Brigadier General Sarkis looked out the window from the Officer's Lounge aboard the Relentless. Soon, he saw Major General Caesar approaching him to take a seat. Sarkis saluted Caesar as he sat down.

"Greetings, Major General. What can I help you with?"

"Nothing much. Just been patrolling the halls. You?"

"Been looking out this window. Did I ever tell you about how I came to be a part of the Empire?"

"No, you never mentioned it."

"It's an interesting story, at least I think it is. One day that changed my life. That one day had Jabba, mercenaries, and Imperial Intelligence in it. It was one heckuva day for me, but it brought me back into the fold. Showed me my true destiny."

"How'd it start?"

"Well, it started when I was working for Jabba as a spy..."

* * *

"Look, all you need to do is tell me who your contact is, and I will let you live..." said Sarkis.

"No way! You don't scare me, I hardly see you around the palace. Whatcha doing, hiding and shaking in the shadows? Gimme your best shot!!!" said the uncooperative thief.

"Okay, if you insist..." and Sarkis stood up. He walked to the back of the room, and turned around. He whipped out his pistol, and pulled the trigger several times while pointing it at the thief's head. The thief jumped back in his chair, turning his face in various directions to avoid looking at the laser at it hurtles towards him. To his surprise, nothing hits him. He looks up to see Sarkis putting his pistol back in his holster.

"This pistol is a fake, you coward. Even the cook knows that this is a fake from looking at it. You're more cowardly than you appear to be," said Sarkis calmly.

"Yeah? Well, I still ain't telling you anything."

"Okay. Here is what's going to happen," and Sarkis took out a different pistol. He visibly set it to kill, and looked into the thief's eyes. With the thief tied down, nothing could prevent Sarkis from what he was about to do. He placed the barrel of the pistol down the thief's mouth...

"I will now ask you a series of yes and no questions. You answer truthfully, a nod being a yes and a shake being no. I can tell when a man is lying, and if I see you lying at all, you will die instantly, understand?" The thief nodded. "Good. Let's start."

Hours later, Sarkis emerged form his room, with a battered and worn man at his knees. He dragged this man to the bedroom with a very important individual:

Jabba the Hutt.

"Greetings, oh Bloated One. I have a new revelation for you, Master," said Sarkis, motioning to the thief he was dragging.

"Good, Raemes. I am hoping, for your sake, that this piece of information is more... timely," said Jabba.

Sarkis remembered the last time he had info: he saw Solo, and his Wookie Chewbacca, running to some docking bay. They were followed by some farm boy and an old man. Sarkis radioed Jabba about finding Solo, but that other spy, Garindan, already alerted the Imperials. By the time Jabba sent some men over, Solo already evaded the Stormtroopers. Jabba was benevolent by letting Raemes live, but only because Raemes supplied other valuable info earlier in his life.

"Yes, Master. Well, I have found a potential troublemaker in our midst, that Security did not catch," Raemes said, eyeing Bib Fortuna, Jabba's majordomo, and head of security. "This here thief attempted to steal some of you priceless artwork. After some questioning, he revealed his employer: a Karl Zepnoff."

"Zepnoff! That foul merc! He had just asked me for a large sum of credits for the shipment of spice to one of my colleagues. I am glad to turn him down. Raemes, I want you to eliminate him, to show him the fate of those who try to stral from me, the mighty Jabba!"

"Of course, your excellency. What craft shall I take?"

"Take one of the old Z-95s out in the hangar. It will make you look like a merc down on his luck. Penetrate his organization, learn its workings, sabotage it, and kill him!!!"

"Yes, oh Bloated One. I am on my way," and Sarkis left room, leaving the thief behind for Jabba to find someone to dispose of.

* * *

Sarkis hyperspaced into the Mantooine System, where a fight was commencing. As soon as he emerged fomr hyperspace, he was greeted with an image of several TIE Fighters and Z-95s battling each other while an Modified Imperial Frigate looms in the background, and a Modified Corvette lurked around with many TIEs circling it.

He made a flyby of the Corvette, and identified it as M/CRV Lucky Find. It was the Modified Corvette of Zepnoff.

He then set off to ID the Frigate; Modified Imperial Frigate Malevolence. The local patroller in this system, he figured. If he could hold off some of the fighters and help the Lucky Find escape, he could look good in the eyes of Zepnoff. Would make it easier to kill him.

Sarkis then set out for combat. First, he picked the TIE Bombers who were targeting the Lucky Find. He swooped and, and quickly eliminated them with his missiles. The other TIE took notice of him, and start attacking him. He was in the middle of blasting a TIE when he heard a message over his com-link.

"Who are you?" said a gruff voice in the Lucky Find.

"Name's Sarkis," Sarkis replied.

"Well, if you help cover me while I hyper out, then you can follow me, and we can talk more. Is that a deal?"

"Okay. Who am I speaking to?"

"I'm Zepnoff. Meet me at these coordinates..." and Zepnoff told him the coordinates.

Meanwhile, aboard the M/FRG Malevolence, two Imperial Officers speak about Sarkis. One, a scanner station manager, and the other a representative of the Ubiqtorate.

"Well, do we have an ID on that new Z-95?"

"Called the "Lone Wolf." One of the pilots made a scan just before he got killed. He transmitted the data to us, and IDed the pilot as one 'Raemes Sarkis.'"

"Wait, are you sure about that name, officer?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because Raemes Sarkis is the son of Joseph and Brooke Sarkis, who were killed in the raid on the Excalibur. If this is that same son, getting him back to our side may be beneficial..."

"But sir! He's a criminal! He just killed several of our pilots! And our trajectory analysis indicates he just came from Tattooine, where that crime lord Jabba resides! And he's helping those mercenaries out there!"

"Never mind all that. As you just indicated, he is a good pilot. So if nothing else, he can be an asset for the Navy. His family was quite an influential one. The Emperor would be pleased if the son of one of his more loyal Senators were back into the Empire. I'll speak to the Ubiqtorate about recovering him. For now, I want an Infiltration team observing him and his actions. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

And it was at that moment when the Lucky Find hyperspaced out of the Malevolence's reach. Sarkis' Lone Wolf followed the Lucky Find into hyperspace.

* * *

"So, Sarkis, what field are you in?" asked Karl Zepnoff.

"I'm a freelance merc. Hunting, escorting, shipping, smuggling, whatever gives me the money."

"Good, good. Ever heard of Jabba the Hutt?"

"Who hasn't? I've never met him in person, but I did run into one of his operatives."

"Haha, that's good. Bloated scum, he and his men. Refused me for a job smuggling some spice. I guess after Solo messed up, he doesn't trust us Corellians, ehh? Anyways, we're just waiting for some reinforcments. Called up for some mercs to escort us outta here. Once they arrive, then we're on our way."

"Where are you going?"

"Reaching way out back to Corellia. Got a job prospect there."

"Can I come along?"

"Sure. You help me get outta there, I'll let you stay in the ship. We'll attach your ship to the hull for repairs."

"Thanks," Sarkis said. "This merc is entirely too trusting, this will be an easy job," thought Sarkis.

"Where did you learn how to fly like that?"

"My Uncle taught me the basics of flight, but I taught myself the rest. Stole this ship while I was on the run."

"That's good. Looks like our reinforcements are here. Hold on a moment," and Zepnoff turned around. "Lucky Find here. How are you boys?"

"Just fine. Jerrod sends his regards," replied one of the pilots.

"That's good. Let's get under way. Sarkis, you can have bunk 4, near the back of the ship. I gotta look over some things in my quarters. Feel free to mingle with the rest of us in the lounge."

"Thanks."

