Omega Sqadron Black Knights
Chapter 13

As the wounded flooded into the medical section, Soosaan gave each patient a cursory examination. The droids checked names against medical records and allocated bays. Finally Soosaan turned, wearily stretching her spine and shaking her head at the crowded rooms. Threebeefive appeared at her side and handed her a ration bar.

"You have had no sustenance in the last four hours, Doctor."

Soosaan looked at the droid in horror then glanced across at the chronometer, "How long have we been at this?"

"Two hours," Threebeefive supplied.

That explained why she was so damned tired. Was it only this morning that they had shipped these people to the Regimen Hope… And what had happened to force their return to the Home Two? She ripped the wrapper open and started chewing on the bar. It had been a long day and she had a suspicion that it was going to be an even longer night. She turned back to the droid, "Threebeefive, go over the supplies list again. Break it down into what we desperately need and what we urgently need. And let me know how long before we run out of Bacta. There are two boys down there who are going to need to go into tanks if their condition deteriorates any more."

"Yes, Doctor."

She sighed, then as the droid turned away added, "And ask Veefourdee to find me a cup of kaffin, please…"

"Yes, Doctor."

~ * ~

Kaz forced herself to sit down at the observation window and not to pace the floor. In the hangar below the engineers swarmed over her fighter and the Rogue Squadron ships. Wedge, Alissha and Vaziilyi were in the bar. And if the rest of the Knights hadn’t still been out, they would have been with them, drowning their sorrows. But Lainy and the others were still out. And as the minutes dragged towards yet another hour, Kaz was beginning to find it difficult to stop the pessimistic thoughts getting blacker and blacker… What if… what if… what if…

She hated this waiting. It was one of the reasons she had consistently turned down every desk job the Alliance had offered her. Sitting, waiting for the squadron to return, she had found, was more stressful than flying a mission. At least going up against TIEs she had some control over the situation, didn’t have time to think in-depth about things, didn’t have time to let all these damned what-ifs get to her….

"Boss?"

Kaz jumped. Lost in her thoughts she hadn’t heard Xen walking down the corridor. Edraa quirked an eyebrow, giving her a hard stare and asking, "Guilty conscience?"

"Now why would I have a guilty conscience?" Hawkspar countered.

Xen shrugged, "Oh, I don’t know…" Then she grinned innocently, "Maybe something to do with a certain dark-haired Commander who’s just drunk himself unconscious?"

Kaz frowned, shaking her head, her sympathy going out to all three of the Rogue pilots. She knew how they felt. She had been through it herself. Was there any pilot in the Alliance who hadn’t? She sighed, looking up at Edraa, "Are we going to need to pour them into bed?"

"That’s a major affirm!" Xen told her, with a smile. Then the frivolity faded, "But it’ll have to wait. Notrahw wants to see you. Something to do with running new recruits past you."

Kaz glanced into the empty hangar. The meeting with Notrahw would fill the time. But she wanted to be here; wanted to see the Black Knights flying into the hanger; wanted to count them all back in.

"Oh," Xen had continued, "the scuttlebutt is that Antilles and the others dropped out of hyperspace and got jumped by a squadron of TIEs."

The information shocked Kaz back to her senses and she pushed away the self-indulgent wishes of before. "Any idea where?" she asked pushing herself to her feet.

Xen shook her head, "The Valiant and the Austen Marke’s crews are staying tight-lipped."

Kaz turned, looking down at the Rogue X-wings. What the hells happened, Wedge?

"I’ll wait for them," Xen told her, as if reading her thoughts. "I’ll warn them. And if you’re not back I’ll get Lainy and Shei to help with Antilles and the other two."

Kaz looked back at her and nodded, "Okay. Get them into debrief as soon as they land. Briefing room three. And warn them to get some rest. We’ll start in the simulators tomorrow. Early."

"Not a problem, Boss."

Kaz nodded again then turned, walking along the corridor towards the repulsor lift. Xen stood for a moment watching her. Then she sat at the observation window, looking down into the hangar.

~ * ~

Goose mewled at her, warning her that they were approaching the drop-out co-ordinates. Lainy grinned, "Got that! Start running sensor sweeps the moment we drop into normal space." The little droid burbled assent and Lainy started running through the checklist.

