Jokers Wild

[Karmack]

Chapter Four: Right Place, Right Time


"Attention!" Jan called as B'Lain entered the ready room with Jace right behind him.  The noice of conversation ended as the assembled pilots all turned to the front and snapped to attention.

"Be seated." B'Lain said immediately.  Jace broke off and took his seat at the front-right corner of the room, traditional position of the squadron XO, while B'Lain plugged data capsule into the room's holographic projection system.  "Thank you for coming.  I trust everyone is well rested?"

There were some groans: It has been twelve hours since Silver Flight had recovered from their Search and Rescue mission, and most of them had spent the majority of that time asleep, but none of them really felt rested and recovered after nearly sixteen hours in the cockpit.  Still, they were rested, and they needed to know what they may be up against. 

"Good!  As you know we recovered six members of the Sons of Kessel, pilots of Xanadu flight.  We've gotten more information from the Sons in the last few hours, and we can confirm that te flight consisted of twelve Tie Avenger fighters patrolling the waypoint.  They had a list of targets believed to be slavers.  When one of these slavers showed up, they would stop it and then call in boarding
shuttles to take control of the ship, take off any slaves, and ... 'dispense Justice'.  From what we've learned this usually means executing the officers and taking DNA samples from the rest of the crew.  If they find that crew on another slaver, they execute them as well." 

B'Lain paused to let his pilots absorb that information.  The policy wasn't radically different than the Mak'Tor's own, and was more reasonable than they ahd really expected. Master Er'Lav Racc's influence, no doubt...  "However, things ... didn't work out as planned for them on this mission."

The holoprojector sprang to life, projecting an image of a typical bulk freighter.  "This is the freighter Y'Nok.  It was on Xanadu's list as a probable slaver out of Circumtore.  However, when Xanadu flight approached it, this happened."  The image suddenly animated, with tactical overlay from a hud, presubably that of Xanadu 7.  As the freighter grew the screen suddenly erupted with flashes of fire from heavy hits and near misses.  The freighter disappeared from the view as the fighter began maneuvering radically, and there was a flash of light as something passed very close aboard.  The stars spun crazily before settling again, this time with another fighter centered in the sites - and much closer.  B'Lain froze the image, which was a little blurry but sharp enough for easy
identification.

"That's a Rihkzyrk Assault Fighter." Jan said, making the identification.  "Fast, maneuverable, good weapons and armor..."

"And no hyper drive." Jo'Nas'Klu added.  "Where did it come from?  Did they launch from the freighter?"

"We're not sure which ship served as a carrier, but no launch was detected from the freighter.  Xanadu flight was badly mauled in the first attack, which came in without warning.  Ringo managed to gather up six of their pilots, but the other six were either killed outright or lost on vectors he couldn't match." B'Lain keyed in a few more commands and brought up two fighter images, each rotating
slowly on three axis with a scrolling list of statistics next to it.  "These two fighter types were verified from Xanadu 7's tactical recorder, and perhaps a third.  There were six Rihkzyrk Assault Fighters operating in groups of three, nine Kihraxz light fighters also operating in groups of three, and at least one pair and perhaps two pair of a third type that we cannot identify from the emissions signature picked up.  That's at least seventeen and perhaps nineteen fighters, all operating from an unknown ship or ships."

"That's half-again our own numbers." Jace interjected.  "Stiff odds."

"Yes.  Worse, they're still out here somewhere ... and in two hours we may be seeing them again."

"Two hours?  What happens in two hours?" Jen asked.

"The Mirabella arrives, on her way to Teth."

*****

"Launch the aurek shell."

The Hornet shuddered as a dozen recon drones launched from purpose-built tubes along the hull. From the command chair El'Lynn watched as the first shell of a drones spread out along the ship's horizontal axis.  "Reload and prep for besh shell launch."

"Prepped and ready." the tactical officer reported from his station.

"Launch the besh shell."  El'Lynn replied.  Another shudder passed through the ship and another dozen drones spread out, this time on the ship's vertical axis.  "Reload and prep for the cresh shell."

"Prepped and ready."

"Launch the cresh shell."  Again the shudder as a second layer of twelve drones sped away, reinforcing the Aurek shell.  "Reload and prep for the dorn shell."

"Prepped and ready."

"Launch the dorn shell." A final shudder and the second layer for the vertical shell was away.  "Status of drone shell."

"All drones are on assigned courses and in the green.  Shell will be on-station in seven minutes."

"Very well." El'Lynn depressed a key on the arm of the command chair.  "Captain, drone shell is deployed.  In seven minutes we'll have eyes on everything within the volume of the junction."

"Good.  The Mirabella is due in an hour.  Go to battle stations in fourty-five minutes."

"Aye sir."

******

B'Lain settled into the cockpit of his fighter and took his helmet from his crew chief.  "Thanks To'Bias.  Any glitches?"

"No sir.  You're good to go." The Master Chief reached out and tapped the R-4 unit nestled behind him.  "Eddie, take care of the Major for me, eh?"

Eddie rotated his dome around and beeped back a string of mirthful tweets. 

"Mother hens, every one..." B'Lain muttered under his breath.  He settled his helmet on his head as To'Bias, chuckling, made his harness and life support connections.  "Joker One to all Jokers, comm check."

"Two"
"Three"
"Four"
"Five"
"Six"
"Seven"
"Eight"
"Nine"
"Ten"
"Eleven"
"Twelve"

"Comm check complete.  Jokers, prepare for launch." B'Lain hit the command circuit.  "Bridge, Joker flight requesting permission to launch."

Captain Nath was now suited and in command, with Major Mack in the Combat Information Center, which functioned as both the primary information processing node for the ship in battle as well as the secondary command center should the bridge be damaged.  "Jokers, this is the Captain.  We expect the Mirabella to arrive in ten minutes.  You may launch when ready."

"Jokers wild, Captain." B'Lain replied.  He switched back to the squadron frequency.  "Jokers, launch sequence Alpha.  Launch now ... now ... NOW."  B'Lain settled his head into the rest and hit slammed the fighter's throttle to full-Emergency power.  The surge in power tripped the launch tube's e-mag catapult, tossing the Major and his ship out of the tube at almost 50 MGLT.  Opposite him Jake launched as well, with their respective squadrons rippling out behind them.  Bronze followed up, launching last and splitting directions due to their positions in alternate bays.

It took B'Lain almost ten full seconds to recover from the launch.  As always he found himself well clear of the ship and already turning on course under Eddie's control.  "Joker One, recovering...  Form on me, formation Bravo."

Formation Bravo was a loose combat spread, each flight in eschelon and spaced well apart but within mutual support range.  The fighters came around and slowly formed up, pulling ahead of the Hornet as they did so.  Five minutes after launch they had a wide separation and the fighters were cruising in "stealth" mode, using chemical station-keeping thrusters and no emissions,their sensors powered down and thier HUDs being fed by the drone shell.

"Y'know, this is going to be a huge disappointment if no one shows up..." Jace murmered to himself.  The R2 unit riding behind him booped and chuckled.  "Yeah, you're right.  A little disappointment is good for everyone now and again."
 

******


Space exploded with light as a ship stretched through the psuedo-motion of hyperspace emergence, brilliant blue energy sheeting away as the ship plunged back into normal space.  The Mirabella had started life as a Republic Light Assault Cruiser, Cresh variant. 

