"There it is, Risky, Dantooine."
The droid behind her cockpit chirped encouragingly, and slowly, Reeshi released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Behind her, the low thuds of her flightmates dropping out of hyperspace behind her resonated through the hull of her X-wing. As she held course toward the planet, the flight fell into their respective positions. The second fighter in the flight pulled up beside her and the dark-haired young man in the pilot's seat turned to look at her through the windows.
"It's pretty incredible when you think about it, isn't it? So much has happened here over the centuries, yet the planet as a whole looks basically untouched." Being the younger cousin of the infamous Biggs Darklighter, Gavin was the quiet, introspective sort. Reeshi enjoyed his company, particularly on missions like this one.
One of the pilots behind them spoke up. "Most planets that the Empire visits aren't so lucky."
"You mean like Alderaan?" said the other rear pilot.
"Come on, Div, we were all thinking it but you didn't have to say it out loud," groaned the first rear pilot.
"Hey, what happened to protocol, Havoc Seven?" Reeshi snapped. "Just because none of the older pilots are out here to keep us in line doesn't mean we drop the formalities."
"Sorry," the junior pilot replied.
"Why's she got to be so strict?" Div asked quietly. "It's not like she's that much older than us."
"You know I can still hear you, right Havoc Eight?"
Radio silence filled the next few minutes as the flight approached the verdant planet. Though no one said anything and Reeshi could only see the expression of the pilot beside her, everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. They were still far enough out from the planet that safety was not much of a concern, but as the emerald green world grew ever larger in their field of vision, it was difficult not to think of the history that its surface held. Generations of Jedi trained in those fields. The scattered communes and villages saw the beginning of so much potential greatness. Reeshi felt goosebumps rise along her arms and neck as the crystal around her neck seemed to hum with similar warm reverence.
Out of the corner of her eye, the lead pilot saw her partner's hand move a moment before the radio delay gave way to the sound of his voice.
"There, over the horizon. I can see the ship."
"Perfect," she replied. "Havoc Six, swing out. We'll take a wide approach around the planet. There's not much down there to protect, but the Empire rarely leaves territory unguarded. Let's steer clear of their sensors for as long as we can."
The flight of X-wings shifted in unison, turning wide of the planet and aiming for an approach around the far side of the derelict vessel they'd been sent to investigate. According to their intelligence, the vessel had been carrying myriad cargo, and among it was a shipment of personal weapons. Their source for the mission claimed that the blasters had been either too insignificant to bother retrieving or simply overlooked after the ship's destruction. Either way, it was an opportunity they couldn't afford to pass up.
As they drew nearer, Gavin broke the silence again. "Everything looks quiet up ahead, but... I don't know. I've got a bad feeling about this."
Reeshi said nothing, but she could feel it too. Something wasn't right.
Just as they began to break formation, Havoc Seven and Eight began shouting over the comms. "Eyeballs! They're flanking the ship!"
Reeshi swore as she and Gavin pulled up in unison, flying up and back to gain a better vantage point on the vessel. As they drew back, two more TIE fighters rose up from behind the vessel. "We've got two more," she called over the comms. "We're evenly matched. Everyone, pick a dance partner."
The ships split and Reeshi came out of her turn a few kilometers away from her opponent. The TIE had cleared the top of the derelict and was quickly closing the space between them. "Alright buddy, let's get em." She punched the ship into gear as the droid behind her gurgled and squelched aggressively. With both ships charging at one another, they found themselves in firing range in a matter of heartbeats. Reeshi pressed down on the trigger and fired two volleys of blaster fire toward the ship before pulling up sharply and weaving away. She threw the ship into a spin as the TIE began firing back, green lasers weaving in and out of her wings. Several kilometers away from the ambush point now, she spiraled around and turned back sharply to make another pass. Clear of her flightmates, the next round of fire from her ship began far sooner. The first three shots missed wide, but number four grazed the top of the TIE fighter's left wing. This time, they bobbed down and dove away.
"I have you now," Reeshi said with a satisfied little cackle as she sent her ship careening after the fleeing opposition.
"You've got one on your tail!" came Gavin's voice over the comms. Reeshi looked behind her and sure enough, one of the other TIEs had split off and begun pursuit of her ship instead.
"Don't you give me that line, Havoc Six!" she shouted, continuing to fire red lasers at her primary opponent in short bursts. Green beams flashed past her on either side. The young Mirialan pilot gritted her teeth and closed her wings before throwing the ship into a corkscrew, maintaining pursuit of the first TIE. As she spun, she watched the gray fighter duck behind the derelict vessel. Reeshi leveled out moments before pulling up hard.
