Gold Strike - Part 1
by Raven, Pivot, and Storm
Written and originally posted in 1995
A small forward from the Loremaster:
This is the "modified" version of this story. Raven graciously provided his copies, and similarly was a good sport regarding my wish to make some small edits. Some of these edits were just to correct syntax errors, but a few of the edits were to ensure that this and other Gold stories would fit within our group's "canon", and therefore be able to exist as our "history" or "reality", rather than being relegated to the "Legends" section of older tales that contain too much lore-breaking items that the stories would be completely different from their intended purposes if we made the changes.
Such a Legends page WILL be created to house the aforementioned tales AS WELL AS the completely unedited version of this (and other tales that were slightly modified to fit). A proto-version of this page can be found HERE, and you may enjoy those and other stories that exist as, "fiction" shall we say, in our "real" version of the Star Wars universe. Imagine as if you are sitting in your favorite reading nook and reading some fiction during downtime between CAP shifts to decompress as you read the stories posted on the Legends page.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy this story!
Bearcat, Renegade Wing Lore Master since 2020
******** Introduction ********
By Mark "Pivot" Empson (Gold Leader)
To all the denizens of StarFighter Command,
Everyone knows Gold Squadron is the elite Interceptor/Recce squadron. But here's something new. With Raven's sweat and inspiration, along with the
efforts of other members of Gold, most notably Storm and Pivot, we'll reveal
one of the major events in Gold Squadron's history, in the form of a 20
chapter story entitled GOLD STRIKE!
With the scheduled declassification of several high-level pertinent documents
having recently taken place, the facts can now be made public. Several
Alliance personnel were involved in this most remarkable historic event. But
our story will be told from the points of view of our favorite and most
noteworthy Gold Squadron pilots: Pivot, Wraith, Storm, Smoke, StarDuster, and
Raven.
While reading this story, you'll learn how Gold Squadron was once sent on a
secret undercover reconnaissance mission to investigate pirate activity
occurring on a new and unprecedented scale. What we ended up with was far more
than anyone had ever dreamed of...
-—Pivot, Gold Leader, SpaceCon I Staff—-
Rocked by yet another torpedo, the unregistered Corvette was maneuvering in a
desperate attempt to evade destruction. "Engines off-line! Shields failing!"
the second in command shouted. Then the captain flipped the intraship comm
link and shouted, "All hands, abandon ship. Abandon ship, get to the
blastboats, and rendezvous with the freighter." As the comms panel began
sparking, his final broadcast cut off abruptly.
The captain then moved to the console where his Executive Officer was
monitoring the ship's systems. After a few seconds deliberation, he punched in the
destruct sequence. "Mister Ives, please confirm self-destruct."
The officer hesitated for a moment, then did as instructed. A timer immediately
appeared on displays throughout the torn ship. "Eight minutes until self
destruct," the main computer declared in its flat unemotional voice.
"Okay, let's go!" The two men headed for the ship's hold. Deck plates
shuddered as two of the GAT-12 Skiprays launched, and the Captain's hope
for his crew rekindled. But suddenly, an enemy torpedo impacted, collapsing
the remaining shields. The force of the blast found its way through a weak
spot in the hull, causing the corridor around them to explode. The Captain was
killed instantly and the executive officer was thrown into a bulkhead. The
ship started to decompress slowly.
Picking himself up, the XO staggered to the hold and climbed into the last remaining Skipray. "Launch!" he yelled as the hatch was closing and the fast speeder was flung
away from the dying Corvette.
"Ives! Where the captain is?" asked the woman at
the Skipray's controls. Her accent marked her as a provincial Drift dweller.
"He didn't make it. But we set the self-destruct... the ship will blow in less
than," he hurriedly glanced at his chronometer, "five minutes." Ives
dragged himself over to the tactical display in the crowded cabin of the small
ship.
The woman spoke again without turning around, "Hang around we do, the
fireworks to watch?"
Ives thought about it and looked at the display. "No, those fighters will be all over us in seconds. Don't worry, the ship will blow. Just get us out of here and back to the freighter."
[Meanwhile in space, near the Corvette, fighters buzzed around the ship like
angry hornets...]
