Chapter 1-1
The Space Angels were a new outfit, with a new commander, aboard a new ship. They had just been formed at the request of General Solo, as a protection force against the Imperial Remnant the New Republic had been having trouble with lately. They were said to be the best of the best, the elite of the elite. Some even had such faith as to compare them to the legendary Rogue squadron. Little did anyone know that both the Angels and the Independence, their new strike carrier, would get a christening by fire today.
The doorbell rang, he didn't answer. It had been a long day, and now, at 9 o'clock in the evening, he didn't want to be disturbed. It rang again. He got up off his couch and walked to the door, wearing only some shorts and a white shirt, which hung well off his broad shoulders. He opened the door, "General Solo!" "Good evening Colonel Sheehan. Mind if I come in?" "No, not at all." Sheehan closed the door behind Solo, noticing how old he had become in the past years. "Anything I can get you?" "Yes actually. You're final roster, for the Space Angels." Sheehan picked up a data pad on the table Solo had sat at, "Right here Sir." "I'm not Sir, I hate uniforms." "Alright. I think you'll approve of the adjustments. I've taken into consideration that Rogue Squadron needs some of the best, so I cut the squadron down to 9." Solo almost fell out of his chair. "NINE?! NINE PILOTS!?" "Uhh, yeah." Colonel Sheehan nodded. "No, Colonel, I realize that you've commanded a great many squadrons, but what in the name of Sith itself convinced you that you didn't NEED 12 people in your squadron?" "These." Sheehan handed the General a report from some recent simulator missions. Solo's jaw just about hit the floor. The stats were out of this world. "A 97% chance for a successful mission, every time all 9 lifted off." Sheehan piped in, "General the way I see it, you don't need a 12 man squad if these 9 can do it just as well. Right?" "Yeah but what if one gets hurt? Or disabled?" "We'll worry about it when the time comes, but we've got basic AI and maneuver programs in all the fighters, enough to evade, drop a nav buoy and run home. That way if someone IS hurt in the cockpit, they have more chance than ever to get home." "What are you putting God's favorite fighters in my docking bays?" "No, but the next best thing. TIE Defenders." "TIE's?!" Solo had been known to dislike them, as they required special docking ports. "Yes. You saw the efficiency reports." "If you can make it work, Colonel, do it. But the second those TIE's are more trouble than I think they're worth, you're all getting X-Wings." "Yes, sir." "Well, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's skirmish against Demon squadron." "So am I." "Goodnight Colonel. And remember, one slip up with those fighters and POOF! More fighter space for me!" "Good night General." Colonel Sheehan walked back over to his chair and sat down. He dropped the data pad with the sim stats on the table. No sooner had he sat down, had the doorbell rung again. "I swear whoever this is, you'd better start running!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He opened the door to find his friend Jade standing there. He looked up at her face, worried. "Sorry. C'mon inside." Jade was tall for a woman. Around 5'8", with long brown hair. She looked nice, with her small long build and a red turtle neck on. "You sure? You look tired." "Naw its alright, come in." He closed the door behind her as she sat on his couch. "Well?" he said. "Well what? Sit down." Sheehan sat down next to her, against the far corner of the couch. "How's the squadron coming?" "Good, they're learning to work together. You've been a great team player recently." "Thanks. I'm just glad you chose me." "I didn't I chose your skills. And had I known it was you I would have made sure you stayed on Courasant." "HEY!" "I don't want you out here! I want you flying General Ackbar from his home to his office! I'd die if you got hurt! But now you're here, and I have little doubt you'll be fine." "Thanks.I think." "Well you're welcome." He rubbed his face, shaking out the tiredness. "You alright? You seem tense." "I am. First big trial tomorrow. We've got a lot to prove to Command. On top of that, General Solo says that if the TIE's aren't worth it he'll stick us in X-Wings!" "X-wings aren't bad fighters, Pat." "Yeah but the new TIE's are 10 times better!" "Speaking of which.let's go check em out!" "What? Why?" "Because. I've got a surprise for you." "Should I bring a med-kit?" "Very funny." She got up and walked for the door, Sheehan a few feet behind. They arrived in the Demon squadron hanger a few minutes later. "What's so special about Demon squadron hanger space?" "Look at the walls Pat." The walls did look kind of funny. And he noticed none of the Demon squadron A-Wings or equipment was against the back wall. "Here." Jade said. "Press the button." She handed him a basic commlink with small New Republic symbol on top. Sheehan reluctantly pressed it. There was a second delay, then a hissing of air escaping into the bay, and then the back walls broke into nine separate compartments, each holding a new TIE. They were octagonal shaped holes in the wall. This was great, even General Solo would approve of this setup. Sheehan was stunned. The rest of the squadron came up behind him slowly, patting him on the back. Jamiee Law, his XO and Ronnie Turcotte his Deputy Commander was standing on his right. Together they looked kind of funny cause Ronnie was 6'2", and Jaimee was 5'2". They looked like a Wookie and an Ewok from a distance. Jamiee elbowed Sheehan in the abs, "Thought you'd appreciate this, General Solo said he didn't like the fact that TIEs took up ½ the flight deck, so we proposed this. He agreed. Isn't it wonderful?" "Indeed." He paused, looking over the new hangers. "But, he just said that he'd." "A set up, Sir." Turcotte said. "Damn you. Damn you all." Sheehan muttered out. He walked over to one of the hanger bays, looking up and the giant door that swung up to the parallel the next floor. "What about maintenance? It looks awful tight in there. "Hit button two, on your commlink." Turcotte said. Sheehan looked down, and saw nine other ten other buttons in addition to the one he already pressed on the bottom side of the commlink, making eleven in all. He hit button two, and Turcotte's fighter slide slowly forward, out of the alcove, stopping on the metal plate above the flight deck. "Nice. Very nice." He remarked. He hit button two again and the fighter slide back. He closed the hanger doors and turned around. "This is GREAT!" He yelled. Jaimee and Turcotte. "Thanks guys, really. This'll make my life ten times easier." "Yeah and since you won't be so ticked you'll be nicer to us!" Elyse popped in. "Alright people let's get back to bed. Big day tomorrow." "See you on deck, Colonel." Turcotte said. With that the squadron walked off, Jaimee staying behind. Her look was worried as she stared blankly out into space. Sheehan walked over to her, wrapping his big arms affectionately around his old friend. She sighed and leaned back against him. "What's wrong Jaimee?" "Nothing." "Liar." "Yeah you're right. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right." "What doesn't?" Now Sheehan was really curious, he thought everything had been going so well. "This whole setup, the Independence, the Space Angels, the whole thing. It's like I don't belong here."
