Night was falling on Noquivzor and Marcus prepared for his watch. He sat down at the fire and starred into the flames. So much had happened in only a few hours. His best friend since joining the Rebellion had died and he hadn't even begin to grasp that the man who had been his wing and room-mate for two years who always had had a joke on his lips, always a bet running, always some exotic drink or food in his locker… that this man was dead and would never again stride into their quarters and announce one of his strange ideas. Marcus sniffed lightly and tried to convince himself that the tears coming to his eyes were only result of starring too long into the fire. He rubbed his eyes and different thoughts were coming to his mind.
The thing about Coreena Mallan. One standard day ago he had thought that he had lost her for ever and it had scared him to death. His feelings for her had been there for quite a while – he dated them back to maybe the first time he had seen her vulnerable – but they had never influenced his decisions before. He would have to talk about this to her after this. Of course he dreaded it like nothing else but it would have to happen nonetheless. He just hoped that they would be able to still serve together afterwards since it would pain him if she decided to leave this squadron because of him…
"Thinking about Banon?", a familiar voice said and a small smooth hand squeezed his shoulder shortly. He looked up to see the flames being mirrored in her mismatched eyes and forced a smile. "Yeah… sort of. And what are you doing here so late?" She smiled a sad smile and sat down beside him, saying: "Couldn't sleep." He moved to make a little more space for her and looked at her from the side. "Your nightmares not better?" Coreena shook her head. "Nothing with nightmares this time… just doing some analysis."
"I tell you, you're working too much.." She shook her head again, moving so she could face him. "No, Marcus, this is important. I… made some decisions. If we miss the Liberty in three standard days we will not be calling them from here, nor anyone else. The coordinates of this world were entrusted only to us and the freighter crews and to no-one else and it will stay this way." He knew what she was alluding to since he had had the thought in the back of his minds himself since the ambush, and he said: "So you noticed it, too, huh Cap?" She nodded and said: "It was just one strange coincident too much." Marcus looked at his clasped hands and finally said: "What is your next step?" She was silent for a long time, telling him that she wasn't sure if she could really tell him. Then: "I have to inform the squadron. They have a right to know that I have to suspect all of them, even… even you, Marcus, and even Banon." He smiled at the slight pause before she named him that told him that she felt more than just camaraderie between CO and XO for him and it was all he needed.
"Cap…," But then he saw the look in her eyes and he knew that he'd never get it over with this speech, at least not now. There was so much more upon her shoulders she needed to work off that he let his original idea slip and just said: "you're doing the right thing. I'll be your wing whatever you plan is." She smiled again and said: "Thank you, Marcus, I know to appreciate this. Anyway…" She got up, careful not to strain her right foot too much and went on: "I think this analyzing finally got me. I'm going to get some sleep. G'dnight, huh?" He looked up. "Yeah. And be careful with that ankle…" She just winked and then disappeared between the fighters.
"You know… something's going on." Several heads came up, some fast, some slow as Telsij Cayr's drawl sounded through the room. They all considered her words and then H'sishi spoke. Something she hadn't done for what Cayr claimed to be a week. "You are maybe right. How long do you think did no-one come?" The woman sneered, then said: "A week and maybe a half, I'd say." Now it was R'siikhi's turn. "You think he forgot us after all?" Whares let out a humorless chuckle and said: "Wishful thinking, Control." Kesra was afraid that R'siikhi would react like he last time but she just shrugged and said: "Maybe. But whatever happened it saved us at least for a week. If Cayr is right, that is." Cayr just yawned and cocked an agreeing eyebrow. Then the room was silent again for several minutes until sobs penetrated the silence. Nobody apart from Kesra turned their head since everyone of them knew that the only one daring to sob in front of the others was Kat Deira. Not even H'sishi said anything but Kesra just couldn't ban Kardian's words from her mind, telling her how Deira had lost her child. Kesra had never had the opportunity to have a child although she was considered the right age to breed by her people but nevertheless she had seen what losing a child even before its birth could do to a woman.
