Chapter 14
Mara looked out into the blackness of space without much interest. The stars seemed to call to her; every few seconds she felt like she was being pulled towards one or another. Recently, she had felt more connected to the force, and it was noticeable. This was likely a result of her new force-bond with Luke.
She could feel the pull of Chandrila the most. Directly ahead of her in the hyperspace tunnel, she sensed, was the destination. It was getting closer…
Tranquil forests lined both sides of a thin, shallow river running south toward the Chandrilian capital. The sky shone a pale blue, interlaced with puffy white clouds. Except for a darkening sky a few hundred miles away at the sea shore, the sky was perfect.
Two fighters skimmed the water, throwing waves of mist at the banks. Andover pulled up, laughing. "That was fun."
"Heck yeah!" Avramova agreed, still just a few feet above the water. "I just gave some deer a free shower!"
They both laughed openly. "What a glorious day!" he enthused.
His sister scanned the sky. "Not great. It's certainly not bad, but…"
"I meant for the rebellion," he clarified. Now quiet, she looked at the clouds ahead.
Avramova flipped a few switches on the control board. "Because of you we are quite possibly flying to our deaths."
The comm link fuzzed for a moment. He was snickering in his plane. "You'd make a nice girlfriend, sister. It's always the guy's fault, huh? You'd keep him in his place, all right."
"How can you be so lighthearted when we are flying into a battle?"
"Look at everything we have done. We're both only eighteen, but we have accomplished more than trillions of people have. We have already lived to the 'average extent'. Why not push it while we can? You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."
"You think we're doing it right?"
"You betcha. I mean, even if we die, I'm sure I'll get a park named after me or something."
About a hundred X-Wings, a collection of A-Wings and Y-Wings, plus a series of large cruisers and a medical frigate all appeared from hyperspace. Chandrila loomed in front of them.
Luke could feel the force trying to tell him something about the mission. Maybe the mission plan was wrong. It made no sense to attack the northern cities, where very few Imperials were left due to the Star Destroyer's crash.
Mara tapped the flight computers interface. In the communications folder, there was a footnote reading "capture all". Intrigued, she pressed it, and a holographic representation of the planet flew out of the console. It showed
"Where to, boss?" one of the newer pilots asked excitedly.
"Let's hit the capital. It's the last major Imperial stronghold on the planet."
"But Mon Mothma said…" the pilot began.
"Mothma didn't authorize this mission, Lt. Casimir did!" Mara growled over the radio. "Why else would we be ordered to liberate the closest city to his home first? The target should have been Hanna all along."
Everyone in the fighters waited in uncomfortable silence. Sighing, Luke rolled the Nicomedia upside down and pointed the plane at a bright patch of lights in the darkened southern hemisphere of the planet. Slowly, they all fell behind their leader, descending on the planet.
Andover could sense through the force that Luke and Mara were drawing nearer. "Mm hmm, sis. They're going to Hanna. They figured it out."
"Why exactly did you tell them to attack one city with complete confidence that most of the Rebel forces would attack a different one?" Avramova asked.
"I'll tell you later," he replied, effectively ending the conversation.
"No," she protested. "Now-"
Andover cut the power to his radio, easily maneuvering his fighter through a low, grassy valley. Avramova followed a few hundred feet behind.
Now you listen to me, sis. I know what I'm doing, he sent. If you think I'm incapable go join the rest of the Rebel flight. Comprende?
He suddenly felt immensely stupid, as he forgot to plug the radio back in. He tried to force the plug back into the console's socket, but one of the plugs was bent. Cursing, he glanced down below the dashboard and kicked it into place. The radio reactivated, his sister's worried voice filled the cockpit.
"…are you doing? Crap, Andover, break left, now!"
He stomped very hard on the left rudder pedal. The Astris jolted to the side just enough to avoid a rocky outcropping.
"Thanks, Avvie," he exclaimed, instantly recovered from his near crash. He tapped one of his plane's displays, and was presented a large set of numbers. "All righty, it seems the invasion fleet is going to hit from the…" -he scrolled down- "South. Okeydokey. Here's the plan. We'll circle around over the Silver Sea, and split up. I'll pop up from the west, buzz Brionelle Academy and then melt the Civic Center. Those're the last two main Imperial strongholds in the city. Meanwhile, you fly around and come up from the south. Bomb Brionelle Military Academy with those white phosphorous cartridges and bolt home. I'll meet up with you over Lake Sah'ot. Sound good?"
Avramova blinked. "How am I supposed to remember all of that?"
"I took the liberty of loading it into both of our flight computers yesterday," he said congenially. "Now turn heading two-four-zero in three… two… one…"
Both of the fighters veered up and to their right over the eastern ridge of the valley. Pitching down, the siblings followed the gentle slope down to the sparkling blue sea.
"Avramova, we're going to split up in a few minutes," Andover announced into the radio. He sounded, oddly, just aaa little bit sad.
"Why so glum, chum?" she joked half-heartedly. You haven't gotten us killed yet."
He disconnected one side of his oxygen mask, breathing in some of the cockpit's unrecycled oxygen. Ignoring her, he flipped a few switches on a side panel.
"Why-" she began again.
"I don't want you to die," he said quietly. "You're the best sister I ever had."
