Disclaimer : Tycho and Winter and all the other Rogues listed in the story
belong to George Lucas and DarkHorse… I get no money blah blah blah…
Authors Note: This is the first story I have ever posted, so be gentle. These first chapters are somewhat based on the Rogue Squadron Comic Books done by Dark Horse, and a lot of the dialogue follows Tycho's adventures, though much of it is my own writing. I do note that Tycho's last name is spelled wrong in my story, Clechu instead of Celchu, but my computer is dumb ;) Anyway, I would really like some feedback and this is a story in progress.
Ch. 1 ~ Chance Meeting.
The day itself was bright and sunny, but a tad cool. The sun shown brightly over the jungle below. The air was thin up in the mountains but very breathable. The sight seemed crisp and relaxing, but Tycho Clechu had little time to take in the sight of his surroundings. He rolled his X-Wing to avoid the deadly fire from the Tie-Fighter directly behind him. He banked the nose of his fighter upward to avoid a protruding rock formation dead ahead of him. Yes, perhaps Cilpar was a beautiful planet, but it was also dangerous.
Tycho, along with the rest of Rogue Squadron of the New Republic had come to Cilpar to meet up with Targeter, their contact who was some sort of intelligence officer for the New Republic. She had promised them that the local resistance was ready to help the rebels by overthrowing the Imperial Moff who now ran the planet. The deal was that Rogue Squadron escort some supplies on a milk run to Mrrlst, dropping by to meet Targeter briefly. They met with a squadron of Tie Fighters instead.
"Hey Wedge, where'd all these gnurled bandits come from?" Wes Janson, one of the Rogue pilots asked his commanding officer.
"Ask me later Janson. I thought this was going to be a milk run too."
Wedge replied, his voice statiky over the comm. Tycho grinned at Wedge's calm voice and targeted another fighter. After dispatching the fighter, he turned his attention to Wes. He winced as he watched Wes attempt a sporty but hard to do maneuver. Wes through his X-Wing into a spin, often called a "spin dry" by most pilots. He created enough turbulence that two of the Tie Fighters hit each other but he was not quite far enough away and the aft section of his fighter burst into flame. Had he been in space it would have surely meant death.
"Sorry Wedge…" came Wes' voice. He spiraled to the ground landing hard near a creek in the midst of the steamy jungle.
"Mark that spot. Don't worry Janson, we'll be back!" Wedge called to his downed pilot. "Rogue Squadron, fall into formation…"
"Wedge, Janson's sending out a beacon." Tycho interrupted his best friend and commanding officer.
"You see a place to touch down Tyc?"
"Yeah… I think I can set down on that creek bed."
"Okay Tycho, check it out. Give us a ring at tea-time. The rest of you back to the barn." Wedge said confidently.
Tycho swept over the area as his friends headed back to an old hangar hidden in a rock incline a ways from where their little skirmish had taken place. He upset some green reptile like birds that flew from their resting- places in the trees as he swooped lower. He found a suitable clearing close to Wes' fighter and set his own X-Wing down. Little did he know that he was being watched from afar and he made his way towards Wes' ship. As he got closer, he could see more and more of the ship. Wow, Wes really plowed into the weeds. At least the fuselage is still in one piece. He thought as he climbed up onto the X-Wing. He pried the canopy open, burning his hands on the warm metal.
"How are ya' buddy?" He asked as he began to pull Wes out.
"Ungh…I think I got a broken leg, maybe a couple of ribs…" Tycho nodded at his friend's strained voice. He placed his arms under Wes' fully realizing that he would have to pull him out and if he had broken ribs it was going to hurt. "Watch it!" Wes yelped in pain.
"Sorry. There's no easy way to do this." Tycho replied patiently. Soon he had got Wes to the ground. He put his arm around Wes and began to half walk and half drag Wes away. Suddenly there was a loud whirring noise. "Stang! There go the afterburners…" The fuselage had lit of fire again. The X-Wing was ready to blow up. Boom! The ensuing explosion knocked Tycho and Wes to the ground. Shrapnel rained down around the two pilots who were soaked from landing in a marshy area. Tycho pushed himself up. "Wes, can you crawl?" He asked hopefully from a few feet away from the injured pilot.
"Yeah." Wes replied weakly.
"Let's get our from under this flak shower and find some shelter." Soon Wes was again limping along under Tycho's help.
Not to far away a pair of electro-oculers traced their movements through the underbrush. The watcher could easily make out the orange flight suits and identified them as rebel pilots, certainly from the two X- Wings that had crashed and landed. The watcher followed their movements until they reached the opening to a cave. It was discernable that one was wounded fairly badly while the other was fine. A mental note made, the watcher did not move until the healthy one let his friend rest while he went into the cave. Then the watcher got up and began to make a way through the dense foliage.
Tycho left Wes with one of his blasters and lit a glow stick as he crept into the cave. "I hate caves." He muttered, shivering ever so slightly at the cool temperature of the cave. Even as a child growing up on Alderaan he had never once played in a cave. Screech came an ear- piercing scream as one of the green winged reptiles Tycho had upset earlier upon landing flew out of the shadows, startled by his approach. Tycho brought up his blaster and fired just as the creature latched onto his gloved hand. "Ouch." He yelped. The creature fell dead to the rock floor. Tycho continued into the cave. Satisfied that there would be no more surprises, he went back to get Wes and was not surprised to see night falling. He helped Wes to his feet and on the way back into the cave they passed the fallen creature.
"What's that?"
"Might be dinner." Tycho replied seriously.
"Are you nuts?!? What if it's toxic?"
"Let's cook it and see how it smells." Tycho smirked. Wes shook his head in disgust. From outside of the cave, the watcher listened to their good-natured banter as Tycho started a fire and searched his pack for emergency med-supplies.
"Arghhhhh!" Wes cried as Tycho pulled the splint tight around his leg.
"Come on Wes, you're the true gunner. You eat ore and spit nails." Tycho said to ease his discomfort.
"I'm…I'm all right."
"Good man. Sit tight while I contact the base." Tycho got up and headed for the mouth of the cave. The watcher took cover behind a clump of large trees. For a moment, Tycho paused outside the entrance and listened. When he heard nothing, he clambered back to his X-Wing. Once there he up- linked with Wedge, informing him of Wes' situation. He and Wedge decided that it would be best for them to try to fly out in the morning when Tycho could figure out a way to get Wes into his X-Wing. He headed back to the cave and observed a yellow dog like animal watch him. It made an awful noise until he had retreated into the cave. Wes looked relieved to see him.
"Sands! What in space is that thing?"
"Ground if I know. It's not in this ridiculous little booklet they gave us." Tycho replied good-naturedly as he began to prepare the creature to eat. Later both he and Wes at the cooked meat hungrily. "Tastes kind of gamy, like a Dianogna of something." He remarked.
"You ate a Dianoga?"
"It was either that or Imperial field rations left over from Endor." Tycho grinned at Wes' pale face.
"Hey, Tycho, you were with the Imperial Navy, weren't you?" It was a question he had been dying to ask the talented pilot since the day they met.
"So were most rebel pilots." Tycho replied quietly, but Wes wasn't one for tact, so he pressed on. Outside, the watcher continued to listen.
"Why'd you switch?"
"I like the X-Wings. They're easier to fly." Tycho attempted to lighten the mood.
"You switched sides because you like the starfighters better?" Wes demanded.
"Tell you what, I write a book, you can have the first copy." Tycho replied, desperate to change the subject. The watcher felt a strong sense of pity for the young pilot. It was time to move.
"I don't think that meat was safe." Wes mumbled.
"What's the problem?" Tycho asked, not even bothering to look up from the fire.
