The Phoenix and the Crucible

[General Dan]

One hour after the battle with Urga the Hutt (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17091), Dan had finished three sessions in the sonic shower. For extra measure, he made use of a vial of cologne he'd captured from an Imperial officer a month ago, as well as swishing his mouth out with a plug of home-made 'freedom hooch'. The cloudy liquor was his soldiers' much-affectioned elixir made from sugar water and berry mash, allowed to ferment in large transparisteel jugs in the Tatooine sun. It tasted like burning, but it would get you drunk and also functioned as a stand-in for things like antiseptic and mouthwash.

Not wasting any time, he dressed himself in the communal washroom, shared by everyone equally. By time, it looked like s'Il had managed to do the same.

[s'Il]

The Lupine had bathed herself carefully. Broken bones, even for one such as her, were still a painful enough experience. She was quiet through it all, gingerly massaging her swollen arm. It was healing quickly.

She would have rather sequestered herself on the Cizerack yacht, but it seemed that was not to be. And so she made due with what had been provided. Thankfully she'd not had to wash Hutt saliva from as much of her as Dan had, but that was little consolation - to her even just dirt and grime was just as bad.

Walking was a tender affair still, but running a gentle hand over the gash that'd been made by a Gamorrean's vibro-axe was enough to tell her that the muscle had done well to heal. Even the skin was beginning to knit itself back up. Keeping that in mind, s'Il was quick to pull on a pair of borrowed trousers. Shirt following next, she limped quietly to an available sink and stared at herself in the provided mirror.

She blinked, then let out a sigh before looking down at her arm. It was swollen, but like her leg, the torn muscles were mended. The bone itself was still broken, but that too would soon be whole again.

She felt along the swollen area, then activating the faucet, placed her arm slowly into the downward stream of cool water.

[General Dan]

"That's some metabolism you've got."

Dan noted the obvious, having seen in what sorry shape she'd been in earlier.

"Among other talents. I've never met a metamorph before."

[s'Il]

"Jedi healing powers," she lied unconvincingly.

s'Il didn't look up at him though, choosing to keep her attentions on her arm.

"Besides, I thought we weren't going to mention what happened today ever again.".

[General Dan]

Allowing a laugh and a smile, Dan nodded.

"Touche'. Although I was refering to our temporary status as hors d'ouvres, I can respect your wish. I'm sure we all have things about us we'd rather not let others be privy to."

Changing the subject, Dan backed off.

"Zem mentioned something about some information on your ship's computer that Urga was after. What was that about?"

[s'Il]

Turning off the water, s'Il carefully dried her arm with a handtowel. A sidelong look was given to Dan at his question.

She'd only just found out from her master not long ago, as during the ordeal itself she hadn't understood exactly what it was that the Hutt had seen in the yacht, aside from that it'd been stolen.

"Something about modulator software for star destroyers."

[General Dan]

Dan froze in his tracks, and looked at the Jedi squarely.

"Shield deflector modulator software? What classes of destroyer?"

[s'Il]

She gingerly tested the fingers of her hand. It hurt to make a fist, but she could do it.

The look on Dan's face was enough to set her mind into motion though, and she set the handtowel down, slowly beginning to fold it up.

"If I tell you, then you have to do something for me."

[General Dan]

Bartering for information? That was rather mercenary.

"You don't have to ask."

[s'Il]

Her eyes narrowed, and the Lupine went on.

"You leave Zem alone; don't push him to do anything. If he chooses to help, than it better be his choice to do so, and not through any sort of convincing on your part."

Which was nothing but the long version of 'he's mine, and not yours'.

[General Dan]

"He's a free person. We all are."

[s'Il]

"He's not yours."

That feeling again, like the one she'd had at the warehouse. s'Il finished folding the cloth, her features clouded with mild jealousy. Finally though, the Lupine spoke once more.

"The software is for Victory class ships."

[General Dan]

"I have to get access to those computers. What you're carrying can turn the tide of this war."

Dan hurriedly threw on his jacket, and clipped his belt together.

[s'Il]

"If you can read Cizeri. I'll not stop you, and I know Zem won't either."

The Lupine started for the washroom's door. She knew that her pace would be far slower than Dan's. Her bare feet pattered lightly on the ground as she stepped out into the corridor.

[General Dan]

"I don't, but we have a protocol droid that does."

Dan was quick to leave, but paused, turning around to look at s'Il.

"Whatever you two decide, I'll abide by it. I'm too busy fighting tyrants to become one."

[s'Il]

Whether it was a comment meant to sting, s'Il couldn't tell. Regardless however, his words did well to slap her in the face. She limped along until she was at his side, and kept on so that he would have to fall in step with her.

"I do not mean to sound overbearing," she started, "but I can't lose him."

[General Dan]

Dan wasn't going to play this game.

"No offense, but you need to learn to grow up. Better you teach yourself than let this war do it for you. I've already left this to the both of you, because it was never up to me anyway."