Zepnoff left the hallway towards his quarters. Sarkis eyed him carefully before going to the lounge.

* * *

The Lucky Find had to make a stop on some small space port. The hyperdrive was somewhat damaged during the battle, and Zepnoff wanted to make sure that the ship was fit enough to make it to Corellia. Sarkis was pleased that a natural cause was creating a delay, it saved him from doing a similar job himself.

For the past few days, Sarkis had been learning all he can about Zepnoff. He carefully questioned each of his men until he got a good picture of Zepnoff's operation. Zepnoff was the typical merc with some hired guns. Usually liked smuggling jobs, but did some other work, including thieving and hunting. He and his men happen to stumble across a damaged M/CRV, and decided to "liberate" it. Hence, the Lucky Find. Zepnoff does have a few contacts, but they range to some other mercs who had hired guns to spare to a couple of thieves here and there. All in all, his presence would not be sorely missed if he were to die...

That is good. The space port provided a good opportunity. He could kill him here, and slip away, back to Jabba's for some more work.

There was only one hitch, those reinforcements. They could possibly spread the word about Zepnoff's death.

They looked a bit peculiar as well.

"No matter," Sarkis thought. He saw Zepnoff going into the men's room. He checked his blaster setting, it was on "kill."

He set out to follow Zepnoff into the bathroom. What he didn't see were the new pilots following him. For he didn't realize that they were not new mercs, but rather...

an Imperial Intelligence Infiltration Team.

* * *

Zepnoff was doing his business in one of the stalls. Sarkis stepped into the room, and checked for any other persons in it. No one but him and Zepnoff. Sarkis started to take out his blaster, until he decided to take out something else: a vibro-blade. He then grinned to himeself as he advanced towards the stall. He then proceeded to step inside the stall next to Zepnoff.

He waited.

After Zepnoff finished his business, he got up and stepped out of the stall. As he opened the stall door, Sarkis walked out of his stall. He then quickly grabbed Zpenoff, and shoved him inside one of the stalls. He said "I have a message for you."

"What do you think you're doing!!!!"

"You are entirely too trusting, Zepnoff. I am an agent for one of your enemies."

"I should've known you were an Imperial!"

"Dead-wrong, my friend. I work for Jabba. He doesn't like thieves hired by disgruntled mercs, y'know..."

"I'm sure we can work this out. What's your price, my friend?"

"I don't betray my masters, and my asking price would be too high for you."

"Look, I'm sure we ca-" and Zepnoff was instantly dead. Sarkis got sick of hearing him babble on about making a deal, and decided to just outright stab him in the chest with the vibro-blade. Soon, the floor was covered with blood. Sarkis set out to wash his hands and leave the spaceport. With luck, he should be taking off when the body was discovered.

Luck was not on his side, for just when he had exited...

Jabba was on the holonet making a public death mark on Sarkis.

Soon, everyone turned to see who just emerged from the bathroom, and saw the same man that Jabba was offering 100,000 credits for dead or alive. Sarkis ran to the side and jumped out of a window as everyone started to rise to collect the bounty.

* * *

Sarkis landed on the ground of the docking bay. "Cripes, must've broken my arm and leg," Sarkis griped as he limped toward his Z-95, the Lone Wolf. As he finally strapped himself in, he start up his repulsors and took off before any of the other mercs could get into their ships. He painfully punched in the hyperspace coordinates for Tattooine. He was hoping he could clear out this mess with Jabba, and if not, kill him.

Hist hyperspace trip was cut short. During the jump, he suddenly came out of hyperspace, only to stare at an Imperial Frigate with a full squadron of TIE Interecptors waiting for him. It was the Malevolence, it had tracked Sarkis to here. Sarkis swore to himself, as he was in no condition to put up a fight.

"Greetings Lone Wolf. Let our Interceptors escort you to the Malevolence. Hurry, we must do this quickly if they are to be fooled..." a voice from the Malevolence said.

"What are you talking about...?" and Sarkis spied a new Z-95 hypering in. It had the ID of the Lone Wolf as well! He then saw three TIE Interecptors in an escort formation coming towards him, while the rest went after the new Z-95.

"Fine, I'll play their game," Sarkis thought as he was escorted into the Malevolence. He turned his head to see the other Lone Wolf blasted into oblivion just as some more merc ships appeared.

He was taken out of the ship and taken to a conference room. He saw some Z-95s parked in the hangar, and saw the men who piloted them escorting him into the room. He then realized who they were.

"Wait, you were the reinforcements Zepnoff called for! He couldn't have been working for the Empire..."

"He wasn't. We're an Intelligence team sent to observe you. Have a seat, an officer will speak with you," one of them said as Sarkis sat in a chair. Soon after they left, an officer stepped into the room, and took a seat across from Sarkis.

"What's this all about?" asked Sarkis.

"We're here to save you, Raemes Sarkis, son of Joseph and Brooke Sarkis. Raised by an Uncle Nicholas and worked under the employ of Jabba the Hutt. You were a part of the Empire, and you left. The Empire wants you back. Jabba surely doesn't. Let us help you, Sarkis..."

"Well, looks like I don't have much of a choice. Do you happen to know why my former employer decided to place a death mark on me?"

"We have not had that answered yet. Though, we have spoken to some informants, and they said that this was an elaborate ruse to get you away from Jabba so that you wouldn't detect the treachery in the air."

"Damn. Next time I meet him, I'll kill that bloated slug. First he kills my uncle, then he decides to kill me. I guess I'm not 'useful' anymore, he does that to people I weasel out. maybe got himself a new spy and wanted to get rid of me." Sarkis looked up into the officer's eyes.

"If I am part of the Empire, what will I do?"

"You will be enlisted in the Imperial Navy. We've seen your flying skills, they will be helpful in the battles to come. Don't worry about your death mark. We have just made it look like you died by our men, and we will erase all facets of your existance. You will no longer exist outside of the Navy. Only Naval personnel along with Intelligence officers and key figures will know of your existence."

"Will I get to exact revenge on both the Rebels and criminal scum like Jabba?"

"Of course."

"Then, I accept. Let me be a new tool for the Emperor's New Order."

* * *

"There it is, I became a member of the Empire. Was stationed on Outpost D-34 for my first assignment. You know the rest, and here I am, aboard the Relentless."

"Pretty good story. Have I told you about my pilgrimmage?"

"I've heard of it, but never heard the full story."

The station alarm started ringing. Major General Caesar got up as Sarkis finshed his drink. Caesar said "Looks like we've arrived in Charybdis. I'll tell you some other time."

Sarkis ran towards the hangar, eager to fly another mission for the rebuilding of the Empire. Perhaps he will meet some Rebels or criminals?

Name: Raemes Sarkis

Rank: General

Scandoc Transmission Code (FULL E-Mail): EH Sarkis@aol.com

Sex (M/F): M

Race: Human

Date of Birth: Unknown, see below.

Place of Birth (Please include Homeworld): Imperial City, Coruscant.

Marital Status (Single, Married, Divorced, Separated): Single

Family: Father was Joseph Sarkis, an Imperial Senator who loyally supported Emperor Palpatine. Mother was Brooke Sarkis, who was a part of one of Coruscant's upper-class socialites before marriage to Joseph Sarkis. Brooke had a bastard brother, a Nicholas who raised Raemes in the crime-filled region of Tatooine.

