Chapter Twelve: "You're on the wrong side of the war."
The intrusions team was not surprised to find the entrance to the underground base heavily guarded. Even with the notion that it would be that way, the group had enough trouble taking out the ten guards spread amongst the foliage. Milan took out his share as they popped up from the ground. His extraordinary ability to pick out hidden enemies only added to his unique and uncanny skill set. Mekial popped a couple of enemies in the forehead before Stone came in and stole her other prizes. Telia's sharpshooter practically took off three heads, while Danya had taken out one with three very well placed shots to the chest. When all was complete, the team stood amongst a pile of Black Fire bodies, ready to enter the fray of whatever was below.
"Remember, defensive formation," Stone reminded his team. He bent low to the ground and groped for the proper trigger to release the entrance, eventually hitting a hidden handle. Stone brushed aside several patches of grass and gave the handle a proper twist and tug. The top of the tube swung open onto its face, and Milan greeted the tunnel with a flash of his laser sight. There was no response.
"Clear," Milan said, grasping the top rungs of the ladder below and beginning his climb downward. Stone, Telia, Mekial, and Danya followed, and as she closed the entranceway and plunged them into darkness, Danya noticed the large amount of nervous sweat that had collected on her face and neck. She in particular would have to get used to situations like this.
Milan and Stone had made a wide sweep of the split hallways coming from the entrance tube. The hallways were made of duracrete, and single lights illuminated the way to the end of the hallway and the beginning of a perpendicular one. The air was moist and dank, and the duracrete floors contained imperfections that had collected water from some sort of minor flooding. All in all, it was a particularly dark and dreary place.
"Reading no terminal connections through any walls. It's dead down here," Danya announced quietly, putting away her equipment and trading it for a blaster. It appeared her only use on this mission was perhaps blaster fodder, but she didn't give up the possibility that the rooms would be control panel protected.
Mekial gave a hand signal from her own equipment readings. Telia glanced briefly at the readout and noticed the distinct forms of Human heat signatures. There were four to the left and many more to the right. "Jaren has to be that way," Mekial said, analyzing the group of four. "We may be just in time."
Stone motioned for the group to move. Several loud explosions sounded from above and the sound of starfighters vibrated down to their feet. Intel and the rest of the Talons were probably busy with the rest of the Black Fire base, and the sounds, though ironically cruel and vicious, were actually quite comforting to the still-new Talons. It was still hard to consider that this was indeed their first mission.
It was Milan's hunting (or maybe stalking?) skills that caught the noise from behind the distant durasteel door. "Jaren's in there," he said flatly, picking up his own pace and setting up just in front of the door. Danya rushed ahead, recognizing the design of the control panel and flipping it open for a hack. She gave a finger countdown to the door's unlocking, and Mekial was poised to pull it wide. As soon as Danya's fist closed, Mekial pulled hard and turned her back toward the action, understanding the job would probably be very quick and dirty.
The surprise on the three operative's faces could not be hidden, and as they let go of Jaren to grab for their weapons, Milan let three shots fly at the first one and knocked him over. Stone and Telia were behind, exchanging shots with the other two officers. One shot grazed Stone's ear before Telia nailed the shooter in the chest four times. Jaren had gotten over the initial shock and had pulled the third officer's weapon from its holster. Jaren wasted no time firing upon his back. Stone took care of the front end. The chaos was over in a little less than ten seconds.
Telia rushed over to Jaren's side, the weakened sniper falling back against the wall, his breathing heavy. She placed a gentle hand onto his bloodied face, checking to make sure he was at least fit for an escape. "I'm all right," he said, waving a hand as if to assure her he could move. "I'm fine."
She jerked her hand back as soon as she began to discern exactly what had happened. Whatever his captors had used on him had been extremely sharp, in any case. "Did they do this? Where's Jane?"
Milan and Stone moved to help the man on his feet. Jaren took their hands and used every bit of leverage that he could to work opposite of his injured leg. "Muir managed the cuts," he explained, taking his fingers across his torn face as if to make sure it was still there. "They hadn't begun the torture yet."
