I joined the Rebellion just in time to miss the Battle of Yavin. As you can imagine that was a huge disappointment. My Academy class graduated a week after the Death Star was destroyed. I was so proud of becoming a pilot, and getting assigned to a squadron. It took me 2 years of training to pilot an X-wing. But after the Battle of Yavin all people wanted to talk about is this Skywalker guy. He walks in the door and they just let him climb into the cockpit because he used to fly a junker T16 for fun on some Outer Rim hell whole. If that's not bad enough he's out of his mind, I heard he thinks he is a Jedi. He makes one lucky shot on the trench run and he thinks it was The Force that let him do it. Seriously, if I started going around telling people I was a Jedi id be locked up.
I felt my whole body forced back into my seat as I punched the throttle on my X-wing. Exiting the flight deck I let off the throttle and drifted into the blackness of space. Lights on the cockpit controls began to light up. A green light on the controls began to flash indicating that my droid E-64R was preforming all initial flight checks. Above me two other X-wings took their position in a standard attack formation
"All wing, this is Grey Leader, All Wing report in"
In an efficient rhythmic matter pilots began to report in.
"Gray 2 standing by"
"Grey 7 Standing by"
"Grey 9 standing by"
"Grey 15 Standing by"
"Grey 4 standing by"
"Grey 8 Standing by"
The airwaves fell silent, for several seconds. While I checked my life support systems, and locked in my targeting computer.
"Grey 12?"
"Grey Leader to Grey 12?"
"Grey 12? …. Larra, care to join us?"
"Ah, Grey 12 standing by, my apologies Grey leader" I said into my mic.
"Stay focused Grey 12. All wing lock X Foyles in attack position"
A muffled sound a gears turning came from the rear of my fighter as I opened my X Foyles.
"All Wing start your run on the target" Grey leader said.
My gloved fingers glided across the controls of the fighter. Arming the cannons, activating forward stabilizers, syncing the targeting system to match my velocity. Gripping the stick i took the fighter in low, flying only meters off the deck until the target was visible.
"Grey 12, I have the target acquired cover my approach" I said into the microphone of my helmet.
"Grey 2, I've got your cover Larra"
The target lay at the far end of a large asteroid. There was no arguing I was a fantastic pilot. I maneuvered my X-wing through the rocky canyons of the asteroid at full speed. The whole thing came easily for me, as cheesy as it sounds in moments like this I felt like my X-wing and I became one and the same. Starring down the screen of my targeting computer the target came into sight. Numbers at the bottom of the targeting screen changed in rapid succession as my X-wing moved. The numbers were changing so fast they were but a blur.
"Slow your approach Grey 12" Grey leaders voice said over my headset.
"Ive got it Captain" I replied quickly.
And like that my targeting computer suddenly displayed a locked set of cross hairs. I squeezed the trigger on the front of the control stick, and two fiery proton torpedo's shot forward. Pulling back on the control stick and hitting the throttle my fighter climbed sharply until I was vertical moving away from the target as fast as I could. I spun the fighter around until I was inverted and then turned it 180 degrees until I was safely on a course away from the target.
"Hows that captain" I said into the radio.
"Not bad other than your approach was way to fast causing you to miss the target"
"What I missed?!" I said trying to turn my head to look back at the target
"Yes you missed. How many time have we told you that the targeting computer wont work if you are going that fast, the computer cant keep up with that kind of speed. Someday this isn't going to be training Larra. You have to slow down, cut the acrobatic flying and do it as you were trained"
"Sorry captain" I replied, its all I could think to say. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened. The feeling of embarrassment and shame washed over me. It was a feeling I knew to well. I just wanted to go back to the ship crawl into my rack and never come out. Landing on the flight deck of The Rising Sun a ladder was connected to my ship. Climbing out of the cockpit the Deck Officer met me at the top of the ladder that had just been connected to my fighter.
"Larra, Ill take your helmet" he said holding out his hand
He was only offering so I didn't throw my helmet again. I had screwed up on a training run just like this a few weeks ago. I was so mad at myself I had thrown my helmet across his deck. This time I promised myself to be more mature about it.
"That's okay Chief, I promise I wont throw it" I replied.
He didn't say anything, just held out his hand and helped me from the cockpit. In the locker room I set my helmet on top of my locker along side the rest of the pilots. My helmet was shining white, almost fresh out of its box. The only scratch on it was a small scrape on the left side from when I threw it across the hanger deck. The other pilot's helmets were scorched, blackened, burned and dented from countless battles. I wanted nothing more than for my helmet to look as weathered and scarred as theirs. Even my flight suit was a brighter shade of orange compared to their faded suits that smelt of exhaust. The inside of my locker was organized to perfection. My uniforms hung exactly 3 centimeters apart, boots shined to a gloss one could see their reflection in, everything in its exact proper place. This was a habbit I had formed during my 2 years in the Academy, where our locker would be turned over and tipped onto the floor during inspection if it was not to exact regulation. The other pilots were once like me too, but slowly slipped from the habit. One pilot said he could tell I was fresh from the academy just from looking at my locker. The only thing that wasn't regulation was the picture of my family that hung on the back of the door. It was an old fashion picture actually printed onto a carbon synthetic sheet. The picture was old, taken 8 years ago when I was only 16. In the picture I stood with my parents and brother in front of our old home. You could tell the picture was old because I was wearing a dress, I haven't worn a dress since I joined the Alliance. Also I had long blond hair, when I started the academy I cut it shorter just below my shoulders. It was the only picture I had of my brother. He died when I was 20 in an imperial attack. They thought they were bombing a terrorist groups headquarters. Their intel was wrong and they dropped a large thermal detonator on my brothers office building. That is when I joined the Alliance. Of course my parents hated the idea of me joining the Rebellion. Corellia is still under strict Imperial control, so they tell our friends I'm on Coruscant studying trade law.
