Hey guys, Danny here with another chapter of Revelation! Enjoy!
Barrett was only a few steps away from the airlock to his ship when the lights went out all across the corvette, plunging the clean, shining halls into pitch black darkness. All around him he heard confused murmurs from the surrounding Alliance personnel as the red emergency lights emitted their eerie glow on the inhabitants of the corridor. Something was clearly amiss. Suddenly, sirens erupted throughout the Horizon while the same voice Barrett heard when he was approaching the ship not half an hour ago was blaring an announcement to all aboard.
"Alert: Imperial ships have exited hyperspace. We are under attack. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. All crew to their battle stations on the double!"
Time slowed down as the Rebels scrambled to their post, alarms wailing and officers shouting. Barrett moved to a viewport in one of the port side rooms of the ship, his heart sinking at the sight of two Victory II-class frigates flanking an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. The Imperial ships began firing on the group of CR90s, which had only just managed to raise their deflector shields in time to defend their exposed hulls from a barrage of turbolaser fire. Turrets on the Bright Horizon and the two other corvettes returned fire at the superior warships, which absorbed the Rebel's payload with their own state-of-the-art shields. "This is hopeless," Barrett muttered, making a beeline for his ship, but halting just before the airlock.
Nina.
The smuggler swore under his breath, turning around and rushing to the bridge to find Borgan. The one girl that he wouldn't mind to keep alive was about to die.
Well, not if he had anything to say about it.
He dodged his way past several wayward crew members before smashing into a droid, resulting in both of their falls.
"Ya know, I get that the ship is under attack, but really, would ya-" The voice was familiar.
"Lom?!"
The bug-eyed droid looked up at the man who had bumped into him, letting out a short yelp. "Captain Vance! You're still with us!"
"Get me to Borgan, now!"
"Woah, hey, okay! Relax! Come with me!" Lom replied, moving towards the bridge.
When the two arrived, the bridge was a mess. Several terminal operators were frantically carrying out their jobs, shouting in stressed and fearful voices. The captain had been killed after a blast from the Star Destroyer shattered a nearby computer, sending shrapnel into his back and neck. From the main viewport, all on the bridge witnessed one of the CR90s, the Pride of Hanna City, crumple under concentrated fire and explode, sending debris hurtling towards the Horizon. Someone shouted an order to brace before the explosion's shockwave rattled the ship while pieces of blasted metal smashed against the corvette's hull. Barrett barely managed to stay upright while Lom fell to the floor with a grunt. He helped the droid up, then turned to see Borgan's bearded face.
"Captain, thank the Force you're still here!"
"Borgan, where's Nina?"
"The girl? She's with one of my best men. They're on their way here now. I need to ask you a favor, Captain."
Barrett could see where this was going. "I'll get her far away from here."
"Take Gausco with you. They're better off with you than with me," Borgan ordered, grunting as he yanked a cord from his neck. "This navigation chip will take you to our hidden base. Getting the girl there is your main objective, but do not let this fall into Imperial hands. If it does, the war will be over and the Rebellion will be crushed. Do you understand?"
"Got it," Barrett said, taking the crude necklace and stuffing it in his pocket. "But what about you?"
"I'm in command of the Horizon now. I'll cover your escape," Borgan stated, his voice growing darker, "by any means necessary."
At that moment, the door hissed open, revealing Nina and a Rebel soldier rushing into the bridge. "Sir, I have the girl."
"You know, the girl does have a name!" Nina huffed angrily as she tumbled in behind the rebel.
"Excellent work, Specialist Gausco," Borgan replied. "I am hereby assigning you to the command of Captain Vance. He's your ride out of here. From now on, you take orders from him. Understood?"
"But, sir-"
"No buts, Gausco. I am your handler and your officer and you will do as I say."
Specialist Gausco reluctantly nodded, frowning.
"Now, go, and may the Force be with you," Borgan said, once more turning his back before Barrett and his new crew slipped out of the bridge. The four swiftly raced through ruby corridors and hallways towards the airlock as the ship quaked from the impacts of Imperial turbolasers.
"Looks like you just can't get away from me, sweetheart," Barrett stated, grinning smugly at Nina. Despite the sarcasm, he could not help but feel a bit relieved that the two were not parting here and now after all.
