The ship's cockpit systems were going off in consistent and nagging alarm beeps, informing the clone pilot of a targeted lock to his bomber's hull.
A squad of Republic fighters dodged through the large dilapidated Separatist flag ship with droid fighters on their tail.
Enemy fire streamed randomly after the squad, filling the clone pilots' cockpit windows with bright red laser beams. A black, empty space, sprinkled with stars, would be a cold grave.
"Break left!" the pilot commander shouted, gritting his teeth and wrestling with the ship's control yoke. His ship dove left, spinning and dodging the sudden chunk of Separatist ship armor that dislodged from the main vessel. His squad followed his lead but the last ship tailing wasn't so lucky. His distraught shout was heard in all the squad's helmet comlinks.
"Dodger! Hang in there! I'm going to cover your flank!" a squad member comforted.
"I can't hold her together much longer!" Dodger cried.
"Royal 5 escort Royal 8 out of the red zone. Get that ship stabilized Dodger! I'm not clearing out any more lockers!" the pilot commander barked, throttling his bomber into a cork spin, aiming directly for a droid fighter that appeared on his ship's scope.
"Ace!" Royal 2 screamed, watching his commander in horror. Ace could feel the sweat on his gloved palms as he gripped the ship controls tightly. He braced, teeth gritted, as his bomber got closer, and closer to the droid fighter. He was diving into a head on collusion with the droid fighter and the only sense in his head screaming at him was the voices of his brothers in his helmet comlink system.
"Pull up Ace! For Force's sake!" Royal 7 reasoned, his voice stressed. Ace ignored them. Closer...closer...he could see the droid in the fighter's cockpit window now and then, he thumbed the fire controls. Blue laser fire streamed from his bomber and the enemy ship blew apart to fragments mili-seconds before Ace blasted through the flaming debris.
"Shoot, Commander, why do you have to make me wet my pants every mission?" Royal 2 scolded.
"Relax Blazer," Ace smiled, feeling the urge to remove his helmet and wipe his forehead clean of perspiration.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I aged twice as fast from the stress of being on this squad," Blazer moaned.
"Enemy on your six Royal 2," issued another clone's voice to the comlink.
Ace barrel rolled to his right to engage another enemy, tailing it close and getting a lock on the clanker before blasting it to bits and spiraling away. Ace was one of the best clone pilots ever heard of throughout the Republic ranks and he was proud of it.
Having been adorned with several metals of honor for bravery, and promoted to Mace Window's very own Royal Squad, the commander was a living legend among his brothers.
"Royal 8, ship status?" Ace questioned.
His sweat dripped down from his hair and almost into his eye. His helmet climate controls must have been malfunctioning. His face felt very hot and it was becoming a distraction.
"Stabilized Commander," Royal 8 replied. Ace's eyes darted from one side of his cock pit to the next, remaining constantly aware of enemies on his scope as well as his brothers' conversation filtering through into his helmet. Another bead of sweat dripped down into his face, this time stinging his eye.
Ace growled and waited a moment before being able to free a hand and remove his bucket. He didn't need the HUD display if it was only going to fog up and hinder his vision anyway. He transferred his squad's chatter frequency to the ship's cockpit speakers.
"Ace, the tinnies are falling back," Blazer informed.
"As they should," Ace snorted, swinging his bomber hard to the side and aligning its course for the remaining Separatist frigate.
Enemy ships were swarming around it in a final attempt to shelter the vessel from as much harm as possible. They were most likely calculating for a jump to hyperspace. But Ace wasn't about to let that happen.
"Royal Squad stand by and prepare to target that frigate," Ace commanded, flicking on his missile launch controls and setting up the for the correct trajectory. The squad formed up, narrowing into a line. Royal 8 and 5 rejoined the lines as well.
"Narrow in, let's keep this tight," Ace stated, finishing up his ship's control settings and bringing his hand back to the yoke. Pressing forward, his bomber's engine thrust forward and towards the enemy. He was aiming for a break in the enemy formation. If they moved fast enough they could squeak in and deliver the final blow.
"Stay close," Ace said, feeling the G-forces of the ship's jet power hammering him into his seat. They were getting closer and closer. Then, suddenly, the droids made a loop back around in perfect formation. A trap! They'd left that gap open intentionally!
"Break!" Ace shouted, feeling the pit of his stomach drop as he realized this possibly fatal error. The Royal squad dispersed radically, eluding as much enemy fire as possible for a last moment maneuver. Ace however kept to his course.
"Commander! What are you doing!?" Royal 2 shouted.
"I'm taking the frigate! What's it look like?" Ace snarled, partly from the stress of evading enemy fire while trying to focus on conversation.
His thumb hovered over the launch button as his bomber neared the frigate's hull. He needed one direct hit in order to blow the vessel his first shot. Ace's aim had always been superb but never could he recall the pressure feeling this thick. Shouts of chaos erupted through the ship's speakers, transmitting his clone brothers in distress. Ace kept focused; it was all he could do. The time was right and he fired.
Two missiles launched from the bomber and whistled towards their target. Ace barely had time to see if the missiles had hit the target before he found his hands pulling up on the throttle subconsciously, sending his ship into a dramatic arch in order to escape what became an explosion discharging before his very eyes. Steel chunks from the frigate flew past him, hurling by at dizzying speeds.
