The TIE Chronicles
Hauling on the Etheric rudder, Zeb N'yxcal, Hunter Three, slammed The TIE Advanced to the side, and out of the path of the ruby bolts emanating from the sleek X-wing following him. Throwing the ship around in a wide arc, his TIE once again faced his target: The Rebel space station, containing its hidden cargo of modified B-wings. Flicking his controls over to Proton Torpedoes, he centred the HUD targeting icon over the station's launch bay. The HUD flicked yellow as he targeted, emitting a steady beeping sound. Within a few seconds, the HUD turned red and the tone became constant. Squeezing the trigger, he sent two sparkling blue warheads shooting towards the platform. As he turned away from the station, he could see more torpedoes coming in from the four other members of One Flight, Including Commander Lear and Zeb's wingman Rhys Cardonn. Flicking over to the comm, he spoke into it.
"Rhys, you're my wing. Let's go slag some pointers. I want to try out this new TIE Advanced to the max."
"I copy, Hunter Three." Came Rhys' curt reply. Zeb mulled that over for a second. Rhys was becoming more and more concerned about what they were destroying recently, and became very grim and regretful whenever Hunter squadron fought the Rebel Alliance. Zeb hoped Rhys wouldn't end up like poor old Jahn. The ageing bomber had shot himself after the last mission, saying he couldn't go on killing people. They'd had the service only yesterday. Skyler Tarf had been distraught over his friend's suicide.
Then they were among the X-wings and there was no time to think about Rhys. Rolling over to the left, Zeb followed an X-wing through the melee. In the distance he could see Two Flight, Hunters Six through Ten, making their run on the station. The Proton torpedoes silenced the platform's great Turbolaser batteries, and great gouts of fire emerged from the primary target as it began to break up. There was no way those modified B-wings would ever fly now. Turning his mind back to the melee, Zeb followed closely on the tail of the fleeing X-wing, his finger hovering over the trigger. Stooping on it like a hawkbat attacking a granite slug in the bowels of Imperial Centre, His lasers shredded the rear of the X-wing, leaving the blackened and melted nose of the craft to float harmlessly away. He felt no remorse about killing a rebel against Palpatine's glorious Empire. They were merely vermin for going against the ruling power of the galaxy. He wondered why Rhys liked the Rebels so much.
Outside his magnificent new craft, the tide of battle was beginning to turn. One TIE had been destroyed, but that was only because Jedd had gotten to close to the station and the Turbolasers had disintegrated the starfighter. All but two of the opposing fighters had perished. As Commander Lear raked the sole remaining T-wing with laser fire, Zeb pulled his TIE around and sent a proton torpedo corkscrewing up the exhaust of the final X-wing, spraying metal shards in all directions.
Curving back towards the rest of the squadron, Zeb keyed his comm.
"Three to Leader. Task complete. Orders?"
"Leader to all units" came Commander Lear's reply. "Sensors have picked up civilian transports fleeing the planet. Orders are to destroy all transports before destroying ground installations."
"Copy that leader." Turning off the squadron comm, he flicked over to Rhys' frequency. Zeb glanced over to Rhys' fighter and noticed that he was pulling back, along with Hunter Eight. He frowned.
"Hunter Four, you're my wing." Rhys did not respond. Zeb throttled down and tried once more. "Rhys, do you copy? Hunter Four, do you read? Rhys Cardonn, Answer me!" In response, Rhys' fighter accelerated and heeled away, Kamlad's craft following him. Only then was there a reply.
"Zeb, I'm not murdering innocents. I'm leaving here whilst my soul is intact!"
Zeb's belly turned to ice as the two fighters prepared to run for hyperspace. Accelerating to catch them, Zeb turned back to the squadron frequency.
"Lead, orders?"
"Kill them both, Three." Commander Lear's voice came back calm and strong. "We cannot allow TIE advanced designs into Rebel hands. I'm sorry about how this must happen, but you must stop them. The rest of the squadron is tied up with these freighters. Act quickly, and destroy both fighters."
As his heart began to sink, Zeb switched to Proton Torpedoes. Accelerating once more, he sent a warhead towards Kamlad. He was not afraid of killing a squadron member for the good of the Empire, but he had reservations about killing Rhys.