"You lost him, Havoc Five." Gavin said. She could hear her flightmate shoot past the back of her ship after the TIE that had been following her.
"Do me a favor and take him down before he gets the chance to tail me again," she said, her heart pounding. The ragged hull of the eviscerated ship passed by outside her cockpit, a blur in grayscale, as she shot up the side of the freighter. "Seven and Eight, how are you guys holding up?"
"Oh, doing great, thanks," came the voice of Div, Havoc Eight. "I thought I might stop and have a little snack, you know?"
Reeshi rolled her eyes as the nose of her X-wing broke the cover of the freighter. As her cockpit cleared the side, she saw her target emerge, its bottom toward hers. Giving herself as little clearance as she felt she could handle, Reeshi pulled a sharp turn and waited for her target to lock on. "Come on, come on..."
As the TIE began evasive maneuvers, her sights locked on and Reeshi pulled the trigger. Two pairs of red laser fire shot out across the top of the dead freighter and connected with the cockpit of the TIE, creating a spectacular, albeit short-lived fireball and scattering shrapnel in every direction. R4-SK squealed excitedly behind her. "Calm down, Murderbot, there are still three more of them to take out before we get too excited."
She pulled away from the explosion and the jagged surface of the larger ship and scanned the skies for the nearest tussle. At least ten kilometers away, she saw her unresponsive flightmate making a series of close passes with another TIE. Throttling up to join the fight, Reeshi called out over the comms again.
"Havoc Seven, I'm coming in."
"No, no, I got it!" they shouted back as another close pass clipped the edges of both ships' wings.
"Not if you keep taking swipes at him like that. Use your blasters, dammit, and give yourself some more space!"
"I said I've got it!" Another close pass preceded only narrowly by a discharge of red blaster fire removed the near wing of the TIE fighter. The loosed solar array spun off and knocked into the nose of Div's X-wing. He jerked the tiny ship up and out of the way, but not before the rogue piece of metal could remove a substantial chunk of the front of his fighter.
"Seven, are you okay?" Reeshi could see that the ship was still flying, but without a nose, it was in pretty serious condition.
"I'm fine! I said I had it!"
"Yeah, and you took half of your ship with it, laserbrain. Fall back and I'll blind your eyeball for good."
Reeshi could hear him grumbling over the noise of battle, but he said nothing more as he steered his battered X-wing away from the skirmish. Doubling down on her throttle, she took off after the injured TIE that was limping away toward the surface. She caught up to the crippled ship in no time and as she swept past and pulled herself around to return to the heart of the fight, she fired three twin laser blasts, delivering a coup de grace to the crippled fighter.
"Two down, two to go," she said. R4-SK made a serious-sounding grumble. "Havoc Six and Eight, what's your status?"
"This is Havoc Six. I've just about got him." In the background of his transmission, the sound of laser fire cut through the static. As Reeshi approached the abandoned freighter once more, she saw a fireball rise up from behind the massive metal carcass.
"Six, that had better not have been your ship." She joked, but it was always a possibility in situations like this and she knew it all too well.
"Wouldn't dream it, Havoc Five."
"I could use a hand with this last one," came the voice of Havoc Eight. "He turns tighter than I can manage and I can't get a jump on him."
"I'm right behind you, Eight," said Gavin. Reeshi had cleared the visual barrier of the ship and she watched as his X-wing disappeared under the belly of the beast.
"Once you take out that last one, I think we'll be clear," Reeshi called over the radio. "I'll do a sweep just to be sure and then stand guard while Seven heads down to dock."
Her orders were echoed by a chorus of affirmatives as she slowed her ship and began to scan the hull for signs of another ambush. "Risky, can you tell if there's anyone on board the freighter?"
The droid whined.
"I know you're not a battleship, but can't you, I don't know, use heat sensors to see if there's something alive in there or not?"
R4-SK hummed a moment before chirping and emitting a series of timed beeps. Several beeps later, he trilled hesitantly.
"I'd believe that. Sending up a few TIEs to take out a flight of X-wings makes sense. Stationing people on a dead and deserted ship just in case doesn't. It's not like they've got an army of Clones at their disposal. They actually have to pay these people, and I'm sure there's more terror to be wrought on the surface than up here on this hunk of junk."
As she pulled around to the far side of the freighter to meet up with Havoc Seven and their beat-up fighter, the other two emerged from below.
"All units have been taken care of," Gavin announced proudly.
"Excellent," Reeshi said with a smile. "Let's get those weapons and get the hell out of here."
