Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Location: Coruscant High Orbit – Imperial Star Destroyer Ruthless
Din pre-flight checked his Interceptor while he heard Wedge brief the candidates.
"I know each of you have spent some time in an Interceptor or you wouldn't be here, but there's a lot more to learn about the starfighter than you already know", he said.
"You'll each operate in groups of four against two Daggers Squadron teammates. The highest performers will get two hundred points added to their total scores. The bottom performers will get docked fifty points from their total scores."
Din listened as several of the candidates scoffed at the scoring system, which aggravated him to no end. Life wasn't fair and neither was combat.
"It pays to be a winner, folks", Wedge continued. Your confines will be picketed by buoys to keep you out of Coruscant's space traffic. You're limited to a square grid of three thousand kilometers."
One of the candidates objected, "three thousand kilometers, that's not a lot of room, Lieutenant."
"Well, Ensign, you don't always get to dictate the area of space you're piloting in. This drill is about utilizing both the speed and agility of the Interceptors along with teamwork. You will be matched in technological capabilities, but you'll outnumber the Dagger Squadron pilots two to one. If you can't make that work, you need to re-evaluate your ability to compete", Wedge replied.
"The first four of you will be up against Commander Djarin and I. You've been chosen based on your prior experience in the fleet as pilots, so consider it an honor, but don't screw it up. Questions?"
Wedge paused, there were none.
"Okay, Yarak you're Red One, Ordin you're Red Two, Cruzak you're Red Three, and Miko you're Red Four. Get to your birds and strap in, you're up in fifteen", Wedge said.
Din finished his pre-flight check as Wedge strolled up to him. "Wedge, mark down the candidates that had an attitude on the scoring system and dock them ten points."
"Will do, boss. That grated on my nerves as well", Wedge replied.
Din noticed Wedge was still standing there. "Something on your mind, Lieutenant?" he asked, curious at his executive officer's expression.
"Yeah, it's about last night", Wedge said apprehensively. There wasn't an easy way to go about this.
Din looked up from his flight checklist that was on a small clipboard on his left wrist. "What about last night, Lieutenant? Did one of the boys get into too much trouble?" he asked with an eyeroll.
"Not one of the boys, Commander. I'm thinking it's you", Wedge cautiously said.
"Me?", Din asked. "What exactly do you mean by that?" As he squared off to Wedge. He didn't take to being challenged very well.
"Dalia and I saw you leave the bar with Princess Leia", Wedge continued.
"And? I've been friends with her family for years, Wedge. I was just escorting her home. What's your problem with that?" Din asked as his aggravation slowly started to turn against his best friend. The only business anyone had about the two of them dating was him and Leia. Everyone else could kick rocks as far as he was concerned.
"It didn't look like that to me, Sir. We saw you at the bar and it looked like the two of you were flirting a bit", Wedge replied with an edge to his voice.
"Lieutenant, who I flirt with or don't flirt with is my concern and my concern only, are we clear?" Din was in no mood to continue this discussion.
"Clear, Din. But just an FYI – a woman like the Princess is an all in or all-out. There's no in-between", Wedge said as he turned around and walked to his own Interceptor.
Din rolled his eyes. Of course, Wedge was correct, he thought. There was nothing casual about dating a woman like, Leia, but Wedge didn't understand Din's intentions. To be fair, he thought, Wedge had only seen him casually date women before. He didn't have the nickname of Bed Prepper without reason.
He climbed into his cockpit as he thought about how Leia and he would need to be discreet until they were both ready to go public with anything.
Din and Wedge were the first to exit the Star Destroyer, banking hard to head to the center of the square field of operation.
"Okay, Dagger Two. Look alive, Red Team should be coming up on us in just a minute or two", Din said.
"Roger that, Dagger One", Wedge replied. "Okay, be advised I have Red Team on my radar, they are directly below us moving to intercept in a diamond formation."
"Copy that, Dagger Two. Climb to three hundred kilometers from the boarder, cut engines, flip on axis and get ready to fire after burners, we're going to spearhead them and try and break up their formation", Din said.
"Understood, Dagger One. We just have to be careful about our relative speed after we cut engines and flip around", Wedge replied.
"Copy that, just be ready", said Din.
They climbed relative to their original flight pattern as they sped away from Red Team.
"Okay, in three, two, one… shutdown!" Din called over the channel.
"Shut down, initiating flip, by your lead, Dagger One." Wedge responded.
"Okay, hit engines at full and kick in boosters" Din shouted. The thrill of piloting returned to him. He hadn't flown but a few times in the last year-and-a-half, so was glad to be back at it, even if it was only a training exercise.
They rocketed forward, their previous relative speed disappearing as their powerful engines sped them in their new direction.
As Din had predicted, Red Team immediately scattered in their own directions and abandoned each other. Divide and conquer, Din thought.
"Okay, Dagger Two; let's bag Red three", Din said as he pulled back on the controls and pursued the candidate.
"Roger, I have your six, Dagger One", Wedge responded as he kept back and to the left of Din's fighter.
"I have a target lock, firing!" Din said. The weapons on the starfighters were set to their lowest amount of power which would merely record a hit on the other's sensors without doing any real damage.
Din walked the laser fire up for a direct hit on Red Three's engines.
"Okay, Red Three return to base, you are done." Din heard over the general channel as the umpire kept score.
"Good shot, Dagger One. I have Red Two eight hundred and fifty kilometers above and to our left." Wedge said as he kept a careful eye on his radar. "He's moving to angle down and intercept."
"Got it, Dagger Two. Let's get him head on and take a shot as we fly past him", Din said.
This was a difficult maneuver as they would both have to dodge laser fire as they flew past.
