Approximately five years ago, Endor, the Sanctuary Moon
"Anything?"
Garin looked up; Vic'que was hanging over the edge of the Avenger's cockpit hatch staring down at him.
He shook his head, killing the comms board with a sigh; "nothing but Rebel chatter, what we assumed is more or less confirmed. The Rebels have control of the moon and the surrounding space. There have been a few skirmishes, apparently there were late arrivals from other elements of the fleet but they've quickly disengaged. The moon itself sounds like it's completely under their control, any Imperial forces are dead or captured."
"Or stranded," she said gloomily her expression dark.
After a moment he nodded, "or stranded."
She withdrew, and he reached up, grabbing the lip of the cockpit hatch as he pulled himself out. Both had doffed their flightsuits and were just wearing their tank tops and pants now. They'd been planetside for a little over thirty hours by Garin's count. The pair sat for a time saying nothing, and then Vic'que turned to him thoughtfully.
"Sir, if we are stranded here for the rest of our natural lives, what would you do?"
"I'd like to think that isn't going to happen," he responded.
"But there's little chance that we'll be rescued and I don't think either of us wants to be captured by the Rebels."
Garin snorted, no he didn't particular want to be in Rebel custody at this point, before Vader's command, perhaps; but after the attacks Hades had conducted these last few months against what amounted to unarmed civilians he was less inclined to count on Rebel niceties if they realized who they had in their custody. No, he preferred to take his chances and trust that Hades would come up with something; if nothing else he imagined that once the Rebellion finally bugged out Hades would return and try and find the wrecked fighters, which would be that hard provided one or two of the others had bothered to track their reentry and descent trajectory.
Vic'que interrupted his thoughts, "I still can't believe that he abandoned me like that…."
"You're still dwelling on that?" he asked with a frown.
She glared at him, "for the first time in my life I thought I'd found a male that I could have a relationship with on an equal level; someone who would care about me."
"You do realize that you already had that if you'd have stopped to consider Hades as more than a chance to advance yourself."
She paused then, her expression softening slightly even as she continued to scowl, "how could I when you were always picking on me?"
"Picking on you? Now that sounds mature," he said, rotating and swinging his legs up and under himself. "You were out of control Vic'que, you spent as much time trying to find flaws in my command as following that command."
"And I was right frequently," she asserted, Garin shrugged, he wasn't denying that she'd had her points.
"You wanted to have Daru shot because she had the gall to hit you when you deserved it; and don't give me that look." He said, cutting her off as she opened her mouth, "you were out of line and you know it, regardless of your xenophobia."
"You consider Hades to be a family don't you;" she said quietly, stating it rather than asking. He nodded quietly; watching her reactions carefully, "even me?"
"You sound like a lost child looking for her home."
She winced at his words, "don't make light of it."
He shook his head, "you'll always have a place in Hades Vic'que, you're the problem member perhaps but you're still part of the unit. Not many people can make Harth sweat in a sim after all, even I have trouble catching him one on one."
"Do you know what I saw in Maarek?"
He didn't respond, still watching her features, trying to read what she was feeling and thinking before she told him.
"It was everything you weren't, that fervor for his cause, his ability to obey orders unquestioningly, to know his place within the world. You've always explored those boundaries that ring your proper place, and have forcibly expanded them. It's not something I admire about you."
"You do realize he harbored the same doubts that most of Hades has been nursing for months now."
"I learned that yes, but that just made him…more accessible I suppose. When I first started seeing him because of that Diamond Blue project that the Chief came up with; he was surprised, as if he expected that I would be like the rest of Hades. When he found that I was interested in him he became suspicious because he thought I was trying to place myself in a position to replace you."
Garin could see that, "were you?"
"In a way, I suppose. I thought that Vader would replace you soon and when that happened I didn't want to be dragged down with you and the others loyal to you."
He snorted and continued to eye her, "you're loyalty to the unit is astounding."
Her expression shifted, "so I guess, if you're right about Thrawn using Hades, I suppose he's achieved his goal since none of you…of us, seem loyal to the Empire."
"Don't get it wrong, we aren't trying to overthrow the Empire, we just recognize that there is a problem with the system we serve and those that rule it."
She considered this, "if Thrawn were to ask you to fight the Empire, would you do it?"
"Yes," Garin was surprised at how automatic his response was; but it was true, if Thrawn asked him to fight, he'd do it.
After a moment, she leaned towards him, and his alarms went off as her words confirmed what he'd already guessed.
