���� The blaring squeals of her wrist-link
woke Tundre up with a start.� She had
passed out at the table aboard Pachet Karnel�s Corellian Transport.� Lotan Ekwesh roared from the cockpit as
Pachet ran back to Tundre.
���� �Tundre, we got incoming! Get your Blade
off! We�ve got three minutes before we�re in range.�
���� Thunder had already pulled on the TIE
Pilot life support system and was grabbing for the helmet.� Her wrist-link was nearly overwhelmed with
communiqu�s from Digger, but she had no time to read them.
���� �Digger, get the Blade ready to go! As soon
as I�m in the pit, release the Blade from the Transport, got that?!�
���� <<Understood.>>
���� Thunder secured the TIE helmet as Pachet
closed the bay�s door and began venting atmosphere.
���� �Digger, status of the Blade?�
���� <<Engines: Green to Go.� Weapons: Charged at Full.� Shields:�
Charged at Full.>>
���� �Roger, Digs.� Stand by.� I�m exiting the
Transport now.� I�ll be in the Blade in
one minute.� Remember, don�t wait for me
to get situated in the Blade.� Release
it as soon as I�m in�gotta give the guys a good fightin� chance.�
���� <<Acknowledged.>>
���� Thunder reached the Blade and pulled
herself into the cockpit with the help of the Force and her telekinesis.� Seconds before the cockpit was fully sealed,
she felt her Blade buck as the Transport detached from it.� She was going to have to fight while still
wearing the TIE helmet.� The
Heads-Up-Display powered up in front of her as the cockpit sealed.
���� �Digger, acquire the nearest targets and
paint them accordingly.� Let me know
when the Transport has made a safe jump.�
���� <<As ordered.>>
���� The HUD fired up with indications of
numerous enemies�sporting Razor fighters no less.� The Razor wasn�t the best or the fastest, but it could take a
beating and deliver in the meantime.�
Thunder rolled away from the Transport�s exit vector and prepared for a
head-to-head with the first Razor�not the brightest maneuver for a near-sober
Sith, but she had to buy Pachet and Lotan some time.
���� Digger hooted his disapproval of her
tactics as the distance between the Blade and the Razors melted away.� The Razors had never encountered a Blade
before and would not know of its armament.�
In fact, no ships outside of Adumar�s sector had duked it out with a
Blade.� That gave Thunder an
advantage.� This wasn�t a head-to-head
move as much as it was a game of chicken.�
The Razors would flinch away, afraid of the confidence displayed by the
Blade�s pilot.� They hit the two click
mark and the lock indicators blared while acquiring targets.� Digger squealed a dead lock and Thunder
fired away two torps.� They were now
about a klick apart and under each other�s guns.� Thunder juked down out of the debris of her torps� victim and lit
up another Razor.� Two Razors down,
four more to go.�
���� �Digger, I�m switching on the rear laser
cannons for you to use.� Anyone tuck
behind our six, you vape�em! Got it?�
���� <<Understood.>>
���� Thunder smiled at the advantages that her
new Blade-32 had over her T-65 X-Wing fighter.�
The remaining four Razors had decided to ignore Thunder and make like
starving Wampas for Karnel�s transport.�
Thunder shoved as much power into her engines as possible.� The Razors engaged the Transport and Thunder
was still a click from them.� Karnel and
Lotan began whipping and juking the Transport around in an evasive manner,
which gave Thunder time to wax an unsuspecting Razor.� The Razor�s wingmate was obviously not happy with Thunder�s
superb and surgical strike.� The Transport
continued to run with two Razors pounding away at its shields.� The third Razor banked and tucked itself
behind Thunder�s Blade.� Digger blared
warnings, but Thunder ignored them.
���� �Diggs, you gotta take out our
shadow.� I�ve got the two on the
Transport.�
���� <<Attempting to destroy target.
Suggest discharge of flare.>>
���� �One flare coming up, Diggs.�
���� With a flick of her thumb, Thunder
released a flare from the Blade�s tail.�
���� <<Flare hit target.� Target shields: down to 80%.� Firing laser cannons.>>
���� Meanwhile, Thunder was concentrating her
fire on one of the Transport�s attackers.�
She had its shields down to 30%.�
Fox Starfighter had obviously decided to man the Transport�s dorsal gun
turret and was pounding away on the other Razor.� Thunder�s Blade rocked from a violent concussion as Digger scored
a kill on the Razor that had been targeting them.�
���� <<Aggressor Target
destroyed.>>
���� Thunder smiled.� Digger seemed to be enjoying his more active role in the
dogfight.�
���� Pachet Karnel�s transport jumped to
hyperspace and vanished; the Blades were left behind for Thunder�s glory.� With no Transport to worry about hitting,
Thunder let loose on her targets.� She
relaxed into the Force and let it guide her actions.� The first Razor target was finished off with her lasers.� The second was the recipient of a torp hit
to its six.� Her HUD indicated that no
more hostiles were in the immediate area and all friendlies had exited.�
���� �Diggs, did you get rendezvous
coordinates from the Transport before we disengaged from it?�
���� <<Affirmative.� Feeding coordinates to navicomputer
now.>>
���� Thunder chuckled, �Thanks, Digger.� Engaging hyperdrive.� Let�s see where our new friends went.�� Hyperspace swirled around the cockpit.� The HUD indicated that they had one hour and
ten minutes before reversion.� Good,
enough time to worm my way out of his TIE suit.�
���� Disoriented by sudden sobriety, Thunder
was aware of Digger�s blaring hoots as the Blade was preparing to revert back
to real space.� Stang, must�ve passed
out. I�ll have to break out some Whyren�s Reserve as soon as we rendezvous.� She watched as swirling hyperspace melted
into starlines and then become fixed points of light.� She glanced at her HUD and sensors to get a quick overview of the
new situation.
