The characters that have appeared in previous Star Wars novels are property of Lucasfilm, Ltd. Captain Amaryl Assay, Admiral Tesh Dorass, First Officer Azzeh, and the name of Tycho's droid belong to the author. Any other characters presented here that have never been seen in a Star Wars novel are property of Iris Bailey. Do not repost anywhere without the permission of the author!
When Ajene Tuvora walked into a tapcafe, it always produced the same result. Most of the human males, and a fair number of the non-human ones, turned their attention to watching her as she passed by. Not too obviously, of course, but they looked just the same. It produced a kind of a ripple effect when viewed from a distance.
It was also totally understandable. Looking beyond her obvious beauty, there were a couple of other features that came into focus; features which made all but the most foolhardy of men think twice about approaching her for anything more than polite conversation.
First there was the fact that at the collar of her drab green uniform, she wore the rank and insignia of a Major in the Special Forces, a branch of the New Republic Armed Forces known for being extremely adept at taking care of themselves. Secondly, there was the BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol she wore low and tied down at her right hip, which no doubt helped the former assessment.
Today was no different. Heads turned as she made her way through the crowd toward the table occupied by Tycho, Corran, and Mirax.
At her approach, Corran stood and came to attention, holding a crisp salute with only a slight smile on his face. She returned the salute, and gave Tycho an equally military salute. He looked at both of them standing at attention. "At ease, people. It’s too early in the morning for all this saluting." The Major smiled, taking a seat across from Tycho and the Captain.
Tycho returned her smile. "We just ordered a late breakfast. Interested?"
"Sure." She nodded to the serving droid hovering nearby and it waddled over. "I’ll have a Carridian honey roll and a hot caf." The order noted, the droid trundled off. Ajene turned her attention back to the others. "You guys heading out soon?"
"In a couple of days." Tycho shook his head. "But escorting diplomats and convoys back and forth is not my idea of fun."
"Tycho," Mirax smiled sweetly, "your beloved General, if he were here, would tell you that you didn’t join Rogue Squadron to have fun."
"He probably would," Corran answered with a laugh.
"Speaking of the General." Ajene frowned slightly. "Have any of you seen or heard from him today?"
"We thought he was with you?" Corran spoke up. "I mean, you two are..." He stopped without finishing the sentence as he saw the look on his wife’s face. Mirax’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Tycho covered his eyes with one hand, shaking his head at his friend’s blunder. "I mean...ahem...you see..." Corran blushed furiously.
"Corran, don’t, sweetheart. You’re plotting a course into a black hole that you can’t possibly pull out of." Mirax patted his hand and looked at Ajene. "Forgive him, Major. Sometimes his mouth works before his brain is fully engaged." She tapped him gently on the forehead and shook her head.
Corran looked to Tycho for help, but he just gave him the universal you’re on your own look. But a smile was beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth.
Ajene looked at the three of them for a moment, then started to laugh. She reached over and patted Corran’s other hand. "Relax, Corran. It’s not as if it’s a secret that Wedge and I have been spending time with each other. I think he wanted to try to keep it quiet, but with friends like you around, I think that may be impossible."
Corran looked at her gratefully. "Thanks for coming to my rescue...But, I think I’ll just sit here and keep my mouth shut."
"Good!" Tycho and Mirax responded in unison.
At that moment, the serving droid reappeared with their breakfasts. There was a brief shuffle of plates and utensils, then they were alone again.
Taking a sip of steaming caf, Ajene looked at them a bit more seriously. "Wedge and I were supposed to meet for dinner last night, but he didn’t show up. I just wondered if he’d left word with you." She looked into her cup for a moment before continuing. "He didn’t let me know that he wasn’t coming, and that’s not like him."