With that, he left the washroom to see to his own efforts.

[s'Il]

Stopped in her tracks, s'Il stared at his back as he walked away. Grow up?! How dare he!

The nagging ache in her leg was disregarded completely as the Lupine thundered after Dan. With each step she let out an angry hiss through clenched teeth, but her efforts were rewarded soon enough, and s'Il reached a hand out to grab his sleeve.

"Hey!"

Her grip was like steel as she pulled him sharply back, then shoved him forward.

"What makes you think you're the only one affected by this whole thing?!"

[General Dan]

Dan spoke with iron words.

"There's only one person who is going to walk you through your personal conflicts. It isn't me."

[s'Il]

Her features twisted into a mask of frustration, and the Lupine had to stop herself from slapping him.

Instead, she gave him an extra push for good measure before turning on her heel and stalking off in the opposite direction.

"You're not the only one who lost someone special," she shouted over her shoulder, "... but that doesn't mean you can take the only one I have left away from me."

[General Dan]

Dan chose not to retort, since she wasn't even listening to what he was saying in the first place. He shrugged her off to deal with the vital needs of the here and now. He approached a subordinate, and both went off to look for their protocol droid.

[s'Il]

Her mind was clouded, and deep down she couldn't understand why. Yes she'd been angry at Dan, but for what? The thought that he would somehow become a wedge between her and Zem? That would explain the reasoning behind the things she'd said, but still; she was so quick to push the rebel away. She'd been alone with her master for so long now that the Lupine in her bristled at the thought of him spending less time with her.

But, she knew that that would happen in any case. It was just a question of when.

Limping angrily along, s'Il took a roundabout route to return to the yacht.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was already out the door of the Yacht, having gone there as soon as we were able to lick our wounds. I'd gotten off easy with a whole body full of bruises. At least I wasn't made into Hutt chow.

I met s'Il halfway to the compound, and she was lost in her thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

[s'Il]

Her pace didn't slow, but she was quick to lift her gaze up from the ground to look up at Zem. He looked like he'd gotten run over by a ronto. His question was met with averted eyes though.

"I will be."

It was a rushed answer, and as she passed by him on her way to their ship, she went on. "Dan is coming for the software."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"This software?"

I held up a dataslip.

[s'Il]

s'Il turned, slowing to a halt as she looked at the dataslip he held. To her, this was a significant enough sign that Zem was jumping into the Rebellion with both feet.

"Yes," she grumbled, "that software."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I gave her a strange look as I continued to walk to the compound.

"Did I say something wrong?"

[s'Il]

Emptying her thoughts, the Lupine did her best to calm herself.

"No. It's nothing you said. I had a... conversation with Dan is all."

[Zem-El Vymes]

It didn't take much empathy to suss things out.

"About whether we stay or go?"

[s'Il]

"Neither. I already know that we're staying."

She skirted the issue as best as she could, her eyes looking for any sign of Dan. Suddenly, he couldn't appear sooner.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Well in the immediacy, we have a need to fill."

I coughed, still a bit shakey from the fight against Urga.

"He does know that I have no idea how to read this, right?"

[s'Il]

"He said he's got a protocol droid who'll translate it."

She did take comfort in the knowledge that they would return at least once more to the planet that they called home, however.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Let's go, then. The ability to neutralize the Emperor's war machines sounds like a very life or death need. With the Cizerack being contacted regarding this, I wouldn't be surprised if the Empire already had the theft tracked to Tatooine."

[s'Il]

While she understood the gravity of the situation and their position in all of this, the Lupine couldn't help the desire to simply be left alone; to live peacefully - with Zem - without the thought of being dragged into the very thing that they were now being pulled into.

She limped obediently after her master, eyes on the ground.

Dan's words came back to her suddenly then, telling her to grow up. Resentment. She had grown up, was still growing. They all were in some form or another. She scowled then. Did he want her to lose Zem just as he'd lost his wife?

[Zem-El Vymes]

We approached Dan, who was busy conferencing with some of his subordinates. A few were still injured from the earlier fight, including Dan, who had his midsection bandaged up and his coat draped over himself lightly.

"Lok said you might find this useful."

I flipped the dataslip to the Rebel, and he caught it.

"Thanks" Dan nodded, passing it to the protocol droid. "Hopefully this is as useful as I think it is."

We waited a moment as the Protocol droid reviewed the data, sped up many times beyond humanoid comprehension speed. Once the projector finished, the droid looked to us all.

"These are schematics for software to control a capital starship's deflector shield control. They function as a series of commands for the ship to change the frequency of their shields, to prevent attackers from matching the energy output of their weapons, which would render shields useless. With this software, we can effectively nullify an equipped starship's shields."

[s'Il]

Listening quietly, s'Il found herself staring at Dan with a sidelong look. For as frustrated as he'd made her, the Lupine could not deny the sense that his men were dedicated and loyal.

