Two months have passed since the destruction of the second DEATH STAR. With the death of the EMPEROR, the IMPERIAL forces are left without a leader against the united NEW REPUBLIC. Retreating to the furthest reaches of the galaxy to regroup for a counter offensive. Aboard the MC-80 Battlecruiser Blue Diver, ADMIRAL CEST SEV'ESA has received a mission from a mysterious AMBASSADOR that requests to explore the UNKNOWN REGION, a dangerous and uncharted section of the galaxy, in search of a renegade JEDI. He has called upon the newly promoted LIEUTENANT LINDMON CREST to lead the mission…
4 A.B.Y.- MC80 Battlecruiser Blue Diver
Lt. Lindmon Crest, former Imperial pilot and freshly promoted Lieutenant of the Republic. Before his defection he was a top TIE Advanced pilot. He always had a knack for flying. Strong instincts, they called it in the academy. There were times it seemed downright prophetic. During the battle of Scarif he single handedly shot down 12 rebel fighters and saved a Destroyer from a rebel Y-wing detachment. Although Scarif was ultimately lost, his skills were noticed by many higher ups, including General Tarkin who ordered an audience with the pilot soon to be known as the Ace of Scarif. Tarkin put in his own recommendations for Crest to be placed in the Phantom program and from there his career as a stealth pilot began. After the battle of Hoth and the official production of the TIE Phantom he was integrated into the secret program on the planet Dreighton. Flying with Sigma squadron for the first several months, testing the flight systems and flying test flights against local freight traffic. It was at this point that he decided to defect, and during a test flight operation in which a large battalion of X-wings made contact with the squadron and a dogfight ensued. The rest of his squadron departed the system with heavy losses, and after incapacitating his co-pilot, he followed the X-wings back to a nearby MC-80 battlecruiser, the Blue Diver, where he hailed the command and turned himself over. His Co-pilot died from his wounds after attempting to escape from the brig where the pair were held for a time. Lindmon provided the technicians with the disconnect codes for the Phantom's self destruct system, and after a short time, Admiral Cest Sev'esa agreed to accept his defection and put him to work on the Blue Diver.
Lindmon stepped into the ready room and straightened his uniform shirt, walking towards the large holopad in the center of the room. As he approached, the Bothan that had called for him sat at the head of the table, the blue glow of a holocall quickly vanished from the room as he abruptly ended the conversation. His chestnut colored fur that had been almost completely taken over by gray hairs was bristling with irritation. Bothans carried a not so positive reputation for being short tempered and obstinate, and Admiral Cest Sev'esa was no exception, whatever this briefing was about had clearly gotten him in a bad mood.
Lindmon quickly noticed that there wasn't anyone in the briefing room save the Admiral. Something like a sparse room normally meant a classified mission but looking around there was no sign of any mission analysts or combat operation technicians that would normally be present for the mission details. That put him on edge. Lindmon was no stranger to secret missions, hell being the only TIE/phantom pilot in the rebellion his entire position was a secret. The effectiveness of being in possession of a stolen TIE/phantom came from the enemy not knowing you had one, and the means of acquiring the TibannaX necessary to operate it. Lindmon realized that whatever this mission entailed, the Republic has no guidance for it.
Admiral Cest Sev'esa motioned for Lindmon to come around the table to stand closer to him. "Lieutenant Crest. I've just been on a call with New Republic command." He said with dissatisfaction. "There is a request for you to undertake a mission, that they think is of the utmost importance."
Lindmon stopped next to the table and stood at parade rest to receive orders, old Imperial habits died hard. "I'm ready for anything you have for me sir." Lindmon gritted his teeth, a nervous tick if nothing else. While being fully aware of his skills, the anxiety of a fresh mission always put him somewhat on edge. Something told him this wasn't just your run of the mill stealth op.
Admiral Cest Sev'esa let out an indignant chuckle, "Let's hope so Lieutenant, I don't know why the Republic is wasting its time with this nonsense. The Imperials are still out there, and they'll exploit any chance they get to regain control." He said waving his hand to the side in exasperation.
He let himself settle for a moment, quietly smoothing the hairs on his face before continuing. "I'm placing you in command of this mission, the ambassador that you will be escorting will be here shortly. I've been told this is a lengthy mission that will take you deep into the Unknown Regions, so the secondary objective of this will be to help the Republic secure navigational data in the area as-" the chiming of a comms device on the table cut Sev'esa short, and he quickly turned it off. "The ambassador." He said before continuing, "You're a good pilot Crest, one of the best, personally I'd say you could give Commander Antilles a run for his money. The Republic and I will give you the support we can spare, and I want regular reports on this bantha-stink of an operation."
