Omega Sqadron Black Knights
Chapter 2

He was put in one of the secondary medical rooms, awaiting attention, as the Doctors were busy with the freighter survivors – and one of the few remaining Omega pilots. It appeared she was in a bad way. Not bad enough for Martellon. From what he had heard on the way in, it seemed that there were only three left, and one of them was in critical condition.

They had posted two guards outside the room he was in. Only two. But, of course, they would have no reason to think he was any different from the other pilots they would have picked up - they didn’t know what he could do. All he had to do was figure out how to distract the guards, and then make his way back to the hangar.

He brought his body back out of the artificial state it was in, and sat up. He was in a fairly bare room, containing only a bed and a bedside cabinet. Obviously, with the lack of resources that the Rebellion had, any medical equipment that they needed in order to treat patients they brought in with them.

Martellon decided on a strategy, and rose from the bed they had laid him on. He moved to the door with catlike steps, taking a position to the left, back to the wall. He used his telekinetic power to move the bed along the floor, making a scraping sound. He was banking on the guards thinking that he would be trying to barricade himself into the room.

They acted precisely as predicted, and rushed into the room, expecting him to be in front of them. They soon realised their mistake, and paused in momentary confusion. The fatal mistake was made. With a quick thought, Martellon snapped the neck of one with the power of his mind, and used brute force to break the neck of the other. He quickly dragged the bodies to either side of the door, and listened carefully at the door opening.

Nothing. The weaklings were preoccupied with their dying crewmate… sentiment was always the downfall of the Rebellion. The only trouble was that he had to pass by the main medical room to get to the hangar. He would have to think of something quick. Then an idea struck him. He paused for a brief moment to gather his thoughts, and used his telekinesis to raise himself flat against the ceiling of the corridor. Then he floated effortlessly along the corridor, above the level of the door, and passed the room. He could hear raised voices from within, something about a briefing, and lost interest as the voices lowered again.

Once along the corridor, he lowered himself again, and quickly made his way towards the hangar, as the sound of footsteps appeared behind him. He walked as calmly as possible back the way he had been brought, with the footsteps behind him all the way. Had he been spotted? Surely not, or he would have been challenged by now, and the owner of the footsteps would certainly have been in a bit more of a hurry. So he hadn’t been spotted.

~ * ~

Still wearing her flight suit, Kaz Hawkspar leant back against the wall of the med lab cubicle, arms folded across her chest, expression dark. Xen hung motionless in the luminescent blue liquid of the Bacta tank, long dark curls tied back off her face – away from the respiration mask. Wreckage from the exploding Imperial ship had ripped through her shields, slamming into the side of the T-65, shattering her left ribcage, dislocating her shoulder and shearing the dome off her Artoo unit. Fates knew how the fighter had held together long enough for them to bring her on board, but it had.

Then her heart had stopped twice on the journey from the hangar. It was still touch and go, but despite doing her damnedest to die on them, she was still alive. And Ettei Soosaan had informed Hawkspar in plainly explicit language that she had no intentions of letting Xen go. Not every Rebel ship or base was lucky enough to have a human doctor, but the Home Two had – the small, feisty, blond-haired bundle of ready Toprawan laughter now hovering beside the Bacta tank’s readout panel.

"Kaz?"

Hawkspar jumped at the quiet voice, unaware that anyone else had come into the room, glancing round at her Second. "How is she?" Lainy asked, quietly.

The Commander took a deep breath, then admitted, "I don’t know... yet."

They stood in silence for a moment, watching Edraa’s fight for life. Finally Lainy spoke, "Admiral Notrahw wants us in debrief."

"Let him wait." She felt rather than saw the shocked expression on Lainy’s face but she refused to leave Edraa now. Let Notrahw bust her back to Pilot Officer if he saw fit, nothing would make her leave. She had lost too many. And a terrified little voice at the back of her mind was screaming at her that if she left now she would come back to find Xen dead.

Ettei glanced across at them, "You’re achieving nothing by staying here, Commander."

"Your point being?" Kaz snapped. She would not abandon yet another member of her squadron.

"My point being that your time would be better spent getting out from under my feet, letting me do my job and going to your debrief!"

"To tell Notrahw what? That the Black Knights have been all but wiped out again?"

"Kaz..." Lainy warned.