"You know, all I ever wanted was to be recognized for what I am, not what others thought me to be. I think that's why I've challenged you so much, I wanted your acknowledgement in a way."
Garin sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her back. Was he running a child psychology session suddenly?
"Don't go there Vic'que."
She frowned, "we're stranded on this planet, possibly forever and you're turning down the one woman here when I'm expressing an interest instead of trying to fight with you?"
"Yes," he said gravely, "that is exactly what I am doing. I will not take part in your desperation; I believe that Hades will come for us."
"There's someone else isn't there." She said, her eyes narrowing.
"Isn't there always?"
"It isn't the Captain, nor the Major, both of them are spoken for, one of the other female crewmembers, or one of the commando team perhaps?"
"You seriously expect me to tell you?"
She scowled and turned away from him, glowering at nothing in particular, "I've been baring myself to you haven't I?"
"Yes, but you have an ulterior motive it seems, I don't. I simply don't want to compromise her by burdening her with any backlash."
"I'm no—" she frowned, "what is that?"
Garin heard it too, a low rumble, they both began looking around them, un-holstering their carbines reflexively.
"That isn't your stomach is it?" Garin asked as he scanned the trees and bushes for movement.
"Don't be stupid sir, I ate, are you sure it isn't yours?" She said acidly.
He paused to listen for the rumbling, and then looked down, it was below them. He swung over the hull of the Avenger and looked around their gear, what could be rumbling in their gear? Comlinks didn't make any sounds like this so it had to be something else; he began looking over their things, a moment later Vic'que dropped down behind him, keeping her attention on their surroundings as he searched. He had to smile, whether she liked it or not, she really did work in synch with the unit even if it was just out of habit. He stopped on their flightsuits; they were vibrating with each rumble, what was going on here?
He reached down and picked up Vic'que's suit, nothing; he lifted up his and felt the vibration that he'd already observed, and it was coming from the belt ornament that Daru had given him, a smile played across his features. If he ever needed to wonder why he loved her, here was a good example.
Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser Home One, Bilbringi Shipyards
I paused, considering what I wanted to tell her here, if I told her about the belt it could make things difficult.
Deanna looked up, "something the matter Commander?"
I shook my head, no; there was no need to mention this part, time to get creative, "nothing, just reminiscing."
"So you heard the rumbling, what was it, an animal?"
"We never found out, it stopped after we started looking for the source in earnest."
She considered me for a long moment and I wondered if she suspected that I'd just started blowing out of my tailpipes.
"So what happened next?"
"We went back to monitoring the com channels hoping we might find something that could save us."
"Obviously you found something, what happened exactly?"
"Past actions paid off," I said with a cryptic smile.
Approximately five years ago, Endor, the Sanctuary Moon
"Is that one of ours?" Vic'que asked as she watched the transport circling.
"Did you ever see a YT-2000 on an Imperial hangar?"
"So it's Rebel," her carbine raised up as the transport made another pass.
"Or scavengers," Garin said calmly.
He fingered the belt buckle turned transceiver, hoping that Daru hadn't just gotten him killed. The transport made one more pass before stopping between the two crashed fighters. It powered down, Garin scanned the hull for weapons, there were two cannons mounted by the cockpit, and two quad-laser turret cannons, one dorsal, one ventral. No one seemed to be manning the weapons though, which was a plus. Then the ramp lowered and a man dressed in civilian clothes stepped down it and took a look around, instinctively Garin and Vic'que crouched down as his eyes swept the surroundings, before he cupped his hands to his mouth.
"Hades Lead, this is Red Seven, Ace Azzameen. Can I give you a lift?"
Garin and Vic'que looked at each other, Red Seven and Azzameen; the same one from the TIE experimental mess and the Liberty? The Rebels had a tendency to use their color coded callsigns rather universally, it was like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta so on and so forth in the Imperial Navy. Garin shrugged, what were the odds, and could he afford not to test them?
"Hades Lead, your people gave us the tracking frequency, I know you're here. I'm unarmed I promise, we're here for an exchange!"
"They made a deal?" Vic'que said, her tone saying what she thought of that.
"If he reaches for anything aside from me, shoot him."
She nodded, drawing a bead on the lone pilot, Garin scuttled off several meters, careful not to disturb the surrounding foliage as he moved. When he was well away from Vic'que's position he finally stood up, carbine holstered and stepped into view of the Rebel.