"I'm hallucinating." Wes said calmly, not taking his eyes off the entrance to the cave. "I think I see Princess Leia standing behind you with a blaster."
Tycho had the urge to chuckle. "You've got a fever all right…"
"Shut up and turn around." The watcher said smoothly. Tycho jolted at hearing the soft female voice. He spun towards the source, stuttering.
"Wha…? Highness! What are you doing here?" To his shock and surprise, Princess Leia was staring down a gun barrel at him.
"Holding a blaster on you and asking the questions." She replied smoothly, pleased with the pilot's startled look. "And if I don't like the answers, I'm going to start shooting." Tycho's instincts screamed that something wasn't right here. He had met Princess Leia before…they knew each other. He didn't dare reach for his blaster
"Tycho Clechu, Lieutenant, Republic Space Force. Serial Number 68970024." He told her coolly, getting to his feet and pulling on his orange flight jacket.
"Come on Tyc, its Princess Leia. What's with the POW act?" Wes demanded, clearly confused.
"You know what they can do with plastiforms Wes. She could be anybody." 'Princess Leia' was impressed with Tycho's small speech and behavior and had an urge to smile at him. None the less, she kept her gun trained on them, uncertain of how he would react.
"That's right. It so happens I'm not Princess Leia Organa. Dame Winter at your service." The blond pilot seemed satisfied with her answer. "All right, Tycho, just what are you cross jockeys doing out here?"
"Dame Winter, there's some kind of carnivore creeping up behind you. We had some trouble with them earlier…" Tycho tried to warn her.
"Oh really, Lieutenant, do you really expect me to fall for that?" She asked curiously.
"Please ma'am. He's not kidding…" Wes stuttered.
"Wes, can you reach your gun? One of us should be able to wing it if Winter doesn't kill us both…" Tycho replied confidently. Winter whipped her blaster under her arm and fired, knocking the creature to the ground. The look on Tycho's face told her he was impressed.
"I believe they're called Ronks and they're attracted to light…"
"No wonder they've been crawling in here."
The three bantered for a few minutes about Tycho's cooking; each one relieved that the other party wasn't the enemy. Winter tried to ignore the fact that Tycho was from Alderaan, clearly shown by his accent and looks. She herself was from Alderaan, which had been destroyed by the Death Star. She met so very few who had survived.
"What's going on Winter? We were told this was going to be a milk run." Tycho finally ventured.
"Who's your commander?" Winter asked, though she already knew the answer. These pilots couldn't be anyone but Rogues.
"Wedge Antilles."
"Well, I'll tell you what happened. The local Moff, Boren Tascl was all set to turn Empire facilities over to the Alliance…when he got word that the emperor was dead, we thought the deal would go through. Instead, Tascl turned on us, wiped out two suburbs." Winter explained.
"That doesn't make sense…" Tycho mused while Wes watched the two as the stood close to each other. Winter sipped some of the Oratay Tycho had made.
"I know…unless he knows something we don't. There have been rumors of a new Grand Admiral…"
"That would do it." Tycho mumbled bitterly.
"But we still don't know the full extent of the Empire's resources. So we need to know what the Moff knows. I can't go back. They know me now… But you…" she said suddenly. "…You could pass for an Imp." She glanced at him to gauge his reaction. She had been briefed about Rogue Squadron…given all their files. Lt. Clechu had been and Imperial Fighter pilot in the Navy… Now she watched him to see what he would say. His face remained impassive.
"I'll need a uniform." He finally replied.
"Got a Captain's uniform for you."
"A field promotion." He said with a laugh. " I like it."
"You'll earn it. You need to communicate with us. Use and extremely low frequency to talk to your R2 unit."
Hours later Tycho made his way through the dense jungle. Winter had given him directions to the city where he would find the Imperial Garrison. He had been kicking himself for almost being taken back there at the cave. He and Wes had been lucky that she was a republic agent. He was just glad he hadn't been taken all the way. He wondered if she knew he had been an Imp before. There was no way of telling. Tycho spied the city and straitened his uniform. Once in the streets, he got directions to the garrison and walked in as boldly as he could muster. He did not meet a warm reception.
"Tycho Clechu, Captain. Reporting for duty."
"Look what the Ronk dragged in." One of the pilots laughed at seeing Tycho.
"Another bloody new recruit from Alderaan." Another added in disgust.
"I beg your pardon?" Tycho asked, his blood beginning to boil.
"You know what I mean. Bloody Alderaanian, aren't you? And what do Alderaanians do when the Emperor calls them up for service? They run, don't they? Just like a bunch of cowards." Tycho had heard all the jokes. Alderaan had disarmed herself in hopes of peace, only to be destroyed with his entire family still there. There was only so much he could take and he leapt over the table and onto the man who had insulted him.
" I just want you to know. Not all Alderaanians are pacifists!" Tycho growled, knocking the man out with a hard right hook.
"That's enough!" The other man ordered.
"I was serving in the Imperial Navy when the pacifists revolted on Alderaan, my home planet." Tycho nearly spat.
"Okay, Clechu, you've made your point. Petro can be a bit aggressive. I'm Aldrich Kugel. Welcome to His Majesty's Crimson Squadron."
"Pleased to meet you Aldrich."
"Attention!" An Imperial major strode into the room. "At ease gentlemen. I'm Major Grode, who are you?"
"Clechu, Tycho. Reporting for duty, Sir."
"I assume you can pilot a Tie fighter."
"I have over two hundred hours in Tie Fighter, Sir." Tycho replied truthfully.
"Good. Let's go. We just got word a group of rebels has been sighted in sector nine. We think we've found their depot." They all headed to the landing bay. Tycho was squirming inside. He wasn't to fond of the thought of going into battle against his friends. "Clechu, why wasn't I informed you were coming?" Grode asked suddenly. Tycho never broke his pace.
"I was on my way to Bfashh, Sir. When our convoy was struck by a rebel force. Our troop carrier was destroyed and I was ordered to the nearest Imperial outpost." Grode nodded, obviously satisfied. Tycho sighed inwardly and climbed into his fighter.
"We're not taking any chances. Set lasers, lock on target, and fire as soon as we're within range. We'll blast them into atoms before they even know we're there."
Tycho ran a normal systems check of his Tie Fighter as they flew through the air.
"Clechu, how you doing back there?" Major Grode crackled over the speaker.
"No problem, Sir." Problem. How do I warn Rogue Squadron with out tipping my hand? What did Winter say? Use extremely low frequencies to communicate with my R2 unit. Zot. I hope I have enough time. At these frequencies, it takes seven seconds to transmit each command. We'll be on the target in fourteen minutes. I'll hang a wire and hydroshack the biosystem. He decided, dropping below the other fighter's sensors.
"Clechu! You're in the grass, pull up!"
"I'm fine, Sir. I'm out of your signature in case someone picks us up." Tycho gave the plausible answer.
"Well, don't drop it. That fighter cost a lot of credits." Tycho wanted to laugh. A pilot like him, drop a fighter? Ha. Tycho continued to upload information to his R2.
In the jungle, the R2 unit received its commands and the engines of Tycho's X-Wing roared to life. It navigated over the trees, locking onto Wedge's signal. He, the rest of the Rogues, and the local resistance, led by Elescol Loro were trying to unload supply base. The X-Wing did a low pass.
"What is it?"
"An X-Wing came in at tree-top level." One of her men replied.
"It's a warning. They wouldn't put us at risk unless there was a patrol near by." Wedge explained. Wedge was right. Tycho and the Tie- Fighter Squadron were bearing down on them. Soon, Wing Commander Grode had spotted the supply depot.