As two of the attacking A-wing fighters took off after the rapidly retreating
Skiprays, a flight of three Y-wings suddenly appeared from hyperspace.
Responding to a request for assistance from the Rebel patrol that had come
across the Corvette engaged in a suspected smuggling operation, they quickly
appraised the combat situation.
The Y-wings closed in on the battered ship. Seeing that its shields were down,
they pounded it with crippling blasts from their ion cannons. On the now
deserted ship, consoles exploded in sparks as the ion charges knocked out the
ship's systems. A torpedo which had been launched earlier but had originally missed,
turned around to make another pass and finally connected with the Corvette,
hitting it just in front of the top gun turret. The blast nearly separated the
forward control compartments from the rest of the ship, severing the emergency
shielded power connections and the relay to the central computer. Amazingly,
the self-destruct countdown halted with seven seconds left on the clock.
[Meanwhile, a third of the way across the galaxy...]
Something was up. Something big. Mark "Pivot" Empson, the Leader of the
elite Gold Squadron and his executive officer, Jeffrey "Wraith" Jackson, were shown
into a small conference room aboard the CRS Independence, one of the flagships of the fledgeling Rebel Alliance.
The orderly, who had ushered them into the room, then asked if they
required any refreshments and finally told them that the Admiral would be
with them shortly. "Any idea what this is about?" asked Wraith.
"No, but this secrecy is driving me nuts," replied Pivot. Sighing, he sat
down at the table and surveyed the room.
The door at the far end of the room opened and two figures entered. The first was Eddie "Storm" Schenk, Gold 3, who was then followed by the legendary Admiral Ackbar himself.
"Eddie!" Pivot exclaimed. "It's really good to see you. I thought you were
still on the Happy Jack." Pivot then caught himself, saluted, and said
"Good day, Admiral," in a more measured tone.
Storm casually took a seat at the table, speaking while still looking at his datapad. "No, I've been briefing
the Admiral on the conclusion of the Major Casteel 'incident' and the court-
martial that took place on the Happy Jack." He looked up from his datapad and grinned. "I must have made a good impression, as the Admiral thought it would be a good idea if I sat in on this meeting."
The Calamarian stood at the head of the table. "Gentlemen," he rasped.
"Thank you for coming. I think Captain Schenk may indeed have some insight
to provide us so I have invited him here. Let me get straight to the point,
there is a matter of some import that has come to attention of the Alliance
Council."
Ackbar pressed a button on the table and the wall behind him dissolved into
a 3 dimensional star map. With a laser pointer, he indicated a specific
region of the star field. "In this sector an Alliance patrol came across
what appeared to be a smuggler ship. The Corvette in question refused to be
boarded, and in the resulting battle most of her crew abandoned ship and
escaped. The ship was set to self-destruct, but by an accident of battle did
not. We were fortunately able to recover the ship's computer information."
The star field swirled as a different region of the sector was displayed.
Ackbar continued. "This, gentlemen, is the Magaen Drift out on the very
frontier of the Old Republic borders, far removed from the current struggle
between the Alliance and the Empire. Rich in minerals, it was extensively
mined at one time. But with the uprising on Hoeggan, the Empire has
withdrawn from the area, which is now thinly settled due to the depredations
of various pirates and mercenary cutthroats."
"From information obtained from the captured Corvette, Alliance
Intelligence has determined that a pirate operation of considerable size is
operating in the Drift. That in itself is, of course, not particularly
noteworthy. But what concerns the Alliance is that it appears they have
found or captured at least one old Republic Dreadnought class warship. It
is the opinion of Intelligence that the pirates are trying to refit the Dreadnought
and make it operational." Ackbar paused and let the implications of this
sink into his audience.
Wraith spoke up. "A ship that size would be difficult for pirates to man
and provision. They could be cutting it up for salvage."
Admiral Ackbar responded. "There's more. The captured records show the
manifest list of what cargo the Corvette was carrying before the smugglers
jettisoned it when they tangled with the Alliance patrol. And also the
cargo of a freighter that they were apparently trying to rendezvous with.
This is what led Intel to a somewhat different conclusion." A list of items
appeared in place of the star field map.
Pivot scanned the lists and whistled, "Wow, that's some list. I agree that
some of these items would only make sense for a sizable warship. But still,
Wraith is right that it'll take some substantial manpower to fly a ship
that size. Unless you think that they're fronting for a mercenary faction?"