"Briefing room in 3 minutes" shouted Captain Alltairy.
"On my way Sir" I replied
The briefing was lined with large padded chairs; pilots were always treated to extra luxuries. The rest of the squadron already sat in their seats, most were talking and joking amongst themselves. I took my usual seat next to my friend Jasmine Ores, a young brown haired girl about my age. I say she was my friend but we really didn't know each other well. She was the newest member of the squadron before myself. So she was rather nice to me. She didn't call me "new girl" either like most the squadron did. Captain Alltairy entered and talked to the front of the room. He was in his mid 40 with dark hair and sharp facial features. He was very short the rest of the squadron, even myself towered over him. But no one ever said anything about his height. On my first day I joked to Jasmine that he was short, she have me a look of shock like she couldn't believe I had said that.
"Whats his height have to do with anything?" she said with an accusing tone "hes flown over 48 combat missions, he's been shot down on 3 systems"
I didn't make the mistake of saying anything negative about the Captain again. To be honest even though he was really hard on me and frequently told me I was screw up I liked the Captain.
"Well as usual we had a lot of good things happen on that run and a few issues" The captain said looking at me. "Garik" he said gesturing to a dark haired pilot with in the back row with his feet kicked up on the chair in front of him.
"Good run as usual, nice job covering the rest of the formation when the pilot who took lead was flying 3 times faster than they should you kept the intervals tight and stayed in position to provide cover." He again looked at me, this was the 3rd time I had done something like this. I don't think hes going to let me live it down this time.
"Anthia" He said looking over at a young red headed girl who flight suit was unzipped and pulled down to her wait, the sleeves tied around her wait to hold it up. I never liked Anthia, she had an attitude. But what really annoyed me was that she was much younger than me. Joining the academy at 17 she was assigned to the squadron when she was only 19. Now she had 2 years of combat missions under her belt.
"Your approach was great, after Grey 12 missed the first shot you had your intervals spaced perfect to take the 2nd shot. Great work".
"Larra" He looked at me. "How do you think you did?" he asked me. I suddenly got nervous. I expected to get yelled at but didn't known I was going to have to evaluate myself.
"Well I know I missed the target but my targeting computer was on so something must have malfunctioned. Other than that I think I did okay" I replied.
"You really think you did okay other than missing the target?" The captain asked.
"Umm yes?" I said with an inflection to my voice.
"Larra, you're a good kid, but everyone is sick of your ego and stunts. You were flying way too fast, you didn't work with the other pilots either. You just put the throttle to the deck and went in as fast as you could. You left the whole squadron and went in on your own. You probably didn't even realize it but Garik and Anthia were behind you holding your cover and backing up your missed shot. And there wasn't a malfunction with your computer. It would have worked fine if you were at a proper attack speed".
"You're right" I said with disappointment in my voice.
" Also your flying is way to aggressive"
"Aggressive?" I relpied
"Yes, Aggressive" He said in an annoyed monotone voice "There is no need for all the barrel rolls, and spins. The only time those maneuvers are used are in close courters ship to ship dogfights. So knock it off."
"Understood captain" I replied.
"Anyways" He directed his attention to the group. "We might be getting a mission in the next week or so. Nothing is confirmed but the Admiral wants us training for combat runs every day for the next week. If I had to bet that's because we might be doing the real thing soon. Everyone's dismissed go out and see if the deck crew need help with anything and then you can relax".
The Captain always did this, he wanted all his pilots to go help the deck crew and mechanics. Jasmine explained to me that most pilots were a bit stuck up and had god complexes. During the academy on my field rotations in the fleet I notice a lot of pilots acted as if they were celebrities amongst the fleet. According to Jasmine the Captain made us help the deck crews to remind us we aren't as special as we think, and that we aren't above some manual labor.
"Larra, can I see you for a minute" He said as we all left our seats.
"Great" I though, "time to get yelled at again"
The Captain sat down in a seat in the front row, I took a seat next to him letting out a large sigh.
"Larra heres something for you to think over" He said "You are new, everyone hates being new. I certainly did. When I was new all I wanted to do is prove to the others that I was just as good a pilot as they were. I talked big, like I knew what being a combat pilot was like, and acted like I had seen just as much as they had. Now I don't know what your reasons for your flying and behavior. But the advice I will give you is this. A little humility will go a long way toward being accepted. There is no doubt you are a good pilot, I've never seen a rookie handle an X-wing like that. But ill be honest, anyone can fly fast, and in the real world flips rolls and dive bombs are nothing more than decoration on the battle field. Flying like that doesn't impress anyone. Do you know why we always put the newest pilot at the front of the attack formation?"
"So we can get experience in the most important roll." I replied.
"No.." The Captain said with a serious tone "First, the person firing their canons isn't the most important roll, get that idea out of your head right now. Its because senior pilots cant trust a rookie to cover their six. We want you in front where we can see you, where we can keep an eye on the person most likely to screw up. The issue is we put you in that position and you take off at full throttle. The rest of the squadron wont like this, but for the rest of the week I want you flying cover for Anthia, can you handle that?"
