Story:New Fears

From New Republic Navy Wiki

STAR WARS

New Fears

By LongShot

The hum of the crimson blade filled the room, save for the quiet swishing sound of the remote that flitted just out of reach of the lightsaber. It pivoted, feinted to the left, and sent out a thin red beam that touched LongShot on the elbow. He yelped in pain and surprise, nearly dropping his laser sword.

"Release your fear, Jayce," Durrron tutored him patiently, "it will only cloud your connection to the Force. Clear your mind of everything but the remote and the weapon in your hand."

LongShot scowled, "Easy for you to say, you’re not the one getting shot at."

Durrron smiled, "Think about it this way. It’s better to get shot now then to not learn it and get shot by a Stormtrooper instead."

The other person in the room, Flight Cadet Game, grinned. "Master Skywalker said the same thing at the Academy when I was there."

LongShot turned to Game, deactivating his saber for a moment. "Not that I’m complaining, but why did Commander Skywalker send you to the NRN instead of keeping you at the Jedi Academy?"

Game’s expression became thoughtful, "He believed that I needed more experience outside of the Academy. I am still an apprentice, but I have learned enough to do some practical application of my skills."

LongShot nodded. He had met Skywalker and flown with him on a mission to retrieve a computer with the plans for the Second Death Star. They had talked briefly after the mission, and even then LongShot could sense wisdom beyond the young pilot’s years. For him to want his student to learn in the universe at large was in character. His eyes fell to the elongated lightsaber on Game’s hip noting with curiosity that it had emitters on both sides of the tube and not just one.

"Dual bladed?" he asked, pointing at the saber.

Game nodded, holding the weapon up. "It’s a design that certain Sith Lords were known to use, although I like it quite a bit myself. Takes a bit of getting used to, but it is very effective."

There was a change in Game’s sense, ever so slight, and then a tingle in the back of the neck. Without thinking, LongShot ignited the saber and whirled to meet the oncoming remote, sending three stinger bolts splattering off the blade before a fourth slapped back into the remote, deactivating it.

"What happened?" He demanded, turning to face Durrron who was smiling faintly.

"You relaxed," the Jedi said simply, "I knew you could do it, but you needed to know that you could."

LongShot couldn’t help but break into a smile, "You tricked me into relaxing so I would be more receptive."

Durrron shook his head, "Not really, I just used an opportunity that presented itself. I was mildly surprised that you noticed Game’s change in sense however. You seem to be very receptive to the perception aspects of the Force."

LongShot shrugged, "I always chalked it up to instinct and gut feelings, myself."

Game grinned, "Most of us do usually."

From within the base klaxons began to blare, and the three men raced down the corridor; LongShot heading toward the Command Center, and the other two to the hanger bay.

In the Command Center, Mother bent over the sensor readout, talking quietly with the controller. She looked up as LongShot entered the room, smiling in greeting.

"Sorry to interrupt your training, but it looks like the Imperials are going to try again on grabbing the computer core." She indicated the scope, showing an Imperial Class Star Destroyer and four Dreadnoughts entering the system on the dark side.

LongShot’s stomach tightened; there was no way they could fight off a force of that size alone.

"What is the nearest NRN vessel to this area?" he asked quietly.

Mother scrolled through the database. "Looks like Atlantis is the closest at the moment, but Aces High is only at about half strength."

LongShot swore, "Launch the Saints and send out a distress call to the Atlantis. Tell Nomad Control to fire up the planetary batteries. If that ISD is smart, he’ll stay back out of range of the Ion Cannon and let the fighters and transports do the work. Those Dreadnoughts have me a little concerned though, they can use the platform as a shield if they come in one at a time."

The Dreadnoughts were coming in at flank speed, launching what appeared to be assault shuttles. Each of the shuttles could carry a full squad of Stormtroopers, but they couldn’t hope to breach the Golan’s outer defenses.

"That’s why they are coming in so hard!" LongShot exclaimed, "They know that we can’t afford to ignore the Dreadnoughts’ firepower so most of our guns will be dedicated to keeping them at bay!"

He keyed the comlink for the squadron, "Durrron! We’ve got eight assault shuttles on the inbound! Can you guys get to them?"

Static crackled on the microphone, then the tinny voice replied, "That’s a negative, Paradise! They’ve got fighters all over the place out here! It’s all we can do to keep them from overwhelming us!"

Another voice cut in over the din, "Send out the S.A.R team! I’m punching out!" LongShot identified it as Blast, then watched the crippled fighter plow end over end into two TIE Interceptors before exploding.

LongShot swore again, "Prepare to repel boarders!" he barked, "Tell Archangel that we need her to keep those Dreadnoughts busy while we try to take out some of those shuttles!"

LockUp and Lando soared through the cloud of TIE Fighters, cannons blazing as they dodged wildly to avoid collisions and enemy fire. Lando sent a quad burst into a fighter that was lining up on Deceptor then spun and took off after another Interceptor. LockUp banked hard to stay with him, picking off an errant Interceptor with a split second snapshot.