The door to the briefing room slid open and an older Togruta female stepped in, her long montrals hung past her shoulders ending just above her waist, her skin orange and patterned in an elegant blue and white across her face. She wore simple dark blue clothes wrapped in a strikingly white cloak. She paused at the door for a moment, taking a long look at Lieutenant Crest. "Admiral Sev'esa, is this the escort I requested?" She asked as she moved to the table, her voice soft and ethereal.
The Admiral did nothing to hide his anger upon her arrival, almost scowling at the woman as she approached. "If this wasn't a request from Mon Mothma I would never have agreed to this! Searching around in the Unknown Region. It's ridiculous! A waste of time!"
The Togruta woman looked at Sev'esa curiously, her eyebrow raised in amusement, "Well, then I'm glad Mon Mothma spoke to you. Or this would have been a short trip for me."
Lindmon bowed his head as the ambassador entered. Staying out of their little exchange to the best of his abilities. As the Togruta stepped forward to the holodesk he turned back to it as well.
"With all due respect Admiral, Ambassador, this seems more like a job for one of our scouts. Perhaps an X-wing detachment or something with longer range scanners. I hardly feel that an experimental fighter is going to be of much use in an escort scenario."
A tingle along the back of his head and neck told him he should listen to the full briefing before putting it off completely. He adjusted his shirt again and returned to his previous position.
"The unknown regions are mysterious yes but so far as I recall, no Imperial bases operate out that far, and the only real things out there are storms, black holes, and the Chiss."
Admiral Cest Sev'esa grabbed the datapad resting on the table, after pressing a few buttons the holoprojector came to life, a full map of the known galaxy illuminated the room. "What you know of the Unknown Region, Lieutenant, is only what we know." The Admiral said simply. "The Chiss Ascendency and the navigational anomalies you spoke of have made it difficult for the Rebellion to make useful navigational charts of the region." The map that Admiral Sev'esa activated showed capital planets, hyperlanes, Republic outposts and known Imperial fortifications highlighted among the map. A good twenty percent of the galaxy was then sectioned off and separated from rest of the map.
"The Galactic Civil War has kept us from getting a firm navigational route to and from the Unknown Region, and the Chiss aren't on particularly good terms with the Republic, or anyone for that matter." Pressing another button on the datapad illuminated the documented hyperspace lanes that were known to the Republic in the Unknown Region. Less than twenty routes were placed on the map, several were just along the borders, most likely blocked by Chiss controlled areas. The rest were separated by light years across the rest of the region, showing how little of the area had been traveled.
The Togruta woman turned from the holoprojector to face Lindmon, "I think we should go over the reason for this mission now." She took a short breath, gathering herself "Over five years ago, we lost a Jedi. We have reason to believe that he's been in this part of the galaxy since then. Alone. This is a search and rescue operation. One we need to start urgently."
Admiral Sev'esa shut off the holo display returning the room's lighting to normal. He looked towards Lindmon from his position at the table, "This mission will take more than just a few weeks, navigating the Unknown Region can be treacherous. We cannot afford the cost of sending the Phantom out for that long, TibannaX is expensive. A shuttle has been acquisitioned to account for the extended time away from refueling depots and Republic bases." Sev'esa held up his hand cutting off the Lieutenant from protesting the change in assignment. "The Phantom will be kept on the Blue Diver in its secure hanger until it is needed." This had been another clever way to keep the King of Spades a tight secret, it was not kept in the normal starfighter hangar with the other X-Wing, and A-Wing fighters that were loaded on the Blue Diver. Instead a makeshift hanger and refueling station was made in the cargo storage area of the ship, this way the TIE/Phantom could not be viewed except by authorized personnel.
Lindmon motioned as if to say something but caught himself, turning towards the Togruta.
"I apologize Ambassador, did you say Jedi? I was under the impression they went extinct just before the rise of the empire almost 20 years ago. What do we have that tells us one is hiding out in that void?" He took some time to swipe around on the map, studying the magnetostorms before continuing.
"We have no idea how the Chiss have navigated this. What kind of ship are you assigning to this? A GR-75 perhaps, but preferably something with a bit more agility. Maybe a small freighter..." the end of his sentence trailed off as he started speaking to himself before snapping back to reality. "Apologies."
"A modified T-6 shuttle is being prepared as we speak." Sev'esa continued, overpowering any response the Ambassador might have, "It is suited for long distance space travel and has enough cargo space for a few months supply, and it's an older ship so the Republic can afford to lose it if it never comes back." The Admiral said grimly, rising from his seat to imply that the briefing was now over.
The Togruta woman bowed kindly to the Admiral and walked out with Lindmon. Cest Sev'esa could be heard grumbling about "Jedi non-sense" before the door slid shut behind them.