Ackbar turned one bulbous eye on the leader of Gold Squad. "Yes, Commander, we've considered that mercenaries may be involved, which makes the situation even
more worthy of our interest. The manifest certainly suggests that the ship
or ships in question are being prepared for combat. See these items here,
and here." The Admiral drew circles around the indicated items with the
light pointer.
[Aboard the CRS Independence of the Rebel Alliance, Admiral Ackbar
continues his briefing of Gold Leader...]
"As always, Intelligence is conservative in its threat estimates. We need
more information. What class of ship exactly is being refitted, how many ships
are we dealing with, where are they located, and how large a threat does it
pose upon the Alliance? I want as few people as possible speculating on these
events until we've made visual contact. Intelligence does not have any agents in the
Drift, but is attempting to get a line on the source of supplies that the
Corvette was carrying. I want your Gold Squadron to go into the Drift and locate this
pirate base."
"Sir," Pivot asked, "so far that's a simple recon mission. Why us?"
"Commander, if we are dealing the pirates or mercenaries that have
Dreadnought-class warships, I want to hear about it at once and then I want
them utterly destroyed before the echo of that warning fades. This calls for stealth,
speed, and deadliness. I believe your squadron qualifies on all three counts."
He continued. "You will plan the operation with your staff and have a proposal
for me by 1100 hours the day after tomorrow. You are being quartered on A-deck
and a secure conference room adjacent to your quarters has been reserved for
you. All information relevant to this operation you will find there on disk.
This is a top secret mission which you shall discuss with no one but myself.
Send me a list of anything else you need for your planning and you shall have
it. Good day to you, gentlemen," he said and walked out of the room as the
orderly returned to show the Gold pilots to their temporary quarters aboard
the Independence.
Once settled in their rooms, the three reconvened in the meeting room set up
for them. "Storm," Pivot said, "grab your slicer kit and check out the
computer. Let's be sure it's as secure as Ackbar thinks. Wraith, you're the
honcho detective in this outfit. What do you think of all this?"
"Well, it's quite a nut to crack. All we have to do is find a hidden base, in
one of the most remote parts of the galaxy, without attracting attention, have
a look around, and blow the place up. Sounds like overtime to me boss," he
grinned, but then his expression quickly sobered. "Okay, I'll get started on the background information. Sherlock mode on."
Looking over the stacked data cards, Pivot handed a bundle to Wraith. "Here,
start with these, but let's forego computer research until Storm declares it
secure. Let's start with the Dreadnought specs and the manifest of that
smuggler Corvette."
Storm looked up from his patch terminal. "Hey guys, if we're going into the
Magaen Drift we should borrow Raven from Red Squad. He's a native."
"Which Red Squad is Raven in again?" Wraith asked
"No kidding," Pivot replied to Storm, ignoring Wraith's question. While it was confusing that Command had suggested that multiple Red Squadrons be raised in the months after Yavin, their reasoning was sound. More Red Squadrons meant that the killers of the Death Star could appear anywhere at any time, and also that the Squadron couldn't be decimated and completely lost at any one time. Not every colored squadron was in the same situation, so it made tracking down individual pilots that much more difficult. "That would make him a huge asset on this mission. I wonder if Rapier would let us have him for a while?"
The mention of Rapier seemed to answer Wraith's question, and he began sorting through his work again with a nod of understanding.
"Rapier is out on a mission for Ackbar and is not expected back soon. Command
of Red has formally been given to Crazy, Rapier's XO, but I think he'd let us
have Raven for a few weeks. After all," Storm said laughing, "my defense of
Raven at his court-martial was only brilliant. If they hadn't declared a
mistrial I'd have gotten him off with 50 years hard labor and not a day more."
Pivot smiled. "Well, can't argue with success like that. I'll mention it
to Ackbar. After all, he said we could have anything we needed for planning." He picked up his comm-link and asked for the Admiral.
Looking at the mountain of data cards in front of him, Wraith sighed, then
straightened up. "Let's get to it."
[In their research office aboard the CRS Independence...]
