Patient is coming to. Please alert the medical officer. The quiet voice entered his head as everything turned black around him.
"...squadron has been without assigned replacements for several days now. The Lieutenant Commander needs to sign off on the new base patrol schedule as soon as possible." Cv-4 rattled off from the hallway outside. He had been following the medical officer almost non stop for the past few days. He urged for access to the Lieutenant's room so that Cv-4 could discuss changes in base operations.
"I understand Seevee-four. I understood yesterday, and I understood the day before." The exasperated medical officer explained to the pushy droid. "He just woke up now so let me do my job."
The medical officer walked back into the chamber and placed a hand on the protocol droid as it attempted to follow him inside. "Medical personnel only."
"Inform the Lieutenant Commander that the Admiral has requested his presence aboard the Blue Diver." The droid continued from the hallway. It chattered ceaselessly until the door slid shut in front of him.
The medical officer quietly read the new data set produced by the medical droid. He rubbed the short black stubble across his face. Lindmon recognized the man as one Colrees Branken. A decent med tech with no distinguishing accomplishments or skills, he was all the New Republic could spare. He performed his job with the most minimal effort required to get the task complete. Not one to put in extra work or go above and beyond, frequent tardiness was a recurring flaw of his. A few times Lindmon had to reprimand Colrees for leaving the medical bay during duty hours to wander the base.
"Lieutenant, welcome back. How are you feeling?" He asked casually.
Lindmon sat up slowly, his eyes passing over the bright lights of the medical bay. "What happened?" He said quietly, rubbing his head. He threw his legs over the side of the medical bed and stretched his shoulders. "Sorry, dumb question. I'm fine." He stood slowly, his knees shaking under his weight. "How long was I out?"
"Three days?" Colrees said, "Well two for sure and this is the third, so..."
He flicked the power switch on the back of the medical droid and it slumped over with a dull groan. Colrees stood across from Lindmon and raised a questioning eyebrow. "You need me for anything else Sir? Or can I..." His voice trailed off as he jabbed a thumb towards the door.
Lindmon waved his hand, exasperated. "Yea, no, go wander. Send in Seevee, I'm sure he's been dying for me to sign things."
The medical officer waved and left the room, CV-4 clunking in just after.
"Sir, there are a number of issues that require your attention."
"Thank you, Seevee, although why you couldn't run these through Denabens, or even Tordent, is beyond me. I have second-in-commands for a reason." Lindmon walked over to a nearby counter where his uniform and other clothes were set before getting dressed and walking over to the little tablet CV-4 was waving around.
"Yes, Sir but only you have the official authorization to reassign callsigns and transfer pilots."
"And Admiral Sevessa was unable to do any of this because..." Lindmon's voice trailed off as he read through the various requests and orders.
"Because I did not ask him. Apologies sir, I appear to have been remiss in my duties. As an aside, Admiral Sevessa requests your immediate presence aboard the Blue Diver for formal debriefing. The reports provided by Spades Jack through Joker are available on your tablet."
"Jack through...Maila didn't submit her report then." Lindmon flipped through the reports quickly. He knew what they would say so scanning was the most he needed to do. Seger's Report was incredibly thorough, although there was no mention of Lindmon's use of the force. He breathed a sigh of relief. If the admiral found out he would flip right on him and start throwing impossible missions down his throat, he just knew it. At least now he wouldn't have to worry about that just yet.
"Inform the Admiral I will be making my way to the nearest shuttle in the hour." He said to the droid who was no plodding along behind him as he walked down the hall back towards his quarters.
"Of course, sir. Shall I adjust the arrival request for the resupply shuttles to avoid the winter migration of Caravors?" The droid asked as it followed Lindmon, servos and motors whirred noisily throughout the hallway. A quick affirmation was all the droid needed and it logged the command in its database.
CV-4 continued to shadow Lindmon and updated him on all manner of information pertaining to the upkeep of Palatine base. Temperature changes and weather patterns were an important asset on the planet and disregarding the effects it had on the wildlife could cause operational disaster. Indigo squadron's T-65 X-Wings were showing increased signs of rusting that demanded more manpower to remedy. The heavily salted rains during night patrols were corroding the metals faster than expected. CV-4 tried to emphasize that replacement parts will become a necessity soon.
