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Rogue Squadron - DEFECTION
By Icebreaker
X-Wing ROGUE SQUADRON
The New Fan-Fiction Series…
Written by: Icebreaker (Matt)
[Book I]
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Rogue Squadron – Defection
Rogue Squadron
COMMANDER WEDGE ANTILLES (human male from Corellia)
CAPTIAN TYCHO CELCHU (human male from Alderaan)
LIEUTENANT CORRAN HORN (human male from Corellia)
OFFICER GAVIN DARKLIGHTER (human male from Tatooine)
Imperial Forces
TERHIK SZUN (humanoid male from Bimmiel)
ADMIRAL CODEW CHOUT (human male from Coruscant)
Droids
WHISTLER (Corran’s astromech droid)
ROGUE SQUADRON
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
STAR WARS
Expanded Universe
DEFECTION
It has been nearly three years since the stunning victory
of the Rebel Alliance at Endor and now comes a chance
to completely destroy the GALACTIC EMPIRE and restore
freedom to the galaxy with the birth of a NEW REPUBLIC.
Commander Wedge Antilles is now head of the elite
ROGUE SQUADRON, made up of the cockiest and boldest
pilots in all the galaxy. The very name of this squadron
strikes fear into the hearts of its enemy.
With this new squadron led by Wedge Antilles, Imperial scum
stand no chance against the egos and confidence of the young
starpilots. As the battle for the galaxy rages on, only the warriors
with the WILL to SURVIVE will prevail…
OPENING
[Fondor – One of the few Core systems loyal to the recently formed New Republic]
**********
Corran Horn spun his X-Wing fighter into a 90 degree nose-dive and then pulled back on the control stick, sending it into a wide turn. Behind him green lasers ripped through the vacuum of space as a TIE fighter swooped down in hot pursuit behind his ship, its pilot wasted no time releasing another burst of green laser fire as he waited for the targeting computer to get a lock…
Inside his cockpit Corran heard the screaming of his warning system alerting him to the fact that his enemy was about to lock on…With tremendously quick reflexes he cut the throttle and pulled back on the stick causing the X-Wing to die fast and then swoop back, over and behind the TIE putting him in the position to get the kill. His fingers worked quickly over several control buttons and soon he received the sound of his targeting computer getting a lock on the fighter. He softly squeezed the trigger on his control stick and red beams of light tore through the fuselage of the TIE, causing it to vaporize right before his eyes.
The X-Wing sped through the flames and debris and behind him Corran heard the tooting laughter of his astromech unit, Whistler. He smiled, over the past few years he had grown to accept the unit as less of a machine and more of a friend…Suddenly the static on his COM unit died and the voice of Wedge Antilles appeared.
“Great shot Red Nine turn to point Oh-Four two squints are engaging on your tail. I’ll have Red Seven cover for you,” his voice broke off immediately and Corran checked his radar.
“Sithspawn!” he cursed as two red bleeps appeared; signifying the enemy. It seemed to be two Interceptors hot in pursuit.
Horn powered his engines back to full throttle and turned hard right to the coordinates Rogue Leader had given him…Sure enough Gavin Darklighter, brother of the late Biggs Darklighter, swooped in behind the two Interceptors and blew them to pieces within a matter of seconds.
“Thanks Red Seven, I owe you…” Corran looked down at his radar display to see that the two Star Destroyers were still over the Fondor system and didn’t seem to be attempting any sort of retreat.
“No problem Red Nine,” came the cocky response of Gavin, which was hard to hear over the static of the COM.
Dozens of ships slashed across Corran’s cockpit engaged in tense battle with one another. High above the blue-green planet of Fondor the two Imperial Star Destroyers remained in place, firing erratically at any Rebel Ship. Rogue Squadron wasn’t the only Rebel Force in the battle, in fact Fondor’s local security ships were right in the midst of things along with Wraith Squadron.
Corran signaled in over his COM, “Red Leader do you copy?” he asked over the static.
“Rogue Leader receiving transmission…” came Commander Antilles’ voice, “Go ahead Red Nine…”
Corran was about to respond but suddenly another TIE spun across the top of his hull spiting green lasers as it passed. The X-Wing’s shields managed to deflect most of the shots, but one broke through and glanced of the right wing…nothing serious. Horn rolled his fighter hard left and then back over to meet the TIE, which was making another run, head on. He squeezed the trigger once again and the TIE exploded. He wiped a bit of beading sweat from his forehead and spoke into the COM once more.
