Episode 2: Raid on Ithrieen
"So... Admiral, when you fled, you allied yourself with a pirate gang. You mind filling us in on who they are?"
OH, you mean Qulok's Fist?
"Yes, them. How do they figure into this? Reports say you had a falling out with the leader before the incident. Were they involved?"
... it's hard to say. I think she was still bitter at all things Imperial over what happened at Ithireen.
"Ithrieen?"
I was hoping you would ask. Groan all you want, you still asked.
Ithrieen, a rocky world located in the Mid Rim, was a hard place to build a mining facility, but the Empire, in its tenacity, ultimately found a way to make it work, installing a facility near the equator. The entire planet was covered in rocky crevices and mounts; it's a miracle a ship can fly here. That's what made it so appealing to hot shot racers who viewed the canyons and mesas as a 'gnarly' course. That was until the Empire came to harvest the Phrik the planet was lined with.
Funnily enough, Qulok's raid on Ithireen occurred during our attack on the Pirate base. Strangely ironic and karmic- The Empire attacks pirates and Pirates attack the empire.
"It's hysterical... please tell your story so we can move on."
I wasn't there. What i know is what their boss told me.
"In your own words, who were they?"
I'll tell you later on when i encounter them for the first time. For now, they are just a group that has no love for the Empire, who may be friends to the Rebel Alliance- Hard to say- their allegiance to the organization varied.
The mission for Qulok's Fist was simple in this raid was simple: Steal a few ships. Nothing major- it could be done with their eyes closed. it wasn't the first time any of them had swiped ships, much less Imperial ships, so this was going to be a breeze. Their targets were five-fold: steal 2 Tartan Patrol Cruisers, two Sentinel Shuttles, and a Y4 Transport. This was more or less a personal mission for them as they needed defenses and transports for their base- at least this way, it also hurts the Empire.
The Sentinel Shuttle was the longer cousin of the Lambda- it could hold more people and even AT-PT's, whcih made sense as it was their military shuttle. the Y4 is a obscure type of Transport, having been first built 600 years ago. The Y4 Transports used by the Empire was one of the many ways AT units smaller then the AT-AT could be transported. Labeled a flying brick by its appearance, the Y4 can carry 4 AT-ST's or 8 AT-PT's, and have room for 40 troops and 10 speeder bikes. Its only defense was a single laser turret at the top.
10 members of Qulok's Fist were assigned to this task- since this was an Imperial facility, those assigned had to be human, as any Aliens would be caught and put to slave labor immediately. That being said, they were forced to bring in a couple of Aliens- the Ithireen facility ran on both slave and droid labor. The aliens brought were a Trandoshan pirate named Llith'wich, or Liw for short, who joined Qulok a couple weeks ago when the Empire destroyed his base, and Orshon, a Twi'lek male. Also assigned to this mission was Takas'Reen, or Ren for short, a member of the mysterious Talortai species, who was piloting the escape ship left in orbit if things went sour, and the rest were humans: the most notable are Lowell, a Alderaanian whose unhinged tactics belonged with pirates more then it did the normal Alliance motto, Zhane, a crackshot if there ever was one wanted for 3 murders on Taris, and Tany, a compulsive gambler. The rest were just petty criminals.
For the plan to work, they'd need to wait for the Tartans to return from patrol, which was today. six would steal the Tartans- 3 to each ship, 2 to the shuttles- one each, and 2 to the Y4. Luck was on their side as the two Sentinels and the Y4 were also docked on landing platforms, waiting to be taken. Today was the slaves break for the week, and nearly all personnel were on duty to make sure they didn't riot.
Well... two did, but it was part of the plan.
Several "troopers" dragged the yelling Tandoshan and Twi'lek to holding cells to cool them off after starting a brawl that left the two of them beaten, with welts and bruises all over.
"Let me at him! Let me at him!" Liw screamed as he was dragged down the hallway by 5 stormtroopers- Trandoshans are strong lizards; they have to be to hunt Wookiees. "I'll make you regret ever coming to this station!"
"Make me, lizardlips!" Orshon yelled back as he tried to get loose from the two that held him.
Liw was thrown into his own cell. He slammed down on the floor as the cuffs came off. He got up and snarled, darting for the exit as the door slammed shut in front of him. "When i get out of here, i'm gonna have all your livers for supper, then i will use your head thingies as ornaments on my shuttle!"
