EXODUS - Part 2
by Robert Cox (smeghead@ix.net.au)
This is part two of my fanfic. Don't ask me how many parts there are going to be, because I haven't figured that out yet. I am hoping to get this story wrapped up in three or four parts, though.
Disclaimers: See part one. I'm too lazy to type 'em all in again.
IT IS FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE BATTLE OF ENDOR. THE
NEW REPUBLIC IS WINNING IN ITS WAR AGINST THE
EMPIRE.
ADMIRAL PELLAEON, HAVING DISCOVERED DATA FROM THE
OUTBOUND FLIGHT PROJECT, HAS LAUNCHED AN INVASION
FLEET AT TERRA, GAMBLING EVERYTHING ON BEING ABLE
TO SUBDUE TERRA'S DEFENCES BEFORE THE NEW PEBULIC
CAN INTERVENE. ADMIRAL DAALA, COVERING HIS MOVE,
HAS LAUNCHED A MASSIVE ATTACK ON THE SHIPYARDS AT
SLUIS VAN BEOFRE LEAVING FOR TERRA HERSELF.
JEDI MASTER LUKE SKYWALKER HAS DECIDED TO LEAD A
MISSION TO OFFER THE TERRANS WHATEVER ASSISTANCE HE
CAN OFFER. COLONEL CORRAN HORN, JEDI KNIGHT AND
COMMANDER OF ROGUE SQUADRON, HAS VOLUNTEERED TO GO
WITH HIM. PRESIDENT LEIA ORGANA SOLO MUST NOW GET
THE SENATE'S APPROVAL FOR AN OFFICAL RELIEF MISSION.
It was a familiar nightmare, but one that had not visited her for a long time now.
"Princess Leia, before your execution I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now," a tall, slim man with thinning blonde hair was saying.
"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more stars systems will slip through your fingers," Leia shot back defiantly. She didn't really know what was about to happen, but she didn't like the situation.
"Not after we demonstrate the power of this station." Grand Moff Tarkin turned away and began to walk towards the viewscreen. "In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power... on your home planet of Alderaan."
Alderaan! No! She lunged forward without even realising it, only to be brought up short by Vader's hand on her shoulder. "No! Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons. You can't possibly..."
Tarkin abruptly whirled around. "You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!" Tarkin's voice dropped in volume, but was still menacing. "I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?"
Leia's head whirled. Betray the Rebellion and save her home planet? Or save the Rebellion and doom her homeworld? Then an idea occurred to her... maybe, just maybe, she could save both.
"Dantooine," she whispered, lowering her head. "They're on Dantooine." She hoped that by lying and giving the location of an old base, she could save both Alderaan and the Rebellion.
Tarkin appeared satisfied, which gave Leia some hope. He said to Vader, "There. You see Lord Vader, she can be reasonable."
Then all hope was crushed when Tarkin said to Admiral Motti, "Continue the operation. You may fire when ready."
"WHAT??" Leia nearly shouted, abruptly bringing her head up.
"You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration. But don't worry. We will deal with your rebel friends soon enough," Tarkin said, almost smugly.
"No..." Leia almost moaned, as she realised that she had failed to save Alderaan. She watched in helpless horror as the planet-destroying superlaser beam lanced out and struck Alderaan, blasting it into small fragments...
That was when she abruptly sat upright, barely choking back a scream. "No!"
The abruptness of Leia's motion startled the person lying next to her. "Wassup, Leia?" Han asked sleepily.
"Nothing. I just had a nightmare, that's all."
"Alderaan?" Han asked, wide awake now. Leia nodded. "You haven't had that dream in a long time. Why start again now?"
"It must be the thought of that massive Imperial fleet headed towards Terra, which is, basically, a defenceless planet."
"You're putting too much faith in the old Outbound Flight data," Han said. "It was written, what fifty years ago? Fifty years is a long time, Leia."
"I keep trying to tell myself that, but I still can't shake the feeling that unless we do something, Terra is going to be overrun very quickly."
"Have you had any luck trying to persuade the Senate?"
"No, none whatsoever," Leia said, sighing. "I just wish the Senate would realise how important this is."
"Well, Leia, I'm not the Senate, and you don't need to convince me," Han said with a grin. "You need to get some more sleep. Convincing the Senate is going to be hard enough without you falling asleep halfway through the session."
Leia laughed lightly. Han had a way of making her forget her problems, or at least give her the feeling that they could be solved. She kissed him. "I love you, Nerf Herder. You know that, don't you?"
He kissed her back. "I'd never forget it."
They were just settling down to go back to sleep when the bedside holocomm flashed, indicating that a message was being recorded. The colour of the flash meant that the message originated from the NRI.
****
Lieutenant Belindi Kalenda had just received a report from the NRI agent on Byss. A force of one Executor-class, one Imperial II-class and three Victory-II class Star Destroyers had been sighted in orbit. They had loaded supplies - a lot of supplies - and then vanished into hyperspace. The report said nothing about their possible destination, but Belindi had a hunch that they were going to Terra. She looked at her chrono. Too early in the morning to wake the President, so she decided to transfer the data to the President's residence, where it could be read at a more civilised hour.
The President's message service acknowledged receipt, and Belindi closed the data link. Yawning, she headed towards the caf maker. Another four hours to go before she could go home and get some sleep. She hated night shift, even if she did earn more money.
****
In an orbiting spacedock above Coruscant's equator, there was a hive of activity, as loader droids, overseen by their human supervisors loaded crate after crate aboard shuttles. When each shuttle was loaded, it took off and headed for the Star Destroyer that was orbiting beside it.
Preparations were under way for Luke Skywalker's trip to Terra.
Luke looked at the manifest for the next shuttle load. This was the one with the X-wing and TIE simulators. The datapad chirped, indicating that Rogue Squadron was now due in. He tuned his comlink to the frequency they were using.
"Errant Venture, this is Rogue Leader. Request landing clearance." Luke nodded as he recognised Corran's voice. Rogue Squadron was right on time. He smiled as he listened to Mirax's reply.
"No need to be so formal, Corran. Secondary landing bay is ready for you."
"Okay, Mirax. Coming in now. Could you have some hot caf ready for us when we land?"
Menace positively dripped from Mirax's reply. "You're lucky that my father let us borrow the Venture. Don't push your luck by expecting a drinks service."
