I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.
STAR WARS REBELS
The New Spectres
The Shootdown
DELAWARE COAST - 2031
A freighter flew very erratically along the Delaware Coast followed by an X-Wing, two A-Wings, and a pair of TIE Fighters. In the X-Wing, Lucy managed to keep pace with the freighter.
"R9, prepare the ion torpedoes." She said to the astromech who beeped a response and displayed the requested weapons on Lucy's screen.
"Whoever they are, they clearly don't hear us." She muttered to R9. The droid beeped something at her from the astromech socket.
"That too." She said and switched comm frequencies.
"Red Leader to Base. Eric, they appear to be veering off to the east. I think they're heading for New York. You better tell my Mom to have a couple of fighters on standby and maybe Otis AFB too in case they're heading for Boston."
"I got it, Ty said splash them before they get to New York." Eric replied.
"Roger that." Lucy said and reset the comm to the frequency being used by the other fighters.
"Red Leader to all fighters in this pursuit, General Marlion said to splash them." The other fighters pulled away leaving Lucy to chase after the freighter alone. R9 beeped something from his socket.
"I know what I'm doing." She told the droid as she changed the ordinance she was going to use from an ion torpedo to a missile before switching the comm back so she could guide Eric and whatever troops to where the freighter went down.
"I see Atlantic City coming up. Target still moving to the northeast. Here goes nothing. Red Leader, Fox Three." She said and fired an AMRAAM missile at the freighter which hit the freighter and caused it to speed towards the ocean where it landed with a hard splash.
"Eric, we have a water landing. Better tell the Coast Guard. I'm sending you the position now." She reported as R9 sent their position to Eric and Ty.
"We're doing it now as I prepare to leave." Came Eric's reply as Lucy closed her S-Foils and flew towards Atlantic City where she would land and wait for Eric.
"Meet you in Atlantic City and I hope you don't have a gambling problem that nobody knew about."
"If I did, Zollet and Hochster would have found some way to break me of it."
"Would you two stop jamming up the airwaves with small talk." Ty told them. He didn't mind the banter between Lucy and Eric at the office since he knew Lucy was helping Eric come out of his shell, but he did mind it when Lucy was flying around in her ship and anyone on the same frequency could hear what they were talking about. Lucy grinned as she saw a pair of Coast Guard Cutters approaching the downed freighter. As the Cutters prepared to board the freighter, Lucy headed for Atlantic City where she landed her X-Wing and waited with R9 for Eric to meet them.
ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY - 2031
The three eventually made their way to the Coast Guard Station where the crew of the freighter and some recovered cargo had been taken. The pilot, a human male was questioned by Eric while Lucy looked over the cargo.
"I want that pilot's information, he fired a projectile at my ship and it may now be damaged beyond repair as a result." He demanded.
"Out local Air Traffic Control tried to contact you before those fighters were scrambled to chase you down. Our fleet in orbit also tried to contact you. You didn't answer them either." Eric said.
"You still had no reason to shoot me down and no one read me my rights."
"Well then, you have to right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you in a Court of Law. You also have the right to an attorney and one will be provided if you can't afford one. Do you understand those rights?"
"Yes I do."
"So, why didn't you answer our contacts?"
"I think I want a lawyer first." The pilot said. An agent from the Coast Guard Investigative Service arrived to help inspect the cargo. To Lucy and Eric's surprise, the CGIS Agent was a woman.
"You must be Lieutenant Colonel Carpenter and Major Schuyler. I'm Special Agent Abigail Borin, CGIS." She said to them and showed her badge. Eric fought the urge to correct the way Borin had pronounced his last name.
"Pilot asked for a lawyer." He ended up telling Borin.
"What was the cargo?" Borin asked.
"All sorts of goodies that came from one of our favorite Smuggler Havens, Mos Eisley on Tatooine and then Onyx. If the ship's navicomputer is to be believed. They could have falsified their logs during the pursuit with the fighters up the coast." Lucy replied.