“Rogue Leader, I am assembling a group of fighters to commence attack on the bridge generators of the nearest Star Destroyer…” he said nearly out of breath.
“Affirmative Red Nine, I’ll have Red Four and Seven accompany you…make sure to take out its shields with proton torpedoes otherwise you’ll drain your power and waste your lasers!”
“Roger that!”
To Corran’s left he could see two X-Wings break off from a dogfight; joining him on his wing…his backup had arrived. The trio of fighters made there way towards the nearest Star Destroyer and took a pounding from the lower gun turrets, luckily the shields held up well and soon they were right on top of the bridge of the ship. Corran unloaded several proton torpedoes at the closer of the two generators and saw it erupt in a volcanic explosion.
Checking his display module he noted that the shields of the Star Destroyer had been directly effected and they had dropped just below 50%. Several TIE fighters were now in pursuit of the trio.
“Gavin take out that second generator and then prepare to engage the bridge with full fire power,” he shouted, “Red Four are you still there?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Stay tight on my back we are going to go after those TIE’s! Switch to targeting computer and full laser power.”
Both fighters rolled gently into position and Corran unleashed an arsenal of fire power at the nearest TIE literately ripping it in two. That left three more fighters in the initial area to be dealt with, but that soon changed as Red Four took care of another fighter leaving the two Rogue Squadron pilots at even odds with the remaining two.
Whistler screamed as Corran came extremely close to one of the deflection towers on the Star Destroyer as he sent a volley of fire at the nearest TIE, quickly he pulled back and engaged the other fighter just as Red Four destroyed the third…
Corran switched over to proton torpedoes once more and allowed his targeting computer to lock onto the last fighter. After a few seconds the alert went off and he sent a single torpedo out into space which soon made contact and obliterated the TIE. Just as Horn turned his X-Wing back towards the bridge of the Star Destroyer he heard Gavin’s voice over the COM.
“Deflector Shields down…commence attack on bridge immediately!”
Several more Rebel fighters joined in and within a few standard minutes the once menacing Star Destroyer was nothing more then space debris floating over Fondor. Suddenly the remaining Imperial fighters began docking with the remaining Star Destroyer; they were in retreat.
Wedge Antilles’ voice came over the radio, “All Rogue Squadron pilots head back to Fondor base…Imperials are in retreat…Good work.”
Corran heard random shouts of joy over the COM from most of the pilots, “Chalk another one up for Rogue Squadron…” he said. Whistler beeped his approval.
PHASE I
[Corellia – Located in the Core of the galaxy and home to some of the most infamous smugglers the galaxy has ever seen]
**********
Commander Wedge Antilles sat in his office, overlooking the bustling Corellian traffic as it stretched across the skyline. It looked eerily familiar to the skyline of the Imperial controlled planet of Coruscant, the central system of the galaxy. Wedge guessed that a third of the freighters flying that evening were on there way to and from illegal smuggling activities, which was primarily run by the Hutts on Nal Hutta. High in the nights sky was the smugglers moon, Nar Shadda, its glow illuminated the Corellian planet that hung below its orbit.
A knock came from the door to his office and with a touch of a button it slid open allowing his visitors to enter. Gavin Darklighter and Corran Horn…two of the best pilots in Rogue Squadron…if not the galaxy, stepped inside his office and saluted him, remaining at an attention. Gavin looked exactly like his late older brother, Biggs, with dark black hair and steel blue eyes whereas Corran was quite the opposite with hair the shade of Tatooine’s never ending deserts and more aqua colored eyes. Corran, in fact, was born and raised on Corellia…
“You may rest easy. Why don’t you take a seat? We have a lot to discuss,” Wedge said calmly, reclining a bit in his chair.
Gavin and Corran took their places across from Wedge’s desk and waited patiently. From where they were seated they could view the nights skyline, just as Antilles had done only a few moments earlier…it was a sight to behold.
“First off I would like to congratulate you two on your work at the battle of Fondor. Our victory there insured us that several more systems will join our cause within this standard month and we even managed to salvage the remains of that Star Destroyer you two were able to bring down…its being fixed up at the ship yards on Kuat and should be available for our use by the time we prepare our strike at the Core,” Wedge saw both men’s eyes light up with his approval.
“Thank you sir,” replied Corran and Gavin nodded in agreement.