Corran laughed lightly. "Would I be pushing my luck too far to expect the caf machine to be turned on, at least?"
"I might be able to arrange that," Mirax replied in a mock condescending tone.
Luke laughed, and checked off the next item on his manifest. The other Jedi who were accompanying him on his trip were due in soon.
The loading went on.
****
Of course, it was impossible for Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and hero of the New Republic, to do such a thing without attracting the attention of the media.
"This is Licau Nista, reporting for Galactic News Network."
The tall, slim, blonde woman switched off the holoproj and sat back in her chair, deep in thought. She had switched to the newscast because anything to do with Luke Skywalker held deep interest for her. She closed her eyes and remembered...
She struggled from the depths of unconsciousness, to find herself lying on the metal decking of a Star Destroyer's bridge. Admiral Daala had stunned her before making a getaway.
She could feel tremors run through the deck as the chain reaction of explosions that she had started intensified and spread throughout the aft end of the massive ship. She took a quick glance out the massive viewport to confirm that the ship was headed into the gas giant Yavin, then raced to the ejection pod storage area.
She was torn between returning to the fourth moon, where she knew that someone she loved was waiting for her, someone who loved her. But she couldn't. She had a crucial goal to achieve before they could be happy together... at least she could send him a message to let him know that she was still alive...
Callista sat deep in thought, tears running unnoticed down her face. Ever since the aftermath of the mission on the Eye of Palpatine, she had been only able to touch the Dark Side of the Force.
And she would rather die than become a Dark Jedi.
Why? she thought. Was it because I took over Cray Mingla's body? She offered to let me!
She brought her thoughts under control with a sudden effort of willpower. Feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to bring back her ability to use the Force. She sighed. It was like wearing a blindfold. After so many years of being able to use the Force, to suddenly have it removed from you was...
Suddenly, her vision began to fade to black. Huh? What's happening? she thought, as the blackness spread to cover her entire vision. If I didn't know better, I'd say that I'd been... She sat up abruptly as the thought came to her.
Blindfolded! Is this a way to me to regain my contact with the Force? If it was, it made her wonder why it hadn't happened before now. She didn't try to figure it out, though. She didn't know how the Force worked - no one had been able to figure it out - but it was enough for her that she knew that it worked.
Okay, how do I do this? she thought. If it was like a blindfold, all she had to do was to reach behind her head and undo the knot holding it there. She reached up and found... nothing. Her fingers brushed up against the back of her head.
Hmmm, that didn't work, she thought. Then again, it isn't a real blindfold, is it? She was going to have to use the Force to undo it. But...
I'll try it and see what happens. The she remembered what she had been told so many times. Do or do not. There is no try. Okay then, I'll do it, she thought with fresh determination. She concentrated, imagining hands reaching up behind her head. They made contact with the knot, and she knew that she was going to succeed. After fumbling with the knot for a while, she managed to get it undone. The blindfold fell away, revealing the room again.
She felt a sudden flash of trepidation. Did I just use the Dark Side then? She doubted it. Her emotions were the key. She had not been angry, afraid or aggressive - the three emotions that led to the Dark Side. Instead, she had been confident at first, then overjoyed at her success. Light Side emotions.
Time to test to see if she really had regained contact with the Force, or if she was just fooling herself. She closed her eyes and concentrated, picturing the chair - and herself rising slowly in the air. She felt a movement and opened one eye, careful not to break her concentration. She was floating about half a metre in the air. She felt a fresh sense of joy and happiness, which broke her concentration. The chair fell heavily to the ground, but she didn't care. She had the Force back!
She remembered what she had seen on the news. She would help Luke with his mission. Then she remembered something else.
Would he even want to talk to her? She remembered their last parting, about five years ago. There was only one way to find out for sure.
****
The Senate was in session, and common sense was out the window.
That was the opinion of Han Solo, sitting uncomfortably behind Leia, and wondering yet again how in the Force she had managed to convince him to attend a session of the Senate. He'd never had a particularly high opinion of politics and politicians, and now he was being retaught - again - why.
Leia's plan to help Terra had been presented, and as expected, her usual sparring partner, Borsk Fey'lya was doing everything in his power to block it.
"Why should we sent most of our defence forces to a planet that is six months away, even in hyperspace? We have more pressing concerns closer to home," he was saying, trying to persuade other members of the Senate to support him.
Slippery little fuzzball.
"Like what, Councillor Fey'lya?" Leia was asking him. Han snorted. It didn't matter what concerns there were; Fey'lya was arguing against it because Leia supported it, simple as that.
"Admiral Daala, for one. Even though her force has taken heavy losses, we still need to be on the lookout."
Han groaned. Leia had shown the data they had received from the NRI, showing quite clearly that Daala had left for Terra four times now, and he still didn't believe it? What would it take? A personal message from Daala herself, saying "Hi New Republic Senate, I'm off to Terra now, so feel free to send your fleet to hunt down and kill Pellaeon and myself. Have a nice day!" Not likely.
"Councillor Fey'lya," Leia was saying with almost exaggerated patience. "Admiral Daala has left for Terra. I thought the information gathered by the NRI would have been enough to convince you of that."
"All it shows is a group of Imperial warships making a hyperspace jump," Fey'lya replied. "We are inferring that it is Daala's strike fleet in the first place, which is not unreasonable, and we are also inferring that she is headed for Terra. Where is the proof?"
Han rolled his eyes. Fey'lya had gone for the flashy visuals and completely ignored the attached technical data such as entry speed and vector. New Republic hyperspace experts had examined it, and performed their calculations - which still seemed like some sort of magic to Han - and had pronounced that Daala was headed to Terra.
And still Fey'lya wasn't buying it. Either he was being wilfully stupid, or there was a political reason. Han would have bet every last credit that he had on the second option.
The council session dragged on.
* * * * *
On the planet that was the subject of such high-level attention, another day was starting.
Rick Noah emerged bleary-eyed from his tent and looked at the dawn. And a very pretty dawn it is, too, he thought. But I really hate waking up in time to see it.
He made directly for the smouldering remains of the fire, mildly surprised to see that it had survived though the night. He filled a metal cup with water, then placed it on the warmest part of the fire. Coffee, then food.
"Oi! Wake up!" he shouted in the general direction of the tent. A hiking boot came flying through the open door of the tent, headed in the general direction of his head, followed by a stream of curses.