Tycho shook his head. "You’re right, that isn’t like him. Wedge is very predictable when it comes to that sort of thing." Tycho tapped a finger against the table as he thought the situation over. "He flew out to Thyferra the day-before-yesterday, and was supposed to be back yesterday afternoon. We haven’t been to headquarters yet today, but we were going to check in with him after breakfast. We figured he’d made it back already since we hadn’t heard anything different."
Ajene set down her half empty mug of caf. "He hasn’t checked in yet according to Starfighter Command. I tried to contact him on his personal frequency before coming to meet you. I couldn’t reach him and no one has heard from him."
"He didn’t leave you any word at all?" Mirax frowned.
"Emtrey brought a bouquet of flowers to me that Wedge had arranged to be delivered yesterday afternoon. There was a note with them reminding me about dinner. But that was it."
"I’m not liking this at all." Corran played with the food left on his plate. "We’d better get back to base and see if they’ve heard anything."
"I think you’re right." Tycho stood and tossed some credits on the table, "Breakfast’s on me. Let’s go." The four of them headed for the door.
It only took them a few minutes to reach the Starfighter Command Center of Operations in the adjacent building. They went directly to the communications room. When they got there, Nawara Ven, Rogue Squadron’s Twi’lek Executive Officer, was standing over one of the tech stations, frowning. He looked up when the others entered.
"I was just going to send for you, Colonel." Nawara’s lekku twitched nervously behind him as he spoke. "I’m sorry to interrupt your down time, but I think we may have a problem. General Antilles..."
"...is in trouble." The Alderaanian pilot finished the sentence for him.
"Perhaps. How did you know?"
"When isn’t Wedge in trouble? Not to mention he didn’t keep an appointment with Major Tuvora last night." He nodded at Ajene.
"Oh, Major." Nawara remembered himself and started to salute, but she dismissed it with a wave and looked at Tycho.
"Does everyone in the squadron know about Wedge and I?" she asked.
"When it comes to Wedge and women, he can’t hide much from us." Tycho chuckled. "Besides, Wes figured it out. You know what that means."
Corran laughed out loud and then coughed into his hand. He then proceeded to admire the ceiling of the room.
Ajene groaned. "Just great. By now everyone between here and the Outer Rim knows."
Nawara cleared his throat to bring attention back to the matter at hand.
"What have you got, Nawara?" Corran leaned against a console, crossing his legs at the ankle. Mirax wandered over and draped an arm over his shoulder.
"When I came in this morning, I found out that Wedge still hadn’t checked in, even though he was supposed to be back yesterday. I thought that maybe he had been delayed and the message just hadn’t reached me yet. So I contacted Thyferra to see if he was still there."
"And?" Ajene asked
"Bror Jace said that he saw him off early yesterday morning, and Thyferran Traffic Control confirmed that his ship went to lightspeed about fifteen minutes later."
"Has there been any other word?" Tycho played with his earlobe, a nervous habit he had picked up in the last few years, probably from having to deal with Janson on a daily basis. Even after Wes had left the squadron, the habit remained.
"We didn’t think so, but then someone remembered that there had been a high speed microburst signal intercepted very early this morning. At least part of one. It came through six different relays before reaching us here and was queued with the rest of the unknown traffic to be decoded at a later date."
"Is it from Wedge?" Tycho asked, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.
"Like I said, it was only a partial signal, and it was sent high speed and encoded. It was pretty much ignored until now. When we started looking for Wedge, we took a closer look at it." He pointed to a Chadra-Fan technician near by. "Raned is working on it now. He’s slowing it down and decoding it so that..."
The diminutive technician suddenly became very animated, chittering in his own language. The entire group turned to look at him, and he turned towards them, waving his hands in the air. He saw the confusion on the face of the Colonel and switched to Basic. "I’ve got it, sir! I think I’ve got it!"
The group moved over to look at the information that had begun to scroll on the screen. "It is from General Antilles’ R5 unit. It appears to have been sent in somewhat of a hurry."
"What does it say?" Tycho asked.