Pivot, Wraith, and Storm worked through the night, pausing just after 0700
hours for some much needed sleep. But Pivot called them back to the conference
room just after noon when he was informed of the arrival of a new member to
the team.
"Good afternoon folks," said Pivot as he entered the conference room surveying
his bleary-eyed comrades. "It appears the Admiral was serious; we have but to
ask and our every wish granted. Raven's shuttle arrived about 30 minutes ago
and he will be here shortly. Ackbar isn't letting any klon grow under him on
this project."
Just then a chime sounded. To be safe, Pivot instructed his crew to cover
their research material before he called for entry. The door slid open and
Raven entered the room, standing at attention. He saluted Gold Leader and
stated formally, "Captain Lee reporting as ordered, sir."
"At ease, Captain. Wraith, this is Captain Jim "Raven" Lee of Red Squadron. He's
temporarily on loan from Red to assist Gold in our mission. Raven,
this is Commander Jackson, my Executive Officer, and I believe you know Storm.
We have no time for protocol so grab some coffee and pull up a chair. Has
Admiral Ackbar talked to you about the mission?"
Raven poured a large mug of black caf from a dispenser and joined the others
at the table. "Yes sir, I just left him. We're going into the Drift to locate
a pirate base, then we call in the troops."
Pivot glanced at Wraith and smiled. "Well, that'll do for now. You'll pick up
the rest as we go along. Storm tells me you are a native of the Magaen Drift.
What are we up against?"
"The Drift is a perfect place to get lost in. Vast asteroid fields with many
in the planetoid-size range. It's a real frontier area and sported several
good size colonies until the Empire pulled out. The pirates and smugglers in
the area kept things interesting up till that point, but without the garrison
that was spread out around the mining colonies, the raids increased in size and
ferocity and several colonies were wiped out." Raven paused and took a sip of
his coffee.
Storm spoke up. "Including your own colony, right?"
Raven looked at his friend, the man who had defended him at his court-
martial. "That's right," he replied slowly. "I lost most of my family in the raid
on our colony as you know. Mostly everyone I knew and grew up with were
killed. The few survivors scattered through the Drift."
Wraith lifted a datapad from beneath the stack of datacards concealing it and
glanced at the device. "Are you familiar with a place called... Quaketown?" he
asked.
Raven smiled. "Sure. A 'free port' along the lines of Mos Eisley. Lots of
turnover and everyone minds their own business. Mostly. It's a series of
pressurized caverns and surface domes. A fair-sized place as such places in
the Drift go ... about eighteen thousand people there last time I heard. Is
that where we're going?"
Pivot picked up the conversation. "It looks like that may have been the
destination of a certain smuggler ship that fell into the hands of an Alliance
patrol. Right now it's the best lead we have. What's the nearby space like
around this 'Quaketown'? The available charts for that entire sector are 30
years out of date and don't really show much anyhow."
"Yeah," agreed Raven. "The 'Drift' does just that and star charts are quickly
outdated. Not that any in-depth charts were ever made in the first place.
Quaketown is on a smallish planetoid in the midst of a sea of asteroid fields.
Its name comes from the constant jarring of meteorites hitting the city's
shields. That area would be a great place to hide something."
"Like a pirate base?" ask Pivot.
Raven slowly looked around the table. "Like an entire planet," he finally
replied.
[On board the CRS Independence, Admiral Ackbar sits impassively listening to a presentation.]
The Strategic Planning Room was large, and could comfortably seat 50 people
plus a presentation staff. But this was an exclusive event and currently only
5 people were in the room. Pivot stood in front of the
3D stereo star map projector where he had been positioned for the better part
of two hours while planning his squadron's next mission. It was now time for
the actual mission briefing. While speaking, he manipulated a light pointer
which he used to beam a yellow sphere onto the displayed map.
"We'll set up a staging area here at point Victor, outside the Drift. The
Frigate Beowulf will wait here with the rest of Gold Squad, the freighters,
and the support ships designated Group Gamma. Gold will act as the strike
force backup for the Beowulf and the armored transports."
He traced a line in white from the staging area into the heart of the Magaen
Drift. "Myself, Storm, and Raven will proceed along this lane in the freighter
that Alliance Intelligence has prepared for us and will drop-ship at Quaketown
inside the Drift. Meanwhile Wraith, Smoke, and StarDuster will jump to this
point in a K-shielded Corvette. They'll perform a sensor sweep from this point
here to Quaketown in standard circular cone pattern." Pivot then glanced over
to Wraith, who continued without pause.