One of four such ships purchased by the Men-At-Arms as they decommissioned, the ship had been overhauled and given upgraded engines and greater cargo capacity.  The defensive shields and deflector screens were retained as well as the anti-fighter laser cannons, but the ship was primarily a fast transport with a class 1 hyper drive and enough armor and firepower to beat off a normal pirate attack.

B'Lain noted his squadron's tragectory and felt a deep sense of satisfaction.  They'd nailed the emergence time and course and were now coasting, virtually invisible, right on top of the Mirabella.  B'Lain wasn't sure why the Mirabella was so special.  As far as he knew it was just carrying medical supplies and some Knights to reinforce the medical missions along the Triellus Trade Route, ending at Teth, where it would make a courtesy call on the Sons of Kessel, deliver supplies and then head home.  Or so they'd been told.  But when D'Kev had warned them that the Black Sun were interested in Mak'Tor shipping, followed by the attack on Xanadu squadron...

The response from Captain Nath had been decisive, but illogical.  B'Lain had suggested they give the Mirabella an escort.  Nath had insisted that wasn't necessary.  Nor could B'Lain understand why they didn't have a gunslinger along.  A frigate or even a couple of the modified CEC XS Stock Light freighters to escort it would have been enought to dissuade anything but a capital ship.  But no such escort had been dispatched...

B'Lain shook it off.  Such decisions were above his pay grade.  His job, here and now, was to protect the Mirabella from any attack that might materialize at this unique choke point.  Now, would anyone show up to play?"Come out come out wherever you are..."


******


They missed the launch.  The carrier vessel, a modified freighter, had been sitting doggo for weeks, drifting near the junction but far enough away that unless you knew EXACTLY where to look you'd never notice her.  What saved the day was the arrival of additional units - four Ixiyen-class fast attack craft which dropped out of hyperspace and joined the mixed formation of Rihkxyrk Assault Fighters and Kihraxz light fighters.  The attackers streaked in, sure that the enemy was unaware of their presence and confident of their ability to carry out their mission.


******


"Joker Nine to Joker One, I have eyes on the target.  Bearing two-seven-seven mark two-eight-five..."

B'lain plotted the position on his tactical display.  The enemy fighters were coming in from below and to the left.  "Eyes up.  Bronze has lead.  Attack plan Joker-three.  Jokers are wild."

The lead ships lit off their own targeting systems just as the Jokers came to life and dove down toward them, passing the Mirabella as they boosted to full power.  The freighter was maneuvering radically, bringing her own defensive firepower to bear on the threat as B'Lain passed.  "Here we go..."


******


Jan felt a surge of pure joy flow through her and the song rose in exaltation as her flight took the lead in the attack.  "Blue, boost our forward shields for this pass.  Bronze, follow me through and hammer them!"  She lined up on the lead ship, a Rihkxyrk, and hammered it with her heavy lasers.  The Black Suns fighter had time to get off a single proton torpedo - aimed at the freighter - before disintegrating, blown apart as her fire caught the second torp just as it left the tubes. 

"WOO HOO!!!!" Jan shreiked, lining up another shot.  "Splash one!"  She squeezed, catching one of the lighter Kihraxz fighters this time and tearing it apart with concentrated fire.  "Splash two!

Behind her Bronze flight lined up targets and tore them apart as the ambushers became the ambushed.  "Splash one Rihkxyrk!"

"Two!  I got two!"

"Scratch one Ixiyen!"

Jan dodged and skittered, snap-shooting a concussion missile into another Ixiyen for damage.  "Bronze, reform at point two, form a wedge and hi..."

The combined fire of the remaining Ixiyen fast attack craft converged on Joker 9.  The ARC-170-MXZ fighter came apart under their hammering cannons, scattering debris in all directions.  The two Black Suns star fighters didn't wait to count coup and jumped back into hyperspace. 

They were the only two Black Suns fighters to escape as the rest of Joker Squadron tore through the gaggle of fighters, disorganized and scattered by Jan's attack.  The freighter, still unnoticed, quietly turned and jumped away as well.

The Jokers never saw her.  Gold squadron stayed with the Mirabella as silver started search and rescue.  Jokers nine and ten were missing, and eleven, damaged was being escorted back to the Hornet by twelve.

B'Lain, jaw set, held his course and maintained formation on the Mirabella, but his attention was on Jace's comm as he coordinated the search.


******

Forty-seven minutes after the failed ambush, the Mirabella reached the end of the junction and jumped back into hyperspace, on her way to Dubraya. 

The mission was a success.

[TheDutchman]

I've said it before and I'll reiterate: you do AWESOME space battles, Karm!  From the nomenclature to the anticipation to the action: the Jokers are such a welcome addition to the Mak'Tor mythology and cast! 

So now we've got confirmation about Black Sun involvement... Hmm; last time the Sons had anything to do with Black Sun was when they darn-near got exterminated... I wonder if Black Sun has as long of memory as the Sons...

Another enjoyable installment Karm.  Still: I would like to know what Kage Lo's endgame is with this collaboration...

[Karmack]

I've said it before and I'll reiterate: you do AWESOME space battles, Karm!  From the nomenclature to the anticipation to the action: the Jokers are such a welcome addition to the Mak'Tor mythology and cast! 

So now we've got confirmation about Black Sun involvement... Hmm; last time the Sons had anything to do with Black Sun was when they darn-near got exterminated... I wonder if Black Sun has as long of memory as the Sons...

Another enjoyable installment Karm.  Still: I would like to know what Kage Lo's endgame is with this collaboration...

Endgame?  Why, that's the beginning, of course...

[Lord_S_Gray]

Lots of cool details re the Black sun ships (had to look em up!) so far fairly easy for the Jokers, but i'm sure that won't last long...If you can see them they can usually see you, and learn just as quick!.

[Karmack]

Exactly.  These guys are kinda like Rogue Squadron in the canon - they're elite pilots.  Or maybe just more like US Naval Aviators.  Trained so rigorously and well that they're all "elite" pilots.  But they're not invulnerable.

I didn't lay out all the details, but essentially what happened in the opening pass in the Battle of Waypoint Charlie was a flight of four ARC-170-MXZs performed a head-on, high-speed pass through a formation of mixed fighters.  There were 16 enemy fighters and four snub fighters in that formation.  In the first pass Bronze destroyed five outright and crippled three more, while getting non-critical damage on a couple more.  in the process the unit cohesion of both forces was destroyed, and in the ensuing dogfight two of the bronze fighters - Joker 9 and 10 - were totally destroyed and Joker 11 was critically damaged.  Joker 12 was unscathed.

The fight ended when the other 8 Jokers, still in formation, arrived and destroyed most of the remaining fighters.  Two of the snub fighters jumped out independently and escaped, as did the carrier. 

The fight was technically a victory for Joker, but they didn't get the carrier and two of the enemy fighters escaped to tell the tale.  So not a full victory.

And yes, we'll be seeing these guys again...

[Karmack]

Chapter 5: Right Place, Wrong Time


B'Lain stood in the starboard hanger bay with his arms crossed, brooding.  Before him, in bay six, sat the mangled wreck of Joker 10. Joker 9 hadn't even had enough debris left to recover...  Thank the Maker Blue's transponder worked!  Still, with Jokers 9 and 10 destroyed that left him down two ships.  And while Jo'Nas had survived, his Joker 11 was still being repaired in the port-side bay ... which was only possible thanks to the recovery of the wreck of Joker 10.