In the rescue shuttle, an alarm chimed, warning Catterin Poom-Bar that they were closing on the dropout point. She inspected the pressure bandage on the young woman one more time then turned to walk forward towards the flight deck.

"Ma’am?"

Catterin stopped, turning back towards the youngster with the leg wound. His face was pale, the terror in his eyes bringing out the maternal instinct, almost making her want to gather him into her arms and cradle him, telling him that things would be alright. He took a deep breath, but his voice still trembled as he asked, "What’s happening?"

Catterin turned her most brilliantly reassuring smile on him, "Absolutely nothing for you to worry about. We’re almost at the Home Two. Now, just sit back and enjoy the ride, okay?"

He nodded unconvincingly. Catterin forced herself to turn away from him, to walk towards the flight deck. The boy was terrified. To smother him with reassurances now would only break him. But, Fates, he was so young! Taking a deep breath, she continued walking forward, slipping into the pilot’s seat and checking the data on the screen.

Two minutes…

~ * ~

Maggs Ronnoc looked at the data on screen, wondering how she was going to tell the Council what had happened. The Regimen Hope had been destroyed. It was incomprehensible… But it had happened. Most of the medical personnel had been droids… but that still left nearly two hundred crew dead. And Gods knew how many more had been on board the medical frigate…

The console bleated at her, pulling her from her thoughts. She pressed the com switch, "Lieutenant Ronnoc."

"Lieutenant," the Bridge coms officer told her, "we have the secure line you asked for. Admiral Dere is standing by."

"Thank you."

"Switching through now…" the disembodied voice continued. "Admiral Dere, Home Two, go ahead."

On Magg’s desk a small holographic projection of Admiral Larsa Dere, seated at her own desk on the Home One, crackled into existence. The image was fuzzed and unstable, the result of the scrambling devices that both Mon Cal cruisers were using. The azure-skinned, silver-haired woman smiled, "Lieutenant Ronnoc, what news?"

Maggs opened her mouth, then closed it. Then she took a deep breath and began, "Admiral, the Regimen Hope has been destroyed."

The image of Dere looked at her. For a moment there was only the buzz of static from the holographic image. Then Dere, voice softly incredulous, asked, "What…? How?"

"An Imperial attack, Ma’am. When Rogue squadron dropped into normal space, a squadron of TIE fighters were regrouping towards a Star Destroyer. The readings from the T-65 sensor displays show hotspots that indicate that the Hope had only just been destroyed. Rogue were attacked almost immediately, so were unable to search for any life-signs. The Valiant Heart and the Austen Marke returned safely to the Home Two, but one of the Rogue pilots was lost."

"I see…" Dere said, softly.

"There’s more, Ma’am. One of the freighters due to rendezvous with the Home Two, the Coral Brekin, was delayed because their supply ship had been destroyed. Omega squadron are out searching for survivors now."

Dere said nothing for a moment, steepling her long, three fingered hands against her chin. Finally she asked, "What supplies were lost?"

"Medical, mainly, as far as we can tell. I haven’t yet had a chance to talk with the Doctor, but with the Richlo survivors back on board, we could be running short of medical provisions very soon."

Again there was a long pause as the Admiral ran the ramifications of what Ronnoc had just told her through in her mind. Finally she dropped her hands onto her lap, "Inform Vice-Admiral Notrahw that alternative supplies will be arranged. Send the data from the T-65s through the usual channels, but mark it Priority One."

"Yes, Ma’am."

"Which Rogue was lost?"

Maggs looked down at one of the data pads on her desk, "Paco Sh’Arvah."

"I will inform personnel for you," Dere offered. "Please pass our condolences to Commander Antilles and the rest of the squadron."

Maggs nodded, "I will, Ma’am."

"Alternative arrangements will be made as soon as possible for them. And for the survivors from the Richlo’s Rest." She paused for a moment. "Your colleague, Major Anders, should be with you shortly."

"She’s coming here?" Maggs frowned, the news disquieting her even more.

Dere nodded, "On a matter of some importance."