Ettei looked at her for a moment, "It wasn’t your fault."

No, it was Palpatine’s fault. Palpatine and his infernal drive for domination! "I don’t need psychoanalysed, thank you, Doctor."

"And if I order you to leave...." Soosaan pressed.

"You’ll have to throw me in the cells."

"Well, that would achieve a lot!" Lainy stated.

Then realised she’d overstepped the mark as Kaz turned slowly, giving her a look that would have frozen carbon. Anger brushed the surface. Goddess, but she hated it when Kaz got into this sort of mood - so damned high and mighty... there was no point trying to reason with her. She threw up her hands in disgust, "Fine, Commander, have it your way!" She turned, marching to the door, walking into the corridor as it opened.

Damn it, what the hells was she supposed to tell Notrahw? I’m terribly sorry Vice-Admiral, Sir, but Commander Hawkspar is making a pest of herself in med bay and refuses to leave even on your sort-of-direct orders? Sure, that would go down really well! Then she made a small sound of irate disgust. Knowing Kaz, she’d probably get away with it… While I’m the one who takes the full brunt of Notrahw’s displeasure!

She stormed down the corridor towards the repulsorlift. Not this time! She’d had it! She was fed up looking after Kaz Hawkspar’s butt! Let her dig herself out of her own mire this time! And if anyone went looking for Lieutenant Commander Lainy Kal’Ten, they’d find her in her quarters getting herself well and truly smashed on a bottle of Sullustan Glid wine!

~ * ~

The door sliced closed behind Kal’Ten. Kaz stood for a moment, glaring at it. Then she sighed, closing her eyes, the anger evaporating into regret. Suddenly she was terribly, terribly tired… The events of the day began catching up with her, the fury no longer there to keep the grief and despondency at bay. The squadron gone, the freighter gone, all those lives lost… Damn you, Palpatine! She frowned leaning against the wall, rubbing her hands over her face, trying to make the weariness disappear... Lainy, I’m sorry… Wrong place, wrong time, my friend.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned, looking at Soosaan. "Are you okay?" Ettei asked.

"I will be," Kaz assured the Doctor, then pushed herself away from the wall, continuing, "Once I’ve seen Notrahw." And once I’ve apologised to Lainy. She gave Ettei a tired smile, "I’ll get out from under your feet and let you do your job." Glancing at the Bacta tank she opened her mouth to continue.

But Soosaan was already pushing her gently towards the door, "Go to your debrief. Xen will be fine, if there’s any change I’ll let you know."

Kaz nodded, turning towards the door, breaking into a run as she reached the corridor, hoping that she could catch up with Lainy and trying to recall, for the debrief, exactly what had happened during the Richlo’s rescue attempt. Simple - the Corvette had turned out to be a Star Destroyer with more TIE fighters than it had any right to carry. But the Imperials had counter-attacked almost as if they had known exactly what the Knights had planned. Which was impossible… She hadn’t decided what they would do until she’d seen the Star Destroyer. She stepped into the repulsorlift, ordering, "Hangar deck."

There had been plenty of time for the Destroyer to launch the other TIEs before Omega had reached the Richlo’s Rest. And yet they had held back, waiting until the squadron was split, waiting until the squadron was committed before deploying the rest of the TIEs… She’d been flying against the Empire since the inception of the Alliance – hells her first fighter training had been with the Navy – and in her experience the Imperials always launched everything at the first sign of trouble… Except when they thought they were invincible.

She replayed the scene in her mind. The TIEs still attacking the Richlo had deliberately continued to damage the freighter, ignoring the oncoming fighters. There was no almost-as-if about it, she decided suddenly. The Imperials had known exactly what the X-wings would do… But how?

And what sort of modifications had they done to the Destroyer in order for it to carry more than one squadron? Her stomach knotted as it suddenly occurred to her that this might be a new Imperial operating practice – Star Destroyers equipped with three squadrons of TIEs. The Rebel Alliance was only just holding its own – there was no way they had the firepower to cope with this possible turn of events…

Unless it had been a plan to get the Home Two… But that didn’t explain the extra TIEs. And the Empire wouldn’t have chanced a single Destroyer to something like that. There would have been at least two… Unless the Star Destroyer’s commanding officer had simply seen an opportunity and decided to exploit it?