"Tighten up your formation and join the attack on the rebel depot. The X-Wing's mine." He ordered. Tycho frowned to himself.
Glory hungry Imp's going to get a medal for shooting down my X-Wing. He thought ruefully as he watched Grode pull in behind his hapless ship, being flown only by his R2 unit. He was about to bid it a fond farewell when the X-Wing dipped around a rock formation with ease, evading the fire from Grode. Whoa! My R2 unit never flew like that before. He thought in amazement. Grode seemed upset by the loss.
"Captain, tighten up your formation now. We've got those Rebels on the run. Tycho did as he was told, but held back. He watched after the small ground force lured some of the fighters where several were destroyed in the trees. Another one followed an air speeder through a rock pass only to be taken about by a man on the ground with a high power blaster.
Arrogant fool. I could have told him not to split his forces. Now there are five of us against my own X-Wing. Tycho observed. No way can my R2 shoot down an ace fighter pilot or even this clown. I'd take him out myself but that would blow my cover. So long old girl. You were a heck of a fighter… Two Tie-Fighters were bearing down on the gliding X-Wing. At the last moment, the fighter kicked into action and the two Ties collided.
"She's still a heck of a fighter!" Tycho exclaimed in surprise. He smiled in satisfaction, but had an impending sense of doom. His cockpit alarms began to go off. "Now she's after me! Hey you stupid piece of scrap. It's Tycho! Your pilot!" He yelled pointlessly as the X-Wing tried to line up a shot.
"Hold her steady Captain. I'll take that bandit off your tail." Grode called, coming down over Tycho's X-Wing.
"Any time, Sir…" At least this will cement my position with the Imps…
"Clechu! He's turning on me! Give me support!" Grode shrieked. True to what he had said, the X-Wing had pulled a double loop and was now chasing him. Moments later the Tie-Fighter lit up.
"Stang…My R2 unit just shot down Major Grode…" Tycho muttered. "Must have absorbed that stunt from me. Oh vos… No! No! You stupid bucket of bolts! Cancel!" Tycho tried to punch in the orders to his R2, but the X- Wing came down fast on him. There was a smash and Tycho felt heat blaze on his left side. "Shot down by my own R2 unit…" he moaned softly. There was a loud crash and the escape harness fired, shoving Tycho up through the smoke and hot flames. A piece of hot metal cut his arm and he yelped in pain, but soon he was floating leisurely down toward the jungle below. "If it shoots me down now, I'll know it's been keeping bad company." He muttered with a glare, looking at the retreating X-Wing. "Hey, thanks a lot!" He yelled just before he began to crash through the trees. Branches smacked and cut him. Finally he jerked in the harness and he came to a halt about five feet from the ground. His body ached and he bled from several small cuts on his hands and face. His flight suit had been torn in numerous places and the left side was black from smoke. He pulled out a vibro-knife and cut himself out of the harness, dropping to the ground. He looked around at the dense and dark jungle. "Great. Just great."
Back towards the small river where Tycho had originally landed, fronds blew in response the X-Wing landing. It set down and there was a loud Click. The canopy came open and Winter pulled off Tycho's helmet.
"Whew…" she said softly and climbed out. She rubbed the nose of the fighter fondly and for a brief moment understood why so many loved to fly in them. She found the camo-tarp and covered the X-Wing. That done, she hiked back to the cave, hoping Wes was ok.
"Janson?" She called hesitantly as she came into the dark cave.
"Lady Winter! Thank the Force you've returned. Got any food?" He asked hopefully. Winter shook her head no.
"No. Something rather amazing happened. I got into Tycho's fighter and it took off." Winter told him. She had been going out to see if Tycho had any food supplies in his ship and to see if she could contact Wedge. Secretly she wished that Tycho would return to report to her. She wanted to see him again. For some reason, she was drawn to him. Leia would tell her it was some sort of chemistry.
Tycho hiked through the woods in the dark for hours, hopeful that he was going towards the city. His body ached and he was tired. He would have liked to sleep, but that was pointless.
"I'll have to walk out, follow Winter's orders…," He said to himself. "Winter… She reminds me of Mia…who died when the Empire bombed Alderaan while I was serving in the Imperial Navy…" He mumbled. Mia was his half sister. She had been much older than him, kind and sweet. Tycho had very few memories of her, only that men whom she paid no attention too had always surrounded her, and that she always would tell him jokes and promise him someday that he would be a great man. He had laughed at her and dreamed about what she said. It had been a long time since he had seen her…
"How's the leg?" Winter asked Wes to stir up some conversation.
"Doesn't hurt any more. Is there anything you can't do?"
"There must be several things." She said with a grin. " I can't cook if you haven't noticed."
"I didn't want to say anything, it's really hard to mess up a protein stick. Excuse me for asking, but why did you give up service to the Princess?" Wes asked curiously. Winter smiled.
"Who says I gave it up?" The truth was that on many past occasion, Winter had posed as Leia. Their faces were remarkably similar and one could pass for the other easily, minus the face that Winter's hair was white as snow. She dyed it or wore wigs for almost all of her assignments.
"Whoops."
"That's right, folks. She's on a secret mission! It's all right Janson, but I do have to contact Captain Antilles as soon as possible." As Winter spoke Vance Largo crept towards the cave. He had been planted in the local resistance years before and was working for the Imps. He was the one who had betrayed the convoy to the Imps and he was still unknown as a spy and was still in Elescol's trust. Elescol had sent him to find Targeter and bring her in. Wedge revealed to them that Targeter was in the forest with Tycho and Wes.
"Elescol was right on the money." Vance said, seeing the glow come from the cave.
"So what's the deal with Tycho? Why did he switch sides?" Wes asked, suddenly realizing that Winter was bound to know any classified information on the second in command of Rogue Squadron.
"It's no secret. He just doesn't like to talk about it. He got drafted into the Alderaan Navy. This led to training by the Empire. He was talking to his girlfriend when the transmission went out. It went down all the time, so it didn't bother him. Later, he found out that Alderaan had been hit by the death star. They were all there… his mother and father, two sisters and his fiancée Mia." Winter paused, listening intently. "Who knows we're here?" She demanded.
"Everyone in the squadron."
"Ok…act like I'm Princess Leia." Moments later, Vance climbed over some rocks, his blaster in the air, both hands raised.
"Hey, no cause for alarm. I'm from the local resistance. Elescol sent me."
"At last." Winter sighed.
"Vance Largo, your Highness." Vance said, bowing and gently touching her hand. Winter had the urge to pull away.
"Please, no formalities Vance. I'm glad the resistance has finally established contact." As Winter said this, storm trooper appeared, nearly surrounding them. Vance smiled cruelly.
"Moff Fasel will be overjoyed to meet the one and only Princess Leia Organa… Just hand me the blaster, Princess." Winter hesitated momentarily. She was more than outnumbered. Finally, she handed it over. Two of the troopers picked up Janson and carried him out. Vance put cuffs on her and guided her by the arm out of the cave. They walked through the trees a short distance to where two transports were waiting. Janson was put in the second one and Winter was placed in the first under heavy guard. Inside, she tried not to worry, but this was a situation she had hoped not to be in.
Tycho could hear machines. Transports and they weren't to far away. He hurried up and broke out into a clearing to see a rough road. Two Imp transports were making their way down the road. Tycho pulled off his jacket and began waving it, trying to attract their attention from a pile of rocks. Finally, they saw him and they ground to a halt.
"Don't shoot!" He called.
"Where'd you come from? What's your unit?" The officer manning the deck gun called to him.
"Clechu, Tycho, Captain, Imperial Navy. I was assigned to Kiidan Unit, but I got shot down by an X-Wing squadron. I've been hacking my way to daylight for thirty-six hours."
