Chapter 35

I had Warbler pull up the charts to pinpoint Correlia for me. According to them, I had plenty of fuel to make it there but would need a refuel to get back. Fortunately, I had access to a covert credit account for operations like this. One of the little things that Wedge hadn't told me about until I read about it on my own later. All squadron level CO's have such access in case they have to go to ground on a mission somewhere.

I jumped to hyperspace and Correlia and started studying up on the world. The Correlian sector was a major trade hub. Ships coming and going constantly would cover my approach and I would be able to refuel fairly easily. There would be an Imperial presence. I could count on that but one person in one ship should be able to get in and out fairly easily . . . or so I hoped.

I exited hyperspace along an open vector as I saw ships of many sizes and shapes. I also saw two Imperial Star Destroyers in high orbit. My IFF got back their names, the Destroyers were named the Conquest and the Empire's Might respectively. Since I had never even gotten the name of the ship that had captured me, I had no way of knowing if the man who helped me was here. Allowing my IFF transponder to answer when queried, a spaceport controller's voice came on: "Attention incoming shuttle. Your transponder identifies you as the "Do or do not", what is your business on Correlia?" I turned on my comlink and fell into an adopted drawl as I said: "Yup, yup, yousa gots that right. Just coming into look for cargo run. Meesa got my own ship and everything." The voice said: "You a Gungan or something?"

I said: "Nope, nope. Meesa human, just raised by Gungans is all." The voice came back tiredly and said: "Sorry to hear that pilot. Follow the beacon that you should now be reading and follow it in. After you land, prepare for a routine inspection by Correlian Security for contraband." I said: "Okey-dokey, meesa looking for job, not trouble."

I followed the beacon in and landed on the indicated platform. As my ramp lowered, two Correlian Security men came in. Both were armed of course. They bore a resemblance in the face and the way they moved through my ship. When I read their nametags, the name read 'Horn'. I noted to myself, Father and Son. Interesting.

They finished their sweep and as they faced me, I felt a resonance in the Force. I knew what it meant. The younger one was Force sensitive though I suspect he didn't know it yet. The older one said: "Your name and registry?" Adopting my drawl again, I said: "Meesa is being called Jor-ad. Good to meet you. Meesa ship is the Do or Do not." The younger one said: "You the one raised by Gungans? Sorry to hear about that."

I said: "What you sorry about? Weesa warriors when needen to be." The older one spoke again: "So I've heard. Everything is in order. Just pay your fees on time and get moving. We're a busy spaceport." The two men turned and went down the ramp as I heard the younger one say: "Bad acting. But I have a feeling we should trust him. Don't know why, but I do." The older one said: "Bad actor he may be but we'll go with your gut."

I knew it was bad acting but with the Force helping me, only those trained in observation and report would see through it. Grabbing a datapad, I strapped a blaster around the waist of the plain tunic and trousers I wore so that I would better fit in with the local populace. Taking my lightsaber from a hidden panel in the wall, I placed it in a special pocket at the small of my back, I had Warbler close up the ship after I left.

The meeting site was in a place called 'Treasure Ship Row'. This immense marketplace had shops and markets of every kind. Merchants and customers of every species and gender could be seen wherever you looked. Stormtroopers wandered through the crowd in fire teams of four with a junior officer in the lead. Also present were the obvious groups of Imperial crewmen on shore leave.

I arrived at the open-air café specified in the coordinates given to me and took a table facing out into the passing crowds. I didn't have long to wait. Soon enough, I saw the crowds parting a little as an imperial officer flanked by two stormtroopers came forward. The officer stepped in as the proprietor of the café came out himself and began a smoother impression of bow and scrape than I thought possible.

I recognized the officer and waved him over. Better to act as old friends than two enemies. He recognized me as he got closer and I saw his full Captain rank squares. Motioning to his guards to stand back near the front of the café, I smiled and said: "Been awhile. Did your plans work out friend?" His smile was thin as he took a seat and took his hat and gloves off. The waiter came over to take a drink order. I asked for Correlian Ale and the Captain asked for a tea that was specific to Correlia. The waiter shuffled off to fill the order as the Captain said: "You take chances my esteemed opponent. Thanks to you, yes. My plans worked quite well. Lord Vader was most displeased that you were gone and that we had no visual records of you on file since the Captain thought you were no threat. That man died a very gruesome death for his failure."

