Envoy
PMO/MAJ Trevor Rastyn/IW-FMC/M-TFC Last Hope
(kerryd@powersurfr.com)

Chapter I
Can You be Certain?

The convoy was moving at sub-light speed on their way to their next jump point. The captain of the lead Corellian Corvette walked across the bridge of his ship and looked at the displays.
"Six minutes from the jump, sir." The helm officer stated.
"Excellent.. Have all stations report..." The Captain was cut off by the sound of alarms and the flashing of lights. "..the hell!?"
"Captain, incoming starfighters!!" The captain rushed to his seat and sat down.
"All ahead, full!! Prepare for emergency jump!!" The Ywings and Twings moved closer to the group of starships. The group leader sat in his Twing and watched his target.
"All fighters, check your assigned targets and have fun." The man said, as he armed his weapons. Back aboard the Corvette, the ship Captain called out his orders.
"Have Cirrus I, and II follow us.. Send lifter groups, Pau and Zulu with Cirrus III." The man yelled as the first of the ion blasts rocked the ship. "ETA to Hyperspace jump?"
"Sixty seconds, sir!" An officer replied.
"That's too long... get me a solution quicker!!" The captain ordered. The pirates swarmed the convoy and waited for their shields to drop. "Helm!?" The Captain yelled.
"I'm working on it sir!!" The officer replied as torpedo after torpedo slammed into the hull of his ship, bleeding his shields before the ion blasts came.
"That's it men," The pirate group leader called. "We're almost there..."

Chapter II
Information

Trevor opened his eyes, and shut them again. He held them shut and took a deep breath in before trying to sit up. With a groan he laid back down and turned his body to the side of the bed, and sat up. He could feel the swelling on his lip and the bruise on his thigh. Rolling his head form side to side, he could feel the tension in his muscles. From his neck and down his back, to his shoulders to his finger tips, Trevor was sore and weak. The only part of his body that did not ache were his knees and ankles. Slowly he stood up and walked to his wash room. After taking a long and hot shower, Trevor dressed and was heading out the door when the ship comm chime rang.
"All senior staff to the meeting room immediately. All senior staff." The droid voice said. Trevor sighed and headed to the upper deck of the Last Hope. Moments later Trevor found Fleet Admiral Tolwyn and Captain Striker with Commander Astarosta.
"Ahh, Major... have a seat and we'll begin." Trevor looked around the room.
"Is this everyone, sir?" Trevor asked as he sat down.
"Yes..." Mike replied. "Six hours ago, an EH convoy was attacked and went missing." Mike turned on a holo projector of Emperor's Hammer space. "This convoy was carrying supplies and equipment to enforce our Imperial Storm operation. You three are going to recover it." Trevor sat forward.
"Sir, why not let the Bounty Hunters Guild recover it?" Astarosta asked. "I mean, they're better at tracking down pirates and smugglers."
"We don't have time for the BHG today... we must act quickly to recover our cargo." Striker and Rastyn both looked at one another.
"Sir, this isn't making sense? Why is the FMC being sent to recover lost goods?" Wil asked his senior.
"Because the TIE Corps is too busy with Imperial Strom at the moment, and the Infiltrator Wing is tied up with internal logistics. We're the only able bodied members to take on the mission."
"What's so important about the cargo, Admiral?" Trevor asked, unaware of the can of worms he had just opened.
"Emperor's Hammer Executive Officer Kawolski was leading that convoy to the front lines." The three officers sat back in shock. "The Last Hope is the closest ship, and we can be mobilized quickly enough to make this rescue happen." Mike said as he shut off the holo projector. "The cargo is not as important as the XO, but we want as much of it back as possible." Mike stated as he stood up. "We'll be sending you in a Lambda class shuttle, and we'll have the heavy lifters here and standing by once you've located the pirates. The XO was travelling aboard a Corellian Corvette to disguise the importance of the convoy, unfortunately someone was on to our traffic routes. You'll receive the convoy's last known coordinates aboard your shuttle. Good luck gentlemen." Mike said as he saluted. The three men all stood and returned the salute before leaving the briefing room. Within a half hour, Mike was waiting in the hangar bay to see his officers off. Trevor entered the hangar and approached Mike. With a salute, Mike began looking at Trevor's equipment. "No.. nope... Uh uh..." Mike said to himself as he began removing items from Trevor's belt. Trevor noticed Mike did the same to Astarosta and Wil as they arrived. In all, the three officers had one blaster between the three of them, a data scrambler, a medical case, a baffle card, and an energy distributor. Trevor grimaced as he walked up the ramp with Wil and Astarosta. The three started the shuttles engines and left the Last Hope. Moments later, they entered Hyperspace.