"Yes sir" I replied hesitantly
The first thought that went through my head was that I hated Anthia, I don't want to be flying anywhere near her. But the captain was right, I needed to get my act together.
On the flight deck I found the Chief Deck officer standing next to my X-wing while one of the deck crew stood on top with half his body plunged into the engine compartment.
"Chief" I said "Captain Alltary wanted me to see if you needed my help with anything."
None of the other pilots were in here so I figured he would say no and let me go about my business.
"whats wrong with my ship?" I asked.
"Yeah you can climb up there and help Bek. Also remember its not your ship you just fly it. It belongs to my crew they are the ones who put hundreds of hours of work into it. And since your blew out half the gears inside the engine you can help".
This wasn't the answer I expected, but he was the Chief so I climbed up onto the lift where Bek was hanging off the edge into the engine compartment. Bek was a young guy maybe 24 with a hair line that was about 34 years old.
"Hey bek, Flight Tech umm, whats your name?" the Chief ask.
"Larra Thaxton" I replied
"Flight Tech Thaxton will be helping you with whatever you need" He shouted up at Bek.
Bek pulled his head up and looked at me. "okay Chief" he replied
"Get me a hydro spanner" Bek said.
"Umm okay" I said looking into the toolbox at my feet. It was filled with probably 20 metallic looking tools I had no idea what a hydro spanner is, the tools made a clanking sound as I sorted through them. I picked up a random tool and held it up.
"Umm" I said
Bek again pulled his head out of the compartment and looked at me, he rolled his eyes when he saw what I was holding.
"You have no idea what a hydro spanner is do you?" He asked.
"No sorry"
"There is one on that container down there"
He pointed down on the deck at a large tool with a ratchet looking device attacked to a handle. He then dove back down into the compartment. I began sorting through the tools until I found one that looked like the one he pointed to.
"Okay I think I found it"
Bek again immerged from the compartment with a large metal gear in his hand. It was burned in a crisp black color and half of the gears teeth were broken off. The gear was actually steaming in his gloved hand. He heaved it over his shoulder onto the flood of the deck. Snatching the tool from my hand he again disappeared into the engine. Out of the compartment came a loud clicking noise and around a minute later Bek again threw another destroyed gear onto the floor.
"How long will this take?" I asked him
"Probably all night" he replied.
I let out a long sign, which apparently he heard.
"hey you are the one who broke it" He said, his voice echoed from inside the engine. "You don't have to be here. Pilots never help with this"
"Sorry", I said "No ill stay and help"
I suddenly felt bad, my attempt at impressing people had ruined the engine and was now going to cost Bek his whole night.
"Are you mad at me?" I asked.
"What do you think?" he replied an irritated tone.
"Well I mean I know it's extra work for you, but it is your job" I said.
Bek climbed out from the engine and looked at me first with angry and then confusing.
"Its Larra right?" I nodded "Most pilots are egotistical and have a god complexes. They think they are better than the rest of us because they fly. They think the deck crew is there to serve them. What you fail to understand is that without us you don't fly. If you keep acting like you do the whole deck will hate you"
"What do you mean, Im always nice to the deck crews"
"I mean that you fly my ship like a crazed teenager who just got her speeder license. Sure you are friendly but your actions are costing us hours and hours of work. Yes its our job, but when you take this ship from full speed to a total halt so you can do some stupid reverse barrel roll only to punch it full throttle again destroys the engine. If you were actually in combat and your life depended on that maneuver we wouldn't care. But when you do it three times in a row during training just to try and show off it just makes you an inconsiderate jerk. Oh and by they way, when the gaged in your cockpit turn red, it means stop, because you are overheating the engines. Didn't they teach you that in the academy?"
"Im sorry" I said again. It seems like its all I have said today.
"Oh also, its not your ship. You flying it for an hour doesn't make it yours. We are the ones who put dozens even hundreds of hours into her. That's why my name is painted on her"
I looked over and painted in cursive was his name "Bek Ashken" I had never even noticed it before. Suddenly I realized he was right. I didn't know anything about my ship. I just climbed in a flew it.
"Why do you paint your name on it?" I asked.
"Because its my ship, I put the work into it her so you can fly"
I looked down the line of X-wing in the hanger and noticed the names of mechanics painted on all of them.
"Because she's my pride and joy, and because pilots get all the glory and it is our way of showing some pride in our work" Bek said with a frustrated tone as he hurled another damaged gear out onto the pile.
Again I felt really ashamed. I had never even considered that my actions were making the deck crews hate me. I didn't want to be one of those pilots. I laied down on the lift next to Bek and put my head into the engine compartment.
"Okay then, show me how to help" I said.
He looked at me with some surprise on his face.
"Alright he said, go get that other hydro spanner I showed you"
When I returned Bek pointed to a part of the engine with 3 gears that had a broken chain laced threw then.
"Do you know what that is?" he asked.
"No"
"it's the motor for the directional stabilizing device, Its how your instruments know weather your ship is right side up or upside down in relation to space. Unscrew all these bolts, then grab the gears and pull it free" He said pointing at the bolts attached to the gears.
We both worked and 20 minutes later I had the device pulled from the engine. I was then given another task. Slowly but surly as we worked the space inside the engine got bigger as we removed broken parts and components. 3 hours into the work Bek said that we had finished and it was now time to install the new parts.
"Okay that's all" he said "You go get some sleep or you wont meet your flight status requirements"
I had forgotten, all pilots needed minimum 6 hours of sleep before a training flight.
"What about the rest of the work" I asked.