Less than an hour later Lindmon was landing inside the massive hanger of the Blue Diver. The flight had taken him past the small fleet that had organized for the original mission. The Nebulon-B class light frigate, Honor Bound, had arrived as supplementary support. The three-hundred-meter escort cruiser, small in comparison to the others, was equipped with several bacta bays and carried a complement of A-wing interceptors. A thin spar connected the front, knife shaped command section, to the rear shield generator and engine block. Its poorly reinforced midsection relegated it as purely a support craft, unable to operate without significant defenses. The frigate's interceptors drifted along its port and starboard sides in tight V-shaped formations.
Floating alongside the Blue Diver as its crews helped repair several of the charred craters that were inflicted during the operation days ago was the Nomad, a Dreadnaught-class assault frigate. At seven hundred meters it was just nearly half the length of the massive Blue Diver. Heavily automated control systems allowed its crews to operate the dozens of turbolaser batteries with half the needed crew. The ship was a powerful craft that could rival a Victory-class Star Destroyer in single combat if it had a sharp commander at the helm. It was heavily armored and had distinct rear dorsal fins and a long-sloped command structure.
Lindmon stepped off the shuttle into the hangar bay. The Blue Diver carried compliments of X-Wing and Y-Wing squadrons and many technicians were working alongside their droids to fix what they could. Most were in workable condition, although Lindmon noticed that several were badly damaged. Hot laser fire scars stretched along the fuselages of many of the snubfighters. Rolling across the bay was a metal crane, hoisting a new wing section in place for an unfortunate X-Wing. Commands droned constantly across the overhead speakers, giving orders to the flight deck operators and directing workflow.
"Hey Lieutenant!" A familiar voice cried out. As Lindmon turned around the raucously colored Mandalorian armor was immediately recognizable. Repainted recently to cover the ion scarring, though many pits and deep scratches could still be seen upon close inspection. Silver, purple and several shades of red and blue marked most of the armor. A small jetpack was affixed to the back, white wings artistically painted across the purple colored metal. It was not large enough to hold a concussion missile or other armament, vying for dexterity instead of destructive force. The previously charred and melted under-suit had been discarded and replaced.
Lindmon's comrade stood at the foot of a large modified VCX-100 light freighter, fully armed with her pistols and lightsaber, she held her helmet off to the side. Her hair was colored white and sky blue from the black it had reverted to on Haven Sentry. It had gotten longer still, since they first started months ago. Sabine was standing next to a green Twi'lek dressed in simple flight fatigues, a maintenance kit strapped to her belt. Lindmon recognized her as one of the Generals from the Coruscant meeting, Syndulla.
"Sabine! Is it good to see you. And it's Lieutenant Commander now." Lindmon cried out with an added wink, clasping her hand and smacking her on the shoulder. He turned to the general and saluted. "General, a pleasure." The General waved her hand dismissively, never one for the formalities the military suggested. "What brings you here? Figured you would be tied down on Lothal for a while." Lindmon continued, checking his wrist display for the time. "I have a meeting soon with the Admiral, I have good news for you though. We got it." He said with a grin.
Sabine smiled brightly at the news, Lindmon could feel trust and relief flowing from inside her. Combat was their true language, one of the ways people their culture could express and unlock their emotions. Fighting together, working towards a common goal against the odds, those were the ways to improve oneself in the eyes of a Mandalorian.
General Syndulla however was the one to respond to Lindmon first. "We figured something like that happened. Most of the group was already enroute a week ago, you know how long it takes to cut through the region. When we arrived, the Blue Diver was just coming back from its fight and we were told to standby."
"Admiral Sev'esa has the other commanders meeting in a few minutes," She continued, "about where to go from here. Sabine, could you watch Jacen while we're gone?"
Sabine nodded and looked to Lindmon, "We'll catch up later, I'll tell you what happened then, alright?" she looked a bit disappointed at his departure.
General Syndulla and Lindmon walked briskly through the pristine white corridors of the Blue Diver. Each Mon Calamari ship was unique, like a massive work of art. General Syndulla, less familiar with the unique corridors of this vessel, allowed herself to be led to the briefing room. "I wasn't able to express my gratitude to you before, on Coruscant." She said seriously, "The New Republic is still struggling to make itself recognized across the galaxy. As a General I don't always get to decide where I go or what I do. For what you have done, for what you are doing for me and my family. Thank you..."