Chapter III
Fall into It

As the three officers in the shuttle searched the area for any trace of the convoy, they all had their separate thoughts as to what may have happened. They wondered if it had been destroyed or not. Where they would have been taken to.
"Lot's of blaster residue in the area." Astaroasta said. "What ever happened, we put up a fight."
"Would you expect any less?" Wil asked. Trevor smirked as he continued to fly his search pattern. "Any sign of a departure vector?"
"Nahh... whoever these guys are, they masked it pretty damned good." Astarosta said. "What's around here?" Trevor looked at the charts on his monitor next to him.
"Not much... a couple life supporting planets, but... they're climates are pretty messed up." Wil looked at Trevor's screen.
"Yeah.. but look at the Rebels.... they hid on Hoth for how long?" Trevor nodded.
"I know, but... how deep are these pirates' pockets?" Wil also nodded in agreement.
"Hey!!" Astarosta said as he leaned between the pilot and co-pilot seat. "What about there?" He asked, pointing at a small moon.
"That'd be too easy, and we don't have time to go on a wild Wamprat chase." Trevor said smugly.
"What else do we have to go on?" Astarosta asked.
"It's so small they couldn't hold much on it but a squadron of fighters, everything would have to sit in idle until they could ferry them awa...." Trevor trailed off. Astarosta jumped back into his seat and strapped in as Wil set course for the system.
"Stand by for Hyperspace." Striker said as the shuttle jumped into Hyperspace and left the ambush site. Just over ten minutes later, the shuttle arrived and was greeted by the sight of Imperial freighters, cargo containers and a heavily damaged Corvette. "Looks like your hunch was right Ast.
"Attention, unidentified shuttle, you have entered private space. Stand down and prepare to be boarded." The gruff voice ordered.
"Now what?" Astarosta asked.
"We play it by ear." Trevor said as he opened his end of the commlink. "Attention... attention... this is the shuttle Last Hope..." Wil looked at Trevor, who only shrugged back. "We come in search of supplies and equipment. We can pay the full amount forward and will ask no questions but how much the price tag is." Astarosta shook his head.
"Last Hope, power down all your systems and land in the main hangar. Disembark from your ship with your hands behind your heads, and we'll discuss your terms." The voice replied before the commlink switched off. The three looked at one another.
"Well... we got our way in." Wil said with a grin, and shut down all the shuttles systems but navigation.