Laughing, Rick caught the boot. Shaking his head in mock disbelief he commented, "Really, Tash, your language shocks me."
A string of even more graphic curses came from the tent, then a head topped by tousled black hair popped out. "Well, I wouldn't have reason to use language like that if you'd have let me sleep to a decent hour."
"Sleep is highly over-rated. What would it take to get you to join me out here?"
"Coffee. Lots of it, and strong coffee, at that."
Suddenly, Rick staggered back as if hit by something. An image began to form in his mind...
He was in a low Earth orbit - although he had no idea how he knew this. Suddenly in a blinding flash of light, dozens - no, hundreds - of spaceships began to appear all around him. The fact that there was other life besides on Earth stunned him. They ranged in size from two absolutely huge ships - Eight kilometres, if they're a centimetre - to ships that were fairly large in their own right, but were dwarfed by the two mammoth vessels.
He saw several flashes on the surface, and within a few minutes he saw a cloud of ICBM warheads streaking up toward their targets - the ships in orbit. The crews of ships realised their danger and began to fire lasers at the incoming warheads. About half were destroyed before the rest impacted on the ships - or actually, the ships' shields. Rick knew this because they detonated away from the ships, and the fact that the impact highlighted the shields themselves.
He watched at the warheads blossomed into fireballs that first weakened, then destroyed the shielding. Some of the ships that had had their shields removed were hit again, and this time the thermonuclear reactions took place directly against their hulls.
Hull plating vapourised, igniting the atmosphere within, and causing plumes of fire to stream out. They only lasted for a short time before they were cut off with an abruptness that suggested that those sections had been sealed off.
Some ships, including one of the two mammoth vessels were hit by multiple warheads, and they were destroyed.
Almost immediately, the ships returned fire, completely scouring a whole city from the face of the Earth in a matter of minutes...
"Rick? Rick! Are you alright?"
He shook off the daydream - he was convinced that it had been a daydream - and looked at Tash. "Yeah," he said, and looked into the kettle. The water was just beginning to boil.
He poured two cups, and handed one to Tash before preparing to cook breakfast. He still wondered about that daydream, though. It seemed too vivid and realistic to be an ordinary daydream. He shrugged mentally. There were more important things to worry about than his daydreams.
[Note: Yes, Rick does appear to be Force-sensitive. But, as members of the US Congress say to reporters asking them about rumours, "I can neither confirm nor deny that statement." Just keep in mind, though, that the Force is created by life, and there is life on Earth, so there might be Force- sensitive people there. They just won't know about it. g]
****
Kyp Durron was overseeing the loading of the Errant Venture. The other Jedi Masters and Knights who were accompanying Luke had arrived, and Luke was taking a well-earned break.
Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head. Kyp, don't be surprised.
Puzzled, Kyp replied, Who are you? It wasn't someone he recognised, although the voice did sound vaugely familiar.
There was a hint of amusement in the reply. Can't tell you. You'll find out in a second.
Then the person entered the loading dock. Cal-, he thought, quelling a feeling of utter amazement.
"Hi Kyp," she said in a soft voice.
"Hi Callista," he replied in a near-whisper. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"
"I've got the Force back, and I'm going with you," she said matter-of-factly.
It took a couple of seconds for that to sink in. "Huh?" Kyp said in amazement.
"I've got the Force back, and I'm going to Terra with you," she repeated calmly.
Kyp feigned an air of utter nonchalance. "Of course."
Callista didn't fall for it, but merely said, "Can you get Luke down here? I want to see his reaction for myself. Just don't tell him who it is, okay?"
The idea of playing this sort of practical joke on his Master appealed to Kyp, who grinned and activated his comlink. Both Kyp and Callista heard his sleepy response, "Yes?"
"Luke, Kyp here. There's someone here who wants to talk to you."
"Send him up, Kyp."
"It's a her, and I think you should come out here," Kyp replied, trying to hold back laughter.
Still half-asleep, Luke said, "Okay, I'll be out in a second. Who is it?"
"You're going to have to find out for yourself, Luke."
"Now you've got me curious," he said before signing off.
Kyp turned to Callista and said, "You sure you're up to this?"
Callista nodded and replied, "It's something I've been putting off for five years now. I have to face Luke again."
Kyp nodded, just as Luke appeared in the doorway of the small building they'd been using as rest quarters. An expression of utter surprise leapt onto his face. "Callista?"
Callista stepped forward, unshed tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "Hi, Luke."
****
Han and Leia walked back to their quarters from the Senate Hall, each a study in conflicting emotions. Han looked ready to rip somebody's head off with his bare hands, and enjoy it. Leia was a study in resigned acceptance. Han wondered how she managed to control her temper. He knew from personal - and painful - eperience that she had a firey temper, but she was controlling it.
Must be some Jedi thing, he thought. He wished that she would share some of it with him before he seriously injured some poor innocent who happened to wander into his path. Just then, his temper cooled considerably. He turned to Leia. "Thanks."
"You looked like you needed that."
"You're right, I did. I'm just angry with Fey'lya. 'Terra is not a member of the New Republic, so we can't help them'," Han said, doing a fairly creditable imitation of Fey'lya's voice. "I s'pose we'd better tell Luke so he can try to convince Terra's leaders to apply for New Republic membership. That way, you can repeat that little trick you did with the Koornacht Cluster a few years back."
Leia nodded. She had been motivated by a desire to stop the Yevethan genocide. It had worked, but she had drawn a lot of criticism.
"I suppose we had better give Luke the news."
****
When Han and Leia arrived at the spacedock, they had the shock of their lives. Standing next to Luke was...
"Callista?" Han asked recovering his wits first.
"Hi, Han," Callista said. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, it has," he said numbly. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"
"I've regained contact with the Force, and I'm going with Luke," she replied simply.
"Forgive me for sounding nasty, but how can we be sure?"
Callista didn't take offense. "Luke has already checked, and he found all the signs of a Force-senstive mind." Luke nodded in comfirmation.
"Fair enough. Oh yeah, before I forget the real reason we came up here, I have to tell you something, Luke."
"What is it, Han?"
Han and Leia had spent most of the trip up trying to decide how best to break the news. In the end, Leia put it quite bluntly. "There will be no New Republic backup for you. Not unless you can convince the Terrans to join the New Republic."
