The Rescue

by LCM Cal Sinis

Part I

Lieutenant Cal Sinis sat alone in the dark room with only the sound of silence.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…

The sound had been getting louder gradually. Cal wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the cell room, he had been passing in and out of consciousness, but estimated that it had been just under a week. Just under a week since the attack on the newly formed New Republic’s trade route. The battle was intense but the superior Imperial forces, including one of the best squadrons in the fleet - Beth, were overwhelming the opposition. Cal remembered that he had a power loss in his Tie Defender before ejecting, after which he blacked out. His next discernable memory was of being in the cell. There were no windows or any other features to the room, the only distinguishing feature was the door but as to be expected it had no access panel.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…

Commander Sequoh Marden of Beth Squadron sat in his room on board the support vessel Nova’s Fury. He puzzled over the information and sources in front of him, more out of frustration than anything else. A full-scale rescue operation was refused, but he had expected that. It was the fact that no support for the mission was given verbally that annoyed Sequoh. It was as if his superiors (more specifically the intelligence corps) disapproved of, or tried to avoid mention of, his rescue attempt. Beth Squadron would therefore be alone on this operation, not that that worried him. Beth had the deserved reputation as one of the best units in the Tie Corps, and their presence and capacity were considered central to Imperial military operations.

There was also the question of the mysterious group that arrived and aided the imperial forces at the battle, before leaving wordlessly. Cal had not been hit, as analysis of his recovered Tie proved, so the arrival and disappearance of the mysterious force was in no doubt connected with Cal’s disappearance. The reports Sequoh received seemed to confirm this and led him to believe that the intentions of this group were not as plain or good willed as initially thought. Sequoh’s tried and tested gut feelings told him something was up, but what? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in!”

Commander Werdna Elbee walked in, a tinge of eagerness noticeable in his step. Cal is a member of Werdna’s flight thought Sequoh. He knew that Werdna took it particularly personally that Cal had been lost, though it was no ones fault. Werdna was Sequoh’s second in command, and as befitting that role he was one of Tie Corps best pilots.

Sequoh flashed a confidant smile. “What is it Werdna?”

“We’ll be reverting to realspace in an hour, I thought you’d like to give the pilots a quick pre-flight briefing.”

Sequoh looked down at the papers in front of him once more before getting up. “Yes, let’s do that,” he said as they strode out together.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…

It was getting loader. Cal had managed to keep his cool throughout the ordeal, despite the confusion and lack of food and water. At first he assumed the sound was the result of an explosion that caused a ringing in his ear. He now thought that it was a timer of some sort being used to wear him down psychologically. If this was the case it was working, Cal almost imagined he could feel as well as hear the rhythmic sound.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…

Other things began to puzzle Cal. Why hadn’t he been interrogated? In fact why hadn’t his captors made themselves known to him at all? And what would any party, be it the Rebels, pirates, or renegade Warlords’, need him for? There had to be some link, some connection. What was it about him that was of any use?

Sequoh looked at his assembled pilots. From his flight, LCM’s Nylad and Cray Mikalen stood looking strong and confidant as usual; with Werdna by his side and Cal lost, Lt. Merrik Steele stood alone amongst the others proudly representing flight II; finally the former podracer, LCM Var Zoraan stood with the pilots of Flight III, Lt. Seth Rommel and the newest member of Beth Lt. Shield. Each one stood at attention, eager to rescue their comrade.

“Ok pilots, information is sketchy so we’re going to have to keep our wits about us. As far as we know resistance will be minimal at best. Ground defences are another matter however, the planet was only recently charted, and it’s small and barren so it’s a perfect base for operations. The plan is this; once fighters are destroyed we will strafe and neutralise any ground targets. Once that objective is accomplished flights I and II will go to ground and proceed on foot”.

Sequoh noticed some hesitation in his pilot’s eyes with the last sentence, though they tried to hide it. He didn’t blame them, they were pilot’s not ground assault. It was a forced and necessary move, and maybe they were not up for it.