Her eyes were hard though. She would have a hard time getting over his words from before, no matter how inspirational he was to those he led.

[General Dan]

Dan placed his hands on a nearby table, slowly easing his weight onto them as he looked to Zem.

"Urga was ready to deliver you and the ship to the Cizerack. We have to assume he contacted them. We also have to assume that they could have informed their clients. The Empire could very well already be on their way."

Dan looked to s'Il, and continued.

"Our first priority is to get the Jedi to safety."

[s'Il]

Unable to take her gaze from him, the Lupine shifted her stance so that she stood a hair closer to Zem. The thought of encountering more clone squadrons was not one she particularly wished to dwell on. Or the Bloodline forbid, the thing from Rumigaar. It hadn't found her or her master on their planet refuge, but now that they'd left there was no telling if or when it would reappear.

"Where... ?"

[General Dan]

"Initially to a safe waypoint. From there, you should be able to part ways with us and reach your home without attracting any attention. That is, if that's your choice. I've pleaded my case enough, but the simple fact of the matter is that you're far too valuable, whether you become rebels or not."

[s'Il]

She broke away her stare to look up at Zem momentarily. It was there, in his eyes. How could she refuse him?

"We only need to collect our things," she replied curtly.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"We have time to talk about that later."

I looked to s'Il.

"These plans are vital to the Rebellion. Whether or not we ourselves are vital down the road is up to us. Today we are."

Looking to Dan, I nodded.

"We have to leave, and get this information to those who can use it."

[s'Il]

s'Il gave her master a bug-eyed look, gesturing at Dan with a hand in the air. If he wasn't someone who could use that information than she didn't know who was.

And without another word the Lupine turned on her heel to begin the short trek back to the yacht.

[General Dan]

"My cell is good enough for work here and in the next system or two, but we're talking about facing a direct attack from capital ships. We don't have the resources. The Ryloth Faction might, as well as the Kratans, and a few others. Our allies in the mid rim and core can provide funding and leadership, but they can't raise any overt forces so close in the Emperor's view.

I have four gunships, six fighters, and two freighters with assorted light arms. The fighters should have been mothballed at the end of the war, and the gunship honestly aren't much better. The newest Imperial ships have dozens of guns and fighters, and are nearly a kilometer long. How do you expect to fight that with spitballs?"

[s'Il]

He was right. She knew he was, but s'Il was too stubborn to admit it just at that moment. Slowing to a stop, she looked back at him while flexing the fingers of her hand. Still sore.

"Then we'll steal better ships for you," she blurted out without thinking.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I don't think there's time for that."

If Dan was correct, they were already burning some borrowed time.

"We could have enemy company literally at any time now. Prudence says we have to leave Tatooine now."

[s'Il]

She wanted to scream; to yell and slap the both of them. Now that Dan had the information he'd wanted, he was crying about not having the right equipments to do the job?

She pointed an accusatory finger at both men. "Then stop whining about what you don't have. You," her finger went to Dan, "... wanted the information; and you" she pointed at Zem, "... wanted to get it to someone who could use it.

"I'm sorry that perfect battle conditions couldn't be included, but that's life. You get used to things being unfair sometimes." Blue eyes locked on Zem. "Things weren't very fair on Rumigaar, but that didn't stop them. They still fought, and we're still here because of them."

She turned back to Dan. "Don't tell me to grow up when you yourself start whining about not having better ships and more guns."

Angrily, the Lupine began once more heading for the yacht, slowing her limping gate only marginally to yell over her shoulder.

"If we can't stay here, than stop standing around crying about what you have and what you don't have. Pack yourselves up and go."

[General Dan]

"If we can't stay here, than stop standing around crying about what you have and what you don't have. Pack yourselves up and go."

"First sensible thing you've said today."

Dan turned to some subordinated, twirling an extended finger in the air. They began to double-time their work, and crews started to load cargo containers with as much as they could carry. They hooked those onto a repulsor sled, and shuttled them to a nearby hangar, where one of the freighters was berthed.

Dan shored up his own personal effects into a well-beaten ruck that he had stowed. Shouldering it, he winced at the pain to his cracked ribs.

"I'll set things up on my freighter, and we'll get the gunships and fighters to run vanguard and escort. You ought to pull into the slot, and ride in close formation with us. We've got some protection, better than the nothing you've got on the yacht."

[s'Il]

Stalking up the boarding ramp and into the yacht, s'Il disregarded whatever comment Dan had said to her.

She stopped halfway to her quarters though, lifting her head to test the air. It smelled of burnt dirt, and she screwed her features at the scent.

Setting off once more, the Lupine bypassed the bridge - it was strongest from in there - and on into the galley. Her bare feet pattered on the decking in a soft, uneven gait as she began rummaging for anything to put in her stomach.

Quick healing made for a large appetite.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Actually, if you don't mind, could you pilot the yacht?"

Dan turned to look at me, and I explained myself.