"But you do." "How would you know?" "I'm the one making the selections remember? And I didn't look for names when I did, just stats. You were one of the best pilots with the most experience out there. That's why you're my Deputy Commander." "I know that. But I still don't think I'm good enough. I mean I see people like you and Turcotte fly together and I just get left out." "You've gotta remember though I've flown with him almost my whole career. We know each other, that's all. And by this time next month you'll be right in there with him, and so will the rest of the squadron." "Yeah I guess." She just looked out blankly into the starflield. "We'd better get some sleep. Big day tomorrow." "Yeah. Let's go." Sheehan let her go and started to walk out, he could hear her footsteps behind him. "Pat." "Yeah?" He turned around and stopped against a bulkhead. "Make me a promise." "About what?" "Us. Promise me that if I'm ever in trouble, you'll come and help me. I don't want to be left behind." Sheehan looked down at her and said "Of course, you know I'll take care of you." They walked off down the hall towards Jaimee's room. When they arrived at the door, she hugged him and went inside, locking the door behind her. Once Sheehan got back to his room he literally hit the bed, and went to sleep, thinking of the next day.
Chapter 1-2
Colonel Sheehan approached the briefing room in his new green flight suit, his helmet under his arm. As he approached the door slid open, General Solo and the rest of the squadron already seated inside the war room. "Room ten-hut!" Someone called. "At ease." Sheehan said. He sat his helmet down on the table, then walked over to the podium. "Alright everyone listen up. This is a nice, simple mission. After lift off we'll take a quick trip out off the port side of the Independence about 150 klicks. There, we'll find Demon Squadron waiting for us. Lasers set to target practice settings. No torps unless they're the dummy warhead kind, only a few of us have them. Also, you can you Ion cannons to relieve the Demons of shields but don't hit them with it. We don't want the techs mad at us. Any questions?" A hand went up in the far back. "Yes, Captain Barry?" "Yeah what about the reports of a Star Destroyer in the area? What happens if she decides to meander in system?" "Well for starters my flight is carrying live torpedoes, so there's something. And Demon squadron will be out there. I think we can hold them until the Independence can either jump out or call for backup. Remember we're not too far away from the Bothan Strike Cruiser Courasant's Defender. They can provide fighter and cap ship support within 10 minutes if we need it. Any other questions? None? Alright let's go. Get to your fighters." The squadron got up, Lts Colonel Law and Turcotte walked over to Col Sheehan. "How ya feelin today sir?" Turcotte said. "Can't wait to get out there and kick some ass." Some of the Angels heard him and started cheering. "Go on get to your ships." Lt Col Law said. "Are we ready?" Sheehan said. "Yes sir." They both responded. Sheehan picked up his helmet and walked off toward the door.
The flight deck was absolutely crazy. Droids and techs running about every which way, some nearly hitting him. Sheehan hit the button for the wall hangers for his flight, and the wall lifted, the fighters sliding out. "Hey Col Law?" "Yes sir?" she responded. "How the hell do we get up there.?" Sheehan asked in a 'matter-of-factly' manner. She simply pointed to a shaft in the middle of all the fighters. "Ohhh I get it." He said. He jogged across the flight deck and into the turbo lift shaft, immediately being shot up to the third tier where 1 Flight's fighters were. "Nice, very nice." Sheehan muttered to himself. He stepped off the pad and ran towards his fighter, quickly climbing the ladder to the top hatch, then dropping himself down onto the pilots couch. He flipped the master power switch after inputting his handprint, and the fighter came to life. The laser cannons came online, the torpedo launchers checked out, the shields charged to the full 200%. Life support, ok. Comms, ok. Flight control, ok. Engines, ok. "Angels this is Lead. Give me the go, no go for takeoff. Angel one, go." "Angel two go." Turcotte "Angel three, go." Law "Two flight go." That was Maj Elyse Novack, 2 flight commander. "Three flight go." Captain Jade Perkins, 3 flight commander. He hit the second comm. Button labeled "Independence" on his board. "Angel lead calling Independence flight control over." "We have you Angel lead. Go ahead." "Requestion permission for takeoff northern bay." The comm was dead for a minute, then the officer came back. "Roger that Angel lead. Good luck." "Thanks Independence, see you on the other side." Col Sheehan hit the squadron comm. button, "Alright Angels here we go. First big day, lets give the bridge crew a show. Form up on me for a quick fly by, then it's off to see Demon squadron." He killed the comm. He reached down for the flight yolk in front of him and engaged the repulsor lift. The fighter lifted a meter or two off the deck, he nudged the yolk forward, moving the fighter forward and into the flight deck area. He turned the fighter 90 degrees to his port and hit 50% throttle, disengaging the repulsor lift. The fighter emerged from the bay, and Sheehan nailed the throttle to 100%, getting slammed into his seat at the same time as the internal dampeners caught up to him. "Computer give me .05% gravity." He settled gently into his pilots couch. He looked behind him and saw the other 8 pilots formed up on his 6 perfectly. The simulator training had paid off. He pulled hard back on the yolk and brought the fighter almost 90 degrees up before rolling 180 degrees and pitching downwards again, bringing him back towards the Independence, albeit higher. He held the throttle at 75% and brought himself within 10 meters of the bridge, then pulled up sharply, giving the bridge crew a massive headache in the process. Colonel Sheehan could hear General Solo laughing over the comm.. He switched to the squadron secure frequency. "Alright Angels here we go. We're gonna break into three flights, which