Before Ace could react, a steel shard whacked right into the top of the cockpit, hitting a gas regulation valve. Fumes suddenly sprayed right into Ace's face, stinging his eyes and sending him into a gut wrenching, uncontrolled succession of loops. Ace's brain felt like it was bouncing in his head as he made a determined attempt to regain possession of the ship's course.
How he was able to set his mind to grabbing the controls during such a tumble was beyond him, but his training somehow had instructed his muscles without his brain's permission. With chemicals still squirting towards his eyes, Ace ducked, leaning away in order to see where he was going. Stars whirled around him, spinning into a vortex of light. Ace could feel the ship's resistance as he pulled back, trying to slow the speedy vessel down and level her out.
"Come on...come on..." Ace groaned, his arm muscles strained and flexed to the max. A loud CRACK sounded from behind him. That wasn't a good sign. The frame of his bomber was stressed.
"Commander!" came the concerned voice of Blazer. Ace was so dizzy he succumbed to shutting his eyes entirely and letting his instinct take over.
For a brief moment, Ace saw his life flash before his eyes. Everything he'd ever worked for was now for nothing. His respected title would mean nothing if he was dead. Then, his mind still in a fog, Ace began to feel a sense of balance. Was he imagining it? He risked opening his eyes and he was relieved to see things were strait once more.
The gas leak wasn't good however.
"I'm alright," Ace replied, breathing hard, "My ship has sustained some damage however," he informed his squad.
"I'm coming up alongside you Commander," Royal 5, aka: Dover, sped forward to hover beside Ace's slow moving fighter.
He smacked open the side panel of the control dash and rummaged the contents for some type of masking tape. He was happy to find one right where it should have been and ripped off a layer, placing it over the gas leak. He smoothed the tape down, confident that it would hold for now.
"Alright, she's stable for the moment," Ace stated, "Royal, report," he ordered.
"Frigate is in shambles, thanks to the Commander, five enemy fighters remaining, all are being pursued," Blazer reported.
"Very good. Let's wrap this up then," Ace responded.
"Lay back Commander, the rest of us can pick off the bogies," Dover insisted. Ace wasn't one to let his squad push him around but at the current state of his ship, he wasn't about ready to protest.
He'd be lucky if the bomber would make it through the hyper-jump.
"Copy that," Ace answered. He hung back, watching the Royal Squad pick off the last of the droid fighters one by one. Ace decided it was time to call in to General Mace Windu. Opening the channel to the Jedi Master's location Ace addressed him.
"Master Windu this is Commander Ace, do you read me?"
"I read you Commander," Windu returned. Ace rubbed his eyes, which felt unnaturally dry. He hoped that gas hadn't been too toxic.
"Royal Squad has made a successful hit on both targets. We're mopping up the mess and preparing to head back Sir," Ace informed, using some casual clone lingo.
"Very good. Those frigates were a crucial liability to the Republic. I will meet you at the specified rendezvous," Windu's link then cut out and left Ace in silence. He rubbed his eyes again. They were growing increasingly agitated.
Later...
Being aboard the Nobility again brought a sense of security to Ace as his battered bomber docked. His squad landed within the same hanger and a moment of calmness ensued. The realization that he was still alive always hit him hard the moment he killed his ship's engine after a mission. Silence engulfed him as he sat in reflection.
Blinking rapidly to wet his ever drying eyes, Ace bent down to grab his helmet. He held it bottom side up to peer inside and tinker with the climate control settings. Ace liked the concealed tranquility of the cockpit while docked safely in the hanger bay. Sadly, it always ended too quickly.
An abrupt trio of thunks disrupted his peace and he looked up to see Blazer tapping on the glass window. He looked annoyed. Ace released the hatch and it hissed with releasing air before reclining back.
"You alright Ace?"
"Fine as ever," Ace shrugged, unbuckling from his seat harness, "My bucket is having temperature issues though."
"Get Giz to check it out, he's good with technical mumbo-jumbo,"
Ace disembarked from his fighting craft.
"Suppose so,"
"Something wrong with your eyes?" Blazer apparently had noticed Ace's rubbing of them.
"They're fine, just tired I think," Ace bluffed.
He'd rather not have his team nagging on him about his eye sight. He'd never hear the end of it. Ace circled around his bomber, inspecting how bad the damage was. The vessel's purple paint job and crown insignia was scuffed and scorched with laser fire. The engines however looked in fine shape and other then the major metal indention in the hull above the cock pit and severed gas tube, it was in condonable condition for having survived a mission as risky as that one had been.
Mace Windu suddenly approached the group on the deck and the Royal Squad filed in rank. Ace tucked his bucket under his arm as customary and they all stood at a salute.
"At ease. Job well done gentlemen. The next mission briefing wont be assigned to you till tomorrow, so until then, rest up and enjoy yourselves. You've accomplished yet another admirable feat," Windu stated. The group nodded simultaneously and split up. However, Ace and Blazer stayed when Windu turned to them.
"Commander I'll need you at the Council briefing at 0900," he said.
"Yes sir," Ace nodded, "I'll be there." General Windu then turned and strode off.
After the Jedi Master had left, the two clones began their walk towards the clone quarters.
"Well, we've sure had a long day. I don't think Windu would mind if you took some time on the bunk before the Jedi Council briefing. It's in one standard hour anyway," Blazer suggested, "I'll wake you 15 minutes before hand so you're ready," he assured.
Ace conceded.
"Thanks," Ace replied, rubbing his eyes again. He probably did just need some rest. Everything would be fine once he'd closed his eyes a while.