Slowly she walked over to Deira and said down beside her. "Hello.", she whispered and was surprised to find the human reacting to her greeting. Large, wet green eyes looked at her. She lowered her own gaze and, when the other woman didn't say anything, she went on: "Was its father still alive when… they go you?" Deira looked away and nodded. Then – to everyone's surprise low raspy words came out of her mouth. "Yes… he… was a pilot. He didn't know anything and I… would have never told him."
Dsa'Osra who seemed to have taken a special likening to the quiet technician came sauntered over and purred out: "Why not? If he loved you…" Deira shook her head and gave back: "No… no… it wasn't that… it… he was a pilot. If he had known that he was to become father he'd not be able to continue with his job. Aside from this… I… had a husband…"
Anasu made a derogatory sound and said under her breath: "Oh no, not one of these stupid "love and betrayal" stories, again." Deira shot her a look no-one had thought her being capable of and said: "This is so typical. You hear three words and you think you know the whole story."
Now it was H'sishi's turn. "Let her be in peace, Ana. And don't assume anything you don't know the whole story about." R'siikhi jumped from her cot and kicked the wall beside her. "Sithspit, Istr. Why do you always have to play the wise know-it-all?" Kesra could feel the tension rising up again and it didn't feel good in the least. Sure, all of them were having hard times and maybe for R'siikhi it looked like H'sishi was taking it the lightest of al of them but Kesra knew better. When they had brought back the Ishi Tip from her interrogation she looked worse than any of them had and Kesra doubted that Kardian had even seen her. She wished she could talk to the doctor again, trying to find out how far Kardian's loyalties to the Empire extended, how they could probably use her in planning an escape…
"One of us has to maintain sanity, don't you think, lieutenant?", was H'sishi's answer to R'siikhi's outbreak and it was the sharpest Kesra had heard of the Ishi Tip so far. It told her that even H'sishi was on the verge of breaking and this she didn't like the least. She looked around and her sensors twitched at every movement the prisoners made. And then another sound – very faint but definitely there – reached her delicate hunter's ears. The sound of a steady breathing rhythm, like a breathing machine in sick bay, but different from a machine this sound moved. It was moving away from them and shortly before it finally vanished another sound penetrated her ears. A voice… grave, dark, like engineered through a microphone… Only one being in the galaxy had a voice like this. She whispered his name like a death sentence: "Darth Vader."
She had been trying to work on her R2 for two hours now but even if it was her left wrist that was in a splint working was harder than ever. Frustrated she threw away her hydro-spanner and put her head on the hull of her still not fully functional R2.
"You need some help, Cap?" She turned to see a grinning Marcus Lochlin looming over her and snorted. "Do I look like it?" He crouched down and handed her the hydro-spanner, giving her another lop-sided grin and said: "Certainly not. I just tried to be a gentleman." She took the hydro-spanner and put it away in her tool-bag. Trying to get up she first scrambled away a little form her R2 and just as she was about to attempt to stand up with only one hand to lean on and one leg to stand Lochlin's hand appeared before her face. "If you allow…" Hiding a smile she made a face and took the hand, even allowing him to steady her when she had finally made it.
He frowned at her, looking at the two splints she was wearing. "Don't I recall one of the medics say that your ankle was broken?" She shook her head. "No, that was my wrist. Anyway… I just might need a little assistance to get to the meeting place. If you please…" He smiled, offered her his arm and said: "Of course, my lady." She made another face but deep down she was delighted by the feeling of touching him.
Just before they reached the place she let go of his arm, and he didn't argue. By now he knew she sometimes needed to play the strong even if she didn't feel like it. It seemed to be a common trait with leaders but he wished she'd see that she didn't need to play the strong for him.
Sighing he seated himself on a crate beside her. They had been on Noquivzor for two days now and he had the distinct feeling that she had grown as restless as him. He looked at her and wanted her to sit down but he knew she wouldn't when she was in her "fearless leader" mode which demanded that she stood upright. Making a face he put up a leg and settled in.