"Ill finish up, thanks for the help" he replied
Hesitantly I said okay and returned to my quarters.
Six hours later I sat in the briefing room in full gear. The Captain stood at his usual position in front. It was a standard briefing, the Captain asked if everyone met their rest requirements, and if anyone was sick or other wise impaired or unable to fly. Today our training was to simulate escorting a troop transport threw a blockade.
"Remember keeping a tight formation is important. Gold Squadron from The Alderaan will be acting as enemy fighters. The Alderaan was the newest ship in the fleet.
"Obviously we will have no live rounds, and everyone has to be carful of where they are flying. We cant afford a collision. Im sure you remember your academy lectures collisions are the most common accident in simulated ship to ship combat" The Captain explained.
"In the hanger I found Bek tightening some bolts on the cowlings of the engines. Boxes and tools littered the floor around the fighter.
"Good Morning" He said to me as I walked over.
"Have you slept?" I asked, already knowing the answer
"No I just finished"
"sorry again" I said.
"I think you learned your lesson"
"I think so" I said climbing the ladder to the cockpit.
Over the next week we had a training mission each day. Combat escorts, targeting runs, aerial surveillance, and bombing runs. I did everything I could to follow the captains orders. I held back and flew cover for the other pilots. I also flew slow, I felt as though my X-wing was crawling but the Captain seemed to like what I was doing. After our last training mission I walked from the hanger to the locker room when I saw a group of about 20 troops, all dressed in black with no patches or insignias on their uniforms standing in the hanger.
"Who were those guys?" I asked entering the locker room
"Commandos" a pilot named Owen Andross said
"What are they doing here?"
"No idea" he replied
The Captain stood in his usual place at the front of the briefing room. He stood with his leg shoulder width about and his arms behind his back. Garik sat at the back of the room with his foot up on the seat. I sat next to Jasmine and leaned over toward her.
"Did you see the special ops guys in the hanger?"
"yeah, something's going on" she answered
I heard footsetps in the hallway and then heard the door open.
"Attention on the deck!" Captain Alltary said sternly.
We all rose to our feet, Garik quickly dropped his feet from the seat and sprang up to attention. Facing the front of the room at attention I had no idea who had entered to room. It was customary to stand at attention when a superior officer entered the room. From the corner of my eye I saw the outline on a Mon Calamari walking down the center of the room between our seats.
"As you were, As you were" he said in with a Mon Cal accent.
"Admiral Ackbar" The Captain said "Thank you for joining us on The Rising Sun"
"Thank you, Captain"
I had heard of Admiral Ackbar before, but I had never seem him. I had also never seen a Mon Calamari before. He wore an all white uniform with Admiral rank insignias embroidered on the shoulders. The Captain took a seat with us, and Admiral Ackbar took the Captains place at the center of the room. He paused for a second and looked around the room. It seems as though he looked at each pilot in the squadron individually before speaking.
"Thank you all for your hard work over the last few days. Your Captain has told me that your training missions have been very successful. I am sure you are all curious why you have been training, and also why I am here. With in the next week you will be embarking on a mission to the Kathol Sector. More specifically an attack on Imperial outpost on the moon of Aaris III. The details will remain classified for the time being, but I suspect you all saw the special operations troops in the hanger. Your Officers and myself will be planning and organizing the logistics of this mission for the next few days. Thank you all for your hard work"
He then looked to Captain Alltairy.
"Captain the room is your" He said as he walked out of the room.
The Captain stood to address us once more.
"Okay everyone, I'm sure I don't need to remind you to keep your mouths shut about this. Report to the hanger and see if the Chief needs anything, if not the rest of the day if yours"
The Hanger stank of burnt hydrolic fluid. In the far starboard corner of the bay was a B-Wing with steam and a brown colored fluid pooling out of its ordnance bay. I found Bek underneath my X-wing with his arms stretched up to his elbows in the navigation electrical system.
"Need help?" I asked
Bek slid himself out of from under the fighter and looked up at me, his back still on the deck.
"Actually no" He replied. "What'd they say in there?"
"Well it still seems pretty hush hush at this point, they didn't tell us much" I said.
"Yeah that's what I heard. Apparently one of the quartermasters overheard the commandos talking. Sounds like they are trying to capture some high profile Imp"
"Imp?" I asked with a confused tone.
"Imperial" Bek replied "wow, you are new"
I jumped a little when a voice rang out behind me. The voice was shrill, high pitched and spoke so fast it was difficult to understand.
"Hey new girl, did the Captain not just tell us to keep our mouths shut about everything!"
I turned to see Anthia standing just several feet from me. She stood with her arms crossed, one leg pivoted to the side and a dirty look on her face. She brushed her red hair out of her eyes and continued to glare.
"Your right, sorry" I replied
Anthia looked confused, as if she expected me to have more to say for myself. I think she almost wanted me to be afraid of her. I really had not told Bek anything, but I didn't feel like getting into a petty argument with her.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked
"Long enough to hear you two talking about rumors" She replied.
Bek stood up and took a step forward, he wiped his hands on his tan coverall's which were stained with oil.
"She didn't tell me anything that was said in your briefing, I just told her a rumor I heard. You got a problem with it tell Captain Alltairy to talk to my Chief." Bek said to her in a confident tone
"Did you need something from us" He continued.
"No why?"
"Well you are standing five feet behind us. Did you want something?"
"No" She said making a snorting sound with her nose. With that she spun around and walked away pounding the heels of her boots into the deck as she walked away.