"If you'll allow it, I'll do a turn in one of your fighters. If it comes to blows, would probably be best to have a Jedi running point defense."

[s'Il]

Long gone were the Cizerack 'treats' that she'd enjoyed after first taking the ship; instead s'Il settled for a ration bar. Or three.

She sat at the galley's small table, taking a bite of one of the bars before leaning her elbows on the table top, leaning her head forward so that it fell into her hands. The Lupine stared at the smooth fabricated surface.

So much frustration! But why? What reason was there? Blue eyes closing, she emptied her thoughts as she'd been taught so long ago.

[General Dan]

Dan wanted to raise an objection, but found himself strangely without one.

"That's a good idea."

He gestured to one of the men doing prep work at the far end of the room.

"That's Trin. He can take my spot on the lead freighter. Good pilot, that one."

Zem nodded in agreement, and rushed onward to talk to Trin. Meanwhile, he made his way to the yacht, stopping midway to pilfer a few ration packs for a starving but 'non-existent' metamorph. Just a feeling he had.

Reaching the freighter, Dan rapped on the door.

[s'Il]

From the galley, s'Il heard the knock. She kept her head in her hands though, rather, tracking her eyes to the galley doorway. She'd already finished her first ration bar, yet despite her hunger the Lupine was hesitant to start in on the others. They tasted so... fake.

The knock came again though, and she slowly stood. A small amount of humbleness showed in her expression; what would Zem say about her reaction and outburst? Was that why he knocked instead of simply coming aboard?

Reaching the ramp's hatchway took only a short amount of time, and depressing the switch that would lower the gangplank, s'Il bent her head to the deck in the beginnings of shame, not sure if she wanted to meet the eye of her master just yet.

[General Dan]

"I brought a peace offering." Dan spoke in a mellow tone, laying a stack of clear bags holding a brown, shriveled material inside.

"We don't really get many proper military rations out here. I didn't think you'd complain, but you might get thirsty after that much Dewback jerky."

[s'Il]

Dan?! His voice was more than enough to cause her to jerk her head up sharply. The surprise at his presence more than overshadowed her previous anger at the man, and she stared at him. Not only that, but he'd brought food; anything had to be better than those Weit-Fällt cursed ration bars!

And the mention of dewback jerky?! Real meat?! Her lips parted, and she could already almost taste it. A hand made to pluck one of the bags up, but she stopped herself.

The Lupine stared at him for a few awkward moments, suddenly aware that her previous attitude and manners had been less than what the man deserved.

"Thank you," was the quiet reply.

[General Dan]

"Eh."

Dan waved off the response to his action.

"First rule of fighting. Eat, and eat often. You aren't guaranteed seconds tomorrow."

With that, he took one of the packages for himself.

"Zem wanted to take one of my fighters and fly escort for us. Not much use in trying to stop him, I suppose. He asked me to chauffeur you in this flying litterbox."

[s'Il]

She bit her lip at the news of her master's desires, but made no move to object. She was in no position to do so as it was. Instead she only gave a half-nod before taking up one of the bags.

Dan might not think it was much, but anything was better than the meal of ration bars she'd tried to eat a few minutes before.

"He does what he thinks is best," she finally offered, more of an explanation of her master's actions for herself than for Dan.

s'Il gave a shrug then. Unsure of what to say, she stepped to the side to allow him easier access to the bridge.

[General Dan]

"So, Cizeri, huh?"

Dan took a seat opposite s'Il's, and took a moment to examine the controls.

"This seems straightforward."

He snapped into a piece of jerky, chewing as he ran the power-up.

"Believe it or not, this isn't my first time in a Cizerack ship."

[s'Il]

With far less decorum than Dan, s'Il made quick work of one of the strips of meat. She swallowed, savoring the taste, then turned an odd look to him.

"You were onboard last year."

[General Dan]

Dan allowed a soft laugh.

"As a pilot, I mean."

[s'Il]

"Oh."

She turned her eyes away as she felt the yacht's engines rumble to life.

"What did you do," she gestured to the view outside and the frenzied movements of those clearing out the compound, "... before all of this."

[General Dan]

"Before all this, I was a schoolteacher. It took losing my family to learn new vocations like hijacking starships and piloting hijacked starships."

[s'Il]

A schoolteacher? The Lupine blinked at that. She turned her eyes to him once more, though the look she gave him was slightly more than befuddled.

She stared at him hard for a few moments before making a semi-pained face.

"I just can't see it." She broke off a piece of jerky, "You in front of a room full of kids."

[General Dan]

"Has that changed?"

Dan smirked cattily as he engaged the repulsors, drawing up the gangplanks.

"You're half my age at best."

[s'Il]

At that, the Lupine gave him a rumbled hmph. It was an odd sound that began deep in her throat and ended with a few uttered words in Bast'yr.

She watched idly as the ground fell away from below them, and the yacht angled upwards.