"If our guess is correct and Quaketown was the exchange point for the supplies
that we're tracing, the pirate base should be somewhere inside the search
area. You can refer to Section 7 in the report for the analysis of contact
points in the Drift where there has been reported smuggling, pirate, or
mercenary activity reported over the last 10 years following the Hoeggan
uprising. Allowing for a reasonable amount of suspect activity that is not
related to our target," Wraith touched a control on the table in front of him
and a purple ellipse appeared in the starfield, "this area most likely
contains the base we're looking for."
Pivot again took up the presentation. "The search area is still quite large.
So while the initial sensor sweep is made, we'll try to scare up a lead to the
pirates inside Quaketown. After our group rendezvous' with Wraith we'll plan
our next step."
Ackbar kept one eye on Pivot and his other eye on the datapad built into the
arm of his chair. He was reading the detailed analysis prepared by Wraith and
Storm even while Pivot made the presentation.
Calamarians were a gracious people, but the Admiral was in a hurry and
dispensed with the usual pleasantries. "You'll have the ships you requested. I
have studied your Group Gamma requisition at length and the records of the
personnel you have specifically asked for. Don't think that the significance
of your requests have escaped me, Commander, nor the fact that you have not
asked for any capital ships with more firepower than your single frigate.
Your contingency plan is risky, a gambit where only unqualified success is
adequate justification in the end. Do not fail, please." He rose and cleared
the star map and pulled the datacard from his pad. "You may assemble your
force and depart for the Drift immediately. Good day to you all. And may the
Force be with you."
[Somewhere near the edge of the Magaen Drift at a deep space staging area
designated point Victor...]
A medium-height, energetic figure stood on the landing bay of the Nebulon-B Frigate Beowulf. Using a multi-channel comm-link, Glenn "StarDuster" Orlosky,
Gold 5, was giving orders to both the frigate's flight crew and to a number of
A and X-wing starfighters circling the ship. StarDuster always looked forward
to Flight Watch Officer duty, as he enjoyed the openness of the docking bay
and the tremendous view of the stars it afforded him.
"Ah, Negative, negative," he said into the comm while waving in a landing
A-wing. "X-wings, you are to rendezvous with the freighters. Flight one, you'll
be loaded onto the Greyhound. Flight two, you will board the Tam'alon ... No, the billeting has been changed, just see the duty officer once you've docked.
Gold 5 out." StarDuster turned to a figure walking across the bay. "Smoke! You
heading out already?" he called.
Gold 4, Michael "Smoke" Williams, approached wearing a flightsuit. "Yeah, I'll
take out two A-wings and set up a ball-of-string perimeter. We've set up a
three hour rotation schedule. How you doing here?"
"We've got most of our A-wings packed in here on the Frigate. A few A's and
the X-wings are on two of the freighters that came in this morning. The other
two freighters are carrying armored transports and I'll assume the landing force to
go with them. We're expecting another freighter and a Corvette tomorrow."
"Very well. Once I have the patrol coverage set up, I'll give you a hand
getting the special gear divvied up. Pivot will want a hands-on inventory of
everything before the dust settles and I want it ready before he asks for it."
"Roger that," replied StarDuster.
Smoke turned to go. "Oh, I'd strongly suggest you have three of the X-wings
standing by, ready to launch as a Quick-Response Force just in case. We may be in the
middle of absolutely nowhere, but I don't want us caught flat-footed. Carry
on."
[Meanwhile on the bridge of the Beowulf.]
Commander J. P. McDonald, commanding the Frigate Beowulf and Lt. Commander Brian Bink, commanding Group Gamma, were waiting for the arrival of the
current leader of Gold Squadron. McDonald had commanded this same splinter of Gold Squad in it's early days as a bomber squadron, long before Yavin. He came out of retirement just for this mission as had Brian Bink, his former XO.
"Well," said Bink, "I've just met with the specialists on Gamma team. I can
see why Pivot specifically asked us to take part in this operation."