Maggs quirked an eyebrow, wondering what was so important that the woman in charge of the Alliance Intelligence Section had entrusted the matter to no-one else… "Understood, Ma’am."

"Very well. I will contact the Vice-Admiral as soon I have news of either new supplies or arrangements for the Richlo survivors. Force be with thee, Lieutenant."

"And you, Admiral."

The holographic image jumped out of focus, sizzled for a moment, then faded. Maggs Ronnoc looked at the blank space the image had occupied. So Elhen Anders was coming to the Home Two? Why did she suddenly have such a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about that?

~ * ~

Shei Redav trilled softly to calm her nerves and braced herself for the transition into normal space. She knew that the gravitational dampers on the X-wing were just as good as those in her beloved A-wing, but deceleration from hyperspace in a T-65 always left her with an unpleasant queasiness that she had never experienced in an A-wing. The crystalline tunnel of the hyperspace corridor shattered into the black, starlit backdrop of normal space. And there ahead of her was Lainy’s fighter. And ahead of that was the blue-white bulk of the Mon Calamari cruiser. And there, in the pit of her stomach, was that sickening little lurch.

Lieutenant Kal’Ten’s voice crackled in her earpiece, "All wings, report in!"

Lainy listened intently, already setting up the approach vectors as the rest of the squadron replied one by one. She grinned as Poom-Bar, the last to answer, checked in. They were all here and safe. She toggled the com switch, "Home Two, Home Two, this is Knight Three, do you copy?"

"Knight Three, Home Two. Go ahead."

"We have four survivors. I say again, we have four survivors. Requesting docking instructions?"

"Roger, that, Knight Three. Route direct to the hangar. A medical crew is on the way."

"Copied, Home Two, routing direct to the hangar." She paused for a moment, then asked, "Did Commander Hawkspar follow us out?"

"Negative, Knight Three. Both the Commander and Knight Two are still here."

"Copied, Home Two. Okay, people, you heard the man… Set up the approach and follow me in."

In the hangar a warning klaxon warbled into existence. Enilra was already turning as the Deck Officer ran across the hangar towards her. "Flight! Omega’s inbound!" The engineering crews burst into action.

In the observation deck above, Xen pushed herself to her feet and headed for the repulsorlift. Here it was then. The time that she had been dreading since Kaz first told her that Emaar was joining the squadron. And now, in the face of it, all the bravado of before had drained away, all the words she had rehearsed in her head had vanished. Would she even recognise her?

The lift doors opened and she stepped inside. Stop it! Pull yourself together! You are Second in Command of Omega Squadron!

Yeah, she thought wryly. And if she said it to herself often enough she might just fool herself into finding some of the authority the title implied…

All too soon the lift had stopped, the doors opening. She forced one foot in front of the other… and the second step wasn’t as difficult as the first. She pulled her uniform straight, pushed an errant curl behind her ear and drew herself as tall as she could. Then, purposefully, she walked towards the hangar entrance.

~ * ~

The Priestess smiled at the young couple as they walked through the door towards her, their three witnesses following them. They did not follow her religion, but these were unusual times. And there had been no-one else at the base who could legitimately marry them. So when they had tentatively asked her, she had whole-heartedly agreed.

She gave them both a wide smile as they stopped in front of her, the witnesses standing three paces behind them. "Ready?" she asked, gently.

They looked at each other and nodded, tears bright in the young woman’s eyes, the grin on the young man’s face telling her everything she needed to know.

"We six are gathered here," the Priestess began, "to see these two become one, joining together in marriage." She looked past the couple to the witnesses, "Do any of thee know of any reason why this marriage should be disallowed."

All three shook their heads, remaining silent. Shara turned her attention back to the young couple, "Look deep into thy hearts and say truly, do thee know of any reason why these vows should not be taken?"

Triona shook her head, glancing at Daav who was also shaking his head. Shara smiled again, "Then this marriage may proceed." She looked at Triona, "What do thee bring to this union, Childe?"

"I bring my family name, Elyob, that all may know I have joined with this man."

Shara turned to Daav, "Do thee accept this name, Childe?"