Social Status (Destitute, Poor, Well-to-do, Wealthy, Nobility): Wealthy

Significant Events of Childhood & Adolescence: Had a privileged and spoiled life in Imperial City. Parents were attacked and killed during a Rebel raid aboard the Imperial Luxury Liner "Excalibur." After the attack, Raemes was taken in the care of his uncle Nicholas to the planet of Tatooine, where he was raised in the place of crime, and eventually became a part of Jabba's court. It was the death of his parents that fueled the hatred for the Rebellion. He trained himself in the art of war in preparation for his vengeance against the rebellion.

Significant Events of Adulthood:Uncle Nicholas had a massive debt to Jabba the Hutt, and as a punishment, Jabba was going to kill Nicholas and Raemes. It was Raemes' observation of a transport ship full of Imperial Troops earlier that day that saved his life. While Nicholas still died, Raemes preserved his life by notifying Jabba of the ship's presence. The ship turned out to be full of Troops who were about to raid Jabba's palace. Jabba had the ship take an "accident." Raemes then became a part of Jabba's court. His knack for observation made him into a high-class spy for Jabba. He was rarely seen at the palace, as he was sent out to spy on Jabba's enemies. He also doubled as an assassin for Jabba, and eliminated quite a few "associates" of the Empire. It was through the manipulation of Imperial Intelligence officers and easily bribed henchmen that led Jabba to believe that Raemes was set to kill him. Jabba put a death-mark on him, and the Empire offered to save his life if he is part of the Empire again. He accepted, Intelligence faked his death, removed records of his existence, and became a part of the Imperial Navy. Career highlights include saving the Empire, defeating the defector Admiral Harkov, and destroying the traitor Admiral Zaarin.

Alignment & Attitude: Completely loyal to the Empire. After betrayal at the hands of Jabba the Hutt, and the Rebel attack, he has no one else to turn to. Vengeance against organized crime and the Rebellion fuel his loyalty to the Empire.

Former Occupations (if any): Spy and Assassin for Jabba the Hutt

Hobbies: Pouring over battle archives for any insight into the enemy. Studying tactics of both conventional warfare and of intelligence. Looking out for criminals to kill.

Tragedies: As mentioned above, parents were slain in Rebel attack. Was betrayed by Jabba the Hutt because of heresay of killing Jabba.

Phobias & Allergies: Formerly feared terrorists and criminals, but now feels hatred towards those types. No physical allergies.

Personal views of the Empire (and Emperor's Hammer): Feels that the Empire is the true path for him. He was born into the Empire, and when he strayed from the Empire, was brought back in. Feels that his owes his life to the Empire for letting him live and allowing him a chance to strike back at his enemies.

Reason for applying to the Emperor's Hammer Elite Strike Fleet: After the defeat of Endor, transferred from Thrawn's ship to one of the minor colonies in the Outer Rim. Yearned to be a part of the true Empire, finds last hope in the Emperor's Hammer.

Personal views of Dagger Squadron:

Other comments or information (optional): Very astute observer. Sees things, and memorizes them in hope of insight into the enemy. Example of loyalty is the promotion to the Emperor's Voice. Has a lust for power and prestige, and yearns to be a part of Imperial Intelligence in addition to the Navy.

I hereby confirm that the above information is legitimate and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Signature: Raemes Sarkis

Date: February 10, 1996

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The canyon was flared in a ghostly green light as Murdock's flight helmet switched to night vision. The canyon at this point was only four times wider than his TIE fighter and at this speed it didn't leave him much room to maneuver. He observed in awe the beauty of the wind eroded gorge. Various bridge-like formations spanned across the canyon carved by the desert wind throughout the centuries. As much as Murdock would have loved to sit back and enjoy the scenery he didn't want to end up becoming a part of it. The first wind-carved obstacle came flying his way. Murdock slowly pulled back on the flight stick, being careful not to pull back too hard and join with the canyon wall as so many other pilots had.

"This does get hard doesn't it?" His wingman Arkie spoke through his Com. unit. Arkie was holding a .10 kilometre distance behind Murdock.

"You wouldn't be getting cocky on me now, would you?"

As he rounded the first obstacle a second just seemed to materialize in front of his craft. Murdock jerked his controls down quickly just barely avoiding the rock. Unfortunately Arkie wasn't so lucky, his fighter exploded on contact with the obstacle.

"Damn!" Murdock glanced back at the bridge and saw a fireball where Arkie should have been.

As Murdock glanced back he saw a giant rock spire jutting out of the misty depths of the canyon. He banked hard to the right to attempt to avoid a similar fate to Arkie's. He missed the spire but he overcorrected his craft. As a testament to the T.I.E.'s (Twin. Ion .Engine) structural engineering, his fighter was rebounded four times off the canyon walls before finally exploding.

Murdock sighed and sank his head back against the seat cushion. That was the eleventh time he had flown through the canyon and he still hadn't made it through alive.

He reached for the cockpit lever and yanked back hard, almost breaking it. He stepped out of the cockpit giving the next trainee an opportunity to turn his or her life into a flaming wreck.

"Come on, Arkie. Let’s hit the Cantina."

Murdock, Arkie and all the other trainees were on their final examination of the Imperial Academy. For the last three years of his life Murdock had been enrolled in Imperial Naval Academy. The last three years of his life were spent building up to this one pass or fail test- the canyon run.

The work he was doing on the simulator was just practice on a randomly generated terrain. The real thing would be much harder and much faster. The real thing would also not be done in a simulator. It would be done on the nearest planet with a suitable canyon. The canyon run gave new meaning to the words pass or fail. The only way to pass was to come out alive. If you failed you didn't have much to worry about. There was no going back now.

He and his training group were currently stationed on the Imperial Star Destroyer (I.S.D.) Devastator, orbiting over the planet Tatooine. The Devastator had instigated a small skirmish the last day with a Corellian corvette and was using it as an excuse to establish an increased presence on Tatoonie. This created a perfect opportunity to begin the "Exam".

Tatooine, a useless desert hole in the galaxy was one of the most desolate places he had ever seen. What a wonderful place to die... or ascend to honour and glory through a lifetime of adventure. Inhabited by only the lowest of life forms and other such beings of limited intelligence Murdock would probably never have heard of Tatooine except for this training mission.

Murdock and Arkie marched down the uniform grey corridors until they finally reached the door to the Cantina. They both stepped through the steel grey portal and took their usual booth: close to a corner, yet closer to the bar. Reeves was already waiting for them. Murdock violently yanked off his gloves and slammed them down on the table.

"Do I detect a hint of frustration?"

Arkie folded his hands, overly exaggerated a smile and sat down in the booth. Murdock bared his teeth and sat down beside Arkie with a grunt.

"Cute," Arkie responded. "So how'd you do on the simulation?"

"How do you think I did? I am the best." Reeves paused due to the amount of laughter emanating from his comrades.

"I heard there was going to be a fork in the Tatooine canyon after a certain point. One of these routes is overly difficult the other is merely challenging. Maybe you should consider taking the easy way out. Of course a pilot of my skill doesn't need to take the easy way out." Reeves offered.

Trying to calm himself down Murdock caught the attention of the 'droid attendant.

"Three pints of Bitter," Murdock requested in a slightly monotonous tone. He stuck out his thumb and gestured to Reeves.

"He's paying. Account #9578-3755," Murdock continued.

"What do you mean I'm paying!?" Reeves grimaced in disbelief.

"Hey, if you want to kiss the sky, then as a friend, I wouldn't want a little thing like a bank account to hold you down," Murdock countered.

Arkie pulled the account verifier pad to Reeves with an angerly exaggerated smile on his face. Reeves sat motionless staring an the box for a few moments. He finally complied and slammed his thumb down on the pad.