B'Lain sighed.  Silver linings... 

******

Jan blinked as white light flooded her vision.  "Wha...."  She tried to sit up but the effort proved to be beyond her ability - and the short struggle to achieve it wore her out.  "Owie..."  A tentative tweet next to her drew her attention away from the spike of pain in her head.  "Blue?  Is that you?"

Blue responded with a long series of tweats and twitters.  "Whoa... Slow down.  I can't keep up with you..."  Blue repeated the sequence but more slowly, the droid equivelent of over-enunciating. "Thank you...  So we're back on the ship?  What happened to No'Lan?"

Blue's tweets were minor key as he reported the loss of Joker 10.  "No..."  A tear trickled down Jan's cheek.  "I need..."

"You need to rest, Lieutenant."  Master Healer K'Lain swept into the room.   "You're a very lucky woman."

"Lucky.." Jan couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice.  "How am I lucky?"

K'Lain sat next to her.  "Well, for one, your buddy here managed to hang onto your tether.  Had you become separated, Blue would have come back ... and you would not have.  Your transponder was destroyed by the same hit that crushed your arm and shoulder."

"My ... shoulder?"  Jan tried to roll her shoulders.  Her right shoulder responded normally but her left...

Her left shoulder was ... empty.  No pain, but a numbness where she should have an arm. "What happened?"

K'Lain grimaced.  "Your fighter disintegrated.  From what Blue showed us a chunk of the hull tore through your shoulder.  The sealing foam held long enough for Blue to attach a repair strip over it and he stopped several other small leaks with spray sealer.  He also administered anti-shock and blood volume drugs manually via the suit interface before you were picked up."  The healer patted Blue on the top of his dome.  "You've got one clever droid here, Lieutenant.  He saved your life."

Jan blinked and nodded.  "Yes, he's a keeper." She let her head sink back into the pillow.  "So ... now what?  I guess my saber practice will have to wait..."

K'Lain chuckled.  "Yes, I am afraid so.  Fortunately, five days in the bacta tank with a healer in attendance has pretty well restored the surviving tissues.  Your shoulder is mainly intact, the ribs are all there...  We have a couple of implant options that will give you full function and usage.  We can go over them tomorrow.  For now, my girl, get some sleep."

"Yes sir..." Jan replied, already fading out.

******


The Hornet erupted into normal space, bleeding energy at the end of her psuedo-motion "stretch" as her sensors reached out into the void around her.  After the battle with the Black Sun they'd moved along the Triellus Trade Route, closer to Teth.  The ship had just emerged on another of the barely charted bends along the route, this one between Dubrava and Barab.  A ship like the Hornet, in good repair and with a fully functional navi-computer or an astromech droid on board might only spend a few minutes in these places, just enough time to get their bearings, re-orient, and jump back into hyper.

But most of the tramps that moved along the Triellus were anything but "in good repair".  Old, riddled with faults, they were often lucky to be able to get into hyperspace at all, and it was not at all strange to find one of them sitting at a point like this for hours or days, either making repairs or just recharging their hyperdrive while the astrogator made calculations for the next jump - sometimes by hand. 

And sometimes they arrived ... and never left.

The report came from tactical, as the real-space sensors started reporting in.  "Sir, sensors are picking up a large metallic object, close aboard.  Very low energy signature, but what we're seeing looks like residual energy from a powered-down drive.  The target is cold, sir.  No heat signature."

The Captain swivelled his chair toward CIC.  "El'Lynn, lets get the ready flight in space.  And lets get the boarding shuttle ready to go as well."

"Aye, Captain!" El'Lynn replied.  "Joker Flight, scramble!  Red Team, scramble!"

In the starboard bay Jace dropped lightly into the cockpit of his fighter, plugged in his comm and life support leads, and started running the start-up sequence.  "Joker 5 to Silver flight: Report."

"Joker Seven, running pre-flight.  Tam and Gil are entering their fighters now."

"Understood."  Jace felt the hum of his ship coming to life.  As he watched his instruments climb into the green he patiently counted down from twenty.  "Joker 5 to Siver flight: Report."

"Six spooling up."
"Seven ready to launch"
"Eight spooling up."

Jace waited another ten-count then keyed his comm.  "Joker 5, we are ready to launch." 

"Jokers, bridge, launch in three-zero seconds.  Target is bearing zero-one-seven mark zero-five-two, 150 kay clicks."

"Roger." Jace responded, plugging the contact into the flight's data net.  "Online."

"Launch in fifteen.  Rules of Engagement Cobra in effect."

"Copy ROE Cobra.  Jokers are Cobra."

"Launching in five ... four ... three ... two ...   Launch enabled."

"Joker five to Silver: Launch now ... now ... now!" Jace called on the team net, then hit his own launch key.  The e-mag catapult threw his fighter into space with its normal fury, and Jace came out of the gray-out with his team streaming behind him.  "Joker 5 ... recovering."

"Joker six ... recovering."
"Joker seven ... recovering."
"Joker eight ... wants to die..."

Jace smiled despite himself.  "Eight, say again?"

"Joker eight recovering."

"Thank you eight!  Silver, form on me, loose diamond.  Throttles at 50%.  Lets see what we've got."

The fighters arranged themselves into a diamond formation.  Jace had the lead, with six and seven on his right and left respectively, flying behind and below his fighter, with eight directly below him and stepped down another 'layer'.  When flying "tight" the ships would be only about two meters apart.  In the combat-friendly "loose" formation they were stacked 100 meters apart.  From his vantage point Jace expected to be able to pick out the target against the inky blackness of space ... but he could not.

"Joker 5, 20k clicks to target." B'lain called from the CIC.  "Red team is launching now.  Do you have eyes yet?"

"No joy, CAG." Jace called.  "Just the sensor returns from Hornet's primary search systems."

"Very well.  Keep your visual scanning active.  If the target is truly dead you may not see it until the very last minute."

"Aye." Jace passed the instructions to his flight, and they began a retro-burn to slow down their closing rate, aiming for a zero/zero intercept with the target at about 500 meters.

It wasn't until they were nearly on top of it that they saw it - a battered looking YV-100 freighter drifting in space.  There were no lights or power signature, not even the normal anti-collision lights or the strobe most civilian craft carried for emergencies.  The ship was very slowly turning on all three axis, just ... drifting.

"Hornet, Five.  We have a visual.  Ship is a YV-100 light freighter and appears to be derelict.  No power signature, no heat, no lights.  Nothing."

"Understood.  Red Team is two minutes out.  Cover them while they conduct boarding operations."

"Roger.  Jokers on cover."

******

The boarding went quickly.  The freighter hull had been stripped.  No cargo remained, no food, no air, no water.  Even the power pack and main components for the drive had been taken.  What had remained on board was blood.

A lot of blood.

B'Lain was in the ward room with the Captain and XO.  None of them were happy.  "DNA scans confirm blood from at least seven individuals.  Four human, one Twi'Lek, and two Gran." El'Lynn said, her voice almost hollow.  "No bodies, but there's enough blood to confirm that they all died on board.  Two of the humans and Twi'Lek died together, in one of the cargo bays, and we have additional DNA contributions from at least a dozen others that don't match any of the blood samples."