"This is hairier than a wookie’s back!" he shouted, diving to avoid the eyeball center of a shattered TIE.

Lando didn’t reply, rolling to avoid a pair of TIEs coming at him and sending them careening into each other with a satisfying crash of torn metal.

Elsewhere in the fight, Deceptor and Olin were playing their own deadly game of cat and mouse with two flights of TIE Fighters, exchanging shots and dodging others, neither side truly gaining the upper hand.

"Olin!" Deceptor called, "Talon weave on my mark!"

"Copy!" Olin replied.

The two X-Wings began drifting slightly apart, "NOW!" Deceptor cried, throwing his fighter into a hard turn to port as Olin threw his to the starboard. Deceptor turned back to the starboard, pulling his two harassers with him. He crossed flight paths with Olin a moment later, offering the other pilot a clear shot at the two TIEs. They exploded a moment later, and the X-Wings repeated the maneuver, Deceptor taking the two fighters off Olin’s back this time.

"Nice move, Olin." Deceptor smiled, pulling his fighter back and around toward the fight.

"Gotta remember that one." Olin agreed.

Denaris and Firefox plunged headlong into the next wave of TIE Fighters, spitting laser fire in all directions to try and get the Imperials to break formation. One of the fighters latched onto Denaris’ back, scorching the top starboard engine with a near hit. He juked wildly, throwing the fighter into a punishing series of banks and dives, desperately trying to make himself a harder target. Firefox slid into position behind the TIE, trying to match the maneuvers and get a clear shot without hitting his wingman. A moment later, Firefox saw the TIE open fire again, watching as Denaris slid right into the field of fire. The port wings were sheered off and the X-Wing flipped helplessly toward deep space.

"Denaris!" Firefox cried, "Are you alright?"

There was no reply and Firefox opened fire on the fleeing TIE, jaw set angrily. The TIE fighter shattered, and Firefox whipped his fighter into a turn, screaming after the broken hulk of Denaris’ X-Wing. Concentrating with every fiber, Firefox pulled in close and reduced speed.

"Artoo? Get the maneuvering thrusters set for station keeping and prepare the grapplers for deployment."

The little droid warbled in response.

"His Artoo unit is still functional? Well why didn’t you say so?"

A plaintive hoot followed.

"Never mind. Can you tell him to fire the ejector seat?"

The beep was guardedly affirmative. He could tell the other droid, but the system may be damaged to the point where it was offline.

"It’s our only chance to get him out of there unless you want to try towing that ship through that mess out there." Firefox replied.

A moment later, the ejector seat on the other fighter fired, followed closely by the ejection coupling of the R2 unit as it left as well. Using it’s maneuvering jets, the little droid linked with its master, feeding the seat power to keep the life support system boosted.

"Tell him we will try to have the shuttle out to pick them up as soon as possible."

Firefox keyed his comlink for Paradise Station, "Paradise, this is Firefox. We need a rescue shuttle ASAP for Denaris. I think he is hurt, possibly dead. Please respond.

LongShot’s voice came back, the sound of blaster fire in the background, "We’ll do what we can, Firefox, but we just got boarded about two minutes ago and things are getting bad in here. Keep an eye on him until we can get to you. Paradise out."

On board the station, LongShot shifted the grip on his blaster carbine, ducking behind a cluster of containers that had been set up as a barricade. Around him were Republic naval troops assigned to the station. Many of them had never seen combat before, and many still would never see anything again. Bodies were strewn on the floor of the corridor in a testament to the deadly marksmanship of the Stormtroopers who were steadily pushing toward the command center. LongShot popped out of cover, firing off a burst and grunting in satisfaction as a Stormtrooper’s chest exploded in a shower of sparks. A flurry of return fire drove him back, showering him with hot shards of plasticrete. Next to him, Mother squeezed off another shot with her blaster pistol, taking a careless trooper in the middle of his helmet and sending him flopping to the floor.

"Commander!" A trooper shouted over the sounds of the firefight. "We need to fall back!"

LongShot looked over at the man, who was firing down the corridor. "Fall back to where, Sergeant? If we fall back any further we might as well just give them the computer core because they will shoot it to pieces when we make a stand in the Command Center!"

"Message from the Atlantis," Mother called, "they have just arrived in system!"

LongShot fired another half-blind barrage down the hallway. "It’s about time! Tell them that we need backup in here now!"

I’m here. A voice in his mind told him. Hang on just a little while longer.

For a moment, LongShot was disoriented, but then realized that it was Ionforce assuring him that he would be there soon. Mother dove for cover next to him, slamming her shoulder hard into the makeshift barricade. Coming out of her roll, she pumped another salvo of blaster fire down the corridor, scoring another hit on a Stormtrooper. The return fire was heavy, and Mother cried out, holding her arm. LongShot jumped to her side, trying to move her hand to look at the wound.

"Medic!" he cried, seeing the flow of blood and smelling the charred flesh. Mother had her teeth gritted and sweat beaded her forehead, but she kept her pistol clenched tight in her fist.

"They must’ve got me bad, LongShot," she said, tightly against the pain, "I can’t feel my arm past the elbow."