I knew he was referring to the altered computer files. He continued: "I wasn't happy about the mess you made of the auxiliary armory, the computer core and the docking bay though. We were in dry-dock for six months repairing all the damage you left behind but it all worked out for the better in the end. In fact, I have something I'd like to return to you."

He motioned to one of his guards who stepped forward and took a long case from his shoulder and gave it to his Captain. When the guard went back to his post by the door, the Captain unlocked the case, turned it to face me and opened it. My Muramasa sword glinted in the early afternoon sun from its place in the case. I was hard pressed to conceal the happiness from my eyes as I saw my sword again.

The Captain said: "Lord Vader himself examined this weapon. In his own words he said: 'This blade is exquisite and I can detect a remnant of Force use on it from its master. I advise you to rid yourself of this as soon as possible Captain. It will not tolerate another's touch for very long. I can feel it has a spirit of its own."

The Captain continued: "Lord Vader left after that and this hellish thing has been trailing me ever since. I've given it to three other officers in the two years since we met and every one of them died less than six months after receiving it. I don't consider myself a spiritual man but this thing is haunted and I'm glad to be rid of it."

Our drinks came then and we placed our orders before the waiter was gone. I sipped my ale, he his tea as he subtly slid a datachip out of one of his gloves and across the table to me. He said: "That is all the information you requested." Taking my datapad out of my pocket I placed it over the chip and using my fingertips, inserted it into the device. The Captain said: "You will find everything you need. Floor plans, size and armaments available to the troops there, security measures on file and exact locations of the hangars."

I had to know: "You obviously are not above scheming to get a promotion by betraying your Commanding Officer. Why did you decide to help me?" The Captain sat back and said: "My previous Captain was an arrogant, self-serving egotist. His position was bought for him. He had very little aptitude for military affairs. Since I was promoted, we have won several engagements and our overall efficiency ratings are higher than ever. I may even win promotion to flag rank. Despite that, I owed you for the chance to excel that was given to me, even if you are my enemy."

I considered it and said: "I wish we could be friends sir. I can sense an honorable core in you despite your tactics." He smiled and said: "Few people see it now, but the Empire will soon begin to lay claim to more than it can safely hold in terms of territory. The Emperor may try to rule the galaxy but even he has his limits. By helping you and in turn helping myself, I will be in a position to secure a holding somewhere when the Empire self-destructs."

Conversation revolved around to other things as we ate. We were careful not to tell each other our names but we mentioned a little of our backgrounds. Like me, he had a wife but no children yet. Soon though, our meeting was concluded. As he stood and put his cap and gloves back on he said: "Against my better judgment, I find myself liking you. Perhaps someday, when this war is over, we can be friends." We shook hands and then he was gone, swallowed by the crowds.

I went to pay for the meal only to find he already had so I left a generous tip and taking up the case with my Muramasa inside, went back to my shuttle. I stayed for a two more days acting out the part of a shipper looking for cargo. Nothing legitimate showed up but the Maintenance Chief had given me a contact with the Rebellion that actually had some supplies for us. Receiving those goods and paying for the items listed on the manifest was taken care of in short order.

Wary of a set up, I had Warbler scan the case carrying my Muramasa for tracking devices of any kind as well as all of the cargo. Finding none, I entered hyperspace on my preplanned route and stopped to change course several times to better scatter any traceable path. The only hard part I knew would be comingwhen Ifaced my wife and hoped she would let me explain before she tried to kill me or worse, leave me.

Despite the slight crowding in the cargo bay, there was enough space to draw my Muramasa for the first time in over two years. As I unsheathed it, I felt its spirit rejoice at being in my hands again. Working some short forms felt good. I sheathed it again and placed it back in the fine case the Captain had given me.