But then what had happened to the Corvette? She sighed. This was going to be a long, drawn-out debrief.

~ * ~

The person behind him must have come from the medical room. It was unlikely to be one of the medi-staff, with someone in so critical a condition. That could only mean one of the pilots. This could cause problems if he was seen going into the hangar. After all, who else but a pilot, or one of the engineering crew would go there?

That had to be the answer, one of the tech crew. All he had to do was speed up and catch one of the tech crew, take their uniform and stroll in. He increased his pace, still taking care to stay quiet. There was one problem, there were no tech personnel about. Then he realised the flaw in his plan. The tech crews would all be in the hangar already, rebuilding the remaining X-wings.

He was approaching the doors. Time was running out. While he had been thinking, his pace had slowed, allowing the pilot behind to catch up. He reached the hangar bay door, and pushed the panel. The door opened with a whoosh, and allowed all the associated noise of engineering work to assault his senses. He stepped inside, counting on the workload of the crews to keep their attention from him.

~ * ~

Lainy sighed in disgust as she realised she had inadvertently gone to the hangar deck after all, and not to the bottle of Glid wine. Muttering under her breath she decided to get it over and done with, stomping along the corridor towards Vice-Admiral Notrahw’s office. Damn it, Kaz, you owe me big time for this one!

Deep in thought about what exactly she was going to tell Notrahw, she saw a black clad figure out of the corner of her eye as she walked past a connecting corridor. Initially she dismissed it. Then she stopped, turning slowly. Black uniform?

She flipped her leg holster open, drawing out the blaster as she walked back towards the corridor. She turned the corner, blaster ready in her hand. The corridor was empty but the side door was hissing closed. An ominous, bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and she sprinted towards the door.

Kaz walked out the lift just in time to see Lainy disappear round the corner. She hesitated then decided that she had definitely seen Lainy holding a blaster. Wondering what sort of practical joke her Second was trying to pull this time, knowing that Flight Enilra would probably hit the roof again, she broke into a run. "Lainy," she shouted, going after her, "Wait up!"

Lainy heard Kaz yell something at her but the hangar door was opening. And there, in front of her, was a TIE pilot walking boldly across the floor towards where Omega’s ground crews were working on the T-65s. Lainy brought the blaster to bear yelling, "Stop! Stop where you are!"

The Imperial halted, lifting his hands as if in supplication. All work in the hangar stopped, engineers turning as they heard the order. Iayn Lauran - Lainy’s Chief Engineer - stood up, his expression flowing swiftly from surprise to anger as he saw the Imperial officer. Aryes Drayke slid quickly off the top of the S-foil where he was working, rolling beneath the fuselage of Hawkspar’s fighter to the other side. He scrambled to his feet, taking a step towards the TIE pilot.

"Turn round!" Lainy ordered, "Slowly!"

The voice that had challenged him… somehow familiar… Martellon decided to take the initiative, and turned, smiling. They were always daunted by his smiles.

He instantly recognised Lainy Kal’Ten, a face from his past. He had thought he would never see her again… But now was not the time for distractions! He had to make good his escape. Still smiling, he started to back slowly towards the lone A-wing he had spotted on his way in.

Lainy frowned. Then recognition shocked through her, paralysing her. She swallowed, her aim wavering slightly, "Morrit?" His smile chilled her suddenly, smothering her and then, almost from nowhere, a blaster appeared in his hand. She blinked, looking at it uncomprehendingly... "Morrit?"

Ary saw one of his techs moving and reached out, stopping him, pushing him back against Kaz’s fighter. He watched the Imperial inch back towards the ship, glancing across at Kal’Ten. Then did a double take as he saw that she had dropped her aim! What was she thinking about? He took a step towards her. What the hells was she thinking about? He looked back at the Imperial trying to gauge whether or not he could get to the pilot before he fired on Kal’Ten…

He was almost there. Just a few more steps and he would be at the ship. And Lainy continued to stand at the hangar bay door, apparently confused about what and who she was seeing. And then the other Rebel appeared at Kal’Ten’s side.

Kaz reached Kal’Ten, skidding to a stop. She saw the blaster in the Imperial pilot’s hand as he backed slowly away, saw the malignant grin on his face and understood, in that instant, what he was going to do. She started to move, pushing Lainy sideways, knocking her into the doorframe - out of the line of fire. The Imperial pilot squeezed the trigger. The blast pushed Hawkspar backwards, lifting her off her feet, sending her slamming into the far wall to sprawl on the floor.