“However, that’s not what I called you here for,” Wedge continued, “I am actually putting you on an assignment…just the two of you. New Republic intelligence has gotten a lead suggesting that the Imperials are nearly completed with a new advanced TIE fighter with a full life support system, hyperdrive generator, and advanced shields. These babies could give our X-Wing’s a run for there credits…” he smiled, “…and your job is to steal the plans and bring them back here to Corellia.”
“Sir,” Gavin interjected, “I don’t mean to question your judgment but how are we suppose to even infiltrate an Imperial testing ground, let alone steal top secret plans…and escape?”
Wedge chuckled, “No need to worry Darklighter, everything is in place. One of the Imperial engineers who is working on the project is planning to defect to the Alliance and he is securing false identities for the both of you. In turn he will be taken along with the two of you back to Corellia to complete his defection. Once you arrive at Sullust, where this operation is taking place, he will help you steal the main copy of the plans, destroy the remaining evidence and then assist in your escape.”
“Can we trust him?” asked Corran who seemed a bit doubtful if this could work.
Wedge sighed and scratched his chin, “No.” He said bluntly, “but that’s why I have you two on this assignment. You always seem to be up to an impossible challenge.”
Corran and Gavin both grinned for a moment and it was Corran who stood first, “Is that all Commander?”
“Yes, that will be all for tonight,” replied Wedge, “You two go ahead and get some sleep, but I want you to report back here tomorrow morning for the final instructions before your flight to Sullust. We still have a lot of things to discuss…”
Both men saluted once more, before turning and heading back out of Wedge’s office. As they exited, the door slid behind them and Wedge Antilles turned back to view the skyline of Corellia. He reached inside one of his drawers and pulled out some Alderanian Ale, poured it in a glass, and then leaned back loosing himself in the bustling traffic that arched across the pin points of light from distant stars…
**********
Corran Horn checked the instruments within the slightly modified Imperial shuttle as he prepared for take off from the Corellian landing pad. Behind him Gavin Darklighter finished the last checkup on the landing hatch and walked up into the cockpit.
“Alright, everything’s clear lets get out of here,” he said as he sat in the co-pilots seat. Corran worked feverously over the controls and then finally ignited the shuttles engines, preparing for lift-off.
Several hours earlier the two men had gotten their final briefing from Commander Antilles and were given the destination of their rendezvous point and the name of the defector, Terhik Szun humanoid male…According to the mission plans they were suppose to dock with a Super Star Destroyer in orbit around Sullust and from there they would take a shuttle with Terhik down to the planet, where they would eventually steal the plans and make an escape.
Gavin buckled himself into the co-pilots seat as Corran lifted the shuttle off the ground and activated the wing system which brought the locked wings, which were closed up near the top wing of the ship, down into a triangle formation. As soon as this was completed Corran pushed the throttle forward and headed the shuttle out into space.
They passed through traffic lanes in the sky until they reached orbit around the planet where they could see transport ships docking with Space Stations and public shuttles traveling between the planet and Nar Shadda. Within several standard minutes they were free of the gravity well caused by the planets rotation. Gavin punched in the hyperdrive coordinates and prepared for the computer to clear the path.
Gavin leaned back, placing his legs on the control panel, and lazily threw his arms behind his neck, “Eh, Corran?”
Corran was feeding additional information into the Navi-computer, “Yeah…” he responded only half paying attention to what Gavin had to say.
“You think this mission is a suicide one? And that’s why Commander Antilles put us on it? I mean after all we did almost wreck his personal yacht a couple weeks ago…”
Horn turned and saw Gavin grinning widely, “Actually, I don’t think he ever found out about that one…but I'm sure there were plenty other incidents he remembered when he was choosing his ‘team’ for this assignment. Like the time when you tried to see if that YT-1000 could fit through the sides of the Corellian Senate chambers…”
Gavin busted up laugh, nearly falling out of his chair, “That was pretty dumb wasn’t it Corran? But eh, at least the Corellian police didn’t file charges on that one…”
Corran laughed and turned back to the flickering button on his control panel, “Well, looks as though the Navi-computer agrees with the coordinates. We're clear to go, next time we're in real space we’ll be in Imperial territory…lets just hope these false documents clear security,” he paused and took a deep breath, “Ok…hit it!”
Gavin threw forward the hyperdrive lever and the stars surrounding the cockpit erupted into lines of light as the shuttle jumped into hyperspace…
PHASE II
[Sullust – Located just outside the galactic core and one of the main shipyards belonging to the Imperial Navy]
**********
The Imperial shuttle burst back into real space amidst the Imperial shipyards of Sullust, dozens of Star Destroyers hung in orbit around the planet and hundreds of small fighters buzzed about, either on security or test runs. High above all ships in orbit was a Super class Star Destroyer, it was tremendous in its size
“Emperor’s black bones,” said Corran in awe, “This fleet is as large as the one they dispatched on Endor a few years back!”