"Are you sure it’s Wedge’s droid?" Ajene frowned at the screen.
"What does it say?" Mirax echoed as she leaned over Corran.
"It’s definitely Gate’s signal. All droids have their own signal characteristics, sort of like voice prints. I compared this with a recording of Gate’s pattern. It’s him, alright."
"What...does...it...say?" Tycho’s impatience was beginning to show. He leaned menacingly in towards the technician with a hand on each arm of his chair.
"I’m afraid it’s a distress call, sir." The mouse-eared technician murmured apologetically. He turned to read the message from his screen and to escape Tycho’s glare. "It says ‘Mayday, mayday. Taking fire. Victory Class Star Destroyer. Eight remaining TIE fighters on intercept.’ It then gives part of a coordinate.
"Only part of a coordinate?" Worry began to creep into Ajene’s voice.
"It was incomplete, Major. The transmission ends in static like...well, as if it was suddenly cut off."
An icy pang of fear cut through Tycho’s insides. Corran visibly shivered at the same time. Mirax looked at her husband’s face, and put her hand on his arm. "Are you all right?"
He shook his head. "No. I just got a really bad feeling about this. Wedge is in real trouble."
"Do you think he’s been shot down?" Tycho studied the younger man apprehensively.
"I don’t know. I just know that he...needs us." His eyes lost focus as he seemed to look at something that no one else could see. Then he just hung his head. "I wish I could tell you more. It...it’s just a feeling."
"Well, I, for one have known you long enough to trust your ‘feelings’." Tycho straightened up and took out his comlink. Adjusting the base of it, he thumbed it on. "Rogue Squadron, Priority One. Report to briefing room 6A in twenty minutes. Repeat. Rogue Squadron, Priority One. Report to briefing room 6A."
He pocketed his comlink and turned again to the Executive Officer. "Nawara, pull up what you have on the partial coordinate and plot likely points along the General’s intended route home. Get as much information as you can from Thyferran Traffic Control about his possible flight plan."
"Yes, sir."
Ajene stepped forward. "Tycho, I’d like to be included in any mission you may undertake. I can pilot a Lambda shuttle."
Tycho shook his head. "I know how you must feel about this, but I can’t authorize your participation in any Rogue Squadron mission."
Ajene’s voice hardened like durasteel as she glowered at him. "Either you let me participate in this mission with you, or I will go on my own. The choice is up to you."
They glared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to back down.
Mirax stepped in and put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. "You can fly with me, Ajene. I’m volunteering the Pulsar Skate."
"Thanks, Mirax. I..." Ajene looked gratefully at the other woman, unable to finish the sentence.
"Trust me, I understand. I’ve been where you are now." Mirax gave her a reassuring smile.
Ajene took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I’d better notify my unit that I may be out of touch for a while. I’ll meet you in the briefing room."
Tycho gave in, unable or unwilling to fight both Ajene and Mirax. "Alright. We’ll see you there," he replied. She gave him a curt nod, then turned and left the room.
To everyone else, Ajene had become all business, but as Mirax watched her go, she recognized a woman trying to deal with the fear of losing someone she was beginning to care about. She’d been there herself when she and Corran had agreed to see each other and then she thought he had been killed during the Rogue’s mission to capture Coruscant. "That’s Wedge for you."
"What does that mean exactly?" Corran asked.
"She's already falling for him. He has that effect on women and hasn’t got a clue that he does it."
Nawara looked dubious as he glanced through the door that Ajene had just passed through. "Are we talking about the same person? That women who looks ready to take on a squad of stormtroopers, falling for our General?"
"Trust me on this one, Nawara. Call it woman’s intuition."
"I think I’ll stay clear of that one and just take your word for it," Corran said, although he knew she was right.
Tycho harrumphed. "Nawara, you should know by now that Wedge only goes for the difficult targets that everyone else says are impossible."
"I think you’re right, Colonel."