means we'll be outnumbered. But that's ok. We're better. Just remember, keep your cool, watch you flight leader, and stay alive. Questions?" "Lead, Angel 4. Capt Barry and myself have picked up an anomalous reading at heading 034. Please confirm." "Negative 4 I get nothing. I'll pass it up though. Angel lead to Independence, scan heading 034 for anomalous readings." "Roger that lead. We'll check it out after the skirmish. Independence out." Colonel Sheehan pushed the throttle up to 92%, the speed of an A-wing. He switched the comm. to that of One Flight. "Law, Turcotte. You two alright back there?" "Yes sir all set." Turcotte came back. "Little nervous that's all." Jaimee said. "Good. That means your thinking. We're gonna stay in formation for the first run, then we'll see what we're up against." "Roger that." Turcotte said. "Just don't leave me behind, Lead." "Check that Three." The two squadrons raced towards each other. The new Space Angel squadron in their shiny new TIE Defenders, Demon squadron in the tried and tested A- Wing. The A-wings came into visual scanning range. "Let em have it Angels!" Sheehan yelled. Sheehan pulled up sharply and then dropped as quickly, firing a quad linked burst of turbolaser energy, his wing mates bursts following quickly. He punched the throttle up to 100%, faster than the A-wings and blew past the first two. He pulled hard left and saw the A- wings had a few extra pilots than 12, more like 15. "Angels, split up, but take care of each other." No response came but he knew they heard it. He squeezed a few shots at a stray fighter, killing the shields, knocking it out of the fight. "Splash one." He called. He heard his targeting alert go off and stomped on the rudder pedal pulling hard back, sending his fighter in a spin. The missile shot wide and impacted in a now out of the furball group of A-wings that had been regrouping. "Three more down." Jade called. "Nice going Angels. Almost even. Keep at them. He looked port and saw Law under fire. He came in behind and got within meters of the A-Wing before the pilot realized what was going on. The pilot looked back, saw Col Sheehan and pulled back hard, only too late. He was toasted by all four turbo lasers. "Lead, Eight. That anomalous reading is getting strong. Real strong. Looks like a ship about to jump in. Recommend we bug out for now, lead the Demons elsewhere." Sheehan thought for a minute. Angel Eight, that was Cormac Callahan, he was reliable. Too reliable not to act on. "Angels this is Colonel Sheehan." He paused and counted the fighters for Demon squadron. Only 7 left. Damn. "Form up and follow me, we're taking this fight elsewhere. Sheehan heard a few 'What's' and an 'Are you kidding?' but couldn't distinguish who they came from. "DO IT!" he yelled. They formed up and headed back for the Independence, the A-Wings giving chase. "Demon lead to Angel lead. What's goin on Colonel?" "Get your boys to pull out, Major. We've got an anomalous reading back at the engagement site, looks to be a ship jumping in." "Alright if you say so, we'll re-arm to normal weapons. You should too." "Roger that. Angels re-arm your normal power laser cannons. We don't know whats coming out of there." He lead his fighters back around the back side of the Independence as his re-armed his laser cannons, fully charging them. He pulled to a stop on the far side of the Independence, where her sensor shadow would mask them if trouble arrived. Which it did. "Angel lead this is Independence, we've got a Star Destroyer sized mass incoming. Recommendations?" Sheehan grinned and looked around. His squadron was already ½ docked, re-arming with proton torpedos. "Let em come." He said with a slight grin. "SAY WHAT?!" Turcotte said. "Are you insane Colonel? This is a STAR DESTROYER! Or didn't you hear that part?" "What's wrong Turcotte? Scared?" "Damn right I am. Listen, we've never been in battle before and you want a Star Destroyer as your first kill?" "That's right." "Yeah Colonel Sheehan that's the way!" He heard Capt Barry yell over the comm. The Independence popped in "HERE THEY COME!" Sure as hell is was a full sized Star Destroyer, spewing fighters at the seams. "All fighters, engage, engage, engage! Take the fighters first, then the Destroyer." "Forget about it Angel lead, fighters are mine. Demon lead out!" "Alright then Angels lets make a quick run at the shield generators. Wide spread, loose formation, ready? Go!" The nine fighters took off at full throttle. This, Col Sheehan was sure would surprise the enemy commander. Starting with 15 A-wing and a strike carrier v a Star Destroyer to a full two squadrons of fighters. The Angels swooped in high, above the command tower of the Destroyer, lasers blazing. The first torpedos were from Col Sheehan flight and impacted on the left tower, punching a hole in it. The second volley destroyed what was left, and the third took out the right side shield generator. Sheehan flew past and pulled inverted to the Destroyer and looped down behind the massive engines, past the docking bay towards the nose, strafing here and there along the hull. "Angel lead to Demon lead. How we doin?" "Well Sir, 'we', the 'we' being my squadron is fairing quite well. But we won't be soon. They're about to launch another squadron of Interceptors." Sheehan paused for a minute. "Don't worry we've got it." He squelched the Demon squadron frequency, to avoid the protest he knew was coming. "Don't do anything stupid Angel lead." That was the voice of General Solo. "Don't worry command, we have full faith in the Colonel." Came the response of Lt Col Turcotte. Right, total faith. Sheehan thought to himself. "Alright Angels we're gonna strafe the hanger bay of that Destroyer. When you get close, open up with lasers and ion cannons. Lets rock." He pulled the fighter around and under the Destroyer. He noticed that the Angels had already pulled around and were now in reverse order. Nice. They're quick. He skimmed the belley of the ship, barely missing a few comm. towers in the process, when the bay came up, his dropped sharply and came back firing hard, then the unthinkable happened. A tractor had nabbed him.