Nath's voice was gravelly with barely contained fury.  "So we have a group of pirates able to put at least twelve men on board a freighter, willing to rape and murder everyone on board, who then stripped the hull bare and left it cold and lifeless."  He visibly gathered himself before looking at his XO and CAG.  "Once we find them we can identify them.  I want these bastards."  He rose and headed for the bridge.  "Lets go find them."

[Lord_S_Gray]

I suppose it didn't enter their minds that a pirate or other group willing to do that might be more than a match for them....if not in weaponary, then perhaps in sheer ruthlessness. Lots of cool space faring details in this one re the ejection, breach patch ups etc.

[TheDutchman]

I'm reminded of stories about sailors that don't learn how to swim... Jan is VERY lucky considering the vastness of space and being stranded... Oh, and ghost ships 

Once again: I really enjoy the interaction between Joker squadron.  You can tell that B'Lain cares about his people, one and all.

I have a very bad feeling about this though, the scene before the end really leaves one with a sense of foreboding...

Keep it up Karm!

[Karmack]

Chapter Six: Hornet's Nest

"Are you sure you're up to this?" B'Lain asked, concern coloring his voice. The pale face and drawn features of the woman sitting in CIC only added to his concern.  "You've only been out of the soup for a day, and you have at least two more procedures..."

Jan smiled up at Major Throwd and did her best to look healthy and hale.  She knew she was failing miserably, but she did it anyway, humming an augmentation motif sub-vocally that let her sit up straight and hold her head high.  "Sir, I'm ... functional."

B'Lain cocked his head.  "I see you're 'functional' Lieutenant.  But are you up to the job?"

"Yes sir.  The initial implants are complete, and its going to take a week or two for the deltoid and pectoral interweaving to heal enough for R-23 to do the limb implant.  In the mean time I hold down the controller station in CIC so you can be out with the patrols."  Jan leaned forward, mustering all the sincerity she could.  "Sir, I can do this.  I need to do this, after..."  Her eyes darkened as she replayed the scenes from the last boarding back.  Unlike the first two ships, the third freighter they'd come across hadn't been completely stripped and the condition of the crew had been the stuff of nightmares.

B'lain saw the shadow flicker across the young officer's eyes and knew exactly what caused them.  With a sigh he relented.  "Very well, but if you even THINK you need to take a break, you get relief!  I don't want you collapsing at a critical moment because you pushed yourself to far."

"Yes sir." Jan turned back to her station.  "I'll get the search grids squared away and downloaded to the Jokers in time for launch."

"Very good." B'Lain turned and headed toward the ready-room.  At the hatch he turned back.  "And Jan?  Thank you." He said.  "Or should I call you "Castle"?"

"Castle it is, Joker One." Jan replied, her smile brilliant.  "Now go find us some pirates to swat."


******


The holomap floated in the darkened ready-room, three red dots strobing along the Triellus Trade Route, strung out between Dubrava and Syvris.  A fourth now hung on the Hollastin Run, between Syvris and Unagin.  "This is the latest.  Same MO, same result." B'Lain sat back and rubbed his forehead wearily.  "The only difference this time was that they left in a hurry.  We found the bodies in-place, and the power and life support systems were intact as well.  A small customs crew from Syvris took possession of the ship after our forensic teams made their sweep, but the real find is this." B'Lain zoomed the view into the last site and tapped keys, illuminating a faint red trail leading away from the ship.  "This ion signature shows the exit of the pirate ship, which appears to be something very much like a CR-90 blockade runner."

Nath sat forward at that.  "A CR-90?  That gives them at least as much firepower as the Hornet.  Any evidence of fighter escort?"

B'Lain shook his head.  "No sir.  It appears to be a lone raider."

"Ok then.  How long ago?"

B'Lain's face now lit up with a wolf grin.  "No more than ten hours, sir.  Closer to eight.  If we move smartly, we might be able to catch them at the next junction."

Nath looked closely at the map.  "One problem, Major.  The next junction is in Hutt space."

"Very true sir.  I didn't realize we were worrying about jurisdiction."

the Captain shot his CAG a very old-fashioned look.  "I don't give a fig for jurisdiction!  I'm worried about possible Hutt reinforcements."  Nath scowled down at the map.  "We're three jumps out from Tsyk..."

B'Lain crossed his arms.  "It would take a fighter squadron at least two or three hours just to make the jumps and get to the junction.  We will have plenty of time to get in, hit our target, and get back out."

Nath remained where he was, unmoving, for long minutes.  Finally he stirred and spoke.  "Lets go get them.  B'Lain, get your squadron ready." he keyed open a comm line.  "Captain to the bridge."

"Bridge, Mack here."

"El'Lynn, set course for junction Hollister 2-A-27.  Once you have it, have R3-J2 plot jumps further up the junction to Tsyk and back from there to Syvris.  We will be able to pursue or retreat, as needed."

"Aye sir, we should have a course in a few minutes."

"Very good.  Captain out." Nath turned back to B'Lain.  "We'll jump within the hour.  Good hunting, Major."

B'Lain stood, his grin deadly.  "Jokers are wild, sir."

******

The Hornet burst out of the blue tunnel of hyperspace - and directly into a swirling dogfight.

"Jokers, crash launch stage 2, GO GO GO!" B'Lain called, flipping a switch and launching.  The catapult, on stage two, was stepped well back allowing the pilot to maintain full consciousness and control through the launch.  Joker One burst out of its tube, the remaining ships of Gold flight and the two functional Bronze flight ships immediately behind him.  On the opposite side of the Hornet Jace led the four ships of Silver flight on a reciprocal heading.

The entire "ripple" launch took exactly 3.7 seconds.  At 4 seconds after Joker One's launch the Hornet's shields and deflector screens snapped up.

"Jokers Wild!  All Jokers, break into elements, break and attack!" B'Lain called, reefing his own control column hard right to line up a Hutt fighter.  He was peripherally aware of a battered YT-1300 light freighter maneuvering frantically, trading shots with what looked like a DP-20 frigate.  They'd expected that ... but not the swirling swarm of fighters!  "Joker One to Castle!  Give me a bogey count!"

******

Jen sat in CIC, watching the holographic plot resolve as the Hornet's sensors caught up with space around it.  "I'm reading ... seven M12-L Kimogila heavy fighters, five G1-M4 Dunelizard fighters and four Krayt Gunships...  One frigate, looks like a DP-20 Frigate.  And a light freighter manuevering like a scalded rock weazel..."  Her good hand flew over the keyboard frantically.  "Uploading tactical to all Jokers.  The freighter's hyperdrive is charging..."

In space the cork-screwing YT-1300 suddenly steadied on course, generally pointed back toward Tsyk, and leaped forward into hyperspace.  Two of the Krayt Gunships, caught in its wake, went out of control and collided, destroying one while the other recovered and limped away, trailing atmosphere and energy.

"The freighter has jumped away." Jan said.  "Enemy frigate is turning to engage the Hornet."

******

B'Lain twitched his stick and unleashed his weapons on the Kimogila in front of him.  The Hutt fighter staggered, large sections of wing coming off as its drive flared and died.  The fighter tumbled and B'Lain let it go, shifting his focus to the leader of the two-ship element.  "Jerry, stay close..."