[General Dan]

Below them, the rest of the Rebel squadron was flaring up. The fighters - first generation Republic Sorosuub Gallanti interceptors were lightly armored and shielded, but had decent weapons and good speed. They were showing their age though, with flecked paint and patchwork repairs. The Gunships were up-armored Republican craft from the Clone Wars, stolen from a depot. Even these had been officially 'retired' and the ordnance for them had to be begged, borrowed, and stolen in order to gear the ships up.

The freighters, unmistakenly Corellian of varying design, were last to lift off, lumbering through the sky as they did. The entire group of ships moved into a loose organization before accelerating through the sky, and away from the desert planet.

Dan flipped a comm switch as blue sky turned to starry black.

"All units, this is Dan. Form up on the wagons. We've done this a dozen times, so the only thing changing is the ticking clock. Time to hyper jump is three minutes, seventeen seconds."

[s'Il]

Watching the blackness that'd overtaken the blue of Tattooine's atmosphere, s'Il was quiet. She listened as Dan gave his orders, but her thoughts were far from what was happening around them, now.

Already she missed the quiet mornings waking up in the home that she and Zem had built, making his morning tea and preparing herself for daily lessons. It was an existance that, while she knew would end some time, she wished would go on forever.

And then Dan had stepped back into their little world. She sighed. Briefly she equated the man with an unlucky credit chit that just kept turning up, but at the same time knew that it was a bit of an unfair assessment. She remembered the sight of him, when they'd first met on the freighter; he'd been far more than half-starved, his features drawn and gaunt. But now; he looked to be healthier, and despite his new profession, in somewhat better spirits.

It was still a strange thing for the Lupine to try and picture, him as a teacher. It amused her slightly as the mental picture of it all caused a small grin to curl back the corners of her mouth. She remembered from their conversation a year previous that he had no children of his own, and the thought caused a face to appear in her mind. A young face.

"Where is Teagan... ?"

[General Dan]

"She's on Chandrila, in the care of one of our leaders. There's risk, but it's honestly better for her than running for her life on the outer rim. The caretaker has a school that she funds herself, and it seemed like the best thing to do for her."

Now the ships were formed up, and the group slowly began to drift away from the desert planet.

"It's been half a year since I've seen her and the others. Traveling to the core is hard for me."

[s'Il]

She watched the small fleet of patchwork ships, letting her eyes linger on the fighters as they wove in and out of her view. Zem was in one of them...

But what Dan said was a small comfort at least. There had been times when the Lupine missed the little girl. It was pleasent news, to hear that she was being taken care of.

"What was it like? The last time you went to the Core?"

[General Dan]

"It's dangerous. The Empire knows there are rebels in the core, and certainly knows we exist on the rim. They've made a large effort to keep both sides from interacting.

I don't know how they can manage in there. At least there is a matter of honesty out here. We may be constantly fighting, but I don't have to worry about somebody finding out that I'm in the rebellion. The others do."

[s'Il]

She remembered the state of mind he'd been in when leaving Schwartzweld. That he'd made his way off of Leh'ben was a comfort, though in the back of her mind she wondered briefly whether the Leh'beni - the Guardians - had told him of the planet that he'd taken shelter on with her and Zem.

The thought was brushed away as she shifted in her seat.

[General Dan]

A klaxon sounded sharply in the cabin, and Dan's head swiveled to it.

"Inbound contact just entered the system from hyperspace."

Suddenly the comm stack was full of chatter. The lead Corellian freighter had a sensor suite aboard that was strong enough to get the best reading.

"What do you have?"

"Contact at seventeen million kilometers. Imperial warship."

[s'Il]

It was enough to make the Lupine grip the armrests of her seat tighter, and she ground her teeth.

How had the Empire been so quick to send a ship to Tattooine? If it was so far removed from the Core; a backwater, as her master had called it, how could any sort of Imperial presence not take longer?

"They were here so fast... "

[General Dan]

"They have patrols on the Rim more often than not. I'm not shocked."

Dan looked at the blip that now showed up on his viewer.

"The mass reading on that ship is consistent with that of the Victory II class."

The Rebel reclined in his chair, lost in thought. The sensor officer on the freighter spoke again.

"Imperial warship diverting to intercept. It will reach us before our hyperjump waypoint."

Still, the gears were turning in Dan's head.

"I'm transmitting the Cizerack modulation data to all ships. Guess we'll be seeing if this works a bit earlier than we'd like. Keep on your toes, they'll hit us with fighters first."

[s'Il]

Feeling more than useless, s'Il stared at Dan's hands as they ran over the console.

Her eyes went to the viewscreen out of nervousness though, and she stared at the deceptively calm starry blackness before them. It was then that a strange feeling came over her, and the previously hard lines around her eyes and mouth smoothed away. For some reason, the Lupine felt... safe.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was at the tip of the spear, already picking up speed to separate myself from the group. Hopefully I would draw some of the fighter attention toward what seemed to be an easy mark.