“Any questions?” he asked.

“Yes Sir.” Said Seth. “Do we get to count the ground kills, as well as the fighters!”

Sequoh smiled. “Yes Seth, I don’t see why not.”

“Let’s do it then!” shouted Seth, as the other pilots laughed.

Sequoh felt proud of his pilot’s and confident of their abilities, they could do it. “Ok everyone, get to your ships, and good luck everyone!”

Cal’s mind was getting hot. He forced himself to remain calm and emptied his mind of all thoughts. Cal let out a sigh and stretched his legs; the pain in them reminded him how long it had been since he used them. He decided to get up to walk but was surprised at his weakness and inability to do so. He forced the pain away however with the knowledge that his friends would be coming for him, but on that thought he began to wonder again…

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…

As Sequoh predicted, the defences were weak. A dozen uglies were quickly dispatched of by Flight’s I and II, while Flight III went ahead to make scans of the planet.

“How’s it look Var?” asked Sequoh.

Var frowned in his ship. “Quiet. There’s nothing down there, no weapons or shielding, no people. Only one lifesign, Cal I assume.”

That did surprise Sequoh, it was too easy he thought as his mind calculated the possibilities. What was going on? Suddenly a thought occurred to him. He switched to his private comm to Werdna.

“Werdna, its Sequoh. There’s been a change of plan. I’m going down alone”

“But…”

“No buts Werdna” cut in Sequoh, “You heard Var. The danger is from something unseen. There’s something more to this I know. You’re in command while I retrieve Cal. Understood?”

“Ok” came the reluctant reply, “I’ll send Var to check out the planet’s moon. Get Cal! Good luck.”

“Thanks, I will. Sequoh out.”

Sequoh went down to the dead planet, its only outstanding feature the deserted base. Landing a safe distance from the building Sequoh drew his blaster and made his way to main entrance cautiously. Approaching the main door it was obvious to Sequoh that the building was entirely deserted with no security measures in place. This was mirrored by the interior of the building. Searching the rooms one by one Sequoh finally arrived at what he assumed was Cal’s room on the ground floor. The door was locked, but curiosly there was a key card hanging beside it. After a thorough check of the card and door for booby traps or wiring Sequoh was satisfied it was all clear. He passed the key over the scan, which made a clicking sound as its mechanism worked. Sequoh then pushed the door slowly open his blaster ready.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…

Cal covered his ears. His thoughts had taken over again, a plethora of ideas; conspiracies and images filled his mind. Why was he here?

…TICK…

What was the connection between the various factions and himself?

…TOCK…

How was he of any use to his captors?

…TICK…

Cal saw, rather than heard, the door of his cell open. The light that entered the room was blinding, but Cal managed to make out the figure at the door. It was Commander Sequoh! Cal was about to smile in joy, when he felt a sharp pain in his head and stomach. Then it dawned on him…

…TOCK.

Part II

Then it was quiet…

“Fighters, coming in at our 5!” Announced Var over the comm.

“Any I.D.?” Asked Seth.

“Just a second. Ok we got a dozen A-wings and a flight of X-wings.”

Werdna heard Var’s reply and breathed a sigh of relief; its not as bad as he expected, but they still had their work cut out. It was obvious that the Rebel group was a scouting party, a well armed one, but a scouting party nevertheless with no reinforcements.

“Ok, Nylad, Cray form up with Var’s Flight. Let’s go give our Rebel guests a proper welcome!”

“Cal! What’s wrong? Are you ok? Can you walk?” Shouted Sequoh. Cal seemed oblivious to his questions as he screamed in pain. Checking for any broken bones, Sequoh carefully lifted Cal up.

“I know it hurts pal, but we gotta get out of here quickly, I’ve got a…”

“…Bad feeling about this.” Finished Cal. “Me too.” He said with a groan and a smile.

“Good to see your back with us.”