"I really cant stand her" I said
"No one can" he replied "You think you had an attitude when you started? Her's was 100 times worse and still is"
At first I wasn't sure how to take Beks statement. Was he implying I no longer have an attitude? He looked at me with a small smiles, so I guess what he said was a good thing. Either way I was very glad to hear that there were other people who disliked Anthia.
As pilots we enjoyed a few luxuries that the rest of the ship didn't. One of the best was that we were each given our own room. The majority of the ship had shared quarters, 10 people to a room with bunk beds build into the walls and lockers in the center of the room. Pilots however had their own private room, it wasn't much of a room though. My room was only a few feet wide, with only enough room for my bed and a small footlocker. On the wall next to my bed was a small shelf with a few books, and framed photo of my academy class graduation photo. Some people think this is weird but I sleep better onboard the Rising Sun than I have ever slept anywhere else. Something about the gentle hum of the engines I think. However tonight I could not sleep, I laid in bed wearing blue exercise shorts and my academy shirt starring at the ceiling. Even though the admiral said the mission was a week away I felt a growing anxiety building up inside myself. All of a sudden I was realizing that training was over and real life combat was just days away. Just outside my room is the pilots lounge. A small room with a few comfortably chairs. This was where I found Jasmine stretched out in a chair reading a book. I almost didn't recognize her without a flight suit on. She wore exercise shorts like mine, with a white shirt, and her brown hair hung down over her shoulders.
"What are you doing up" She asked as I entered the room.
"Cant sleep" I said walking over to the table to poor myself a cup of Caf. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"That's fine" She replied.
The two of us sat in silence for a few moments, an awkward silence. Jasmine and I have always been friendly with each other but I suddenly realized that we had never actually had a conversation. She sat a few feet away looking at her book when she looked up at me, and our eyes met. It was that awkward moment when another person catches you looking at them. Like when you are driving and lock eyes with the person in the speeder next to you.
"Have you ever flown a combat mission" I asked, not knowing what else to say.
"Once" She replied "About 2 months before you were assigned here we help escort a supply run into Tunis. It all went smooth, a few Ties showed up on our way out but we went to light speed and that was it."
"Where is Tunis?" I replied
"Some dump on the outer rim, I guess there is a small base there. Id never heard of it either"
This room fell silent and again things began to feel awkward. I considered going back to my room when Jasmine began to speak.
"So I noticed you have been pretty friendly with Bek"
"umm" I said turning red "We are friends I guess. The Deck Chief made me help him repair my engine after I trashed it last week"
"Just friends?"
"Yes just friends" I insisted
"okay okay, hes not bad looking though"
I coughed a bit as she said this and almost choked on the caf I was drinking. With this Jasmine let out a small laugh at my expense.
"Its okay, I wont say anything to him" She said "By the way, what did you do to piss off Anthia?"
"Oh wow. What did she say?" I asked quickly
"Nothing, just stormed by after the briefing complaining about the new girl not keeping her mouth shut, I figured that was you"
"Great that's all I need is to be in more trouble" I replied.
"Don't worry, the Captain doesn't listen to anything she says"
"Really?"
"No, he cant stand her. I heard when she started here he actually had to take her off the flight line because she was so rude and insubordinate"
"Really? She walks around like she owns the place I thought she was a big deal"
"She act like a big deal but shes not, she has flow nine combat missions but I heard she's never had a confirmed kill."
Before I could reply the red alert light on the ceiling began to flash. We both stood up quickly and looked at each other, as if one of us knew what was happening.
"All hands brace for contact" a voice said over load speakers
Before either of us could move the whole ship shook, throwing us both onto the floor. I gripped the base of the chair I had been sitting in, as it was bolted to the floor. Again she ship shook violently, the light went out for a few seconds this time. Dim Emergency light went on and I saw Jasmine across the room holding a rail attached to the wall.
"All hands prepare to jump to light speed" the same voice said over the speakers.
The ship began to vibrate, and I felt the sudden acceleration feeling hit my body as the ship went into light speed. My stomach felt as though it was about to be sucked out of my body. The feeling rapidly stopped, and I exhaled a long breath.
"Are we at light speed" I asked
"yeah I think so" Jasmine replied "What's going on?"
"All hands report to your duty stations. Damage control teams to deck 4" rang out over the speakers.
As I came to my feet the room began to fill with pilots, some were in uniform other still in the clothing they had worn to bed. Garik appeared in the doorway, he walked toward up zipping up his flight suit.
"Everyone to the briefing room" He said
Everyone stood in the back of the briefing room. The leather padded chairs were all empty, and there was a high since of anxiety in the air. Jasmine and I stood near the back wall, with two of the more senior pilots names Harlen and Kass. Still in my exercise shorts I suddenly left self-conscious realizing how much of my legs were exposed. I considered going to my locker to get my flight suit, but Garik had said to wait here for the Captain.
"Does anyone know whats happening?" Jasmine asked
"Not sure, but if felt like the ship took 2 hits before we jumped, had to have been a surprise attack" Kass said.
"We're in a pretty remote area, How did the Imp's find us here?" Jasmine said looking at me.
Seconds later the door slid open and Captain Alltairy entered the room. He walked quickly, moving with a purpose to the front of the room.
"Is everyone here?" he asked
"All but Anthia" Garik answered
"Anyone seen her" Asked the Captain
"Im here" Anthias voice called out from the doorway.
Everyone turned to see her standing in her flight suit, she had blood coming from her a small cut on her forehead.