"Who gave the shootdown order?"
"General Marlion in Philadelphia gave the order once I mentioned that I thought the ship was heading for New York."
"What fighters were scrambled to intercept this vessel?"
"My X-Wing, two A-Wings from Langley AFB, and two of Admiral Reige's TIE Fighters who started the pursuit. I told the Major to have my Mom scramble two fighters from New York and have two fighters scrambled from Otis AFB just in case."
"We'll conduct a further interrogation at our office in Philadelphia once our suspect has consulted with his lawyer about what sort of fairy tale they want to tell us." Eric added with a hint of sarcasm causing Lucy to look at him in surprise.
"Something I'm missing?" Borin asked them.
"Gradual personality evolution." Lucy replied as R9-D2 appeared with a pair of Stormtroopers and beeped something at the three humans.
"Prisoner transport is here." Eric said.
"What kept them?" Lucy asked.
"Major crash on the Expressway. We had to take the Black Horse Pike here and the traffic was horrible." One of the Stormtroopers replied.
"Hopefully the westbound side is clear for the trip back." Eric said.
"I have to bring my ship back to where it belongs. I guess I'll fly over the Expressway and let you know what's happening since there's probably a ton of paperwork that has to be done before you guys can leave." Lucy told them and left followed by R9.
PHILADELPHIA - 2031
A few hours later, the pilot was in the Remnant's Interrogation Room with Eric, Borin, and a lawyer named DeMarco.
"Why did you not respond to communications from Air Traffic Control and our fleet in orbit?" Eric asked the pilot.
"My comm was broken." The pilot replied after talking to DeMarco.
"Doesn't explain your last two stops or your cargo."
"Weapons, drugs, and we're still fishing the rest of your cargo out of the ocean." Borin said.
"My client was told that the cargo was already onto the ship. As for the ship's last two ports of call, it was there for provisions. Now, I'd like to know who shot my client down and who authorized that pilot to do so. My client has a very good claim for damages against them and the Remnant as a whole. We may also pursue a cause of action for damages against the Coast Guard for the illegal seizure of my client's cargo as well." DeMarco told the two causing Borin to scoff.
"Your client was shot down because my Commanding Officer thought he was a potential terrorist heading for New York with a ship-sized thermal detonator. Where I was assigned before here, that's grounds to shoot first and interrogate any survivors later." Eric told DeMarco.
"Which in that case, I would be filing a wrongful death suit against the Remnant and anyone else involved with shooting my client's ship down instead of claims for restraint of free trade, destruction of property, and illegal seizure of cargo." DeMarco shot back. Outside the room, Lucy and Ty watched the interrogation.
"Admiral Vanto filed a report earlier today about an encounter between his fleet and this guy coming out of Onyx a couple of days ago. He cleared the planet and made a quick jump to lightspeed. This guy didn't answer any contacts from the Chimaera either. I don't care what this shyster says, I'm not releasing this guy until I hear from Forbes." Ty told Lucy.
"Wait until they find out the pilot who shot down that ship was a woman. Doritos or another bag of Cheetos?" Lucy said and pointed at the crumbs on Ty's shirt.
"At least I don't eat them by the truckload and wash it down with a tanker truck of Coke." Ty shot back as Eric quickly correct DeMarco's pronunciation of his last name.
"I'm guessing that if I wasn't here, you'd pull a Gestapo on my client beat some sort of a statement out of him. Wouldn't you Major?" DeMarco asked Eric.
"I was transferred out of Remnant Security before someone there who is enjoying a Russian Winter convinced me to start doing that. Besides that, My parents live in Pittsburgh. On top of that, if I really wanted to run an RSB Job on your client. I wouldn't have read him his rights or allowed him to employ your services Mr. DeMarco."