"I'm your only sister," she clarified.
"Exactly," Andover agreed solemnly. "Do be careful."
They continued on westward in silence. "Three, two, one, mark," they counted down together. Then, with a quick waggle of the wings, Andover turned back towards Hanna City. Meanwhile, Avramova turned south again, and pondered her attack strategy.
(Five minutes later)
"Belvedere, call Forward Attack Position when ready," Andover called out. As he waited for a response, he circled slowly offshore.
"Roger Astris, call the ball. Set procedure in three, two, one..."
"MARK!" they both exclaimed together, simultaneously turning two identical knobs in their separate craft. This activated the mission, and their computers guided themselves apart on their own attack courses.
Andover pitched up to around forty thousand feet, then rolled the plane upside down. Far below him, Hanna City stretched itself out on its coastal plane. Spotting the Brionelle Military Academy among the northern hills, he nosed over and aimed for a spot between the Academy and the ocean.
Avramova could see her brother's aerobatics as she turned to her left, flying northward per the plan. Suddenly an idea struck her. Andover had planned on her flying straight up the main boulevard, causing as much chaos as humanly possible. But as she observed the city laid out in front of her, she changed the plans. Yawing ever-so-slightly to the left, she changed her speed and descended over the beachfront, leaving a big shockwave behind.
Not only did many of the windows shatter, but some of the facades facing her cracked. She couldn't really say how she knew, but she just did. It was impossible to explain, she reasoned.
What she didn't realize at that time was that her beach flyover left a bigger problem than a crowd of annoyed civilians. Avramova was flying so low that some sand had gotten sucked into her plane's engine. Within seconds, two dozen alarms had gone off inside her cockpit.
Nearby, Andover had pulled a similar stunt above the Academy. A supersonic flyby wreaked havoc on the complex's outer glass walls. The whole structure was considerably weakened. However, very few, if any Imperials, actually knew the extent of the damage. Most assumed that maybe a plane had crash-landed in the hangar.
So Andover, half-finished with his mission, continued on to the Civic Center. He could feel his sister's distress through the force, but dismissed it as nothing. They were attacking a capital city, after all. Distress was to be expected.
He was now in between a couple of hills. Luckily , Chandrila seemed to be on his side. The low grassy hills surrounding the city of Hanna protected him. Andover wouldn't be noticed here. The hills blocked him visually and from radar.
The low valley cut southward very suddenly. He turned sharply and followed the valley. And the hills on his right just disappeared.
Shavit, he remarked quietly. He rolled over to his left, flying through a low pass and back into the safe depressions in the countryside. He was only visible to the Imperial military for only a few seconds, but after that stunt near Brionelle, that could have cost him his life.
Waiting for his chance, he looked at his radar interface. No blips yet, but that was definitely about to change.
Avramova tapped her radar interface anxiously. The incessant beeping did not stop, however. More buzzers went off and another set of warning lights began blinking wildly.
"I hate this stupid plane," she commented.
Two shrill alarms went off, one right after the other. Her head snapped back and peered around her ejection seat. A solid black smoke trail laced the sky behind her.
Her target, Brionelle Memorial Military was only a half-mile ahead of her now, but she had more pressing concerns. Toggling the fuel valve, Avramova tried to reset the main engine by cutting off the fuel supply. True, the sand had already jammed the engine, but the computer kept feeding the fuel. Before she knew what was happening, the fuel line burst because of the pressure. The black oily substance was thrown through the engine's inner workings, and it hit the afterburner…
The fuel ignited. She cussed loudly, realizing the back of her plane was on fire. Planning for an emergency landing, she jettisoned all of her plane's weapons. The bombs of white phosphorous fell a few hundred feet short of their target, scorching some wild grass but not much else.
The sudden uplift caused by the loss of weight immediately caused the plane to pitch upward. Its fuselage began to crack, she could sense it. The burning fuel's heat had already melted the fuselage, and the added torque put too much tension on the aircraft's frame.
She could not remember consciously ejecting; even as she pulled the twin handles above her head she wasn't sure what made her do it. One second she was trying to regain control of her plane, the next, she was fired above it.
The Belvedere continued flying forward, very low over the ground. It pitched up again, its tail section emanating a thick trail of black smoke. The two rear stabilizers sheared off, and the plane pointed right at the center of the enormous complex.
Four hundred feet off of the ground, a stunned Avramova could only watch as her craft impacted the glistening silver building.
DUH DUH DUH! Hey, folkses! It's been a long time.
Now, now, put down the pitchforks. And… you, the guy with the torch-you too!
I am sooo sorry about how long it has been since my last update, but I have the greatest plot idea in mind. The next chapter will feature a lot more Luke, a huge amount of Mara stuff, and the biggest fight this story has seen yet. I know, I may sound overpromising, but hey. At least you got to see some action this time.
And thank you to my reviewers, and those who have favorited/followed this story. I hereby dedicate this story to all of you. Especially you, Mike3207. Everybody, this guy has reviewed every single chapter. That is diligent if I ever heard it.
Besides, if you review, you get a say in what might happen later. So come on, guys, REVIEW! REVIEW! And-cough-REVIEWWWWW!
Thanks.
-ClaptonJr.