"Roger, lead." Joker 2 responded crisply.  B'Lain twitched his fighter again on instict as angry red blaster bolts flew past his cockpit and deflected off his shields.  He hauled his ARC-170 through a screaming turn, spoiling the aim of whoever was shooting at him even as he lined up a shot on another fighter.  

"All Jokers, local defense.  Keep 'em off the Hornet!"

******

Captain Nath watched the Jokers plunge into the fight as his ship started to manuever.  "Angle deflectors!  Tactical, bearing to the Hutt fig!"

"Hutt frigate bearing zero-zero-one mark zero-one-zero.  She's dead-ahead, sir!" The tactical officer replied.  "Moving port-to-starboard  in-plane!"

Nath leaned forward, intent.  "Come right ten points.  Forward batteries, open fire as you bear.  Stand by torpedoes."

The bridge hummed as the Hornet threw herself into battle.

******

In space Major B'Lain'Throwd was in the fight of his life.  He corkscrewed through space, totally defensive, three fighters on his tail.  Thirty seconds after he'd engaged another flight of six heavy fighters - more Kimogilas - had shown up.  They'd driven a wedge between Gold flight and the Hornet, hammering the carrier with a blistering strafing run before Jace led Silver around and drove them off.  Gold found itself alone with the first group of fighters, and space swirled with ion trails, green and red energy bolts and concussion missiles.  The Jokers were doing well, dishing out more damage than they were taking, but the enemy just kept coming...

"Jerry, what's your status?" B'Lain called.  Static responded.  "Jerry!  Respond!"

Space seemed to rip apart as the Hutt frigate suddenly screamed close aboard, headed straight for the Hornet.  B'Lain cursed quietly, snap-shooting a spread of proton torpedoes at the ship while continuing his evasion pattern, working for another solid shot.

Fighting to the end.

******

Nath picked himself up off the deck, wiping blood out of his eyes.  A gash on his forehead flowed freely and he pressed the heel of his left hand against it to stanch it.  "Damage report!"

"Port bay depressurized.  We lost a launch tube and catapult.  The bay crew are sealing the breach and expect to be able to re-pressurize in a few minutes.  Fires are already being put out.  Main power is down to the port side, weapons, sensors, everything is down.  Engineering is tracing the power busses now looking for the break."

Nath collapsed back into his command chair.  "Very well.  Come left, keep our Starboard side pointed toward the enemy frigate.  Tactical, how hard did we hit it?"

"Hard, sir.  She's moving off, tumbling slightly, and her active emissions are nearly gone.  I'm also getting atmosphere..."

"Captain!  Incoming blips!  Four new targets just emerged from hyper!"  Jan in CIC called, using voice power through the hatch instead of the intercom.  "They're breaching pods!"

Nath smashed down the all-hands intercom.  "This is the Captain!  Set internal condition Zulu!  I repeat, Zulu, Zulu, Zulu.  Prepare to repel boarders."  He closed the com.  '"Helm, continue your turn, I want our active weapons focused on those pods now!"

The Hornet continued to reel, trying to bring her remaining weapons to bear in time.

******

"Incoming pods!  Silver, turn and engage!" Jace called, not sure if he even had anyone left to respond.  With a deft twist he managed to barrel-roll and reverse on his current target and blew it away.  He turned toward the pods, looking for target lock.  "Missiles away!"

Two concussion missiles streaked forward, tracking on the nearest pods.  The incoming pods jinxed, maneuvering as hard as they could manage, but it did them no good.  Both missiles went home, shattering both pods.

"Splash two pods!" Jace called.  "I'll see if I can get another pass..."  He came around, but before he could acquire the remaining pods a trio of Dunelizard fighters locked onto him.  "Three bogeys!  Castle, Joker Five is defensive..."  

Jace began radical maneuvers, fighting three-on-one, and while he wasn't losing he also lost his intercept vector in the process of survival.  

Two pods bored in, swiftly closing distance on the Hornet.

*****

"Coming around ... coming around ... ON TARGET!" The tactical officer narrated the Hornet's desperate turn.

"Open fire!" Nath ordered.  

Defensive fire began, but it was far thinner than it should have been.  Nath's jaw tightened.  "Concentrate your fire on the port target."

"Aye." the fire concentrated, peppering the incoming pod.  The pod staggered, shedding debris, and finally exploded about 80 meters off the ship.  "Destroyed!"

"Shift fire!" Nath barked, and the red sparks shifted focus, but it was far to late.  Like a massive hammer the final boarding pod slammed into the side of the "Hornet", penetrating the starboard fighter bay and coming to rest in contact with the core hull.

"Pressure drop in the starboard bay!  Emergency force fields in place."

"Inner hull breach!  Boarders are outside CIC!"

Nath hammered down the intercom.  "Intruder Alert!  Hostiles are near CIC.  Case Zulu is in effect!"

******

Jan was nearly knocked out of her seat by the impact of the pod.  She caught herself and stood, reaching out with her senses.  "Twelve boarders..." She felt the determination in the CIC crew around her as the hatch into the starboard bays started to spark with energy release.  There were no marines in the compartment, they were stationed on the bridge and in the bays themselves.  If they were alive, they would need a minute or two before they could re-organize and hit the boarding party in the flank.

It's up to us...  We need to keep them out of CIC, away from the bridge...  Jan felt the weakness in her body, the residual pain and the way the loss of the arm threw off her balance and kinesthetics.  She calmly accepted it ... and set it aside.  Eyes calm, body confident, she drew her light saber and ignited it.  The pink glow and quiet hum filled the compartment, serving as a beacon for the ratings and techs around her.  "Ready boys?"

A soft growl answered her question - one of anticipation and aggression where there had been mainly fear only a moment before.  Oh yes, Major.  I'm up to it...

The door failed and a boarder decked out in Mandalorian style armor appeared in the smoke, blaster firing.  Jan deflected the bolts, her saber whirling into a pink shield as her fellows filled the gap with energy and death.  The Mandalorian mercenaries pressed forward, thickening their fire and spreading it wide.  Jan intercepted what she could but some of the men behind her fell. Keep them out of CIC...  With a cry she leaped forward, a wave-front of force energy hammering back the man who'd stepped into the gap, crushing him against the far bulkhead.  Jan followed the wave through the hatch, reckless in her attack.  She thrust forward, impaling what appeared to be the boarding team's leader through the chest, then carved a precise sweep to her right which decapitated a mando on that side.  She continued the sweep, bring the blade back around in time to deflect fire from her left, bouncing it back into the team firing it.

For a second there was balance, Jan's blade deflecting fire and reaping limbs.  Then one of the blaster bolts got through and slammed into her right thigh.  Jan fell, dropping her saber as her hand clamped down on the wound.  She screamed, and looked up, wide eyes staring into a black muzzle at point-blank range.

"Time to die, Jedi bitch."

******

Jace squeezed his trigger, cutting down another Dunelizard fighter.  He'd lost track of everyone else, was simply dodging and weaving like a crazy man and seizing what opportunities he could to strike back.  He'd seen the final pod breach the ship and the Hornet was tumbling slightly, helm control apparently lost as the crew fought the boarders.  Still, only one pod made it in, and the Jokers were still in action, slowly but surely thinning out the fighters...