"Thank you, sirs! Your drinks will be here momentarily." The little box like K-9 droid scooted off behind the bar. That was when Ozmen stood up from his stool at the bar and swaggered over to where the trio was seated. As Ozmen slowly and painstakingly ambled across the room, two other very large and well-built cadets stood up and flanked him. Ozmen stood infront of the booth and puffed his chest out. He stood facing the group, his arms folded and his legs spread slightly apart. His two associate goons followed suit. He smirked trying to appear tough, like some one you did not want to anger. Instead he conveyed the impression of being drunk. If he didn't look that way he certainly smelled it.

"So," Ozmen started, attempting to sound as intimidating as possible considering his speech was slurred.

"So, you losers think you got what it takes to fly T.I.E. fighters, do you?" Ozmen continued.

Reeves quickly jerked out of his seat and clenched his fists. All parties could see, even in the smoky atmosphere of the bar that Reeves was turning a deep scarlet.

"I could..." Reeves was yelling his rebuttal and was ready to enforce it with his fists. Instead the serving droid cut him off.

"Here are your drinks, sirs. Please try and keep your voice level under 80 decibels. You're disturbing the other patrons."

"Yeah, the real TIE pilots in this place don't need to be disturbed by unskilled losers like you." Ozmen used this opportunity to inflict more mental damage.

Reeve's face turned a deep shade of purple this time but Arkie held him back. Thinking that his job here was completed Ozmen dismissed his goons and quickly began to swagger away in his usual drunken manner. Unfortunately he didn't see the table in front of him. Ozmen plowed through the table but was caught unbalanced and accompanied it on the way down. The moment he hit the floor he began to vomit.

"That's odd I always thought that real TIE pilots were supposed to be able to walk three feet without ramming themselves into a large stationary object. Judging by the vomit currently spewing out of this real TIE pilot we discover that apparently real TIE pilots actually can't. We can also observe by this vomit that real TIE pilots go hours without eating solid foods. In fact judging by his stomach contents the last solid food this real TIE pilot was a handful of beer-nuts early this morning. It seems as if his stomach became filled with liquids ever since. I wonder what type of liquids could this real TIE pilot has been fasting on. I'll have to find out or I suppose I just can't be a real TIE pilot." Arkie gave his commentary with a bright innocent smile on his face. Unlike Reeves Arkie preferred to deliver his damage mentally.

Ozmen slowly pushed himself up, vomit still dribbling down the front of his uniform. At last he was able to bring himself up to full height. His breathing deepened and he focused his eyes on Arkie.

"I'm going to pound you for that one!"

Ozmen then fell straight backwards, passing out completely.

"I didn't think real TIE pilots did that either." Murdock jested.

"Oh well, maybe I don't want to be a real TIE pilot." Arkie paused for a moment considering something. "Anyway it's 21:50 pm Imperial standard time and I think I'd better get some sleep for the canyon run. How about you guys?"

"Even though I won't need it, it might just be a good idea. But first, I have a personal vendetta that must be settled."

Reeves spoke with a smirk and by the time he got up his smirk had evolved into a full blown psychotic smile. He then walked over to Ozmen's unconscious body and called the serving droid over.

"What do you think he's up to?" Arkie gestured over to Reeves with his head.

"I don't know. Anyway I probably wont be able to get any sleep tonight, so I think I’ll head down to the simulator and get in some last minute practice."

"Oh well. Good night."

"Good night Arkie."

As Arkie left the table Murdock began to drain his pint. As he put down the mug with a satisfying "Ah" he noticed a crowd gathering around the bar.

Faintly above the crowd Murdock could hear Reeves' voice saying "Free Drinks! Free drinks! Name your poison and you've got it.!"

The crowed parted a little as the satisfied customers received their drinks and Murdock noticed that Reeves was in fact standing in the middle of the crowd. He also noticed that Reeves had put an account verifier box underneath Ozmen's hands and was currently draining funds and giving them away in liquid form from the drunken giant.

Murdock Just sighed.

"And would T- Theta and T-Zeta squadrons report to bay 58 for mission briefings. All non essential crew members are restricted to decks 13, 14, 15 and 16 until further notice. Message repeats: <The reveille was played and a female voice came over the com..> Good morning. Squadrons Alpha, Python, Rho and Nu stand by for assignment. And would T- Theta and T-Zeta squadrons report to Bay 58 for mission briefings. All non essential crew members are restricted to decks 13, 14, 15 and 16 until further notice. All shoreleave is cancelled. That will be all"

Murdock slowly came to focus on his bunk around him. It came as a rude surprise when Arkie dropped down from the bunk above him.

"Don't you just love Imperial messages? Short and to the point." Arkie descended with his usual morning speech.

The other squad members of the training group Theta began to rise or drop from their bunks as well.

Murdock glanced around at the other squadron members until his eyes locked with Reeves. There was a big brown patch circling circling his eye.

"What happened to you?" Murdock said half laughing, half concerned.

"Well, remember that big goon, Ozmen?" Reeves responded

"Uh... yea."

"Well, he was sort of upset at the bar tab I had run up for him..."

"Ouch, that must have been a painful experience."

"Not really, he only got one hit on me before passing out again. This time I tapped him into one of the concourse turbo lifts. So I was able to clean out his account with little trouble. Revenge is mine!"

Paul stormed past them in an effort to locate his boots.

"Uh, say, didn't Paul manage to get a date with a blond from T-Zeta?"

Paul halted his search for his boots and looked up at them.

"Yea, I did. But I crashed and burned within the first hour. Looks like I've got a chance to go two for two in the canyon."

"Don't remind me about the canyon. I tried the simulator five more times and once, just once could I actually see the end far off in the distance."

"You can fly all the simulators you want, Look at the tapes and analyze your mistakes and see what you should have done, but the only run that really matters is the next. The real one," Paul offered.

The friends struggled to get dressed and showered in time for the briefing and were on their way to the mess hall.

"Where's Williams, and the rest of the squad?" Arkie questioned.

"I think Williams, Marilyn and Suzanne are waiting for us in the mess," Paul responded.

"I don't even want to know where Ozmen and Goon #1 (or Stevens as he is called) are. They'll probably want to mutilate random parts of me and ship me off to the cafeteria when they're done," Reeves said.

"Hey, at least it'll be an improvement with the food quality," Arkie jested.

Arkie quickly found himself clutching his ribs.

"What?" he asked

"I thought you bribed him with the hard liquor last night." Murdock stated.

"I did, but I don't trust traitors. Besides he passed out before I could complete the bribe," Reeves said.

The group of four finally entered the mess hall. It was an area generally filled with sleepy pilots and many moans. Today it was unusually noisy except for a small area coincidently occupied by training squadrons, Theta and Zeta. With the exception of the moans from a certain buff squad member, both squadrons were silent, and deathly pale.

Murdock and the others grabbed their daily intake of imitation grease, imperial style.

"What is this garbage?" an apparently wide eyed and cocky Reeves asked the officer on mess duty.

"I don't have to take this. Join the navy they said, see the galaxy they said. What they didn't say was that not only did I have to eat this garbage, I also had to serve it. Imagine having to inhale this stuff every damn day of the rest of your life. One day I'm going to..." The apparently bitter grease jockey was cut short due to the fact no one was listening.

Murdock noticed that conversation seemed beyond the cadets as they hungerly devoured their foods. It wasn't appetizing food but it was better than nothing. As the noise continued around the cadets their situation seemed to become worse and worse.

Many of them were wondering if this was going to be their last couple of hours, last meal or last time with their friends. They joined the Imperial Navy hoping to achieve honour and glory. Nowhere in the sales pitch was severe depression noted. They all thought they would die gloriously in battle, never had they heard reports of certain training accidents such as this.