On board the Independence, the situation was grim. General Solo had watched a routine training mission fall into an all out war. The Space Angels were kicking the Imps back to the ship though, and now they were making a pass at the hanger bay, hoping to catch a few stray fighters off guard. "General, incoming message from Admiral Retailian." "On screen." Solo said. "General I've dispatched Rogue Squadron for backup. Courasant's Defender will be there within 10 minutes as well. Good luck General." The comm. ended abruptly. "General we've got problems." One of the bridge officers said. "The Angels made their run, and One Flight got snagged by a tractor." "NO!" solo yelled. "General Solo this is General Antilles of Rogue Squadron. Han how ya doin?" "Oh great. Listen, Angel lead and two other fighters just got caught in a tractor just outside the Destroyer hanger bay. Can you give them a hand?"
"Sure. Have fun on the bridge, General!" Wedge added.
The whole flight was caught, being dragged helplessly into the Star Destroyer. "FULL ABOUT FULL POWER TO ENGINES!" Sheehan yelled. But it was too late. They were doomed. "Suggestions?" He said helplessly into the comm.. "We could destroy the ship from inside." Law suggested. "Well hot shit the blonde can think." Turcotte said. "Shut up. Turn your fighter to face the rear of this thing and arm your proton torpedos, double fire." Sheehan could see new squadrons of TIE Interceptors and Bombers taking off now, at least two squadrons of each. The Independence was doomed. "Are you crazy Colonel even I wouldn't take those odds!" Sheehan's attention was immediately caught by the voice on the comm. "General Antilles?" He said. "The one and only Colonel. Let's show these Imp impersonators what we're made of, shall we? And Colonel, we'll get you out of there. Trust me." Colonel Sheehan was in a state of shock. The Independence must have called for back up. Rogue Squadron responded. This changed the odds tremendously. "Alright One Flight let's show the Rouge's who the badass squadron is. Ready torpedos." The fighters floated gently into the Destroyer hanger, inching ever so slowly towards the bay. The rear wall came into view. "NOW!" Sheehan screamed. The three fighters let loose with six torpedoes, all hitting the rear wall as storm troopers ran for cover in every which way. "Again!" he screamed. He watched as six more impacted shattering the wall between engineering and the hangar bay. He debated for a second sparing the crew and trying to salvage the Destroyer. "Fire." He said calmly. The last six torpedoes lanced out from the fighters, shattering the massive braces that held the Destroyer's engines into place. The tractor beam released its hold on the fighters, as the power was cut to most decks, all three fighters dropping out of the bay instinctively. The engines ripped free of their brace, tearing through the ship in a tremendous display of power. The engines ripped the ship to shreds, leaving nothing behind but upturned bulkheads and dead bodies floating through space
General Solo watched as Rogue Squadron started to eat apart the enemy fighter formations, working their way towards the destroyer. There was some comm. chatter between the two squadrons but he wasn't listening. Suddenly there was a bright flash from the Destroyer bay, and the level of hope on the bridge sank to the bottom of the universe. The Angels fearless leader had been toasted. Solo bowed his head in respect for the man. Then there was another flash and Solo snapped up, his attention fully caught. Then another, final flash. The three fighters dove out of the hanger bay and the bridge literally jumped out of their seats simultaneously. Then the incredible happened, the Destroyer's main engine ripped free of it's brace's and tore a hole clear from one end of the ship to another. General Solo was literally knocked off his feet, from either the shockwave of the sheer amount of surprise that he felt. Never in his career had he seen three ordinary fighters torn a ship up so bad from the inside out. Solo sat down, unable to comprehend what just happened. "Comm officer. Send a message to the Courasant's Defender. Tell them to stay at home for this one." "Incoming from Angel Lead." "Speakers." "Bet you never did THAT General!" "Don't get too cocky, Colonel. There are plenty more in the galaxy. Clean up those fighters and come on home. I'll be on the flight deck. Solo out."
Colonel Sheehan slowly brought his fighter into the Independence docking bay, watching the last of Rogue Squadron land. He keyed the doors to his squadrons hangers, gently nosing his fighter into position. The second he touched down he flipped the master switch and the fighter went dead. He climbed up the internal ladder and popped the hatch on his fighter, immediately he could tell ½ the ship was on the flight deck. It was either because Rogue Squadron had landed in their hanger or because 3 fighters from the newbie squadron just took out a Star Destroyer. He stood up and looked down at the flight deck and saw it was for the newbie squadron. He jumped down from the hatch, landing on the solar array pylon and jumping to the deck. He jogged for the lift and rode it down to the flight deck. A second later Turcotte's and Law's fighters were docked and they were on their way down. "Where's Antilles?" Sheehan said. "Right here, Colonel." "General!" Sheehan snapped to attention. "Fine piece of work. We wouldn't even try that one." "We didn't try anything General, that was luck." "That's not what my report will say, Colonel." Antilles gave him a slight grin and patted him on the shoulder. Sheehan was utterly thrilled. He just had the best fighter pilot in the known universe compliment him. It didn't get much better than that. He watched as the rest of the Angel's fighters docked and came down the lift. People were starting to crowd around the trio that made up One Flight. Random people started shaking hands with the Space Angels leader. As the crowd dispersed, and Rogue Squadron set their fighters against the wall, Demon squadron came in where the Rogue's had been. Colonel Sheehan walked off with LtC Law and Turcotte towards the break room where General Solo was apparently waiting.