"Do that and i'll clog up your systems, you overgrown Tash-taight!" Orshon was thrown into his cell, which slammed shut on his face as well.
"Lively pair." The woman in charge of the facility said as she walked in, flanked by a pair of guards. "Much too lively for my tastes." She leaned forward, staring into Liw's cell. He swiped his hand out at her, growling and snarling like a wild animal. This wasn't her first experience with Trandoshans- she knows how far their reach was. "We'll lobotomize them tomorrow- that should get rid of their violent tendencies."
"Why not today?" One of the troopers asked.
"Because the Holonet signal is at full strength today and i wish to take full advantage of that before we lose it again." She turned to look at the guards. "I trust you can keep an eye on them without hassle?" They all nodded. "Good. If they get too rowdy, don't be afraid to blast them." She left the way they came in.
"The Holonet, ey?" The same trooper responded. "Good. i got 5000 credits on Sebulba that he'll win the Nal Hutta Cup this year."
"What? No way." Another trooper replied as they followed the head honcho out. "Bullseye has this year down."
"Bullseye hasn't won a race in 3 years- he's a washout." The conversation lasted as they walked on out. The troopers keeping an eye on the aliens watched as they left, waiting. They waited until it was silent.
The closest trooper slowly reached his blaster. "Aaaaaaand..." The voices suddenly cut off as the door closed. That will do it. "They gone." 3 of the 7 troopers suddenly sprung into action and incapacitated the other four- three were taken out by stun blasts, but the final dodged the one fired at him and reached for his commlink. He was pushed down, knocking his helmet off, and was knocked out by a punch to the face.
"And i thought what we did was violent." Orshon joked as he and Liw watched from their cells as their 'captors' salvaged blasters and the cell keys from their 'comrades.'
"Be glad they stopped us when they did." Liw said in a more calm manner. "I really would've ripped off your head thingies." Orshon shot a mean glance towards the lizard, who wasn't fazed at all.
One of the troopers stood off and took off his helmet. "I can't breath in these things." Lowell panted with a grunt. He had pitch-black hair- almost like the night sky, pure green eyes with a yellow iris, and a single scar across his nose. The other two went to release their friends while he fumbled around with the commlink, changing the frequency to the one they were using. "How's it looking up there?"
The other five members of their raid party were up at the landing platforms- three were disguised as dock workers, loading weapons and fuel into a Tie Bomber. The last two were also in Stormtrooper gear. One of the 'dock workers' stopped what he was doing to answer the call. "It's going well... so far." The blonde-haired Zhane said. "The Sentinels and the Y4 are still here, and i can see the Tartans coming in." He looked up to the sky and saw the pair of ships approaching.
"{Good. For once, a plan is going according to plan. It's a good feeling.}"
"Don't count your hens before they hatch." Tany, a blue-haired, no nonsense woman replied. "I heard reports that the Star Destroyer patrol will be back soon."
"But that's just a Victory-class with a Pelta- we can handle those."
"{It's still a Star Destroyer, and even the small ones have teeth. Contact Livvy and Vimei. I get the sneaking suspicion that this won't be a quiet raid, and i would like to have them on standby.}"
"Yeah, yeah." Zhane blew off. "I'll deal with Vimei- you deal with your sister. She scares the crap out of me."
"Wimp." Tany joked.
Lowell switched frequency's once more as their alien companions were released. Everyone took weapons off the downed troopers- if his suspicions are correct, they'll need the extra firepower. "Livvy, you there?" No response... though it sounded like there was snoring. Lowell's eyes lidded and his lips twisted. "... Livvy!"
He heard her snort awake. "{Huh? wha? wh... yaaaaawn... was that necessary?}"
"Yes it was." He and the rest began to move towards the exit. "The plan is about to be put into action. Wake up the Bolt."
"{Expecting trouble?}"
"In our line of work, we always need to expect trouble." One of their compatriots opened the door and they walked out. "You know we'll need you and the Ballest once you see explosions, or if the Destroyer comes back from patrol."
"{Fiiiiiiine.}" She shut off her end.
"And that lazy bag of bones is our best pilot?" Liw responded. "We're doomed."
"Ever the optimist." One of the 'troopers' commented as they made their way out of the holding cell area.
