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Dedication: This story is dedicated to our friends and fellow Parisites, Jess Ferroni and Serena, and to John Ormes.
Disclaimer: Star Trek and its characters are owned by Paramount. Star Wars and its characters are owned by Lucasfilm. Miranda Wildman, Ensign Peter Hawkes, Alan Kaplan, Wilma Isaacs, Nate Westin, Adam Sams, Randall "Randy" Coe, Kristin "Kris" Schwarte, William "Bill" Clayton, Barbara "Barb" Conkling, Felicia Blair, Alyssa Storm, the 'Yavaris II' and the 'Manarai Terrace' are owned by us. John Ormes and Karina Arroyo own themselves. No infringement is intended, nor will any profit be made from the writing of this story, so please don't sue us. (1) We don't have any money. (2) It's good publicity for you. (3) It's *free* publicity. This story may be archived or distributed, as long as the disclaimer and authors' notes are kept attached. Comments, good and bad, are welcome and appreciated at: Mara_J_Antilles@hotmail.com or yoda359@hotmail.com
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Love Me, Then Leave Me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By: Claire and Josh Daniels, (c) 1997
"Here's the ship's status report you asked for, Major," the ensign
handed her the data pad.
"Thank you, Ensign," she said, taking the data pad and examining
it. All systems read nominal. *Still, it's better not to leave
anything to chance.*
Mara Jade sat in her command chair on board the
Star Cruiser 'Yavaris II'. It was a comfortable chair, for the most
part; she'd ridden in worse. It wouldn't be so bad if the chair hadn't
been made for a species of a different build. It was typical of the
Mon Calamari Star Cruisers. The chairs were the least of the ergonomic
flaws on the ship. She found the gesture-operated control panels
almost impossible to work with, and the fuzzy, warped holographic displays,
keyed for a totally different vision spectrum, were unnerving.
But the ship could fight. It had an incredible
weapons array, and could take much punishment before biting it. And
to Mara, that was all that really mattered. When you got to be the
Emperor's Hand, you learned to live without luxuries, but that was many
years ago, far behind her. Mara was with the New Republic now.
She was a Major on the side of the Emperor's greatest enemies, on the side
of the man she had been instructed to kill; serving under one who, long
ago, had helped to destroy Imperial Death Stars and crush the Imperial
Fleet. . .
That man walked through the door. General
Wedge Antilles, commander of the 'Yavaris II', stepped out of his ready
room.
The ensign who had just handed her the data pad
instantly snapped erect.
"General on the bridge!" he barked.
"At ease, Ensign. Lieutenant," he said as he pointed at
Aves, who was sitting at the helm, "you have the bridge. Major, I'd
like to see you in my ready room."
"Certainly, sir," she said.
Mara suppressed a grimace as she walked across the bridge.
*Oh, great! This'll be *bunches* of fun. The thrills are just
*killing* me.* Mara groaned silently as she passed through the door.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Mara asked as she entered the ready
room. She stood with her feet together and her hands clasped behind
her back.
"Yes. Have a seat," Wedge said, gesturing to the couch.
Mara took a seat on one end of the couch, crossing
her legs. She looked at him and said, "I'm not going to like this,
am I?"
His sea green eyes met her emerald ones.
"I'm afraid not," he replied as he took a seat behind his desk
and handed her a data pad. "Crew evaluation reports."
Mara stifled a groan as she took the pad from him.
Of all the duties that came with her rank as first officer, this was her
least favorite.
"First, Lieutenant Wilma Isaacs. She's a fine officer..."
Wedge's voice trailed off as he looked at Mara. She had a sour expression
on her face. "I take it you have a differing opinion?"
"I heard her chew out some junior officers for talking in the
Mess Hall, and she nearly bit Nate Westin's head off for getting grease
on the hydrospanner when he was fixing the hyperdrive motivator.
So, yes, I do have a differing opinion. She's neurotic."
"Noted. We can discuss what to do with her later.
How about Ensign Alan Kaplan?" he asked.
"He's brown-nosing you big-time. I think he's hoping for
a promotion."
Aves' voice cut through the comlink. "General
to the bridge!"
"On my way, Lieutenant."
"Report!" Wedge said as he and Mara stepped out onto the bridge.
"We detected a Star Destroyer dropping out of lightspeed five
hundred thousand kilometers from our present position," Kaplan said.
*If you want a promotion out of me, Ensign, you're
going to have to do a lot better than that,* Wedge thought.
"Class?" Mara asked.
"Victory, ma'am," he replied.
"Red Alert. All hands to battle stations. Begin angling
deflector shields. Major, prepare to deploy the fighters."