"Have Shi’dora preflight our ships. Inform Starfighter Command what is happening. And see if Admiral Ackbar can fit me into his schedule as soon as possible. Okay, let’s move out."
The four of them headed out of the comm center at a trot.
* * * * * * *
Tycho looked over the room and counted heads. He noted that most of the pilots were in civilian dress, evidence that he had interrupted their leaves.
Everyone was present except Nawara, who’d been delayed while notifying Admiral Ackbar of the situation and attempting to schedule a meeting for Tycho.
Corran, Mirax, and Ajene sat around a small table to one side of the room, in deep discussion over a copy of the transmission that Emtrey, the unit's protocol droid, had brought from the operations center. Gavin Darklighter sat in the front row talking with Ooryl. The Gand was demonstrating a complicated maneuver with his hands as he spoke. Myn Donos and Inyri Forge sat on either side of Varnestra, a Mon Calamari female and the most recent addition to the squadron.
Rekdon Pinkar, the squadron’s towering Devaronian pilot and Wedge’s wingman, leaned against a support column and silently surveyed the room. Two of the newer members of the squadron, Arata Voran, a human male from Berchest, and Rehm Shyra, a male Sullustan, lounged in the seats behind Gavin.
There was still one position in the squadron left to fill after Hobbie and Wes’ transfers a couple of months before, but Starfighter Command had not yet sent them another new pilot. He figured that since they were on escort duty, they were not high on the list of priority. Wedge had been looking at candidates since his return, but had not yet made any requests.
Nawara walked in and sat down at the table with Corran and the others. He nodded at Tycho to indicate that his mission had been a success. Standing at the center of the room, he began his briefing. "Rogues, can I have your attention? Sorry to have to cancel your downtime, but we’ve got bad news."
Everyone’s attention was riveted to the squadron's second in command. They probably couldn’t help but notice that he was giving the briefing and not their commander.
"As you know, day-before-yesterday Wedge flew out to Thyferra to give a lecture. He was due to stay overnight then head back to Coruscant yesterday morning. We have verified that he did leave there on schedule, making his jump to lightspeed on a pre-planned course. However, we have reason to believe that somewhere along his route home he was ambushed by an unknown Victory Class Star Destroyer. As of now, he is approximately twenty hours overdue."
There was a sharp intake of breath all round. Tycho knew the news would hit them hard because the Rogues were fiercely loyal to Wedge. He also knew that in many ways, Wedge seemed invulnerable to them. On more occasions than Tycho could count, Wedge had come within a hair’s breadth of death and emerged with hardly a scratch. For this to happen pointed out only too clearly that Wedge, as well as everyone else in the room, was mortal.
As the shock of the announcement wore off, he could see the determined looks on their faces. He didn’t need to be Force sensitive to know that they would stop at nothing to get their leader back. If he’s alive.
He tried to shake off the thought.
Gavin was the first to speak up. "Do we have any idea where he was hit and how bad?"
"We don’t have a specific place, but we do have a partial coordinate that Gate sent out in a high speed distress signal."
"Partial?" Inyri frowned. "How partial?"
"Half a coordinate," Tycho answered. He glanced down at his datapad. "The actual transmission read, ‘Mayday, mayday. Taking fire. Victory Class Star Destroyer. Eight remaining TIE fighters on intercept.' Then it gave the first part of a coordinate. The rest of the transmission was cut off before it could be completed."
"That could mean his ship was destroyed." Rekdon said, not sounding convinced of the fact.
"He could have been hit by an ion cannon." Corran spoke almost to himself, his arms held tightly across his chest.
"I hope you’re right," Voran spoke up. "The alternative is..."
"Not up for discussion!" Tycho’s voice was thick with the emotion he felt as Voran echoed his earlier thoughts. "We’ve tried to project likely ambush points based on the information we have and the flight plan that Wedge filed before leaving Thyferra. Admittedly it’s pretty slim, but it’s the best that we have right now."