McDonald grinned. "Yes, after looking over the strike force components I
figure Pivot has more in mind than even Ackbar may realize."
Just then Pivot entered the bridge and shook hands with his old
comrades, his smile wide as remembrances of past victories and good times
poured forth. "I'm glad you two could make it to my little party."
"Little? I think not," replied McDonald, still grinning. "This operation of yours
dwarfs our Waverunner adventure. But the capital ship crews will be
playing a larger role this time. By the way, I ought a tell you that you
missed a spot shaving this morning."
Pivot laughed at this good-natured reference to his mustache, which he began
growing after McDonald retired from Gold Squadron. "It'll be good having
experienced Gold reservist commanders driving the capital ships, even if I
have to put up with some ribbing during the trip. Seriously though, it's good
to be working with you both again. I'll be leaving with Storm and Raven, who
you met earlier, just as soon as our transportation gets here. My XO, Wraith, will be leading the search team and you guys are the cavalry." Pivot smiled wistfully at the good feelings his returned comrades evoked. "Just like old times."
[Inside the Magaen Drift amid the swirling asteroid fields and gas clouds is
the small outpost called Quaketown...]
"QT operations to freighter Holmes, acknowledge, come in freighter Holmes..."
"The freighter Holmes is this," replied Raven, slipping easily into the accent
of his youth. "Clearance for landing we need. Empty we are and a load worth
hauling into the Core Worlds for looking we be."
"Roger freighter Holmes," replied the bored administrative worker. He glanced at his station's sensor screens and saw that the ship was actually registering
as 'no cargo'. Not that he expected a lie, he just did not necessarily expect
the truth either. "You are clear to dock at pad Delta-Charlie 67. Dock and
await customs."
On board the freighter, Pivot turned to Raven and raised an eyebrow. "Customs?
We didn't plan on this." The outpost doesn't have much in the way of a local
government, and this was unexpected.
Raven smiled, "Not to worry, that just means a station flunky is going to look
us over to see how much squeeze they can charge us for 'docking fees' or
whatever. Being as we're empty, they won't hold us up for much. It's pretty
much the way business is done in the Drift. Never miss an opportunity to pick
up a credit and be sure to charge whatever the traffic will bear."
Pivot looked somewhat relieved. "That's good. I certainly would not want our
'beat up piece of space junk' looked at too closely. There's too much at stake
here."
"Well," Raven drawled, "lots of innocent looking freighters out here are
rigged for smuggling. And here in the Drift most every ship you encounter has
an illegal weapons rating. Relax, Commander, getting in is easy, let's hope we
find what we're after and can get out the same way."
"Okay, Raven" Pivot continued. "Once we've cleared 'customs', we'll start
hitting the local taverns to see what we can find out."
[Somewhere in the frontier port of Quaketown in the Magaen Drift...]
It was the third joint they'd hit since touchdown at Quaketown. As were the
previous two, this tavern was dark, seedy, and catered to the space trade
passing through this part of the Drift.
Pivot had sat in on a three card sousa game while Storm, true to form, invited
himself to sit at a table where a pretty girl was apparently drinking alone.
Raven stood at the bar and was having no luck striking up a conversation with
the droid serving drinks. A dispirited voice behind him said, "Spacer, maybe a
girl a drink you buy?"
Raven turned around and saw a woman standing there with a bored smile on her
attractive face. "A drink perhaps I buy sure," he replied. There was something
familiar about her, but he was slow in connecting the dots.
She looked him over and her smile developed some real enthusiasm. "Jim! You it is! Long time has it been no see!"
Raven suddenly recognized the woman. "Lor'ta! Good to see you it is! Here you
are doing what? You I thought in Iron Field were." Raven's remaining friends
in the Drift were few and far between and he'd not counted on running into
anyone he knew on this trip. Lor'ta Chemlis had been one of the survivors of
Raven's home colony. She had dated both Raven and his brother as they were
growing up, separately of course.
"Iron Field mined out it is. So I to Quaketown come. Things in the Drift not
like once they were," she sighed.
Raven quickly ordered drinks and grabbed a booth in the corner. "What
happening here in the Drift is?" he asked as they sat down. "Morgan around
Quaketown is perhaps?" Morgan was Lor'tas' brother and was a good friend from
Raven's youth.