They sped towards the interceptor and spun their fighters on their axis to dodge Red Two's attack while simultaneously firing their own.
Both landed hits on Red Two's cockpit.
"Red Two, you are out. Pack it in and head home", the umpire said dispassionately.
"Okay, we just have two more and then we're home free, Dagger One", Wedge said as his own adrenaline kicked on high gear.
"Do you see either of them close by?" Din asked.
"I see Red One, four hundred Kilometers directly left of our position. He is flying parallel to us."
"He's probably going to try and box us in as we get close to the boarder of the operations grid. Let's fire the boosters and intercept him", Din said.
"Good copy, Dagger One", Wedge replied.
Both nimble pilots swooped to their left on a bell curve to cut off Red One. By the time Red One saw them, he tried to pull up to evade but it was too late. Din fired his lasers and struck Red One on his left wing.
"Red One, you just bit the dust. Head home", the umpire said. "Okay Daggers One and Two, you just have one more before you take the cake."
"Dagger Two, do you have any visual on Red Three? I can't find him anywhere on my scopes", Din said.
"I don't see him either… wait, shit… he's behind me two hundred kilometers and closing."
"We're too close to the damn boarder, let's swoop back around and see if we can shake him", Din replied.
Red Three was closing the gap against Wedge even as the two more experienced pilots pulled hard down and to the right.
"I don't think I can shake him off, boss. He's getting too close. I have him twenty kilometers behind me and closing fast", Wedge said as his heart pounded. Simulation or not, both Dagger Squadron operators wanted to win.
"Wedge fly straight at full speed and then pull up as hard as you can. I'm going to hit my braking thrusters and get right behind him as he climbs", Din calmly said. "Ready, execute."
Wedge banked up in a steep curve as Din hit his braking thrusters. As predicted, he rapidly slowed to right behind Red Three.
"I'm lining up my shot… firing!" Din exclaimed.
It wasn't a perfect hit, but just enough to trigger the sensors on Red Three.
"Red Three, you are out. Good job Daggers One and Two. That's a clean sweep", the umpire said.
Wedge whooped over the radio. "Looks like we'll be awarding zero points to the top four pilots, boss."
"Yeah, I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing, Wedge. Let's pack it in and let the next rotation get ready for their drill", Din said.
This was exercise was merely a reflection of how poorly the candidates were performing overall. It wasn't a pretty picture.
Both pilots landed their Interceptors in the hanger bay as the next group got ready to drop out of the destroyer.
Din fist bumped Wedge as they met between their ships. "Wedge, I'm actually thinking we should dock each pilot for abandoning each other at the beginning."
"I'll leave that to you, Sir, but I'm inclined to agree", Wedge responded.
The point of this exercise wasn't just about identifying the top pilots of each group, it was an exercise in team tactics. The pilots failed to execute as a team and lost as an entire unit.
Din walked up to the four pilots who all appeared to be irritated over the loss.
"Dagger Three, that was some stellar piloting. You were the best out of your group", Din said.
"Thank you, Sir." Lieutenant-Commander Cruzak responded.
"Unfortunately, you're all being docked twenty-five points for abandoning each other at the beginning of the exercise. In the Special Forces you either operate as teammates or you die as individuals", Din said as he recalled Wedge's reminder after their last operation.
"What? That isn't fair, Commander", Cruzak responded.
"The only fair thing in combat is living, Lieutenant-Commander", Din said. "I thought the rank on your collar would have demonstrated that knowledge, but apparently not."
"Don't talk to me like I'm some junior officer, Commander. I've put my time in more so than any other candidate here", Cruzak said as he lost control of his temper.
"Lieutenant-Commander, you are way out of line", Wedge growled.
Cruzak shot Wedge an infuriated look. "Lieutenant when I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. My issue is with the Commander, so keep your mouth shut until I say otherwise."
"Speak to my XO like that one more time and I'll have your fuckin wings, Cruzak", Din snapped. "You are no one. In fact, you're not even a candidate as of this second. Once you reach groundside grab your shit and head back to your original unit. Congrats, you just wasted a career worth of training on nothing."
Din's tone of voice left no room for misunderstanding. The Lieutenant-Commander made a huge mistake and lost. Cruzak shook his head and stomped off.
"Let this be a reminder to all of you", Wedge said to the cluster of candidates who witnessed the entire exchange. "Until you are selected by a Squadron, your rank and privilege mean nothing. Any of you speak to a Squadron member like that, regardless of rank, you are gone from the program."
The candidates acknowledged with a stiff, yes sir, and became extremely focused on their own prep work for their training flights.
Din and Wedge walked out of the hanger and to the lockers to change out of their flight suits. Wedge produced a flask of liquor and took a long pull and handed it to Din who did the same.
"The next time I act like an individual on an op, Wedge, knock my head in like I just did to that misfit", Din said as he pulled on the pants to his black fatigues.
"That's what I did on the way back to Coruscant, Din", Wedge reminded him. "Just not as harsh, but next time I will be."
"Thanks, Wedge." Din replied. He didn't want to get so overconfident again.
"Do you want me to knock some sense into you about the Princess?" Wedge asked.
Din chuckled and said, "If you try, you'll be packing your own bags, Wedge. But, about that, let's keep that particular information between the two of us for the time being. If or when Leia and I decide to go public, we'll be the ones to announce it ourselves."
"That goes without saying, boss. Just be careful where you're both seen and that won't be a problem. I don't think any of the boys were sober enough or distracted from their own attempts at conquest to notice, but you can't ever be sure". Wedge said seriously.
"If you hear rumors, you shut it down and come find me", Din said.
This is going to be more complicated than expected, Din thought. Still, he was excited about the following night.