"All right Captain. We'll take you into Kiidan. Climb aboard." He called in a friendly voice. "That Squadron's been giving us fits. Too bad you lost your ship, but at least we've got another pilot." He told Tycho as he climbed down into the transport.
"Appreciate the ride." Tycho said, to avoid talking about Rogue Squadron.
"You look beat up, Captain. We fortunately have a skilled healer on board, Princess Leia!"
"Princess Leia Organa?" Tycho nearly choked out the words. Winter was here? What had happened? Where was Wes? He glanced around. Winter was indeed cuffed and being guarded toward the rear of the transport.
"The same. Quite a prize for the local Moff, eh?" He didn't wait for an answer but nearly dragged Tycho back towards where Winter was. "Princess, take care of this pilot."
"Why should I?"
"It's a long way to Kiidan. You wouldn't like it if I made you rid outside in the sun."
"I'll treat him, but not because I'm afraid of you. He's just a soldier. He can't be blamed if his superiors are oretins." She spat defiantly. The officer merely stalked off.
"I'll take that seat soldier." Tycho said to the man guarding Winter.
"But I'm supposed to guard her."
"I think I can handle her. Go on." A hard look from Tycho caused the man to nod furiously.
"Yes, Sir." He got up and moved. Tycho sat stiffly, willing his aching muscles to relax. Winter leaned forward and gently lifted his chin. He looked up, surprised. Their eyes locked. He gave her a small smile.
"It's fun being a captain…" he said softly.
"What happened to you?"
"I got shot down by my own R2 unit." He replied, trying to hid his embarrassment.
"Whoops…" Winter muttered, realization beginning to dawn.
"That was you?" Tycho whispered in amazement.
"I was checking your unit for supplies when it took off. I finally overrode your R2, and found myself surrounded by hostiles, so…"
"Where's Janson?"
"He's all right. He's in the other transport." She reassured him, impressed by the worried look on his face.
"Captain, we're coming into Kiidan. You might want to take a look."
"Thank you, Sir." He turned back to Winter. "We'll talk later." He promised, then got up to go see. Winter watched him go. Soon, they pulled into some sort of compound. She wished Tycho would return to her and stay by her side, but he was gone when they brought her out of the transport. She looked around for him, and was more than disappointed to see no sign of him at all. She was brought in front of Moff Tascl but was more than a little distracted. She made a few curt replies about his choices and was astounded to find he was holding a dinner in her honor. She listened to him prattle on about how the New Republic was dying and then was taken to a room where they took her cuffs off. Once alone, Winter sat on the bed.
"Leia…"she called out to her absent friend. "May the Force guide me.." Another Imp brought her a dress to wear and as she tried it on she could think of far better men to see her in it than an Imperial Moff. Dinner went slowly and the Moff went on and on about his plans. She began to drift off into her own thoughts, trying to device a plan of finding a way out.
Meanwhile, Tycho was soaking his sore muscles in a hot bath. He was oblivious to the danger surrounding him as he sang a love song he had learned as a child. For some reason, he felt happier than he had in a long time. He wasn't sure why, but it felt good.
"Hey Lover Boy." A staff sergeant called from the door. "Suit up, we've got to scramble." He said smoothly, tossing Tycho a towel and a helmet.
"What's up? Ronks in the garbage dump?" Tycho replied, taking the towel.
"That X-Wing Squadron just burst from cover and they're heading this way." Tycho flinched inwardly. Not again… "I hope you fly better than you sing. Those rebels have already shot down five Ties. Tycho nodded, trying to fight his dismay. He suited up and they hurried to the landing bay. The new flight commander was waiting.
"Clechu, you're the senior flight officer. You're in charge of red team." Tycho was more than surprised.
"What's the mission, Chief?"
"We're splitting into two flights. You lead red squad against an armored column advancing toward Kiidan through the Emperor's forest…Petro will lead the assault on the X-Wing Squadron."
"Hey Chief, I've got a lot more experience than he does…" Tycho had hoped he'd have a chance to warn Wedge if he was leading the assault on Rogue Squadron.
"You lead the assault on the armored column, those are your orders." He said firmly. Tycho didn't reply. Well, there's only one way out of this. I can at least protect the column by drawing my own flight's attention. Then I can radio Wedge… Tycho had a plan as he took off. Once in the air, his pilots began to banter.
"The luck! They get the glory, we get mutts to shoot." One groaned.
"Gentlemen, you have your orders." Tycho said to them tiredly.
"We could dust those rebels just as easily as blue squad."
"No doubt." Tycho began, a grin starting to form. "If that's the way you feel about it, you can start with me…" There was dead air silence. "Because I survived Endor as a rebel."
"What?" Came the shocked replies of the four other pilots.
"Tycho to Rogue leader, Wedge, don't shoot! I'm in the lead eyeball." Tycho called out, maneuvering to avoid the attack of his former charges.
"I read you Tycho." Wedge's voice was thrilled. "Maintain bearing… I'm dropping a dye marker on you, Tycho. Attention Rogue Squadron, don't shoot the yellow Eye, it's one of ours!" Wedge called as a yellow dye marker exploded over Tycho's canopy, covering the gray Tie in a pale yellow paint. Rogue Squadron began to make quick work of the panicked Ties as Elescol led her ground force on an assault on the garrison.
Moff Tascl burst into Winter's quarters, blaster in hand. Winter tried to keep from jumping at the surprise. She rose from her bed where she had been sitting; still dressed in the shapely evening gown she'd worn to dinner.
"On your feet highness. It's time to leave."
"It's time for you to leave." She spat.
"Shut up." He grabbed her by the arm. "I need you to pilot my shuttle."
"Didn't you ever learn to do anything useful?" She groaned as he pulled her out the door. He pushed and pulled her towards the landing pad outdoors where a Lambda shuttle was waiting. Winter looked around for a means of escape, but he had a blaster and she was entirely unarmed. Just as they were going up the ramp, Elescol and her Wookie guardian, Gronzik showed up. Gronzik leapt on Tascl. Once Tascl had been subdued he began to shout.
"You won't last a day! The Imperials are landing with massive strength!" He roared at Elescol and Winter.
"You're misinformed Moff…now that you've lost your little kingdom, the Imperials have lost interest in you." Winter told him as and X-Wing and a yellow streaked Tie-Fighter set down.
"Winter…" Wedge mumbled as he climbed out of his X-Wing. So she was Targeter…He strode towards them just as Tycho was making his way up, coming from behind them. Winter barely turned as Tycho approached.
"I'm glad to see you made it, Captain." She said with a grin, truly relieved that the blond pilot had survived. The feeling surprised her. "Your pal Janson is recovering in the infirmary."
"Glad to hear it, Princess." Tycho replied, feigning casual disregard.
"Winter, I just got a call from New Republic HQ… We're pulling out. Tycho, you're flying the Moff's Lambda." Wedge told his best friend.
"What about my X-Wing?" Tycho yelped.
"I can fly that Lambda." Winter said with a fierce resolve.
"Nope." Wedge told her flatly. "Tycho's got space reflexes, you don't."
"You want me to fly that thing by myself? Wedge, good buddy, that thing's a truck!"
"I need to get back to Central." Winter said slowly. "Need a co- pilot."
"Why Princess…I'd be honored."
"Well Captain…" She turned and touched his arm gently, causing Tycho to shiver unexpectedly. "Let's get your friend out of sick bay and leave this garden spot."
"Fine with me." Tycho replied softly. Wedge cocked his head to one side as he watched them walk away a grin slowly spreading across his face. He turned to Elescol.
"You're up to no good…" She said. He nodded, then glanced back to where his best friend was disappearing to. His mind was already spinning, but he turned his attention back to recruiting Elescol into his Squadron.