"People, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to know first?" The four that were assembled aside from him – Deraani, Randy, Marten and Nien – voted unanimous for the bad news. Marcus smirked at this but let her speak. "Okay… we have still two people who need intensive care and it will take at least another day to get the bacta tanks operational. Plus we will need some time to get the fighters fit for space again. But the worst thing is that… we were ambushed. I did some battle analysis and it seemed that the fighters knew pretty well which freighters to attack. One of the destroyed ones contained heavy dig machines and the other duracrete mass for underground buildings. And the ones with the most severe damages were the ones with the X-Wing spare parts, bacta… well, you get the picture. And additionally to everything the area where we were intercepted is an area normally not patrolled because there are no planets, no space stations, no hyperspace junctions, not even nav buoys. You know what this means." They nodded. Places like this were of no interest for Imperial forces. Maybe they were used as hyperspace corridors but they never went through these places with sublight speed. She looked around to see their knowing faces and stopped at Marcus' face.
He threw her a "You know how I think about this"-look and she continued. "One of us… is a spy." She hold up her hands to forestall any rumblings and continued: "Wait. That doesn't necessarily mean that one of us pilots is the traitor but it has to be someone who at least knew or had the means to get to know the coordinates of our first jump-point. I wish I could say that I am absolutely sure that Gray Squadron is out of any suspicion but as the things are I have to have doubts about anyone. Hell, even about myself. But I think that we can rule out us and the freighter crew because no-one apart from us and the freighter commanders knew the coordinates for Noquivzor because until now no Imp showed up here. Our time frame to rendezvous with the Liberty is still open to another three standard days. We will not contact them before that and if we do it, we will do it from a point far enough from here. Any more questions?" They shook their heads and she went on just once more.
"Now the good news: Flight Officer Kar'Esta is and on her way to recovery and Flight Officer Flann is still unconscious but stable. Lieutenant Kenzy will need another day or so they told me. But now the best: They have agreed to continue to share their food with us." The corners of her mouth twitched as her squadron mates cheered. Noquivzor didn't have to rely on Alliance food since there was enough game and wild vegetables to feed on. In the end she smiled but she also knew that the food and the news about their injured comrades didn't do much against the void that Banon's death had created. Different from D'Ar he had been a very active member of the squadron, always joking, keeping moral high…
She hobbled over to the crate next to Marcus and sat down, still trying to look dignified and not too much disabled. She looked up and their eyes met. Coreena seemed to know what he was thinking and gave back a half smile, indicating she was alright. They would have to talk about this as well, he thought.
"Lord Vader! We are so honored about your visit to our humble domain here…" The dark lord turned his fearsome mask to Chesfer and his grave voice penetrated the room like a vibro-knife. "Stop your chattering, admiral." Chesfer bobbed his head and obeyed instantly. He waited for Vader to sit down on the conference table deep in the belly of the Predator. When the dark lord had done it, he, Tellik and several other commanding officers of the IV. Imperial Battle Group followed suit. Vader let his piercing and impersonal black plast steel eyes sweep over the assembly and said: "I will not waste time with polite nonsense and the like as you all know why I am here." The officers nodded, everyone of them desperately trying to think about everything and nothing but in no case about anything important since everyone knew that Vader somehow seemed to be able of reading others thoughts.