"I accept the family name of Elyob, that all may know I have joined with this woman."

"And what do thee bring to this union, Childe?" she asked him.

Daav pushed his hand into his suit pocket, pulling out a silven marriage bracelet set with dimon, saff and rube stones that glittered brightly in the light of the room. Shara heard the young woman’s intake of breath and was pleased that this Little One had kept the token secret from his beloved. He handed it to Shara, telling her, "I bring this marriage bracelet, that all who see it may know that I have joined with this woman."

"Do thee accept this bracelet, Childe?"

"I…" Tears coursed down the young woman’s cheeks, "I accept this bracelet..." She turned to look at her husband, "…that all who see it may know that I have joined with this man."

Shara stepped forward, securing the bracelet around Triona’s wrist. Then she took their hands, "A name offered and accepted. A gift offered and accepted." She placed Triona’s hand on top of Daav’s. "Let all here know that Daav and Triona Elyob have joined in marriage, the vows they have taken binding them for eternity."

She stepped back and grinned, "If you wish, Mister Elyob, you may kiss your bride."

~ * ~

Notrahw’s outer office was empty, the inner door lying open. Kaz walked passed Maggs’ desk, knocking softly on the inner doorframe. Daav looked up from the data pads, "Kaz, come in. I’ll be with you in a moment. Take a seat."

She moved across to the desk, sitting down in the seat opposite, looking past him to the stars beyond. Tiny specks were moving towards the Home Two. Kaz pushed herself back to her feet, tension tweaking at her stomach as she watched the ships move closer. Daav looked up at the movement, turning in his chair to follow her gaze. Then he turned back, smiling, "Looks like your pilots made it back safely."

Kaz returned his smile, admitting, "I was getting worried."

Notrahw’s smile faded, his light-hearted mood vanishing. "I think we all have reason to be."

Kaz sank back into the seat and waited for him to continue. "Rogue were attacked at their final drop point," he began. "A squadron of TIEs was just leaving the area, regrouping towards a waiting Star Destroyer. They had just attacked the Regimen Hope... completely destroying it."

Stunned, Kaz sat for a moment, then swore vehemently. She looked back at Notrahw, her eyes flashing anger. "Where are they getting their information?"

"I wish we knew, Commander…"

"Admiral, I don’t know if this is important or not," Kaz began, "and I didn’t want to mention anything until I had some proof… So far I haven’t been able to check any of the tapes but I’m positive that the distress call we received from the Richlo’s Rest was exactly the same call we took from Rishard Bess when the Troubadour was attacked."

Notrahw sat forward in the seat, arms resting on the desk, "Explain!"

"I didn’t hear the distress call from the Richlo, but the details are almost the same - taking heavy fire from an Imperial Corvette, engines damaged, unable to make the jump to lightspeed… Okay, so the Richlo’s engines had been damaged, but the attacking ship was a Star Destroyer, not a Corvette." She leant towards him, "We know that Imperial ships continually record all frequencies, automatically archiving anything concerning the Alliance. What if the Imperials had jammed the Richlo’s communications, sending out their own fake distress call? It wouldn’t be difficult… All they’d have had to do is find an appropriate call for help from an Alliance ship. Which would explain why the Richlo’s Corvette suddenly became a Star Destroyer."

Notrahw blinked slowly, "What, exactly, are you trying to say, Commander?"

"That the Richlo attack was a trap. Why else would the Star Destroyer be carrying so many TIEs. And they seemed to know our moves before we even made them."

Notrahw leant back in his seat, deep in thought. Hawkspar’s theory was plausible. All they had to do was check the two distress calls… Or ask the two Imperial pilots who had asked for asylum… He pushed one of the data pads across the deck towards her. "Fate, it seems, works to a greater plan. There are two pilots in the detention area," he explained, "survivors of the Richlo attack, who wish to join the Alliance. See if they know anything. Their details are on there."

Kaz picked up the pad, scanning across the data.

"Do you want them for Omega?" Notrahw asked. "Or should I make arrangements to have them transferred?"