Right on schedule, the two Tartan Gunboats returned from their patrol and landed at the landing pads. Steam hissed out as their pads touched metal. The ramps lowered and the crews descended from their ships. Each ship had a crew of 30, which Qulok did not have for this operation, but that was expected as this is for a quick getaway instead of a prolonged fight. Still... that means they can't use the weaponry for defense, not unless there's a automated subroutine they can activate.
"Fuel these up, and be quick about it." One of the pilots commented as they went inside.
"Fuel these up." Zhane mockingly repeated once they were out of eatshot before sticking his tongue out.
"How mature." Tany joked again.
Lowell and his group reached the exit from the hall that led out to the landing platforms. They skidded to a halt and hid behind the walls beside the door, waiting for the combined 140 people to enter the base. The group on the landing platform did as they were asked and fueled up the Tartans; they would need it for their getaway.
Once the crews had entered the base, the rebels waited for the main doors to close before they made their move. "Aaaaand..." The doors clanged shut.
Now the raid was on.
Lowell's group came out of the doorway and headed straight for the platforms. They moved as quick as they could, knowing that someone could come out at any moment and turn this stealth operation into a chaotic mess. As they made it to the platforms, Liw spotted several red barrels, filled with fuel. He grinned as he got a evil little idea. He ran over to one, put it on it's side, and rolled it back to the main entrance.
"What are you doing?" Lowell sharply whispered.
"Planning ahead." The Trandoshan sneered. He reached the entrance way and placed it to one side. He ran back and did the same with another.
Lowell's group reached the platforms and looked back as Liw came back for one more. He rolled it back, but stopped just a couple meters short of the entry way. "... now i think i get what he's thinking of." Lowell said.
Liw found a hose and attached it to the top of the barrel. He kicked it on and fuel sprayed out like a hydrant. He aimed the hose, spraying fuel in one direction, towards the barrel he placed to the left of the door. He stopped spraying, leaving enough fuel in this one for a explosive finish. He grabbed one last barrel and placed it near the nearly spent one. He did the same with this, spraying towards the barrel on the right. Once again, he stopped before it was drained. he took a few steps back and checked the charge on the blaster he swiped before running back to join the rest.
"Wicked." Zhane commented. "I love it."
Lowell put a finger to his chin, deciding who would get what ship. He snapped his fingers when he came to a decision. "Ok, Zhane, you and Lithy'll take one of the Sentinels. Tany, you and Boosk will take the other. Orshon and Xeli will take the Y4. Liw, you, Bricks, and Tarrly will take one of the Tartans. Me, Orson, and Gail will take the last."
"How long till they finish fueling up?" Orson asked.
Tany kicked off the hose, letting it spray the last of the fuel onto the platform. "Now. I don't want to wait around for that Victory to show up." She headed to her ship, with her copilot following after her.
watch?v=e8_2K7QNtpI The Falcon - The Force Awakens soundtrack
"Rebels!" Someone shouted. They all looked back to the entrance and saw one of the troopers they had stunned in the cells was back up- based on how his armor looked and his lack of a helmet, he was the one that was punched out instead of stunned. He ran to the nearest station and hit the alarm button. "We have Rebels stealing our ships!" Alarms began to ring.
"Dammit!" Lowell shouted. Zhane took a shot and put down the trooper- he was a crackshot, getting him right in the head. "Ok, we're going loud! Go go go!" Everyone ran to the ships they were to take.
The doors to the base began to open back up once Liw reached his cruiser. He grabbed the blaster as his two fellows ran up the ramp to enter the belly of the beast. He stopped at the foot of the ramp and took aim at the barrels he had placed. He waited for the right moment to get the most amount of damage.
"Will you hurry up and get in already!?" Tarrly yelled to him.
"Just... one... second..." The doors opened and the guards began to pour out. He grinned and fired, hitting one of the nearly empty barrels. It still had enough fuel to explode. This began a chain reaction, exploding the other barrel. The flames sped along the fuel lanes he had made, all the way towards the full and filled barrels near the door. Once it reached, both full barrels exploded. Many troopers were taken out by the heat and flames, while everyone else was trapped behind a triangle of fire with no way out without getting singed.
"Wow." Lithy merely said. Liw grinned triumphantly before running up the ramp. He and Tarrly reached the top as the ramp closed.