A warning beep on his console made him groan.  He looked up just in time to see the emergence pseudo-motion of more fighters - another dozen or so - emerging from hyperspace.  

With grim determination Jace reefed his fighter around, snapping off another quick shot - a miss this time - as he began working his way toward the new arrivals...

Jokers are wild...

[Lord_S_Gray]

It was bound to happen...the Jokers we're sure to catch up with their prey...or who they thought was their prey. What a cliff hangar, boarded, squads split up, under siege all in one chapter...jokers are wild indeed - they need some wild innovative solutions now more than ever!

PS May the 4th be with everyone! Let us all reflect on this special day what Star Wars means to us -not only a story a mythology on which we can play our dreams and ideas but the hobbies and friendships that flow from it bringing people from all walks of life all countries together, and yes Ultra sabres whose products facilitate this, you see a stranger at a convention with a Guardian or Archon on their belt and you instantly have a dozen topics to introduce with!

[TheDutchman]

And so we see more of the trials and tribulations of the Jokers (I'm really feeling bad for Jan; she's had a HELL of a rough week  ).  I've said it before Karm but I think that you write the best "space action" of us; when reading, I have the FEEL of being RIGHT in the middle of the action! 

...Which in this case is TOUGH.  The Hornet is taking a POUNDING.  But, that too is indicative of good writing: I'm CERTAINLY invested in these characters.  And let us not forget that they are aligned with the Sons...

Again: very, VERY well written 

PS May the 4th be with everyone! Let us all reflect on this special day what Star Wars means to us -not only a story a mythology on which we can play our dreams and ideas but the hobbies and friendships that flow from it bringing people from all walks of life all countries together, and yes Ultra sabres whose products facilitate this, you see a stranger at a convention with a Guardian or Archon on their belt and you instantly have a dozen topics to introduce with!

Well stated LSG!

[Karmack]

Chapter Seven: Favor Returned

B'Lain felt his ship shudder as his shields shrugged off another glancing blow - just - and he turned hard into the fire, weaving through the angry red sparks.  Another bolt clipped his shield and an alarm wailed as his port screen went down completely but he managed to use the inertia from the hit to swing his nose around and into his target.  He squeezed the trigger, unleashing his own heavy lasers, and the Kimogila fighter blew apart, the fragments slamming into the second fighter on the leader's wing and shrugging it aside as he powered past on a totally new vector.  "Splash one Kimogila..."

Who am I reporting to?  No one is listening...  The Hornet was tumbling slowly in space, trailing tracers of atmosphere and water like blood.  There were no comms from the ship, no indication of what was happening as her crew desperately fought for their life against boarders.  And now...

He saw one of the other Jokers, whirling like a dirvish through the heart of the enemy formation, suddenly angle toward the newcomers emerging from hyperspace.  Must be Jace.  He's the only oen audacious enough to actually angle for an attack under these conditions!

Or maybe not the only one...  B'Lain swung around, catching the crippled Kimogila with a follow-up volley of fire before twisting his own fighter's course into a cork-screw intercept.  "Jokers are wild..."

******

Jace watched as red light lit space around him.  Angry sparks streaked past, disappearing into the void ahead as eh closed with the new contacts.  Then, suddenly and inexplicably, they stopped.  Jace risked a look over his shoulder and saw his pursuers had broken off and turned back toward the Hornet.  Probably leaving me for the new guys...

Jace brought his shield double-front and prepped for a high-speed head-on pass.  He intended to open up at maximum range, hoping to disrupt the formation and maybe get lucky, but something about the new fighters made him hesitate and hold his fire...

"Attention Joker Squadron!  This is Sons of Kessel Commander Ornil of Hammer Squadron on board the SNS Liberator. Stand by while we ... tidy up a bit." 

Jace held his fire and watched with a surge of hope as a quad of TIE Avangers streaked past him, overtaking the Hutt fighters.  Jace throttled back to 75% and stabalized his shields, turning through a graceful, standard turn to look back toward the swirling battle where a sudden eruption of green energy overwhelmed the Hutt fighter force.  He saw another Joker fighter emerge from the same wave and turned to close.  "Joker Five to nearby Joker, please identify..."

"Joker Five, this is One.  Form up.  I want to do a fly-by on the Hornet and see if we can ascertain their status."

"Aye, One!  Forming!" Jace replied, rolling in on B'Lain's wing.  As they headed toward the HornetJace felt relief.  No matter what had happened, how bad it was, there were still Jokers.  The Squadron would live...

******

Jan flinched at the sound of the blaster.  To her amazement, she saw a bolt slam into the mercenary's armor, driving him back and twisting him sideways.  His finger curled on his firing stud and she felt the heat of his blaster bolt slam past her head and over her shoulder.  Before it really registered - he missed - she gathered a desperate force push together and gave him a shove backward.  The Mandalorian mercenary flew backward, landing on his butt.  As he got back to his feet more blaster bolts slammed him back, turning his chest into a smoking crater. 

The Marines had arrived.

Jan pushed herself back, still clutching her leg, desperately stanching the flow of blood with her one good hand.  She managed to hang onto consciousness long enough for one of the marines to lay her down gently and move her hand, replacing it with a proper pressure bandage.  "Medic!"

"Don't worry, trooper..." she said weakly, patting his arm with a bloody palm.  "I'll be fine.  This ship has a fine doctor..."

******

B'Lain felt the tight band around his chest loosen as the Hornet suddenly stopped its slow tumble and came back under full control.  "Joker One to Castle.  Come in Castle..."

There was a crackle, then a familiar voice answered.  "Joker One, Hornet Actual.  CIC and flight control are off the air.  The boarders hit CIC and we took heavy casualties.  No report on fatalities.  We're still getting everything sorted here, but it looks like we have some friendlies in the area.  Can you confirm?"

"Joker One, I confirm.  Hammer flight from the Sons of Kessel are on station, a dozen TIEs backed up by a Raider-class corvette.  From the looks of it the Corvette is about to board the DP-20 frigate."  B'Lain chopped his trottle as they closed on the Hornet. 

"Sir, are you secure?"

"Joker, Citadel is secure.  We are secure from Zulu." Nath replied.  "We expect to have the fighter bays ready for your birds in two-zero minutes."

"Two-zero minutes, understood.  I'll gather up my Jokers.  Anything you can do to expedite will be appreciated, I have some sick birds out here."

"Understood, Joker One.  Hornet Actual out."

B'Lain flipped back to the general fighter push.  "Joker One to all Jokers: Sound off.  Rally on the Hornet.  I repeat: Sound off and rally on the Hornet."

Slowly the dispersed fighters of Joker squadron gathered.  B'Lain heaved another sigh of relief as Joker Two limped up, waggling its wings, a long black scar marking where a glancing hit had destroyed its transmitter.  By the time the Hornet was ready for docking manuevers enough Jokers had come home for B'Lain to start thinking in terms of being an effective fighting unit again - weaker, yes, but still effective.

Maybe we should call ourselves 'Phoenix'...

******

El'Lynn'Mack snapped to attention as the airlock opened.  "Commander, welcome aboard the Hornet!  She snapped off a smart salute, which the Kel Dor female returned with aplomb. 

"Glad to be here, Major." The Kel Dor looked around, taking in the damage and evidence of recent, hasty repairs.  "For a bit there we weren't sure if there was going to be a 'here' to be at."