"Your bleeding" the captain said
"I was showering when it started, fell and hit my head. Sorry didn't want to show up naked so I went and changed"
"Go to the Med bay when we are finished." Ordered the captain. "Is anyone else hurt"
The Captain waited, and the room was quiet. I looked down the row of pilots, everyone appeared to be uninjured.
"Okay, I need to get back to the bridge soon, but here are the details. A Star Destroyer came out of hyperspace right on top of us. Two high power blasts were fired into our port side. The shield took the majority of the blasts, but a small fire broke out on deck 4, which is now under control. The Bridge officer made a quick jump to light speed, which saved our asses. We have no idea where we are or how the Imps found us. Any questions?"
No one said anything. We all just stood there starring at the Captain. The room was eerily quiet.
"What do you need us do to?" Jasmine asked.
"Nothing at the moment, The Admiral wants everyone at the ready though, so stay close to your gear and the hanger. Except you Anthia, go to the Med bay."
The Captain then walked out of the room without saying another word. No one said anything for a few moments. We all just stood there looking at one another. It was at this moment I realized what had happened. Garik was the first to speak.
"Im staying here until the Captain says we can stand down"
"Thanks probably a good plan" Kass replied.
Jasmine and I exchanged glances, as if we both knew what we wanted to say. I however was too nervous to say anything. The situation felt serious and I did not want to sound like a petty girl worrying about her looks. Jasmine apparently was not scared to speak up.
"Larra and I are going to change, we rushed here without taking the time to dress properly"
Garik, Kass and Harlen looked us up and down, as if they were just only now realizing what we were wearing.
"Go get your flight suits and come right back" Garik said.
We both nodded and exited the room.
Our quarters and pilots lounge looked as though a meteor had hit them. Every locker had been tipped over, every cabinet and self was open with its contents now on the floor. In my room I found the picture of my academy class on the floor, The frame broken. I guess that's what happens when the ship is hit by two blasts from a Star Destroyer main battery. My foot locker had come open during the attack and my clothes now lay strewn across the room, luckily the room was small and it took less than a minute to find my uniform. I quickly dressed slipping on the thermal fire resistance layers that we wore under our flight suits. Then walked across the hall to Jasmines quarters. Her room was dark, she still had not reset the emergency lights and the 2 dim lights in the corner were the only illumination in the room. Her room, like mine was in disarray, its contents strewn everywhere. Sitting on the bed holding 2 pieces of broken ceramic in her hands. She looked upset.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes, its silly. My father gave this to me. I cant believe its broken."
"What is it?"
"a medallion from my fathers brigade when he was in the army back on Naboo" she answered.
"You are from Naboo?" I asked.
She nodded, I suddenly realized I still knew very little about my friend. I was only just now learning where she was from. But to be fair she knew very little about me.
"We should get back to the Ready Room" Jasmine said standing up.
As we entered the hall the alert lights suddenly went on for the second time. Over the ships speakers the same Bridge officers voice rang out ordering everyone to brace for an impact. It took me a moment but I quickly realized that it was happening again. Jasmine and I looked at each other, as our eyes locked for an instant. I could see a since of fear in her eyes. The ship shook violently throwing us on to the floor. Jasmine was lying on her stomach in front of me, as we began to stand the shook again.
"All hands brace for evasive actions"
we had both stood up to soon, the ship turned on its side, and we crashed into the starboard wall where I struck my head on the metal bulkhead. The blow put me into a daze leaving me momentarily confused. It took me a few seconds to figure out why we were now laying on the walls. The ship had rolled to its side. As quickly as it happened the ship rolled again, throwing us back onto the floor. Jasmine scurried to her feet grabbing me by the shoulder pulling me up.
"You okay?" she asked in a frantic voice
"yeah I think so" I replied.
She began to pull me down the hall by my shoulder, I stumbled at first as I attempted to get by bearing's. But soon the two of us were running down the hall toward the Ready Room and hanger. As we entered the Ready Room several of the pilots were buckling the straps of the flight harnesses. Kass rushed passed me dawning his helmet.
"All maintenance techs to the hyperdrive immediately"
"All maintenance techs to the hyperdrive immediately!" said the voice over the speakers, with a tone of panic
Why did they need the maintenance crews to the hyperdrive? Was it not functioning? I felt a sudden since of panic rush over me. If we cant go to light speed what will we do?
Jasmine and I ran directly to our lockers flung open the doors and started to dress. I pulled on my flight suit and pulled the zipper up to my neck. The ship continued to shake violently as large blasts made contact with the shields. It felt like an eternity, but in reality I was in full gear in less than 2 minutes.
The hanger was in a state of chaos, people were rushing around and smoke was billowing from an exhaust port. Pilots scrambled into their cockpits, and Deck crews ran about carrying various munitions, and loading droids into fighters. My X-wing sat parked in the same location it had been the day before after its last repairs and systems checks. This was good being it was fit for combat flights, but bad because it was still in the back of the hanger no where near the bay doors. Running up to by ship I suddenly realized that the ladder I was so used to climbing to get to the cockpit was no where to be found. Looking up and down the hanger I spotted a young girl in a tan jumpsuit.
"Hey!" I yelled waving at her until her head turned and she looked at me with a confused look.
"I need you to get me a ladder for my ship" I shouted.