"I'd say the same to you," Nina replied with a small smirk. "Let's just get out of here."
Jeight was waiting at the airlock when they arrived, whistling and peeping frantically as the group boarded the Gorskin. The group all stood just before the cockpit, waiting for orders from Barrett as enemy fire rocked the ship.
"Jeight, looks like we've taken some damage, can you get on an emergency diagnostic to make sure we can get out of here? Lom, you go with him," Barrett pointed to the stern engineering terminal, which the droids shuffled towards. "You two are with me. Into the cockpit, come on!"
Barrett hopped behind the pilot's stick, starting up the engines and deflector shields and preparing to detach from the Alliance corvette. "Nina, gunner position. Let's see if you remember how to shoot. Gausco, think you can fly this thing?"
"I think so. I graduated as a naval cadet from Brionelle Memorial before joining Alliance Intelligence," He replied, jumping into the co-pilot's chair, flicking on switches and examining the controls while removing his helmet. "This isn't much different than our defense shuttles back home."
"Great, you're my co-pilot. Distribute power from weapons systems to-"
Another shock wave smashed against the ship, making it shudder and shake. Not a few seconds had passed when another explosion sounded and vibrated the corvette. Everyone looked at each other cautiously. It was close.
Too close.
The holoterminal lit up, notifying Barrett of an incoming message from Borgan. He immediately accepted, and the lieutenant's holographic figure popped up in the cockpit.
"Captain, listen to me, there's not much time. The Bail Organa has been destroyed and they've hit our main reactor; we're sitting ducks. They've caught us in their tractor beam, probably plan to board us. Another thing… There's an Inquisitor aboard that Destroyer. He's after the girl," Borgan stated, keeping his cool but sporting a concerned frown. "The crew and I have come up with a way to cover your exit. We've set charges in our engine section that should destroy the stern end of the corvette. Ideally, it will create a sort of covert shroud that will give you enough time to escape the tractor beam and prepare to jump to hyperspace. Then we'll trigger our own self-destruct sequence once we're inside the Star Destroyer itself. Those Imps aren't getting any of our intel on my watch. Don't worry about us- we knew the risk of rebellion. Don't forget the Horizon, boys. Borgan, out."
The hologram disappeared, and Barrett figured that would be the last time he would see Lieutenant Borgan. Something stirred in him as he imagined the Clawdite and his crew consigning themselves to destruction so that their primary objective, the girl, Nina, would not fall into enemy hands. At first, Vance had despised Borgan, thinking him too enigmatic and patriotic for his own good. But now, in the intelligence agent's final moments, he saw Borgan for who he really was: a man willing to die for a cause greater than himself, fighting a seemingly indomitable enemy in a hopeless war with the idea that maybe his sacrifice will be enough to deliver the smuggler and his Alliance cargo to safety. Was it admiration Barrett felt? Respect?
Inspiration?
He couldn't dwell on it for long, seeing as the explosion coming from the stern end of the ship successfully pushed the Gorskin off the corvette's docking ring, the rubble successfully getting caught in the Destroyer's tractor beam. "Punch it, Gausco!"
The young Rebel slammed down the throttle controls and the Gorskin sped off through the debris from the explosion, escaping the clutches of the Star Destroyer's tractor beam. Imperial turbolaser fire rained down around them, but Barrett's evasive action prevented a majority of the emerald beams from striking the testudine ship. "Okay, I think we're clear, let me punch in the coordinates on the nav-"
"Barrett!" Nina called, distressed. "There's a bunch of those Imperial ships out there!"
"She's right, there's a flight of TIEs on our tail!" Gausco shouted, observing the sensors as five signatures closed in fast. They zoomed past the cockpit after a strafing run, revealing arrow-shaped solar panels.
"Great… We've got interceptors!" Barrett said, powering up the laser cannons.
"Not all of them, Captain," Gausco replied. "One of them looks like a Hunter!"
Nina could picture the TIE Hunter in her mind's eye. She felt a great darkness within the starfighter's round cockpit. Great anger. Great pain. She could see his eyes. Those menacing, beastly eyes with their piercing yellow shine struck fear in her heart. He could see her, too. He sensed her fear. He was smiling at her, smirking like a predator does when they corner their prey.