Telia's face dropped when she realized what exactly could have happened.
Stone made sure Jaren was leaning on Telia before turning his own attention to his bloodied ear. Now that his ear matched his temple, he supposed he was going to have to take a bit more caution when running around with dangerous objects, like guns, knives, Jane Muir, and his shaver. He couldn't afford to lose any more of his handsome appearance.
"Do you know where she went?" Milan asked. He had begun searching through the pile of crates in the room, attempting to identify them.
"She left a while ago," Jaren breathed, holding his side. Telia continued to check him over. He would be all right, but he had been beaten badly. "She was called away by one of her employers. They're here right now."
That revelation set the group on its heels. Being so close to someone so dangerous was unnerving. They didn't even know these people, but they did know that Jane Muir's employers were probably unusually cruel.
"They might have called her away because of the attack," Danya suggested, walking into the room after securing the section electronically. Mekial was still outside keeping watch in the hallway, but it seemed that the explosions and chaos aboveground were helping to keep them hidden.
"Intel and the squad have teamed up to take out the base," Telia explained to Jaren. He nodded as if he understood, the sound of the aboveground attack enough of a clue.
Milan had taken out a very large knife and was prying the top of a corner crate off. "Any idea what they're hiding in here?"
Jaren shook his head. "They never mentioned anything. Supplies, maybe?"
"Intelligence scans from the sky indicate chemical and radioactive weapons," Telia told him, watching Milan and Stone tear open the crate.
Jaren managed a chuckle despite his pain. "They seem to be awfully aware of everything now that they're involved, don't they?" His own experience talking to Jane Muir had him very cautious of trusting Intel. "If we were the only ones on the ground, I'm sure we'd be running into a different story."
Milan tucked away his knife and tossed the largest portion of the crate top aside. Stone pulled apart the rest. They stood silent for a few moments, analyzing the contents.
"What is it?" Telia finally asked, her own curiosity getting the best of her.
Stone rolled his eyes and turned around, his expression one of disgust. "Just like they told us," he said incredulously, throwing aside another chunk of the crate to hit the wall. He stopped and attempted to catch his breath and his anger before he made a scene. Running a hand over his crew cut black hair, he laughed curtly. "That's hysterical and unbelievable, and all at the same... time!"
"Chemical or radioactive?"
"Both! It's all here, just like they said. What a bunch of shavitt!"
Milan was not so quick to leave the area or fly off the handle. "This stuff is labeled for delivery," he announced, putting his hand into the crate to carefully move something. "Its destination is Coruscant."
"That's kriffing awesome." Stone rolled with the news, growing more and more bitter with every new revelation. "These mercenary guys are really 'evil' to have planned all of this 'evil' without anyone knowing."
"I don't like it, either, but we've got to disable them before we get out of here," Milan said, taking a few items from his utility belt and setting them down near the pile of crates.
Everyone seemed to know what he was doing before he was finished. "Are you crazy?" Telia asked him, already knowing the answer. "You said 'disable,' not 'kill everything within a five kilometer radius.'"
He set the charges and turned around, strapping the remainder back onto his belt and heading towards the door. "I don't think we're in any condition to go hunt for any more and carry them all up to the surface before someone finds out we're here," he told them, nodding toward Stone and looking for his approval. The deed was already done, but Milan wasn't beyond asking permission, even if it was too late.
Milan got the approval that he wanted. Stone let out a sigh and rubbed the light stubble covering his chin. "The explosion would collapse inward from our position," he admitted, calming a bit and morphing back into his role as their leader. "Alert the rest of the squad and Intel of our plans," he ordered Danya, who was already on the line to Captain Ski. "In case of a miscalculation, everyone should be off planet before the explosion. Things might get a little messy when these things explode."
"This trigger has a wide range, but we'll have to detonate it before take-off," Milan informed them. "It won't reach once we're in the air."
Stone nodded, understanding well enough the risk involved. "No sense in standing around. Let's move."
*****
"This isn't looking good."