"Seriously!?" she shouted raising her arms in the air. "Im a little busy figure it out yourself"
My first instinct was anger and frustration. we are being attacked and she wont help one of the few people who can actually go fight back. Then I remembered what I had been learning from my time with Bek, Im not the most important person. However frustrating that was. A few feet away from my X-wing was a large steel box fill with something heavy. By the time I had pushed it five feet I was out of breath. But when standing atop it was tall enough that I was able to reach edge of the cockpit and pull myself up. Once in the initial system start up only took moments, but again felt like an eternity. Hovering the X-wing toward the Bay doors at the far end of the hanger. Hovering my way around munitions carts, other fighters, and a large piece of air duct that had fallen from the ceiling during one of the blasts. Finally as I approached the bay doors a line of X-wings awaited me. Deck crews ran along the side of the ships loading droids into them and detaching hoses from underneath the ships belly's. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning my head I found myself face to face with The Captain who was standing on a small ladder.
"Larra this is your first combat flight right?
"Uhh yes sir" I answered
"That's unfortunate" He replied "we are about to make one of the biggest tactical mistakes in the book."
"We are?" I replied. I didn't think the Captain would ever make a mistake.
"Yes. We are going out there with no plan other than to defend the ship until the hyperdrive works. I want you to hang back in the formation until we can figure out how we will do this. Understand?"
"Yes sir"
"Don't worry kid, we'll take care of you" He said as he disappeared down the ladder carrying it to the next ship behind mine.
I felt my body pulled back into the seat as my X-wing accelerated into space. It was a feeling I had become quite used to over the past year. However this time I felt a level of anxiety rushing through my body that I had never felt before. I found myself wondering if I was a coward or if I was just nervous for my first time in combat. I hope it is the latter. Many other the other pilots, especially Garik were conducting themselves with a level of cool collectiveness that made it seem this attack was something they had done 100 times. I found it strange that during training I was the first one take off full speed into the lead formation, but now I easily flew slowly hanging toward the back of the formation. As we circled toward the front of the Rising Sun several bright laser blasts began to erupt infront of me. Like these ominous glowing orbs if space. Flying over the top of the Rising Sun we maneuvered our way through a sea of floating debris and wreckage that had been blasted off the ship. At first I did not see the enemy, but as we cruised further out past the bow of the Rising Sun the dark outline of a Star Destroyer came into view. I had never seen one in person before. I couldn't believe how big it was. Its size took up the entire view of my cockpits canopy; I couldn't even see the entirety of the Star Destroyer. Through the headset in my helmet I heard the captain begin to give orders.
"Grey3, 5 and 8" fly across their port side and draw their fire away from the Rising Sun"
"Rodger that Captain" several voices said in acknowledgment.
"Grey 2 7 and 9" follow me we will make a run on their forward canons"
Again I heard pilots acknowledge the captain.
"Grey 8 and 12, you 2 still with us"
"We're here Captain" Jasmine answered.
I looked to my left and saw Jasmine flying along side me. I felt a since of comfort that my friend was with me. But also realized she was just as new as me. I suddenly felt very foolish for being so cocky. All at once I realized I had no idea what I was doing.
"Good, I need you two to hang back and fly a sweep under their hull. If they are going to launch Tie fighters we need to know"
"Rodger Captain" I responded.
I again looked to my left and saw Jasmine looking at me giving me a quick nob. Our assignment sounded important at first but I soon realized that the Captain was just giving us an easy task so he and the other pilots could work without us. The hull underneath the belly of a Star Destroyer had several large canons. But they were typically only used for bombarding a planets surface from orbit. The captain knew we wouldn't take much fire flying under them. Part of me was annoyed by this, but at the same time I was relieved that I wouldn't be getting shot at. Underneath the Star Destroyer Jasmine and I found ourselves flying in circles. Large blasts and bright lazer blasts surrounded us from the sides of the ship, but we met no resistance. The crew of the star destroyer had to know we were flying under them , but their hull is so thick they knew we couldn't do any damage. Over the radios we could hear what was happening. Some of the pilots sounded frantic, others sounded calm, so calm you would think they had done this 1,000 times. Garik sounded as though he was bored even.
"Grey 2 for Grey leader, ill draw their fire from the port bow" He said over the radio in an almost monotone voice.
"Negative Grey 2, we need to get their shields down, You Grey 4 and Gey 6 reposition to lay fire on their shield generator" The Captain voice said over the radio.
The shield generators where on the back side of the ship, how would they make it there? There must be at least 100 cannons between the bow and the shield generator.
"Grey 12" The Captain said.
It took me a moment to realize he was calling me. I quickly keyed the radio and the words spat out
"Grey 12, yes Captain"
The Captain responded in a calm relaxed voice. A voice that made it seem as though he wasn't nervous at all.
"Remember how I told you to stop flying like an idiot teenager in your first speeder?"
"yes sir"
" Well forget that for now, I need you up here, fly up and down their bow as fast as you can, feel free to do as many flips and rolls as you like. Just don't get shot. Draw their fire so the rest of the squadron can get the shields down"
Quickly I spun my fighter around and returned to the bow of the ship. My heart was racing, I knew I was about to take enemy fire. I didn't hesitate though, maybe this was the training kicking in.
"Grey 12 im in position"
"Then Go!" Several pilots shouted back over the radio.