"Barrett, he's chasing us!" Nina called from her seat. "And I don't think he's gonna be as easy to get rid of as the other guys!"
"Just take care of 'em while I prepare the jump to lightspeed!"
Nina nodded silently, focusing her eyes on the tiny screen for only the second time in her life. The deep yellow eyes that bore into her soul only moments before returned with a vengeance, tearing through her mind unwarranted, like a rampant serpent, swirling through her thoughts.
"Augh!" She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing a hand to her temples as she felt another headache begin. "I can't deal with this right now!"
A tiny voice entered Nina's inner ear, calling sweetly to her, as if it was a loved one that's tone makes your entire world slow down just enough to hear them talk.
Close your mind, Nina. Close your thoughts and don't let him seek you.
"Hey! Waiting for a formal invitation or something? Shoot 'em!" Gausco yelled at her from his seat next to Barrett.
"I'm sorry that I'm not good at this!" She yelled back to them, feeling anger flare in her veins. She wasn't good at anything, now that she thought more about it. She wasted away her life in that damn cantina and now she was nothing more than a useless waste of space while being attacked.
She scoffed quietly at herself. Why do the Rebels put this much effort into me? What good do I do?
Her gaze drifted back to the tiny screen that glowed in front of her, her fingers loosely fingering the triggers as she waited for the TIE fighters to come into view.
Anger leads to the dark side, child. Forget your anger and focus on the task at hand.
"Nina, just remember the canyon, alright? Remember how you took down those TIEs in the canyon!" Barrett said, grunting as he tried to outmaneuver the Imperial fighters. "These ones are faster, but otherwise, they're just the same. A couple hits, and they're good as gone!"
She shook the voices out of her heads, her headache slowly disappearing. "Got it!"
Taking a deep breath, Nina eyed the bobbing TIEs with care, ready to line the nearest one up with her target reticule. Barrett's evasive flying would make shooting the interceptors down much more difficult, but it could be done. As soon as she got a good angle on one, she smashed her thumbs down on the triggers, feeling a hint of relief after damaging one of the TIEs, sending it hurtling uncontrollably towards the swirling gas storms of Havath Minor. Bursts of fire showered the rest of the pursuing fighters, forcing them to take frantic action not to be struck by the Gorskin's powerful cannons. Suddenly, Barrett's voice pervaded the cockpit.
"Everyone hang onto something!" Suddenly, the ship moved slower and flipped back, curving over the interceptors before Barrett punched the throttle again, blasting the freighter towards the Imperial Fleet. The TIEs followed suit, but not before Nina could zero in on one of them and blow it away. "Three more!"
"Keep shooting, I've got an idea!" Barrett replied, setting the ship right-side up.
"Captain, what the hell are you doing?" Gausco shouted, seeing the Star Destroyer growing closer.
"Getting a bit closer to the Imperial ships."
"You're what?!" Nina cried, almost forgetting to continue firing at the fighters behind them.
"Are you crazy?!" Gausco exclaimed. "The Horizon will blow inside that thing any minute, and you-"
"Look, buddy, I've gotten outta stickier situations than this, alright?! We'll be outta range by the time Borgan's ship takes down the Destroyer, then we'll jump to lightspeed!"
Gausco cursed under his breath. "You're crazy, Vance!"
"Just shut up and hold on, you'll be thanking me before you know it!" Barrett replied, swooping down over the hull of one of the frigates, the Triumph. The turbolasers fired shot after shot at the freighter, but most all of them were dodged by Barrett's maneuvering. A grin spread across his face as a ridiculous idea played out in his mind.
"What?" Gausco asked, almost sounding worried.
"Fire the forward torpedo cannons at the bridge. Now!" Barrett shouted, cutting off the specialist's attempt to question him. He pointed at the controls near the co-pilot's chair, which the young Rebel soon had his hands on. Two bright orbs of pink light sped towards the thin bridge tower of the Triumph. The deflector shields visibly pulsed upon their impact, but no surface damage could be seen.
"Nina, clip one of those interceptors on my mark!"
