Chapter 2

Welcome Party

Dakota stared at the flashing light, emitting an orange glow every few seconds. His mood had settled. Fighting the urge to view the message, Dakota shut the receiver off. He breathed heavy in the stale air of the Raven's cabin, filled with the stench of hot metal from the encounter on Arkanis. "What could they want with me?" he whispered to himself as he turned towards the Raven's cold storage crate. He opened the crate and let the wall of icy air hit him in the face as he reached for an apple. He sat back down in the captain's chair, slowly twirling in circles as he calmly bit into the apple. Dakota had made it a habit to slow down for a while after near-death experiences.

Dakota finished his apple and sat in silence for a few moments. He had a choice to make. Answer the Rebellion's call, or take on another cargo shipment. The Rebellion had always payed well, and right now, that was all that really mattered to him. On top of that, the Raven was long overdue for some repairs and even some upgrades, and the credits he had now wouldn't cover a fraction of the cost. Dakota rolled his eyes as he leaned forward with a grunt, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

He walked to the receiver panel and turned it back on with a satisfying click. The lonely orange light reappeared, resuming its dance across the panel. Dakota hesitated. He thought back to why he left in the first place. A few minutes passed until he decided to play the transmission. A hologram opened, and the figure of a woman began to speak. He recognized her – it was Mon Mothma, leader of the Alliance!

"Dakota Mava, my name is Mon Mothma. We met briefly only once before, as I am sure you remember".

Dakota took a step back, surprised that he could not recall when he had met her. The transmission continued.

"I am familiar with your story, Dakota, and I see reason why you left the Alliance".

Dakota felt a burning sensation rise in his chest. He didn't like to dwell on the subject, and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"That said… we need you back. I'll get straight to the point.

The second Death Star has been destroyed, Dakota. The Emperor is dead, and his Empire is on the run. In an effort to weaken our forces, several Alliance leaders have been assassinated. The remainder of the leadership, myself included, have determined that we need not be intimidated."

Dakota's eyes widened as he stumbled back and sat on a crate. He couldn't believe it. He had heard of plans to destroy the second Death Star before he left, but never thought that the Alliance would succeed. "They – They actually did it… after everything that we lost…" he remarked.

"Our job has only begun, and we are in desperate need of more rebels like yourself. You and the Raven could do some really good work… change lives. Report to the Alliance fleet at the attached coordinates if you are willing. If not, we will consider you an enemy." Mothma's figure transitioned to a wall of blue static, and Dakota switched the receiver off.

He was still in awe from the news. "The Empire is in chaos…" he trailed off. For the entirety of Dakota's life, the Empire was the strongest force in the galaxy. Now that wasn't the case. He punched in the Alliance's coordinates and paused for a moment with his hand on the hyperspace lever. "They'll be meeting soon… I'd hate to miss anything" he mused. Dakota slowly pushed the hyper drive lever forward as not to overload the core, and the Raven smoothly fell into hyperspace with a satisfying thump.

As the blue glow of hyperspace lit the shadows on Dakota's creased face, he turned towards the cabin behind him. It had been years since he left the Alliance, and he was about to jump back in. "I've got no idea what to expect", he exclaimed. He reached for an old bag that held his previous identification badge along with some other relics. He read the faded print along the top of the badge aloud: "Captain Dakota Mava – UT-60D U-Wing "The Raven"". He rubbed some dust away from the surface of his badge with the corner of his shirt. "Wow. I – uh – was so… young". He tucked the badge away in his back pocket almost instinctively and returned to the cockpit with a slight grin on his face.

The Raven fell out of hyperspace and was surrounded by the Alliance's largest capital ships. The capital ships stood tall, even in the emptiness of space, dwarfing the Raven's size. It was an impressive sight, no doubt, but Dakota couldn't help but worry that so much of the Rebellion was in one place. "I'm gonna go ahead and guess I'm in the right place…". As Dakota approached the fleet, a transmission made its way through to the Raven.

"U-Wing, modified, code name: Raven. Identify yourself".

Dakota was startled by the demand, and stuttered into the transmitter: "Uh-uh- yes. Mava, Dakota Mava. Pilot of the Raven. I was sent by her highness, Mon Mothma".

A few moments passed and Dakota grew anxious in the silence beneath the enormous firepower of the Rebel fleet. "They must know I'm coming" he said softly, trying to reassure himself.

The silence finally broke: "Everything checks out sir, Mon Mothma is awaiting you aboard the bridge of the Peacemaker. Please make your way to the hangar bay and Rebel officers will escort you to her highness".

Dakota took a slow breath to calm his racing heart. He was once again unfamiliar with the professionalism of the Rebellion, just as he was when he first joined. Dakota grabbed the Raven's control yoke and gently steered towards the Peacemaker, an enormous Mon Calamari MC80 Star Cruiser. The Peacemaker was an imposing ship, with a massive silhouette that was spotted with powerful turbolasers. Escorts of smaller frigates clung to its sides similar to the whale calves of Dakota's home world. As the Peacemaker grew larger in the Raven's windscreen, Dakota could finally make out where the hangar bay was. Buried under a large battery of turbo lasers toward the rear of the ship was a thin strip of light blue light where a deflector shield protected the Peacemaker's fighter squadrons. Dakota made small adjustments to ensure a safe approach.

Dakota landed in the center of the hangar bay and stepped outside the Raven. His boots left a faint trail of dust against the white gloss of the hangar's floor. Two Rebellion officers approached Dakota from behind and placed arresting cuffs on his wrists. "Hey now! What's all this about? I am here under order of her highness Mon Mothma!

"We are too buddy" The first officer said firmly, tugging on his arm.

"Come with us please, your cooperation will make this go a lot smoother" The second officer chimed in.

"Release me! You two are gonna regret this!" Dakota struggled to escape but it was no use. The officers dragged him across the hangar bay towards the central elevator. Dakota turned his head to see other rebels prying open the cabin doors of the Raven to begin a search. Dakota tried to yell but nothing would come out. His shoulder stung and his vision began to fade. He had been tranquilized, injected with something. His muscles relaxed and vision was completely gone. His last memory would be of him being loaded onto the elevator at gunpoint surrounded by additional guards. This wasn't the welcome party he had anticipated.

To Be Continued.