Chapter IV
Inside

On board the planetoid, the pirates watched the unmarked shuttle land and power down.
"I'm telling you I don't like this!!" One man stated.
"Relax P'val.. you know the drill if they're wasting our time." The man in a uniform with military influences from across the galaxy replied. "Just keep the men calm, and if anything goes out the airlock, wait for my signal." The pirate leader was named Hierance Droodle. He was a smuggler, gambler, thief, and murderer. He had broken almost every known law in the galaxy, but in his efforts to become a major player in the galactic crime underworld, he lacked arguably one of the most crucial components. Respect. He was dirty and untrustworthy, even to the most revered crime lord. The ramp opened with a hiss, and lowered to the deck. The troops stood ready as the three Fleet Medical Corps officers walked down the ramp. "Welcome!! Welcome to you all!" Hierance said gleefully. "Before you proceed any further, I need to claim your sidearms." Trevor grimaced and slowly unbuckled his holster and drew his weapon at the tip of the grip with his thumb and index finger. He held it before him and let P'val claim it. "Excellent!!" Hierance said as he extended his hand forward. "Welcome to my humble home. I am Colonel Hierance Droodle." Astarosta smirked at the mans last name. "Who might you be?" Trevor shook hands with the pirate and spoke.
"Slade D'tone, and these are my associates." Wil gave Trevor an awkward eye. Hierance turned to Wil.
"Hi, Blake." Hierance cocked his head to the side.
"No last name?" Wil shook his head.
"Nope... A little privacy goes a long way." Hierance nodded in agreement and turned to Astarosta.
"Sasitnam Tyler, or just Sas..." Hierance smiled in delight.
"Well.. again, welcome gentlemen. What brings you around today?" Hierance looked back to Trevor.
"We're interested in some equipment you may have. Some... Imperial equipment." Heirance reeled back in surprise.
"Really?" He said quietly.
"Don De'lerro says your quite the supplier for some items, and I..." Trevor looked at Astarosta and Wil, "We... were hoping you could help us out."
"You know Don De'lerro?" Trevor nodded slowly. "And he sent you here?" Again, Trevor nodded slowly, but with a little more caution. "Well... who the hell am I to argue with the great 'Don'?! Come on it gents', and I'll get you squared away for the night. We'll discuss business over dinner!" Trevor subtly sighed in relief, as did Striker and Astarosta. A few hours later, after showering and freshening up, the three undercover men were escorted to the dinning room of Heirance. The luxury room had a grand fire place with a thirty foot dinning table. With fine glassware and cutlery, the smells of a wonderful meal filled the room, and the table top. "So, what in particular did you have in mind?" Hierance asked as he broke a dinner roll open and dipped it in his soup. Trevor picked up his fork and knife and cut a piece off his dewback steak.
"Well..." He started, before tasting his meal. "Oh.." He marvelled. "This is excellent!! This truly is one of the best steaks I've had in ages!!" Hierance smiled with joy, and P'val watched Trevor intently. "But... aside from dinner. We're looking for some communications equipment." Hierance took a sip of his wine. "Our market, not too much unlike yours, requires a bit of... advanced warning." Hierance nodded as he savoured the flavour of his drink. "We're hoping to get our hands on some receivers to monitor check stop and patrol activity."
"Well.... you're request is understandable, but difficult to fill." Trevor, like Heirance, nodded in agreement. "Imperial encryption is very precise, and well... damn near impossible without an exact decoder." Hierance looked at Astarosta and Wil. "But, by the looks on your faces, you know that anyway." Astarosta continued to eat his meal. "So, the question is... if I were to provide you with a certain item, you'd no doubt break it down and manufacture more?"
"Oh, for sure... if we get a working, up-to-date model we'll do our best to take advantage of it." Hierance smiled.
"In that case... I want thirty thousand now, and two thousand for every working knock off you produce." Trevor sat forward.
"Excuse me?" P'val watched Trevor.
"You heard me. If you're going to profit from me, I expect a piece of the pie." Trevor shook his head and swallowed his food.
"No way. If we pay you thirty thousand, you could invest in making your own replica." Hierance sat back.
"But I have them now, and you don't. Besides, why do the work myself when I can get someone else to do it for me?" Trevor scoffed. "What? What's wrong with that?"
"The problem is.. they aren't yours in the first place." P'val stood up, and Hierance motioned for him to sit down again. "You picked them up at no cost to yourself, but you're selling them at a great profit."
"A profit I need to keep my operation running. If you don't like it, I can send you on your way, without what you're looking for." Trevor sat back and wiped his mouth, clean as it was.
"Then how about, twenty-five for the unit itself, and three thousand for every replica we produce?" Hierance looked at Trevor.
"More for each replica? Just a second ago, you were asking why you should pay it in the first place?" Trevor nodded.
"Because I believe my profit on the knock offs will be much more, and three thousand to you will be no problem." Hierance looked at P'val, who only shrugged. Sitting back and thinking, Hierance sat forward and reached his hand forward.
"Very well... you have a deal." Trevor shook on the agreement and continued his dinner. After desert, the three officers returned to their room and prepared for bed.
"So who's gonna snoop around?" Astarosta asked.
"I will..." Wil said as he sat up on his bed. Trevor looked at Wil and nodded. "Hey, Trev's doing all the talking so far... I need something to do." Hours later, after playing some cards, and having a few drinks, Wil concluded there was no one at their door any longer. "Okay, keep it as usual in here, and I'll be as quick as I can." Trevor and Astarosta both waved and continued playing cards. Using the baffle passkey, Wil had hidden on his person, he unlocked the door to their room and opened the door. Finding no one in the hall, he left the room. He crept down the hall to the lift, and entered. The corridors were silent and dark. Wil took the lift to the bottom deck of the compound and stepped off the lift. Taking a look around the corner he found the way clear and proceeded to the end of the hall. Looking at the name plates on the wall he found the boiler and maintenance rooms. The maintenance room was unlocked and he stepped inside. Turning on the light he found information about the base and locations of every room. Including the makeshift brig the pirates had built. "Excellent." He said quietly.