"Aye, sir."
Wedge took his seat next to Mara.
"Sir, the destroyer is moving closer," Kaplan reported.
"Arm the weapons and be ready to fire on my mark."
"Aye, s-"
Kaplan never had a chance to finish the sentence.
In an instant, the space around the 'Yavaris II' exploded in brilliant
green turbolaser fire. With incredible speed, the Star Destroyer
began to move into an attack posture. The Imperial ship was already
launching its TIE fighters, their twin ion engines, for which they were
named, roaring as the tiny ships dove and maneuvered around the Star Cruiser.
The bridge of the 'Yavaris II' rocked and shook,
and Wedge and Mara fought to keep in their seats.
"Damage report!" Wedge barked.
"We have damage to the front shields," Isaacs' nasal voice came
in over the intercom, "but the hull is still holding. The power generators
for the turbolasers on the starboard bow are off line, and we've lost some
maneuvering thrusters."
"Jade to Hangar Bay!" Mara shouted over the comlink. "Deploy
all fighters! Repeat, deploy all fighters!"
"Helm, take evasive action!" Wedge commanded. "Ensign Kaplan,
return fire!'
The 'Yavaris II' slowly righted itself and brought
its own turbolasers to bear against the Star Destroyer. Fighters
poured out of its hangar bay and engaged the enemy TIEs. The Star
Destroyer continued to advance and maneuver with speed that was thought
to be impossible for its class.
"How the hell did they get it to move so fast?"
Wedge said in shock, "A Victory-class Star Destroyer with that type of
engine efficiency is unheard of!"
"They must have overhauled the engine systems!" Mara said, "Who
knows *what* else that thing can do?!"
"I don't know," Wedge responded, "but something tells me we're
about to find out!"
The Star Destroyer fired a full volley of concussion
missiles at the bridge of the 'Yavaris II'. Mara was thrown from her seat,
and the other crewmen fought to maintain balance. Kaplan wasn't that
lucky. An energy discharge erupted from his panel and struck him
square in the chest. It raked over his body as he shrieked with pain,
his fingers spasmodically gripping the panel until his knuckles turned
white. His whole panel exploded in flames, and Kaplan was thrown
across the bridge, landing solidly against the wall adjacent to the turbolift
with a muffled grunt as he connected and collapsed to the floor.
Ensign Kristin Schwarte ran to him, knelt beside
his body and checked for vital signs.
"He's dead!" she shouted in shock. The bridge rocked from
another explosion and she too, fell to the deck.
Wedge reached out a hand to Mara, helping her to
her seat.
"Switch to backup shielding around the bridge!" he barked, "I
want full ion cannon and turbolaser bombardment!"
Mara gave some orders of her own.
"Rogue group, Gold group, Green group, all fighters: I want you
to concentrate fire on the deflector shield generators and the solar ionization
reactor! Shoot any TIE that gets in your way, but focus on your primary
targets."
The squad leaders acknowledged, and commenced their
attack. Combined with the 'Yavaris II's' turbolasers and ion cannons,
the X-wings, A-wings, and B-wings converged on their targets. The
Star Cruiser's weapons weakened the shields, electronics, and the hull
of the Victory Star Destroyer. Most of the TIEs had either gone for
refueling or had been destroyed.
Not long after, a deflector-shield generator dome
burst into a sphere of flame. Another followed. The New Republic
Star Cruiser and starfighters pounded mercilessly away at the Imperial
ship. In half an hour it was all over.
The large Star Cruiser held its position in the black
vacuum of space. The ship was not typical of most common spacecraft.
It shared the flowing, organic shape of Mon Calamari starships. The
aquatic, fish-like Mon Calamari considered their ships to be as much works
of art as they are weapons of war. Whether it was one or the other,
the 'Yavaris II' had taken a real beating, and there was more to be done
on board than sit and admire its beauty.
"Here's the complete damage report, General," Lieutenant Isaacs
said, handing a pad to Wedge, "I hope our present condition is clear as
crystal now." she said condescendingly.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Wedge returned. Burning stars,
this woman was annoying, and Wedge could barely suppress a grimace.
He was beginning to see what Mara had meant in their earlier discussion.
He scanned the data pad. The damage was bad, alright, but not irreparable.
Even Isaacs, for all she was worth, could have it repaired in a few days
at the least. "Station," he commanded. Lieutenant Isaacs went
back to her panel.
"General, we should contact Coruscant and report this," Aves
suggested.
"Right," Wedge acknowledged. "Major, get on the HoloNet channels
and patch me through to Imperial Palace."