Gavin nodded and looked down at the control panel, the COM warning was blinking, “…and they mean business! We’ve already got an incoming message.” He pressed the blinking button and a small holo image appeared in front of him.
“Unidentified shuttle please present identification…” said the man in the image.
“Identification sent,” replied Corran coolly, “Waiting for permission to dock…”
The holo imaged fizzled out and both Gavin and Corran waited for the clearance response. It took a while but finally the holo image appeared again, this time though a different man stood before them. He had light brown hair (or that’s what it seemed from the image) and dark eyes…
“Imperial Shuttle 1138, welcome to Sullust. I am Terhik Szun…chief engineer in advanced ship testing. You are here to sample the new TIE advanced correct?” Corran smiled inwardly, this man was good…playing everything off like a routine arrival.
Gavin beat Corran to the response, “Yes. Are we clear to dock?”
Terhik smiled broadly, “Of course…coordinates are being sent as we speak. I will greet you when you make your arrival. Until then…” the image broke off and Gavin looked at Corran.
“I have a bad feeling about this…”
**********
Corran Horn stepped off the landing ramp, dressed in Imperial fatigues, to see an assembly of Stormtroopers aligned awaiting his arrival, behind him Gavin slipped on his Imperial Navy cap as he joined Corran. Terhik Szun stood alone amidst the troopers…hands clasped behind his back. Corran glanced back at Gavin and then stepped down onto the hanger floor of the Super Star Destroyer.
The hanger bay was enormous with speeders bustling back and forth between starfighters, carrying pilots and officers to there destinations. Corran was in awe as he stepped forward and saluted Terhik.
Szun returned the salute and then repeated the action to Gavin, “Welcome aboard gentlemen, we already have another shuttle waiting for you just over there,” he pointed towards an Imperial Shuttle a hundred meters or so away, “If you would follow me…”
Gavin and Corran fell in line with the man as he headed towards the shuttle, he was doing an excellent job staying calm…there cover was secured. Terhik turned towards Corran and whispered just under his breath, “Lieutenant Corran Horn of the Rebel Alliance, correct?” Corran nodded briefly, “and your associate, Officer Gavin Darklighter of the elite Rogue Squadron?”
“That’s correct Terhik, you seem to be very professional regarding your defection,” Corran said quietly as they approached the landing ramp of the Imperial Shuttle that was ready to take them to the engineering facilities on Sullust, “Is everything prepared?”
Terhik looked around just to make sure that no one was near him, “Yes, everything is running smoothly but unfortunately we have minimal time to complete our task, you will be given your weapons aboard the shuttle on our brief trek to the engineering facilities. All I need is for you and Officer Gavin to keep watch as I record the files and then permanently delete them from Imperial records…”
Szun and the Rogue Squadron pilots boarded the shuttle and moved up into the cockpit and finally Szun raised his voice so that Gavin could hear him as well, “This is my personal shuttle so I can guarantee no listening devices aboard. We are free to speak about anything we wish…now, as I was saying, as soon as the records are deleted from the system we will have to abandon the facility. I cannot guarantee that we will be able to just walk right out, unfortunately the system has a warning device so that anytime something is accessed and tampered with security is alerted,” he continued speaking as he ignited the ships engines and exited the hanger bay on it way towards the planet, “after our escape from the compound I will lead you to the facilities hanger area where two TIE Interceptors are waiting for you, they are equipped with minimal life support and a hyperdrive engine but have no shields…you will use these to escort my shuttle towards its hyperspace jump coordinates and then you will travel with me to Corellia…”
Gavin looked a little skeptical, “All of this sounds great but it seems as though you are relying too much for everything to run smoothly,” he glanced over at Corran, “and even if everything does run smoothly the trip to Corellia is four days with an average hyperdrive motivator! I’m not sure if I can last that long cramped in an Interceptor with barely any leg room”
Terhik nodded his head, “I understand your concerns but this is the only way things can be done, I am sorry I could not have done more…”
With that Terhik turned his attention back to the control panel and prepared for there desent onto a landing platform at the engineering facility. As soon as they landed things were going to get difficult…
**********
The three men made their way through several security check points after they had landed and ventured into the engineering compound. Gavin looked nervous as they finally entered the control room where Terhik would steal the plans…nobody was in the room.
