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Author's Note:
Although this story is from the point of view of an Imperial pilot, I do not in any way advocate the values and morals of the Imperials, even though characters in this story do.
Thanks to Lucas Arts' TIE-Fighter software, which really helped me get the insight to write this story.
The story takes place after the destruction of the second Death Star, but before Grand Admiral Thrawn and the conquest of Coruscant by the New Republic.
| CHAPTER 1: New Blood |
Jerrik yanked the fighter downwards, throwing off his pursuer's aim for a few precious seconds. Twisting the craft into a tight loop, he tucked in behind the X-wing. Centering his crosshairs on the target, he loosed a steady stream of shots. The rival fighter disintegrated under the attack, and Jerrik looped around, searching for more targets, but there were none.
The star field faded away and a slit of light appeared in the side of his cockpit. He looked and saw the instructor looking down at him. The instructor offered him a hand and helped him out of the simulator, but that was the extent of his generosity.
"Come. The debriefing room is this way," the instructor commanded. They walked down the hallway and entered the debriefing room.
"Let us begin," started the instructor. "The mission was successful, but casualties were extremely heavy. Jerrik here was the only survivor. You must work harder to defeat the Rebels. Remember to watch out for their proton torpedoes - they can launch them at long range against your fighters. Try to avoid missile locks - it promotes longevity. Any questions? None? You're dismissed. I'll see you in the briefing room at 0700 tomorrow."
As the pilots filed out of the room, Jerrik searched for his friend, Mikal. He finally spotted him by a rather large pilot, chatting quietly. He headed over in their general direction and Mikal waved him over.
"How did it go?" inquired Jerrik.
"Pretty good. An A-wing smoked me near the end. Don't tell me. I know that you survived. Congrats. How about you buying me a drink? Oh - sorry. Jerrik, meet Connor. Conner, meet Jerrik."
"Hello," Jerrik said pleasantly. "How are you?"
"Fine, just fine," Conner replied.
"Well then, why don't we take up Mikal's idea of a drink?" Jerrik inquired.
"Sounds good to me!" Conner agreed.
"Let's go then." Jerrik decided. "Come on, Mikal!"
They went to the tap café on base, a small and dimly lit hole in the wall called the Black Star. Instead of sitting at the bar they decided on a table near the back of the room. Jerrik motioned for a server and a droid wandered over to take their order. After ordering, they fell into a conversation about the exercise they had just done.
They were interrupted by the sounds of a fight going on near the entrance to the tap café. Mikal looked over and uttered a soft curse.
"Damn. It's Arrok, and it looks like he's found another new recruit." Arrok was the bully on base, a tall but muscular man of no small strength. He was only, however, a mediocre pilot. Jerrik stood up and walked in the bully's direction.
"Oh no, not again!" Mikal muttered. "Why does he have to be the righteous defender?"
"I wouldn't mind having him on my side," Connor whispered back.
"You may not have the chance if he gets on Arrok's bad side!" Mikal remarked.
Jerrik had reached the vicinity of the fight. As Arrok prepared for another blow, Jerrik reached up and grabbed his arm. He turned around, startled, then angry.
"What do you think you're doing, Jerrik?" he growled.
"I might ask you the same thing myself," Jerrik shot back. "You have no right to beat up newbies. You were one once too."
"So? He said that he was better than me."
"Maybe he is. How would you know? He's a newbie. How about we have a small contest. If you win, he has to stop saying that he's better than you. If he wins, he can keep saying it without retaliation. Okay?"
"Fine. Come on everyone, we're heading to the simulator complex."
The pilots entered the complex with a small crowd of base personnel following them. If Arrok got beaten, they all wanted to see it. Jerrik helped the newbie into a flight suit while Arrok put on his own. They were both getting into their simulators when the instructor entered the room.
"What is going on here?" he inquired.
"Sir," Jerrik replied, "this new pilot said that he was better than Arrok. Arrok got into a fight with him, so they agreed to a friendly competition to determine the better pilot."
"Approved. Carry on. For anyone who wishes to watch, I will set up the holoprojector in the briefing room to display the match," the instructor responded. Connor and the crowd of personnel followed him as he walked out the door, leaving Arrok, Jerrik, Mikal, and the new pilot in the simulator room. The two pilots closed the doors on their craft. Jerrik walked over to the control console and put on a headset. Powering up the console, he spoke to the pilots.
"This will be a simple combat match. You will both fly TIE fighters, and the surviving pilot wins. The match will take place in an asteroid field, so there will be large objects in the combat area." As he finished, he pushed the button to start the scenario. "If you're ready, then start!"