Chapter Five.
The Rogues and their X-Wings had been transferred to a modified Corellian Corvette, the Penetrator. It was a tight squeeze, but all twelve of the X-Wings had been placed into the storage bays. Darvix had been told that the former Wraith Squadron had pulled a similar stunt in their efforts against an Imperial Warlord. The Rogues would fly aboard the Penetrator until it was about three-quarters of the way to Nar Shadaa. At that point, The Rogues would assume command of their X-Wings for the last leg of the trip.
Unfortunately, Darvix said to himself, this flight is over in only four days.
Darvix didn't want to return to his homeworld of Nar Shadaa. He had fought so hard to leave that backwater moon, and now the Republic was sending him back. Darvix idly wondered when fate would give him a hand of Sabaac cards that he could do something with. It seemed as if the universe had a flush, and he was about to loose his shirt.
He tossed down the rest of his Lomin ale. Darvix knew in the back of his mind that he would end up paying for the five mugs he had already downed. Normally, the young pilot wasn't much of a drinker, but the last thing he wanted to do now was think about the backwater moon he was returning to.
"I think you've had too much to drink," came a soothing voice from beside him.
Cheriss ke Hanadi took a sit beside Darvix, leaning in to him a bit. The two of them had been virtually inseparable since his return from the Salvation. Cheriss had been distraught when the initial report had come from the salvation. Darvix had lost so much blood, his entire circulatory had been compromised. The doctors had kept him in the Bacta tank only to ease the death that certainly awaited him.
"I beg to differ," he replied. "I don't think I've had enough."
Cheriss shook her head, "Come on, Darvix. There's no honor in running away from fear, and there's nothing more childish than running away from home."
" 'Riss," he said, addressing her with his pet name for her. "My entire life is filled with dishonor. Growing up as a brainwashed Imperial servant has a tendency to do that to a person…besides, wanting to avoid conflict isn't dishonorable, it's smart."
Cheriss let out a silent sigh. It was incredibly difficult to understand Darvix at times. How could such a brave young man act like such a coward when it came to his home world? Here was a rather green pilot, fresh out of the Academy and made a Rogue, who had already been in two bitter firefights and had willingly sacrificed himself to save her. Yet, he was afraid of returning home. It just didn't add up, what could have happened to him as a child?
Whatever it was, belittling Darvix wasn't going to help him. Had it been anyone else, she probably would have said something demeaning. She had grown up like that, not caring for anyone but herself. Being raised in a cutthroat world like Adumar forced her to live like that, but Darvix came along. Now she had to change. She couldn't constantly give him the cold shoulder, not to the man who had saved her life. Not to the man who loved her.
"You've faced so much worse, Dap," she said softly as she leaned into him, softly nuzzling his shoulder. "We'll be in and out of there in no time."
Darvix smiled slightly, turning his head to look at her. Despite the fact that he was a stuck up, overconfident know-it-all, she loved him. Damn that boy, making her feel feminine.
She shrugged off that last thought as she closed her eyes, leaning in to kiss Darvix softly.
***
Wedge leaned back in his chair and powered off his datapad, looking across his temporary desk at Iella Wessiri and Face Loran. Command had assigned them to join the Rogues for the mission to Nar Shadaa. Despite the fact that they had been ambushed several times at Telos, Command, as well as Wedge, felt that they were sending the best agents they had.
"Who do we have on Nar Shadaa?" Wedge asked.
"Two agents," Iella replied. "Tyria Sarkin and Kell Tainer."
Wedge smiled. Two of his former wraiths (As well as Face) would be working with the Rogues. He knew from experience that Kell and Tyria were excellent intelligence agents. Wedge knew he could trust both of them to assist the Rogues find the Imp technician…Provided they weren't too busy playing suck-face.
"What do we know about Nar Shadaa?" Wedge said.
Face raised a brow, "Don't you have a pilot from there?"
"I don't think he wants to talk about his home," Wedge said, shaking his head. "Besides, it's been about five years since he was last there."
Face nodded and turned on his datapad, "Nar Shadaa is one of the oldest of the urban worlds, joining the Old Republic about five-thousand years before the fall of the Jedi Order. Throughout its history, the economic system has been controlled by hutts, gangs, and the black market. About four-thousand years ago, an exiled Jedi all but destroyed the corrupt organizations controlling the planet. Unfortunately, that resulted in four-thousand years of economic instability and political unrest.