"Nor were we." El'Lynn replied.  "Your team's arrival was certainly welcome."

"The Maker moves in mysterious ways..." Ornil said, smiling at the Armswoman's reaction.  "Does my belief surprise you?"

El'Lynn blushed.  "Um...  Yes, actually.  My experience has been that most people think my beliefs are at best quaint, at worst..."

Ornil adopted a serious look.  "You'll find that most of the Sons believe in one diety or another, and belief in the Maker is pretty univeral.  When you come from the type of hell-holes that most of us survived you have to have faith in something bigger than yourself or you give up entirely.  When you toss in someone with the integrity of Belanger, well..."  Ornil shrugged.  "Ken left me his Book of the Way and I promised to read it.  It made a lot of sense.  There you go."

El'Lynn laughed.  "Sounds about right, but my "Ken" was a very persistent cleric named Father Di'Mitri.  And speaking of 'fathers', the Captain is waiting for us, if you'll follow me?" 

"After you, Major." Ornil replied, following the shorter human down the short passage to the briefing room.

******

"Jace..." Jan was groggy from pain meds.  "You made it!  Good!"

"And so did you!  Not for lack of trying to get yourself killed, I might add." Jace patted her on the good arm.  "Looks like you're going to need some more body work, though."

"Yeah.  Doc says they can fix the leg when they attach the arm in a couple of days." Jan replied.  "In the mean time, I'm stuck here.  Any chance you can smuggle me in some pizza?"

Jace laughed.  "Anything you want, kid..."

******

B'Lain shook Ornil's hand.  "Thanks for your help, Commander.  Your team are top notch."

"Always a pleasure.  We freed a dozen slaves from the Zorba and have a prize crew on her getting her ready to head back to Aethis Minor.  She will be a valuable addition to the fleet."  Ornil beamed with pride.  "Thank you for not blowing her apart.  Our Sirs and Sirras liberated from her give you their thanks for your restraint."

"You're welcome." B'Lain replied.  "Meanwhile, I have a half-dozen pilots who are alive now that wouldn't have been if your team hadn't shown up.  Thank you."

"I believe the pilots of Xanadu would say 'we're even', Major." Ornil replied.  "I must depart, the Liberator is preparing to pull out for our next objective.  Thank you for offering to escort our prize back to Syvris, I believe they will be able to find their own way home from there."

"It is our pleasure.  Good hunting, Hammer." B'Lain stepped back and saluted, which Ornil returned smartly before she left for her shuttle.

B'Lain grabbed a fresh cup of coffee as he re-entered the room.  "So ... are we ready to head back to Syvris?"

El'Lynn nodded.  "Hyper drive and navigation are 100%.  Primary power is back online and we're down two launch bays in the port hanger and one launch bay to starboard.  All primary and secondary weapons are back online, but we're short on torpedoes.  We have seven concussion missiles and five proton torpedoes left in the magazines."

Captain Nath sat back and looked at B'Lain.  "How many of your birds are healthy?"

"I have two flights, sir.  Eight total.  We're about out of spares, however.  We can maintain a normal operations tempo for about three more weeks before birds start dying from simple maintenance issues."  B'Lain replied.  "We're down to two concussion missiles per ship as well.  Any chance of picking up spares and replacements at Syvris?"

"We're scheduled to meet a replenishment ship in nine days at Syvris." Nath replied.  "The Hathaway, actually.  She'll be carrying reinforcements and supplies for the medical mission as well. HQ was informed of our earlier losses but I didn't get word of any new fighters or pilots for your squadron."

B'Lain nodded.  "Fair enough."

Nath stood and B'Lain and El'Lynn followed suit.  "El'Lynn, set course for Syvris.  Lets get this show on the road.  I'll be in sickbay, getting this cut stitched up." Nath briefly touched the bandage on his forehead.  "Let's get out of here."

"Aye, sir."

[Lord_S_Gray]

Favor returned indeed...another battle won, but still the full scope of why they are even there and just who they are pursuing remains elusive, the pilots havea vague idea about chasing slavers and Black sun....and what was on the Mirabella!!  Then again when once considers this is from the POV of the pilots and not the senior commanders such lack of details on the overall strategy does make sense.

[TheDutchman]

Once again a welcome meeting between the Sons and Jokers.  I have to say: good camaraderie between the two groups, fire-forged as they've been.  It's a pleasure seeing the natural progression in alliance from the perspective of those at the front lines and have been tempered by battle.

Now I'm just wondering where this is going to lead us next... 

[Karmack]

Chapter Eight: Refit


The Hornet coasted into orbit, only a few hundred meters away from the replentishment ship Hathaway, and Captain Nath couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief.  "Obital station-keeping, helm."

"Orbital station-keeping aye.  Helm set to automatic station-keeping." the helmsman reported.  Nath felt the last bit of momentum bleed away and the Hornet settled into her parking orbit.  "Comm, hail the Hathaway please."

"Aye." The rating at the communications station tapped commands and paused, then turned back to Nath.  "Hathaway on channel 3, Captain."

"At my station." Nath said, looking down as a small flat-screen display deployed from his left arm rest.  The screen lit with the face of a man in a heavy ship work-suit and the insignia of a civilian ship's captain.  "Captain Ja'Red'Schoop, MCS Hathaway"

"Captain!  Captain Nath of the Hornet.  I'd be lying if I didn't say we're very glad to see you!  If you could walk me through the process we're ready to get started."

Schoop sat back in his own command chair and grinned.  "Understood.  My pilot is already on his way to a shuttle to transfer to your ship.  He will conn your ship through docking manuevers with the repair modules on our starboard side.  The port-side modules are spare parts and a fully equipped medical suite.  We're expecting a few reconstructions from the medical mission, but we've also brought some specifically requested hardware for Lt. Naith as well."

"Excellent!  I'll let Master Healer K'Lain know.  I imagine he'll be contacting your medical team shortly to coordinate treatment."

"Very good.  Meanwhile, our shuttle is just launching.  You should have our pilot on board in ten minutes."

Nath noted the new target on the tactical display.  "We have him on scope now.  I guess I'll see you in an hour or so.  Nath out."

The screen winked out and Nath hit another button.  "Bridge to Officer of the Deck."

"OOD Ensign Ro."

"Ro, we have a pilot coming in.  Should be docking in the next few minutes.  Please escort them to the bridge once they arrive."

"Aye, sir.  OOD out."

Nath closed the connection and leaned back, his eyes involuntarily scanning the collection of yellow and orange highlights on the status board, indicating moderate to severe damage.  "Soon..."

******

Master Healer K'Lain entered sick-bay with a wide smile.  "Good news, Lieutenant!"

Jan sat up straighter in the bed. "You finally added junk pizza to the sick bay menu!"

K'Lain stopped short, a look of mock horror on his face.  "Maker, no!  And bite your tongue for saying so!" he chucked as Jan smiled at their running joke and sat next to her bed.  "I just got off the line with Master Healer Ce'Lain'Tor.  He's on board the Hathaway and he has your arm."

"That is good news!" Jan replied.  "When are we transferring?"

"The Hornet is preparing to dock with the Hathaway as we speak.  Once the ships are hard-docked we'll transfer to their medical suite.  We should be able to do the procedure tomorrow morning."  He leaned back, falling into a more serious mood.  "I just hope the software is 100%.  There were a few little glitches in the preliminary load with the chest implants and shoulder..."