Kamlad never stood a chance. The speeding torpedo hit the TIE before he could even think about dodging. The blue dart hammered straight through the centre of the TIE, before immolating the remains in a scintillating fireball. Turning to Rhys' fighter, he again activated the comm.
"Rhys, don't make me kill you." He pleaded. "Turn around and you won't be killed. I will kill you if I have to."
"I know you will." Came Rhys' soft reply. "You'll do anything for Palpatine's precious Empire." He spat sarcastically. " That's why I didn't tell you about me and Kamlad's plan. You cannot convince me. You have been a good friend, but we are now definitely on different sides. If we both survive this, we may have to fight against each other. When I am gone, either way, think about the evils of the Empire. Try to see it the way I do. Good Luck Zeb, whichever side you choose. Goodbye."
Zeb brought his targeter up over his friend's ship. The HUD went red, and Zeb could shoot. His finger twitched over the firing button, but then he hesitated. Did he want to kill Rhys? Yes you do came a thought from the back of his mind. He is a rebel and a traitor. Kill him. For a few seconds, Zeb's two minds fought for supremacy, but then he decided. He squeezed the trigger and sent a torpedo shrieking towards the man who had been his friend.
Those few seconds of indecision saved Rhys' life. Just as the torpedo caught up with the Ion trails of his TIE, it elongated and disappeared into hyperspace. In that split second decision, Rhys had gone from being Zeb's best friend to being his mortal enemy. As Zeb prepared to complete the mission, he whispered:
"Next time we meet Rhys, I will kill you."
* * * *
Exiting from hyperspace, Rhys Cardonn steered the TIE Advanced towards the gentle curves of the Mon Calamari cruiser ahead of him. As he closed on the cruiser, a Tractor beam locked onto him. Powering down his engines and weapons, he keyed in his comm.
"Mon Londell, this is Rhys Cardonn, ex-member of the TIE group Hunter Squadron. I have become disgusted with Palpatine's foul and immoral government and military. I wish to defect to your starfighter command, if possible. I do not wish to attack you, so if you would let me come aboard peacefully, I can give you something I think you might want: A working TIE Advanced fighter.
Hauling on the Etheric rudder, Zeb N'yxcal, Hunter Three, slammed The TIE Advanced to the side, and out of the path of the ruby bolts emanating from the sleek X-wing following him. Throwing the ship around in a wide arc, his TIE once again faced his target: The Rebel space station, containing its hidden cargo of modified B-wings. Flicking his controls over to Proton Torpedoes, he centred the HUD targeting icon over the station's launch bay. The HUD flicked yellow as he targeted, emitting a steady beeping sound. Within a few seconds, the HUD turned red and the tone became constant. Squeezing the trigger, he sent two sparkling blue warheads shooting towards the platform. As he turned away from the station, he could see more torpedoes coming in from the four other members of One Flight, Including Commander Lear and Zeb's wingman Rhys Cardonn. Flicking over to the comm, he spoke into it.
"Rhys, you're my wing. Let's go slag some pointers. I want to try out this new TIE Advanced to the max."
"I copy, Hunter Three." Came Rhys' curt reply. Zeb mulled that over for a second. Rhys was becoming more and more concerned about what they were destroying recently, and became very grim and regretful whenever Hunter squadron fought the Rebel Alliance. Zeb hoped Rhys wouldn't end up like poor old Jahn. The ageing bomber had shot himself after the last mission, saying he couldn't go on killing people. They'd had the service only yesterday. Skyler Tarf had been distraught over his friend's suicide.
Then they were among the X-wings and there was no time to think about Rhys. Rolling over to the left, Zeb followed an X-wing through the melee. In the distance he could see Two Flight, Hunters Six through Ten, making their run on the station. The Proton torpedoes silenced the platform's great Turbolaser batteries, and great gouts of fire emerged from the primary target as it began to break up. There was no way those modified B-wings would ever fly now. Turning his mind back to the melee, Zeb followed closely on the tail of the fleeing X-wing, his finger hovering over the trigger. Stooping on it like a hawkbat attacking a granite slug in the bowels of Imperial Centre, His lasers shredded the rear of the X-wing, leaving the blackened and melted nose of the craft to float harmlessly away. He felt no remorse about killing a rebel against Palpatine's glorious Empire. They were merely vermin for going against the ruling power of the galaxy. He wondered why Rhys liked the Rebels so much.