Like that I punched the throttle to the max, I watched the gages on my cockpit display suddenly spin into the red. Max RPM, max engine temp, max hydraulic pressure. All reading that would normally tell a pilot to stop, indicating I will soon burn out the engine. The fighter jolted forward, within a second I was inform of the star destroyers main battery, flashes a green laser fire sped past me. Less that 3 seconds later I was flying past the bridge of the vessel and past their main guns. Slamming the engines power from max to zero alarms began to sound inside my cockpit to warn me I was dangerous over heating the engines. The X-wing came to a full halt, a flipped 180 degrees and again punched the throttle to the max. Accelerating again back the direction I has just can from, with in a second I again found myself in the midst of enemy fire. Lasers danced all around me, I spun the spacecraft into barrel rolls, and avoiding several barrages of laser fire until seconds later I was again at the bow of the star destroyer. Quickly I turned the craft hard, pulling the joystick hard to the right, I felt the resistance as the x-wing protested the sharp and dangerous turn. All the gages in my cockpit were now reading red, or critical levels. But again I made another run up the star destroyer. Repeating the same maneuver.
"Grey 6, ive got their shield generator in my targeting computer"
"Take the shot" The captain replied.
And just like that, a light on my control panel lit up indicating the ships shields were now down. Suddenly another barrage of laser fire lit up my cockpit, this fire was coming from the Rising Sun. The main lasers and ion cannons from the Rising Sun were firing a series of red and white lasers into the star destroyer.
"All fighters return to the Rising Sun" The captain ordered.
He knew that the fire from the Rising Sun would do more damage to the Imps that we would. I was the first pilot to arrive back at the ship, I felt my fighters protest as a throttled the engines one last time as I came into the ship. Landing on the flight deck, smoke poured out of my engines. In front of me the flight deck was still chaotic. The deck crew members ran from station to station. To my left I watched as several other fighters made their landing.
"Grey 7 on the deck" a voice over the radio said.
Seconds later the Captains voice come over the Radio.
"All fighters prep for a jump to light speed shortly after my landing. The Captain was always the last fighter to return to the ship. He was in charge and he did not return until all of his crews were safely aboard the ship. Im guessing they fixed the hyperdrive somehow. I watched as jasmine landed, her fighter had several large blast marks across its side, but she looked to be okay. She gave me a thumbs up as her X-wing hovered past me. My Fighters was trashed, I wouldn't be hover taxing anywhere. My craft sat where I landed it. Over the radio the Captains voice came over again.
"Grey Leader for The Bridge, I am aboard. Make you jump when ready."
Seconds later I left a knot in the pit of my stomach and a sudden rush of nausea as the ship made the jump to light speed. As usual the feeling subsided instantly once we reached hyperspace. I felt a wave of heat hit my face as I exited my fighter, I soon realized that it was the heat coming from my fighters engines, the exhaust ports still glowed redhot. I walked across the deck to where the other pilots were gathering after docking their fighters. As I approached Jasmine hugged me.
"You okay" I asked "Saw the blast marks on your fighter?"
"Im good, took a few hits, my droid is toast but im alright"
I hugged her again, maybe its because it was my first time in combat, but I suddenly felt closer to jasmine than I had felt to anyone in a long time. I had heard that combat had this effect, but I had never felt it.
"I guess you're good for something" Kass said to me
I looked up and saw Captain Alltairy standing on a riser platform above us, he had a angry look on his face. I expected him to be happy with the results of the battle. But he had a look on his face I had never seen before.
"Everyone stay here, no one leaves the hanger" he shouted.
The hanger fell silent of a brief second; everyone seemed to look up at the captain who was now walking away from the group toward the hanger door. I looked at Jasmine who shrugged.
"That's weird" I said
"Yeah, a bit" She replied "How do you feel, you just had your first major battle"
"I think I did pretty good"
From behind us we heard a snorting noise, turning around I spotted Anthia standing with her arms crossed and a bandage on her forehead.
"Problem?" Jasmine asked.
"Get over yourself Larra, you just flew around like an idiot out there. It doesn't take anthing special to draw enemy fire. You didn't save the day or anything"
"I never said I did" I replied to her.
Garik then spoke from behind Anthia walking toward us.
"She did just fine Anthia, and where were you during all this?"
Anthia let out another huff and a sign spinning on her heels to face Garik.
"I was wounded and in the med bay" She shouted back.
"Wounded!?" Garik said As he let out a sarcastic laugh "You have a small cut, ive hurt myself worse shaving"
"The medical driod said that I may have had a head injury so I thought it safer to stay behind"
"If you believe that then you are a fool, or you use it as an excuse to be a coward"
Anthia's face turned red, almost the same color as her hair. I had seen her mad before but had never seen that look of rage in her eyes. Suddenly from above us we heard the captains voice again.
"Quiet on the deck!" he shouted.
We all froze and turned looking up at him, he again looked angry. He stood with his feel shoulder width apart and his hands out grasping the metal railing in font of him.
"Everyone shut up, the Admiral is about to address the crew."
A moment later Admiral Akbars voice came over the speakers in the hanger, and all over the ship.
"Attention crew, this is the Admiral. Less than an hour ago a Star Destroyer exited hyperspace on top on us and began to attack. The Commander on the bridge quickly made a jump to hyperspace, he made this jump with no destination in the system or a calculation of the destination. We exited hyperspace 15 parsecs away. There would have been no way for the Imperial ship to follow us, but then minutes later the same Star Destroyer was again on top of us. This time the hyperdrive malfunctioned. During the battle repair crews found that the hyperdrive had been deliberately tampered with, and that a signal and been sent from aboard the Rising Sun to the Imperial ship indicating our position. As of right now all missions have been canceled. Special operations troops on board will begin a full search of the ship. We appear to have an Imperial amongst us".