Once outside, Sequoh checked for any possible ambush. He had thought before how odd Cal’s kidnap had been and when they arrived in system his doubt increased, everything pointed to a trap. That was why he went down to the planetary base alone, instead of with the others as planned. But there seemed to be no evidence of a trap, no troops, no assault vehicles, just silence. Supporting Cal he got to his T/D and signaled Werdna, there was no reply. Grabbing his macrobinoculars, Sequoh scanned the shy and saw laser fire. This was not good. If only I could get Cal in my T/D.

The battle was draining, whoever these Rebels were they were good. There hadn’t been a single loss on either side yet. Werdna noticed his comm light flashing; damn it must be Sequoh. This was bad; the fight was close and Beth were holding their own against a larger force but Werdna knew if he sent someone down to retrieve Cal that would change. On the flip side of that coin, Werdna knew that they could use Sequoh up here. He had to take the risk; they couldn’t leave Cal or Sequoh down there. Werdna cursed himself for taking so long making the decision.

“Shield this is lead. Get down to the planet and retrieve Cal. You’ve got no cover so make it quick.”

“Copy that lead, I’m on it.” Came the reply.

Werdna checked his screen and saw Shield break off. He was relieved to see that no one tailed Shield, but that relief was short-lived. Werdna was stunned by what he saw on the screen - more ships dropping out of hyperspace, one of which was a Star Destroyer.

Shield saw the Star Destroyer drop out of hyperspace; he did a quick I.D. check. It was not one of theirs. For a moment he played with the idea of going back, but that would make no difference. He had to get Cal so Sequoh could get into the fight. He located Sequoh’s fighter and set his missile boat next to it. Getting out of his craft Shield noticed how bad Cal looked and was stunned to silence; Sequoh cut in.

“Shield, what’s going on?”

“Sir. We made our pass of the moon when some Rebels dropped out of hyperspace, nothing too big, just a scouting party.”

Sequoh saw the nervous hesitation in Shield’s eyes, “But…” he urged.

“But, just as I was heading down here a Star Destroyer joined the party, and its not one of ours.”

Sequoh ran to his Fighter and powered it up; he looked at his screen and saw what he expected.

“Shield we got 6 ships heading this way.” Sequoh climbed into his cockpit. “Get Cal in your ship and head for that low mountain range about 10 clicks North West. Wait there and get ready for some target practice.”

Shield smiled, “Yes Sir.”

Shield ran over to Cal and picked him up. “Ok Cal, I hope your ready for some action.” Strapping him in tightly, Shield powered up his craft and lifted off then headed towards the mountains. Once over them, he cut his engines and using only his repulsors, he hovered by the mountains and was effectively cloaked by them. Shield waited.

All the while Sequoh was being tailed by 2 T/F’s. However, neither the pilots nor the craft were able to cause Sequoh any problems. The T/F’s maneuvered stiffly and awkwardly in the planet’s atmosphere, while Sequoh’s T/D cut through it smoothly. With several simple yet effectively sharp turns that the T/F’s couldn’t match, Sequoh dispatched his opponents. In the distance he saw two more T/F’s and a pair of T/B’s laying waste to the building Cal was imprisoned in. Sequoh decided to get their attention, he locked onto one of the T/B’s with a missile and fired. The craft exploded and the wingman banked hard to avoid the explosion, but some flak still caught his craft. The two T/F’s turned towards Sequoh who also turned and headed towards the mountain range. Reaching it Sequoh casually twisted and turned his fighter, easily avoiding the chasing T/F’s laser fire. Suddenly the lead T/F was blown up, the second T/F moved to its left but was also caught by a missile that caused it to spin uncontrollably to the ground. As he looped back around Sequoh couldn’t help but be impressed with Shield’s accuracy. Not only had he shot blind without the targeting computer so as not to make the T/F’s aware of his presence, but he also anticipated the second T/F’s movement to the left and fired into that area. As Shield joined his wing, Sequoh finished off the stray T/B and they headed out of the planet’s atmosphere.