The droid behind her cockpit chirped encouragingly, and slowly, Reeshi released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Behind her, the low thuds of her flightmates dropping out of hyperspace behind her resonated through the hull of her X-wing. As she held course toward the planet, the flight fell into their respective positions. The second fighter in the flight pulled up beside her and the dark-haired young man in the pilot's seat turned to look at her through the windows.
"It's pretty incredible when you think about it, isn't it? So much has happened here over the centuries, yet the planet as a whole looks basically untouched." Being the younger cousin of the infamous Biggs Darklighter, Gavin was the quiet, introspective sort. Reeshi enjoyed his company, particularly on missions like this one.
One of the pilots behind them spoke up. "Most planets that the Empire visits aren't so lucky."
"You mean like Alderaan?" said the other rear pilot.
"Come on, Div, we were all thinking it but you didn't have to say it out loud," groaned the first rear pilot.
"Hey, what happened to protocol, Havoc Seven?" Reeshi snapped. "Just because none of the older pilots are out here to keep us in line doesn't mean we drop the formalities."
"Sorry," the junior pilot replied.
"Why's she got to be so strict?" Div asked quietly. "It's not like she's that much older than us."
"You know I can still hear you, right Havoc Eight?"
Radio silence filled the next few minutes as the flight approached the verdant planet. Though no one said anything and Reeshi could only see the expression of the pilot beside her, everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. They were still far enough out from the planet that safety was not much of a concern, but as the emerald green world grew ever larger in their field of vision, it was difficult not to think of the history that its surface held. Generations of Jedi trained in those fields. The scattered communes and villages saw the beginning of so much potential greatness. Reeshi felt goosebumps rise along her arms and neck as the crystal around her neck seemed to hum with similar warm reverence.
Out of the corner of her eye, the lead pilot saw her partner's hand move a moment before the radio delay gave way to the sound of his voice.
"There, over the horizon. I can see the ship."
"Perfect," she replied. "Havoc Six, swing out. We'll take a wide approach around the planet. There's not much down there to protect, but the Empire rarely leaves territory unguarded. Let's steer clear of their sensors for as long as we can."
The flight of X-wings shifted in unison, turning wide of the planet and aiming for an approach around the far side of the derelict vessel they'd been sent to investigate. According to their intelligence, the vessel had been carrying myriad cargo, and among it was a shipment of personal weapons. Their source for the mission claimed that the blasters had been either too insignificant to bother retrieving or simply overlooked after the ship's destruction. Either way, it was an opportunity they couldn't afford to pass up.
As they drew nearer, Gavin broke the silence again. "Everything looks quiet up ahead, but... I don't know. I've got a bad feeling about this."
Reeshi said nothing, but she could feel it too. Something wasn't right.
Just as they began to break formation, Havoc Seven and Eight began shouting over the comms. "Eyeballs! They're flanking the ship!"
Reeshi swore as she and Gavin pulled up in unison, flying up and back to gain a better vantage point on the vessel. As they drew back, two more TIE fighters rose up from behind the vessel. "We've got two more," she called over the comms. "We're evenly matched. Everyone, pick a dance partner."
The ships split and Reeshi came out of her turn a few kilometers away from her opponent. The TIE had cleared the top of the derelict and was quickly closing the space between them. "Alright buddy, let's get em." She punched the ship into gear as the droid behind her gurgled and squelched aggressively. With both ships charging at one another, they found themselves in firing range in a matter of heartbeats. Reeshi pressed down on the trigger and fired two volleys of blaster fire toward the ship before pulling up sharply and weaving away. She threw the ship into a spin as the TIE began firing back, green lasers weaving in and out of her wings. Several kilometers away from the ambush point now, she spiraled around and turned back sharply to make another pass. Clear of her flightmates, the next round of fire from her ship began far sooner. The first three shots missed wide, but number four grazed the top of the TIE fighter's left wing. This time, they bobbed down and dove away.
"I have you now," Reeshi said with a satisfied little cackle as she sent her ship careening after the fleeing opposition.
"You've got one on your tail!" came Gavin's voice over the comms. Reeshi looked behind her and sure enough, one of the other TIEs had split off and begun pursuit of her ship instead.
"Don't you give me that line, Havoc Six!" she shouted, continuing to fire red lasers at her primary opponent in short bursts. Green beams flashed past her on either side. The young Mirialan pilot gritted her teeth and closed her wings before throwing the ship into a corkscrew, maintaining pursuit of the first TIE. As she spun, she watched the gray fighter duck behind the derelict vessel. Reeshi leveled out moments before pulling up hard.