"Contact. Twelve V-wing's on approach, in stacked formation."

I dumped my speed and accelerated for their flank, which broke to engage me. Three fighters peeled off to hunt me down, and I got in a quick spray of laser fire before tumbling out of the way and reversing my direction. We all crossed the axis of advance of the rest of the fighters, and I smiled as I watched the blaster fire light up behind me. Too slow!

[s'Il]

Tense seconds ticked by, and s'Il bit her lip.

"How long is this supposed to take?"

[General Dan]

Dan quirked an eyebrow at her, and quickly returned his attention to the unfolding battle.

"This isn't exactly a blue milk run. How many capital ships have you fought against?"

Vymes was doing his job, and leading a good third of the fighters away. Even as they peeled off, he brought himself about and destroyed two in one pass. It was immediately obvious how useful a Jedi was at the stick in a starfighter.

Still, that left ten, eight of which were still on the advance toward the Rebel ships. The fighters brought themselves into a wedge formation, and then accelerated ahead, ready to get into the thick of the fight.

"Command, this is Dan. Keep away from that star destroyer and give the fighters time to work. Once the fighters break the enemy squadron, get the gunships on their six and press a full attack. We'll probably only get one chance to do something this stupid, so lets make it count."

[s'Il]

How many capital ships had she fought against? The Lupine furrowed her brow and looked to a far bulkhead. Feeling somewhat the fool, s'Il didn't answer that one.

Her fingertips tikked on the armrest.

"Well, is there anything I can do then?"

[General Dan]

Dan pulled a nearby headset and passed it to s'Il.

"Yeah there's one thing. I'm dialing this on a fixed channel with Zem. Keep on the line with him and get information from him, as well as pass it on. We need constant communication up front."

[s'Il]

Wordlessly she accepted the headset, and slipping it on, s'Il waited as the static snapped into silence.

A few more seconds and she ventured a tentative, "Zem?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Hang on!"

I fought with the yoke, whipping my starfighter about so that I got dangerously close to the kill zone that had been joined by the two larger fighter groups. One of the V wings I'd been leading clipped the wing of a nearby Imperial fighter and both were destroyed.

The rebel pilots were salty, but their equipment was holding them back. One V-wing got on the six of a rebel and clipped his starboard wing with a spray of blaster fire, causing the fighter to explode moments after. I joined another rebel in hot pursuit, chasing down the offender with a murderous barrage.

"Its pretty thick up front. We're down two Gallanti's, but managed to halve their squadron. These clones must be fresh tanks, they've got the reflexes of bricks."

[s'Il]

She looked sidelong to Dan.

"He says it's heavy out there," she wondered if she even needed to say such a thing as it was more than likely assured that the Empire was in greater numbers, "and you lost two fighters, but he also says that the Imperial pilots are sluggish."

[General Dan]

Dan's eyes were unmoved from the star destroyer, and he said nothing.

After a moment, he regained his senses, and looked to s'Il.

"That equipment locker to your right, I need you to do me a favor. Look inside, and you should find a semi-circular tube, with metal-capped ends, about the width of your midsection."

Dan only hoped he was correct. He had a plan to get the rest of the ships to safety.

[s'Il]

Blinking in mild confusion, s'Il stared at him for only a moment before swiveling in her seat and pushing herself up and forward. Opening the locker, she spied whatever it was that Dan had described. It was buried in the back however, and the Lupine found that she had to nearly wedge her entire upper half inside.

She emerged victorious, if not a bit ruffled at having to dig her way through various maintenance tools and other gadgets.

Dragging the thing out, s'Il hefted it up without trouble and turned back to Dan.

[General Dan]

"I'm changing course. Let them know to keep theirs."

Dan set a course that would veer away from the hyperjump waypoint, but bring them ever-closer to the star destroyer.

[s'Il]

Her eyes widened for a scant few moments; was he crazy?!

She couldn't help but stare at the destroyer, watching as it grew larger. The thing that Dan had asked for was very nearly dropped into the seat she'd vacated, and s'Il lifted a hand to her ear.

"Z-Zem..." uncharacteristically the Lupine found herself stammering out his name, "... hold your course... "

[Zem-El Vymes]

"What course?"

I skirted the maelstrom again, diving between another rebel ship in the midst of a strafe in order to lose an Imperial in the crossfire. Past that, I nearly bought it, coming up against a head-on attack. I broke from the axis, catching a glancing shot across my hull.

"What's going on?"

What did she mean by holding course?

"s'Il?"

[s'Il]

Very nearly entranced by the star destroyer that was slowly beginning to fill the entire viewport, s'Il was only able to mumble a few words in answer.

"He said to hold course; I don't know what he's doing... "

The Lupine looked to Dan frantically. "What are you doing?!"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Why would he say to stay course if you..."

I caught a glimpse of the battle group, and saw the Cizerack ship gaining distance from it, heading away and toward the star destroyer.