Lindmon gave a solemn nod. "I understand now the severity of the mission, even if the Admiral doesn't. Finding Ezra is just as important for the Republic as it is for Sabine and you." Lindmon walked quickly through the halls, CV-4 plodding behind them as quick as his servos would carry him. "I worry though. The information we got is only useful for the search efforts. The Empire was able to wipe a good portion of the more recent data."
"Finding Ezra is important for all of us, everyone who knew him, the people he's helped in the past." Hera affirmed, "It's unfortunate that the recent data was wiped, having that information could have really helped us. You might have to find a way to make this outdated information sound relevant. Make them see that this old data could somehow help with the current issues they are facing." She said finally. General Syndulla wanted to help more with the mission Lindmon was leading. A lot of members of the New Republic did, Sabine was one of the few who was in a position to actually do some legwork. The General resigned herself to assisting the search in whatever capacity she could when able. This mission gave her hope that she could use her skills and the unique abilities the Ghost had to help for once but that was beginning to look like a fleeting dream.
"We're getting somewhere, at this point I'm in too deep to let anything stop me. For Sabine's sake, Ahsoka, and the Republic at large, we have to at least try." The pair reached the large white doors leading into the main conference room, Lindmon pulled the data pad in CV's hand away and took a deep breath. "May the force be with us." He sighed as the doors slid open with a hiss.
The command briefing room was wider and more open than the private classified briefing room that Lindmon had started his journey from. Several rows of long seats descended down toward a large holo projector that sat centered in the room. Like the rest of the Blue Diver the room was illuminated in pristine white, horizontal ocean blue striping accented the walls and interior.
Standing at the bottom of the steps facing the holo projector was the commander of Honor Bound. Alexsandr Kallus, a former Imperial Security Bureau agent, who still stood with the rigidity and poise of the many years spent in their service. Before the destruction of Alderaan, he used his position in the Empire to aid the fledgling Rebellion as a spy. He had sandy blonde hair with a thick, full beard and wore a tan dress shirt bearing the emblem of the New Republic, the red crest of the alliance set in a circle of stars. Over his shirt was a thick grey and brown jacket, and his dark pants were tucked into a pair of heavy boots.
Admiral Cest Sev'esa stood at the head of the room and greeted Lindmon and General Syndulla as they entered. They all stood together for a tense several moments, waiting for the next few members to arrive. General Syndulla shared pleasantries with the Admiral to pass the time and maybe break some of the tension. Sev'esa's normally sour mood was slowly worked over by the Twi'lek's charming manner, his greying chestnut fur smoothed down as his mood calmed.
The last to arrive was the commander of the Nomad, Dalhar Corrcov and his General Gaim Vug. Dalhar had deep dark skin and the right side of his face was marred with shrapnel scars. His right eye was milky white with blindness, left uncovered, a show of pride for his battle scars. A strong and broad shouldered man who had worked himself from the lowest ranks of the Rebellion to his honored position as commander of a Dreadnought assault frigate.
Leader of the Nomad's troop battalions and squadrons, Gaim Vug looked nearly as menacing. The Duros had light blue green skin, and narrow hateful, red eyes. A shrewd tactician capable of commanding his men headlong into danger for the mission without a second thought. The both of them wore heavy cloaks over their New Republic uniforms. An air of intensity and vigor was carried with them, inspiring those under their command to follow them with vicious fanaticism.
Lindmon joined the group at the holotable, the air in the room was heavy, tense, and foreboding. Had the mission gone so badly? What did he not know while he was out cold? The anxiety was starting to get to him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and waited for the meeting to start. As he stood there he worked through the data on the pad in his hand.
"The discovery of Lieutenant Crest's recon team was an unfortunate outcome. Our previous plan to delay the Star Destroyer Havoc incurred only minimal damage to the Blue Diver. While it's not what we intended, we may have got away with enough to move forward." Admiral Sev'esa began, carefully surveying each leader assigned to the small fleet. He smoothed the long whiskers on his face and turned his attention to Lindmon. "I'd like to move forward and get those data files decrypted as soon as possible. Having a record of Imperial movements and their battle strategies will be an invaluable asset."