Hawkspar looked up at him, "Two of the pilots who helped wipe out the Knights?" She shook her head, giving a small, cold laugh, "Now there’s an irony." Then she gave him a tight, predatory smile, "And if they’re as good in an X-wing as they were in a TIE, then hells yes, I want them!"

~ * ~

Lainy followed the approach lights as they strobed in towards the hangar mouth. Inside, she could see the crews running into position. Grinning, she counted five X-wings… So, even more of their fighters had arrived!

Dismissing the extra T-65’s she turned her attention to the marshaller, easing the fighter gently into the hangar, following the man’s instructions implicitly as he guided her round. The X-wing pirouetted gracefully, and she felt the triple thump as the landing gear locking down. Then with a gentle thud the fighter settled onto the hangar floor. The marshaller crossed his arms above his head and Lainy gave him a thumbs-up, starting to run through the shutdown checks as he rushed across for the next fighter. The engines spooled down and she hit the canopy catch. It clunked forward then slowly hissed open. She pulled the helmet off, running her hands through her hair as she climbed to her feet.

Lainy glanced across at Kaz’s X-wing, frowning slightly as she saw the engines stripped almost bare. She turned to check Xen’s fighter… then recognised the other X-wings. Rogue? And only three…?

Swinging her legs over the side of the fighter, curiosity vying with apprehension, she climbed down the ladder, turning to find the Flight or the Deck Officer. But at the far exit she saw Xen walking into the hangar. Edraa’s whole demeanour as she walked across the hangar towards her, told Lainy that something was most definitely wrong.

Heart in her mouth, thinking the worst, Lainy ran to meet her as the medical droids rolled passed in the other direction, towards Poom-Bar’s rescue shuttle. "Xen? What’s up? What’s happened? Where’s Kaz?"

"Kaz was summoned to Notrahw’s office, or she’d have been here…" Xen saw the relief on Lainy’s face, saw Lainy glance across at Hawkspar’s fighter. "She stressed the engines trying to get back here to warn you about the freighter. The coolant flange blew out as they were refuelling…"

Lainy looked at her, aware that the other Omega pilots had climbed out of their fighters and were walking across towards them. She glanced across at the Rogue X-wings. "What’s going on Xen?" she asked softly.

"Antilles and the others were jumped by a squadron of TIEs. The Valiant Heart and the Austen Marke are in one of the forward hangars…" She paused then continued softly, "Wedge, Alissha and Vaziilyi are drinking themselves to a stupor in the rec area. Paco didn’t make it."

Lainy closed her eyes, shaking her head.

Hobbie and Shei had reached them. Panic curled in Xen’s stomach again when she saw him, having forgotten that he had flown with Rogue until the evacuation of Hoth. But she held herself together, drawing on duty. She was in charge of these people, for the moment. If she let herself down, she let Kaz and Lainy down too.

Calm washed through her, stopping the fluttering in her belly.

Edraa turned to Hobbie, addressing all of the squadron, but talking only to him. "Nothing has been said officially, but from what we can gather, Rogue Squadron were attacked at one of the jump points. The freighters they were escorting made it back here safely. But…" She paused long enough to take a breath, "I’m sorry, Hobbie… Paco was killed."

He looked at her with a calm, numb acceptance she found almost too hard to bear. But she heard herself continue, "Wedge and the others… They’re in the rec area."

He nodded once, saying nothing. Then he walked past her, heading for the corridor. She watched his retreating back for a moment then turned her attention back to the Knights. She looked at them, her gaze resting momentarily on Emaar. Her sister’s hair was longer than she remembered, her face slightly thinner. Emaar started to smile, but Xen’s eyes had already moved on, glancing at Catterin as she walked towards them, the medical droids already pushing the now occupied gurneys towards the exit.

Lainy felt a stab of sadness and a pang of jealousy at the easy way Xen had dropped into the role of Squadron Second. Apart from Shei, Xen was the smallest person here. And yet she radiated the same sort of authority that Lainy saw in Kaz. And for the first time in her life, Lainy saw what her own life could be like. She knew she had been passed over for a command of her own at least twice. And now she had been busted back to Lieutenant. But it had never seemed real. Now, finally, the truth began to hit home. If it wasn’t for her irrational idiocy, that would have been her standing there…

Not that she envied Xen the job of giving the news to Hobbie…

But she found herself wondering if she would have handled it any differently.