“This is it…” said Terhik as he sat down at a holo screen and began working furiously at a control board, “you two guard the entrance while I download this information onto my holo chip.”
Corran and Gavin removed there weapons and stepped up in front of the entrance waiting to blast anyone that entered. It was a tense few minutes but finally Terhik announced that the download was complete and that all he had to do now was erase the history of the project, completely wiping it out of the Imperial databanks…
Because he was such a high ranking engineer it was relatively easy for him to access this information and within a few standard minutes he stood up from the control board and cracked his knuckles, “It’s completed…and without any warning system being activated,” he smiled, “See? Everything is running according to plan. Now, lets get out of here!”
Gavin and Corran lowered there defenses a bit but still weren’t completely satisfied. Corran turned to face Terhik directly, “Are you sure everything is completed? This all seems a bit too easy…” he questioned, “I mean we have literately ripped off some of the most Top Secret plans since the Death Star and nothing has happened…are you telling me we can just walk right out this door and get away with it?”
Szun shrugged, “I suppose so…I mean, nothing went off and it seems we are free to exit and I suggest we do so as quickly as possible before someone finds out what has happened…”
Corran saw that Gavin still look skeptical, but the two men followed Szun anyway as he exited the control room. However, as soon as he stepped outside the exit alarm systems blared over the COM system throughout the entire facility, sirens wailed and red warning lights flashed…
“Sithspawn!” shouted Corran as he pulled his blaster from his holster, Gavin was doing the same thing, “Now what do you we do?!” he shouted.
“Run!” shouted Terhik as he sprinted down the corridor leading out of the building. Gavin and Corran following him closely behind.
They had barely reached the first corner when they were met by a half dozen Stormtroopers. The two Rebels quick instincts allowed them to catch the group by surprise. Gavin sprayed blaster bolts across the hall, two of which hit the nearest troops just as they rounded the corner, knocking them to the floor. Directly in front of them Terhik Szun hit the deck ducking for cover.
Corran finished off the nearest standing trooper with one shot, which tore through his helmet, and then he dove for cover along the wall. The remaining Stormtroopers retreated behind the far wall before making an all out attack on Gavin and Corran, but once again the two men were faster. Gavin picked off two more and Corran finished off the last.
They didn’t wait, however, as soon as it was clear to go they ran off down the hallway once more behind Terhik Szun who was still in shock as they headed towards the hanger bay. Behind them nww troops were filing in from adjacent hallways firing rapidly…
“How much farther?!” shouted Corran as he followed closely behind Terhik.
“Should be just around this corner,” replied Terhik who was nearly out of breath. He rounded a final hallway and saw that a blast door blocked there way into the hanger, “Damn!” he yelled.
Corran and Gavin were just rounding the corner, when they saw the locked blast door, a dozen meters behind them several troopers were heading in there direction. It was an impossible situation if they didn’t get the door opened within a few standard minutes the hallways would be swarming with Stormtroopers.
“You too hold them off, hopefully no one knows who hacked the system yet so my override password may still work on the security system!” Terhik went to work at a keypad on the wall.
Meanwhile, Corran and Gavin laid down a steady stream of blaster fire holding the troops in place. They would constantly alternate between one another allowing there blasters to recharge while the other fired the support…behind them they heard Szun shout as the blast doors slid open, revealing the hanger bay.
The group of men didn’t waste any time as they rushed through the doors, “Get to your fighters over there!” Terhik yelled and pointed, “I’ll make my way to my shuttle, turn your frequencies to point 06 so that we can keep in contact.”
Gavin nodded and hopped into his TIE Interceptor alongside Corran who was doing the same, neither one bothered to put on their helmets let alone their jump suits. Quickly they fired their engines up and blasted into orbit…
**********
Corran tugged on his flight suit and helmet as he pulled away from the planet with Gavin just along his side, assuming the wingman position. His radar bleeped furiously showing that there was at least a dozen enemy fighters behind him…He had no shields and was going to have to battle his way out of this situation…
“Gavin,” he said over his COM, “this is going to be messy…how far are we from the jump point?”
“According to Terhik’s data we are half a parsec from the jump point, which means it should be a few more standard minutes before we can reach it,” came the cool reply.