As the door closed Lindmon muttered under his breath "A T-6? They may as well hand us a trash junker and send us out with no fuel." He looked to his left, realizing he had said that aloud. "My apologies Ambassador." He once more straightened his uniform. The Republic outfits just didn't sit like the Imperial uniforms.
"I will see to it that we get the most up to date star charts. Hopefully we can get our hands on a decent astromech or two to help out."
"I don't think the Republic navigation chart will help us much here." The ambassador said softly. The two walked together silently through the pristine curved white bulkheads of the Mon Calamari class battle ship. The ambassador took a few curious glances at Lieutenant Lindmon before picking up his inquiry from before. "So Lieutenant, what do you know about the Jedi?"
Lindmon looked over at the ambassador, somewhat perplexed. "Not much, Imperial records are sparse, primarily stating that if you encounter one to immediately inform high command. Outside of that I'm aware they have telekinetic and memetic powers along with significant hand to hand combat skills. The high classified documents we were provided made mention of one a time or two but only so far as to keep an ear open for any comms referencing the POI."
He took out a small handheld display device and opened a galactic map of the unknown region. "If our maps aren't going to do us any good, how are we supposed to find where we're going. We could easily fly into a black hole or a solar storm, or any other number of problems. We certainly aren't going to spend the whole time under FTL, and plotting multiple jumps will be time, and fuel, consuming...without some way to foreword scout this mission is of to a sour start"
"That is what we have to figure out." The ambassador said coyly, they stop for a moment as a group of Republic mechanics walked past them through a cross intersection. "I have a lead on where to get started, previous locations and data analysis of the potential areas of interest. It's still a lot of ground to cover, so we'll have to get creative."The large hanger bay doors slid open with the rough sound of metal grinding on metal, revealing multiple squadrons of X-Wing and A-Wing starfighters. Mechanics and technicians bustle about their designated craft refueling and testing the operation of each ship. From the entryway Lindmon could see their T-6 shuttle sitting on the far side of the bay, being loaded with supplies and extra fuel by the flight deck operator. His old rebel jumpsuit was stained and blotched with silt and engine grease. He stood near the loading ramp at the port side of the shuttle checking off each unit being loaded onto the ship, after every few entries he had to stop and wipe the oil off the datapad before continuing.
"I'm to assume that's our man?" Lindmon stated, more rhetorical than an actual question.
They strode over and stoped next to the T-6, Lindmon inspected several portions himself, primarily the flight manifold and what appeared to be the engine conduits, but on these old ships it could be hard to tell. The orange paint job was fading, and scratches and scorch marks pocked it's surface from atmosphere entries and debris collisions.
"For an old bird she doesn't look horrendous." He said, mostly to get the operator's attention.
The flight deck operator looked up from his datapad with a curious expression, "Crest? You the officer for this one?" He asked, pointing with his datapad at the shuttle, it's wide manta like wings overhanging for several meters. "I guess now that you're a Lieutenant your days in the hot seat are over huh?" He coughed awkwardly as Lindmon and the Ambassador waited for his report. In fact, ever since they made their way through the hangar, pilots and technicians had been turning their heads or lifting themselves up out of their cockpits to look their way. Mostly for the striking figure of the Ambassador, her elegant white robes practically shining amongst the run-down flight-suits and oil rags of the hangar.
"Well, we're almost done here. You got four months of rations and supplies, survival packs for a crew of four in case of a breakdown. That includes home beacons, if you need a pickup in an emergency." The flight deck operator said going through his list. "Your crew is already on board, pilot and technician. Oh, and an R3 astro as well. The engine block gimbals needed some work, so you should keep an eye out for malfunctions, if they go out the wings won't be able to rotate around the craft properly and you'll have a hell of a time landing." He finished with a glance towards Lindmon, waiting for his approval.
"I don't think I will ever see a day when my seat isn't at least warm Davidson. Thanks for the rundown, we will make sure to keep an eye on that gimble, hopefully the R3 can fix us up if we have trouble out there." He put his hand out for the data pad, giving a quick once over of the list of supplies and recent repairs.
"She looks to be in order. That is all Davidson." He handed the datapad down, exchanged salutes with the Operator, and motioned to the ambassador to board the ship, ascending just ahead of her.
The Ambassador boarded the ship behind Lindmon, momentarily looking around the cabin of the ship. The port side landing ramp led right into the main hall of the ship, that connected the cockpit, storage compartments, the holoprojector room and refresher. The crews quarters were found in the top part of the ship with small stacked cots, each having a short footlocker for minimal supplies. A ladder between the storage compartment and refresher led up to them.