"What? That gives the Imperials a whole year - more, actually - to work Terra over. Did you mention that if we beat Pellaeon, there's a fairly good chance that we won't have any more trouble from the Imperials - ever?"
Leia nodded. "I tried that. No joy."
Luke sighed. "I can understand the reasoning behind such a decision, but I don't like it."
****
After Han and Leia had left, Luke and Callista walked back to Luke's rooms. Corran met them half way. "Hi, Luke," he said. Then he noticed the expression on Luke's face. "What's up? You don't look too happy."
"There won't be any New Republic reinforcements for a long time, at best. Since Terra isn't a member of the New Republic, no New
Republic forces are going to help them."
"You mean, we going by ourselves?" Corran asked incredously.
"You knew that from the start, Corran."
"Yeah, but I was under the impression that we would have backup leaving from here as soon as they had formed up." He scratched his head thoughfully. "This changes a few things," he said in understatement. "Rogue Squadron is good, but even we can't tangle with all of Pellaeon's fleet by ourselves."
"No-one's twisting your arm to make you go, Corran."
"Oh, I'm still going, but I have to tell this to the rest of the Rogues. Remember, for them, this is an all-volunteer mission. I want them to know exactly what they're getting in to here." Then he noticed Callista standing beside Luke. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing at her.
"Oh, sorry. Callista, this is Colonel Corran Horn, Jedi Knight and commanding officer of Rogue Squadron. Corran, this is Callista, Jedi Knight."
"Oh, yeah, I recognise you now. Luke told me about you when I was at the Academy on Yavin Four," Corran said, offering his hand to Callista.
"I deny everything," she said with a chuckle, shaking his hand.
"Really? I thought the stuff he told me about you was pretty complimentary." Then Corran remembered something. "Hey Luke, I thought you told me that Callista had somehow lost her contact with the Force."
"Yes, but she's somehow regained it."
Corran's eyes widened in amazement. "Really? I never really believed it was possible for a Jedi to lose conact with the Force in the first place, let alone regain it."
Callista shrugged. "I know it sounds strange, but no-one has ever really worked out how the Force functions in the first place. We Jedi just happen to be able to use it."
Corran nodded in understanding. "Well, I've got to be off to let the rest of the Rogues know about the changes in the situation. I'm sure we'll be meeting each other again on the trip to Terra," he said, nodding to Callista before heading off to brief Rogue Squadron.
"He seems to be an interesting person," Callista commented as she watched him walk away.
"He used to be with CorSec - the Corellian Security Force. He skipped to the Rebellion after his Imperial Intelligence liason tried to set him up to be killed. And he's a very good pilot. When Rogue Squadron was reformed not long before the liberation of Coruscant, he basically walked straight into a flight leader's position. Wedge has told me a bit about him. He was a bit stand-offish at first, but that was a hangover from his time on the run from the Imperials."
Callista nodded. "I sense in him a deeply buried pain."
"He watched his father die."
That got Callista's complete attention. "What?"
"His father - another CorSec agent - was meeting with someone in a cantina. Corran was watching via remote as backup. A bounty hunter walked up to the booth they were in, and lit it up. Corran's father and the contact were killed, along with another person in the booth. The contact was the bounty. The other two just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Callista nodded again. These things happened, but realising that didn't make it any easier to accept when it happened to you.
Just then, Kyp appeared. "Luke, the loading is complete. We're ready to go whenever you give the word."
Luke nodded. "We'll be going soon, after Corran tells the Rogues of the changes in the circumstances, and gives them a chance to back out."
* * * *
It was three days into the trip, and Corran was conducting interviews with the new Rogues who had come in after the Battle of Sluis Van.
"So, Lieutenant..." he checked his datapad. "Harkin, why did you decide to continue on, even though you know we're basically by ourselves?"
The slim brown-haired woman sitting across the desk from him in he room he had taken as his office said, "My parents are traders. I've been just about everywhere. You know, 'Join the Fleet, see the galaxy'", she concluded with a smile.
Corran nodded. "I've reviewed your profile, and it seems to be pretty good. Starting tomorrow, we'll be working on squadron manoeuvers. Welcome to Rogue Squadron," he concluded, offering her a hand.
She shook it before standing up and saluting. "Thank you, sir."
After she had left, Corran checked his datapad. Kiren Harkin had been the last of the interviews. All the new Rogues had had good profiles - obviously, otherwise they wouldn't be in Rogue Squadron - but he wanted to see how well they fit in to the squadron. He remembered something Wedge told him not long after he joined Rogue Squadron; 'You're part of a team, and you need to act like it'.
He flushed slghtly as he recalled the circumstances he had learned that. A good lesson, but he wished he had learned it under other circumstances.
His reminiscing was interrupted when Mirax stuck her head into his office. "Finished grilling the new vict- er, the new recruits?"
Corran laughed lightly. "I was just remembering a few things that Wedge told me when I joined. It did me a lot of good, so I'm trying to pass it on."
Mirax nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me. I was just headed off to get some lunch. If you've finished, do you want to come along?"
Corran smiled. "Nothing I'd like better." He shut down the datapad and stood up to join Mirax.
****
The Rogues were assembled before the simulators in one of the cargo holds. Corran was standing in front of them, briefing them on their mission in the simulators.
"This mission will be a fairly light one, just to get us working together as a team. Once we've mastered flight and squadron tactics, we'll be moving on to harder missions. How long that takes will depend on how long it takes the squadron to mesh together." He paused to look at each of the pilots.
The expressions varied, from agreement on the faces of the pilots who had been with Rogue Squadron for a while, to eager excitement on the faces of the new pilots, especially Kiren Harkin. She was bouncing from foot to foot, obviously eager to prove herself. Corran approved of that attitude. You could be the galaxy's best pilot, but until you'd shown what you could do, you were an unknown.
He continued, "Those of you who have been with the squadron for a while, help the new people to fit in." He knew that they would, but the new people weren't sure of that.
After a brief run-through of their mission - a patrol exercise, and the likely enemy that they would encounter, he dismissed them to the simulators. "Alright then, lets get to it."
****
Standing off to one side, Kyp and Mirax watched the Rogues as they scattered to their simulators. "Mirax, you've been associated with the Rogues for a while. What do you think of this lot?" Kyp asked.
"Oh, they're probably like all snubfighter jockies. Cocky, eager, and probably think the galaxy revolves around them," she said with a
laugh. "But they're good enough to have some justification in thinking that. You've heard the stories about them."