Authors Note: This is the first story I have ever posted, so be gentle. These first chapters are somewhat based on the Rogue Squadron Comic Books done by Dark Horse, and a lot of the dialogue follows Tycho's adventures, though much of it is my own writing. I do note that Tycho's last name is spelled wrong in my story, Clechu instead of Celchu, but my computer is dumb ;) Anyway, I would really like some feedback and this is a story in progress.
Ch. 1 ~ Chance Meeting.
The day itself was bright and sunny, but a tad cool. The sun shown brightly over the jungle below. The air was thin up in the mountains but very breathable. The sight seemed crisp and relaxing, but Tycho Clechu had little time to take in the sight of his surroundings. He rolled his X-Wing to avoid the deadly fire from the Tie-Fighter directly behind him. He banked the nose of his fighter upward to avoid a protruding rock formation dead ahead of him. Yes, perhaps Cilpar was a beautiful planet, but it was also dangerous.
Tycho, along with the rest of Rogue Squadron of the New Republic had come to Cilpar to meet up with Targeter, their contact who was some sort of intelligence officer for the New Republic. She had promised them that the local resistance was ready to help the rebels by overthrowing the Imperial Moff who now ran the planet. The deal was that Rogue Squadron escort some supplies on a milk run to Mrrlst, dropping by to meet Targeter briefly. They met with a squadron of Tie Fighters instead.
"Hey Wedge, where'd all these gnurled bandits come from?" Wes Janson, one of the Rogue pilots asked his commanding officer.
"Ask me later Janson. I thought this was going to be a milk run too."
Wedge replied, his voice statiky over the comm. Tycho grinned at Wedge's calm voice and targeted another fighter. After dispatching the fighter, he turned his attention to Wes. He winced as he watched Wes attempt a sporty but hard to do maneuver. Wes through his X-Wing into a spin, often called a "spin dry" by most pilots. He created enough turbulence that two of the Tie Fighters hit each other but he was not quite far enough away and the aft section of his fighter burst into flame. Had he been in space it would have surely meant death.
"Sorry Wedge…" came Wes' voice. He spiraled to the ground landing hard near a creek in the midst of the steamy jungle.
"Mark that spot. Don't worry Janson, we'll be back!" Wedge called to his downed pilot. "Rogue Squadron, fall into formation…"
"Wedge, Janson's sending out a beacon." Tycho interrupted his best friend and commanding officer.
"You see a place to touch down Tyc?"
"Yeah… I think I can set down on that creek bed."
"Okay Tycho, check it out. Give us a ring at tea-time. The rest of you back to the barn." Wedge said confidently.
Tycho swept over the area as his friends headed back to an old hangar hidden in a rock incline a ways from where their little skirmish had taken place. He upset some green reptile like birds that flew from their resting- places in the trees as he swooped lower. He found a suitable clearing close to Wes' fighter and set his own X-Wing down. Little did he know that he was being watched from afar and he made his way towards Wes' ship. As he got closer, he could see more and more of the ship. Wow, Wes really plowed into the weeds. At least the fuselage is still in one piece. He thought as he climbed up onto the X-Wing. He pried the canopy open, burning his hands on the warm metal.
"How are ya' buddy?" He asked as he began to pull Wes out.
"Ungh…I think I got a broken leg, maybe a couple of ribs…" Tycho nodded at his friend's strained voice. He placed his arms under Wes' fully realizing that he would have to pull him out and if he had broken ribs it was going to hurt. "Watch it!" Wes yelped in pain.
"Sorry. There's no easy way to do this." Tycho replied patiently. Soon he had got Wes to the ground. He put his arm around Wes and began to half walk and half drag Wes away. Suddenly there was a loud whirring noise. "Stang! There go the afterburners…" The fuselage had lit of fire again. The X-Wing was ready to blow up. Boom! The ensuing explosion knocked Tycho and Wes to the ground. Shrapnel rained down around the two pilots who were soaked from landing in a marshy area. Tycho pushed himself up. "Wes, can you crawl?" He asked hopefully from a few feet away from the injured pilot.
"Yeah." Wes replied weakly.
"Let's get our from under this flak shower and find some shelter." Soon Wes was again limping along under Tycho's help.
Not to far away a pair of electro-oculers traced their movements through the underbrush. The watcher could easily make out the orange flight suits and identified them as rebel pilots, certainly from the two X- Wings that had crashed and landed. The watcher followed their movements until they reached the opening to a cave. It was discernable that one was wounded fairly badly while the other was fine. A mental note made, the watcher did not move until the healthy one let his friend rest while he went into the cave. Then the watcher got up and began to make a way through the dense foliage.
Tycho left Wes with one of his blasters and lit a glow stick as he crept into the cave. "I hate caves." He muttered, shivering ever so slightly at the cool temperature of the cave. Even as a child growing up on Alderaan he had never once played in a cave. Screech came an ear- piercing scream as one of the green winged reptiles Tycho had upset earlier upon landing flew out of the shadows, startled by his approach. Tycho brought up his blaster and fired just as the creature latched onto his gloved hand. "Ouch." He yelped. The creature fell dead to the rock floor. Tycho continued into the cave. Satisfied that there would be no more surprises, he went back to get Wes and was not surprised to see night falling. He helped Wes to his feet and on the way back into the cave they passed the fallen creature.
"What's that?"
"Might be dinner." Tycho replied seriously.
"Are you nuts?!? What if it's toxic?"
"Let's cook it and see how it smells." Tycho smirked. Wes shook his head in disgust. From outside of the cave, the watcher listened to their good-natured banter as Tycho started a fire and searched his pack for emergency med-supplies.
"Arghhhhh!" Wes cried as Tycho pulled the splint tight around his leg.
"Come on Wes, you're the true gunner. You eat ore and spit nails." Tycho said to ease his discomfort.
"I'm…I'm all right."
"Good man. Sit tight while I contact the base." Tycho got up and headed for the mouth of the cave. The watcher took cover behind a clump of large trees. For a moment, Tycho paused outside the entrance and listened. When he heard nothing, he clambered back to his X-Wing. Once there he up- linked with Wedge, informing him of Wes' situation. He and Wedge decided that it would be best for them to try to fly out in the morning when Tycho could figure out a way to get Wes into his X-Wing. He headed back to the cave and observed a yellow dog like animal watch him. It made an awful noise until he had retreated into the cave. Wes looked relieved to see him.
"Sands! What in space is that thing?"
"Ground if I know. It's not in this ridiculous little booklet they gave us." Tycho replied good-naturedly as he began to prepare the creature to eat. Later both he and Wes at the cooked meat hungrily. "Tastes kind of gamy, like a Dianogna of something." He remarked.
"You ate a Dianoga?"
"It was either that or Imperial field rations left over from Endor." Tycho grinned at Wes' pale face.
"Hey, Tycho, you were with the Imperial Navy, weren't you?" It was a question he had been dying to ask the talented pilot since the day they met.
"So were most rebel pilots." Tycho replied quietly, but Wes wasn't one for tact, so he pressed on. Outside, the watcher continued to listen.
"Why'd you switch?"
"I like the X-Wings. They're easier to fly." Tycho attempted to lighten the mood.
"You switched sides because you like the starfighters better?" Wes demanded.
"Tell you what, I write a book, you can have the first copy." Tycho replied, desperate to change the subject. The watcher felt a strong sense of pity for the young pilot. It was time to move.
"I don't think that meat was safe." Wes mumbled.
"What's the problem?" Tycho asked, not even bothering to look up from the fire.
"I'm hallucinating." Wes said calmly, not taking his eyes off the entrance to the cave. "I think I see Princess Leia standing behind you with a blaster."