Lainy hit the door and snapped back into reality, firing at Morrit. She saw Iayn and Kaz’s Chief, Ary, were already moving, racing towards the Imperial. The pilot turned, still smirking and took aim. The first charge hit Ary high in the chest, spinning him backward onto the hangar floor as Lainy’s shot flew harmlessly over Morrit’s head, hitting the far hangar wall. The engineers leapt for cover. Morrit’s next charge brushed the sleeve of Iayn’s shirt as he dropped to the floor. He rolled, springing back onto his feet. Inexplicably, Lainy lost grip of the blaster, diving after it as it landed on the hangar floor, the door closing behind her.

Martellon moved, so quickly that Iayn had no time to react and suddenly found himself with his arm twisted up his back and a blaster resting lightly against his ear. Lainy pushed herself to her feet as the Flight shouted a warning, everyone else in the hangar freezing again.

"So it’s a stand-off, Kal’Ten," purred Martellon, hauling the tech’s arm higher up his back. The man grunted in pain – only emphasising the power that Martellon knew he held over everyone in this room. He kept his attention on Kal’Ten, blatantly ignoring the rest, singling her out. He was interested only in her.

She seemed to hesitate before replying. "Let him go, Morrit! There’s no need..."

"I know," he interrupted, "you weaklings always let someone with a hostage go. It’s imprinted into your weak little brains." The pure loathing in his voice was almost palpable. The cold hatred made even Iayn shiver in his grasp. The movement brought more pain as the Imperial dug his blaster harder against his ear.

"So what brought you to this pathetic collection of no good weaklings?" Martellon asked.

Anger and hatred burned away everything. Losing all sense of the danger they were in, instinct kicked in and Lainy reacted in the only way she knew. She challenged him. "I couldn’t wait to be rid of you," she answered, venom in her voice. "You were always hanging around too much. What was the deal with you anyway?"

"Ah," Martellon replied in his cold tone, "so you try to bait me…" Even the way he spoke seemed an insult. "It won’t work. I am far above that now. I have grown in ways that you will never know. Your little girl’s mood swings won’t work now."

Little girl? Little girl? Better men than you have died today, little boy! A slow smile began to pull at the corners of her mouth. Fine, let’s swing the mood and play it your way, shall we? "What makes you so sure that I can’t grow your way?" she asked, taking a step towards him. "I could learn to be as cold and cruel as you. I could learn to be twisted and hateful." Yeah, I don’t think.

Martellon continued on his halted backward progress towards the ship, dragging the unfortunate tech with him. "I have learned things which you never could," he told her, "fought things that you could never imagine!"

Kal’Ten was suddenly tired of Morrit’s bravado and posturing. Iayn was obviously in pain but trying not to show it. Kaz’s Chief was moaning softly where he lay on the floor. She slipped the blaster back into her holster, holding her hands up, "Just let him go, and get on your way. We don’t want you here any more, you’ve caused enough damage for one day." She had a brief, unexpected flash of insight, finishing, "Just get out of my sight. Get out of my life."

The barb hit home, although he would never entirely understand why. Martellon continued to back away, still holding the tech in his grasp. He knew he was approaching the A-wing by now, but also knew that although he had been ignoring the rest of the personnel in the hangar, they were far from ignoring him. He had to do something unexpected to distract them, and make good his escape. He found his answer in the engineer lying wounded on the floor, "Speaking of damage, you may want to remind yourself of the pilot you’ve left dying behind you in the corridor. And the man over here bleeding to death. Not to mention this poor unfortunate…" To emphasise the point he turned Iayn slightly. There was an audible crunch as Iayn’s elbow and shoulder gave way to the pressure of Martellon’s grip. The Chief screamed, his face going deathly pale.

Just then, as their minds all turned towards the injured people, he thrust Iayn forward, pushing him hard and propelling him quite far forwards. Then he let off a shot from his blaster, striking the tech in the back. Iayn fell forwards, unconscious. Martellon turned and made straight towards the single A-wing that was nearest to him, climbing quickly to the cockpit and dropping inside. As soon as he hit the seat, he pulled the lever to close the hatch.

