AN: Sorry this was late- I was busy yesterday. Continued thanks for the reviews, guys!
Chapter Six: Pull the Lever, Nemo
The Tern jolted suddenly, nearly throwing Vader and Nemo from their seats. The submarine captain grabbed the arms of his chair as his companion cursed, peering at a display as various lights and alarms began going off.
Vader's hands flew over his panel, punching buttons and entering commands. Then, with one hand on the steering yoke, he put the Tern into a steep dive and simultaneously hit the button for the intercom again with the other. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. We seem to have encountered some minor turbulence, so I suggest you all find seats, strap yourselves in, and hang on. This could get a bit bumpy. And Dhar'ya? I could really use you in one of the gun turrets."
"What is this?" Nemo asked, bracing himself against another one of Vader's maneuvers.
Vader pointed out the viewport at a set of tiny, curved shapes that were rapidly getting larger. "Ambush." He threw the Tern into a turn that had the ship up on its port wing. "Nemo, balance the shields for me. Set them three-quarters fore, one-quarter aft. The controls are on your side. Where did this bucket of Hutt drool come from?"
Nemo straightened his turban and eyed the panel his companion had indicated apprehensively. A screen showed an image of the ship in green, surrounded by rings of mostly green light. The outer layer of color at the fore of the Tern was glowing yellow. He studied the controls carefully, but he couldn't make any sense of the writing on them. He pushed several buttons and hoped for the best, wishing he were back on the Nautilus, where he was master.
The display flashed, then changed. Now, there were three rings of bright green around the front of the ship's image, and only one around its aft.
"Good," Vader said. He hit a different button on the comm.. "Dhar'ya, I'm sensing a squad and a half udajeets."
Daria's voice crackled over the speaker. "Your Force agrees with my sensors, Vader. Shall I provide cover fire?"
"If you would be so kind, Featherhead. I'm sure the League would like to get out of here alive."
"Can do, Scarface."
A burst of light flashed from Nemo's side of the ship as the two bantered, lancing towards the oncoming craft. It missed, but prompted them to scatter.
"That was lousy."
"You want me to fly?"
"No."
"Didn't think so."
From the passenger area, Nemo could hear Skinner screaming something along the lines of 'Aah! We're goin' to die!" and Sawyer shouting "Skinner! Shut up!"
The light flashed again, this time grazing one of the udajeets. Its wing vaporized in a brilliant fireball that left the tiny craft trailing scraps as it spiraled out of control.
Vader wheeled the ship so that they were now flying away from the others. "Nemo, set the shields to three-quarters aft, one-quarter fore," he ordered as he sent the Tern into a tight spiral.
Nemo made the necessary adjustments, feeling more confident with his earlier success. The display flashed and settled into a new configuration.
"They're getting close, Vader. How much longer does the navicomp need?"
"About a minute."
That next 'about a minute' was one of the most harrowing of Captain Nemo's life, except perhaps that incident in Mongolia where Dante's monstrous alter-ego had given Edward Hyde a run for his money. He clung to his seat as Vader put the Tern through a dizzying series of twists, turns, dives, climbs, and maneuvers that should not be allowed by Newton's Laws of Physics, adjusting the balance of the shields as ordered. At random intervals, the turret on his side of the ship would spit out bright needles of light that wrecked havoc with the enemy craft when they hit.
"Pull the lever when I tell you, Nemo!" Vader barked as he yanked the control yoke back to bring the Tern's nose up. "Now!"
Nemo pulled the lever he thought Vader had indicated.
The ship decelerated suddenly, slamming both men forward in their seats.
"Wrong lever!" Vader shoved the offending lever forward again, and the Tern sped up once more. "Why do we even have that lever over there?" he muttered to himself. "Pull the other lever when I tell you. Ready, now."
Nemo pulled the lever that he sensed was correct, and was rewarded with the sight of the space outside of the cockpit suddenly converting to vivid swirls of blue and violet. They had made it.
Vader sat back in his seat and grinned. "Much better, Captain," he said. After a moment of studying Nemo, he turned and touched the comm's activation button. "Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned off the 'Fasten Seatbelts' sign and you are now free to move about the cabin. Dhar'ya, can I talk to you in your quarters?" He glanced at Nemo. "Thank you for your assistance, Captain. If you will excuse me?" The ex-Sith stood, nodded to his companion, and strode out of the cockpit.
Daria looked up as her friend entered her bunk. "What is it?" she asked, frowning at the look on her friend's face.
Vader shut the door behind him. "Dhar'ya, did you realize Nemo is Force-sensitive?"
"He's a WHAT?" The Tau'ka bolted to her feet in disbelief.
"Force-sensitive," Vader repeated.
"You're sure?"
"Not much, but just enough. He was in the cockpit helping me and I sensed it. He isn't Jedi material, but it gives him a bit of an edge with machines, like me. And I would think that he unconsciously uses it in combat."
She ran that over in her mind for a minute, calming herself down. "That explains how he reacts so quickly. I've seen the man fight- he's frightening. Will he need training?"
He shook his head. "If it hasn't broken out by now, then it won't. How old is he- late forties?"
Daria paused to convert ages in her head. Tau'ka lived much longer than humans, and aged correspondingly slowly. She herself would see her sixty-eighth birthday soon, but no human would guess that to be her age. They would likely peg her as being in her late twenties or early thirties. "About your age? At least. And from what I understand, he follows some form of mental discipline."
"Then I expect he'll do fine. I noticed he was very stable on an emotional level. He's no candidate for the Dark Side. Don't worry about it- and I don't think we need to confuse him by mentioning any of this. I just thought you would want to know."
Daria nodded. "Yes, thank you. Anything else? Did we lose the udajeets?"