"Savage plan. Remind me not to piss him off." Gail commented as she took the co-pilots seat of the Tartan. Lowell took the pilots seat while Orson went to navigation.
Even though there was a wall of fire preventing the Imperial forces from charging them, that didn't stop them from firing at the escaping ships. Their bolts bounced off the heavier ships, but the Sentinels and Y4 took some hits to the hull. One trooper unknowingly got lucky and hit a vital part of Zhane's Sentinel's wing.
The woman in charge saw all this happening from her office and, of course, got angry as can be. She slammed her fist onto the intercom, "Launch all TIES! I don't care if they have to shoot down our own ships- we can't let the rebels have them!"
The order was broadcast across the facility, which prompted the Rebels to move even faster if they wanted to get these ships in the air before the real terrors take flight.
"Can this bucket of bolts charge up any faster!?" Zhane yelled as he pressed the startup button multiple times. His co-pilot looked at him with lidded eyes- a skilled shooter he may be, but a pilot he is not. She moved him aside and got in the pilots seat of the Sentinel, successful igniting the engine.
Lowell's Tartan was the first up off the platform. He was piloting the ship, and so drifted to where he was directly in front of the hanger doors. His co-pilot went to the gunners seat and activated the weaponry that were located on the hull. Tartan's are anti-fighter frigates; their role is to decimate enemy fighters until they are scrap metal. But it doesn't matter what role a ship has- they all do the same damage to buildings and organics, which is what he banked on as his ship opened fire.
Laser fire ripped through the facility, blasting apart the Ties that rested on the racks nearest the opening. One of the lasers hit a stack of missiles for the Bombers, causing a chain reaction that sent the missiles flying in all directions within the hanger, causing even more destruction. They weren't going to send anything to chase after them anytime soon.
"I love my job!" Lowell laughed as he kept the ship steady. Soon, the remaining four ships lifted up from their platforms and turned to fly as far away from this place as possible.
"{We're ready to go.}" Tany reported over the comms.
"Alright." Lowell turned the ship to line up with the rest. "Now let's get out of here before..." They should've gone sooner as in the skies above, a Victory Star Destroyer jumped out of hyperspace. The side wings opened up, which signaled that it was moving into combat maneuvers. That means Ties weren't going to be far behind. "... they... come... back... um... we may be in hot water here."
"{I wonder why that is, idiot!}" Liw shouted.
A Victory Star Destroyer can hold upwards of 24 Ties- doesn't matter the variant. The one guarding the mining facility carried within it Fighters and Interceptors and it was preparing to launch, meaning that Qulok were going to have a hell of a time getting away from here. If they can at all.
Lowell's eyes darted back and forth, looking for a way to escape from the Ties. He noticed the many canyons and fissures that surrounded the base- that was their only plan. Going up would be suicide- the Tartans may be able to tear through the fighters like butter, but against a capital ship, even one as small as a Victory, is still dangerous, and they would be able to cover the Y4 and the Sentinels. "Into the canyons." He ordered.
"{Into the What?!}"
"I said into the canyons." He moved the control stick to aim towards the nearest canyon. "We make them work for their prizes. If we follow the canyon, we should get out of range of that Destroyer, and this way, we only have one direction to defend ourselves- Up."
"{You're insane, you know that, right?}" Orshon said.
"I've been called worse."
All five ships took a hard turn to the left and made a beeline straight towards the canyons- Zhane's shuttle had a trail of smoke trailing behind from where the random shot hit. As the Tartans were the most heavily armed and the biggest, they were the indicator to see if they could fit into the canyon at all. They could, but they didn't have enough room to maneuver- this was going to be a tight line. Lowell's Tartan was the first one in, followed by the Y4. The two shuttles followed, flanked by the other Tartan. This was as best a flight convoy they'll get that can deliver the maximum protection.
Up in the sky, the Victory launched it's entire compliment of Ties- 10 Fighters and 14 Interceptors, and they all went straight for the escaping commandeered ships. The Destroyers main turbolasers positioned themselves to fire down towards the convoy of ships. The sky light up with green as laser fire sped over the TiEs and impacted the surface with intent to kill. Speaking of lasers, the batteries on the Tartans moved to aim up towards the incoming TIE swarm, as did the Y4's singular dorsal turret. Once they were in range, the battle was on as the Ties fired at the stolen vessels, and the vessels returned in kind, filling the sky with fire.