~ * ~

Lainy stood unmoving for a stunned moment as Iayn crumpled to the hangar floor and Morrit headed for an A-wing. Then Enilra moved, breaking the spell, running towards Ary and Iayn. The Deck Officer also moved, slamming the emergency button, calling for help as a klaxon beginning to wail through the ship. She turned back, seeing two techs starting after Morrit obviously trying to head him off. "No!" she yelled, "Let him go!"

But they didn’t hear her, or ignored her, making it to the A-wing as the canopy locked forward, the engines already beginning to spool up. She swore in disgust, running for the nearest grav sled, dropping it to the floor and pushing the equipment off. Behind her one of the other engineers began to do the same thing.

Kal’Ten was already out of the door, dropping to her knees beside Hawkspar, panic tearing at her. But Kaz was still conscious – barely. Her face was ashen, breath coming in quick, painful gasps. Blood seeped from the front of her ruined flight suit. She turned her head slightly, looking at Lainy, opening her mouth to speak. But the word choked into a moan.

"Shut up!" Lainy told her, "The medics will be here soon."

Kaz shook her head, trying to say some thing else. Lainy took her hand, feeling the skin cold and clammy to her touch, "For once in your life will you do as you’re told and shut up!" Kaz gave her a weak smile, squeezing her hand. Then the breath caught in her throat again as another wave of pain tore through her. Her head lolled to the side, eyes sliding closed. Lainy swore, taking hold of Hawkspar’s face in her hands, "Kaz! Kaz! Come on, stay with me here! Kaz!"

Hawkspar’s eyes fluttered open. Lainy grinned at her, "Okay, Revered Leader, let’s stay awake shall we! I don’t want you haunting me just yet!"

Behind her, the door opened and the Flight dropped to the floor at her side, "They’re bringing a grav sled round…" Lori ran her gaze across the blast wound, noting the blood starting to pool beneath Hawkspar’s shoulder, "Goddess, Commander, you’re a mess."

Hawkspar looked at her, breathing, "Thanks…" Then she moaned again, body going rigid against agony that flared across her nerves from the chest wound. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribs in unison with the pain. The blood rushed in her ears, drawing her away from the quiet, urgent voice that was calling her name again and again from an incredible distance. Darkness nudged at the edge of her consciousness. She tried to fight against it, wanting to hold onto that quiet voice, aware that it was trying to draw her back. But she was tired, so terribly, terribly tired. The darkness pushed further in, far stronger than she was, promising release. And suddenly all she wanted was peace and silence… Just for a little while…

She let go of the voice and the agony, dropping gently down into emptiness.

"Kaz!" Lainy snapped as her friend’s eyes flickered, "Stay with me! Damn it, stay with me!"

The engineers rushed into the corridor with the gravsled, setting it down behind Kal’Ten and Enilra. Lainy moved, taking hold of Kaz’s shoulders as the Flight took hold of her legs. As carefully as they could they lifted her onto the sled then ran with her down the corridor towards the repulsor lift.

~ * ~

Soosaan dropped into step beside the sled as the first group of engineers pushed Iayn through the door. They had laid him on his side. She pushed a mediscanner against his neck noting the blast wound on his back and the odd angle at which his arm was lying. The readout blinked at her, detailing the injuries and she swore softly, hearing the door open again behind her as the next casualty was brought in. "Cubicle three!" she ordered and turned to the next sled.

Another engineer with a blast wound! "What the hells were you doing?" she demanded of the sled bearers, pressing the scanner against the Chief’s neck.

"An Imperial escaped. They tried to stop him."

Soosaan nodded her mind already running through the possible damage that one person could cause with only one blaster. Stopping she ordered, "Take him to cubicle five. How many more?"

"Just the Commander, I think," the young man told her, as he and his companion guided the sled down the corridor.

"Commander?" Ettei asked him.

But the door opened again, answering the question as Flight Enilra and Lainy Kal’Ten rushed in with an orange-clad pilot. Hawkspar? Soosaan ran towards them, checking the data readout as she pressed the mediscanner to Kaz’s neck. The flight suit had dissipated most of the heat from the blast but she was losing a lot of blood. However, of the three of them the first casualty was probably the worst – blast wound coupled with a dislocated shoulder and possible shattered elbow. "Cubicle four!" she told the Flight then raced off down the corridor towards three. The engineers were already leaving, passing her in the corridor. One of the droids had already cut along the Chief’s sleeve and the back of his shirt and was carefully removing what it could of the cloth as a second droid administered a shot of a clear, amber-tinted liquid.