"...I get it! Good thinking. Tell Dan we're almost done with the fighters. We'll be with you soon."

[s'Il]

Without allowing the Rebel to answer, s'Il spoke again.

" 'Good thinking'? I don't - "

The Lupine looked helplessly from Dan to the thing she'd set in her seat, then back out at the viewport. Obviously Zem knew what Dan was intending to do, but she was still completely at a loss.

[General Dan]

Dan could sense her confusion.

"The Empire wants the plans, and as far as they know, they're in this ship. I'm using us as a decoy to get the Star Destroyer away from the hyperjump waypoint."

[s'Il]

It was explanation enough, but still one that cause a worried expression to pass over her features. She'd moved to stand behind his chair, hands gripping his headrest as she stared at the Imperial battleship.

Breaking her eyes away, the Lupine looked at the thing she'd set in her seat.

"But what is that for?"

[General Dan]

"It's a power coupler, for when they shoot out our shields. The one that's installed will burn out, and if we replace it, that buys us some time."

The Destroyer was looming ever-larger in view, as they had turned fully to intercept. With seconds, they'd be within weapons range.

"We've mopped up the fighters. We're moving with the gunships on your position." came Zem's voice on the headcomm.

[s'Il]

When they shoot...

"When they shoot out our shields... ?"

This man was insane. She made no move, but did let out a small whine at the prospect of what was to come.

"Everything was going so well," she thought aloud, unaware that she was speaking. "Living alone, not bothering anyone, not being bothered... no Empire, no one... "

Suddenly conscious of her audible thinking, s'Il was quiet for a moment, mentally recapping what she'd said aloud, and choosing to continue on, the tone in her voice took on feigned outrage. "And then DAN showed up."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Here we come. Weapons are calibrated for matching modulation."

I lead the remaining three fighters and four gunships in a hurried assault on the Star Destroyer. Being used to combat against capital starships, the star destroyer had only a few defensive arms against small fighters. These began to spray blaster fire at the incoming attack, but the gunships were quick on the draw, firing a salvo of concussion missiles at the counter batteries. The missiles went unimpeded by the star destroyer's shields, obliterating the laser cannons in an explosive shower.

"Pipe is clean, fire at will." The lead gunship commander spoke in a clipped tone, as the attackers pounced all across the starship, scoring uncontested hits at will.

[s'Il]

A small light on the console blinked to life, and s'Il abandoned her complaining to stare at it. Seconds later the yacht bucked, and the Lupine clutched the back of Dan's chair to stay on her feet.

"You're just plain bad luck," she grumbled, surmising that the light indicated they'd entered the destroyer's weapon range, "... and I hate flying."

[General Dan]

"We're buying time for the others, don't worry."

Dan could see the remaining freighters nearly at the waypoint. They'd be able to hyper away with no resistance from the Empire.

He banked the ship sharply, missing another sizzling turbolaser strike as he now tried to gain distance on the capital ship.

"Just be on the spot with that coupler. The power relay is the circular hatch behind you. You'll know when because there will be a lot of sparks."

Another near-hit glanced the shields, causing the lights to dim.

"Come on guys." He muttered under his breath. On the scopes, a gunship made a run at close range, unleashing a broadside of missiles at the starship's command tower before getting destroyed by another counter battery. The damage was done though, and explosions ripped through the tower.

"They got the bridge. Maybe that'll buy some time."

[s'Il]

Abandoning her perch over him, s'Il moved to pull the coupler from where she'd placed it in the copilot's seat.

The urgency of the situation wasn't lost on her, yet the Lupine still found herself grumbling, having lapsed back into Bast'yr despite the Rebel's presence.

Hefting the coupler up, she moved it to the relay and set it on the deck as the ship rocked once more. The cabin lights died, only to be replaced by red emergency lights. Steadying herself, she took a knee as the Cizerack craft shuddered again. She had cast a look behind her at the back of Dan's head when the relay exploded in a shower of sparks, and the Lupine yelped while scrambling away.

[General Dan]

"Get Zem to hit the engines or the Ion reactor. It's on the ventral hull, a large half-dome." That'll immobilize the ship for sure."

Dan watched a strafing run against the turbolasers result in a series of explosions along the weapons bank. The Star Destroyer was taking heavy damage without its shields. Another half squadron of V-wings was being rushed out of the bay, but one of the fighters lit up a fuel tank in the hangar bay, causing multiple secondary explosions before they could be fully scrambled.

[s'Il]

Whatever was happening outside was ignored while the Lupine set about her task. Dragging the coupler as close to the relay as she could, s'Il let it go as she reached for the scorched paneling. It was already open, but she needed it wider, and her hands pushed at it.

"The engines... or the ion reactor," she managed to get out into the headset; the panel was still hot, and the Lupine was doing her best to position it to give her enough room to unplug the blown coupling unit. Quick fingers pulled at the connecting wires, and she pryed the piece of machinery out. It hit the deck heavily, instantly forgotten as she began wedging the replacement inside.