The Space Angels were a new outfit, with a new commander, aboard a new ship. They had just been formed at the request of General Solo, as a protection force against the Imperial Remnant the New Republic had been having trouble with lately. They were said to be the best of the best, the elite of the elite. Some even had such faith as to compare them to the legendary Rogue squadron. Little did anyone know that both the Angels and the Independence, their new strike carrier, would get a christening by fire today.
The doorbell rang, he didn't answer. It had been a long day, and now, at 9 o'clock in the evening, he didn't want to be disturbed. It rang again. He got up off his couch and walked to the door, wearing only some shorts and a white shirt, which hung well off his broad shoulders. He opened the door, "General Solo!" "Good evening Colonel Sheehan. Mind if I come in?" "No, not at all." Sheehan closed the door behind Solo, noticing how old he had become in the past years. "Anything I can get you?" "Yes actually. You're final roster, for the Space Angels." Sheehan picked up a data pad on the table Solo had sat at, "Right here Sir." "I'm not Sir, I hate uniforms." "Alright. I think you'll approve of the adjustments. I've taken into consideration that Rogue Squadron needs some of the best, so I cut the squadron down to 9." Solo almost fell out of his chair. "NINE?! NINE PILOTS!?" "Uhh, yeah." Colonel Sheehan nodded. "No, Colonel, I realize that you've commanded a great many squadrons, but what in the name of Sith itself convinced you that you didn't NEED 12 people in your squadron?" "These." Sheehan handed the General a report from some recent simulator missions. Solo's jaw just about hit the floor. The stats were out of this world. "A 97% chance for a successful mission, every time all 9 lifted off." Sheehan piped in, "General the way I see it, you don't need a 12 man squad if these 9 can do it just as well. Right?" "Yeah but what if one gets hurt? Or disabled?" "We'll worry about it when the time comes, but we've got basic AI and maneuver programs in all the fighters, enough to evade, drop a nav buoy and run home. That way if someone IS hurt in the cockpit, they have more chance than ever to get home." "What are you putting God's favorite fighters in my docking bays?" "No, but the next best thing. TIE Defenders." "TIE's?!" Solo had been known to dislike them, as they required special docking ports. "Yes. You saw the efficiency reports." "If you can make it work, Colonel, do it. But the second those TIE's are more trouble than I think they're worth, you're all getting X-Wings." "Yes, sir." "Well, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's skirmish against Demon squadron." "So am I." "Goodnight Colonel. And remember, one slip up with those fighters and POOF! More fighter space for me!" "Good night General." Colonel Sheehan walked back over to his chair and sat down. He dropped the data pad with the sim stats on the table. No sooner had he sat down, had the doorbell rung again. "I swear whoever this is, you'd better start running!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He opened the door to find his friend Jade standing there. He looked up at her face, worried. "Sorry. C'mon inside." Jade was tall for a woman. Around 5'8", with long brown hair. She looked nice, with her small long build and a red turtle neck on. "You sure? You look tired." "Naw its alright, come in." He closed the door behind her as she sat on his couch. "Well?" he said. "Well what? Sit down." Sheehan sat down next to her, against the far corner of the couch. "How's the squadron coming?" "Good, they're learning to work together. You've been a great team player recently." "Thanks. I'm just glad you chose me." "I didn't I chose your skills. And had I known it was you I would have made sure you stayed on Courasant." "HEY!" "I don't want you out here! I want you flying General Ackbar from his home to his office! I'd die if you got hurt! But now you're here, and I have little doubt you'll be fine." "Thanks.I think." "Well you're welcome." He rubbed his face, shaking out the tiredness. "You alright? You seem tense." "I am. First big trial tomorrow. We've got a lot to prove to Command. On top of that, General Solo says that if the TIE's aren't worth it he'll stick us in X-Wings!" "X-wings aren't bad fighters, Pat." "Yeah but the new TIE's are 10 times better!" "Speaking of which.let's go check em out!" "What? Why?" "Because. I've got a surprise for you." "Should I bring a med-kit?" "Very funny." She got up and walked for the door, Sheehan a few feet behind. They arrived in the Demon squadron hanger a few minutes later. "What's so special about Demon squadron hanger space?" "Look at the walls Pat." The walls did look kind of funny. And he noticed none of the Demon squadron A-Wings or equipment was against the back wall. "Here." Jade said. "Press the button." She handed him a basic commlink with small New Republic symbol on top. Sheehan reluctantly pressed it. There was a second delay, then a hissing of air escaping into the bay, and then the back walls broke into nine separate compartments, each holding a new TIE. They were octagonal shaped holes in the wall. This was great, even General Solo would approve of this setup. Sheehan was stunned. The rest of the squadron came up behind him slowly, patting him on the back. Jamiee Law, his XO and Ronnie Turcotte his Deputy Commander was standing on his right. Together they looked kind of funny cause Ronnie was 6'2", and Jaimee was 5'2". They looked like a Wookie and an Ewok from a distance. Jamiee elbowed Sheehan in the abs, "Thought you'd appreciate this, General Solo said he didn't like the fact that TIEs took up ½ the flight deck, so we proposed this. He agreed. Isn't it wonderful?" "Indeed." He paused, looking over the new hangers. "But, he just said that he'd." "A set up, Sir." Turcotte said. "Damn you. Damn you all." Sheehan muttered out. He walked over to one of the hanger bays, looking up and the giant door that swung up to the parallel the next floor. "What about maintenance? It looks awful tight in there. "Hit button two, on your commlink." Turcotte said. Sheehan looked down, and saw nine other ten other buttons in addition to the one he already pressed on the bottom side of the commlink, making eleven in all. He hit button two, and Turcotte's fighter slide slowly forward, out of the alcove, stopping on the metal plate above the flight deck. "Nice. Very nice." He remarked. He hit button two again and the fighter slide back. He closed the hanger doors and turned around. "This is GREAT!" He yelled. Jaimee and Turcotte. "Thanks guys, really. This'll make my life ten times easier." "Yeah and since you won't be so ticked you'll be nicer to us!" Elyse popped in. "Alright people let's get back to bed. Big day tomorrow." "See you on deck, Colonel." Turcotte said. With that the squadron walked off, Jaimee staying behind. Her look was worried as she stared blankly out into space. Sheehan walked over to her, wrapping his big arms affectionately around his old friend. She sighed and leaned back against him. "What's wrong Jaimee?" "Nothing." "Liar." "Yeah you're right. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right." "What doesn't?" Now Sheehan was really curious, he thought everything had been going so well. "This whole setup, the Independence, the Space Angels, the whole thing. It's like I don't belong here."