"Damage?" Soosaan asked.

"Fourth degree blast area radiating across the left scapula with elongated blast wound open to the bone, bone density beneath the wound reduced by six percent," the droid with the hypodermic told her. "The right shoulder and elbow joints are dislocated. There is a hairline fracture of the right humerus. Rehydration packs have been applied and fluid levels are rising."

~ * ~

Lainy hovered behind the droids as one of them cut away Kaz’s flight-suit, another checking the datascreen. "How is she?" she asked.

"Blast wound to the sternum," the droid told her. "Second degree blast area confined to the region immediately around the wound. There does not appear to be any damage to the bone however data indicates a possible fracture of the skull."

Kal’Ten went pale. Lori grabbed her by the arm, dragging her towards the door, "Lainy, leave them!"

Kal’Ten shot the Flight a look of venom, but Lori held on, standing her ground, "All you’re doing is frightening yourself!" she accused, "Let them do their work! We can wait outside." She pulled on the pilot’s jacket sleeve, "Come on…"

Lainy started to shrug her off, then saw the hypodermic that the droids had just produced and admitted to herself that it would probably be best if she did leave. Eyes never leaving Kaz she allowed herself to be drawn from the cubicle, out into the corridor. The door closed, shutting off the scene. Lainy stood for a moment, looking at the closed door then turned and began to pace the corridor.

Lori Enilra leant against the wall, arms folded across her chest, dangerously calm compared to Kal’Ten’s tense restlessness. All but three of her fighters had been destroyed: one of those remaining fighters so badly damaged that it was almost irreparable… And now two of her engineers were lying in here with blast wounds... as was Commander Hawkspar. She had no idea what had happened, but someone had messed up and she was going to make damned sure that they paid. She closed her eyes, dropping her head back against the wall, seeing the black-clad pilot once again standing in the middle of the hangar as Kal’Ten challenged him, his face emotionless. And then it had changed to that cold, evil smirk.

Kal’Ten’s sudden cry of frustration jerked Lori’s eyes open and she looked round to see the pilot sliding down the wall to the floor, head in her hands. She dropped to her knees beside her, "Lainy? You okay?" But there were footsteps in the corridor behind them and Vice-Admiral Notrahw’s voice cut off any reply.

"Flight? What the hells is going on here?"

Enilra jerked to her feet, turning round as Kal’Ten pushed herself wearily from the floor. "Sir, I…" the Flight began.

But Lainy answered, "One of the Imperial pilot’s we rescued escaped."

"Chiefs Lauran and Drayke have been wounded," Lori continued, "as has Commander Hawkspar … The Doctor’s with them now, Sir."

Daav Notrahw regarded them both, recognising that Kal’Ten was very near breaking point and unable to miss the cold anger in Enilra’s eyes. "Are either of you hurt?" he asked.

"No, Sir."

"No, Sir."

Daav nodded then told them gently, "I need both of you in debrief now."

"Sir…" Kal’Ten protested but he ignored her, turning to the aide at his side, "Maggs, take the Lieutenant Commander and the Flight to my office. Get them some kaffin and something to eat."

She nodded, "Yes, Sir."

"Sir…" Kal’Ten tried again - and again he ignored her.

"Ladies?" he began, looking back at the two Omega personnel, "Go with Lieutenant Ronnoc here." He locked his gaze with Kal’Ten, "That’s an order Lieutenant Commander!"

For a moment he thought she was going to refuse. Then she visibly, if ungraciously, wilted and stormed past him along the corridor towards the door. Enilra followed her silently. He caught the Flight’s arm as she passed. Addressing both her and Ronnoc he ordered quietly, "Make sure Knight Two doesn’t do anything stupid."

They both nodded, "Understood."

~ * ~

Soosaan swore as a monitor trilled at her. Then an alarm stabbed across the room. Iayn’s heart lurched to a stop. Gods, boy, if it’s not one thing… The droids were already responding and she stood back as the engineer’s body jerked on the table. But the alarm stubbornly continued to ring. She stepped back in, beginning to push on his chest, trying to keep the blood circulating, willing his heart to start beating again, pausing as a droid pushed air into his lungs.

