X-wing: Asynri's Song
Part 6
by Jessa

Footsteps echoed in the hall, and a moment later their owner came into view: Lyra Doran, our contact on Kylari. Or at least she came into everyone else's view. I happened to have my back to the door when it flung open suddenly and hit me square in the backside, sending me tumbling to the floor. Automatically, I tucked into a roll and came up with vibroblade in hand and leapt toward my attacker, trying to suppress a snarl and not entirely succeeding. I'd been taught by my father that if I was going to attack something, attack silently. I always did have trouble with that lesson.

I guess I startled everyone with my sudden ferocity since no one moved for a second. Then, being the closest to me, Darian grabbed my knife arm and held it down, jerking me from midair. Corran tackled Lyra, pulling her out of my path, while Wedge grabbed my other arm as I sort of growled.

Wedge and Darian pulled me to the other side of the room and sat me in a chair. I relinquished my grip on my vibroblade and it clattered to the floor. I looked over to where Corran was helping Lyra up and said, "Sorry. You startled me. I thought I was out of range of the door."

"You're not hurt, are you?" Lyra asked.

"Just a bump on the tush and a gaping wound in my ego," I replied. "Nothing really serious."

"Wow. First time I've heard of an ego hit being described as nothing serious," Darian laughed. "Especially by you, 'Ryll."

I just grinned and tried to look innocent.

"Anyway, I came to tell you that my friend will be flying you out in his ship. It's fast, and Toba's a good friend. He's Imperial through and through, but I trust him with my life. He won't sell us out."

"I hope you're right, for all our sakes," Wedge said.

oOoOoOo

Next morning, there was a large speeder in front of the house. Lyra sat up front with the driver, leaving the rest of us to discuss strategies in taking the Imperial base. The idea was to present the plans to the officer in charge of the Kylari assault.

I didn't take much part in the strategizing session. I was too preoccupied with my dreams from the night before and an odd feeling of deja vu. I'd never before had precognitive dreams, but some of the suggestions thrown out by Face were the exact ones he'd thrown out in one of my dreams. I'd had several during the course of the night, and they all ended in disaster for the group. Except me. Somehow, I always survived.

I'd sat across from Wedge and I couldn't stop staring, as if it would be the last time I'd see him. Of course, if my dreams proved correct, it would be. I was fervently hoping that the disaster I saw in my dreams wouldn't happen.

Wedge caught me staring at him several times, but he never said anything. I could read in his expression that he had a bad feeling about this day's events yet to come.

Lyra had tried calling her friend, Terry Tobaskin, 'Toba', earlier in the morning to make sure he had everything arranged. She hadn't gotten hold of him but didn't seem to think this odd, since, she'd said, he was probably still sleeping as he always did before he made a run.

I couldn't quite put my finger on the problem, but I knew one thing. I had a bad feeling about this. . .

oOoOoOo

The speeder pulled up to Toba's residence at noon. A note stuck to the front door stated that Toba was in the hangar around back.

That feeling of deja vu came back with a vengeance. But I couldn't place anything there as having been in any of my dreams.

The ramp to Toba's ship was down, implying that the man was inside, likely beginning preflight prep. There was a deactivated astromech droid beside the ramp, but I didn't register it until it was too late.

I was just opening my mouth to comment on the droid when I saw a dark shape moving out of the corner of my eye. As I'd been the last one into the hangar, I doubted anyone else saw it. Then the hangar doors slammed shut. . .

. . .And I remembered where I'd seen all this before. Of all my dreams of the previous night that I'd tried to block out, this one I'd been able to. The sole dream/vision where everyone but me survived.

I shuddered as I pulled out my blaster. Suddenly my dream-fate seemed all too real. For a heartbeat, all was quiet.

Then all hell broke loose.

"It's a trap!" I shouted as two dark-clad figures rushed me. I shot one of them, then my blaster was knocked out of my hands. I leapt into a backflip and landed on a stack of crates, from which I got a glimpse of the battle.

Five of the dark-clad Imperial commandos, for that's what they were, had surrounded Lyra and Wedge, cutting them off from the rest of us. Two more lay at Lyra's feet, and Wedge was unleashing punishing blows on another.

Darian had taken a blow to the temple and lay, stunned and unmoving, on the ground. As I watched, Gavin pulled him into Toba's ship, then began picking off commandos. Relieved, I turned my attention back to my foe.

He must've multiplied in the very short time I wasn't watching him, because now there were three. None had blasters, for which I was extremely grateful, but that got me wondering what their motive was. If they wanted us dead, blasters would have been so much more efficient than hand-to-hand combat. Capture? Again, blasters set on stun would be easier. Some kind of test?

I gave up after a couple of seconds and flipped off of the crates, unsheathing a matched pair of vibroblades as I did so. I powered them up as I landed and began slicing into my opponents.

Then I saw Wedge fall. Time seemed to slow way down. Lyra really started tearing into the Imps. If I thought she was fighting well before, that was nothing compared to this. Now I understood her comment of the previous day about counting herself as a defense.

Gavin left the safety of the ship and charged into the fray, mowing down commandos with well-placed shots as well as brute strength. Face and Corran fought their way to the commander's side.

There were at least twenty commandos between me and my group now, but heedless of the dangers, (or the odds against me, proving I was Corellian) I attempted to make it to them. I let out a shout of joy when I saw Wedge was up and moving for the ship. My cry attracted more attention that I didn't want. I was not in a good position.

The group made it to the ship. Wedge counted heads as they ran up the ramp. I heard the repulsorlifts come up. I knew I wasn't going to make it.

Now the stormtroopers decided to join the party. A group of them began hastily setting up an e-web heavy blaster. Whoever was piloting the ship saw this, too, and lifted about two meters off the pad in preparation of taking off. Wedge was still in the hatchway, looking down the still-open ramp, presumably looking for me.

I felt a sudden, searing pain in my right knee and collapsed. I looked at my charred knee and knew I'd taken a blaster hit. Funny thing was, after the initial pain, it didn't hurt. At all. I kind of laughed and looked up at the hovering ship. It was obvious from the pained expression on Wedge's face that he'd seen me get hit.

Black fuzz was beginning to creep into my vision, and I found it increasingly difficult to move, as if all my energy had been drained. Before I blacked out, I managed to toss one of my rare perfect salutes at Wedge.

I fell back to the pavement. The last thing I saw was Wedge's silhouette in the closing hatch of the escaping ship.

At least they got away, I thought. Goodbye, Wedge.

Then it went dark.