After the meal the trainees just sat together looking at each other, trying to find something memorable in these last few moments. Instead their fear was only intensified by the looks on others’ faces. Even Reeves and Ozmen temporarily forgot their differences.

Murdock was probably the only one who was actually prepared to face the stress and fear of battle. Everyone in both squads had flown training missions, mostly doing sensor sweeps at low activity customs platforms. So had Murdock, but only he had faced a small fleet of escort shuttles. There were three TIE fighters standing guard on the platform but Murdock alone had survived. His craft had taken severe damage and he was forced to eject in the middle of the battle. He was later recovered, thanks to the oxygen supply in his flight suit. The platform would have been lost if it hadn’t been for the timely interference of the ISD Vanguard.

The trainee in charge of Theta squadron (Williams), whispered something to the trainee in charge of Zeta squadron (Rogers). Williams then stood.

"Well, there's no point in delaying the inevitable," Williams solemnly stated.

"Hear, Hear," Arkie said.

Even though he was petrified with fear his wit still shone through. Murdock reminded himself that someday he himself might want to work on that.

"Ha, Ha is more like it. Let’s get suited up, we’re due in the briefing room in ten minutes."

His flight suit clung tightly to his skin as he did one last check to make sure that the safety systems were functional. His flightsuit had saved his life before and he wanted to make sure that if it had a chance to do it again it would be nice to have it working.

"Attention!" a classic Imperial captain shouted as he walked by and inspected the troops.

The members of Theta squadron lined up shoulder to shoulder in the briefing room, all 11 flight members standing behind Williams. There was a giant briefing map ahead of them, currently displaying the canyon’s terrain. None of the flight members could speak, their usually steel Imperial posture shaky at best. The officer in charge of briefings was operating the map controls.

"You will have to manoeuvre down this trench until the end where you will find the canyon dropping off into endless desert. There are beacons at each end of the trench to tell you where to go and where to come out. However there is a fork in the trench: the right path is less difficult than the left. The left path is extremely challenging. You will be forced to stay just under 50 m and if you pull out of the trench at anytime, you will have to re-fly it. Are there any questions?" the officer paused.

"No? Then man your fighters... and good luck," he continued.

"T.I.E. interceptor squadron T-theta report to Launch Bay 18 and T.I.E. fighter squadron T-Zeta report to Bay 3."

Williams lead the way for T-Theta squadron while Rogers lead the way to bay

three.

Murdock felt a queasiness in his stomach but he still smiled despite the mood. This was it, time to prove himself. He buckled on his helmet and awaited further instructions.

"Okay guys this is it!" Williams spoke up. "Our squad from now on will be designated: Wolfpack. I'm Wolf leader, Murdock is Wolf 2 and so on. You know your numbers. As with standard operating procedure if anything happens to me, Murdock will take control of the squad. Any questions?" Williams paused and observed the room.

"No? Well then, Let’s rock!"

"Aye sir!" unanimously erupted from the squad.

Murdock went into the launch room and reached a row of consecutively numbered doors. He found the door labelled #2 and punched the controls. He leapt through the doorway in standard fashion and fell ten zero gravity feet into the cockpit of his T.I.E. As he sealed the hatch and strapped himself in William's voice crackled over the Com..

"Okay guys this is Wolf leader. Power up your systems and sound off. We launch in five minutes and should rendezvous with Zeta squad at check point Alpha. Their call sign will be Swarm leader through Swarm twelve. Check your C.M.D. for the exact coordinates.

The combat multi display or C.M.D. was a type of battle computer which had numerous functions. The C.M.D. could select a target for missile lock,display sector coordinates/ map and was in charge of auto repair. This was standard equipment for all craft in Imperial Navy.

"Okay squad, sound off."

"This is Wolf 2 standing by."

As the other trainees sounded off, Murdock powered up his systems. He ignored the laser controls because he didn't want to kill anyone in the trench accidentally. His joystick was perfectly set: he didn't even need to adjust the tension. As he stared out the octagonal viewport of his Twin.Ion.Engine. interceptor, the T.I.E. fighters from Zeta began to launch.

The standard T.I.E. fighter was a fairly basic design: it looked like a bow tie. In the centre of the T.I.E. there was a spherical structure; this was the cockpit. On either side were 2 tall hexagonal structures: these were solar panels. This was the main power source of the Tie.

Murdock's T.I.E. interceptor was constructed slightly differently. Although it shared the spherical structure, its solar panels were slightly different. Instead of having hexagonal solar panels, the interceptor had two long triangles joined together by a small rectangle. This left a gap in the solar panel which aided visiblilty.

"Okay guys, launch time!"

Murdock hit the release controls and the crane-like hook holding to his T.I.E. began to push him out into space through the air-lock. All the T.I.E.s had extended and were waiting for the final launch signal.

"Punch it."

Murdock shifted his controls to 100% and felt his engine begin to increase power. The clamps released and the squad swerved down to avoid hitting the other cranes.

The trip to the rendezvous point was fairly uneventful. Wolf-pack joined up with the swarm.

Williams started to speak.

"Okay, this is it. We're going in, and we're going in full throttle. I know the interceptors are faster than the T.I.E.s but we've got to do it any way. The interceptors will go in first followed by the fighters. We will each be divided into consecutively numbered elements of 4. For instance, Wolf 2-4 will be coming with me. Wolf 5-9 will be following and so on. There will be three minute gaps between each run. Wolf 1-4 will go in first followed by Wolf 5-9 three minutes later. Let’s go!"

Williams pushed his T.I.E. interceptor into the atmosphere followed by Murdock and company. Murdock locked on to the entry buoy in the C.M.D. and watched the numbers go down. This was it.

"Lets go in single file, consecutive order. This might get a little rough."

"But any easier and it just wouldn't be fun." Reeves took position behind Ozmen, who was following Murdock.

Williams reached the lip of the canyon and disappeared under it.

"This is Wolf 2: I'm going in!"

Murdock pushed his T.I.E. down into the canyon and watched as the scene came to great him. The bottom of the canyon was fairly close to him but it was quickly dropping off. He increased his throttle to full and saw that the bottom of the canyon had disappeared under a film of mist. This was an awesome contrast to the dull earth brown of the canyon. And this was all going by Murdock at an incredible speed. Maybe he should have taken that desk job his uncle had offered him.

"This Wolf 4 taking up the rear. Our element is clear and flight 2 is already mobilizing," Reeves said.

"Okay guys this isn't going to be easy. Remember there's nothing wrong with taking the left. There's plenty of worse things to do then start off at the bottom. Are you with me?"

"Yes, sir!" The squad responded in unison.

"Then follow me!"

Murdock watched as Williams slowly pulled off beyond vision. The point of this was you weren't supposed to see how other people maneuvered around the obstacles. You were supposed to find your own way.

A bridge like rock spanning across the earthen canyon was the first obstacle he faced. He had take his craft down because he didn't want to fly too high and be disqualified. Murdock's craft was skimming the surface of the morning mist in the canyon and on holo-vid, this could have actually looked fun. A rocky spire was jutting up, just barely above the surface of the mist, but Murdock was just lucky enough to pull above it.

He levelled his craft in the trench, noticing the next obstacle straight ahead. A pile of debris had collected at the bottom of the canyon and was fairly large. Perhaps it was caused by a pilot less fortunate than himself. Murdock shuddered at the thought.

Murdock had signed up for the Imperial Navy because he wanted avenge the suffering the rebellion had relentlessly forced upon him throughout his life. First the death of his parents, then the death of his uncle, more recently the deaths of many of his friends and throughout these times they almost accomplished the death of himself. It was safe to say that he held no love for the rebellion. He wanted revenge on the rebellion, he didn't want to die in a mere training accident.