Clearing her throat, she introduced, "Dalhanyo Grandeen, Xen Emaar, this is Lieutenant Commander Edraa, Omega Squadron’s Second in Command."

"Welcome to Omega Squadron," Xen smiled. "Commander Hawkspar is with the Vice-Admiral or she would have greeted you both herself."

"Looks as if you’re up to your necks it," Grandeen winced with a wry smile.

Xen nodded, "We are. You’re in for a busy time." She turned, looking at her sister, finally acknowledging her presence, "Hello, Em."

Xen Emaar smiled, "Hello, Edraa. I wondered where you had been hiding."

Shei sensed the tension in the air. She turned slightly, scrutinising both of them. And suddenly she saw the similarities: the hair; the eyes. The shape of their mouths was slightly different, as were their noses, but there was no mistaking the fact that they were related. She glanced across at Lainy, and realised from the Lieutenant’s easy stance that she already knew. Baz, however was looking from one to the other, the light slowly dawning.

"Hiding?" Lainy quipped. "Wish to hells we had been!"

Xen glanced at her and quashed a grin. Then she turned her attention back to the whole squadron, "Notrahw wants you all in debrief, now. Briefing room three." She turned, asking Lainy, "Do you need Hobbie?"

Kal’Ten shook her head, "Nope. There’s pretty much nothing to report. And we recorded all the data we picked up on the scans."

"Okay," Xen nodded, making an executive decision that she didn’t think Kaz would go against. "Then we’ll leave him in the rec room and pour him into bed with the other Rogues. After debrief," she told the others, "get your heads down and get some rest. You’re going to need it. Sim runs start at oh-seven-hundred, sharp."

~ * ~

Fleet Commander Martellon had flown to the Imperial Games on Coruscant on the direct request of the Emperor, and had given the Flight a week of R&R on a station in orbit around Hedalby Seven. They were scheduled to fly out early the next morning. Templ was glad of the opportunity to give his men a chance to relax and get themselves together. They had all been getting a little trigger-happy over the past two weeks of extensive flying.

It had reached the stage where the Flight had almost been ready to go looking for some fighters to take on. The missions were just too easy, the men couldn’t get used to the fact that their targets were so unprepared for them. They had been ready to disobey direct orders not to engage fighters, when Templ had reminded them just who was waiting for them when they returned.

They all thought they knew what Martellon was capable of after the episode with Lieutenant Xeader outside the Commander’s quarters. The poor man had been crushed like a piece of fruit, and apparently Martellon hadn’t even been anywhere near him. The Commander had to have been involved as the apparent cold-blooded murder had taken place just outside his quarters, and there had been no investigations into the incident.

Now that they were back from the mission involving the Medical Frigate, he knew that they would all calm down. And with the Commander away, they might well return to their usual selves.

Templ sat in his quarters, quietly watching a holo-vid of the Imperial Games when the chime for the door sounded.

"Enter," he called, pausing the vid. As the door opened, he saw a familiar figure silhouetted in the light of the corridor.

"Evening Sir," Lieutenant Naagen, his Second, greeted.

"Good evening Proft," Templ replied dropping all pretence of formality. "What can I do for you?"

"We’re all meeting down in the Rec area in about an hour, Reeve, if you’re interested," said Naagen, grinning. "We thought it best to let you know in advance this time, before you found out from the Quartermaster." His grin widened in reminiscence, as the happy almost-memories of the last occasion when Zeta had got down to some serious drinking, just after the formation of the squad, came back to him.

Templ remembered also. He had barely managed to convince the Quartermaster that telling Martellon would probably mean the Court Martial of the entire Flight. Martellon’s lack of understanding about alcohol was almost legendary throughout the ship.

A kind of cavalier moment swept across Templ’s mind, and he agreed to meet the others in the Rec Area later. The Goddess be damned if he was going to let himself become distanced from his men because he was afraid the Quartermaster might tell Martellon. He was due some relaxation too.