"Aye, sir," she replied. Mara worked her control panel,
and in a few moments, she had a response. "I've established contact
with Admiral Drayson at Imperial Palace."
"On holotable," Wedge commanded. The table at the center
of the bridge in front of the transparisteel raised a circular section
in its center, and an image materialized, suspended, above it. The
holovid coalesced into the familiar form of Admiral Drayson. To Wedge,
it still looked blurred and warped.
*Someday, I'm going to have someone retune the display controls
on that damned holotable,* Wedge silently vowed. The display would
look fine to a Mon Calamarian. The trouble was, Wedge wasn't Mon
Calamarian.
"Greetings, General," Drayson's small image said. "What do you
have to report?"
"Bad news, I'm afraid," Wedge responded. "The 'Yavaris
II' has been attacked by a Victory Star Destroyer, and has sustained moderate
damage and casualties."
"Was it Imperial?" Drayson asked.
"Definitely. The ship didn't send out a hail, but it used
TIE fighters, and our examination of the debris indicates the ship was
definitely registered with the Empire. What strikes me odd is the
fact that they were so hostile. We never got a chance to fight: they
dropped out of lightspeed, immediately advanced on us, and fired.
Our ship had already taken significant damage before we could even return
fire."
"I find it hard to believe," the Admiral said skeptically, "that
a ship as powerful as the 'Yavaris II' had such a rough time with a starship
that's over forty years old, half the size, and with no where near the
weapons or maneuvering capabilities of a Star Cruiser."
"Sir," Wedge said, "judging from the battle and our analysis
of the debris, we think this Star Destroyer was severely modified."
"Modified? How?" the Admiral inquired.
"Their engine systems were obviously completely overhauled, and
I wouldn't be surprised if they took out some of the superstructure to
increase fuel efficiency and maneuverability. The shield strength
was greatly increased to make up for the weakened hull, and the ship was
very well armed. The weapon systems were in optimal condition and
more varied than the standard complement carried by a stock Victory Star
Destroyer."
"They were pretty much the same modifications that the Alliance
made to Dreadnaughts in order to turn out Assault Frigates," Mara put in.
"All in all, I'd say that this destroyer could compete with a
Mon Cal Cruiser, maybe even an Imperial Star Destroyer if they had a skilled
commander," Wedge said.
Drayson's image frowned and his forehead furrowed
with thought. These past few weeks had obviously been tough on him
as well as everyone else.
"The Empire has been testing New Republic military resolve for
months now," Drayson said finally. "Admiral Daala and Pellaeon have
been sending Star Destroyers into New Republic border sectors without any
warning. They go in, attack the first target they see, and make a
bee-line for Imperial space. What's odd is that they'd choose to
do a hit-and-fade assault using Star Destroyers..."
"We've seen it before, Admiral," Mara added. "During Grand
Admiral Thrawn's campaign, the Empire pulled that stunt at Bpfaash."
"Yes," Admiral Drayson said, reminiscing, "but I don't think
that the Empire has any strategists with tactics of Thrawn's caliber.
It is the opinion of Admiral Ackbar, Senator Bel Iblis, and myself that
Daala is merely testing us to see what we'll do if attacked. She's
toying with us."
"Agreed," Wedge comported, "but what do we do about it?"
"By analyzing Daala's attack patterns, we think we've determined
her next target sector. I want the 'Yavaris II' to set course for
the Bvengi Sector and patrol the area. You are free to defend yourself
if attacked, but don't go looking for a fight; we can't afford to lose
the 'Yavaris II'."
"Understood, sir," Wedge said.
"One more thing," Drayson said. "You said you'd taken a
beating. How long do you think repairs will take?"
"Hold on a minute," Wedge said, turning his attention to Isaacs.
"Lieutenant?"
"All damage should be repaired by the time we reach Bvengi,"
she responded.
"We'll have it fixed before we arrive, Admiral," Wedge said.
"Good," Drayson said. "Set course for Bvengi, and may the
Force be with you." The holovid dematerialized as the holotable shut down.
"Well, it seems we have our orders. Lieutenant Isaacs,
see to damage control. Ensign Conkling, set course for Bvengi, and
make the jump to hyperspace. Major, you have the bridge; I'll be
in my ready room."
All went to their assigned duties. Isaacs
allocated damage control teams to various ship systems. Wedge walked
through the door into his ready room. Mara checked status to make
sure all was in order. Conkling plotted a course for Bvengi, and
Aves pulled back the control levers. The stars streamed into starlines,
and soon the 'Yavaris II' was flying through the mottled sky of hyperspace.
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