"But you do." "How would you know?" "I'm the one making the selections remember? And I didn't look for names when I did, just stats. You were one of the best pilots with the most experience out there. That's why you're my Deputy Commander." "I know that. But I still don't think I'm good enough. I mean I see people like you and Turcotte fly together and I just get left out." "You've gotta remember though I've flown with him almost my whole career. We know each other, that's all. And by this time next month you'll be right in there with him, and so will the rest of the squadron." "Yeah I guess." She just looked out blankly into the starflield. "We'd better get some sleep. Big day tomorrow." "Yeah. Let's go." Sheehan let her go and started to walk out, he could hear her footsteps behind him. "Pat." "Yeah?" He turned around and stopped against a bulkhead. "Make me a promise." "About what?" "Us. Promise me that if I'm ever in trouble, you'll come and help me. I don't want to be left behind." Sheehan looked down at her and said "Of course, you know I'll take care of you." They walked off down the hall towards Jaimee's room. When they arrived at the door, she hugged him and went inside, locking the door behind her. Once Sheehan got back to his room he literally hit the bed, and went to sleep, thinking of the next day.
Chapter 1-2
Colonel Sheehan approached the briefing room in his new green flight suit, his helmet under his arm. As he approached the door slid open, General Solo and the rest of the squadron already seated inside the war room. "Room ten-hut!" Someone called. "At ease." Sheehan said. He sat his helmet down on the table, then walked over to the podium. "Alright everyone listen up. This is a nice, simple mission. After lift off we'll take a quick trip out off the port side of the Independence about 150 klicks. There, we'll find Demon Squadron waiting for us. Lasers set to target practice settings. No torps unless they're the dummy warhead kind, only a few of us have them. Also, you can you Ion cannons to relieve the Demons of shields but don't hit them with it. We don't want the techs mad at us. Any questions?" A hand went up in the far back. "Yes, Captain Barry?" "Yeah what about the reports of a Star Destroyer in the area? What happens if she decides to meander in system?" "Well for starters my flight is carrying live torpedoes, so there's something. And Demon squadron will be out there. I think we can hold them until the Independence can either jump out or call for backup. Remember we're not too far away from the Bothan Strike Cruiser Courasant's Defender. They can provide fighter and cap ship support within 10 minutes if we need it. Any other questions? None? Alright let's go. Get to your fighters." The squadron got up, Lts Colonel Law and Turcotte walked over to Col Sheehan. "How ya feelin today sir?" Turcotte said. "Can't wait to get out there and kick some ass." Some of the Angels heard him and started cheering. "Go on get to your ships." Lt Col Law said. "Are we ready?" Sheehan said. "Yes sir." They both responded. Sheehan picked up his helmet and walked off toward the door.
The flight deck was absolutely crazy. Droids and techs running about every which way, some nearly hitting him. Sheehan hit the button for the wall hangers for his flight, and the wall lifted, the fighters sliding out. "Hey Col Law?" "Yes sir?" she responded. "How the hell do we get up there.?" Sheehan asked in a 'matter-of-factly' manner. She simply pointed to a shaft in the middle of all the fighters. "Ohhh I get it." He said. He jogged across the flight deck and into the turbo lift shaft, immediately being shot up to the third tier where 1 Flight's fighters were. "Nice, very nice." Sheehan muttered to himself. He stepped off the pad and ran towards his fighter, quickly climbing the ladder to the top hatch, then dropping himself down onto the pilots couch. He flipped the master power switch after inputting his handprint, and the fighter came to life. The laser cannons came online, the torpedo launchers checked out, the shields charged to the full 200%. Life support, ok. Comms, ok. Flight control, ok. Engines, ok. "Angels this is Lead. Give me the go, no go for takeoff. Angel one, go." "Angel two go." Turcotte "Angel three, go." Law "Two flight go." That was Maj Elyse Novack, 2 flight commander. "Three flight go." Captain Jade Perkins, 3 flight commander. He hit the second comm. Button labeled "Independence" on his board. "Angel lead calling Independence flight control over." "We have you Angel lead. Go ahead." "Requestion permission for takeoff northern bay." The comm was dead for a minute, then the officer came back. "Roger that Angel lead. Good luck." "Thanks Independence, see you on the other side." Col Sheehan hit the squadron comm. button, "Alright Angels here we go. First big day, lets give the bridge crew a show. Form up on me for a quick fly by, then it's off to see Demon squadron." He killed the comm. He reached down for the flight yolk in front of him and engaged the repulsor lift. The fighter lifted a meter or two off the deck, he nudged the yolk forward, moving the fighter forward and into the flight deck area. He turned the fighter 90 degrees to his port and hit 50% throttle, disengaging the repulsor lift. The fighter emerged from the bay, and Sheehan nailed the throttle to 100%, getting slammed into his seat at the same time as the internal dampeners caught up to him. "Computer give me .05% gravity." He settled gently into his pilots couch. He looked behind him and saw the other 8 pilots formed up on his 6 perfectly. The simulator training had paid off. He pulled hard back on the yolk and brought the fighter almost 90 degrees up before rolling 180 degrees and pitching downwards again, bringing him back towards the Independence, albeit higher. He held the throttle at 75% and brought himself within 10 meters of the bridge, then pulled up sharply, giving the bridge crew a massive headache in the process. Colonel Sheehan could hear General Solo laughing over the comm.. He switched to the squadron secure frequency. "Alright Angels here we go. We're gonna break into three flights, which