Dalhar Corrcov made a grunt of affirmation. The commander had seen the harsh trials of war, where strength was paramount. Even so, the veteran recognized the importance that good information could bring to a battle group.
"Now that one of their stations have been attacked, the Imperials won't allow a second attempt." Alexsandr Kallus stated firmly, using his extensive knowledge of Imperial mindset and strategies to surmise their response. "The remaining stations will be made impenetrable, or be abandoned. It may be in our best interest to count what small victory has come from this."
"We are fortunate that the data we recovered meets the needs of my crew's primary mission. On top of flight data for the ISD Chimera we have retrieved flight and pathing information from 0 ABY back to 4 BBY. While the information is on the older side it can help us coordinate possible refueling stations and bases in the Unknown regions, along with possible hyperlane travel paths. While it is unfortunate that we were unable to secure more recent data, the fact that our injury count was low and damage reports seem minimal is a good thing." Lindmon said, scanning through the information displayed in front of him.
"As such I would like to re-establish the search for the primary target as soon as the data is decrypted."
"What is this. We come here to raid. Get good information. And you tell us it is all old." Dalhar said, his voice rising as he stepped forward. "We have won those battles already. This is no good!"
Admiral Sev'esa held his hand out placatingly at the agitated commander, "It is old yes, but do not disregard the usefulness of logistical data." His voice was sharp and firm. Sev'esa knew he made it clear that the search for this lost Jedi was supposed to be the secondary objective, even if not officially. General Syndulla was, to his understanding, close to whoever this boy was. He restrained himself from making a comment on the matter, she was well liked in the New Republic and could influence high ranking members against him if he were to speak out now.
"So then what? We sit here. Wait for them to strike at us?" Dalhar exclaimed, exasperated, "Old hyperspace routes do not tell us where the enemy is!"
"With respect Sir, old data can give us an understanding of pre-fall outposts in the unknown regions, outposts that may well still be intact and operational. Beside that, the information on effective hyperspace lanes in a region we barely know is its own reward. With that we can effectively scout the region with a smaller likelihood of disaster. My crew and I are well aware of the difficulties of flying blind out there." Lindmon stated, he had known there would be blowback but there was no skirting around the age of this information. "Our primary reason for assaulting these bases being the routing information of the Chimera, any excess information is simply additional plunder. The fact that they rushed so quickly to depriving any new information is telling as well, we can assume that the Empire has a stronger presence here than we thought."
"Which is why we need relevant information!" Dalhar shouted. He paced across the room in short intervals. "The Imperial forces are close to breaking through our blockades around the Ansion system! We don't have the luxury of time to sift through and figure out what is and isn't relevant!" The large man pointed emphatically at the holoprojector as if the enemy was locked away inside.
"Dalhar. We can learn a lot, even with this." General Syndulla explained softly, "Lieutenant Commander Crest is right. Knowing what the Imperials have been up to in the Unknown Region, even for a short time, might give us an edge. Thrawn hasn't come back since he disappeared into the region, and I have a good feeling he's not dead." She looked around the room at each of her associates, giving ominous weight to her words.
"I agree. It wouldn't have taken very long for him to return to the conflict, especially after the Rebellion had destroyed the Death Star." Alexsandr responded, "Are you suggesting that the Grand Admiral was ordered instead to stay? To spread their influence and control the systems hidden inside the Unknown Region?"
"Exactly." General Syndulla said firmly, "They are up to something, and we have to find out what it is. Before it's too late."
"Our job is to stop them, at any cost. For now we will keep the fleet here to defend Palatine base." Admiral Sev'esa said, "Retaliation will come as soon as they discover our location. Won't be long until they find us." Abandoning Palatine base was something Sev'esa wanted to avoid. The benefits of having a forward base inside Imperial territory far outweighed leaving it behind. Now that the whole battlegroup was here, he wouldn't have to run if a Star Destroyer showed. "General Syndulla will take the data to New Republic Intelligence. From there we can determine our next targets." Admiral Sev'esa turned his attention to Lindmon, "Lieutenant Commander, ensure your squadron is ready for combat. I'll have the Republic sortie new fighters for the ones lost."
"Right away Sir." Lindmon said, turning from the table and exiting the conference room with CV-4 in tow. He weaved through the long halls back towards the main hangars before speaking over his shoulder to the droid. "Seevee, send a message down to the Spire, have them make sure the Spades are in full fighting force, fighters repaired and refueled. Also, get Sabine Wren credentials for Spire access and have her meet me there at her earliest convenience."