“Alright…then lets get ready to put up a fight, we have no shields but our main concern is to escort Terhik to his jump point,” Corran glanced at his radar again and saw that an Imperial Star Destroyer was joining the pursuit and that the TIE fighters were right on them now, “Here goes nothing…”
Corran jerked on the unfamiliar control stick of the Interceptor and sent it in a loop to face the on coming fighters directly…a fighter directly in front of him let loose a barrage of green lasers that nearly ripped through his cockpit, with instincts of a Alderaanian fox Horn sent the fighter into a downward spiral narrowly missing the fire and putting him in an excellent position to take out a fighter which happened to be beneath him…
He squeezed the trigger and saw green laser blasts hit the TIE directly in its center sending it into a deadly spiral. Wasting no time Corran pulled back and swooped in behind the nearest TIE and saw that Gavin had taken out two fighters himself and was in a heated battle with a third.
Desperately Corran destroyed the fighter directly in his sights and moved up into position to help Gavin…Suddenly warning systems blinked inside his cockpit. Apparently the Star Destroyer had a lock on him and was prepared to fire. Corran looped his Interceptor just as bolts from the powerful Destroyer flew by at tremendous speed, they missed him completely but happened to take out one of its own fighters.
“Terhik, how much longer till we jump?” shouted Corran as he swooped in behind the Imperial shuttle.
“Just a few seconds more…”
Meanwhile Gavin was in a heated exchange with another Interceptor that was matching him move for move and was now on his tail. Violently he jerked the control stick back before shoving it down hard in an attempt to break away from his enemy, but it did nothing. The other pilot hung tightly on his tail.
Desperately, Darklighter swung his ship into a spiral as he called out on his COM, “Ah…Corran? Can you give me a hand over here?”
“Affirmative,” came the reply.
Lasers flew past Gavin’s cockpit and he knew that if even ONE of them made contact he was a dead man…he could see Corran rushing in to help him from the top of his cockpit and pulled up directly into his path. He counted quietly to himself and pulled up at the last moment as Corran unleashed a dozen blasts of laser fire which barely missed Gavin. The fighter behind him exploded.
“Ok, we are clear…prepare to jump,” came a steady voice over the COM, it was Terhik, “Three…two…one…”
Corran reached up and pulled his hyperdrive lever and saw the stars around his cockpit form into lines of light before they burst past him into hyperspace…Their escape had somehow worked…it was a miracle they were all alive...he sighed…
PHASE III
[Corellia]
**********
Warning sirens blared all around the Rebel base located on Corellia as Gavin Darklighter slipped on his flight suit, while looking out of his apartments window. Outside along the skyline he could see local security ships scrambling to intercept the incoming threat.
It had only been a few days since Gavin and his good friend Corran had arrived back on Corellia after their daring escape from Sullust and now they were already being called to duty. He took a deep breath, his back and head ached. It was probably just another smuggler that was running from local police, he thought. Across the room his COM unit bleeped and he walked over and picked it up.
“Gavin here,” he said with a frustrated voice.
“Gavin, this is Captain Celchu. Can you come up to my office we need to discuss something real fast,” came the voice of one of his commanders.
“Yes sir, I will be up in a few moments Captain.”
Gavin set down the COM and looked out the window again…Maybe some was wrong…
**********
Corran Horn greeted Gavin as he entered Captain Celchu’s office high above the cityscape of Corellia. Gavin saw that Terhik Szun and Commander Wedge Antilles were also present in the room, they were all dressed in flight suits.
“Thank you for joining us Gavin,” Tycho Celchu said as he ran his hands along the sides of his desk, “We have a problem that needs to be solved…”
Gavin looked suspiciously at Terhik, “I don’t follow sir, have I done something wrong?”
Tycho laughed, “No of course not. Why don’t you focus your attention on that Holo projector over there and I will show you what I am talking about,” he pressed a button on his desk and a scaled image of the planet Corellia appeared; rotating. Around the planet hundreds of Imperial Ships from small fighters to Super Class Star Destroyers appeared from nowhere, “This is a recent satellite transmission we have received. An entire Imperial Fleet has blockaded our planet…I have already sent Rogue Squadron to join the battle but I called you and Corran up here because…”
“The plans,” Gavin interjected. “They are here for the plans!” he turned to Terhik and eyed him suspiciously while taking a step forward, “But you told us they were nothing more then TIE advanced blue-prints…”
Terhik nodded his head gravely, “Yes I’m afraid I have lied about some minor details. I apologize but I feared that had I told you the complete truth you would have not aided in my defection…You see, I am not only Chief Engineer of the testing on Sullust but I am also the Admiral of the 325th fleet,” he paused to let everyone catch there breath, “that of course explains the ah...ease of our escape and even access of the computer files…”
Corran put his head in his hands, “Things just got a whole lot worse…what exactly are those plans?”