Ski gave a sharp and stern glance at Kaiba, who was busying herself with making Quis feel uncomfortable. While Kaiba seemed to be fascinated by every explosion and attack formation, the engineer and weapons expert was by no means interested in anything more than getting out of there. They had made a sweep of the southern end of the base and let loose some of Ty's now-famous brew, but the run had been short-lived. They had just received word that the intrusions team had succeeded in finding Jaren and were headed to the surface. The Eagle was prepped and ready to go, and not a moment too soon for the nervous woman.
"Fourteen, keep a positive outlook," Ski commented lightly, sitting back in his pilot's chair and smiling wryly. "We're almost out of this whole thing, and then we can let some emotions fly once we're back home." He wasn't thrilled with the results of his "war games" thus far, but there was no use worrying about it while he could not wrap his hands around the responsible party's neck. The IHC would be hearing about the ordeal in very strong words from Captain Ski's very angry mouth.
"I keep going over the schematics of the underground base," she continued, not entirely concerned about Quis's wide eyes or wringing hands. "There's no way that six meters of dirt will keep that kind of explosion underground."
Captain Ski stood up from his seat just outside the cockpit and stretched his legs. "There is a possibility that some of the explosion will leak out, but it won't matter to us. We'll be in the air by then."
It was apparent that even he didn't totally believe his own statement, but it was Quis's mind that suffered due to thinking. She understood better than any other the exact specifications of the devices being used, the structures below, and the resulting reaction. If anyone knew what was about to happen, it was Quis. By her grim expression and nervous foot tapping, Kevin and Kaiba knew that Quis was very unsure of their escape with the intrusions team.
"It can't work," she whispered to herself. "Too many variables. Dry ground. Loose soil. Storage facilities are a possibility. Chain reactions. Flight speed at four leagues per standard minute..."
"Quis, are you all right?" Kaiba asked, watching the unstable woman begin to fret and shake physically.
Kevin saw more than just the concern. He had a brief flashback to when he had first met the woman and had gone over the specifics of her initiation into Talon Squadron. Just as he had with his other members, Kevin had taken a good look at her datapad and had dismissed many of the red "danger" marks that plagued all of his squadron. One note had caught his eye, however: her father. The daughter of Onas Heartilly had once been described as even more brilliant than her inventor father, but her instability and emotional outbursts had landed her a position in Talon Squadron. As he looked on her again with that note on his mind, he then understood the issue behind the worry. This woman was too smart for her own good: a certified genius if one ever existed. Her eyes were moving back and forth now, as if she was reading a datapad or watching very quick events. Was she doing calculations in her head?
"It'll be all right," Kevin said, more in an attempt to comfort Quis than tell the truth. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and was surprised to feel her jerk beneath his touch. He squeezed her shoulder and began to feel her calm. "I'll be flying us out of here, and I'm sure we can outrun anything that's chasing us, explosion or enemy fighter. We'll be out of here and with the intrusions team in tow."
She didn't want to tell them that the intrusions team was exactly what was going to kill them all, but that was exactly what was going to happen. Quis had complete faith in Captain Ski's ability to handle the Eagle, but every momentum equation pointed to a lack of lift and too much weight to outrun a potential supersonic explosion. She gave him a short smile that told him she didn't believe him and continued to brood over the possibilities of the exit strategy currently in place.
*****
"Two to Lead," Danya called, gripping both her comlink and the durasteel bars going upward toward the surface, "we're ready for extraction. We'll meet you on the surface."
She tucked the comlink away in her belt and continued the last few bars to the top of the tunnel. Danya was the first in line to the top and therefore would need to open the lid sitting on top of the tube. What she would also need was about all of the strength in the world and good balance to keep her feet on the bars while she worked. Her heavy equipment wouldn't help matters, either, but she wasn't about to complain when she had the injured Jaren just below her. His trek was slower, but he seemed to be all right for the moment, anyway. The rest of the group was bringing up the rear. Thus far they had escaped with Jaren and with no fanfare, alarms, or attention. The idea that they might make it out of the underground base without being seen and with only a slight graze was very odd. The majority of the base must have been evacuated much earlier, and much of the noise from the above attacks was loud enough to cover bantha migrations.