When no-one spoke Chesfer saw it as the sign to begin with his short elaboration and stood up, a data-pad in his hand. "Lord Vader, fellow officers… I will now explain to you several occurrences from the past three months and put some facts right that Imperial Center obviously interpreted in the false sense." He waited a short moment, prepared to feel the mysterious chocking failing officers or officers who somehow insulted Vader, the Emperor or the New Order had to experience but when nothing came he went on, already feeling small drops of sweat running down his back. "It is right that we lost three ships to a squadron named Gray Squadron and its assistant squadrons from the Nebulon-B-frigate Liberty", he pronounced the name with just the right mixture of contempt and professional distance, "but it is wrong that we did it because of incompetence and human failure. It is merely the part of a bigger plan. The contact we were able to form on Liberty told us about a new fighter base that will be built in our operating area. My plan was it to follow Gray Squadron and capture one of their pilots and his craft functional to gain information about the whereabouts of this new base since Gray Squadron is flying as an escort for transports to this world. We had to sacrifice the Interdictor cruiser Fearless so that the rebels believe they are safe from new attacks but in truth the operation ahs only began. Our contact on Liberty gave us a 90% assurance that one of the squadron's pilots will be transferred in the next two weeks and when this happens our Interdictor cruiser Ruthless will be ready to partake in the first important step to crush a rebel base to dust." The room was silent again and Chesfer had a hard time keeping his dignity and air of authority when he sat down. Then, finally Vader spoke again: "I do not want 90% assurance or 99.99% assurance, I want 100%. And I want this coordinates in a maximum of one week. Until then I will stay on this ship and observe every stage of this so-called plan you patched together, Admiral Chesfer, to be able to present me just any lie. This meeting is closed." With that Vader stood up and rushed out of the room, his cape whirling behind him.
Gray walls. A beeping sound, steady and somehow comforting. A strange damp feeling all over her skin. A figure leaning on the wall.
"Will… you ever… let me… alone, Blenwell?" The figure grinned and came nearer, finally looming over her. "Captain decided to make me your new wing-man. Seems we're stuck with each other so I came to suggest we sign a peace-treaty." If she would have been able to by now she'd have spat on his boots. But so Kenzy only snared: "Oh no,… bastard. Not in my lifetime. Cease-fire… maybe, but no… peace treaty." His face came nearer as he leaned on the rail to her right side. She could see the usual mocking grin on his face falter and his face becoming more serious as he said: "I wouldn't say things like this all too loud. You may be conscious but you are nowhere from being out of critical condition." She was surprised to see him so serious and even… concerned, that she didn't say anything at first. Then: "I still… don't like it." He was about to pad her shoulder when he remembered that her complete right side was covered in burns and so he just cleared his throat and ran his hands through his hair instead, retreating a little from her bed. Grinning he said: "Me neither." If he didn't know it better he could have sworn to see her grin as well.
He coughed again, and said: "Um… well… they told me they'd get you ready for the bacta tank soon so I better leave now, huh?" She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. He was surprised to see how much it stressed her and how low her voice was when she answered: "I… hate bacta." Blenwell stepped nearer to her bed once again and leaned on the left rail, stating: "Who doesn't? But I'm sure there are worse things." With a sneer she retorted: "Yeah, having you as a wing-man." This time he touched her shoulder lightly and said: "We will make the best pair ever. If you make it through the bacta tank, that is…" Kenzy frowned at his touch and remarked: "Very funny, Blenwell."
He fell serious once again. "There was no joking in it. I meant the part with the bacta tank. Don't do anything foolish and die just to annoy me." And as soon he had said it he had noticed how stupid this had sounded. As if he cared for her. Blenwell cleared his throat, retreating from her bed and just hoping that she didn't see him blush. And that she maybe hadn't heard it since he had said it in a very low voice. But too late.
"I heard that, Blenwell. And when I'm out of this tank you will have to explain it." Blushing again with embarrassment he just mumbled something about really having to go now and hurried out of the room. Outside he let out a sudden rush of frustration and anger in kicking one of the bunker walls.
A/N: Um, okay… I had another A/N planed for this chapter but due to things even I can't remember (mostly just plain laziness… I think…) this chapter got delayed a little. I sincerely hope that I didn't annoy you too much. Anyway… what do you think about this chapter? How did you like the Dark Lord? OOC??? And what do you think about the scenes between Marcus and Coreena and the development of their relationship? Too fluffy? Too fast? Not interesting in the least??? Anyway, what more to say…? Oh, yeah, sorry to anyone of my reviewers I didn't spell right in the last A/N but you know how it is once you up-load a new chapter… I just got carried away and forgot to change the names prior to up-loading. I swear, I will correct this in the next big up-date session (meaning I will try to erase all remaining errors and replace every chapter) which is due in…let's say two weeks from now. Well… that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.