Tycho had the urge to chuckle. "You've got a fever all right…"
"Shut up and turn around." The watcher said smoothly. Tycho jolted at hearing the soft female voice. He spun towards the source, stuttering.
"Wha…? Highness! What are you doing here?" To his shock and surprise, Princess Leia was staring down a gun barrel at him.
"Holding a blaster on you and asking the questions." She replied smoothly, pleased with the pilot's startled look. "And if I don't like the answers, I'm going to start shooting." Tycho's instincts screamed that something wasn't right here. He had met Princess Leia before…they knew each other. He didn't dare reach for his blaster
"Tycho Clechu, Lieutenant, Republic Space Force. Serial Number 68970024." He told her coolly, getting to his feet and pulling on his orange flight jacket.
"Come on Tyc, its Princess Leia. What's with the POW act?" Wes demanded, clearly confused.
"You know what they can do with plastiforms Wes. She could be anybody." 'Princess Leia' was impressed with Tycho's small speech and behavior and had an urge to smile at him. None the less, she kept her gun trained on them, uncertain of how he would react.
"That's right. It so happens I'm not Princess Leia Organa. Dame Winter at your service." The blond pilot seemed satisfied with her answer. "All right, Tycho, just what are you cross jockeys doing out here?"
"Dame Winter, there's some kind of carnivore creeping up behind you. We had some trouble with them earlier…" Tycho tried to warn her.
"Oh really, Lieutenant, do you really expect me to fall for that?" She asked curiously.
"Please ma'am. He's not kidding…" Wes stuttered.
"Wes, can you reach your gun? One of us should be able to wing it if Winter doesn't kill us both…" Tycho replied confidently. Winter whipped her blaster under her arm and fired, knocking the creature to the ground. The look on Tycho's face told her he was impressed.
"I believe they're called Ronks and they're attracted to light…"
"No wonder they've been crawling in here."
The three bantered for a few minutes about Tycho's cooking; each one relieved that the other party wasn't the enemy. Winter tried to ignore the fact that Tycho was from Alderaan, clearly shown by his accent and looks. She herself was from Alderaan, which had been destroyed by the Death Star. She met so very few who had survived.
"What's going on Winter? We were told this was going to be a milk run." Tycho finally ventured.
"Who's your commander?" Winter asked, though she already knew the answer. These pilots couldn't be anyone but Rogues.
"Wedge Antilles."
"Well, I'll tell you what happened. The local Moff, Boren Tascl was all set to turn Empire facilities over to the Alliance…when he got word that the emperor was dead, we thought the deal would go through. Instead, Tascl turned on us, wiped out two suburbs." Winter explained.
"That doesn't make sense…" Tycho mused while Wes watched the two as the stood close to each other. Winter sipped some of the Oratay Tycho had made.
"I know…unless he knows something we don't. There have been rumors of a new Grand Admiral…"
"That would do it." Tycho mumbled bitterly.
"But we still don't know the full extent of the Empire's resources. So we need to know what the Moff knows. I can't go back. They know me now… But you…" she said suddenly. "…You could pass for an Imp." She glanced at him to gauge his reaction. She had been briefed about Rogue Squadron…given all their files. Lt. Clechu had been and Imperial Fighter pilot in the Navy… Now she watched him to see what he would say. His face remained impassive.
"I'll need a uniform." He finally replied.
"Got a Captain's uniform for you."
"A field promotion." He said with a laugh. " I like it."
"You'll earn it. You need to communicate with us. Use and extremely low frequency to talk to your R2 unit."
Hours later Tycho made his way through the dense jungle. Winter had given him directions to the city where he would find the Imperial Garrison. He had been kicking himself for almost being taken back there at the cave. He and Wes had been lucky that she was a republic agent. He was just glad he hadn't been taken all the way. He wondered if she knew he had been an Imp before. There was no way of telling. Tycho spied the city and straitened his uniform. Once in the streets, he got directions to the garrison and walked in as boldly as he could muster. He did not meet a warm reception.
"Tycho Clechu, Captain. Reporting for duty."
"Look what the Ronk dragged in." One of the pilots laughed at seeing Tycho.
"Another bloody new recruit from Alderaan." Another added in disgust.
"I beg your pardon?" Tycho asked, his blood beginning to boil.
"You know what I mean. Bloody Alderaanian, aren't you? And what do Alderaanians do when the Emperor calls them up for service? They run, don't they? Just like a bunch of cowards." Tycho had heard all the jokes. Alderaan had disarmed herself in hopes of peace, only to be destroyed with his entire family still there. There was only so much he could take and he leapt over the table and onto the man who had insulted him.
" I just want you to know. Not all Alderaanians are pacifists!" Tycho growled, knocking the man out with a hard right hook.
"That's enough!" The other man ordered.
"I was serving in the Imperial Navy when the pacifists revolted on Alderaan, my home planet." Tycho nearly spat.
"Okay, Clechu, you've made your point. Petro can be a bit aggressive. I'm Aldrich Kugel. Welcome to His Majesty's Crimson Squadron."
"Pleased to meet you Aldrich."
"Attention!" An Imperial major strode into the room. "At ease gentlemen. I'm Major Grode, who are you?"
"Clechu, Tycho. Reporting for duty, Sir."
"I assume you can pilot a Tie fighter."
"I have over two hundred hours in Tie Fighter, Sir." Tycho replied truthfully.
"Good. Let's go. We just got word a group of rebels has been sighted in sector nine. We think we've found their depot." They all headed to the landing bay. Tycho was squirming inside. He wasn't to fond of the thought of going into battle against his friends. "Clechu, why wasn't I informed you were coming?" Grode asked suddenly. Tycho never broke his pace.
"I was on my way to Bfashh, Sir. When our convoy was struck by a rebel force. Our troop carrier was destroyed and I was ordered to the nearest Imperial outpost." Grode nodded, obviously satisfied. Tycho sighed inwardly and climbed into his fighter.
"We're not taking any chances. Set lasers, lock on target, and fire as soon as we're within range. We'll blast them into atoms before they even know we're there."
Tycho ran a normal systems check of his Tie Fighter as they flew through the air.
"Clechu, how you doing back there?" Major Grode crackled over the speaker.
"No problem, Sir." Problem. How do I warn Rogue Squadron with out tipping my hand? What did Winter say? Use extremely low frequencies to communicate with my R2 unit. Zot. I hope I have enough time. At these frequencies, it takes seven seconds to transmit each command. We'll be on the target in fourteen minutes. I'll hang a wire and hydroshack the biosystem. He decided, dropping below the other fighter's sensors.
"Clechu! You're in the grass, pull up!"
"I'm fine, Sir. I'm out of your signature in case someone picks us up." Tycho gave the plausible answer.
"Well, don't drop it. That fighter cost a lot of credits." Tycho wanted to laugh. A pilot like him, drop a fighter? Ha. Tycho continued to upload information to his R2.
In the jungle, the R2 unit received its commands and the engines of Tycho's X-Wing roared to life. It navigated over the trees, locking onto Wedge's signal. He, the rest of the Rogues, and the local resistance, led by Elescol Loro were trying to unload supply base. The X-Wing did a low pass.
"What is it?"
"An X-Wing came in at tree-top level." One of her men replied.
"It's a warning. They wouldn't put us at risk unless there was a patrol near by." Wedge explained. Wedge was right. Tycho and the Tie- Fighter Squadron were bearing down on them. Soon, Wing Commander Grode had spotted the supply depot.
"Tighten up your formation and join the attack on the rebel depot. The X-Wing's mine." He ordered. Tycho frowned to himself.