[General Dan]

"Either or!"

Another blast hit, and the console Dan was working on erupted into a shower of sparks, throwing him from his seat. The world around him was a blur, and it sounded like it was muffled by handfulls of wadding. He lay disoriented, tasting a familiar salt taste of blood.

The Cizerack ship limped onward, and the Rebels ran an aggressive screen to keep further heavy turbolaser fire from hitting home.

[s'Il]

With the coupler set in, s'Il began reconnecting it.

"That's what I told him," she snapped. The last plug screwed on, the Lupine watched as the thing hummed to life once more. The red emergency lights weren't replaced, but that didn't matter; the shields had been restored.

Looking behind her, s'Il took in Dan's confused gaze before making her way to him. A thin line of blood was trickling from his nose, and she wiped it away with a gentle hand.

"Dan? Can you hear me?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I'm on my way down now!"

I spiraled below the axis line and made a beeline for the Ion reactor. Sure enough it was a prominent half sphere, near the aft quarters. I found a gunship on my wing and we both approached in force, hammering it with our full weapons array. The thicker armor at this spot took some convincing, but a last set of proton torpedoes cut through, causing the reactor to burst with a violent spray of white energy. I shielded my eyes as my fighter lurched out of the way. The gunship likewise peeled off in the opposite direction, as secondary explosions could be seen across the hull, peppering the ship with pinpricks of orange fire.

"We lit her up! I think that'll do it! I'm seeing multiple secondary explosions, and it looks like her engine wake is dying. She's crippled, and may explode."

[s'Il]

Zem's answer was only silence, as she had taken the headset off. His words were good news enough, but she felt no need to reply. Instead, s'Il was more concerned with reaquainting Dan with the here and now. Crouched very nearly in his lap, she patted the side of his face with the back of her hand, and her brow knitted in thought.

Pulling her hand away, she reached lower, jabbing at his bandaged ribs.

"Am'ari nana'ta, you old mynock."

[General Dan]

s'Il's words couldn't be heard. She was muffled by the dull ringing in his ears, but her disposition was at least one of relief. Judging from the lack of shuddering, it seemed like they were successful.

Dan smiled.

[s'Il]

Unmoved from her perch, s'Il gave a hrmph at his smile and an extra prod at his ribs before rising to her feet.

And on her way back to her seat, the Lupine half-heartedly kicked his booted foot.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"s'Il, we'll follow you out to the jump point. Everything okay on your end?"

The fighters and gunships remaining grouped up at the Cizerack ship's flank, flying alongside. I was nearest, and looked at the ship, frowning at several scorch marks across the hull.

[s'Il]

Replacing the headcomm, s'Il caught the tail end of Zem's request.

"-okay on your end?"

"Oh we're fine," she grumped in return, and looking back at Dan, she scowled. "Your man is grinning like a damn fool though; took an exploding console to the face."

She lapsed back into Bast'yr then.

<"I hope he goes deaf.">

[Zem-El Vymes]

I laughed.

"As long as you two are okay. Can you follow our lead? We're going to the rendezvous."

I watched the crippled Imperial ship continue to roil in secondary explosions, wondering if it would survive at all. It looked in bad shape.

[s'Il]

"We'll follow."

Resigned to the fact that she would have to pilot the yacht, s'Il cut the engines a fraction so that it would place them behind Zem's fighter.

Whatever was happening to the star destroyer now was ignored; the less she saw of the thing the better. Even if it was facing the threat of explosion, s'Il refused to look for herself.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was aware of her shortcomings behind the stick, and talked her through it all.

"Okay, center console, there is a wood-grain handle with knurled edges. When the light above you goes from red to green, pull that towards you. All the complex steering is taken care of, so just follow us and it'll do the rest."

[s'Il]

Following was the easiest of her tasks, and s'Il listened intently to the instructions her master gave.

It was straightforward enough, and the Lupine made sure to keep the yacht behind the fighters.

An exasperated look was sent to Dan, who seemed more than happy to keep himself on the deck.

<"You know,"> she started, not even bothering with Basic, <"if this is how you fly your ships, I'm shocked that you've managed to survive this long.">

[General Dan]

"Why do I get the impression that you're enjoying being a smart-aleck?"

Dan winced as he slid himself to the chair backing, and propped himself up.

[s'Il]

The Lupine chittered away in a response that only she could understand, a long and rambling lecture that seemed as though given by a disapproving parent.

And all throughout, her eyes remaining on the light, waiting for it to change to green.

When it finally did, she lazily turned to cast a stern gaze at him; albeit obviously feigned, and her last words were spoken in Basic.

"... but I'm sure you knew that already."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"We're up at the waypoint, Lok. I'll meet you on the other side. May the force be with you."

I gave a sigh, at last able to unwind after the fray, and activated my motivator. The fighters and gunships slipped into hyperspeed, with s'Il close behind.