Back at the mining facility, the last remaining few TiEs that weren't destroyed in the metallic bloodbath brought upon by their own cruiser were ready to fly out. The wind generated from their launch would extinguish the fire on the platform, at least in theory. The six remaining TIES launched out of the hanger...
... and into a hailstorm of lasers that came from the sky. The culprit of such a surprise attack flew from the direction of the sun, firing it's full compliment of lasers non-stop. The ship in question was a Y-Wing heavily modified so extensively, it's now firmly in the Ugly Category. The Y-Wing had the same frame of a Y-Wing used by the Clones in the Clone Wars, but a third nacelle came out of the top of the frame, and all three nacelle's had the wings and engines of TiE Interceptors installed, as well as a number of smaller thrusters, easily making it the fastest and most maneuverable bomber in galactic history, rivaling speeds of the A-Wing. The laser cannons on the Interceptor Wings remained, making the already devastating bomber even more deadly, rendering it capable of holding its own in a dogfight with a cruiser. Other then the added engine nacelle and the Interceptor wings, it remained more or less the same ship.
The Y-Wing kept up its non-stop barrage, destroying every single tie that flew out of the hanger. The hailstorm of lasers pelted the platform with enough force to saw it off from the facility. When enough holes were carved in, the platform tore away, felling down into the canyon, taking all the remaining ships with it.
The Y-Wing pulled up with a turn that would've sheered a standard Y-Wing and headed straight towards the swarm of TiE's attacking the convoy. Bursts of red and green tore through the Empire's forces like they were nothing, accompanied by mind-boggling maneuvers that would be impossible for the bomber to pull off if not for that extra power.
When they were children, Livvy and Lowell had a joke when they were kids, living on their uncles freighter. To them, any ship that was as fast as lightning deserved a special moniker, and their Ugly Y-Wing filled out their specifications exactly to where it deserved it perinatally:
Beware the Thunderbolt.
"{Sorry i took so long.}" Livvy said over the comms, blasting a Interceptor to pieces with one burst. "{Someone left a perfectly good landing platform and i just couldn't bare to see it still standing.}"
"{Nice to see you too, sis.}" Lowell responded, maneuvering the ship to avoid a natural land bridge. The other ships followed, but Zhane's shuttle just had to fly over, clipping the underside.
"{Where's my ship, girl?}" Liw demanded.
"{Currently distracting the Victory to keep it from firing on you. You're welcome, by the way.}"
"{It's what?! Livvy, if that ship blows up, i'm gonna cut that mess you call hair right off and will use it as a oil rag.}"
"{Touch my hair and die.}"
The ship Liw was worried about being destroyed was his own ship- a Braha'tok Gunship called the Ballest. It was the Rebel's equivalent to the Tartan, but a dozen or so meters longer and not as maneuverable. Regardless, it served the Alliance well so far. The Braha'tok gunships hail from the planet Dornea, hence the other name for the vessels, the Dornean Gunship. The planet suffered a surprise attack by the Empire when they came to attack Mon Calamari, but despite being almost in the middle of nowhere, Dornea was, and still is, able to hold its own against the Empire with its impressive yet small navy and military for a almost-isolationist people. Even before then, the planet sent a few gunships to the Alliance, as they knew war was inevitable- they even took part at Scarif. The one belonging to Liw- he stole it 30 years ago an d has grown attached to that tough little ship.
The Ballest came down out of the sky and fired all its weaponry upon the Victory- it may be 10 times smaller then the Destroyer, but it's like a fly to a human; it may be small, but it can be annoying, and that is exactly what the Ballest is doing, maneuvering around the Victory, drawing the Destroyers fire towards it and not towards the ground. As it was a speedy gunship, it kept at a distance to avoid the Destroyer's fire through speed. If the Gunship is lucky, it could probably take a few turbolasers out.
Back down below, between the fire from the Tartans and the Ugly Y-Wing, it's amazing that 17 TiEs were still up in the air, causing mayhem to the crews. There were some skilled pilots here and they were showing off with their maneuverability. One interceptor rolled to avoid cannon fire and launched a burst of lasers, striking the back of the Y4- a few more inches and it would've hit the engines.
"{It there is one nice thing i can say about the Empire, they are tenacious.}" Gail said.