"Jim, not good here it is. Morgan dead this past three years has been,"
Lor'tas eyes filled with tears and she gripped Raven's hand. Raven nodded for
her to continue. "In the Iron Field ambushed he was. Over the last few years a
change has come, death, disappearance, these the standard things now are. I
many new faces through passing here and other places, I have seen. Since our
colony destroyed the pirates here more bold are." She glanced around the bar as though afraid of being overheard. "No honest smuggling anymore," she continued. "Ships, cargoes and crews disappearing are."
Raven talked to Lor'ta for over an hour, finding out many things that might prove useful in locating the pirates they suspected of operating somewhere in this part of the Drift. He also arranged to contact Lor'ta again. He tactfully avoided discussing the finer points of her brother's death, as he did not wish to dredge up her old wounds any more than the mention of his death already had. If the current mission was successful, he decided he would find out more information and figure out what could be done, if anything, to avenge his childhood friend.
Raven eventually joined up with Pivot and began to tell him what he had
learned. Suddenly a table across the room was turned over. Storm had
precipitated a domestic altercation of some kind involving the young lady he
had been talking to. Seems she had been waiting for her boyfriend who had
finally showed up and he took exception to Storm's presence.
"Uh oh," said Pivot. "Fire in the hole ... I think we're leaving." Storm was
outnumbered somewhat as the boyfriend seemed to have a couple of friends
backing his play. Pivot stood up and signaled Raven to watch the door. "Hey
ugly!" he called to the goon squaring off with Storm. "Yeah, you! I'm talking
to you. Leave my friend alone or I'll have to hurt you."
The boyfriend could not believe someone of Pivot's diminutive stature was
speaking to him like this. His attention temporarily diverted from Storm, he
turned towards Pivot and laughed. "Shorty, you'd best run home to mamma or
I'll rip that mustache along with your upper lip right off your face."
Pivot picked up the heavy crystal mug he had been drinking from, then while
staring down the big man, slowly and deliberately poured it's contents onto
the floor. The thug watched bemused, thinking Pivot was space-happy. "Sorry to hear
about your accident," said Pivot.
Now completely confused, the ape guffawed. "What accident?"
"This one," Pivot said, as he flung the mug at the boyfriend with incredible
force. The crystal hit him right between the eyes, and he went down as though
he'd been hit with an ax handle. One of his mates pulled a vibro-blade and
started across the floor towards Pivot.
A blaster instantly materialized in Pivot's hand and without a word, Pivot
offhandedly fired, hitting the floor of the bar just in front of his
attacker's feet.
What a time for Pivot's legendary aim to go down the tubes, Storm thought to himself. But the bar's pseudo turf floor melted and instantly
became gooey, milliseconds before the B-holo heavy stepped into it. He hit the
deck with a loud thwack, his knife spinning and sliding across the floor.
Meanwhile the third bozo was reaching for Storm who stared wide-eyed over the
guy's shoulder. "Behind you!" he yelled. The guy actually fell for the old gag
and as he turned around Storm hit him over the head with a small neuranium filled
antique device called a 'sap'. He stepped over the inert form as though it was
a pile of dirty laundry and joined Raven and Pivot.
Raven chuckled and chided Storm. "You hit that nice man from behind."
Storm grinned. "Just as hard as I could, too."
Now covering the room with his blaster, Pivot motioned to his comrades.
"Storm, Raven," he said in a quiet, yet firm tone, "we're leaving. I don't
much care for this company."
[In the Magaen Drift aboard a Corellian Corvette, more commonly known as a
Blockade Runner...]
Wraith sat in the galley and finished his dinner. He glanced at his
chronometer; it was almost time for him to relieve StarDuster on the bridge.
They were short-handed for this mission and everyone was standing heel-to-toe
watches.
As he stood up he heard and felt a change in the drive engines like they were
losing power and trying to keep up with the drain. "Damn," Wraith said,
hurrying for the bridge. The K-Shield generators were the only thing that
could tax the engines like that, and if StarDuster had raised shields it could
only mean trouble.
Sure enough, before he could make it up the gangway the alarm klaxon sounded.
He bounded onto the bridge, relieving StarDuster who took up a station in fire
control. "Status?" Wraith called.