Danya took hold of the large wheel on the cap of the tube and hooked her boots between two rungs of the ladder. With as forceful of a push as she could muster, she twisted upward and let in the piercing light of midday. As she tossed the entranceway onto the grassy field, Danya grasped the last rung and hopped the last meter to the surface. Awaiting them was the Eagle, sitting pretty just a few dozen meters away beneath an outcropping of trees. She turned and gave Jaren a help to the top, and Milan was not far behind to give him a boost. Telia was next in line and had just put both feet on firm ground when a scream and a yell from below alerted them to trouble.
Milan had his laser sights pointed down the tunnel in an instant. Without a word, the man shouldered his weapon and practically leaped into the darkness with little care for his own well-being.
"Milan!" Telia screamed, lurching forward to watch him disappear into the depths of the tunnel below. Something flew upward and caught her eye as peculiar, and she reached out to grab it. As soon as her hand grasped the cylindrical object, she backed away and tucked it between both hands. She almost knew what it was before she opened her cupped hands and viewed the detonator for the explosive units below.
She began shaking her head and offered it to Danya, who refused to take it. Jaren, in pathetic shape anyway, held up a bloody hand for her to hold onto it. "You won't need it until Milan gets back up here. Just wait."
And so they all waited, with bated breath and the sound of the Eagle ready for takeoff in the background.
*****
If it weren't for her amazing balancing act, Mekial would have smacked her forehead on the durasteel bars on her way to the ground. The strong, sharp grasp on her left ankle had flung her off the ladder and ripped a cry from the espionage expert.
Stone turned sharply and watched her plunge into darkness. "Mekial!" he yelled out unconsciously, jumping off the ladder and showing little concern for his use of her name.
He landed painfully wrong on his right foot amidst a host of gray-clad operatives. Mekial had landed on her back and was just getting her breath returned to her as three well-built men grabbed her arms and lifted her to her feet. Stone threw himself forward on his twisted ankle and wrapped his arms around the other two officers, tackling them to the ground. His momentum took them down hard enough to wreck their order, and by that time, Mekial had yanked her arms away and made her own lunge at the three men. Stone tossed several quick punches before he lifted his head from the fray on the ground and noticed Mekial making a move toward the back of the group.
The group was still too many despite Mekial and Stone's surprise attack. It didn't take long before all five soldiers had regained their advantage and had grabbed the two Talons before they could continue. A figure stepped forward, and only then did Stone realize the identity of the operative.
"You didn't think you'd make it out of here without a visit from me, did you?" Jane Muir asked, her voice full of cocky arrogance. She seemed surprised to see Mekial, but then her curious stare turned into enlightenment. The growing grin on her face made it very clear that she enjoyed every moment of bringing as much pain and sorrow to the Talons she had once called friends.
Mekial got a very rare opportunity and jerked her arm away from the officer on her left. Pulling back without a second thought and jabbing forward as hard as she could, she lined up her leading two knuckles with Muir's nose and connected.
The punch shocked everyone, but before Mekial could revel in the fact that her fist had drawn blood, another figure stepped out of far corner room and silenced the entire hallway. The presence of this figure commanded much more than respect and appeared to be of the highest-ranking members of the Black Fire Mercenary Group. Mekial could not make out the face of the person, but she knew from the stature, demeanor, and unique dress that this was no ordinary operative.
"Is there a problem?" the important figure's soprano voice called to Muir, who was wiping her nose with the very end of her sleeve. "I'd hate to see everything you've worked so hard to prove collapse at this very moment."
The embarrassed Muir had turned sharply and stood at attention, covering up a lack of control and ensuring her apparent employer that she had everything in her hands. Her officers snapped to attention as well, charging blasters and giving Stone a rough kick while he was still lying prostrate on the ground. Before Muir could prove her control, however, someone just had to come onto the scene to mess it all up.