He sighed, a sign of his frustration. "Look, people, we have to believe that Wedge was set up for a reason. If that is the case, they didn’t plan all this just to shoot him down. They wanted him for something. I’m going to be meeting with Admiral Ackbar in..."
"Ten minutes," Nawara said.
"I’m going to be asking for permission to lead a mission to go after Wedge. Although I know that all of you will want to go, we will have to keep a four-ship element here, due to possible escort responsibilities. Who stays will be decided at our next meeting here in one hour. That’s all for now. If there aren’t any questions, you’re dismissed."
He turned and moved back to the table, watching as the pilots that were now most likely under his command filed out of the briefing room. He could see that their morale was low. Rogue Squadron was a very tight squadron, perhaps more so than other active fighter groups, because they were often handed the impossible assignments. Wedge was the anchor that kept them all together. Some of the pilots had been with Wedge for a number of years. Tycho had known Wedge since just after the Battle of Hoth. They had flown into a Death Star together. Even after he had left to take command of a Star Destroyer and then various other ships, Wedge had remained with the squadron in spirit.
They would find their General, no, their friend, and bring him home safely. There was no alternative as far as he was concerned.
* * * * * * *
Tycho’s meeting with Admiral Ackbar was easier than he thought it would be. He was sure that he would have to talk the Admiral into letting him run off with the squadron to find Wedge. Possibly yell a little. Maybe even beg.
He entered the Admiral’s office and was assaulted by a wall of humidity. Being from Mon Calamari, a world of water, the Admiral found most human environments dry and uncomfortable. Here in his own office he had adjusted the environmental controls to suit his needs.
Tycho sketched a short salute and sat in the chair offered by the Admiral. Before he even had a chance to speak, Ackbar's large eyes swiveled towards him and he handed him a datacard. "Colonel Celchu, these are your new orders. Your current mission of escort duty has been given over to another unit. Your new mission is to locate and liberate General Antilles. This datacard transfers to you command of Rogue Squadron. It also permits you to operate outside the normal channels of command. I find that any Antilles group works best that way anyway. You will have your own ships at your disposal as well as a fully armed Lambda class shuttle. I have been told that Mirax Terrik Horn will offer the Pulsar Skate. I must insist that you check in with me occasionally, but besides that you have free reign. Do you have any questions?"
Tycho sat in stunned silence for a moment. When he finally found his voice, all he could think to ask was "Why?"
"Why what, Colonel Celchu?" Ackbar asked.
"I mean why, sir." He cleared his throat. "What I mean, Admiral, is that I was prepared for a fight. And here you just hand me orders telling me to do exactly what I wanted to do in the first place. I don’t understand."
"It is very simple, Colonel. Whether he realizes it or not, General Antilles is a vital part of the New Republic. Next to Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, and Han Solo, he is one of the biggest living heroes we have. If he is to be captured and killed by the Empire, morale will be depleted, questions will arise. Not to mention we will lose an efficient and capable officer.
"There is also the security issue. As a General, he is privy to all kinds of information on fleet strength, maneuvers, etc. We cannot have that information fall into enemy hands if it can be avoided." He leaned in closer to Tycho, his salmon colored flesh shining in the humidity. "The orders that you hold in your hands come directly from the New Republic Council."
Tycho gave a soft whistle. "Maybe it’s a good thing that Wedge isn’t here. This would go to his head. Thank you for your help, Admiral." Tycho rose to his feet in preparation to leave the office.
"Before you go, Colonel, understand this. Although you have the full support of the Council, you will not be given any capital ships. It is not publicly known, but the recent battles with Grand Admiral Thrawn and various other warlords have depleted the Armed Forces in personnel as well as hardware. We cannot afford to send any of our fleets wandering out into space looking for one General. You are on your own this time, Tycho. You will have to find your own resources without drawing on New Republic assets."