"Care to explain what you're doing here Azzameen?"
Azzameen's eyes tracked over, Garin had the satisfaction seeing him jump slightly, "you've been crouching in the bushes the whole time Hades?"
"When unmarked transports start circling my crash site I get a little suspicious."
He nodded, "yeah I know the feeling, I've had my share of backstabs and traps; for what its worth, this is completely legitimate." He scanned the surroundings again, eyeing the Avenger particularly, "aren't there two of you?"
"She died," Garin said tightly, hoping he sounded convincing.
Azzameen's face fell and he actually looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, I wish I could have come sooner."
"So what is this deal?"
He pointed to the Avenger, and then thumbed over his shoulder towards the Defender, "the salvage guys up top come down and get your toys, and I take you to your people."
"They're both wrecks you realize," Garin was less skeptical now. Hades had bargained two advanced TIE models for their rescue, it sounded like something he'd do. This was interesting in the extreme.
"Yeah, but we've never gotten to look at either design up close before, so even two wrecks are worth a lot to our people."
"Fair enough," he finally approached Azzameen, walking to the transport. "I'm your passenger it would seem."
"Alright, just hold on a moment, I need to plant this."
He held up a homing beacon, walking a short distance away before placing it and activating it. In the time it took him to set it up, Garin turned and signaled to Vic'que, who stood and joined him by the ramp quickly. When Azzameen turned to find that he had two passengers it was his turn to look suspicious.
"Any other surprises I should know about?"
"She's not going to shoot you?" Garin supplied with a smile.
"I'm not too sure about that, you could have told me you know Hades."
"Would you have given away your trump card in my situation?"
He considered for a moment before nodding with a sigh, "well get aboard, I've got rendezvous coordinates to dump you off at."
He turned and walked up the ramp, Garin and Vic'que followed him a moment later. A brown droid was waiting at the top of the ramp, its photoreceptor glowing attentively as it eyed the two Imperials following Azzameen.
"When I agreed to fight for the Rebellion," the droid said in an obnoxious voice, "I never thought I would be flying Imperial pilots around."
"Be quiet Emkay, we made a deal, this is part of it. Think of it as a business arrangement, you remember what those are right?"
"I know what a business deal is, and this isn't one." The droid said haughtily, turning and trundling away and its treads.
"Ignore him, he thinks he's a true Rebel," Azzameen said apologetically, "and has the dislike of Imperials to prove it."
"First time I've heard of a droid choosing sides," Vic'que said skeptically.
"Well it takes all kinds," Azzameen said; he waved around the cabin. "Find a place to sit; I'll get us spaceside shortly."
Vic'que immediately went to the couch in one corner arranged around a holotable, strapping herself in before lying down and falling asleep almost instantly.
"She looks exhausted," Azzameen said as he looked at Vic'que as the latter lay breathing quietly.
"She's had a rough time, and I don't just mean the crash." Garin said, "don't get any ideas Azzameen, she is one of my pilots."
"Don't worry Hades, I won't do anything funny." He frowned for a moment and turned to Garin. "You know we can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Calling each other by last names and command designations, I think we'll both agree that the war from our perspective is over."
Garin considered the statement for a moment before holding out his hand, "Garin Durives, Lieutenant-Commander, Hades Wing off the Black Knight."
Azzameen gave an easy and warm smile as he took the offered hand, shaking it strongly; "Ace Azzameen, Captain, Viper Squadron off the Independence."
"I didn't realize that was your real name, parents weren't very modest were they? What happened to the Liberty?"
Ace's smile vanished; he withdrew his hand with a pained expression. "She was the first to go up when the Death Star started firing."
Garin drew in a deep breath as he and Ace eyed each other for a moment before he spoke again, "I'm sorry, that's not worth much, but I am sorry. That monster should never have been put onto a drawing board."
The smile returned, though not as strongly as before; "no, it's actually worth something hearing it from you," he seemed to consider for a moment, "Garin." He said it carefully, as if he was testing the sound. "I wasn't sure what to think when I heard that you were here; I thought the one decent Imperial I'd met was actually just as bloodthirsty as the rest."
"You have no idea; we're an entire unit of quasi mutineers and deserters."
"Sounds like a fun job keeping that together, Emkay are we ready to get going?"
The droid's voice came from the cockpit, "we've been ready but the two of you thought it was time to make friends."
Ace and Garin exchanged glances; the latter patted his holstered carbine, "I'm not a bad shot you know."