~ * ~

Hobbie walked into the rec room, scanning the personnel. Wedge, Alissha and Vaziilyi were sitting in the far corner. Slowly, he walked towards them, guilt churning in his gut with grief. However irrational he knew was, he couldn’t help the feeling that if he hadn’t been flying with Omega, Paco might still be alive…

Alissha looked up as he reached their table. With a cry of despair she staggered to her feet, reaching out to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He held her, saying nothing, exchanging a long look with Wedge Antilles as Alissha sobbed gently against him. Antilles looked away, picking up the bottle of whisky and filling the one empty glass left on the table. Picking it up he handed it to Hobbie, then filled the other glasses. Hobbie kissed Alissha’s hair, holding her tightly before gently pushing her away from him. She looked into his eyes, searching his face then turned. For a moment she looked in numb incomprehension at the glass Wedge held out to her. Then she dashed her hands across her face, taking the blue liquid. Wedge and Vasiilyi stood up. Commander Wedge Antilles lifted his glass in the air thinking of Paco; thinking of Zev; thinking of all the other pilots he had known who had died or were missing; thinking of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo and…

"To absent friends!" he said.

"To absent friends," the other three Rogue pilots intoned. They all tossed the liquid into their mouths, slamming the empty glasses onto the table.

Alissha swayed slightly and Hobbie caught her, steadying her and helping her to slide into the booth. She slipped her arm round his, laying her head against his shoulder. Wedge looked at him, eyes blank from too much drink and too many memories. "Commander," Hobbie began, "request permission to transfer back to Rogue Squadron."

Wedge Antilles looked at him for a moment then smiled. He picked up the whisky bottle, filling the glasses again. "Request noted… and denied…"

"Wedge…" Hobbie began to protest.

Antilles placed a hand over Gee-Em’s. "Hobbie," he said, fighting to make his tongue work properly. "Listen to me… It means a lot… it really does… But I got two poodoo-hot pilots… Hawkspar doesn’t. Omega was completely wiped out… No matter how well she looks, Xen Edraa’s only just out of a Bacta tank… She isn’t up to speed… Kaz needs you to watch Xen’s back."

Hobbie shook his head, trying again, "But Wedge…"

"But Wedge, nothing!" Antilles snapped. The shock on Hobbie’s face made him stop and try to think through the alcoholic fuzz. "Hobbie…" he continued more gently, "you can do more here. Xen’s still hurting, she’s not up to speed…" He sighed, picking up the glass and taking a long draw on the whisky. He swallowed, holding the half empty glass out towards Hobbie. "As much as I’d like to, I can’t take you from Omega. Not now."

Hobbie watched the emotion play across Wedge’s face and knew there was something more, something that the Commander was obviously unwilling to go into. For a long moment he looked at Wedge. Then, finally, he accepted the glass, draining the last of the spirit. Deep in thought, he put the empty glass on the table. Then he looked up and grinned, pushing his own, full glass across to Wedge. "Yes, Boss!"

Wedge gave him a haunted smile and tossed back the whisky.

~ * ~

Jon and Mas both looked up as the door of the cell opened again. A tall woman, her long red hair caught back at the nape of her neck, stepped inside. Checking the data pad in her hands she asked, "Jon Alpelor and Masrya Wolvdaater?"

Mas stood up. Jon pushed himself to his feet, "Guilty as charged."

"Commander Kaz Hawkspar," she introduced, "Omega Squadron." She gave them a quick once over. "The Boss says that you want to defect to the Alliance."

"Yes," Mas told her. "We do."

Hawkspar looked from one to the other, "Then if you prove to be as good in an X-wing as you were in a TIE, I’d like to draft you into Omega."

Alpelor’s eyes narrowed. Suddenly wary, he asked, "How do you know how good or bad my flying is?"

"You personally? I don’t!" she answered. "But Omega flew against you when you attacked the Richlo’s Rest. All the pilots there were pretty damned good."

Mas glanced across at Jon then asked, incredulously, "That X-wing squadron was almost wiped out by us… And you want us to join you?"