"{Why are you praising our enemy?}" Lithy said.
"{I'm just saying- they don't know when to quit.}"
The Interceptor was blow out of the sky and crashed into the canyon walls. The crash caused a landslide where it hit, which was nowhere near the escaping rebels... but it did give the TiE pilots a few ideas. They opened fire on the walls ahead of the convoy, causing more landslides in a attempt to bury them. They can salvage the ships from their burial.
"{Now that's just evil!}" Zhane exclaimed. The cannons of the Tartans moved to fire on the falling rocks, to prevent the plot of burying them from coming to fruition. Unfortunately... the TiE pilots planned for that and used the opportunity to fire upon the convoy, as they were all distracted by the rocks and boulders.
From behind and in front, the TiE's swooped in, firing their cannons relentlessly. The lasers struck the hulls of the ships, punching holes and cracking plating. All the TiE's blazed over, leaving the ships damaged and a shuttle not doing so good. A lucky shot from the Y4 cannon clipped off the left wing of a Fighter, sending it spinning out on control into a natural formation. Small spark explosions ripped through the cockpit of Zhane's shuttle, but he ignored it. His co-pilot wasn't, but he was stubborn.
"{Now would be a good time to try to leave!}" Livvy proclaimed as she took down another TiE. "{Another run like that and you are all scrap.}"
Orshon's ship shook from a boulder leaving a sizable dent in the side of the Y4. "{But there are still TiE's in the air, and we aren't out of range of that Destroyer.}"
"{But you are also half blown up. Take the risk!}"
"{She's right.}" Lowell said. "{Another attack run by those TiE's and we're dead.}" The Tartan he was piloting pulled up towards the sky. "{We don't have any choice- we're between a wall of rocks and a hard ship, and i'm taking the hard ship.}" As they truly did had little choice in the matter, the pilots all turned their ships upwards, heading for space and their escape from this rocky hellscape.
The smoking Sentinel took a wider turn, taking longer to pull up then the others- even the blocky transport was pulling a better maneuver then it. Tiny explosions riddled the bottom of the wing.
"{Come on, you bucket of bolts. Cooperate with me!}" Zhane shouted.
"{What's going on?}"
"{It's nothing i can't handle.}"
More tiny explosions ripped through the underbelly. Before long, the right wing was sheered right off, falling towards the surface and leaving the shuttle crippled. "{Like hell you can!}" Lithy shouted. "{Our wing just tore off- someone on the ground must've gotten a lucky shot! There is no way we're getting this shuttle back to base in one pi-}"
A TiE interceptor roared right in from above, firing all cylinders. The lasers pierced the cockpit and tore through through the innards. It passed over the shuttle as it erupted into a blazing fireball that fell back towards the ground.
"{ZHANE! LITHY!}"
The Interceptor passed over the shuttle as it erupted into a blazing fireball that streaked back towards the ground. The raid crew was in shock at the sudden loss of two of their comrades, and the prize they were to take back with them.
Lowell sank in his seat and hit his fist on the arm rest. "Dammit..." The ship violently shook as the few remaining TiE's kept up their assault, and now a few of the Victory's guns were joining in on the barrage. His eyes were lit with the fires of hatred as he turned his grief into rage; he grabbed the controls and sheered a sharp turn to the right, barreling towards the Victory.
"Are you insane?!" Orson and Gail exclaimed as the ship shot towards the Destroyer, rocking from all the flak hurled its way.
"Just fire the damn guns!"
All the Tartan's weaponry faced forwards and fired non-stop. Between it and the Dornean, the shields took a major beating. As the Tartan got closer, the shields were penetrated and the lasers made contact, destroying several of the starboard heavy turrets and one of the sensor balls all Destroyers have on top. As both gunships passed over the bulk, the Ugly Y-Wing came streaking in and performed a bombing run, destroying all of the port-side cannons. The bombs must've hit something vital as more explosions popped up and the port wing tore off.
As fire rose from the wounded and listing Victory, the remaining TiE's, which numbered only a paltry four, turned back to render aid to their crippled home, while the Tartan, Dornean, and the Ugly Y-Wing turned towards their fellows to finally escape with their prize. This was supposed to be a easy raid... now they lost two of their comrades to a TiE pilot who's likely cheering at their kill.