���� �Digger, scan all transports. �Paint Pachet�s ship as �friendly target
one�.�
���� <<Compliance.� Target One painted and located 2.5 clicks at
two o�clock high, starboard side.>>
���� �Yeap, I see them.� Let�s go chat with�em.�
���� Thunder zipped over to Pachet�s
transport, which was showing up as the Slugfest.� Whether that was a reference to the giving
and receiving of punches in a fight or a reference to a group of spawning
space-slugs, Thunder had no idea but could make a good guess.� She juked and jinked around several other
transports, freighters, and smaller personal crafts.� The majority of craft were in the process of either docking at a
nearby station or heading down to an asteroid base.� Huh, must be pirates or some group not to keen on being
probed. Wonder how Pachet knew of this cute little place.
���� The comm channel blinked and crackled to
life,
���� �Blade-32, this is Slugfest. Do
you prefer vacuum or rock harbor?�
���� Digger tooted his preferences from behind
the cockpit.� Thunder began to realize
that Digger might decide he carried more weight after vaping a Razor in the
brawl.�
���� �Slugfest, this is Blade-32.� We prefer rock harbor.�
���� �Affirmative.� I already gained us clearance and we have our choice.� Escort us to Hangar Facility Ventral Three. Slugfest
out.�
���� �Roger, roger. Tucking into your six
now.�
���� Twenty minutes later, the little band of
galactic misfits emerged from their two ships.�
Pachet, Lotan, and Fox headed over to the Blade where a technician was
extricating Digger from the droid pit.�
Certainly, Thunder had the ability to just levitate the little keg of
bolts herself but would, in the process, alert the whole sector to her
presence.� This little rock seemed the
kind of place where information was sold and traded faster than she could have
T.K.ed Digger back into the pit.� While
she wasn�t too worried about the gang that was pursuing them, Thunder still
needed to keep a low profile from New Republic and Imperial informants.� The Siths had ditched Director Isard and had
viciously tangled with Rogue Squadron.�
Undoubtedly, both sides would be gunning for the Siths now.�
���� The little gang settled into a private
booth at the rear of one of the taverns.�
Digger continuously scanned the tavern�s patrons for trouble.
���� Lotan leaned forward and kept his voice
low, �I can�t believe they sent half a squadron after us.� Those Razors certainly weren�t piloted by
pirates.� They were too
organized�practically screaming military.�
���� Pachet rubbed his hairy chin and
sighed.� �I don�t think those fighters
belonged to The Library Den either.�
I think we got jumped by some hired pros�better than the bounty hunter
types.� I wonder who hired them and who
exactly they are after.�
���� Fox pulled down his hood and draped it on
his shoulders, �Me obviously.� Whoever
hired the stick jockeys was probably the same freak that put the bounty hunters
on me.�
���� �No.�
I don�t think so,� Thunder spoke after searching her own thoughts.� �We don�t even know if those Razors were
truly after any of us.� They made no
contact or demands.� They just lit up
anything that was moving.� There�s a lot
of unrest in most sectors.� It could be
just some new faction banging around.�
���� �Huh, well then, someone�s gonna be
really ticked off when six of their expensive Razors don�t come home.�� Pachet was truly amused at the whole notion.
���� �No shit, Pachet.� I stopped by Obroa-Skai before I hit The
Library Den and picked up some information.� It is safe to say that Pestage is no longer the head of the
Imperial forces.� Most of the Council
members seem to have died or will shortly meet an untimely fate as well.� Director Isard, however, seems to be quite
unscathed. I have a feeling she will be our next Galactic leader in the
Imperial realm.� The Rebellion is
continuing to strengthen.� They have
even established a working government and call it the New Republic.�
���� Pachet smirked, �How original of the
them.�
���� Tundre�s wrist-link began to blink away
at her.� She glanced down to catch what
Digger wanted,
���� <<Important information on the
HoloNet being broadcasted.� Overheard
from patrons at the bar and the bartending droid.>>
���� Tundre glanced around.� All seemed relatively quiet for a
tavern.� She turned back to her table,
�Keep a low profile. I�m gonna try to get Digger to an outlet. Something�s
going on.� Meet back at the Hangar in
one standard hour, got it?�
���� Pachet traded concerned looks with
Lotan.� Fox, however, showed more trust
in his new found guardian with a smile, �Think we�ll be flexing some muscle of the
Force-kind?�
���� �I�d rather not.� It�s getting hard to find a place just to
relax as it is.�� Tundre headed for the
exit with Digger rolling along in her wake.�
���� A few moments later, Digger was plugged
into an information conduit and navigating through the HoloNet.� After about ten minutes, he became overly
excited.
���� <<Information acquired and
verified.>>
���� �What information? What�s going on
Diggs?�
���� <<Rogue Squadron has been disbanded
and the pilots forced into mandatory retirement.� Rogue Squadron no longer poses a threat for us.>>
���� Tundre nearly fell to the floor.� She needed to make sure the rest of the
Siths were aware of Rogue Squadron�s demise.�
She could hardly believe it for herself.� The Rogues were retired and scattered through the galaxy to be
paraded as heroes in hopes of recruiting more systems to this New
Republic.