"Aye Sir, I have a request from Palatine Main, dispatch request for Caravors survey." The droid said as it clunked along.
"Denied. Have them prep all fighters and pilots. We're on alert." Lindmon responded. He stepped into the main hangar of the Blue Diver, operators and technicians were already rushing back and forth preparing the fighters located there. Pilots were sitting near their fighters, putting on their flight suits and respirators.
This is all my fault. Lindmon thought to himself. The base on Palatine was new, and if the Empire struck at it the fight would be difficult. What will it have cost to get this data? He wondered.
The higher ranking officers stayed back in the conference room after Lindmon was dismissed. Dalhar continued to detail the attacks probing the Ansion system and the countermeasures the New Republic had planned. It was not promising, most of the debate was if it should continue to be protected. The influence of the New Republic was growing quickly, but there were only so many resources they could spare.
Lindmon continued on and came to the VCX light freighter from before. Its loading ramp lowered to reveal the main cargo bay. Inside, Sabine stood side by side with a young human boy. He was tall for his age, with a tousle of dark brown hair that curled slightly at his ears. The tips of which were pointed, and much whiter than the rest of his skin. They swung old wooden sticks in unison, going through defensive slashes as Sabine called out the step methodically. The saber drills were serene and elegant, the sticks moved across the air like water as they swung and pivoted as if in a dance. It had been a while since the last time she had seen him, a year, maybe more. Even so, Jacen remembered a promising amount of the saber motions he was taught. After several retreating swings she looked at the boy and stopped.
"Your stance is wide again." Sabine chastised, "Look, if your feet aren't in the right position I can just..." She hooked the boy's leg with her foot and swept it out from under him.
The boy twisted as he fell, hopping as he tried to balance himself so he didn't crash to the ground in embarrassment. It was futile though, with a sharp cry he landed face first onto the metal grate of the cargo bay.
Jacen gasped as he moved to get back up. She was going to hit him again, he knew it. He had dropped the stick when he fell. Sabine had told him to never let go of your weapon, whatever that weapon is. And he had done it again. Jacen covered his head with his arms and rolled to the side, satisfied to hear the stick slap into the metal floor instead of the back of his head. He grinned proudly at Sabine, a few missing front teeth adding a boyish charm to his victory.
"Alright, alright. Very cute." Sabine chided. "Get back up, and we can work through the rest of Form One."
"Huh?" Jacen groaned. This was the first he had heard of this being one of a series of techniques. He thought this was the only one. "How many forms are there?"
Sabine looked at Jacen with confusion, "Four? I think..." She had listened to Ezra when he talked about changing his fighting style. Adapting it as he grew more skilled, but she hadn't really paid enough attention to remember if there were more than just four forms. Lightsaber combat was strange to her, awkward in its movements and she never really found a place for it in normal combat. Sabine only managed to retain the first few saber form drills Kanan and Ezra taught her years ago when she inherited the Darksaber. "There might be more, I'm not sure."
Jacen was shocked at her lack of knowledge, Sabine was supposed to know everything about fighting. The fact that she had an apparent lack of information about the saber techniques made it seem mysterious, like he was being taught some long held secret.
"Come on kid, ready position." They took to their stances again. Just before they began, Sabine took her foot and pushed Jacen's leg, closing the gap in his wide stance. "There, that's ready position. Now, one...two..."
Lindmon waved his hand at the droid, telling it to stay put. He walked over to the ramp and watched as the pair sparred. Sabine's focus was entirely on the boy in front of her. She monitored his motions and spoke up from time to time to chastise him for any shortcomings she had taken note of. Finally as the pair seemed to be finishing, and once more the boy suffered a sharp 'thwack' on the back of his hand, Lindmon spoke up.
"Well no need to beat children now." He said playfully, smiling at his friend through the well trimmed beard crawling down his chin.
"He wouldn't have to get hit if he just remembered to keep his stance tight." Sabine said, discarding the wooden stick inside a small bucket. She turned towards Lindmon and slowly removed her glove. It dropped and Sabine deftly caught it on her boot, keeping the durasteel from clattering to the ground.