Kyp nodded. It had been Rogue Squadron who had destroyed both Death Stars, made it possible to liberate Coruscant, and probably a whole slew of other things that he hadn't heard about. They had an incredible reputation, but it was one that had been earned
"How's Corran doing with his Jedi training?" Mirax asked.
"He's doing great. It's mainly refresher work for him, since he's already done the training on Yavin Four. I probably shouldn't be saying this - and please don't tell him that I did - but personally, I think he's almost reached the Master stage."
"Really? A Master?" Mirax asked, somewhat amazed at the concept.
Kyp grinned. "Married to a Jedi Master. What would your father say?"
Mirax was about to reply when Luke walked in. "Hi, Mirax. Corran's running the Rogues through their paces, I see."
"Yeah, he's getting them to work together, finding out who to make his flight leaders, the usual. Did he tell you that you'd be more than welcome to join them?"
Luke nodded. "Not the first time I've been invited to rejoin Rogue Squadron. I just haven't had the time - I've been too busy with my Jedi studies."
Mirax nodded. "He was telling me that he didn't really expect you to take up his offer, but he was telling me he was thinking about asking you if you were willing to fly opposition for the Rogues when they get to that stage."
Luke considered for a while. "Sure. I'll have to brush up on TIE controls - it's been fifteen years since I sat in a TIE fighter."
"When did you fly a TIE fighter, Luke?" Mirax asked.
"After Bakura. I wanted to get a feel for how one handled, try to understand the limitations that TIE pilots faced."
"And what was your impression?"
"If the Empire had put shields on them, they'd have created a very good fighter. The acceleration and manoeuverability are better than an X-wing, and almost as good as an A-wing or E-wing. Their lack of shields left them hideously vulnerable, though." He paused before continuing. "To change the subject, though, there is something I feel that you should know."
"What's that, Luke?"
"Corran's been doing very well in his Jedi training - in fact, so well that I'm thinking of promoting, I suppose the word would be, him to Jedi Master."
Mirax tried to affect surprised excitement, but Luke saw straight through her. "Did you tell her, Kyp?"
Kyp nodded sheepishly. "I told her just before you arrived that I thought Corran was just about ready to be a Master."
"Oh, well. No harm done, then," he said before turning to Mirax. "Could I ask you not to tell him? I'm going to promote him after dinner, and I want it to be a surprise."
Mirax nodded. "Okay, that sounds fair to me."
****
They had taken to having their meals all in one group, Jedi and Rogues. Just after they had finished, Corran asked Luke, "Luke there's one thing that I've been curious about. What was the reason for your going into seclusion just before that problem with the Yevethans a few years back? I would have asked you before now, but this is the first real chance that I've had."
Luke nodded. "Basically, the reason was that I just wanted some time for myself."
That answer seemed to surprise Corran. "Really? Why was that?"
"During the course of my Jedi studies, I matured from the brash teenager who thought nothing of racing into trouble-"
"Like when you and General Solo rushed in and rescued the Chief of State?"
Luke nodded. "Exactly. And that wasn't a good thing, either. Darth Vader found that he could use it to lure me into confronting him prematurely." He shuddered, remembering what had nearly happened.
"I know what you mean. When Daala started making trouble while I was on Yavin Four, I wanted to jump into my X-wing and rejoin Rogue Squadron in beating her back. Streen stopped me, though, by telling me what happened when you did the same thing."
"Good thing he did, too. But back to the original question. People were wanting me to do things for them. That didn't bother me too much, though - I'm willing to lend a hand if I can - but if I'd helped everyone who wanted my help - or needed it - I would've had no time to do the things that I wanted to. Not even a Jedi Master can do everything."
Corran nodded. There was never enough time to do all the things that youn wanted or need to do. So you picked the most important things, and concentrated on them.
When the meal had finished, and everything had been cleared away, Luke stood up and said, "Can I ask everyone to stay behind for a while. There's something I'd like to do." He moved to the front of the mess hall, and continued. "Since the Jedi Purge launched by the Emperor, the Jedi have been coming back. And as a Jedi learns more about the Force, the title he or she earns changes to reflect this. A Jedi moves from Adept to Knight to Master. Some records even hint that there were Jedi Grand Masters, but it'll be a while before anyone gains enough mastery of the Force to hold that title."
He paused to scan the room. "The reson why I asked you to stay behind is to mark one Jedi's passage into the ranks of Jedi Masters. That Jedi is Corran Horn." Luke hid a grin as Corran's jaw dropped as far as it could. Corran shot a glance at Mirax, then back at Luke, clearly unsure as to what to do.
Luke gestured him forward, then set a hand on his shoulder when Corran stepped up to him. "Corran has been working very hard on his training, when he was able to find time from working Rogue Squadron into a cohesive unit. He has earned the right to the title of Jedi Master."
Corran flushed slightly as the room erupted into thunderous applause. Mirax was applauding the loudest.
****
Corran sat in the TIE simulator, studying the controls. He remembered the last time he had sat in a TIE simulator, during Ysanne Isard's attempt to convert him into an agent to destroy the Rogues, after the libertaion of Coruscant.
The controls were very simple, since they were likely to be operated by half-trained pilots who had been concripted by threat of force. Corran understood this. He guessed that a Star Destroyer in orbit ready to bombard a city if recruitment quotas weren't met was a pretty good inducement.
You ready, Corran? Luke voice sounded in his head. They weren't using their comms, since even with encryption, they could be monitored. Even if the encryption algorithm wasn't broken, the simple fact that there were comms transmitting on Imperial frequencies could reveal a lot. It wasn't exactly playing fair, using the Force to communicate, but there are no rules in war.
Yep. I don't think they'll know what hit them.
Don't you think this is a bit unfair?
No. I want to see how they react when everything lands on them at once.
Fair enough, I suppose. A brief pause, then, Passive sensors are decting active sensors, on New Republic frequencies. Right on time, too.
Corran checked his concussion missile launchers again. They were linked to fire in pairs, and set to go active when they were half a second from their estimated time of impact. He would fire two at each X-wing, which should be enough to score a kill, if they both hit. His lasers were powered up, ready to deal with the survivors.
He checked his sensor screen. Since his active sensors were in standby mode, all he saw were lines of bearing and range estimated from signal strength. The Rogues were almost in range.