Murdock was first angry and frustrated at his current situation, but then was more afraid for his friends. Many of them felt the same way he did about the canyon but there was nothing they could do about it now.

He pulled up, narrowly missing the pile of debris that had been waiting for him, only to notice that there was another rock span just after the debris. Murdock quickly jerked under this one. What he didn't notice was the rock spires jutting up from the mist. Only his reflexes saved him from falling into that trap.

"AAAAAA!"

"Wolf 3 are you alright?" Murdock yelled into his mike

"Ozmen! Answer damnit! he repeated.

"I'm here, I took a little damage but I'll live."

The harsh canyon winds forced Murdock under the fog that covered the canyon floor. He was blinded by the white for a moment but was able to recover with out any major mishaps. From a small break in the fog Murdock could tell that Williams had already been this way.

Murdock was forced to go over/around many more obstacles before he was finally able to pull up over the mist.

The canyon was thinner here, it was only twice as wide as his T.I.E. interceptor which again didn't leave him much room to maneuver. There was a sharp turn in the canyon and Murdock was able to stay with it just barely ducking under another rocky bridge. He had to fight his interceptor back to stability. Although his T.I.E. was a beautifully designed craft the harsh canyon winds kept knocking him off course. They also boosted his speed. At one point the canyon almost came to a close entirely and he was forced to roll his craft on its side just barely scraping his solar panels.

Murdock was forced to go around many more blind turns and last minute maneuvers. Instinct and reflexes were the only things that were able to save him from the unpredictabiltlity of the desert winds. Finally he made it to the fork. He could see it one kilometre off in the distance.

"Okay guys you've got a choice. Right is the easy way, left is the hard way." Williams came over the airwaves.

Murdock wanted to do anything but this. His eyes were watering and his hands were shaking at the stick. He had almost got himself killed several times over today and judging by the earlier parts of the canyon, taking the left was suicide. His mind said "no" and his heart said "no". For once he was in unanimous agreement. He was taking the right fork.

"Okay, this is Wolf 2, I'm taking the left."

What did he just say? He felt his blood run cold and his body go numb. He didn't mean that at all. Why did he say that?! He had just signed his own death warrant.

"Okay 'Dock I'm with you," Reeves announced over the com..

Murdock was committed to the left, too late to change his mind now.

"This is Wolf leader. I'll take left as well."

"This is Wolf 3 I've taken some damage and I doubt I can take the left. My steering's too limited. Sorry."

"It's alright, the way it looks you're probably going to be the only graduate of T-Theta. All this means is that you'll be flying a couple of extra weeks of customs works. Nothing wrong with that," Williams comforted.

Murdock pulled his craft towards the left. This was it, he was going in. The canyon narrowed to one and one half the width of his T.I.E. The wind factor would be enough to kill him now. Just one hit on those walls at this speed is all it would take.

The canyon began to curve towards his right and he followed fighting hard all the way, trying to keep his T.I.E. from embedding itself in the wall. The first obstacle came and Murdock was barely able to dive under it, avoid the walls and not get smashed on a rocky spire.

"Yiiiiye," Reeves gasped out at having to pass that.

The canyon turned into a s-turn and Murdock had to pull hard right, then left to avoid killing himself. He then noticed a rock spire.

Murdock was just barely able to roll his craft on its side to avoid turning into a fireball. As he did this he noticed a shower of sparks erupting from his T.I.E.

"Damn, that was close," Murdock said.

"Look sunlight. I see the end. We've done it," Williams yelled.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life," Reeves awed.

The canyon wind suddenly picked up, but Murdock and Reeves were able to keep steady. Williams was not. His T.I.E. was picked up by the winds and smashed into the side of the canyon in a shower of sparks.

"Noo!" Murdock yelled.

Williams was then catapulted to the opposite wall and smashed again. By some miracle of the force Williams was able to stop from rebounding into the last wall. His craft was in a perpetual roll but Williams was still able to make it out of the canyon.

"Hoorah!" Murdock burst out of the canyon while yelling.

"Yeehaa," Reeves followed up.

"Ouch," Williams lurched forward.

"I'm a little cooked so Murdock, you have control. You have the incredibly enviable job of leading the Wolfpack back to base. I'll fly back to our planetary base and get repairs. Congratulations."

Murdock flew his craft to the rendezvous point.

"What took you so long?" Ozmen asked.

"Real T.I.E. pilots don't take so long." Ozmen continued.

Murdock sensed that Ozmen was joking so he let the response slip by.

They waited for half an hour for the rest of the squad to return. Both T-Zeta and T-Theta had taken some heavy losses.

"Hey, Arkie! Who do we have left?"

"Well I'm here, and Paul has taken some slight damage. Stevens is fine and so is Dietrich. I'm afraid everyone else is dead. What happened to Williams?"

"He'll be okay, he took some heavy damage and he needs massive repairs before he can leave the atmosphere but he's still here.

"This is Swarm 2 reporting in. Our leader bought it in the last run, and swarms 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 are down. We've lost half our strength. How 'you guys doing, 'Dock? What happened to Williams?" Tyree inquired.

Murdock filled him in on the situation.

"At least you guys have a better survival rate than us. Congratulations!."

"Likewise and thanks. Punch it and let’s head home. Wolf pack, form up standard formation."

Tyree gave similar orders.

Murdock selected the Devastator in his C.M.D. and throttled towards it. He could only see the massive wedge-shaped object in the distance but he could still feel the power emanating from it.

The survivors had just begun their journey home when a red Imperial blip began to show up on the radar.

"What's that?" Arkie asked.

"It appears to be an escort shuttle. Armed with the regular four laser cannons and rear turbolaser turret. It is holding standard speed and is heading towards the Devastator. Cargo appears to be some sort of top brass. Any more questions?" Ozmen said.

"Let’s just ignore it and head home. It is Imperial after all," Murdock assessed.

"Besides it's too far out, they don't need to be bothered," Tyree’s voice came over the radio.

Four minutes later proximity alarms began to erupt from both squadrons.

"New craft warning. Two escort shuttles exiting from hyperspace, accompanied by three Y-Wings. They're four clicks away from us but only one click away from the shuttle," Reeves reported.

"Additional craft warning, three A-wings and three Z-95s are hypering out three clicks away. They're arming their missiles, Z-95s infront and A-wings taking up the rear. Looks the they mean business. IFF codes identify them as rebels." Bishop report from the Swarm 4 position.

Two messages came over the com. from the devastator. Both were severely garbled due to rebel long range jamming.

The first was: "Do **t enga** the re**ls. Repeat ** not **gauge the Re**ls."

The second was: "Pro**ct the shu**l at *** cos**. Repeat Pro**ct the shu**l at al* cos**."

"Looks like some one has a severe case of multiple personalities over there." Arkie jested trying to make light of the situation once again.

"Your call, Murdock," Tyree directed.

Murdock partially smiled despite himself.

"Compared to what we've been through, this should be a cake walk. I know they're shielded craft and this isn't going to be easy. Engage any craft armed with missiles head-on if they're attempting a lock on you. Hopefully if you keep firing you'll destroy the missile just after launch. Remember the rebel craft are all shielded, so they can take a lot more hits than us. As soon as the laser lock warning flares up start doing evasive. The plan is simple, the T.I.E fighters will have to engage the escorts while the interceptors take out the shuttles. I know the interceptors were designed to engage escorts but we don't have a choice," Murdock ordered.