Szun slowly drew in a breath, “Those plans, which I believe your analysis droids are inspecting, contain the Top Secret plans to the Empires newest super weapon. It’s a Super Class Star Destroyer that uses natural energy from nearby stars to fuel its fire-power and also has the ability to create enough gravity force to crush a sun…”
“Hide of a Sith Witch!” shouted Wedge, “That’s why they are blockading the system! Those plans could turn the tide of this war, we can’t afford to lose it.”
Tycho nodded his head, “Commander do you suggest we take them to battle then? Right now we don’t have enough ships to counter assault this blockade…there are just too many Imperial Ships.”
Wedge thought it over for a moment, “Eventually we are going to have to abide to there wishes, but I do have an idea…” he turned and looked out across the skyline, “We need to make a copy of those plans as quickly as possible. I will take Terhik to Gyndine where we will deliver the plans to Mon Mothma, in the meanwhile I need you and Rogue Squadron to put up a strong enough fight to get us out of the system. As soon as we have jumped into hyperspace give them back their plans.”
“What?!” shouted Terhik, “I risked my life to get you those plans you can’t just give them back!”
“Admiral Szun, we have to give them back; voluntarily or not. We cannot contend with the fleet they have brought here, the best thing to do would be to voluntarily give up the plans…and hopefully they will leave the system…”
“Hopefully?” questioned Terhik, “Is that what you are counting on to save you? Hope?”
“No, Admiral. They will not occupy this system any longer then needs be, we have already sent transmissions to the nearest Rebel Fleet…they can be here in three days and it is twice the size of this invasion army the Imperials have brought with them. The only problem is if we decide to put up a fight for too long they will have the plans and will also have destroyed our planet within a single standard day…”
Gavin nodded his head, “Commander Antilles is right…this isn’t an entire loss at least we will have copies of the plans…”
There was a long silence before Tycho spoke up, “Well…I guess this is it, lets get to our fighters.”
Wedge looked at Terhik, “You coming with me Admiral?”
“I suppose I don’t have much of a choice…”
**********
Corran spun his fighter into a tight turn so that the nose stayed glued to the aft of the nearest TIE. He waited patiently until his locking system beeped and then squeezed the trigger releasing a hail of laser fire that ripped through the TIE like a torch through Nerf-Butter. Quickly he pulled up on his stick so that the craft rolled back under the belly of the Star Destroyer directly above him, all the while he unleashed red lasers that tore into its shields.
He called out over his COM, “Commander Antilles this is Red Nine are you prepared to make the jump to light speed?”
“Affirmative Red Nine make sure to hold off that Imperial Fleet just long enough to make it look as though you put up a real fight.”
“Copy that, Good Luck.” Corran switched off his COM. Now it was time for battle.
Across his display he could see that three TIE fighters were on his tail as he looped up, and around, across the nose of the Star Destroyer. Gun Turrets blasted at him from all directions but none of them were accurate enough to take out his X-Wing. With swift action he corkscrewed the fighter around so that the lead TIE behind overshot him.
Quickly, Corran jerked the stick forward until he was right on the tail of the fighter. Behind him green blasts glanced off his shields as he maneuvered in for the kill. His fingers tightened around the trigger once more and the TIE in front of him evaporated.
Meanwhile the two fighters behind him evaporated as Gavin Darklighter swept in with lasers blazing.
“Thanks Gavin.”
“No problem Corran, but it looks like Captain Tycho is in trouble turn to point 327 we’ll help him out,” came the cool response of Gavin.
Swiftly the two fighters broke off from their own dogfights to join with Tycho who was busy with five fighters of his own. Two Interceptors were in the mix. Corran switched over to his proton torpedo display and locked onto the nearest Interceptor and fired. A glowing white hot torpedo ripped through vacuum and made contact with the fighter, erupting it into a ball of flames.
Debris from the fighter tore through his wing-mans ship sending him hurtling through space to his death. This gave Tycho the opportunity he needed as he swung his fighter in a complete 180 degree turn and blasted the remaining three fighters away with relative ease. Corran realized now why Tycho was considered one of the best in Rogue Squadron.