means we'll be outnumbered. But that's ok. We're better. Just remember, keep your cool, watch you flight leader, and stay alive. Questions?" "Lead, Angel 4. Capt Barry and myself have picked up an anomalous reading at heading 034. Please confirm." "Negative 4 I get nothing. I'll pass it up though. Angel lead to Independence, scan heading 034 for anomalous readings." "Roger that lead. We'll check it out after the skirmish. Independence out." Colonel Sheehan pushed the throttle up to 92%, the speed of an A-wing. He switched the comm. to that of One Flight. "Law, Turcotte. You two alright back there?" "Yes sir all set." Turcotte came back. "Little nervous that's all." Jaimee said. "Good. That means your thinking. We're gonna stay in formation for the first run, then we'll see what we're up against." "Roger that." Turcotte said. "Just don't leave me behind, Lead." "Check that Three." The two squadrons raced towards each other. The new Space Angel squadron in their shiny new TIE Defenders, Demon squadron in the tried and tested A- Wing. The A-wings came into visual scanning range. "Let em have it Angels!" Sheehan yelled. Sheehan pulled up sharply and then dropped as quickly, firing a quad linked burst of turbolaser energy, his wing mates bursts following quickly. He punched the throttle up to 100%, faster than the A-wings and blew past the first two. He pulled hard left and saw the A- wings had a few extra pilots than 12, more like 15. "Angels, split up, but take care of each other." No response came but he knew they heard it. He squeezed a few shots at a stray fighter, killing the shields, knocking it out of the fight. "Splash one." He called. He heard his targeting alert go off and stomped on the rudder pedal pulling hard back, sending his fighter in a spin. The missile shot wide and impacted in a now out of the furball group of A-wings that had been regrouping. "Three more down." Jade called. "Nice going Angels. Almost even. Keep at them. He looked port and saw Law under fire. He came in behind and got within meters of the A-Wing before the pilot realized what was going on. The pilot looked back, saw Col Sheehan and pulled back hard, only too late. He was toasted by all four turbo lasers. "Lead, Eight. That anomalous reading is getting strong. Real strong. Looks like a ship about to jump in. Recommend we bug out for now, lead the Demons elsewhere." Sheehan thought for a minute. Angel Eight, that was Cormac Callahan, he was reliable. Too reliable not to act on. "Angels this is Colonel Sheehan." He paused and counted the fighters for Demon squadron. Only 7 left. Damn. "Form up and follow me, we're taking this fight elsewhere. Sheehan heard a few 'What's' and an 'Are you kidding?' but couldn't distinguish who they came from. "DO IT!" he yelled. They formed up and headed back for the Independence, the A-Wings giving chase. "Demon lead to Angel lead. What's goin on Colonel?" "Get your boys to pull out, Major. We've got an anomalous reading back at the engagement site, looks to be a ship jumping in." "Alright if you say so, we'll re-arm to normal weapons. You should too." "Roger that. Angels re-arm your normal power laser cannons. We don't know whats coming out of there." He lead his fighters back around the back side of the Independence as his re-armed his laser cannons, fully charging them. He pulled to a stop on the far side of the Independence, where her sensor shadow would mask them if trouble arrived. Which it did. "Angel lead this is Independence, we've got a Star Destroyer sized mass incoming. Recommendations?" Sheehan grinned and looked around. His squadron was already ½ docked, re-arming with proton torpedos. "Let em come." He said with a slight grin. "SAY WHAT?!" Turcotte said. "Are you insane Colonel? This is a STAR DESTROYER! Or didn't you hear that part?" "What's wrong Turcotte? Scared?" "Damn right I am. Listen, we've never been in battle before and you want a Star Destroyer as your first kill?" "That's right." "Yeah Colonel Sheehan that's the way!" He heard Capt Barry yell over the comm. The Independence popped in "HERE THEY COME!" Sure as hell is was a full sized Star Destroyer, spewing fighters at the seams. "All fighters, engage, engage, engage! Take the fighters first, then the Destroyer." "Forget about it Angel lead, fighters are mine. Demon lead out!" "Alright then Angels lets make a quick run at the shield generators. Wide spread, loose formation, ready? Go!" The nine fighters took off at full throttle. This, Col Sheehan was sure would surprise the enemy commander. Starting with 15 A-wing and a strike carrier v a Star Destroyer to a full two squadrons of fighters. The Angels swooped in high, above the command tower of the Destroyer, lasers blazing. The first torpedos were from Col Sheehan flight and impacted on the left tower, punching a hole in it. The second volley destroyed what was left, and the third took out the right side shield generator. Sheehan flew past and pulled inverted to the Destroyer and looped down behind the massive engines, past the docking bay towards the nose, strafing here and there along the hull. "Angel lead to Demon lead. How we doin?" "Well Sir, 'we', the 'we' being my squadron is fairing quite well. But we won't be soon. They're about to launch another squadron of Interceptors." Sheehan paused for a minute. "Don't worry we've got it." He squelched the Demon squadron frequency, to avoid the protest he knew was coming. "Don't do anything stupid Angel lead." That was the voice of General Solo. "Don't worry command, we have full faith in the Colonel." Came the response of Lt Col Turcotte. Right, total faith. Sheehan thought to himself. "Alright Angels we're gonna strafe the hanger bay of that Destroyer. When you get close, open up with lasers and ion cannons. Lets rock." He pulled the fighter around and under the Destroyer. He noticed that the Angels had already pulled around and were now in reverse order. Nice. They're quick. He skimmed the belley of the ship, barely missing a few comm. towers in the process, when the bay came up, his dropped sharply and came back firing hard, then the unthinkable happened. A tractor had nabbed him.