I emerged from hyperspace to have a patrol group escort me in. As I landed, I felt my wife's presence nearby. I asked Warbler to see to the disposition of the cargo as I heard him say: "Well at least I won't get blasted by Lady Gabrielle. Jeri might be cross with me but I can deal with that. See you later Ronin, wouldn't want to be you right now."

Slinging my sword in its new carry case over my shoulder, I walked down the ramp to see Gabrielle standing at the foot of it, arms crossed, her foot tapping the deck. I came off the ramp to face her. As I opened my mouth to speak she held her hand up to silence me before I could speak. She said: "No apologies offered or accepted Ronin."

Grabbing either side of my head she pulled me into a deep kiss. When we separated she said: "If you ever do anything like that to me again, we are through. From now on, you and I are a team. I love you too much to risk losing you without me by your side, and as I recall, our reunion was interrupted by this little jaunt. Let's go home." All I could say was: "Yes Milady."

Chapter 36

Home we went and our reunion was completed only slightly delayed. Late that night I woke up as concerns for the mission I was about to head up made themselves known. I sat at my workstation in our quarters scrutinizing the data. I felt Gabrielle's mind awaken. I had thought I shielded my thoughts enough but evidently not.

She came into the room where I sat and encircled me with her arms and set her head on my shoulder. I said: "I'm sorry. I thought I had shielded my thoughts enough to keep you from picking up on them." She said: "It wasn't your thoughts that woke me; it was the empty space next to me in our bed. Credit for your thoughts?"

I said: "This will be my first real command assignment. There are so many variables. I keep asking myself, have I planned out as much as I can? What can go wrong? What will go wrong? When I look to the Force for guidance, all I see are a few possible futures. The rest is just a big blur."

Gabrielle's chin rested on my shoulder as she spoke: "Fear is of the Dark Side. You're afraid aren't you?" I said: "Yes I am, and I have every right to be. Everyone will be counting on me for this mission. Not just Red and Gold Groups but the ground team as well. If I miscalculate, we'll all die. Not to mention that my primary teammate will be by my side while we're dirtside."

I felt her smile through the contact of our skin even though I wasn't facing her. She said: "What you're going through is no different from what any other leader has gone through at any point in history. Furthermore, I believe in you even if you don't believe in yourself right now and I know that if you had any serious doubts about your ability to command this mission successfully, you would never have even mentioned it to the General in the first place."

I listened to what she had to say and as if emerging from a dense fog, all my self-doubts dissolved like dust in the wind. I said: "You're right Gabrielle. I can do this." I felt her smile again as she stood up and taking my hand said: "I know you can. Let's go back to bed before the covers get cold." I said: "I think we can remedy that problem."

The next day, I went to my office and prepared my mission plan using the information I had gotten. Several hours later, my plan complete, I requested a staff meeting and also requested that the leader of the ground team be included. The General was waiting for my requests and approved them as soon as I made them.

Two days later, I went to the conference room early and distributed the datapads I had prepared. Thirty minutes later, the department heads came in followed shortly by the General. As we took our seats, the General looked directly at me and said: "You called this meeting Commander Jayks. What do you have?"

I cleared my throat and said: "If everyone will follow along in the datapads I've prepared we can get started. If anyone has questions or concerns, please bring them to my attention right away, and I'll address them at that time. Chief Terraca, what is the status of the fighters?" Chief Teracca spoke again and her translator droid spoke in turn: "We have a total of twenty-eight starfighters. Twelve X-wings, Twelve Y-Wings, two Z-95 Headhunters and two B-wings. All are fully operational and ready to go on your say so."

I said: "Excellent work Chief, thanks." Turning my attention to the ground team leader, a youngish looking man by the name of Page, he said: "My team is ready to go as soon as you brief us." I said: "The fighters will deploy as I explained earlier. The strike team will fly in on a Lambda class shuttle. Chief Terraca was kind enough to coat this shuttle with a sensor absorbent material that will render it invisible to all sensor scopes and the engines have been retuned to emit even less noise than normal. After the shuttle drops us it will immediately take off again. We'll fly out on the transport that will come in from hot standby when called."