Jan swatted him with her good hand.  "Stop that!  They were incredibly minor and the heuristic functions kicked in and corrected them in less than a day!  If the arm functions that well I'll be thrilled!"

K'Lain relented.  "You're right of course.  So, we'll be back in about an hour to transfer.  Any requests before I go and make sure everything is good on their end?"

"Yes, actually." Jan's eyes twinkled.  "See if they can whistle up some pizza?"


   <<<<<<<<<<   >>>>>>>>>>


"Its taken a week but we're finally back up to full loads for ammo stores and spares.  We should have all the faults on the birds cleared as well before the Hornet undocks next week, but we'll still only have eight operational birds and one spare." Jace said, leaning back with his coffee mug.  He and B'Lain were ensconced in the pilot's ready room, going over the list of stores and spares the Hathaway could provide.  To their surprise that list had included two brand-new ARC-170-MXZ fighters to begin bringing them back up to stength.  Unfortunately they'd had to permanently down-check one of their current flock with serious frame damage.  They would be leaving it with the Hathaway's engineers to see if they could return it to combat readiness, but it would leave them at 2/3 strength. 

"It is what it is, Jace.  We'll make due.  We'll re-organize around Gold and Silver and put Bronze on inactive reserve for now, with Lt. Naith as it's only member."

"Jan will hate that." Jace replied.  "She's only been out of the body-and-fender shop for four days and she's already spending a couple of hours a day in the simulators.  If she thinks you're benching her..."

"I'll deal with Jan." B'Lain replied.  "I know she wants to get back into space, but we have a different assignment in mind for her, at least until we get four new birds and some pilots to fill out our tee-oh-ee."

Jace chuckled.  "Well, better you than me.  I've seen her with that glow-stick of hers and I'd rather not be anywhere nearby when you break the news."

B'Lain leaned back with a grin.  "Who said I was breaking anything to her?"

******

Jan parried high, feeling the shock of impact transfer through her new left arm into her new left shoulder.  The cybernetic limb was still strange, the sensations it reported back to her felt ... alien.  Wrong.  Like feeling a touch through a thick layer of rubber or cloth instead of on your skin.  But it was strong and fast, calibrated to keep up with her movements even when she was using the force
to augment her speed and strength.

Like now.

With a deft wrist-flip she torqued her saber around her opponent's and pinned the blade, driving her back.  "Hnnnggggaaa!"  She augmented her disengagement move with a powerful force push, which caught her opponent in the pit of her stomach, sending her sprawling onto her back.  In a flash Jan was on her, her pink blade against her throat, ready to strike.  "Yield!"

El'Lynn raised her hands in defeat.  "I yield!  I yield!"  She retracted her own blade and reached up with her left hand. "Help me up, will you?"

Jan stood and reached down, gripping the XO's hand and pulling her to her feet.  She still had to concentrate a bit to make sure she didn't squeeze to hard, but even that was already getting easier, the hand feeling more and more natural with usage...

El'Lynn wiped sweat from her brow.  "Nice move.  I'm amazed at how quickly you've mastered its movements."

"Part of that is programming, but most of it is thanks to Master K'Lain.  He had the forthought to make a complete neural map of my shoulder with as many individual movements as we could manage before he sent the specs back to M'Tzigon.  Of course, not everything is natural..."  Jan extended the arm, which had a very natural looking external covering, and she gave a command that would have, with her natural hand, caused her thumb to touch the tip of her pinky finger.  Now, however...

A hidden panel on the outer fore-arm opened and a blaster barrel popped up.  El'Lynn gave a low whistle.  "Niiiiiice...."

"Yeah.  Not exactly original equipment." Jan retracted the blaster, restoring the arm to a normal appearance.  "The chassis is song-steel, so its incredibly strong, and the blaster has an interface that will put an aiming pip on my HUD if I have a tactical helmet on.  And if there's no interface, I can activate a laser pointer to give myself an aim point-of-reference."

"Song steel..." El'Lynn murmered, her eyes opaque as she thought back through their previous flurry of strokes.  "So that's how you did it!  You blocked one of my striked with an outer forearm block!"

Jan grinned sheepishly.  "Guilty.  The arm can take it, though.  It would take several repeated strikes at the same point to damage the arm enough to cause loss of function.  All I'd get from a single hit is a cosmetic burn to the surface."

"Cheater." El'Lynn replied, smiling to take the sting out.  Jan replied with a stuck-out tongue.  El'Lynn laughed but then sobered.  "Jan ... I need to ask a favor of you."

"This sounds omnious..." Jan replied.

"Not ominous, but it might be ... unpleasant." El'Lynn replied.  "You know the Hathaway didn't bring enough fighters to bring Joker Squadron back up to full strength and no new pilots were embarked either, right?"  Jan nodded, so El'Lynn continued.  "In light of those realities and another engineering casualty to one of the fighters, the CAG won't have enough birds for you to fly.  So the Captain and I would like to ask you to accept a temporary assignment until such time as we do get more fighters and pilots to bring your flight back online."

Jan crossed her arms across her chest.  "I already have a TDY assignment in CIC."

El'Lynn nodded.  "Agreed, but its a slot normally held down by a senior non-com.  What I want to offer you requires an officer, someone with ground combat training and experience, someone who's willing to act aggressively and on her own initiative in fluid situations with minimal guidance." El'Lynn took a deep breath and plunged.  "Jan, I need someone to lead our Marines."

Jan didn't move or speak for long seconds.  Finally, she grinned.  "Is that it?  I thought you had something really nasty you wanted me to do, like latrine duty or ships pursor or something."

El'Wynn relaxed adn smiled.  "So you'll take it then?"

Jan nodded.  "Yes, ma'am.  Just one question.  Does the Marine mess serve junk pizza?"


   <<<<<<<<<<   >>>>>>>>>>


"Helm, prepare to cast off." Captain Nath sat in his brand new command chair, surrounded by upgraded and improved displays.  The bridge, still familiar, had also been upgraded during the refit, each station receiving its own face-lift with the installation of better displays driven by new controlling software.  Overall the refit had taken three weeks, and while the rest had been welcome nearly everyone was itching to get back into action. 

"Prepare to cast off, aye.  Physical moorings are cleared, standing by to clear bow and stern tractors." The helmsman reported.  His board had also been upgraded, but the familiar control stick remained and her hand hovered over it, ready to initate movement orders at Nath's command.

"Clear all moorings." Nath replied.  He swivelled to the tactical station.  "Initiate break-away, one-quarter thrusters, port ninety, zero elevation."  The low thruster setting would prevent reaction gasses from damaging the Hathwaway as they moved sideways, directly away from the replentishment ship.  Nath waited as the Hornet moved slowly away from the Hathaway, allowing a gap of several hundred meters to develop between the ships. 

Once they were clear Nath issued his next commands.  "Helm, come to course 226 mark 98.  Full thrust.  Engage."

"Two-two-six mark nine-eight aye.  Coming around." The helmsman brought the ship around with her stick, laying the course expertly.  "Full thrust engaged."

The Hornet lept away from the planet, breaking orbit and heading for the edge of the system, on course for the first leg to Arami.

The Jokers were back on patrol.