LongShot winced, looking at the wound. It was just as well that she couldn’t feel it. He wasn’t sure that even MD-4 could repair that much damage.

"It’s just shock from the wound. Lay still, now, help is on the way."

He turned his attention to the battle that raged around him, firing into a cluster of Stormtroopers that had gotten too close. They fell in a tangle of arms and legs, and LongShot looked back at Mother on the floor. A Mon Calamari medic knelt at her side, applying a patch to deaden the pain before he tried to drag her away from the scene.

"LongShot, this is LockUp." A voice came over the comlink.

LongShot crouched under cover. "Make it quick, LockUp, we’re a little busy in here."

"Sorry, Commander, but I thought you might want to know that the Imperials are starting to withdraw. Atlantis and Archangel are giving them quite a pounding. They’re picking up their fighters and breaking off the attack."

Another burst of blaster fire from LongShot’s weapon precluded his response.

"Tell Archangel to dispatch rescue shuttles and get Blast and Denaris on the double."

LockUp’s connection crackled for a minute. "I better tell them to get Durrron too."

"Is he alive?" LongShot held his breath for a moment.

LockUp chuckled, "Yeah, I’d say so. He cut the wing on a TIE fighter in half when it tried to ram him."

LongShot smirked, that was Durrron all right. "Gotta go!" he shouted, diving to the side as the remaining Stormtroopers charged the tenuous position.

LongShot pulled out his lightsaber, igniting it and slashing as the troopers tried to get past him. Two went down immediately, and were replaced by even more. Blaster fire filled the air, criss-crossing the area like a swarm of angry hornets. The sound of another lightsaber caught LongShot’s attention, and he realized that the fighting had moved past him. Looking up, he saw a figure in black looking at him with bald hatred.

"Kalous." LongShot breathed, feeling the cold sensation of evil directed solely at him.

Kalous smirked, moving closer with his lightsaber, "You amuse me, Jayce," he said derisively, "you now think you are a Jedi simply because you can wield a lightsaber without cutting your own hand off?"

Pushing his fear away, LongShot lifted his weapon, "I’m not a Jedi, Kalous, but I will defend myself if I have to. Maybe, just maybe, the Force will be with me long enough to take you down when I die."

A voice in the hallway at the far end caused both men to look in that direction.

"He’s mine, Jayce." Ionforce ignited his own laser sword, its blade humming hungrily. "I am a Jedi, Dark Sider; if you feel you have a chance, strike."

Kalous snarled in hatred, looking back and forth from one opponent to the other, "Another time, Jedi. I have what I came for."

He leapt at LongShot, bringing his saber down in a ferocious chopping motion. LongShot threw up his blade, falling backwards with the attack and letting Kalous pass over him. The two blades met for a moment, knocking LongShot against the wall and out of Kalous’ way. Ionforce lowered his weapon, staring after the Dark Jedi as he made his escape.

"There will be another time, Kalous," he murmured, "count on it."

The wounded had been moved to sickbay, and the pilots of Silver Saints and Aces High gathered in the war room on board the Atlantis.

"The Imperials were able to get their hands on at least a partial dump of the computer core on Paradise Station. We can only presume that they now know all of our squadron placements and personnel. That means that until further notice we will be on a constant state of alert. Avenger Wing will be moving around a lot to throw the Imps off the trail, but Defender Wing will have to remain in place. Assistance from Raptor Wing will be close, as they will be playing backup for the time being. We lost this fight, people, but the war is still ours." Admiral Fishheads looked at the assembled personnel for a long moment then dismounted the lectern and left.

In sickbay, MD-4 carefully layered the new skin and tissue over Mother’s repaired arm. She flinched only slightly, but smiled as LongShot and the rest of the Silver Saints entered the room.

"Here I am with visitors and not a thing to wear. Ouch! Watch it, MD!"

LockUp smirked, "That’s our Mother alright."

Mother looked up at LongShot, the smile leaving her face, "Did we stop them?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head, the failure still bitter to him, "No. They got at least a partial dump."

Mother sighed and lay back. Somehow she knew that there was something other than fleet placements in that core, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Whatever it was the Empire thought it was important enough to send a Dark Jedi and a flotilla of ships to get it.

"What are they really after, Commander?" She asked.

LongShot looked past her and exhaled, "I wish I knew, Mother. Whatever it is, it is worth a lot to the Empire."

Durrron’s eyes grew wide, "This is a computer core we scavenged from the Empire near the end of the war, isn’t it?"

LongShot scratched his chin, "Yeah, it is. But it was wiped when we put it into the station."

Game spoke up. "Things can be hardwired into computers, Boss."

The members of the Silver Saints looked at each other, a sinking fear taking hold of them. The last time the Imperials were so focused on recovering data was during the Death Star project, and now it appeared as if the Saints were sitting on a veritable timebomb without even knowing what that bomb was.

"Then we defend this station at all costs until we find out what it is." LongShot said softly. The other pilots nodded grimly. This was what they had been doing since before Yavin, and it was what they would continue to do for as long as it took.