I continued: "Our primary objective will be to disable main power and to capture the command center. When those objectives are off-line, we'll move on to the prisoner barracks and free them. As you can see from the blueprints, there is a landing platform just outside the barracks as that they were originally used as storage rooms. It is there that the transport will land and take everyone aboard. Chief Terraca has beefed up the shields on the transport so it can take a full power turbolaser blast straight on but hopefully that won't be necessary."

I turned to Commander Bree and said: "Your primary objective will be the main communication array and the TIE hangars. After that you have total discretion to hit whatever you want." A predatory smile came across her face and I was suddenly glad she was on our side. Someone asked: "What about that Star Destroyer?" I said: "What about it? If the Empire has gone to the expense of putting one on watch, I doubt it will fire directly on its base just to hit us."

There were no further remarks as I finished the briefing. The General dismissed us as I flagged down Page and said: "Sergeant, meet me in the squad briefing room where I'll join you as soon as I'm finished here." He said: "Yes sir." The General asked me to stay a moment. I waited for the others to leave and asked: "Yes sir?" He asked: "That was incredibly detailed information you presented just now Commander. How did you get it?" I said: "With due respect General, I can't tell you that. My source went to extreme personal risk and I have to respect that." He said: "I understand Commander. I'm sure you will succeed and when you do, you can name your reward."

I said: "Actually General Naz, I don't really want anything more than to bring everyone home and in one piece. You don't need to reward me but if you insist, I would appreciate it if you were to reward everyone else for their efforts on this. I could never accomplish this mission without their help." The General said: "We can discuss that later. For now, you have a mission to prepare for Commander. May the Force be with you."

I left the conference room and found my way to the squad-level briefing room. I only felt one mind inside and entered to see Page leaning against the wall, one foot propped against it, arms folded. I said: "Where's your team Sergeant?" He came off the wall and said: "As I indicated in the main briefing a little while ago, my team is ready to go. We've already worked up a strike plan and back-up plans as well."

I said: "I appreciate the foresight Sergeant but where will I be for this?" As if it was expected, he said: "Where else sir? I assume you'll be with the transport listening in and waiting to give the command for extraction."

I consider myself to be a rather laid back sort of fellow. I won't ask anyone under my command to do anything that I won't do myself, right then though, I felt like I had been dismissed like some green cadet. I said: "You assume wrong Sergeant."

He straightened to attention as I said: "Belay that attitude soldier. This will be off the record so speak your mind." The Sergeant said: "Begging your pardon sir, but you're a pilot. Always have been, always will be. I don't have time to give you a crash course in ground tactics. Fact of the matter is that you have no knowledge of ground-pounder tactics. All of my people have been trained from the start as commandos. Together, my team and I are as smooth as well-aged Wherevern's Reserve." I opened my mouth to speak when he cut me off and said: "I'm not done yet sir." I closed my mouth. He continued: "Furthermore, your decision for your wife to join us is completely unacceptable. I know from personal experience that women can make great pilots and support personnel but I have yet to see a woman be an effective commando. I believe that you and your wife will only be a liability and get my team killed because I can't spare the people to cover you both."

I listened to him and when he was silent I took that as my sign to speak. I said: "Yes, I am a pilot but first and foremost, I am a Jedi as is my wife. You won't need to watch over us because we can watch over ourselves and the rest of the team. The Force is my ally and it will help you and your team in ways you can't imagine. The Rebellion is changing Sergeant. Will you improvise, adapt and overcome or get out of the way of those who can?"

Page stood there silently a moment then said: "I'll see this through if it's all right with you." I said: "Great! I was hoping you would say that. I agree that ground fighting is different from space combat. We'll go over your plan and mine. I think between the two of us we'll come up with something that uses the best of both. Will that be acceptable?" "Yes sir," he said.

Gabrielle as well as the rest of the team came in as I finished speaking. I could see in the body language of the commandos and feel from the emotional currents in the room that these people were all experts in their fields and more than a little resentful that they would be taking orders from two pilots instead of their Sergeant. I had looked over their records before the briefing and read that they were all highly trained.