Milan landed on the balls of his feet, tucked, and rolled out and into the backs of two operatives. He had taken a hold of his rifle and let three shots fly to clear a path to the rest of the fodder. Stone took the opportunity and rolled onto his back, kicking upward and using what nimbleness he had to land back on his feet and grab a spare blaster from his leg.
The mysterious woman in the distance watched officer after officer drop, turned sharply on her heel, and disappeared down the hallway. "Prove yourself now," she snarled before Talon blaster fire overpowered everything.
Stone blasted two operatives and aimed level at Jane Muir, whose expression showed much of her rage and little more. Milan had taken care of the other three men and also aimed true at Muir. If anyone had a score to settle with the woman, it was the armed Talon intrusions team.
Mekial bent down to pick up the bag she had lost during the fall and subsequent fight. Shouldering it and giving a nod to her teammates, she gestured toward their exit. "Let's go, guys," she said, not sure if she wanted them to shoot Muir or leave her for the explosion. The traitor's expression of anger had turned to smugness, as if she was sure she would make it out of the underground base one way or another.
"We can't risk letting her go," Stone said, his ear throbbing with the pain of almost having been shot off and his ankle screaming about the weight on it. "We also don't have any way to keep her."
Mekial couldn't believe that even she was fighting the urge to load Muir's body full of blaster fire. "We could get in big trouble if we kill her instead of take her in, especially if she didn't engage us directly."
"That's why we didn't leave any survivors," Milan growled, "not to mention that she did take the first shot just a short while ago."
Stone knew Milan had Muir under his guard, so he took the time to give Mekial a wry look. "I think if she engaged us any more we would have had to unload and waste every bit of energy left in these babies." He patted his blaster, a very meager example of what kind of firepower the Talons had brought with them. "And although we could benefit from everything that she might know, it's not possible to take her and we're not leaving her alive." He turned his gaze back to Muir and with a twisted smile that told her he didn't care, he lamely smirked, "Sorry."
The cool woman merely raised an eyebrow. "No need for apologies. You wouldn't have gotten anything out of me anyway. I'm much better at dealing out pain than submitting to it." Her last added comment brought a brief smile to her face, one that brought out just the wanted reaction from her three former teammates.
Mekial was on her comm, attempting to speed up the process of getting out of their predicament. "Two, this is Eight. We're coming out."
"Are you three all right down there?" Danya's voice came back a garbled mess. "What the hell happened?"
Mekial kept her focus on her two teammates, who still seemed to be contemplating what to do with Muir. "We're fine. Eight, out." Tucking away her comlink, she gave a stern look to Stone and Milan. "All right, let's get out of here."
Milan took his rifle butt and gave a tough swing at Jane's head, slamming it across her face and sending her sprawling to the floor. The hit shocked everyone present, and though it might have surprised Milan as well, the total relief had much more of an impact on his weary soul.
Stone snapped out of his shock. "Works for me," he said, content at the sudden but satisfying hit. Turning with Mekial and ready to leave the mission behind, Stone took Milan by the shoulder and headed out.
Jane Muir had gathered what little dignity she had left and pushed herself onto one arm, wiping her now bleeding face with the other hand. "You're on the wrong side of the war, gentlemen," she called to them. "If your government has made you too weak to kill me, how will you fare against hundreds of bases, and many times that in manpower?"
None of the three turned to look at the disgraced Muir, a woman they had once found comfort in calling a teammate and a Talon. Mekial grabbed the ladder rungs and headed swiftly upward, and Stone followed suit tenderly on his ankle. Milan paused for a moment before taking to the top and gave a look over his shoulder at her. Muir had begun to stand on her feet, perhaps looking to follow or to escape. His side blaster found his right hand, and he only had to twist his body slightly to get off a shot at his former intrusion leader.
She took the blast in the gut, a slightly ironic shot that knocked her against the wall and left a pleased smile on the warrior's face. He turned and headed up the ladder. He didn't see her slide to the floor, the grimace of pain, or the leaking blood from the wound. He didn't hear her pathetic whimpers, or the ensuing quiet. He didn't care to. Milan was satisfied in the avenging of his teammates, as was customary to do by the laws and practices of his people.