The reason for Murdock's altered strategy was that the fighters only had two cannons whereas the interceptors had four. Since the T.I.E.s could probably only get one good shot off before the escort shuttles locked on with their turbo lasers, they would have to evade quickly after firing. To make these "hit and fade" runs more efficient the T.I.E.s would have to set their cannons to linked fire (which takes a couple of seconds between shots) instead of single fire (which is rapid fire). Since the interceptors had more guns to use, they were the logical choice for this strategy.

"The interceptors will set their cannons to quad-fire and veer off as soon as you fire. Then pull a loop and repeat until your target is dead. By the way, I'm buying for whoever kills a shuttle. Okay guys, we have a purpose to risk our lives for this time so lets make it a good one. Charge your cannons and lock and load! Good luck!"

Murdock charged his cannons and selected a target on his C.M.D. He had selected the Z-95 designated green 1. He angled his craft so his H.U.D. was on the target. A H.U.D. or heads up display was a small square containing cross-hairs. The H.U.D. lit up whenever the current selected target was in a good position for a hit. Most of both squads did the same.

"These Z-95 pilots must really be suicidal to fly such an outdated craft," Arkie commented.

"Hold your fire until I give the word," Murdock ordered again.

"Okay guys they're within 2.50 clicks, that's missile range. Unfortunately they're the ones with the missiles," Reeves reported

Sure enough most of the squad report missile locks, including Murdock.

"Before you start to fire madly, make sure that a missile has been launched at you, or that your target is in laser range (1.50 clicks). As soon as you get a laser-warning, pull off," Tyree dictated.

Murdock began to panic when the flashing yellow missile warning turned into a solid lock but his eyes lit up when the fighters were within 1.56 clicks.

"Okay guys, targets are hot."

His attention was shifted when the missle-fired alarm went off. He pressed the trigger on his flight stick and prayed that he hit the missile. Seconds later, missile destroyed flashed across his C.M.D. Now he sat keeping his emerald green Imperial lasers centred on the Z-95.

His Z-95 began to veer off deciding that it had taken enough hits. Murdock decided that since its shields had dropped to 10% he had enough time to finish it before taking care of the shuttles.

"Stay off Green one. He's mine!" Murdock ordered.

Acknowledgements began to come over the com. so Murdock veered towards him in hot pursuit.

Murdock shifted and his target was in the laser zone. He fired but the rebel was able to evade by pulling into a tight loop. Murdock matched this maneuver and straightened out right on the rebel's tail.

"Come on, Come on, get some!!" Murdock grunted.

He opened fire again depleting his target's shields. A missile lock was coming in from one of the A-wings but Murdock ignored it.

"Hey Tyree, one of those A-wings has a lock on me, can you take him out?" Murdock requested.

"I'll see what I can do."

The Z-95 started heading towards the A-wing hoping for cover but he made the mistake of straightening out with a bogey on his tail.

Murdock looped down after him and scored a hit on his port engine. The rebel was sent into a barrel roll before it was vaporized in the coldness of space.

"Hoorah, score one for Murdock!"

He then noticed that the A-wings lock had shifted from yellow to red. Damn, this is going to be tight. The A-wing fired and the missile was automatically targeted in his C.M.D. It was too late for Murdock to hit it, so all he could do is pull into a loop and hope he could ride it out. The missile had him and Murdock watched the numbers counting down to .01 clicks. He was able to veer away from the missile before it connected. The missile attempting to circle after Murdock several more times before finally self detonating after it had reached its time limit.

The A-wing had already pulled into position behind him and was trying for the "hard kill". A hard kill is when you destroy another ship using cannons and not missiles.

"Damnit Tyree! Where are you?"

A barrage of laser fire flashed by his ship and Murdock jerked up and hard left in a weaving pattern.

"Right over here. Swarm 4, swarm 7 move in!"

Murdock saw Tyree coming up from below him and passing over Murdock's craft. He was able to get a few lucky hits on the wedge like A-wing before he passed it. The A-wing ignored the distraction but didn't notice the two T.I.Es coming up from behind him.

As he looked through his rear view port at the A-wing it spiralled and fireballed. The two T.I.Es buzzed the wrecked A-wing.

"Confirm one kill for Bishop!" Bishop yelled.

"Good shot Bish," Murdock said, "and thanks for the cover."

He switched frequencies.

"Okay guys here's where we split up. The fighters will keep the rebel scum off our backs while we take out the shuttles. Watch out for those Y-wings." Murdock ordered.

He looped his craft around and stated towards the escorts. Then from the direction of the shuttles blue flashes erupted.

"What's going on Arkie?"

"The Y-wings are trying to disable the shuttle with Ion beams."

All Murdock could do was select the shuttle in his C.M.D and watch the distance count down. The flight to assist the shuttle seemed to last for days. Murdock hated having to sit back and watch events happen around him.

His parents were killed that way.

Young Lance Murdock had been on some sort of space pleasure cruise when he was eight. He was in a hallway trying to make his way from the arcade to his quarters when ten rebel Y-wings came out of hyperspace. They attacked the ship and when the escape pods were launched the Y-wings destroyed those as well. Many people were killed in the initial attack, his parents among them. Murdock still had vivid memories of them being consumed by the fiery explosion before the bulkheads closed off their section. As a result of this explosion Murdock was trapped under a pile of debris and was left facing a window. All he could do was watch the Y-wings murder the helpless escape pods and wait for the final torpedo volley to come. It never did. The Imperial Navy intervened just in time.

That was the way he was feeling now. Murdock was helpless, watching an Imperial shuttle under attack. There was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was sit, watch and wait. And pray.

Murdock’s hands were slick with perspiration as he tried to increase the speed of his fighter.

"Heads up the Y-wings have broken off to engage us. Three of them coming in at twelve O'clock," Reeves reported.

"Okay guys engage them on the first pass but then break off except for Reeves and Stevens. I'll expect you two to cover our backs. Concentrate all your fire on Y-Wing gold one on the first run, it should make our job easier."

Murdock watched the distance drop down to the magic number of 1.50.

"Fire!"

Under the collective fire of the interceptors the Y-wings shields buckled and collapsed relatively quickly. The Y-wing itself was vaporized almost instantaneously.

Murdock noticed the laser warning lights coming on again.

"Break off now, remember your jobs."

Murdock selected the first escort shuttle in his C.M.D and angled towards it.

"Open wide you rebel butchers!" he yelled as his war cry.

He was able to get two volleys of quad-laser fire off before the shuttle locked on to him. Its shields were down to twenty percent, again due to the firepower of the combined T.I.E.s. Murdock looped for another pass and noticed Deitrich doing the same. He also noticed the other escort shuttle was gaining on Deitrich's tail. Deitrich seemed to be ignoring it and went in with cannons blaring on single fire at the crippled shuttle.

"Deit pull off! You can't take him out before the other one gets to you!'

"Relax I can take 'em."

"Pull Up!"

By then it was too late. Deitrich realized his mistake as the rear turbo-laser of the escort shuttle opened fire. With one shot his cockpit vaporized leaving his solar panels spinning into nothingness.

Murdock sighed and pulled in for the last shot. He was able to lower the shields but Arkie got the kill.

"Good shooting Arkie!"

"Some one! I need cover badly! Help! The remaining Y-wing is holding my tail, really tight. I can't shake 'im," Reeves yelled.

"Hang in there pal. I'm on him"

Murdock veered his craft in an upward spiral and came back down on Reeve's assailant. The rebel loosed another volley of shots towards Reeves in which he was able to dodge. Murdock centred his target and was able to destroy the rebel before he ever knew Murdock was there

"I owe you one,'Dock."