The ships regrouped as they rose out of the atmosphere and out into the cold vacuum of space. Everyone was stunned by the suden loss of their comrades. They may be criminals, but they're still sentient beings with feelings, dammit.
"{Zhane... Lithy... i can't believe their gone.}" Orshon somberly said.
"{I know.}" Liw added in. "{That prick still owes me 30 credits.}" Well... most of them were sorrowful.
"{You ass- our comrades just died, and you're more focused on the money?}"
"Shut up, all of you..." Lowell sighed. "Let's... let's just get out of here before reinforcements pop up." Everyone silently agreed with him- this was not the time and place to mourn. Gail moved to his controls to set the course to take them home. "We'll sort this out back at base."
"You may find spare credits in his quarters." Orson suggested. Gail rolled her eyes and pushed the lever forward. All six ships jumped into hyperspace.
Back down on the ground, the surviving base personnel were working nonstop to extinguish the fires. Some were dangerously close to the fuel lines, and if they ignite, the whole base blows to smithereens. Only the four TiE's in the air near the Victory were all that remained of their entire complement, and gathering supplies was going to be difficult with their landing pads at the bottom of the canyon. Only one pad was left, and it was for the bases commander... and she was simultaneously angry and somber.
"Hurry up and put out those fires." She ordered. "If the fuel lines get caught, we're all going up." The troopers and slave workers who survived worked at 110 percent; none of them want to die any time soon. As she was in another part of the facility, she go through this mildly unscathed. A rogue flame did get her on the shoulder, but she quickly brushed that off. She sat down on the crate and leaned forward, placing her head in her fingers.
"What a mess." Her second in command commented. His left arm was in a sling from shrapnel that got in. He's lucky that's all he got, since he was in the hanger during the initial barrage. Parts of a bomber fell from above, crashing down on another bomber. "I wasn't aware Rebels were capable of such ferocity."
"They destroyed the Death Star, and this is what you are surprised by?" She looked up at him. He sucked in his lips as he looked away. "... besides, that... no, they usually aren't this aggressive. Their leaders are Mon Mothma and Jan Dodonna; they abhor wanton destruction like this, and Rebels would jump at the chance to free slaves like they did with the Wookiee's a couple years ago. No, there was no way this was a Rebel raid- it had to have been pirates or a gang."
"That would explain that odd Y-Wing then. I thought they only had two engine nacelles, not three with Interceptor wings."
"I'm familiar with it." A random trooper standing guard said. The two commanders looked to him. "My cousin works at a mechanics shop on the Wheel- pilots do this all the time: they combine various parts that would't normally go together to create something referred to as an Ugly. I've seen a couple- i saw the body of a AT-PT welded together with the wings of one of those old ARC-170's, and my cousin swears he saw the cockpit of a Starviper being used as the bridge of a Corvette."
"You're speaking out of line, trooper." The second snarled.
The commander shut him up with a wave of his hand- she wanted to hear this. "These... "Uglies"... they're common in the criminal underworld?"
"Most of the time. It's usually done by pilots who are too cheap or have no money to spend, forcing them to salvage what they can."
"So they're rare?"
"Somewhat. And it wouldn't surprise me if the Rebels were using Uglies as well."
The commander put a finger to her chin whilst rubbing her face with her other hand. "... it's not much to go on, but it's still a solid lead to find these pirates or unhinged Rebels. We'll need to put a call out."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, ma'am." One of the technicians said as she approached. "The barrage took out the communications room- there's no way to send word to the outside, and the only other vessel capable of sending a transmission is the Integration... and it's not in good shape."
The Second was puzzled in his shock; they could damage a Destroyer? "They damaged a Star Destroyer?"
"Yes, they did. According to observations, the modified Y-Wing performed maneuvers a ship its class should not have been able to. It took out most of the TiE's and performed a bombing run on the Integration, damaging its port side and severing its port wing. Based on the damage, i assume that 233 people may've lost their lives on the ship."
The second added the numbers up in his mind. "Adding to our casualties here, that brings it up to 258." The commander buried her face in her hands. "And with the exception of your personal shuttle, we have no other way off this planet. Receiving supplies is going to be impossible until repairs are made."
The commander rolled her hands down her eyes, pulling down her eyelids. This day was bad enough already, but once her admiral learns about this... she won't live to see the next morning. "Uuuugh... Seerdon is going to flay us all alive for this..."