Then they were ready again and she moved back. His body jerked. The alarm wavered then continued to whine. Soosaan swore, starting to shove on his chest again, refusing to acknowledge for the moment that they were fighting a losing battle. Until they got him stabilised there was nothing they could do… The trauma of trying to fit a heart regulator now would kill him and there was only so much that Bacta could heal. Damn it…

They tried a third time without response. Then a fourth…

Soosaan pounded on his chest as the droids readied themselves for a fifth attempt. Then she stepped back. His body jerked. And the alarm continued to wail. She closed her eyes for a moment then slowly reached over, switching the monitor off. "There’s nothing more we can do," she said, more to herself than to the droids, "Note the time of death and I’ll check the log later."

She turned, not hearing their reply, walking out into the corridor, heading for the next cubicle.

"Doctor?"

Stopping, she looked round at the Admiral, "Sorry, Sir, I don’t have time. I’ll let you know as soon as I can."

Notrawh took a step towards her, "Doctor!"

Her eyes narrowed and she stepped up to meet him, "We have one dead already, Admiral!" she told him bluntly. "If you don’t let me do my job we’ll have more than that!" She spun on her heel, storming the few feet along the corridor and disappearing into another cubicle.

Notrawh stood, stunned. Then he turned slowly and walked towards the doors. Another death, this time on his own ship, the one place that his crew should feel safe. Anger seeped in. How the hells had this happened? All the Deck Officer had been able to tell him was that an Imperial pilot had escaped and that two Chiefs were injured. Then he’d arrived to find the Commander also injured…

Suddenly he remembered Soosan’s words and realised that he had no idea which one of the three hadn’t made it. And right now Kal’Ten and Enilra were waiting for him in his office… What the hells was he going to tell them?

The doors to the medical bays opened at his approach, the corridor lying empty beyond. He hesitated, closing his eyes briefly and pulling himself together.

Nothing. He was going to tell them nothing. This was simply going to be a debrief… until he heard more from Soosaan.

~ * ~

"Damage?" the Doctor asked, moving along the side of the bed. They had cut away most of the shirt and were gently trying to deal with the fabric they had left around the wound area.

"Fourth degree blast area radiating across the right clavicle, fourth degree blast wound open to the bone. Bone density in that area down by ten percent. No further injuries apparent. Rehydration packs applied, fluid levels rising."

Ary moaned, his eyes flickering open.

"Chief? Chief, can you hear me?" Soosaan demanded.

He looked at her, expression showing his confusion, then told her, "Yes…" The word choked into a scream as the droid touched the wound.

"What’s he been given for the pain?" she asked.

"Nothing has been administered…"

She grabbed for a hypodermic, sticking it into a bottle and drawing the clear, amber fluid through the needle. Then she turned back to Ary. He was still conscious, and she could see the terror in his eyes. "You’re going to be fine, Chief," she assured him. "This will help with the pain, but it will take a few moments to kick in."

She pushed the painkiller into his vein. Slowly, the clenched fists relaxed, his breathing becoming more even. She glanced across at the data panel, smiling quickly at the readouts. "Bring two units of Bacta gel," she told one of the droids, then turned back to the Chief, "Once that wound has been cleaned out, we’ll get some gel onto it. You should be out of here by tomorrow with any luck."

He nodded, then asked, "The Commander?"

"I’m just going to see her. How’s the pain?"

"Better."

"Good. It’s going to be uncomfortable trying to clean the wound, but it shouldn’t be too bad." She turned to the other droid, "Let me know when the gel’s been put on and I’ll check in on him again."

She walked out of the cubicle, crossing the corridor to where Hawkspar was being dealt with. They had cut away the top of her flight suit and were trying to clean the blast wound. "Damage?" Soosaan asked.

"Open blast wound to the sternum," the droid told her. "Second degree blast area confined to the region immediately around the wound. There does not appear to be any damage to the bone, however data indicates a possible fracture of the skull…"

"Has she been conscious?"

"No, Ma’am."

Soosaan glanced across at the data panel, happy with the readings it showed her. "Okay, let’s get the head injury verified and bring me one unit of Bacta gel!"

~ * ~