Chapter V
Move and Relief

Trevor and Astarosta were awoken by Wil, the clock reading shortly after four in the morning
"Hey.. wake up you two!" Trevor put a hand to his head and could feel the tension in his muscles still. "I found where our men are being held, and I have an idea to get them out of here." Astarosta sat up on his bed and pulled a shirt on.
"How long did it take you? You've been gone for two hours." Trevor asked.
"Yeah... I had to hide for a good forty-five minutes while the janitor did his thing in his office." Trevor and Astarosta grimaced. "Yeah... it wasn't pretty, but the Corvette crew is still aboard the Envoy, they've been sold to the New Republic and are shipping out later today. The cargo is still up for grabs." Trevor started dressing and listened to Wil. "I say we sneak out now, spring Kawolski and the seniors from the brig, call in the lifters, and skin out of here."
"I second that motion!" Astarosta said, raising his hand. The two looked at Trevor who pulled his sweater over his head.
"Let's do it." Moments later the three officers snuck out of their room, and headed to the upper level of the base, and to the brig. Inside the room, was one guard who was sound asleep. Trevor silently gestured that he would handle the guard. Quietly he crept up behind the guard and placed his hands around the mans head. With a quick motion, he twisted the mans neck past its tolerable limit and snapped his spinal cord. With a mute thud, the man hit the floor and laid in a heap. "Okay, who's got the key?" Trevor asked. The three noticed the forcefield was key pad activated.
"Shit, the dissipater is in the shuttle." Astarosta snapped.
"Well one of us is gonna have to go get it." Wil replied. Astarosta perked up.
"Alright... my turn for a highlight to this trip!!" He said as he dashed out of the room. Rastyn and Striker moved towards the cell.
"Sir?" Wil asked.
"Kawolski... wake up!" Trevor called quietly. Sector Admiral Kawolski looked up slowly and found two of his officers trying to rouse him. "You alright, sir?" Trevor asked.
"What the hell are you two doing here?" He asked.
"We're getting you and the rest the hell out of here." Wil answered as he looked back. "We need the dissipater to shut down the field, Ast shouldn't be long. The hangar is only one deck down." Kawolski awoken the other senior officers in the cell with him. Moments later, Astarosta returned with the dissipater in hand.
"Here!!" He said as he entered the brig. "We better hurry, I think that squire of Hierances' is on to us." Trevor winced in disgust, and noticed the other item Astarosta brought with him.
"Hey, gimmie that!' Astarosta handed Trevor the data scrambler.
"What'cha gonna do?" Wil asked as he pushed the dissipater into the forcefield with his toe and deactivated the forcefield.
"I'm gonna blow this rock to the next dimension." Trevor said as he connected the unit to the computer console on the wall. Seconds after the shield dropped, the Emperor's Hammer officers stepped free from their cell and readied to make a break to their waiting shuttle. "You all go ahead, I'll be just a moment." Kawolski nodded and led the group out of the brig. Wil waited behind for Trevor. "Go on Wil... don't wait on me."
"Rast, I'll wait for you, the same as anyone else." Trevor smiled politely and continued to work.
"Sixty minutes should be enough, eh?" Wil winked and the timer data scrambler went to work.
"What'd you program it to do anyway? Tell the reactors to overload." Trevor looked out the doorway and down the hall to the lift.
"Basically, I've got it performing the coolant valve diagnostic in repetition... they won't stay open long enough to keep the reactors cool." Trevor said with a grin. Wil shook his head and the two dashed to the lift.
"What about Heirance?" Trevor looked at Wil.
"What about him?" Trevor asked in return.
"Shouldn't we leave him a going away gift?" Trevor smirked.
"I'm sure he'll get along just fine if we don't say goodbye." Wil chuckled quietly. The group had just boarded the shuttle when Trevor and Wil ran into the hangar. They were half way to the ramp when blasters began to ring around them. The shuttle slowly came to life, and the remaining two men boarded the ship. "Ast!! Get us out of here!" Trevor yelled as he moved through the crowd of people to the cockpit.
"You got it!!" Astarosta replied. The shuttle engine overpowered the alarm sounding in the hangar. The pirates were already beginning to man their fighters when the shuttle docked with the first freighter and let a couple officers aboard. With a couple blasters and the element of surprise, the Emperor's Hammer was able to reclaim the freighters before the first fighters entered the area.