"You lost him, Havoc Five." Gavin said. She could hear her flightmate shoot past the back of her ship after the TIE that had been following her.
"Do me a favor and take him down before he gets the chance to tail me again," she said, her heart pounding. The ragged hull of the eviscerated ship passed by outside her cockpit, a blur in grayscale, as she shot up the side of the freighter. "Seven and Eight, how are you guys holding up?"
"Oh, doing great, thanks," came the voice of Div, Havoc Eight. "I thought I might stop and have a little snack, you know?"
Reeshi rolled her eyes as the nose of her X-wing broke the cover of the freighter. As her cockpit cleared the side, she saw her target emerge, its bottom toward hers. Giving herself as little clearance as she felt she could handle, Reeshi pulled a sharp turn and waited for her target to lock on. "Come on, come on..."
As the TIE began evasive maneuvers, her sights locked on and Reeshi pulled the trigger. Two pairs of red laser fire shot out across the top of the dead freighter and connected with the cockpit of the TIE, creating a spectacular, albeit short-lived fireball and scattering shrapnel in every direction. R4-SK squealed excitedly behind her. "Calm down, Murderbot, there are still three more of them to take out before we get too excited."
She pulled away from the explosion and the jagged surface of the larger ship and scanned the skies for the nearest tussle. At least ten kilometers away, she saw her unresponsive flightmate making a series of close passes with another TIE. Throttling up to join the fight, Reeshi called out over the comms again.
"Havoc Seven, I'm coming in."
"No, no, I got it!" they shouted back as another close pass clipped the edges of both ships' wings.
"Not if you keep taking swipes at him like that. Use your blasters, dammit, and give yourself some more space!"
"I said I've got it!" Another close pass preceded only narrowly by a discharge of red blaster fire removed the near wing of the TIE fighter. The loosed solar array spun off and knocked into the nose of Div's X-wing. He jerked the tiny ship up and out of the way, but not before the rogue piece of metal could remove a substantial chunk of the front of his fighter.
"Seven, are you okay?" Reeshi could see that the ship was still flying, but without a nose, it was in pretty serious condition.
"I'm fine! I said I had it!"
"Yeah, and you took half of your ship with it, laserbrain. Fall back and I'll blind your eyeball for good."
Reeshi could hear him grumbling over the noise of battle, but he said nothing more as he steered his battered X-wing away from the skirmish. Doubling down on her throttle, she took off after the injured TIE that was limping away toward the surface. She caught up to the crippled ship in no time and as she swept past and pulled herself around to return to the heart of the fight, she fired three twin laser blasts, delivering a coup de grace to the crippled fighter.
"Two down, two to go," she said. R4-SK made a serious-sounding grumble. "Havoc Six and Eight, what's your status?"
"This is Havoc Six. I've just about got him." In the background of his transmission, the sound of laser fire cut through the static. As Reeshi approached the abandoned freighter once more, she saw a fireball rise up from behind the massive metal carcass.
"Six, that had better not have been your ship." She joked, but it was always a possibility in situations like this and she knew it all too well.
"Wouldn't dream it, Havoc Five."
"I could use a hand with this last one," came the voice of Havoc Eight. "He turns tighter than I can manage and I can't get a jump on him."
"I'm right behind you, Eight," said Gavin. Reeshi had cleared the visual barrier of the ship and she watched as his X-wing disappeared under the belly of the beast.
"Once you take out that last one, I think we'll be clear," Reeshi called over the radio. "I'll do a sweep just to be sure and then stand guard while Seven heads down to dock."
Her orders were echoed by a chorus of affirmatives as she slowed her ship and began to scan the hull for signs of another ambush. "Risky, can you tell if there's anyone on board the freighter?"
The droid whined.
"I know you're not a battleship, but can't you, I don't know, use heat sensors to see if there's something alive in there or not?"
R4-SK hummed a moment before chirping and emitting a series of timed beeps. Several beeps later, he trilled hesitantly.
"I'd believe that. Sending up a few TIEs to take out a flight of X-wings makes sense. Stationing people on a dead and deserted ship just in case doesn't. It's not like they've got an army of Clones at their disposal. They actually have to pay these people, and I'm sure there's more terror to be wrought on the surface than up here on this hunk of junk."
As she pulled around to the far side of the freighter to meet up with Havoc Seven and their beat-up fighter, the other two emerged from below.
"All units have been taken care of," Gavin announced proudly.
"Excellent," Reeshi said with a smile. "Let's get those weapons and get the hell out of here."
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