She grabbed the black under suit and stretched it over her now bare hand. "You know, when I was six and I failed combat drills, my mother would leave me in the snowy mountains on Krownest." Sabine said menacingly over her shoulder to the boy. "One time I ran into a hungry Narglatch and it ate my hand!" She whipped around and showed her gloveless hand. The black sleeve flopped over in a mock amputation.
The blood quickly drained from the small boy's face, a mix of sudden horror and confusion. "Chopper!" Jacen cried as he ran away, falling for the simple trick. When he turned to escape into the other room, an old C1 droid slammed into the child. It warbled and chuffed it's binary droid language like a grumpy war veteran.
Sabine chuckled mirthfully as her hand popped back out from the black under suit. She kicked up the glove and slid it back onto her hand. In the cargo hold, Jacen clung to Chopper's chassis to keep from being run over. The droid's visual sensor was obstructed by the boy's body, and it wheeled around the ship in confusion, warbling and spinning as it tried to regain control. "Chopper! Wait-wait!" The boy shouted to the distressed droid as it carried him around. "Stooooop!"
"That was quick," Sabine said, now turning her attention to Lindmon and ignored the continued ruckus behind her, "I didn't think you would be back so soon. Oh, but Hera's not with you, I guess they're still having the meeting then?"
"It's likely deliberations my rank doesn't make me privy to, but alas my job isn't done. I have a whole damned base to run. We're going on alert, the mission may have drawn the ire of the Empire a bit sooner than we had wanted." Lindmon said, looking at the ship. "What have you been up to over the past couple of months?"
"Right!" Sabine exclaimed, picking up the conversation she tried to start before the briefing. "That security breach turned out to be a rogue droid! We wasted weeks doing background checks on all of our personnel, I even came close to blasting one guy. He was such an uncooperative gundark."
She leaned against the frame of the cargo bay, becoming more relaxed after the teaching session. "Anyway, apparently some clever slicer put a secondary core module in an R4 Astro. When we would run our diagnostics on the droids it would switch to the false core and get past security." She sighed, recalling the weeks afterwards spent opening hapless droid frames. Each little bot went under her scrutiny until she was satisfied. "We put new restraining bolts and security procedures in place so nothing like that can happen again. After that it took me a while just to get here. You wouldn't believe the hoops I had to jump through to find this place."
When she finished speaking, Sabine's expression turned to one of regret. Her eyes shifted to the floor as she shamefully recalled the scene on Haven Sentry. How she left and abandoned her comrades selfishly. "Hey, I'm sorry that I left so suddenly before. I just, I-I couldn't..." She trails off, unsure how to word the apology.
"No worries. We understood entirely. Although you could have gotten dressed before plowing out of there in your medical gown." Lindmon said with a smirk. "I'm just glad it wasn't anything more severe."
CV-4 raised his arm from where he stood. "Sir, there are several requests that require your attention." It quipped.
"I need to remove that line from his programming." Lindmon sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm working on getting you credentials to come to the Spire, it's not listed on the base directory but look for the entry hatch near the mess hall, punch in your basic access codes, should get you through. Give it about an hour." He waved his hand, turning back towards the droid and plucking the datapad from it's hand.
"You got it Lieutenant!" Sabine said, flicking her fingers off her head in a casual salute. "Once Hera gets back from the meeting I'll head down to the planet. I've still got that A-Wing from Haven Sentry." A loud bang echoed from the cargo hold as Chopper finally whipped off the young Jacen. He flopped onto the metal grate and groaned.
"Try not to break the kid!" Lindmon shouted over his shoulder as he boarded the nearby shuttle that would take him back planet side. The short conversation had lifted his mood significantly, and after boarding he worked his way through the new requests that had piled up in the short time he was away.
"Oh for fuck's sake. Seevee, you have authorization to grant half of this. What do I keep you around for if you aren't lessening my work load." He said, tossing the datapad over to the droid who struggled to juggle it for a moment.
"My apologies Sir, I seem to have been remiss in my duties." The droid commented.
"I can't tell if you're just being sarcastic Seevee. Simple requests outside safety or mission critical ones, you have the processing power to check logs and see if it's viable. Do that." Lindmon responded with a huff, kicking his feet up into the seat next to him and leaning back. He was determined not to lose the good mood he picked up. He leaned back and closed his eyes for the brief flight to the surface.