Milan climbed the last remaining rungs and took hold of the awaiting Stone's hand. The corpsman pulled his friend onto solid ground and gave him a look of odd inquisitiveness, knowing that Milan had probably killed Muir, but willing to keep the matter a secret. The infiltration and combat expert gave a nod to Stone and a look at Mekial, who seemed unaware that anything had happened. In this fashion, Milan and Stone made a pact that would not be easily broken, even if the New Republic had an issue with the death of one such traitor.
Telia handed the transmitter back to Milan with a look of relief. "I wasn't about to push that button with all of you down there," she said, feeling a solid connection with most of the Talon members for the very first time. Milan took the object gingerly and nodded, eager himself to return home.
"Let's get out of here," Danya said, her eyes already on the Eagle's open cargo bay. Quis and Kaiba stood on the Eagle's platform and appeared to be losing their patience. Explosions continued to rain down upon the Black Fire base, and in the distance, New Republic fighters and transports screamed above their heads.
The grouped Talons didn't have to be told twice, but Captain Kevin Ski came on every comm anyway. "Let's move, folks," he said over the high whine of the engines. "I'm ready to get out of here, with or without you."
*****
"Are we getting out of here or not?" Kendrick called to the Eagle. The Hawk was currently making a last circle around the Black Fire base, a flaming, crumbling, and worthless building nearly reduced to rubble. The dead lay thick along the ground, and New Republic ships swarmed about loudly. Kithera, Ty, and Rinin were strapped in and ready for flight. "Are you guys ready over there?"
The Eagle lurched forward suddenly, taking to the sky. "We're ready," Captain Ski returned. "Intel is taking care of everything on ground and they're getting out of here, too. We're free to return to the Nest.
"Make sure you get the Hawk away from our position. This underground explosion isn't going to be very pretty."
Kendrick twisted the shuttle around and headed for atmosphere. He was just about to adjust for altitude when three swift fighters zoomed by, filling his viewport with their heavy exhaust. He quickly identified the fighters as Black Fire.
"Kriffing frack!" he cursed, flipping his comm back on. "We've got some trouble!" The three fighters swept around and appeared to be coming back for a frontal attack.
"I see them," Ski replied, his own transport swarmed by fighters. "They seem to have found some able bodies and undamaged fighters."
I don't know about that, Kendrick thought, pulling the transport into a left turn to buy time. Black Fire had basically cobbled together the spare parts from various other ships to create the odd-looking machines, but he supposed they would still have the same capacity for damage that traditional uglies would. He had turned the Hawk around just before the laser fire began to fly by his viewport. Indeed, they were still dangerous.
"Guys," Kendrick yelled to the back of the transport and slammed a fist onto his rear shield controls, "we're going to need some support in those turrets!" If there was a moment to be thankful for a modified transport, it was at that moment. Two jolts rocked the ship from behind.
Kithera, Ty, and Rinin sprang into action. The Hawk boasted two turrets, and it seemed a race to both weapons. Kithera and Ty raced ahead toward the starboard turret while Rinin rushed into the opposite one. Another blast rocked the ship sideways, sending Ty headlong into Kithera and knocking her aside. The brief distraction gave Ty enough time to sink into the turret seat and grab hold of the big guns.
The Hawk made a turn and evaded several shots from the Black Fire fighters. The sweep also gave Ty and Rinin the opportunity to get a wide view of the number of fighters and their positions. The sight was not comforting.
"What's going on back there?" Kendrick called in a panic, more than likely cursing his ability to control the large transport in the face of real fighters.
The Hawk lurched with the firing of both turrets. Kendrick jerked back as two of the ten fighters exploded in his face and began their chaotic decent. The remaining eight broke formation and split into downward spirals, evading varied shots from Ty and Rinin. "Never mind," he called back. "Just keep doing that and we'll be fine!"