Suddenly over his COM Corran heard the sound of a bad radio signal before things became clear, “That was exceptional flying for the most part,” came the voice, “However…it is over. This is Admiral Codew Chout from the Imperial Navy I am announcing our intentions with this blockade. All we ask is that you hand over the plans that you have stolen from us and we will gladly leave your system unharmed; for now. But I must warn you, if you delay us in any respect we will gladly annihilate you and search for the plans ourselves. Either way we will get what we want.”
Corran flipped over on his side and headed straight towards the bridge of the Star Destroyer from which Admiral Chout was speaking from…he waited until the last possible moment and sprayed lasers all against the shields just before pulling up. He laughed, that ought to have given him a scare, “Hear this,” he said over this COM “This is Lieutenant Corran Horn of the New Republic Navy, you are in restricted space. Perhaps you have failed to read our most recent pact Admiral, but according to our agreement this is space is not to be interfered with by your goons. Besides, we know nothing about any stolen plans. Now, leave the system.”
The battle amidst the planet seemed to seize. Finally the Admiral’s voice came over the COM, “Lieutenant you know perfectly well what I speak of…either send us a diplomatic representative with the plans or watch Corellia be destroyed. It is as simple as that…”
Corran dropped his fighter in low on a TIE that was a bit to relaxed in its flight pattern and destroyed it. He didn’t respond over the COM but knew that this is what Tycho and Wedge wanted. The voice of the Admiral came over the system again, “This is your last chance Lieutenant…surrender the plans or be destroyed…”
Horn wait several moments for dramatic effect before responding, but before he could speak, Tycho's voice broke over the COM.
"Hear this Admiral, this is Capitan Tycho Celchu..." Corran sensed a bit of a snarl in his voice.
There was no sound from the Admiral. All was quiet for a moment. "Tycho Celchu," he finally responded. "So, still alive are we? I should have killed you when I had the chance..."
"You probably should have Chout, and some day I will make you regret that decision, but for right now I am going to have to wait. We'll hand over the plans but only if you pull out all of your warships and leave just one diplomatic vessel, where we can send you the plans”
“You have my word...Capitan." Chout said sarcastically.
“Well that’s not worth much now is it?” comment Tycho dryly and he could hear several of his wing-men laugh over the COM. He frowned in his cockpit, “But I suppose it will have to do…Rogue Squadron and all other security forces will retreat back to the planets surface but will stay on standby. Admiral we will send a representative to you with the plans in two standard hours.”
“Good,” came the Admiral’s voice, “I salute you on your defiance, but I warn you Capitan Celchu, this is not the last time our paths will cross..."
Tycho just clicked his COM in acknowledgement of the statement and Corran could see his fighter turn back and head towards the planet...Corran switched off the COM.
Corran had heard about Tycho's capture and torture at the hands of the Empire, but he had never known who was behind it. This was definitely something he needed to discuss with him when he had the chance...
But right now there were more important issues to be dealt with. Corran began his journey back to the planets surface, he looked out of his cockpit at the debris and damaged ships from the battle. He sighed...All in a days worth of work…
CONCLUSION
[Gyndine – Headquarters to the Rebel Alliance and location of the copied Imperial Plans]
**********
Corran stood with Wedge Antilles on a balcony overlooking the beautiful ocean of Gyndine. Its water was green and its sky pink, it was a sight to behold. Gavin Darklighter was downstairs with the rest of Rogue Squadron celebrating the defeat of the Imperial Fleet at Corellia.
“You know Wedge, I wanted to put the fight to the Imperials at Corellia. I can’t help but feel cowardly backing out the way we did,” commented Corran.
“I understand your feelings Corran, but you have to realize how much of an advantage we have now…because of our ploy at Corellia we have a copy of those plans,” replied Wedge, “Don’t worry though, soon we will have no choice but to take our fight to the Empire…things are changing, the balance is shifting…we need to act now if we want to topple them forever…”
Corran nodded and gazed across the ocean watching its waves lap up against the shoreline. It was so much different then the cityscape of Corellia on which he had grown up… “Wedge?”
“Yeah Corran?”
“How about we go down and get a drink to celebrate…” he laughed, “because I have a feeling its going to be a while before we get the chance to relax and enjoy ourselves again.”
Wedge laughed and threw his arm around Corran and gave him a slight slug to the chest, “You got it, but in the end…it will all be worth while…”
TO BE CONTINUED...
Be sure to check out Book II
COMING SOON!
5/25/2005 7:40:44 PM
(Updated: 5/26/2005 1:51:10 AM)
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