"Yes. We should reach Verris in about eight hours."
"Joy."
"What, aren't you excited to be going home?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Would you be excited about going back to Tatooine?"
"Good point." Vader waved a hand over the door-sensor. "I'm going back to the engine room to make sure nothing got rattled around too badly. I don't want to try landing half of a ship again."
"Been there, done that, or so I hear," Daria said with a small smile. Her friend rolled his eyes and said nothing as he left.
Daria returned to the main hold, where the rest of the League was scattered around. Jekyll and Skinner were sequestered in one corner, apparently engrossed in a game of chess. She walked up behind the thief. Jekyll glanced up, saw her, and smiled. The Tau'ka nodded in reply and looked at the game board.
"Nice to see you've calmed down, Skinner," she said casually.
The thief yelped and jumped halfway out of his seat. "Blimey, Daria, don't do that!" he spluttered.
"Don't do what?" she replied in an innocent tone. "Sneak up on you? But I thought that for certain you of all people would know when someone was sneaking- since you're so good at it yourself."
"You're certainly cheerful at the moment, Daria," Jekyll commented.
"I got back at Skinner for his way of introducing himself to me," she said. "Why wouldn't I be in a good mood? He even jumped."
Skinner mumbled something under his breath.
"Sorry? Didn't quite catch that."
"Nothing."
Jekyll considered the board carefully and moved his queen forward a few spaces. "Checkmate," he told Skinner.
The thief looked at the board. "Aww…" he moaned. "Third time today, that was."
OSCOSCOSCOSCOSC
"Verris Base, this is Adept Skywalker requesting landing vector."
"Skywalker, Base. Proceed on current vector until you reach the coordinates 29-12; 130-19; 6,000. You are cleared for approach to the main docking bay. Welcome back."
"Thank you, Base." Vader switched off the outgoing com and called back to his passengers. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are arriving at Verris. Please take this time to ensure that all personal items are secure and that you have returned your seats to the fully upright position. I am turning on the 'fasten seatbelt' sign. Current conditions over the base are a balmy 32 degrees on the 100-degree system, sunny, and dry. Enjoy your stay on Verris and I hope you have had a pleasant trip on Skywalker Starlines."
The hold became a flurry of activity as the League members scrambled to comply with Vader's orders. The sudden jolt of the Tern entering the atmosphere caught most of them by surprise. Skinner found himself sprawled full-length across the floor, and Mina caught Sawyer as he stumbled. The American grinned up at her. "Hi," he said cheerfully.
Jekyll managed to support himself by gripping the back of one of the seats as the ship jumped beneath them. "One-hundred degree system?" he asked. "The Celsius system?"
Daria worked her way into another seat and strapped herself in. "I think that's what you call it. Zero degrees as the freezing point of water and a hundred as the boiling point?"
"That's it." He took the seat next to Daria as the others reclaimed their own. "What sort of environment is the base located in?"
"Desert, mostly," she told him. "The base itself is mostly underground to escape detection. Even our Stargate is beneath the surface."
"What's that?"
She explained about the Stargate, the ancient device that allowed for near-instantaneous transport between planets. The physician frowned.
"How many planets have one of these Stargates?" he asked.
"Most of the inhabited and terraformed ones."
"What about Earth? Do we have to worry about people coming through this thing?"
Daria shook her head. "Earth's 'Gate has been buried for thousands of years, didn't I tell you that?"
Jekyll searched his memory.
First mission, Hyde supplied. On the way to Mongolia. She was telling us about the Tau'ka. Something about the Goa'uld and a rebellion to kick those slimy bastards off of Earth.
Jekyll had to admit to being shocked at Hyde's reminder. He hadn't though his alter ego had been really paying attention at the time.
Since other pleasures were being denied, I decided to listen to the history lecture. That comment made Jekyll redden a bit. He noticed that Daria was pointedly not looking at him.
"Head of the class, Edward," she said, sounding as if she were doing her absolute best not to giggle.
"Hyde? 'Ead of the class?" Skinner broke in. "What are you talking about?"
"Never mind," Jekyll mumbled.
Sawyer was the first out of his seat when the Tern docked in the main hanger of the Verris base, scrambling around the hold to collect his things and looking hopefully at the ring transport station.
Daria laughed as she gathered her own gear. "We aren't taking them this time, kid," she said with a grin. "But there are plenty of opportunities to ring in the base. Access ramp is over there."
He made a show of pouting for a moment, the hurried over to the ramp. Mina and Nemo followed at a more sedate pace. Skinner peered out the window.
"There's people out there!"
"Of course there are," Vader said, coming out of the cockpit. "This is Verris Base's main hangar- lots of traffic comes through here." He followed Skinner's gaze outside and whistled. "Look at that, Daria," he said.
She did so. "Commander Halcon and Master Agent Felis. I didn't think we'd get a greeting by those two."
"Who are they?" Jekyll asked.
"Halcon is the commander-in-chief for the Tau'ka military," Vader explained as he handed out translators. "Master Agent Felis is the head of the Intelligence division. Dhar'ya reports to both of them directly."
Her teammates, especially Sawyer, looked at her in surprise. "You report directly to the heads of your fields?" the American asked, looking impressed.
"I don't like to brag about it," Daria told him. "But yes, I do report directly to the top. They seem to be more impressed with my skills than I am."
Sawyer whistled. "The Secret Service always makes me report to intermediaries."
"And how long have you been an agent, kid?"
"Almost four years now. You?"
"Try closer to sixteen."
"The Council members are waiting," Vader interjected. "They get cranky if they have to cool their heels too long. Shall we go?" He triggered the mechanism for the ramp.
A gust of warm air rushed into the Tern's hold- the air of the planet known as Verris.