Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to LucasFilm Ltd.

OO

The space around Borealis was filled with ships. While the larger ones slugged it out with their laser, ion, and plasma batteries, the smaller fighters danced an intricate ballet around them. Not only were the New Republic forces trying to escape, but they were determined to take as many enemy fighters with them as possible.

Phaelon glanced at the control panel of her X-wing to see three coralskippers had attached themselves to Twin Suns Leader. Jaina Solo, deeply engaged in her own dogfight didn't notice them and her two wingmates were deeply engrossed in their own battles.

"Goddess, you've picked up two," the Kiffar Jedi Knight announced, pulling her X-wing in a tight one hundred eighty degree loop and pelting back into the fray.

She felt a wave of relief wash over Jaina as the second fighter fell to her lasers. "Thanks, Four."

Jaina was the last of Twin Suns Squadron out of the thickest part of the furball. Phaelon shot into a steep dive and looped around, making a large teardrop and coming back out towards the rest of the squadron.

A well-placed shot from a coralskipper was the first indication that Phaelon had picked up an enemy fighter. Red lights blinked on the control panel in over a dozen places as the X-wing rocked violently. Her R-5 squealed as only a droid in terror can, and a stream of protests appeared on the monitor.

"I know. I know. I see him," muttered Phaelon to herself as she juked and jinked the starfighter, trying to make it a harder target. A little help here would be nice, she thought.

The coralskipper clung to her tail as she pushed the inertial compensation to its limits, bobbing and weaving at impossible angles. A sharp crack! juddered through the fighter, slewing it left, and more red lights appeared on the board.

"Four," – It was Twin Five. – "You okay? That was quite a hit."

Phaelon scanned the boards quickly – little lights were flashing in a dozen places – and chanced a look out her port side. Her s-foils had been sheered clean off a meter above where the lasers should have been.

She switched her com to the unit's frequency. "Negative, I've lost my port lasers. They're completely gone, along with most of the wing."

She felt, rather than heard Jaina's command. Get outta here. You'll only get yourself killed.

Phaelon shook her head and swept the X-wing closer to one of the Star Destroyers; there was no way Jaina was getting her to desert her fellow pilots.

Jaina must have sensed this refusal on her part because the next moment, her voice crackled over the com. "Two, Leader. Hook up with Four and get her out of here."

Now, Jaina sent through the Force. There was no arguing with her, although Phaelon could sense that Kyp wanted to. Not that she was all too thrilled about having the rogue Jedi Master as an escort either.

"Drifter," Phaelon said to her astromech. "Plot me some coordinates out of here. Preferably to somewhere habitable where we can repair."

The droid tootled in reply and the translation appeared before her.

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed, "I can't be too picky at the moment." As she muttered, she hit the switch above her left shoulder and brought the s-foils back to their cruising position.

A set of coordinates appeared on her monitor a moment before Kyp arrived. "So, where we headed?" he didn't sound happy about the arrangement either.

She shot him the coordinates as they finally reached the empty space beyond the furball. "I have no idea."

Great, she heard him mutter through the Force as her ship shot away from Borealis and into the relative safety of hyperspace.