*****
The Eagle was having a bit more trouble. Captain Kevin Ski, as talented as he was, could not have foreseen some of the issues of piloting his own modified transport. The YT-2000 could take the hits that it was taking, but some of the used parts and minor, but unfinished upgrades, were causing some problems for all onboard.
"It's non-responsive!" Danya shouted above the other Talons onboard. "That shot fried the circuitry!"
Kaiba and Telia were busy attempting to hold together a couple of vital pieces near the cargo hold controls. "Don't let that go," Kaiba instructed Telia, emphasizing the words and looking just as serious. "If you let it go, the cargo door opens and... well, the door opens." She didn't have to mention the fact that everyone would fly out of the transport and meet a very quick end.
Jaren saw the scene unfolding and more than a few tempers rising. Grabbing Quis, he headed toward the turrets. "Come on," he said, practically dragging her, "we can assist Captain Ski better and not get in anybody's way."
The engineer seemed to know exactly what was happening. "But," she attempted to halt the persistent sniper, "I can't shoot those things out the sky! I don't know how!"
Jaren forcefully sat Quis into the turret seat and tapped on his comm. "I'll be right here to help you, but you can do this." The emotionally unstable Quis was on the verge of tears. "Quis, look at me," he ordered, mustering whatever authority he had and pretending that his face didn't look like processed meat. She didn't dare look up and just shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. Jaren stood up straight and demanded attention. "Heartilly, I am your superior officer, and I order you to look at me."
Emotionally unstable, but trained to act, Quis lifted her head slowly to meet his gaze. His hardened face fell, and he grabbed her shoulder for encouragement. "You can do this. We all need your help right now.
"I trust you and believe in you. We all do."
It was a touching sentence that was quickly interrupted by the shock of laser fire through her viewport. She gave a quick nod and took a hold of the guns, preparing to fire at the enemy.
Jaren Kai, despite his pathetic shape, ran in pain the length of the hallways to the opposite turrets. He jumped into the seat and flipped on his cannons. The guns were vastly different than his sniper rifle, but the basic principle was the same: aim, shoot, and repeat.
It almost surprised him to think that less than an hour ago, he had committed himself to die a very unpleasant death at the hands of Jane Muir and the Black Fire Mercenary Group. The memory was now so very distant, and he had to focus in order to get his group out of their current predicament.
Jaren activated his targeting scanners and swung the lasers around to the nearest starfighter. This one in particular was a strange conglomeration of used parts scavenged from whatever was handy. The back half looked to have been gutted to accommodate larger engines.
The fighter fired its lasers, but they just bounced harmlessly off the shields of the Eagle, which were thankfully operating correctly amidst a host of other problems.
Lieutenant Kai took careful aim and fired. His first shot went high, but he quickly corrected his aim and the next two shots were right on target. The fighter disintegrated in a brilliant explosion.
Jaren swung the turret around and took out a pair of aging Z-95s as they began an attack run on the Eagle. Captain Ski was brilliant in his maneuvering and seemed to know exactly where to swing the transport to make way for Jaren to hit his targets.
"Quis, check those fighters to your right!"
*****
She was struggling to even keep the crosshairs centered on the screaming fighters, and she definitely wasn't hitting them. Everything flying in the air seemed to be moving too fast for her.
"Kriffing frack!" Quis repeated Kendrick's earlier sentiments. She mashed the triggers in frustration, swiveling the turret in all directions. A spray of laser fire lashed out from the Eagle and managed to hit nothing.
"Steady, Quis," came Jaren's calming voice over the comm. "Just concentrate on a single fighter at a time. Forget about the others and just pick them off one at a time."
Quis wiped the sweat from her brow and brushed her hair aside. Come on... you can do this. You don't want to disappoint the squad or Jaren. Just do it!
Three of the fighters were on an intercept vector with the Eagle as its goal. Quis targeted the leader and fired, picking off not only him, but one of his wingmen as well.
"I'll be, that girl's got a fine aim on her!" It was Jaren over the comm. "We might make a soldier out of you yet, Quis!"