Glory hungry Imp's going to get a medal for shooting down my X-Wing. He thought ruefully as he watched Grode pull in behind his hapless ship, being flown only by his R2 unit. He was about to bid it a fond farewell when the X-Wing dipped around a rock formation with ease, evading the fire from Grode. Whoa! My R2 unit never flew like that before. He thought in amazement. Grode seemed upset by the loss.
"Captain, tighten up your formation now. We've got those Rebels on the run. Tycho did as he was told, but held back. He watched after the small ground force lured some of the fighters where several were destroyed in the trees. Another one followed an air speeder through a rock pass only to be taken about by a man on the ground with a high power blaster.
Arrogant fool. I could have told him not to split his forces. Now there are five of us against my own X-Wing. Tycho observed. No way can my R2 shoot down an ace fighter pilot or even this clown. I'd take him out myself but that would blow my cover. So long old girl. You were a heck of a fighter… Two Tie-Fighters were bearing down on the gliding X-Wing. At the last moment, the fighter kicked into action and the two Ties collided.
"She's still a heck of a fighter!" Tycho exclaimed in surprise. He smiled in satisfaction, but had an impending sense of doom. His cockpit alarms began to go off. "Now she's after me! Hey you stupid piece of scrap. It's Tycho! Your pilot!" He yelled pointlessly as the X-Wing tried to line up a shot.
"Hold her steady Captain. I'll take that bandit off your tail." Grode called, coming down over Tycho's X-Wing.
"Any time, Sir…" At least this will cement my position with the Imps…
"Clechu! He's turning on me! Give me support!" Grode shrieked. True to what he had said, the X-Wing had pulled a double loop and was now chasing him. Moments later the Tie-Fighter lit up.
"Stang…My R2 unit just shot down Major Grode…" Tycho muttered. "Must have absorbed that stunt from me. Oh vos… No! No! You stupid bucket of bolts! Cancel!" Tycho tried to punch in the orders to his R2, but the X- Wing came down fast on him. There was a smash and Tycho felt heat blaze on his left side. "Shot down by my own R2 unit…" he moaned softly. There was a loud crash and the escape harness fired, shoving Tycho up through the smoke and hot flames. A piece of hot metal cut his arm and he yelped in pain, but soon he was floating leisurely down toward the jungle below. "If it shoots me down now, I'll know it's been keeping bad company." He muttered with a glare, looking at the retreating X-Wing. "Hey, thanks a lot!" He yelled just before he began to crash through the trees. Branches smacked and cut him. Finally he jerked in the harness and he came to a halt about five feet from the ground. His body ached and he bled from several small cuts on his hands and face. His flight suit had been torn in numerous places and the left side was black from smoke. He pulled out a vibro-knife and cut himself out of the harness, dropping to the ground. He looked around at the dense and dark jungle. "Great. Just great."
Back towards the small river where Tycho had originally landed, fronds blew in response the X-Wing landing. It set down and there was a loud Click. The canopy came open and Winter pulled off Tycho's helmet.
"Whew…" she said softly and climbed out. She rubbed the nose of the fighter fondly and for a brief moment understood why so many loved to fly in them. She found the camo-tarp and covered the X-Wing. That done, she hiked back to the cave, hoping Wes was ok.
"Janson?" She called hesitantly as she came into the dark cave.
"Lady Winter! Thank the Force you've returned. Got any food?" He asked hopefully. Winter shook her head no.
"No. Something rather amazing happened. I got into Tycho's fighter and it took off." Winter told him. She had been going out to see if Tycho had any food supplies in his ship and to see if she could contact Wedge. Secretly she wished that Tycho would return to report to her. She wanted to see him again. For some reason, she was drawn to him. Leia would tell her it was some sort of chemistry.
Tycho hiked through the woods in the dark for hours, hopeful that he was going towards the city. His body ached and he was tired. He would have liked to sleep, but that was pointless.
"I'll have to walk out, follow Winter's orders…," He said to himself. "Winter… She reminds me of Mia…who died when the Empire bombed Alderaan while I was serving in the Imperial Navy…" He mumbled. Mia was his half sister. She had been much older than him, kind and sweet. Tycho had very few memories of her, only that men whom she paid no attention too had always surrounded her, and that she always would tell him jokes and promise him someday that he would be a great man. He had laughed at her and dreamed about what she said. It had been a long time since he had seen her…
"How's the leg?" Winter asked Wes to stir up some conversation.
"Doesn't hurt any more. Is there anything you can't do?"
"There must be several things." She said with a grin. " I can't cook if you haven't noticed."
"I didn't want to say anything, it's really hard to mess up a protein stick. Excuse me for asking, but why did you give up service to the Princess?" Wes asked curiously. Winter smiled.
"Who says I gave it up?" The truth was that on many past occasion, Winter had posed as Leia. Their faces were remarkably similar and one could pass for the other easily, minus the face that Winter's hair was white as snow. She dyed it or wore wigs for almost all of her assignments.
"Whoops."
"That's right, folks. She's on a secret mission! It's all right Janson, but I do have to contact Captain Antilles as soon as possible." As Winter spoke Vance Largo crept towards the cave. He had been planted in the local resistance years before and was working for the Imps. He was the one who had betrayed the convoy to the Imps and he was still unknown as a spy and was still in Elescol's trust. Elescol had sent him to find Targeter and bring her in. Wedge revealed to them that Targeter was in the forest with Tycho and Wes.
"Elescol was right on the money." Vance said, seeing the glow come from the cave.
"So what's the deal with Tycho? Why did he switch sides?" Wes asked, suddenly realizing that Winter was bound to know any classified information on the second in command of Rogue Squadron.
"It's no secret. He just doesn't like to talk about it. He got drafted into the Alderaan Navy. This led to training by the Empire. He was talking to his girlfriend when the transmission went out. It went down all the time, so it didn't bother him. Later, he found out that Alderaan had been hit by the death star. They were all there… his mother and father, two sisters and his fiancée Mia." Winter paused, listening intently. "Who knows we're here?" She demanded.
"Everyone in the squadron."
"Ok…act like I'm Princess Leia." Moments later, Vance climbed over some rocks, his blaster in the air, both hands raised.
"Hey, no cause for alarm. I'm from the local resistance. Elescol sent me."
"At last." Winter sighed.
"Vance Largo, your Highness." Vance said, bowing and gently touching her hand. Winter had the urge to pull away.
"Please, no formalities Vance. I'm glad the resistance has finally established contact." As Winter said this, storm trooper appeared, nearly surrounding them. Vance smiled cruelly.
"Moff Fasel will be overjoyed to meet the one and only Princess Leia Organa… Just hand me the blaster, Princess." Winter hesitated momentarily. She was more than outnumbered. Finally, she handed it over. Two of the troopers picked up Janson and carried him out. Vance put cuffs on her and guided her by the arm out of the cave. They walked through the trees a short distance to where two transports were waiting. Janson was put in the second one and Winter was placed in the first under heavy guard. Inside, she tried not to worry, but this was a situation she had hoped not to be in.
Tycho could hear machines. Transports and they weren't to far away. He hurried up and broke out into a clearing to see a rough road. Two Imp transports were making their way down the road. Tycho pulled off his jacket and began waving it, trying to attract their attention from a pile of rocks. Finally, they saw him and they ground to a halt.
"Don't shoot!" He called.
"Where'd you come from? What's your unit?" The officer manning the deck gun called to him.
"Clechu, Tycho, Captain, Imperial Navy. I was assigned to Kiidan Unit, but I got shot down by an X-Wing squadron. I've been hacking my way to daylight for thirty-six hours."