On board the Independence, the situation was grim. General Solo had watched a routine training mission fall into an all out war. The Space Angels were kicking the Imps back to the ship though, and now they were making a pass at the hanger bay, hoping to catch a few stray fighters off guard. "General, incoming message from Admiral Retailian." "On screen." Solo said. "General I've dispatched Rogue Squadron for backup. Courasant's Defender will be there within 10 minutes as well. Good luck General." The comm. ended abruptly. "General we've got problems." One of the bridge officers said. "The Angels made their run, and One Flight got snagged by a tractor." "NO!" solo yelled. "General Solo this is General Antilles of Rogue Squadron. Han how ya doin?" "Oh great. Listen, Angel lead and two other fighters just got caught in a tractor just outside the Destroyer hanger bay. Can you give them a hand?"
"Sure. Have fun on the bridge, General!" Wedge added.
The whole flight was caught, being dragged helplessly into the Star Destroyer. "FULL ABOUT FULL POWER TO ENGINES!" Sheehan yelled. But it was too late. They were doomed. "Suggestions?" He said helplessly into the comm.. "We could destroy the ship from inside." Law suggested. "Well hot shit the blonde can think." Turcotte said. "Shut up. Turn your fighter to face the rear of this thing and arm your proton torpedos, double fire." Sheehan could see new squadrons of TIE Interceptors and Bombers taking off now, at least two squadrons of each. The Independence was doomed. "Are you crazy Colonel even I wouldn't take those odds!" Sheehan's attention was immediately caught by the voice on the comm. "General Antilles?" He said. "The one and only Colonel. Let's show these Imp impersonators what we're made of, shall we? And Colonel, we'll get you out of there. Trust me." Colonel Sheehan was in a state of shock. The Independence must have called for back up. Rogue Squadron responded. This changed the odds tremendously. "Alright One Flight let's show the Rouge's who the badass squadron is. Ready torpedos." The fighters floated gently into the Destroyer hanger, inching ever so slowly towards the bay. The rear wall came into view. "NOW!" Sheehan screamed. The three fighters let loose with six torpedoes, all hitting the rear wall as storm troopers ran for cover in every which way. "Again!" he screamed. He watched as six more impacted shattering the wall between engineering and the hangar bay. He debated for a second sparing the crew and trying to salvage the Destroyer. "Fire." He said calmly. The last six torpedoes lanced out from the fighters, shattering the massive braces that held the Destroyer's engines into place. The tractor beam released its hold on the fighters, as the power was cut to most decks, all three fighters dropping out of the bay instinctively. The engines ripped free of their brace, tearing through the ship in a tremendous display of power. The engines ripped the ship to shreds, leaving nothing behind but upturned bulkheads and dead bodies floating through space
General Solo watched as Rogue Squadron started to eat apart the enemy fighter formations, working their way towards the destroyer. There was some comm. chatter between the two squadrons but he wasn't listening. Suddenly there was a bright flash from the Destroyer bay, and the level of hope on the bridge sank to the bottom of the universe. The Angels fearless leader had been toasted. Solo bowed his head in respect for the man. Then there was another flash and Solo snapped up, his attention fully caught. Then another, final flash. The three fighters dove out of the hanger bay and the bridge literally jumped out of their seats simultaneously. Then the incredible happened, the Destroyer's main engine ripped free of it's brace's and tore a hole clear from one end of the ship to another. General Solo was literally knocked off his feet, from either the shockwave of the sheer amount of surprise that he felt. Never in his career had he seen three ordinary fighters torn a ship up so bad from the inside out. Solo sat down, unable to comprehend what just happened. "Comm officer. Send a message to the Courasant's Defender. Tell them to stay at home for this one." "Incoming from Angel Lead." "Speakers." "Bet you never did THAT General!" "Don't get too cocky, Colonel. There are plenty more in the galaxy. Clean up those fighters and come on home. I'll be on the flight deck. Solo out."
Colonel Sheehan slowly brought his fighter into the Independence docking bay, watching the last of Rogue Squadron land. He keyed the doors to his squadrons hangers, gently nosing his fighter into position. The second he touched down he flipped the master switch and the fighter went dead. He climbed up the internal ladder and popped the hatch on his fighter, immediately he could tell ½ the ship was on the flight deck. It was either because Rogue Squadron had landed in their hanger or because 3 fighters from the newbie squadron just took out a Star Destroyer. He stood up and looked down at the flight deck and saw it was for the newbie squadron. He jumped down from the hatch, landing on the solar array pylon and jumping to the deck. He jogged for the lift and rode it down to the flight deck. A second later Turcotte's and Law's fighters were docked and they were on their way down. "Where's Antilles?" Sheehan said. "Right here, Colonel." "General!" Sheehan snapped to attention. "Fine piece of work. We wouldn't even try that one." "We didn't try anything General, that was luck." "That's not what my report will say, Colonel." Antilles gave him a slight grin and patted him on the shoulder. Sheehan was utterly thrilled. He just had the best fighter pilot in the known universe compliment him. It didn't get much better than that. He watched as the rest of the Angel's fighters docked and came down the lift. People were starting to crowd around the trio that made up One Flight. Random people started shaking hands with the Space Angels leader. As the crowd dispersed, and Rogue Squadron set their fighters against the wall, Demon squadron came in where the Rogue's had been. Colonel Sheehan walked off with LtC Law and Turcotte towards the break room where General Solo was apparently waiting.