*****
It didn't take long for the combined talents of Jaren, Quis, Ty, and Rinin to annihilate the Black Fire forces in the air. As soon as the last fighter had been blasted out of the sky, both transports gave shouts of victory.
"That's fine shootin'!" Ty exclaimed, turning around to give Kithera a hand slap. The woman's smile and approving nod showed her excitement just as much as her jumping up and down.
"Good work, team," Ski's voice came through on all comms, and the two transports became quiet. A relieved sigh could be heard, and most Talons took that time to breathe deeply themselves. They had just survived a very intense first mission, and a very dangerous one at that. Of all of the things he could have said, needed to say, and wanted to say, he only continued with a couple of final thoughts.
"We've thwarted more than a few plots against us, and you all have proven yourselves worthy of being Talons." He paused, and every Talon awaited his next instructions. Instead, they received the noncommittal response of a tired and harried man who would probably never get enough time to consider all that had just happened. "I'll debrief you all when we return to base. Let's head home, Talons. Intel's already heading out, and I've no intention of staying back for the clean up."
Ski swung the battered Eagle around for one last mission objective. The unnervingly calm Milan Lirac let loose one phrase over his comm, and every Talon knew to brace themselves for a crazy ride. "Fire in the hole," he said, pushing the transmitter with satisfaction. The explosion rang out and caused the needed chain reaction to blow a hole in the planet almost a kilometer deep. Much of the surface pressure kept the explosion underground, but the Eagle did get a bit of a lift from the force, which only propelled the Talons to their destination: Coruscant, and the Nest. No one really cared to look back at the destruction, for everyone was quite satisfied with congratulating his or her teammates.
The next batch of standard minutes was filled with cheers and laughter, congratulations and embraces. The Hawk soared into atmosphere first, leading Ski and the injured Eagle off planet and to their home.
Quis sat still in her turret and listened to the cheers from her teammates, still holding together their fragile transport, but excited about the victory they had all just earned. The clouds turned to stars, and she allowed herself the feeling of success as she lost herself to her surroundings.
Flying above the storm below, she finally felt as if she belonged to this new family. They had all come out on top and soared, just like the eagle that adorned their uniform shoulders.
Soaring above the clouds. It was truly where the Talons belonged.
THE END
The Saga Continues: Talon Intelligence Squadron: Not Always Fair (Book Two)
*****
Congratulations on completing Book One in our exciting series! We Talons hope that you enjoyed the first story in this amazing saga, and we hope that you'll enjoy the many stories to come.
To those who enjoyed this book and crave a little something more, we'd like to personally extend an invitation to you to become a part of the Talon Intelligence Squadron crew. The great plan for this TIS resurrection was to give our amazing saga a final home and to expand what we Talons affectionately call the "Talonverse." These characters and their adventures are endless, and the project itself requires passionate writers, editors, artists, graphic designers, and enthusiastic cheerleaders to create, perfect, and promote TIS. If you enjoyed this book and want to be a part of something truly unique in Fan Fiction, TIS is the place to be!
The series is big, but it is very possible to tame it. We've worked with new writers to help them catch him up on all the goodness that approximately sixteen already-extant stories can bring! If you're interested in doing the same and becoming a part of the editing/writing team, we'd love to have you. We're willing to work with as many people as would like to join, for as long as it takes.
If you're interested in contributing to the Talons in some other way, such as graphic design or art, we could desperately use your assistance for our website. We're going to need artists and designers with diverse talents to create the world in which TIS exists, and your help in making it happen would be much appreciated.
If you would like to help in some other way that we have not mentioned, we're still eager to have you on the team! This project is ready to take on as many people as it can handle, and we're excited to bring anyone aboard who wants to.
Please send us an e-mail with questions, comments, ideas, or your desire to contribute. The address can be found in our profile. We're excited at the books to come and the growth of this crew.
Thanks for reading. We're looking forward to hearing from you, and we'll definitely be back in action in next Wednesday. Thanks!
On behalf of Talon Intelligence Squadron,
Muis