'cargo'," said Yom as he left the cockpit. He found a small panel near that was near the floor, next to the living space he and his wife shared. He pulled the panel off and went back to the cockpit.

"Almost done," Phy began and then sighed, "Done."

"Gypsy, is it all recorded onto the data disk?"

Gypsy beeped an affirmative.

"Good," he turned to Phy, "wipe the memory core." He turned back to Gypsy, "hand me the data disk."

Gypsy spit it out from a small ejection point near the front of her cylindrical body. Yom grasped it and retreated from the cockpit. He knelt down near the open panel and stowed the disk within, securing it amongst several wires and conduits. He replaced the panel and returned to the cockpit.

"Memory wipe is almost completed. What's next?" Phy reported.

"I'm sorry girl," he said sadly. He opened a panel on the back of Gypsy and powered her down.

"Wipe her memory too. We can't take any chances. We have to protect the kids at all costs."

Phy lowered her head and nodded slowly. She didn't like it, but she had no choice. She quickly unplugged Gypsy from the main computer and opened another panel on Gypsy that dealt with the main memory core of the droid. She removed it, detaching several wires and then reached into a drawer under the console and retrieved an exact copy of the memory board she had just removed. Yom looked at her questioningly.

"I've always had this, just in case."

She looked at Gypsy sadly.

"I'm sorry Gypsy."

Yom just nodded.

She plugged the new board in and replaced it within Gypsy, leaving her powered down. Taking the old board, she pulled out a small tool from her belt pouch and crawled under the console. After a few moments, she reemerged without the board.

"It's well hidden," she looked at Gypsy, "just in case."

"Just in case," repeated Yom. He sunk down into the chair next to Phy's.

"I guess this is it then."

"I guess it is," she sighed.

"My own daughter. I never thought she would…." Yom didn't finish the thought.

Phy shook her head slowly, then looked her husband in the eye.

"I love you Yom."

"I know."

And then the ship was slowly pulled into the hanger bay of the Chariot.

Jevik, the smuggler, stood with several of his cohorts aboard his personal ship, the Jud. The ship was sitting idle within the shell of the dreadnaught, Cholar. He was listening to a final message from the Chariot before the transmission ended. He exited his ship and approached several pilots, all members of the Varakis Pirates.

"They have the rebels. They will leave behind the ship once they've gone over it. Salvage is ours. Credits will be transferred to the accounts within a few days. You will be paid at that time. Not bad for a solid days work."

A Nikto, with pale skin spoke up, "What about the pilots I lost?"

"Zalib, you knew the hazards when you agreed to work with me. I said that I would compensate you for any losses, and I will. I'm a man of my word."

"My losses are expensive. They paying you enough to cover that?"

Jevik shrugged.

"If not, then I will find other ways to compensate you."

"You had better," growled the pale Nikto, "Varakis the Hutt doesn't like being played for a fool."

"I will," grinned Jevik, but whether he meant appropriate compensation or toying with the idea of playing a Hutt for a fool wasn't quite clear.