"I'll try! They're really quick!" Nina called in response, ditching her suppressing fire technique and taking more precise shots. The three remaining TIEs bobbed and weaved, making it hard to line up a clear hit. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply as her fingers began to twitch once more, this time, a new air of comfort around them.
Use the Force, Nina. The voice in her head commanded as she slowly withdrew her eyes from the tiny computer screen in front of her, letting them instead watch the bobbing TIEs in her mind, as she held the triggers even tighter.
From far away, she heard Barrett's voice call out, signalling her that now was the time. With one fluid motion, she fired the guns, holding down the trigger of the console as the sound of an explosion grabbed her attention, and she looked down to find the two TIE interceptors out of her view. "Wait, what happened?"
Barrett's laughter chorused through the ship as she watched the screen intently, watching for the enemy. "You did it!"
"What?"
"You blasted one fighter, and then it hit the other one, and... Well… See for yourself." Gausco pointed at the Triumph as the Gorskin made another pass. She could see the shrinking form of a TIE interceptor spiraling towards the bridge tower of the Imperial frigate, its turbolasers blazing trying to shoot down the speeding projectile. Unfortunately for the crew of the Triumph, the interceptor was one of the fastest ships in the Imperial Navy, even when the pilot lost control. The fighter forced its way through the craft's weakened deflector shield and smashed into the bridge, causing a series of explosions to break out from within the command tower. Nina gasped while squeezing her eyes shut to silence the growing pain in her head, realizing that she had managed to disable an Imperial star cruiser. Gausco cheered at the sight, reaching back to show her a fist pump.
"Alright, just one more!" He shouted.
"Not for long. I've almost plotted coordinates for our jump to lightspeed. I'm punching it once we get clear."
"Got some kind of idea, Vance?"
"Gonna go see an old friend before we find your base. He may just get the Empire off our back," Barrett said, moving the Gorskin over the Star Destroyer and dodging turbolaser fire while ignoring Gausco's protests about his plan. "Speaking of which, Nina, take care of that Hunter!"
Nina nodded with an exhausted face, trying desperately to focus on the TIE Hunter. Whoever this Inquisitor was, he was a talented pilot. She could almost feel the power flowing through him as he carefully evaded any shots fired at his fighter. Moreover, whenever she saw the lasers directly hit the Hunter, there appeared to be no damage inflicted on it. "It's taking all my shots!"
"There's no way that thing could have a-"
"TIE Hunters are outfitted with deflector shields, as well as a lot of other nasty toys," Gausco announced. "If he hasn't killed us yet, then he's going easy on us."
"Stang..." Barrett muttered. "Well don't let up! Only a little more time and we'll be out of here!" He veered the Gorskin down, cutting underneath the Star Destroyer and staying away from the hangar bay tractor beam.
"Come on, LT…" Gausco said, wringing his hands. Almost immediately after, the Horizon erupted in a burst of light, creating explosions that swept across the Star Destroyer like a series of chain reactions. Barrett couldn't believe it. Borgan's crazy plan worked and soon, the massive Imperial ship would blow up like a firecracker in only a few moments. One of the blasts from the now-collapsing Destroyer engulfed the Gorskin, rocking the freighter intensely and temporarily blacking out lights and gunner console. Once clear of the starship's shadow, Barrett ran a quick systems check, making sure the ship was still holding together after such a great hit.
"Dammit, we lost the deflector shield! Nina, don't let that TIE get a lock on us, we're vulnerable!"
"Barrett," Nina called with hesitance in her voice as she pressed her fingers to her temples to slow the dull pounding in her head. "He's gone!"
"Gone? What do you mean?"
"I don't know, he's just not there!" Nina said, staring at the screen with her head spinning like before. "Maybe he blew up?"
"Retreated, more like. Wasn't crazy enough to follow us that close to an exploding Star Destroyer," Gausco said, shaking his head in disbelief that they made it out alive.
"Well if we lost him, let's get out of here," Barrett said. He slipped on a small headset, then flicked on the Gorskin's intercom system before speaking again.
"Hang on to your parts back there, folks. Jumping to lightspeed… Now."
Once again, thanks for reading! Please follow, review, and may the Force be with you!