As they come out into the main entry hall a chime went off, and from a room further in a female voice called "Attention on deck!" They rounded the short corner to find two of the crew standing around a half-played game of Dejarik still projected on the holotable.
To the left of the table stood a short, thin, Cathar. Her tan and brown fur tinged with grease and oil stains. A pair of well used welders' goggles hung from her neck and her uniform coveralls were zipped down and tied around her waist. Her tank top was similarly covered in grease stains. A belt pouch hung at her hip with various tools and a large pair of work gloves stuffed hastily inside. She saluted awkwardly, appearing to be the source of the previous call.
To the right of the table stood a large, reptilian gentleman. Four blue eyes set in his draconic head. Two large horns slid back from his temples, following the curve of his skull and back, a gentle crest from the back of his head slid down his neck and into a pocket sewn into his uniform, presumably specifically to house the crest. His skin a light blue tinge, with flecks of green and stripes of dark blue. He saluted much more briskly.
Rolling out from the cockpit came the R3 droid, it seemed relatively new, or at least to be in decent enough shape. Only hosting a few scratches and burns. The clear dome still seemed in good shape. Over top of the white chassis ran edges of red and silver. It rolled to a halt just to the right of the Cathar. A small claw popped out of a compartment in the many body and raised itself in what appeared to be an attempt at a salute.
Lindmon returned the salute briskly "at ease, my name is Lieutenant Lindmon Crest. Very rare to see a Cathar and an Annoo Dat Prime. I'm a little surprised. Report."
The R3 unit rolled forward, holding a small datapad it had retrieved from a holding location in the counter next to the holo table. It provided this to Crest who booted it up and began skimming through the crew manifest.
The Cathar spoke up first. Her voice chipper and cheery. "Senior Tech Giz'Dillon sir! Maz Giz'Dillon! Folks call me Giz. I will be your technician on this hunk'a'junk, keep her flying no problem. Old birds like this just need a bit of love. I'm also versed in the nav program and can help there, though Reed is much better at it than me."
The astromech beeped and chirped several times.
The Annoo spoke next. His voice a deep guttural snarl accentuated with brief hisses. "Flight Officer Sulahaan Korrhussa, at your service ssir, I will be serving as your pilot. It's a pleassure to be flying with you lieutenant, I've heard sstoriess. Thiss Astromech is R3-D3, but we have taken to calling him Reed. He's a top of the line droid. All his servoess are in tact. He can fix an engine failure in 20 secondss flat, lesss if you threaten him."
The droid chirped again, somewhat exasperated, before turning and headed for the cockpit once more.
"A pleasure" Crest said "forgive me, this is our passenger she will be flying with us for the extent of this mission. I leave any further briefing details to her. Ambassador?" He motioned for her to introduce herself before returning to the crew manifest.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." The Ambassador said calmly. She examineed the crew of the shuttle and gently patted the R3 astromech's dome as it passed. "My name is Ahsoka Tano, as I was telling the Lieutenant earlier, this is a search and rescue mission. Any leak of information as to what we are doing could endanger our target, so I appreciate your discretion." She said bowing courteously to the crew.
It took another half hour of preparation and flight systems checks before the shuttle was ready. Sulahaan strapped into the pilot's seat murmuring along with Giz in the cockpit. Ahsoka approached Lindmon with a suggestion to begin the mission, "If we are ready to get underway Lieutenant, we should make for the Lothal system. It's the last known location of our target and we will be able to work on a strategy with a specialist there.
Lindmon nodded at the ambassador. "You heard the lady Korhussa, set path to Lothal, get all our departure list out of the way. Once we're clear make the jump."
"Aye sir" Sulahaan said, spinning the engine up. Outside of the viewport, the deck operator motioned that the ship was cleared and ready, the large bulkhead opening shimmered a light blue. Giz tapped away at the screen in front of her.
"We're all set for takeoff L-T, engine is spun, fuel is green, seal is green, coordinates are punched in and we're looking at about nine or ten hours in hyperspace. Should be smooth sailing for this first leg of the trip, nothing between us and Lothal."
Lindmon nodded again, stepping up to the viewport and saluting the deck operator who returned a salute of his own. The shuttle rattled as it lifted off the ground, a deep hiss as the grounding locks dislodged from the underbelly of the ship. Sulahaan gently pushed the ship through the forcefield, as it entered open space the large half circle rings rotated around the cockpit, one rotation one way and another in the opposite direction. Giz chimed in once more.
"Foils are green. We have full, unhindered, rotation. Hyperspace jump prepped and ready on you L-T"
"Once we're clear from the Blue Diver make the jump, let's get underway." With one final check the ship made the jump, lines of blue light streaming past.