Tyree invaded the Airwaves again. "We've taken care of the fighters but there's one more A-Wing heading your way."

"Copy that, we could use you help with the escort shuttle."

"Aye. Swarm, do your stuff."

"This is Stevens, I need back, Bad!"

Murdock checked the map and found he was the closest help.

"Okay just hang tight, I'll be there in a second."

He found himself coming up on the A-wing’s tail but the A-wing was moving too erraticlly for Murdock to get a good shot off.

"He's got a lock!" Steevens's panic was palatable over the Airwaves.

The A-wing fired its missile and Stevens was no more.

"That'll cost you pal!"

Murdock throttled up and engaged the A-wing. The rebel was dodging wildly and turning numerous loops, but Murdock was patient. He was able to take a small chunk out of the rebel's shields until eventually they gave way. Murdock took a final pot-shot at the A-wing and it quickly flared and extinguished.

"Hoorah! That three!" Murdock turned a barrel roll and attempted to engage the escort shuttle.

"He's attempting to enter hyperspace!" Paul came over the radio.

"He's just out of range. I can't get the shot!" Tyree grumbled.

A powerful green bolt of emerald energy came out of nowhere and sent the shuttle into oblivion.

"What was that?!" Arkie cried into the radio.

Murdock quickly traced the laser back to its point of origin and realized that the Devastator had moved into position while the melee was going on.

The escort shuttle that they had rescued was pulling into the shuttle bay.

Their training officer came over the com. unit.

"Congratulations those of T-Theta and T-Zeta who survived the day. You have all proved yourselves worthy of the honour of becoming an Imperial pilot. In fact you have proved your worth above and beyond the call of duty. Continue to act as you have and you will lead long and distinguished careers in the Imperial Navy."

"Who was on the shuttle?" Murdock asked.

"Vice Admiral Thrawn himself. Apparently he was very impressed with your performance as a whole. He was especially impressed with whoever thought up that strategy. It's time to head home."

"Roger that!" The squad all acknowledge that in one way or another.

The celebration in the Cantina was much quieter than expected. Formal celebrations for this night’s heroics were to commence the next day although he had already been thanked the the Vice-Admiral.

Murdock was buying for Arkie and a certain Imperial gunner. He was glad that they were both light drinkers. It also looked as if Reeves was going to be buying drinks for Ozmen for the rest of his life. Of course Murdock had his drinks bought for him by the pilots he had saved. It was a sombre celebration, the squads thanking each other and exchanging memories of the recently deceased.

This was what Imperial life for them was going to be like. They knew they wouldn't all be able to make it to retirement, and that they would be mourning the loss of many more colleagues, but it was their sworn job to continue even with this knowledge. Somehow that didn't make things any easier. Murdock took another sip of his beer and looked around in the dim lights at his colleagues. Maybe that was what the canyon run was all about. Not a test of skill, but of ability to handle certain death of himself and his friends- the test he would face repeatedly in his career.

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Subj: TF CD Home Page!

Date: 96-01-31 19:11:39 EST

From: bachmanm@ziavms.enmu.edu (FM/BG Savage/Omega-1/SSD Avenger)

To: garonin@aol.com

Sir, check out this page I found: The Tie Fighter CD Home Page. Its at:

http://www.interlog.com/~bcrosby/tiecd/tiecd.html

Its pretty cool! There was a reference to an Dark Sentinel NL, on one of

the pages.

<SALUTE!!>

FM/BG Savage/Omega-1/SSD Avenger

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Subj: Planet Guide (HTML) page

Date: 96-01-31 20:44:51 EST

From: bachmanm@ziavms.enmu.edu (FM/BG Savage/Omega-1/SSD Avenger)

To: garonin@aol.com

Sir, I would like to call your attention to the Star Wars Planet Guide v 2.0, by Dan Wallace.( converted by Jim Fisher) on the Web. Its at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/jedi

Dont have a *.html, just type this(above) in and your there. It includes inline AVI (see Alderaan).

FM/BG Savage/Omega-1/SSD Avenger

Name: Lucas Abaddon

Rank: Brigadier General

Scandoc Transmission Code: Rouland@AOL.com

Sex: M

Race: Human

Date of Birth: 27892.23

Place of Birth: Kessel

Marital Status: Single

Family: Father in Imperial Detention Center Beta 298. Mother alive on Kessel. One brother currently wanted for alleged smuggling activities.

Social Status: Well-to-do

Significant Events of Childhood & Adolescense: My entire family and everybody I knew growing up were involved in one form of criminal activity or another. I was used as a runner for my father's organization of smuggling activities, or as a distraction to divert the attention of the authorities. I knew no other life except crime and being a con artist. A significant event is when I became involved with my Uncle's casino cruise liner, The Lady Luck. I started off with security, helping catch the con artists who were trying to con the con artists. It was an exciting time for me. Once I saw the lights, action, jackpots and losses of the gambling world, I was hooked. I quit my job, and by the ripe age of 16, I was a professional hustler.

Significant Events of Adulthood: My luck, and the luck of my family, eventually ran out. My father murdered a high ranking Imperial officer during a drunken argument. It didn't matter to the Imperial courts that the officer and my Dad were "business" partners in the criminal syndicate. My father was convicted and sentenced to hard labor in the spice mines. To avoid any embarrassment, the Imperials moved to shut down my entire family's business. The Lady Luck was raided by the Empire, and the gaming facility was shut down. I was arrested, but to that time I had avoided any trouble with the authorities. I was given a choice - a detention center or sign up with the Imperial Navy. I chose the military, and the rest is history. Upon graduation from the Academy, I was posted on the INT Harpax II, IOTA Squadron. Later, I was posted to the VSD Monitor, Phi Squadron. During this time I earned my wings by posting thirty high scores in missions against enemy forces. That number still stands, and earned me a Commendation of Bravery, Bronze Star, numerous medals and Dragoon ranking in the EH Honor Guard. I am now proudly serving the Empire as commander of Phi Squadron aboard the ISD Colossus. I have a fine group of men who are life takers and heart breakers. They have learned to never invite me to the weekly card game, but they always know who's watching their six.

Alignment & Attitude: I am very loyal to the Empire. However, sometimes old habits die hard. Other squadrons on the ISD Colossus have repeatedly reported "missing" items from their inventories. Rumor has it that sometimes these items find their way to various persons and Phi Squadron ends up with extra rations and supplies. I'm not saying that me or any of my pilots is involved in these reprehensible activities; in fact, various investigations have turned up nothing. Rumor also has it that the Dark Brotherhood has put a hasty end to some investigations because Phi Squadron has been very successful during covert missions. Life is a gamble, whether in the cockpit, at the card table or in Mu Squadron's supply quarters.

Former (HA!) Occupations: Gambler, con artist, card shark and lady's man.

Hobbies: High speed passes over five flight traffic control centers and one admiral's daughter.

Tragedies: Father placed in prison for murder.

Phobia's & Allergies: Running out of luck.

Personal Views of the Empire and the EH: This is my family now, and I will die protecting my family. Some may speak of "Peace and order restored to the galaxy." To me, it's more personal. It's simple - it's either him or me, and somebody's luck is gonna run out sooner or later. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose, and winning is second nature to me.

Reason for Applying to the Emperor's Hammer Elite Strike Force: It's a rush doing what I do, and what better place to do it then with the best.

Other Comments/Information: I may seem like the little scam man that many Imperial officer's detest, flirting with the ladies and occasionally starting a bar-room brawl, but I'm the man you want in the cockpit when the fur starts flying.

I herby confirm that the above information is legitimate and accurte to the best of my knowledge.

cc: Imperial Security Bureau