The skill areas ran the spectrum of demolitions, demolitions disposal, hand-to-appendage fighting, low-tech or hi-tech weapons, computer slicing and sabotage. Including Gabrielle and I, there would be fourteen commandos. I said: "Hello all. Please take your seats so we can get this done." When everyone but me, Gabrielle, and Page had found a seat I said: "For those of you who don't know me, I am Commander Ronin Jayks, and this is my wife Lt.Cdr. Gabrielle Shase-Jayks. We will be your field commanders for this mission."

There were a few grumbles and one outright snort of derision. Page focused on the man and said: "Deal with it Creel." The man in question, Soloman Creel, had a lengthy record of disciplinary action against him for disrespect to officers. I said: "Thank you Sergeant but let's take care of this right now, shall we?" Page said: "Yes sir." I said: "Mr. Creel, come forward please." He stood up and walked forward to stand in front of me in a sloppy parody of attention.

He said: "I guess I'll wait outside for Security." I said: "No, you won't. The Rebellion needs good fighters as much as it needs good officers. I think with the right persuasion, you can be a great fighter, maybe even lead your own team someday."

The unexpected praise stopped him in his tracks. I handed my lightsaber to Gabrielle and said: "I can understand that you may not like that a pilot will lead your mission. I know I would certainly question the wisdom of putting a ground-pounder in the cockpit of an X-wing and telling them to fly against a Death Star. So, with that in mind let's settle it right now. I know from your record Mr. Creel that you score in the highest percentile for unarmed combat, so I'll tell you what I'm going to do. Right here, right now, ranks are off. Attack me. If you score a direct hit, Page will lead you and I'll follow his orders. If you can't hit me, then you accept my role in this mission and do your job. Do we have a deal?"

The only answer he gave me was the lashing out of a flawless round kick to my face but I was already behind him. He turned and took a stance. I took my own, left hand at my waist, right hand held high near my face, left foot forward as I put my weight on the balls of both feet. He feinted and tried a high front kick to my face but the Force made everything appear in slow motion to me as I stepped under his leg, caught it and swept his support leg and sent him to the ground flat on his back. He looked up at me from the floor with undisguised surprise on his face, eyes wide at my fist that was a mere inch from his nose.

I let go, stepped back and offered him my hand to help him up. He accepted it. After he was standing, he went to perfect attention and saluted me. I returned his salute and said: "Take your seat. We have a mission to plan." I dropped my salute and he dropped his as he said: "Sir, yes sir," and went back to his seat.

Gabrielle handed my saber back and said so only I could hear: "Nice move." I smiled and murmured thanks. I could sense a new respect for me from the assembled members of the strike team as I then pushed the podium aside and said: "Sergeant, hand me a spare chair will you please?" He complied immediately as I spun it around and sat on it straddle-style in front of the team and we began our planning session.

Three hours later, the planning complete, Gabrielle and I went back home, changed clothes, had dinner then sat together on the couch and cuddled. I asked: "Before I left for the main meeting where I proposed my plan for the taking of Chugiak 3, you said you had some things to do. What were they if you don't mind me asking?"

She said: "I don't mind Ronin. I went to Medical for the full work-up and then visited Teeyara in her office. I'm back in command of third element, Ardra Dreel is the XO now but I'm not really concerned anymore what rank I hold. Maybe your humbleness has been rubbing off on me. I've been restored to flight status and my ship is still in good shape. Jeri and I took a short hop to test everything. After that, I went to make amends for a small injustice I committed several years ago, before you joined us."

I held her tightly and inhaled the clean scent of her hair as I said: "What injustice would that be?" Leaning into my embrace, she said: "Did you ever meet Corporal Dun?" I answered: "Yes, once. He took Warbler and me down to the flight deck after the General decided I could join. Later, I found out he used to be a pilot but when he was injured by your, as yet, uncontrolled abilities, he was removed from flight status after almost shooting Wedge down once. Why do you ask?"

Gabrielle said: "I used the Force to heal his internal injury and right now, I think he's being checked my Medical. By the time we leave for the mission, I think you'll have another pilot ready for assignment. I've carried the guilt of his injury for a long time now. I was so happy to help give him back his dream of flying." I said: "I think you did the right thing Milady." She said: "Thanks for listening. I think so too."