Werdna cleared his head and thought fast, he noticed that some of the other fighters in the skirmish were also momentarily surprised by the Star Destroyers arrival. That made him think that the new ship was not part of any Rebel reinforcements, this was further supported by the fact that 2 squadrons of T/F’s and 2 squadrons of Uglies were heading towards them. Werdna ran scenarios through his brain when a message came through on his comm.

“T/D leader, this is Commander Wedge Antilles of the Rebel Alliance. I have a deal to offer you. Over.”

“I’m Captain Werdna Elbee, acting commander of Beth Squadron, of Emperors Hammer. I of course know who you are Commander Antilles.”

“Well I’ll get straight to the point Captain Elbee. Considering our current predicament I think it would be in both our forces and governments interests if we made a temporary truce and focused our attentions to those eyeballs and uglies.”

Werdna thought for a moment, there didn’t seem to be any other options. “Agreed” came Werdna’s answer over the comm just as Sequoh also spoke it.

“I heard everything Werdna, you made the right choice. Commander Antilles, this is Squadron Commander Sequoh Marden. I suggest you take the uglies and we’ll get the T/F’s.”

“Affirmative. Antilles out.”

“Ok Nylad, Cray, back with Sequoh.” Said Werdna.

“You heard people,” said Sequoh “form up. We’re highly outnumbered so watch your six and stick by your wingman.”

“Here goes nothing!” Shouted Cray.

The first few seconds of the battle were intense, but as with the pilots Sequoh encountered earlier, these guys were rookies, most likely recruited from the bottom of the Imperial Academy barrel. Var’s flight took out half of one T/F squadron with some well placed missiles while Flights II and I cleared up. Sequoh could see the Rebels were also mopping up the uglies in an efficient manner, with only 2 losses. Eventually only several uglies and T/F’s were remained and they turned tail and headed towards the Star Destroyer. This gave Sequoh the opportunity to calculate the Squadron’s jump coordinates, he was careful to input several short jump’s first so the Rebels or Star Destroyer could not follow.

“Commander Marden, this is Antilles. It’s been interesting flying with you. Hopefully we’ll never meet again.”

“Yes, the feelings mutual. Until next time, Marden out.” Sequoh smiled. He knew, like Antilles, that chances were they would some day come head-to-head. He saw the X and A-wings streak away before turning his attention to his squadron.

“Ok everyone, you should all be receiving your jump coordinates” he said “and here’s hoping for a safe journey home” he finished to himself.

Sequoh walked down the corridor of the Sovereign. He was going to Cal’s return party. Cal had taken over a week to recover from his external injuries, but he had worse injuries. It seems Cal was indeed used as bait. He was planted with an advanced thermal detonator, which was intended to go off when all of the squadron was at the base. When the detonator’s advanced sensors only detected one person - him, it aborted, sent out a signal, and released a virus into Cal’s bloodstream. The med-droids said it would take a long time to eliminate the virus, but Cal was a fighter and would be back in the cockpit of a T/D soon enough.

Undoubtedly, the Star Destroyer received the detonator’s signal, thus its late arrival to do a clean-up job. Sequoh assumed it was one of the countless power hungry Warlords who was behind everything, but details were being kept classified. He had a visit from the intelligence division who were less than happy about Sequoh’s skirmish with the mysterious enemy, but they accepted it was unavoidable in the circumstances. Sequoh knew he was being kept in the dark about the Emperors Hammer’s involvement with this group, but said nothing. He was a pilot; he had no interest in politics, backhanded deals, or power. He just liked to fly.

He could here the noise of his squad around the corner. A cheer went up as he entered the pilots lounge. They were all there, even Cal.

“Been dodging your rounds have you Sequoh” came the smiling accusation from Var.

“Far from it, here” Sequoh handed Var some credits “and remember no…

“NO ALCOHOL!” The entire squadron finished with a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up laser-brains. I guess we’ll see who’s getting the high scores on our sim runs tomorrow morning at six o’clock sharp!”

“Huh!” Came the bemused reply from the pilots.

Then Sequoh sat back with his non-alcoholic drink, listened to their protests and smiled.

The End