"And I would have turned his ship into a debris field off the Jersey Shore instead of sending the rest of those fighters back and firing a single missile." Lucy added from the other side of the glass causing Ty to grin.
Shirley showed up a couple of hours later and met with Mr. DeMarco in the kitchen after a brief chat with Borin who was heading back to Washington to brief her boss on the situation.
"Perhaps General Marlion gave you an explanation as to why he ordered my client's ship shot down that he did not give me." DeMarco said to her.
"You'll get it during the Discovery phase of your client's trial." She told him.
"He had a problem communicating with Air Traffic Control and the Remnant's ships."
"I could give you a long, drawn out response. But I'll just sum it up as airborne vessel not answering ATC, New York, and 9/11 equals shootdown orders."
"Why is the Coast Guard involved in this?"
"I have to ask the CGIS Agent what their interest is myself. I'm going to guess it will include some combination of cargo, ocean, New York, and 9/11 though. I have to see if General Marlion has your client ready for arraignment. He's being charged with Aviation Smuggling as of right now. The charges may be amended upon further investigation." Shirley said as she left the kitchen and headed for Lucy's office. She shut the door as she entered.
"He hasn't signed off on the report yet. He and Agent Borin are still discussing what the charges will be. I know they both agreed to start with Smuggling." Lucy said.
"That's what I told Mr. DeMarco we were starting with. I haven't told him you were the pilot who shot his client down yet. I'm letting him find out about that during Discovery."
"Eric and Agent Borin did all the interrogating. I just watched from the other side of the glass. I got the impression that Agent Borin made him very uncomfortable. In fact, I think he outright hates women in positions of authority. I can imagine how he'll react to you or finding out that I was the one who fired the missile that splashed his ship."
"I have to go see the General about the reports." Shirley said and left Lucy's office. She found Ty having a video chat with Steve Laramie and Marty Rawlkins about what happened.
"The pilot isn't too crazy about the female Agent that CGIS sent over. His lawyer isn't too crazy about Eric either. I can only imagine the fireworks when they find out Lucy was the pilot who shot his client's ship down." Ty told them.
"Admiral Reige told me he sent two TIEs after it, Someone told me that they were having Langley scramble two A-Wings and I guess you had Lucy in the air soon after Air Traffic Control called you about it." Marty said.
"We summed it up here to a noun, a verb, and 9/11." Steve added.
"You guys thought it was aiming for D.C. Lucy thought New York or Boston. I told her to splash it as soon as she mentioned Otis Air Base to Eric. I only have three X-Wings here in Philadelphia. Mine, Lucy's, and the usually unarmed one that Darius Carpenter flies. My AUSA is here."
"Who'd they assign to you guys?" Marty asked.
"Forbes from the Brad the Bum case I told you guys about."
"I need the reports on the shootdown and the interrogation for DeMarco." Shirley said.
"Who's DeMarco?" Steve asked.
"Pilot's shyster." Ty replied as he read the reports given to him by Lucy and Eric.
"Make sure we get copies of those too." Marty said.
"You guys will. I know the CO at Langley will want a copy of it." Ty told them.
"We're charging the pilot with aviation smuggling for now." Shirley said.
"We got other work to do. The Varox are getting a little wacky with the Triforians again. They went after a merchant ship last week. Gonna have to go in there with some big guns and give them the old heave-ho out of the system. We gotta talk to Lucy's Dad and Mikey Piett about it. They'll probably give the assignment to either Eli Vanto or Paulie Tyson." Steve told them as Marty ended the video conference.
The Carpenters had their usual nightly family dinner with the addition of Junior.
"I heard you shot a ship down today." Junior said.
"He and his lawyer are trying to sell to Shirley and the courts what Eric called a fairy tale about a comm failure. The pilot also has issues with women in authority. He wasn't too happy about the CGIS agent that got the case. His lawyer wasn't happy with Eric when Eric corrected the way he pronounced Eric's last name. The CGIS agent did the same thing and Eric didn't correct her. I think it's just Defense Attorneys and their clients trying to sell fairy tales he's doing that to now. Most of the details are going to be a noun, a verb, and 9/11." Lucy told the table.