Tycho shrugged slightly. "Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. But I do have some ideas already on how to go about that. I would still like to thank you for your help, Admiral. We won’t let you down."
"I know you won’t, Colonel." Ackbar leaned forward to emphasize his point. "Remember, the General's disappearance must remain within your group in order to maintain operational security."
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
Tycho saluted and left.
* * * * * * *
After leaving Admiral Ackbar, Tycho headed through the maze of corridors that led to his small office. Once there he would prepare for the upcoming mission briefing.
Just before turning the corner that would take him to his small office, he glanced down a short hallway to his left. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that the door at the end of it led to Wedge’s office.
He stood and stared down the corridor for a moment, somehow unable to pass it by. Memories flooded into his mind of the adventures that he and Wedge had had together, both in good times and bad, and of the stories that Wes had told not three days earlier at the birthday party.
He managed to tear his eyes of the door and continue to his own office, but his mood had turned even more somber.
Tycho had just sat down at his desk when he heard a commotion outside in the hallway. Moments later, Wes Janson burst through the door. And he was furious. Hobbie followed him at a more measured pace, but was just as visibly upset.
"What in the name of the Sith is this I hear about Wedge being ambushed?" He slammed his fists down on Tycho’s desk as if to underscore the question.
The change in Wes’ personality did not take Tycho by surprise. He had seen this side of him before. It was the Wes that sat in the cockpit of an X-wing and methodically killed Imperials. It was the Wes that was an expert shot with a blaster pistol. It was the Wes that hid just beneath all of the jokes and juvenile behavior.
"How did you find out about this?" Tycho asked quietly.
Wes’ fury rose another notch when he didn’t get an answer to his question. His usually merry voice came out in a low growl, and he leaned menacingly over Tycho’s desk. "I’m warning you, Tycho. I’ve known Wedge longer than you have and I want to know why you didn’t contact us about this."
"Major Janson, you are at attention." Tycho used all of the force at his command to make the statement an order. He watched as Wes slowly began to get himself under control and stand at attention. He saw Hobbie come to attention out of the corner of his eye. "I have asked you a question, Major. Answer it."
Wes spoke through clenched teeth while staring at an imaginary spot on the wall just over Tycho’s head. "We came by to say good bye to the General before leaving Coruscant and met Captain Ven near the briefing room. He told us that General Antilles was not on base. I pressed the issue and managed to find out that General Antilles was missing and presumed ambushed."
Wes’ fists opened and closed as he spoke and Tycho knew that he was nearing the end of his tether. He couldn’t help but notice that Wes was wearing his side arm. "Wes, I want you to know that I would have told you and Hobbie what had happened, but I couldn’t. You, better than anyone, understand the need for operational security. I don’t want whoever has Wedge knowing when and where we are coming after them. If that were to happen, we may never find him. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir. Permission to speak freely, Colonel."
"Granted."
Wes’ body slackened and he looked Tycho in the eyes for the first time since he had come to attention. "Hobbie and I would like to go with you."
"Impossible. Admiral Ackbar has made it very clear to me that we cannot use any other assets than those assigned to Rogue Squadron."
"What if I can convince the Admiral to transfer us to your unit?"
Tycho pulled at his earlobe again. He was surprised to find that it had become raw from all the pulling on it he had done over the last few hours, so he stopped. "Wes, if you can get yourselves transferred to this unit, we would be more than happy to include you."
Wes stood at attention again. His hand came up into a crisp salute and he held it until Tycho returned it. "Permission to leave, sir?"
"Dismissed."
He turned and left, Hobbie following silently in his wake. Tycho let out a long breath and sagged into his chair. He felt lucky to still be in one piece. He had no doubt that if he had refused the offer of help, Wes would have blown a power coupling. He hoped that the Admiral would permit them to help, but wasn’t holding his breath. His luck just wasn’t that good today.
Copyright June 13, 2001 by Susan Hill.
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