"All right Captain. We'll take you into Kiidan. Climb aboard." He called in a friendly voice. "That Squadron's been giving us fits. Too bad you lost your ship, but at least we've got another pilot." He told Tycho as he climbed down into the transport.
"Appreciate the ride." Tycho said, to avoid talking about Rogue Squadron.
"You look beat up, Captain. We fortunately have a skilled healer on board, Princess Leia!"
"Princess Leia Organa?" Tycho nearly choked out the words. Winter was here? What had happened? Where was Wes? He glanced around. Winter was indeed cuffed and being guarded toward the rear of the transport.
"The same. Quite a prize for the local Moff, eh?" He didn't wait for an answer but nearly dragged Tycho back towards where Winter was. "Princess, take care of this pilot."
"Why should I?"
"It's a long way to Kiidan. You wouldn't like it if I made you rid outside in the sun."
"I'll treat him, but not because I'm afraid of you. He's just a soldier. He can't be blamed if his superiors are oretins." She spat defiantly. The officer merely stalked off.
"I'll take that seat soldier." Tycho said to the man guarding Winter.
"But I'm supposed to guard her."
"I think I can handle her. Go on." A hard look from Tycho caused the man to nod furiously.
"Yes, Sir." He got up and moved. Tycho sat stiffly, willing his aching muscles to relax. Winter leaned forward and gently lifted his chin. He looked up, surprised. Their eyes locked. He gave her a small smile.
"It's fun being a captain…" he said softly.
"What happened to you?"
"I got shot down by my own R2 unit." He replied, trying to hid his embarrassment.
"Whoops…" Winter muttered, realization beginning to dawn.
"That was you?" Tycho whispered in amazement.
"I was checking your unit for supplies when it took off. I finally overrode your R2, and found myself surrounded by hostiles, so…"
"Where's Janson?"
"He's all right. He's in the other transport." She reassured him, impressed by the worried look on his face.
"Captain, we're coming into Kiidan. You might want to take a look."
"Thank you, Sir." He turned back to Winter. "We'll talk later." He promised, then got up to go see. Winter watched him go. Soon, they pulled into some sort of compound. She wished Tycho would return to her and stay by her side, but he was gone when they brought her out of the transport. She looked around for him, and was more than disappointed to see no sign of him at all. She was brought in front of Moff Tascl but was more than a little distracted. She made a few curt replies about his choices and was astounded to find he was holding a dinner in her honor. She listened to him prattle on about how the New Republic was dying and then was taken to a room where they took her cuffs off. Once alone, Winter sat on the bed.
"Leia…"she called out to her absent friend. "May the Force guide me.." Another Imp brought her a dress to wear and as she tried it on she could think of far better men to see her in it than an Imperial Moff. Dinner went slowly and the Moff went on and on about his plans. She began to drift off into her own thoughts, trying to device a plan of finding a way out.
Meanwhile, Tycho was soaking his sore muscles in a hot bath. He was oblivious to the danger surrounding him as he sang a love song he had learned as a child. For some reason, he felt happier than he had in a long time. He wasn't sure why, but it felt good.
"Hey Lover Boy." A staff sergeant called from the door. "Suit up, we've got to scramble." He said smoothly, tossing Tycho a towel and a helmet.
"What's up? Ronks in the garbage dump?" Tycho replied, taking the towel.
"That X-Wing Squadron just burst from cover and they're heading this way." Tycho flinched inwardly. Not again… "I hope you fly better than you sing. Those rebels have already shot down five Ties. Tycho nodded, trying to fight his dismay. He suited up and they hurried to the landing bay. The new flight commander was waiting.
"Clechu, you're the senior flight officer. You're in charge of red team." Tycho was more than surprised.
"What's the mission, Chief?"
"We're splitting into two flights. You lead red squad against an armored column advancing toward Kiidan through the Emperor's forest…Petro will lead the assault on the X-Wing Squadron."
"Hey Chief, I've got a lot more experience than he does…" Tycho had hoped he'd have a chance to warn Wedge if he was leading the assault on Rogue Squadron.
"You lead the assault on the armored column, those are your orders." He said firmly. Tycho didn't reply. Well, there's only one way out of this. I can at least protect the column by drawing my own flight's attention. Then I can radio Wedge… Tycho had a plan as he took off. Once in the air, his pilots began to banter.
"The luck! They get the glory, we get mutts to shoot." One groaned.
"Gentlemen, you have your orders." Tycho said to them tiredly.
"We could dust those rebels just as easily as blue squad."
"No doubt." Tycho began, a grin starting to form. "If that's the way you feel about it, you can start with me…" There was dead air silence. "Because I survived Endor as a rebel."
"What?" Came the shocked replies of the four other pilots.
"Tycho to Rogue leader, Wedge, don't shoot! I'm in the lead eyeball." Tycho called out, maneuvering to avoid the attack of his former charges.
"I read you Tycho." Wedge's voice was thrilled. "Maintain bearing… I'm dropping a dye marker on you, Tycho. Attention Rogue Squadron, don't shoot the yellow Eye, it's one of ours!" Wedge called as a yellow dye marker exploded over Tycho's canopy, covering the gray Tie in a pale yellow paint. Rogue Squadron began to make quick work of the panicked Ties as Elescol led her ground force on an assault on the garrison.
Moff Tascl burst into Winter's quarters, blaster in hand. Winter tried to keep from jumping at the surprise. She rose from her bed where she had been sitting; still dressed in the shapely evening gown she'd worn to dinner.
"On your feet highness. It's time to leave."
"It's time for you to leave." She spat.
"Shut up." He grabbed her by the arm. "I need you to pilot my shuttle."
"Didn't you ever learn to do anything useful?" She groaned as he pulled her out the door. He pushed and pulled her towards the landing pad outdoors where a Lambda shuttle was waiting. Winter looked around for a means of escape, but he had a blaster and she was entirely unarmed. Just as they were going up the ramp, Elescol and her Wookie guardian, Gronzik showed up. Gronzik leapt on Tascl. Once Tascl had been subdued he began to shout.
"You won't last a day! The Imperials are landing with massive strength!" He roared at Elescol and Winter.
"You're misinformed Moff…now that you've lost your little kingdom, the Imperials have lost interest in you." Winter told him as and X-Wing and a yellow streaked Tie-Fighter set down.
"Winter…" Wedge mumbled as he climbed out of his X-Wing. So she was Targeter…He strode towards them just as Tycho was making his way up, coming from behind them. Winter barely turned as Tycho approached.
"I'm glad to see you made it, Captain." She said with a grin, truly relieved that the blond pilot had survived. The feeling surprised her. "Your pal Janson is recovering in the infirmary."
"Glad to hear it, Princess." Tycho replied, feigning casual disregard.
"Winter, I just got a call from New Republic HQ… We're pulling out. Tycho, you're flying the Moff's Lambda." Wedge told his best friend.
"What about my X-Wing?" Tycho yelped.
"I can fly that Lambda." Winter said with a fierce resolve.
"Nope." Wedge told her flatly. "Tycho's got space reflexes, you don't."
"You want me to fly that thing by myself? Wedge, good buddy, that thing's a truck!"
"I need to get back to Central." Winter said slowly. "Need a co- pilot."
"Why Princess…I'd be honored."
"Well Captain…" She turned and touched his arm gently, causing Tycho to shiver unexpectedly. "Let's get your friend out of sick bay and leave this garden spot."
"Fine with me." Tycho replied softly. Wedge cocked his head to one side as he watched them walk away a grin slowly spreading across his face. He turned to Elescol.
"You're up to no good…" She said. He nodded, then glanced back to where his best friend was disappearing to. His mind was already spinning, but he turned his attention back to recruiting Elescol into his Squadron.