"What's not to leave this table?" Darius asked.
"It will be what doesn't leave the living room. I don't want to use too many detailed terms in front of someone." Lucy replied as she refilled Caleb's plate.
"Junior or Caleb?" Justin asked.
"Caleb." Darius replied as Caleb let out a burp.
"Does he always do that?" Junior asked.
"Hey, say Excuse me." Justin told Caleb.
"Excuse me." Caleb said.
"How was your day?" Lucy asked Darius.
"Broke up two fights, four kids suspended for the next week and one of them has an appearance in court to go along with it. Keisha had another Pre-natal exam yesterday, everything's fine. I know you guys are going to ask since Dad considers them family." Darius replied.
"Any news from Caleb's school?"
"They fired the person who audited Caleb's lunch every day and sent notes home about what was missing and what didn't meet their so-called standards."
"Every time I picked him up, there was one of those notes. I honestly felt like sending the one about his lunch being n violation of the Meatless Monday Rule to Dad so that person got an unwanted Death Trooper visit." Justin added.
"On top of the towed car and lost paperwork."
"So Schultz did lose our loony soon to be ex-neighbor's paperwork." Darius said to Lucy.
"I see nothing. I know nothing. Nothing," Lucy told him. After dinner, Junior went back to New York while it was Justin's turn to do Caleb's nightly routine. After that, the three sat in the Living Room where Lucy shared the rest of the story about the shootdown.
"We found out that the pilot came from Onyx and before that Mos Eisley. He left Onyx, evaded Admiral Vanto's fleet and made a jump to lightspeed. Coming here, he evaded Admiral Reige who had a pair of TIEs chase him. Steve and Marty had two A-Wings sent from Langley Air Base. They thought he was on his way to Washington. When it didn't head for Washington, I was sent to join the pursuit and thought it was headed fro New York or Boston. Either way, it was going to be shot down before it got anywhere near New York or land. Coast Guard recovered a good amount of illegal cargo which gives a charge of Aviation Smuggling to hold the pilot for right now. Hopefully that pilot didn't get or make bail because some judge didn't like how every summary contained a noun, a verb, and 9/11 in it."
"Any other news?" Justin asked.
"Steve and Marty said that the Varox have begun harassing the Triforians again. It's likely that a fleet is going to be sent out there to give the Varox the heave-ho from that system. Uncle Mike is probably going to assign Paul Tyson to that operation since Vitor Reige is assigned to the Home Fleet and Eli Vanto is doing Smuggler Interdiction near Onyx. As for Caleb's so-called contraband Monday Lunches, I want to see that letter for myself. I don't think it was Ed's idea."
"It wasn't. It was tried at my school for a month, but the kids didn't want to eat Vegan or if they did it made them sick and was dropped after 90% of school decided that they would rather skip Lunch then eat that crap. I didn't even eat it. Wanna send Death Troopers to the person who did come up with that idea?"
"Don't tempt me." Lucy told Darius. Around Midnight, Darius did his usual routine and found Mace's spirit sitting on the edge of Caleb's bed.
"I've sent Bryan Khayman to go bother his kids. He was giving me a headache. He was giving Kanan one too. He already gave Qui-Gon one. Yoda wants to hit him." Mace said.
"I guess my luck is that I haven't noticed it."
"No food incidents at the Dinner Table today?" Mace asked as Darius fixed Caleb's blanket so that it covered him better.
"Lucy was on top of his plate and the person at the school who kept taking his lunches away was fired before Lucy or Tevin sent the PPA and Death Troopers to deal with that problem." Darius replied as Caleb shifted positions. Darius ruffled Caleb's hair and put the stuffed animal on the bed closer to Caleb before he went back to his bead and Mace disappeared.