Chapter VI
Running for the Boarder

The Envoy was preparing for the shuttle to dock when fell under attack. Inside, the captive men and women began to fight back as the pirates began to panic. Trevor climbed out of the co-pilots seat and watched Kawolski board his Corvette.
"Sir, send this to Fleet Admiral Tolwyn as soon as you can..." Trevor said as he handed a piece of paper to Kawolski.
"Towlyn organised this?!" The Executive Officer asked. "I must say... well done. I'll get on it as soon as possible." Trevor saluted and sealed the hatch.
"Trev, two of the freighters are underway and will be out of here momentarily!" Wil said as Trevor took to the turret at the rear of the shuttle.
"Awesome!! Let's give our boys a little covering fire, eh?" Trevor answered.
"Yeeahhh!" Astarosta said as he moved away from the Envoy and opened fire on a Twing. The shuttle was not as fast or manuverable as the fighters, but with a couple good shots, the turrets were more powerful. Trevor also had an advantage of a better range than the fixed forward cannons. Also adding to the Emperor's Hammer, the Envoy was underway with its full crew and defending the freighters as they began their short trip to their hyperspace points. Within twenty minutes of sending the transmission, the heavy lifters of the Emperor's Hammer arrived.
"Trev, Cirrus one and three are away... the medical supplies are safe." Astarosta called. "Cirrus two is reporting a malfunction in their hyperdrive and need some time to secure it." Trevor yelled back his acknowledgement. The freighter had weak shields and was moving very slowly. Wil watched the Corvette as it defended itself with ease. The ship was bruised and battered, but would not let any of its space go without a fight. Fighter after fighter were pounded with turret fire. One by one, the heavy lifters began to dock with the cargo containers. Almost like someone flipped a switch, the fighters broke off their attack and moved in on the heavy lifters.
"Shuttle Alpha, help those lifters, we must retain all of our stores." Kawolski ordered over the commlink. "We'll move in to assist you." Wil flew the shuttle towards the heavy lifters and watched the lasers begin to fly about. Suddenly his headset was filled with screaming.
"Incoming!! We've got incoming!" Wil and Astarosta looked around and could see a lone Ywing launching torpedoes at the crippled freighter.
"Oh no.." Wil said quietly as the torpedoes slammed into the hull and disintegrated with a flash of light. Seconds later, the freighter itself blew into a massive ball of flames and debris. No one said a word as the light vanished and left a floating debris field. With a new found drive, the shuttle crew flew towards the heavy lifters, which were now docked and making their way back to their hyperspace jump points. "Okay gents... let's give 'em hell!" Trevor cheered in agreement and opened fire. The shuttle tore through the battle area and attacked any fighter that was not already in shambles. The fighters seem to ignore the shuttle as their targets were the cargo containers, which left the shuttle virtually free to do what it would. Trevor managed to take down a number of Twings, and Astatrosta was able to pick off Ywing after Ywing with the forward cannons. Within thirty minutes, the heavy lifters had arrived, collected the cargo containers and vacated the area. The Envoy made its way to its jump point, with the shuttle escorting it. Trevor watched behind him from his monitor as the planetoid base began to spew fire from its hangars and windows. The second the Envoy and shuttle jumped into Hyperspace, the base exploded, leaving a massive montage of colour and light, stretched with the stars as the two remaining Emperor's Hammer ships left to rendezvous with the Last Hope.

Chapter VII
Recuperation

Sector Admiral walked out of Medlab and found Astarosta, Wil and Trevor waiting out side.
"What are you three doing here?" He asked.
"Just wanted to make sure we got you back in one piece sir." Wil said with a smile.
"Well, I'm alright... you three did well. Congratulations." The three saluted, Kawolski returning the favour. He walked down the hallway on his way to the hangar where he would take a transport to his original destination aboard the Sovereign. Pausing briefly he turned around. "...and, thank you." The three waved as he disappeared into the lift. Standing silent for a few moments, thinking to themselves.
"So... How exactly did you get that fat lip, Trevor?" Astarosta asked.
"Oh... it's pretty simple story.. I fell, the ground left me this little reminder." Wil started walking down the corridor.
"Why don't you tell us about it over a beer?" The three all agreed and headed for the cantina.

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