****
Kiren Harkin was paying very close attention to her sensor screen. They were approaching a small asteriod feild. She knew that Colonel Horn and Master Skywalker were out there somewhere, but she didn't let herself be lulled by the fact that they had eleven-to-two odds in their favour. They were up against two of the best snubfighter pilots in the galaxy. Luke Skywalker had destroyed the first Death Star, and Corran Horn had fired the shots that had brought down the shields on Coruscant, enabling the liberation of that planet. Plus they were both Jedi Masters.
Suddenly, she felt nervous. She knew she wasn't Force-sensitive, but she was able to know when danger was approaching. She got that feeling now.
She was beginning to move her X-wing when suddenly her missile lock-on warning screamed. She dumped some decoys, then manouevered radically in a random direction. She looked up in time to see two streaks pass over her cockpit, locked onto one of her decoys.
An ambush! She looked at her sensor screen again. Two new blips appeared as the computer recognised them as not part of the asteroid field. A light began to flash in her Head-Up Display. I'm being painted. Squints. That must be them.
All around her, X-wings were exploding as the concussion missiles found their mark. Once the explosions had died down, she counted the X-wings remaining on her sensor scope. Only four left. Not good. That was a well-planned ambush. She switched to proton topedoes and tried for missile lock. Nope. The two squints were dancing in and out of her sight, so she couldn't get a lock-on. But at least they weren't locked on to her. She switched back to lasers, and evened out her shields. This was going to be a long day.
****
Corran noticed one of the X-wings moving just after he pulled the trigger and sent his missiles streaking towards them. It somehow managed to dodge the two missiles that were locked onto it, then began to move in an agressive fashion towards him and Luke. Corran agreed with the instincts of the X-wing pilot - he was pretty sure it was Kiren Harkin - since as the saying went, "The best defence is a good offense."
Luke, I'll take the one that's moving towards us. You take the rest. Okay?
Sure.
He pushed his throttle forward all the way and armed his lasers. He also mentally reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of each craft in the furball. The squint had the edge in speed and manoueverability, but the X-wing had shields, which was a greater advantage. He would have to be careful here.
He watched as Kiren bored in at him, clearly trying for a head-to-head pass. Sorry, but I'm not going to oblige, he thought as he brought the squint through a 90-degree snap roll, and pulled back on the stick, sending the squint racing off at a 90-degree angle to its previous course. Grey crept in at the corners of his vision as the simulator exerted pseudo-gravity on his body.
****
Kiren blinked at the squint she was closing in on suddendly raced off perpendicular to its original course. Damn good flying, she thought. This guy is going to take a lot of killing. Her concentration fully on the upcoming duel between herself and Colonel Horn - somehow she knew who she was facing off against - she almost missed the deaths of two Rogues. Two on two. Not good, she thought as she brought the X-wing in behind the squint.
****
Corran glanced at his rear sensor. Kiren hadn't been fooled by his manouever, dropping into firing position behind him. Oh, no you don't, he thought as he broke right, just as red laser beams flew along his previous flight path. Corran's estimation of Kiren's abilities went up a notch. Knowing that she was unlikely to be able to get a lock-on before he jinked, she had trusted to skill and a pinch of luck, and fired before a full lock had been achieved. Only the fact that he had moved at the same instant she had fired had saved him.
Two down, one to go, Luke reported.
Acknowledged, Corran replied distactedly, his full attention on Kiren's X-wing. He noticed that their dogfight was taking them closer to the asteriod field, and realised what Kiren was planning. She intends to use the asteriods to screen herself from my sensors, and ambush me. Good thinking.
Just the, his HUD flickered, indicating that he had lost her. He began to search with the Force, then stopped himself. That's a bit too much, he thought. And besides, since we're riding simulators, it won't help much. Instead he punched up the gain on his passive sensors, hoping to detect a drive trail. There was so much clutter that active senors would return a lot of nothing.
Suddenly his danger sense screamed a warning at him. He jinked violently just as a X-wing burst from the asteroids, wingtip lasers spitting angry red beams.
****
Kiren's X-wing drifted through the asteroids, the engines reduced to only enough power to manouever away from errant chunks of rock. She had also shut down her active sensors, relying on passive sensors, particularly her eyes, to spot Corran's squint.
Suddenly she sat bolt upright in her ejection seat, having spotted a glint of light just outside the asteroid field. That glint looked like starlight reflecting off something. The Quadanium armour plating on the wings of a squint, for instance...
Without conscious thought, she shoved the throttles forward, her finger convulsing on the trigger of her lasers. Somehow the squint managed to avoid the stream of fire she was pouring at it, and fired three bursts back at her. Static hissed in her ears as the lasers carved into her forward shields. She kept firing, tracking the squint as it dogded and weaved, but she kept missing. Realising that she was wasting energy, she shunted energy from engines into recharging her shields. She realised that she was sacrificing more of a speed edge to the squint, but shields were the one thing that had to be maintained, otherwise she'd be surrendering an even bigger advantage.
Suddenly, the squint spun around and poured fire at her. Kiren flipped her X-wing on its port S-foils and banked sharply away, wincing as more hissing announced the demise of more of her forward shields. She evened them out and turned to face her attacker. Switching her lasers to dual-fire mode, she fired a series of four bursts at the squint. Three missed.
The fourth burnt some of the armour off the left wing of the squint, not enough to damage it seriously, but enough to slightly reduce its manouerability. Kiren grinned. About time she got a hit in, even a minor one. And considering who she was up against, that was more than a lot of people could say - if they were still alive to talk about it, that is.
****
Corran was jolted in his seat as one of Kiren's bursts sturck him a glancing blow on the left wing. Not a serious hit, but a hit nevertheless. He pulled the trigger and sent a stream of green bolts back at her. Most impacted on her forward shields, higlighting it as a hemisphere of energy. Suddenly, the hemispehere vanished, allowing the last bolt through to hit her upper-left S-foil. With a small explosion, the last meter or so broke off, spinning away from the X-wing. Alright, Corran thought. I've taken down her forward shield. Took long enough.
That didn't stop him from respecting her flying ability. This had been the longest single dogfight he had ever had. With the possible exception of Wedge or Tycho, and those didn't last much longer than this one.