"When the Republic fell and Emperor Palpatine came in to power, Nar Shadaa was the first planet to sign on with the Empire. They hoped that the Empire would provide be able to support them financially. With that support, the began to rebuild, and Nar Shadaa was once again a strong, yet corrupt, urban center."
Wedge nodded. Sounded like a typical Imperial controlled world. No doubt the politicians the Empire had left in charge of the world were living a luxurious life, while those under them struggled every day. From what he had learned from Darvix, many lived in poverty. Darvix himself lost his vision because the doctors and medical facilities couldn't afford Bacta to treat a relatively simple viral infection. Of course, that was during the height of the Krytos scare. Wedge had wondered at times if the pirate-like raids that they pulled on Bacta convoys had made it impossible for Darvix to get proper treatment.
"I should warn you," Iella said. "That it is going to be incredibly difficult to locate our target. Nar Shadaa is an urban wasteland, where shady figures go to hide. Compound that with the fact that the population of the world is over eight billion. Most would argue it'd be impossible to find the target."
Wedge smiled, "Impossible is our business, love."
***
Darvix leaned against Cheriss as he made his way back to his temporary quarters. She had been right, Darvix had way too much to drink. At least the pounding headache he was suffering from would take his mind off Nar Shadaa.
"Darv?" Cheriss asked, "Could I ask you something?"
Darvix nodded, "Sure."
"What in the Galaxy do you do for fun?"
He raised an eyebrow in response, "What is this 'fun' you speak of?"
She glared at him a bit. In all honesty, Darvix couldn't remember the last time he had done something just for the sake of entertainment. He rarely watched holovids, never went to nightclubs, and hadn't even gone on a date since he was a teenager on Tatooine. Of course, that last fact didn't matter anymore. He found himself quite content, being with Cheriss.
"Other than the fact that you're a pilot," she said. "We don't know that much about you."
"What's there to know?" he asked. "Twenty standard years old, grew up on an Imperial controlled nightmare of a moon-"
"Dap," she admonished.
Darvix smiled and rolled his eyes, "Fine, 'Riss. You win."
She smiled and kissed Darvix's cheek. If there was anything he had learned over the years, it wasn't wise to defy a woman. All that ever came out of that was pain, or death by lecture. He couldn't think of many things worse than the wrath of a woman, and he knew there was absolutely nothing worse than the wrath of Cheriss. In order to save his sanity (And general well being), he'd have to answer the question.
"Well," he said with a sigh, "When I was younger I was determined to be a musician. I studied music theory in school. I'd perform at some local spots with a few of my friends…Managed to buy my first speeder with gig money alone."
Cheriss smiled again, "Played an instrument?"
"The synthophone," he said with a nod, "popular instrument at home. I used to be pretty good at it, though I haven't touched it since I enrolled at the Academy. I also sang a bit on the side."
"You?" Cheriss asked, genuinely shocked, "Sing? Come now, Dap. What do you take me for?"
"I'm serious!" he replied, "and I enjoyed it. I'd spend hours at some of the hotspots, just jamming with other musicians."
"I don't know if I believe you, love," she said, grinning up at him.
"And why not?" he asked in turn.
"Simple," she said. "You're the terminal geek type. I don't think I can picture you performing in front of an audience, you're simply not social enough to do something like that."
"I am not a terminal geek!" he replied, feeling himself growing flustered.
"Keep telling yourself that."
"Furthermore," he continued, "I am being very honest when I say my hobby is music. In fact, when we get home, I'll prove it to you."
"I'll hold you to that, Darvy," she replied with another grin.
"I wouldn't expect anything else from you," Darvix replied.
She looked forward again, "Besides, I know you wouldn't pass up a chance to show off."
Darvix shook his head, smiling, "Who would have thought I'd end up with a stuck up tomboy like you?"
"Who would have thought I'd end up with a smart-alec Terminal geek like you?"
Darvix laughed a bit and wrapped his arm around Cheriss. For the time being, the thought of heading back to Nar Shadaa was off his mind. He knew these care-free moments were too few and too far between. He'd have to enjoy them while he could, soon he'd be in the middle of a mission that would determine whether or not the Republic survived.