Hawkspar gave him a small, cold smile, "The Knights were the best in the Alliance. I plan to ensure that reputation is kept firmly in place. So, as I said, if you fly an X-wing as well as you fly a TIE, I want you for Omega. You’re not the first Imperial Navy pilots to defect and you won’t be the last. At some point we all come up against memories we’d rather forget. I won’t hold it against you. Neither will Xen or Kal’Ten."

Mas frowned, picking up on the face that she had used we. Cautiously he asked, "You were in the Navy?"

"Guilty as charged," she confirmed, echoing Alpelor’s words. She grinned, "Although my first tour of duty was over before it began. I jumped ship from the Academy. So… are you interested?"

"Yes," Jon told her.

"Definitely," Mas agreed.

Kaz grinned at them, "That’s what I wanted to hear…" The grin faded, "There’s no strings attached… But… I don’t suppose I could persuade you to answer a few questions…"

Alpelor looked at her, suspicion rushing back, "About what?"

"About the attack on the Richlo’s Rest." She considered them both for a moment, then decided not to beat about the bush, "Let’s face it, the only thing that saved us back there was the surprise move by the Richlo on the Star Destroyer. If not for that the outcome would have been very different. You seemed to know our moves before we even made them. And the Destroyer was carrying way too many TIEs for me to be comfortable."

Mas decided suddenly that he wasn’t going to wait for permission from Alpelor. Jon Alpelor was no longer his commanding officer. He was joining the Rebel Alliance and he had information that could help them. Stepping forward he began, "We were given our instructions from the Star Destroyer, taking our orders from an officer on the bridge. They had done a major amount of refurbishment on the Destroyer to take the extra fighters. We were in a converter storage area."

Jon glanced at him in surprise but found himself adding, "And the squadrons were kept separated. We weren’t given the chance to talk to any of the other guys. In fact, we didn’t even know the name of the Destroyer we were being transferred to. We were just given co-ordinates for the rendezvous."

Kaz frowned. Instead of allaying her suspicions this just re-enforced them. And now there was even more intrigue. Maggs Ronnoc was the better person to be asking these men questions, she knew more about the greater picture. Kaz nodded, asking "Would you be willing to talk to someone from Intelligence?"

"Yes," Mas answered immediately.

Jon sighed, then agreed, "Yes."

~ * ~

Notrahw looked up at the tentative knock on the open office door, "Come!"

Ettei Soosaan walked in, looking tired and drawn. Notrahw put down the pad he had been reading, smiling at her, "Doctor! Please, sit down."

"Thank you, Sir," she told him, giving the Mon Cal a wan smile.

"Can I get you anything? Te? Kaffin?"

"No, Sir. If I have any more kaffin I won’t sleep for three weeks."

His smile widened as she sank into the chair opposite, "So, Doctor, what can I do for you?"

She sighed, "Get me more medical supplies?"

"How badly are we down," he asked, leaning forward, voice mirroring his concern.

"We’re low on everything. Dangerously low on rehydration packs and analgesics. We’ll run out of Bacta solution for the tanks in two days and we’ve just run out of Bacta gel. We don’t have enough equipment to set up saline solutions…" She sighed, "We’re in deep trouble, Sir, unless we can get equipment in the next twenty-four hours."

His heart sank even further, "I see."

"Is there no way at all that we can transfer some of the patients to the Regimen Hope?"

He looked at her then sighed, closing his eyes in dismay, suddenly realising that with everything that had happened no one had informed the Doctor about the Hope’s fate. He swallowed hard then opened his eyes, "I’m sorry Doctor. I thought you had already been informed. The Regimen Hope was destroyed by Imperial forces shortly before the ships from here reached the rendezvous. We were unable to search for any survivors."

Soosaan looked at him, stunned. Then she simply said, "Oh."

"I’ll do what I can about the supplies," he assured her. "I’ll ensure that they get here within twenty-four hours."

Still numb, she looked at him, her voice toneless as she acknowledged, "Thank you, Sir." She hesitated for a moment then continued, "I’d… I’d better go check… on my patients." She pushed herself to her feet, turning towards the door.

Notrahw watched her go, unable to find anything to say to comfort her. "Keep me up to date with the situation, Doctor…" he attempted finally.

She looked back, nodding slowly, then disappeared out of the door.