Kiren reacted quickly, evening out her shields. While this made them much weaker than full-strength, it was a lot better than nothing. Her X-wing slowed down noticeably, indicating that she was drawing off energy from her engines to recharge the shields. Good setting of priotirities. It all comes down to the ability to stay alive in a fight, and she's doing everything she can to stay alive. Killing the enemy comes second to that.
But he had to strike again, to test her ability to cope under pressure. Not only that - he wanted the kill for its own sake, too. He pulled the trigger to send more green bolts in her direction.
****
An alarm sounded in Kiren's cockpit. Oh, no! Forward shields are down! Her R5 unit hooted and put a countdown clock in the corner of her HUD, indicating how long until total shield repair. She glanced at it and decided that sixty seconds was too long to be without a part of her shields in a dogfight. "Can you reroute so that I have at least partial forward shields?" she asked.
The astromech driod hooted an affirmative, with the qualification that this would add time to the shield repair process. "I don't care. Just do it," she ordered. The driod beeped again, and the countdown clock shifted to seventy-five seconds. Not good. "If you diverted more energy to shields, could you reduce that time?"
Another affirmative hoot was the droid's response. "Then do it." The X-wing slowed, and the countdown clock shifted to fifty seconds. Kiren glanced at her shield indicators. About two-fifths all around. Not what I'd like, but it'll have to do.
Just then, she noticed Corran making an attack run. "Oh, no you don't. You're not getting me."
She dived sharply, ducking beneath the stream of fire. She continued the dive until she was well below the squint. She had an idea...
****
What is she doing? Corran wondered as the X-wing continued to dive, ending up directly below him at a range of about six hundred metres. He felt slightly uneasy, but he didn't know why...
Suddenly his danger sense screamed another warning at him. He moved to jink violently, but he was a fraction of a second late.
Pairs of red laser bolts streaked up at the underside of his squint. Because his slightly late manouever, they missed their intended target, the cockpit of the squint.
Instead they burned through his engines, utterly destroying them.
Corran read the damage report scrolling up his HUD gloomily. Emergency systems had brought his squint to a halt before it slammed into an asteroid, but that had drained all the energy that his lasers required. It would be at least three minutes before power levels returned to a level sufficient for combat. And even then, Corran knew that his auxiliary maneouvering jets weren't enough to give him even a fraction of the mobility he'd need in a dogfight.
He cursed his moment of inattentiveness. Because Kiren had done something completely unexpected, she had got him. She was a very good pilot. Looking out of the canopy, he saw Kiren's X-wing hanging in front of him. He set his com to the exercise general frequency and said, "Well done, Lieutenant. You got me."
"Thank you, sir. But it was a close thing. A couple more good hits and you would have gotten me instead."
Corran knew this was true. But there was one other thing. "By the way, Lieutenant, the exercise isn't completed yet. Master Skywalker is still out there, and you're the only Rogue left."
"Oh." From the long silence that followed the single word, Corran knew that Kiren had been concentrating fully on her engagement with him. Suddenly, the X-wing vanished from his field of view as green laser bolts streaked down in front of him. Another Interceptor flashed past, clearly in pursuit. Get her, Luke.
Okay, but somehow I don't think it's going to be easy.
****
Kiren cursed her inattentiveness. How could I have forgotten? she thought angrily. The answer was simple. Because the duel with Colonel Horn had been so difficult, she had concentrated fully on it. She had won, but left herself open to attack from Master Skywalker. Only luck had enabled her to survive his ambush.
Dodging and weaving, she knew that this dogfight was going to be over soon. There were still twenty-five seconds until her shields fully recovered, and until that time, she was vulerable on two counts. Her weakened shields, and the fact that she was a lot slower than the squint behind her. Pairs of green bolts flashed past on either side of her. "R5, I assume you have him on sensors, right?" Her astromech hooted a derisive reply, almost sounding insulted at the suggestion that he didn't.
Kiren smiled and said, "Yes, I should have known better. Can you program a proton torp to loop around and lock onto the squint behind me?"
The droid beeped a query. "What I mean is, can you program it to make a 180-degree loop and activate its sensors when it passes behind me after I fire it?"
The droid hooted an affirmative reply. "Good. And do it quickly. I don't know how much longer I can keep dodging." She was feeling tired after the previous dogfight, and knew that she couldn't manage a repeat performance. A few seconds later, the droid signalled her that the proton torpedo had been successfully reprogrammed.
Well, here goes, she thought, and pulled the trigger.
****
Every so often, the fleeing X-wing would flit across Luke's sights, prompting him to pull the trigger. Somehow, he missed each and every time. She's good, he thought. Then he noticed something.
The X-wing was only going at 75% of its maximum speed. But it's shields were slowly increasing in strength, from 43%. Of course - she's diverting power from the engine to regenerate her shields. Exactly what I'd be doing in the same circumstances.
Just then, the X-wing seemed to lurch, and a proton torpedo raced away from it. Huh? What is she doing?
The answer was not long in coming. As soon as the torpedo had cleared the X-wing, it began to loop around. Oh, no! Luke thought. She's managed to reprogram a proton torpedo so that it would go behind her!
The torpedo straightened up, now aimed directly at Luke. Because he had closed to such a short distance to score this kill, he had no chance to manouever out of the way. He could do nothing but watch as the torpedo slammed into his squint.
The simulator immediately cut to an outside view of the squint exploding spectacularly, then flashed a summary of the engagement on the screen:
MISSION #28: INTERCEPTOR AMBUSH
INITIAL IMPERIAL STRENGTH: 2 INTERCEPTORS
INITIAL NEW REPUBLIC STRENGTH 11 X-WINGS
RESULTS:
10 X-WINGS DESTROYED
1 INTERCEPTOR DESTROYED
1 INTERCEPTOR DISABLED
MINOR IMPERIAL VICTORY
BEST PILOTS: JEDI MASTER LUKE SKYWALKER (7 KILLS)
COLONEL CORRAN HORN (3 KILLS)
LIEUTENANT KIREN HARKIN (1 KILL, 1 DAMAGE)
Luke undid his harness as the simulator pod hissed and began to open. When he emerged, he noticed that the Rogus were crowded around an X-wing simulator, and that Corran was climbing out of another TIE simulator.
"How do you feel, Luke?" Corran asked.
"Dead," Luke replied with a grin. "That was a neat trick she pulled off."
"Wasn't it? I was watching on the sensors when she fired that torpedo, and for a second there, I thought she had hit the wrong button by accident. She surprised me."