Outside his magnificent new craft, the tide of battle was beginning to turn. One TIE had been destroyed, but that was only because Jedd had gotten to close to the station and the Turbolasers had disintegrated the starfighter. All but two of the opposing fighters had perished. As Commander Lear raked the sole remaining T-wing with laser fire, Zeb pulled his TIE around and sent a proton torpedo corkscrewing up the exhaust of the final X-wing, spraying metal shards in all directions.
Curving back towards the rest of the squadron, Zeb keyed his comm.
"Three to Leader. Task complete. Orders?"
"Leader to all units" came Commander Lear's reply. "Sensors have picked up civilian transports fleeing the planet. Orders are to destroy all transports before destroying ground installations."
"Copy that leader." Turning off the squadron comm, he flicked over to Rhys' frequency. Zeb glanced over to Rhys' fighter and noticed that he was pulling back, along with Hunter Eight. He frowned.
"Hunter Four, you're my wing." Rhys did not respond. Zeb throttled down and tried once more. "Rhys, do you copy? Hunter Four, do you read? Rhys Cardonn, Answer me!" In response, Rhys' fighter accelerated and heeled away, Kamlad's craft following him. Only then was there a reply.
"Zeb, I'm not murdering innocents. I'm leaving here whilst my soul is intact!"
Zeb's belly turned to ice as the two fighters prepared to run for hyperspace. Accelerating to catch them, Zeb turned back to the squadron frequency.
"Lead, orders?"
"Kill them both, Three." Commander Lear's voice came back calm and strong. "We cannot allow TIE advanced designs into Rebel hands. I'm sorry about how this must happen, but you must stop them. The rest of the squadron is tied up with these freighters. Act quickly, and destroy both fighters."
As his heart began to sink, Zeb switched to Proton Torpedoes. Accelerating once more, he sent a warhead towards Kamlad. He was not afraid of killing a squadron member for the good of the Empire, but he had reservations about killing Rhys.
Kamlad never stood a chance. The speeding torpedo hit the TIE before he could even think about dodging. The blue dart hammered straight through the centre of the TIE, before immolating the remains in a scintillating fireball. Turning to Rhys' fighter, he again activated the comm.
"Rhys, don't make me kill you." He pleaded. "Turn around and you won't be killed. I will kill you if I have to."
"I know you will." Came Rhys' soft reply. "You'll do anything for Palpatine's precious Empire." He spat sarcastically. " That's why I didn't tell you about me and Kamlad's plan. You cannot convince me. You have been a good friend, but we are now definitely on different sides. If we both survive this, we may have to fight against each other. When I am gone, either way, think about the evils of the Empire. Try to see it the way I do. Good Luck Zeb, whichever side you choose. Goodbye."
Zeb brought his targeter up over his friend's ship. The HUD went red, and Zeb could shoot. His finger twitched over the firing button, but then he hesitated. Did he want to kill Rhys? Yes you do came a thought from the back of his mind. He is a rebel and a traitor. Kill him. For a few seconds, Zeb's two minds fought for supremacy, but then he decided. He squeezed the trigger and sent a torpedo shrieking towards the man who had been his friend.
Those few seconds of indecision saved Rhys' life. Just as the torpedo caught up with the Ion trails of his TIE, it elongated and disappeared into hyperspace. In that split second decision, Rhys had gone from being Zeb's best friend to being his mortal enemy. As Zeb prepared to complete the mission, he whispered:
"Next time we meet Rhys, I will kill you."
* * * *
Exiting from hyperspace, Rhys Cardonn steered the TIE Advanced towards the gentle curves of the Mon Calamari cruiser ahead of him. As he closed on the cruiser, a Tractor beam locked onto him. Powering down his engines and weapons, he keyed in his comm.
"Mon Londell, this is Rhys Cardonn, ex-member of the TIE group Hunter Squadron. I have become disgusted with Palpatine's foul and immoral government and military. I wish to defect to your starfighter command, if possible. I do not wish to attack you, so if you would let me come aboard peacefully, I can give you something I think you might want: A working TIE Advanced fighter.