StarDuster replied, "Four Y-wing fighters and at least three Z-95s came out of
that asteroid field on our port side. They don't answer our hails and are on
an intercept course."
Wraith studied the tactical display in front of him. "Fire control, lock turbolasers on the Y-wings. Ignore the Z-95s for now." He flipped on his comm-link, "Smoke, run a full sensor sweep on that asteroid field." Turning back to the
bridge staff, he continued issuing a stream of orders. "Hold her steady until
the sweep is complete. We can expect those Y's to fire torpedoes as soon as
they are in range. Reduce speed to one-third.
"Communications, send a distress signal to the Y's ... request aid, say we've
got engine trouble. That should confuse them and maybe they'll hold their fire
if they think they can take us without a fight."
"No answer to our distress call," the communications officer replied.
"No change in course of the bandits," StarDuster reported. "The Z-95s have
broken off and are flanking us about 6 klicks out."
"Hmmm, looking to see if we have any fighter cover of our own," mused Wraith.
"Smoke! How's that sensor sweep coming?"
"Almost done," came Smoke's reply. The Corvette had the most sophisticated
sensor gear available to the Alliance installed for this mission.
"Y-wings firing, four torpedoes incoming!" called StarDuster. "Impact in T
minus 45 seconds."
"Trying to bring down our shields so they can disable us. Well, they're gonna
want their money back on those torpedoes." Wraith turned to his main screen,
"Stand by to jump to our next way point. I don't want to run the K generators
any longer than we need to. Let's be gone before they realize what's up and
fire a second salvo."
"Sweep complete!" called Smoke over the intercom. The ship jarred slightly as
the torpedoes hit the reinforced shields.
"K-Shields off! Full power to the engines, get us clear of the asteroid
field," snapped Wraith. Caught off guard, the Y-wings gave pursuit to the
fleeing Blockade Runner. The Corvette was fast, and before the Z-95s could cut
her off she was clear of the field.
"Jump now!" called Wraith. The starlines elongated as the Corvette made the
jump to hyperspace.
******** Part 10 ********
[Aboard the freighter Holmes, docked at the Drift city of Quaketown...]
Raven was supervising several droids as they loaded and locked down the last
of the cargo they were on loading. "Commander!" he called, "this is the last of
it. Is the paperwork squared away?"
Pivot walked up the loading ramp. "Yes, we've logged our flight
plan and cargo manifest. We're supposedly heading to Glimmer to pick up some
salvaged solarian generators, and from there back to the Outer Rim. With the
generators as bait I think we can count on the pirates showing up, assuming
they tapped into the admin computers here."
"According to Lor'ta they seem to know everything about every ship in this
sector. Our course will take us right through the area where Wraith was
attacked. Wha?! Hey, speak of the devil," said Raven as the Gold Executive Officer
joined them in the hold of the freighter.
Wraith smiled, but also admired how quickly Raven had recovered from his sudden surprise appearance. "Someone talking about me? Pivot, the sensor data showed only
small power sources in that field. I really don't believe the main pirate base
is there."
"Neither do I," replied Gold Leader. "It's most likely a small attack base for
preying on shipping in the area. But if we're able to take some prisoners, we
might be able to get a line on the main base without having to search the
entire Drift."
[Later in the freighter's common room Pivot addressed the assembled team.]
"Okay, here's the plan. We take the Holmes to rendezvous with our X-wings
which we'll load on the freighter. Then we just follow our filed flight plan.
Wraith will return to the nearby Corvette monitoring our transmissions ... using whatever means he managed to get here with. Once we make contact with the pirates we'll use the jamming gear on the Holmes and cut off all communications. And I mean all communications. The Holmes will
generate enough static so that anyone listening will think a quasar pulse is
passing through."
He paused, checking to ensure that everybody was on the same page. Once he was satisfied, he continued. "We launch the X-wings and kick pirate ass. Now, the point of this exercise is
to take prisoners. Quell your fine-tuned killer instincts and try to force the
enemy to eject whenever possible. Wraith will go into the asteroid field and
with the Corvette's sophisticated sensors he'll try to locate and destroy the
pirates' launch base. No survivors except those we take as prisoners. Any
questions...?"
******** To be continued... ********