"Surprised the both of us, I think. She got me, and put you out of the fight very effectively. Makes you wonder why she isn't a higher rank by now, say a Captain at least."
"That's something I've been pondering, too. Then I read her service record. She hasn't got enough time in grade for a full promotion, and I can't just walk up to her and say, 'Here you go, you're a Captain now', either."
"What do you mean, not enough time in grade? How long has she been in the Fleet?"
"She joined up just before the Koornacht Crisis. By all accounts, she did very well. In fact, she was at N'zoth, and scored a heap of kills there."
Luke nodded. "But there is something you can do, right? Not that I'm trying to put pressure on you, or ursurp your command authority, or anything like that," Luke added.
Corran smiled. "Don't worry about that. But actually, I was thinking about giving Kiren a brevet promotion, subject to approval by Starfighter Command. And seeing who the head of Starfighter Command is..."
"It shouldn't pose major difficulties."
Just then, they reached the group of pilots who were thumping Kiren on the back and congratulating her. They quickly stopped and snapped to attention. Kiren threw a hasty salute.
Corran returned it, saying, "As you were. Lieutenant, that was very good flying in the sims. You surprised the both of us. That goes without saying, since you bagged both of us."
"Thank you, sir," she said, trying to keep a smile off her face. "I just got lucky, I guess."
"There is no such thing as luck, Lieutenant, just the Force," Luke said with a faint grin.
"Another thing, Lieutenant," Corran said with a stern expression. "You're out of uniform."
The grin slipped from Kiren's face, as Corran continued, "You should be wearing these." He reached into a pocket and handed a set of Captain's rank insignia over to her. Her jaw dropped as she accepted them. Corran continued, "I want to see those on your uniform by the evening meal, Captain."
"Er, yessir," the now-Captain Kiren Harkin said, still struggling to come to terms with what had just happened. Her blush deepened as all of the Rogues burst into applause, congratualting one of their own.
****
Corran and Mirax were walking through the corridors of the Errant Venture. It had become a habit; after they had finished what needed to be doing for the day, to take a walk, and generally, spend some time together. Both had warned their subordinates that they were not to be disturbed unless it was a dire emergency - and even then to expect some heat.
"Credit for 'em, Corran," Mirax said, breaking the silence.
"Hmm? Sorry, I was just thinking," Corran said, jolted from his thoughts.
"Yeah, I could tell. Mind sharing it with me?"
Corran hesitated. "At Sluis Van, I ran into someone familiar."
"Get to the point, Corran," Mirax said, planting her hands on her hips in mock frustration.
Corran said just one word. "Erisi."
"What?"
"That's who I ran into. Erisi Dlarit."
"WHAT??" Corran heard and felt her surprise and anger. Little wonder, since Erisi had been responsible for Corran's capture by Isard, and had tried to get Mirax killed. "I thought you shot her down at Thyferra!"
"I did, and that's been bothering me ever since. But I think I may have figured it out."
"Please share it with me. I'm all ears," Mirax said.
"I think Thrawn cloned her. Where he got the material from, I don't know. But she was a pretty good pilot - she wouldn't have been in Rogue Squadron if she wasn't."
"So she should have been Eriisi?" Corran heard the humour in Mirax's voice, but he could tell that it was forced.
"One mystery solved. The other one won't be so easy," he said.
"That being?"
"What to do when we reach the Sol system."
****
It was nearly time. Six months in hyperspace, and it all came down to this. Admiral Pellaeon took his seat on the Chimaera's bridge and made a quick scan. All was as it should be. He nodded to himself. The intensive training had paid off. The TIE pilots' training had been slightly hampered by the fact that the data on their likely oppostion was badly out of date. It had been used anyway, but mission against New Republic craft had been added to stop complacency.
Pellaeon snorted. Against the Terran atmospheric fighters, the TIEs had been near-invincible. They had cut great swathes through the simulated enemy. But against the New Republic enemies, things had been different. Very different.
Which raised another point. The handling of his fighters in atmosphere. They had no handling capablilties - it was as simple as that. Pellaeon called down curses on the head of the Sienar Systems designer who had been responsible for the TIE series. Would it have been asking too much for some atmospheric manouevering capability? The New Republic's fighters were quite manoueverable in atmosphere - albiet at the cost of dramatically increased fuel consumption - and the Terran's fighters, limited to atmosphere, designed for atmosphere, were bound to be better. The only advantage the TIEs had were their concussion missiles and proton torpedoes.
Pellaeon had ordered as many TIE starfighters and Interceptors as possible to be retro-fitted with the launcher and sensor packages that would enable them to fire the missiles. He hoped it would be enough.
The warbling of a proximity alarm cut into Pellaeon's thoughts. They had reached the Sol system. He watched as the helmsman brought the Chimaera out of hyperspace. All around, the other ships were emerging into realspace as well. "We have arrived at the Sol system," the navigator said, confirming the readouts that Pellaeon could see.
"Initiate long-range scan," Pellaeon ordered. Hanging outside a system, they would provide little data other than the locations of the planets. For now, that would do. They could gather more detailed information at a later date. For now, Pellaeon wanted to be sure that when he made the next jump, he wouldn't blunder through a planet.
The hologram representing the Sol system gradually became more detailed as other ships added their sensor data to the Chimaera's. Pellaeon studied it, noting the locations of the planets. Just as he had suspected, about half were on the other side of the star. He gave orders, breaking the fleet into several groups.
One would remain with him. This fleet had a majority of the firepower under Pellaeon's command and would jump into orbit around Terra. Another one would disperse, to cover the likely approach routes for any New Republic relief effort, although Pellaeon hoped that one wouldn't appear. He would prepare, just in case they did. The rest would jump to a central location, where it could assist the invasion efforts or reinforce the pickets.
Using a secure datalink, Pellaeon sent his orders to each ship, receiving confirmation before the fleet sepearated. "Shields up," he ordered before he gave the order for hyperspace. He was fairly confident that the Terrans had no ground-to-space weaponry, but he would not underestimate them, or make the mistake of being too overconfident. That was what had killed Grand Moff Tarkin and the first Death Star at Yavin.
The stars blurred, extended into starlines, then became the mottled pattern of hyperspace. A minute later, they reverted to the normal pinpricks of light.
Pellaeon had arrived at Terra.