SW: Hades Wing Chp. 21

Approximately five years earlier, approaching the Second Death Star, orbiting Endor

Garin, Toth, Matrin, Harth and Kalan stood on the bridge of the Black Knight looking at the incomplete gray sphere hanging in space above the blue green moon.
“If that’s a mining station I’m the next Emperor.” Muttered Matrin, the others nodding their agreement.
“This is getting worse all the time, at least under Thrawn we weren’t being assigned to wipe out entire communities for no apparent reason.” Toth said, glaring at the unfinished station.
“Or protecting doomsday machines,” Kalan agreed.
“We’re being used.” Harth replied.
Garin mused that they were always being used by someone, whether by Thrawn or the Emperor. It was just a matter of which they preferred being used by. He suspected that the others felt the same way he did and preferred Thrawn. It was probably the easiest supposition he’d ever have to make in his life.
“For better or worse,” he said quietly so only they could hear, “the window for leaving the Empire closed after we submitted the Zaarin data. We’re stuck here now and we’ll just have to live with that.”
“Or die with it,” Kalan said with a smile. “There’s going to be a battle here, a big one too if I’m right about this, it’s the largest slight of hand in history.”
Everyone looked at him curiously, his smile turned dark. “The Rebels are coming here to attack the station, they’re going to try and destroy it or capture it or whatever they intend to do. While all their attention is on the station, the fleet is going to jump them.”
“They can’t be that stupid.” Toth said looking at the station. “Can they?”
“I hope not,” Matrin said, still looking at Kalan. “Otherwise we’ve been fighting against a bunch of half-wits.”
“Not our job to worry about it,” Harth said coolly, finally speaking. “We just have to follow orders.” Garin shifted uncomfortably as Harth’s gaze turned to him. “Right sir?”
He nodded his voice a whisper. “Just stay alive long enough and we’ll find another opening, and then we’ll make our choice.”
“Not before we kill some Shrikes though,” Toth said hungrily.
He sounded all too happy at the prospect of killing other Imperials. Garin felt much the same way, he just hoped that Toth didn’t let the Shrikes in on it. If Kalan was right about this, there’d be plenty of time for friendly fire to take its toll in the coming days.
“That is a big ship,” Matrin said, changing the subject as readily as if they were talking about the weather.
Garin followed his gaze and nodded. The Executor was massive and it dwarfed the Star Destroyers hanging around it. If he’d had to face her he’d certainly be having second thoughts about his life expectancy. He counted the number of warships assembled around the Super and shook his head, this was the biggest fleet he’d ever served with there was no denying that. There were thirty some Star Destroyers arrayed around the Executor and every now and again he could see smaller warships silhouetted against the larger ships.
“They pulled out all the stops for this one,” Matrin observed, “I’m seeing everything from Imperials and Imperators to Victorys and Vindicators.”
“Those smaller ships are probably Carracks and Lancers some of those Vindicators might be Immobilizers...they’re pretty hard to tell apart at this range, I see some Strikes and Nebulons in there as well.” Harth said quietly.
“And I’m counting at least three Escort Carriers, how many fighters does that make?” Kalan said in astonishment as he counted the numbers in his head.
“Hundreds, perhaps thousands if they’re all fully stocked.” Harth answered his expression empty of emotion. “Plus the station itself might have even more.”
“Do the Rebels even have this many warships in their entire inventory let alone a single fleet?” Toth asked dubiously, “this seems like a whole lot of overkill for what everyone claims is a ragtag force.”
“We’ve seen the Rebellion firsthand Toth,” Garin reminded him, “do they seem like an unorganized rabble to you?”
“True,” Toth said. “But still, I don’t think the Rebellion has anything to match this.”
“I’ve never seen it, but apparently those Mon Cal Cruisers, the bigger ones, can slug it out with Imperials and Imperators, and the Victorys can’t even touch them.” Matrin supplied.
“Which means of course that none of our cruiser classes can touch them either;” Toth said, wincing. “Why is the Knight here again?”
“Because she carries one of the most elite fighter units in the Empire.”
All five of them jumped and turned to see Stele and Vic’que joining them. The former looked just as discomforted by the view as the rest of them did, while the latter seemed to only be paying attention to the former.
“Commander,” Iriana said, joining the group. “We’ve received orders to form with the rest of the fleet: our trooper detachment is to be transferred to the Sanctuary Moon to reinforce the garrison already in place.”
“Very well,” Stele said, “carry out your orders, I’ll be in CIC.”
With that he left just as swiftly as he’d come, Vic’que stayed behind. Toth eyed her with a rather disturbed expression.
“You know we don’t need you to do that anymore.”
She shrugged, her smile a little pompous. “Being his mistress has certain benefits. That’s enough to warrant remaining where I am.”
Matrin and Kalan exchanged looks before smiling. “Just be sure that when he dumps you,” the former began, “it isn’t out an airlock.” the latter finished.
Vic’que sniffed indignantly and looked out at the fleet they were rapidly approaching, a smile playing across her features.
“Do you realize what they’re planning?” She asked quietly.
Garin nodded using Kalan’s phrasing. “A massive sleight of hand.”
Her smile broadened. “Yes, but there’s more to it than that. Maarek told me about the Emperor’s true intent here.”
“Whatever he intends,” Matrin said offhandedly. “I’m sure he’ll enjoy the next day holonews from the safety of his throne room.”
“He’s here,” Vic’que said simply.
That comment froze everyone to the spot. Even Iriana, standing a short distance away monitoring the ship’s operations, paused in her work at that. The ultimate bait, an unfinished battle station, none of them believed the mining station spin after seeing it for themselves, and the ruler of the Empire in one spot. The Rebels couldn’t afford to miss this.

Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser Home One, Bilbringi Shipyards

“What did you think of it?”
“Of what,” I asked with a scowl, she really needed to learn how to phrase her questions.
“The Death Star, you told me before you had no idea what it was until Endor. So what did you think once you saw it?”
I considered my reaction at the time of the assembly, sighing heavily. “It solidified what I’d already begun to feel. That we were fighting on the wrong side, or at least for the wrong people.”
“Meaning what exactly?”
“Meaning,” I said pointedly leaning forwards. “That if Thrawn had decided to pull the same stunt as Zaarin had mere months before, we would have gladly joined his side, even if it meant facing the entire Imperial Fleet.”
“So by that point you were completely disillusioned?”
“The only illusion we held onto was that Thrawn might have a better way of doing things, in fact all of us believed he did. Palpatine, Vader and the Imperial Court had the wrong idea. We all realized that fully when we joined the fleet at Endor. There was no need for monsters like that in the galaxy, or for their weapons. The Super Star Destroyers pushed the limit, the Death Stars broke it and ground it into dust.”
“So if the Rebellion had approached you directly at that point and made you an offer?”
“We might have accepted. The only thing, as I said, keeping us tied to the Empire by that point was the fact that it was obvious that our defection was exactly what the Emperor and Vader were watching for. We weren’t of a mind to get ourselves killed needlessly and without Thrawn we didn’t feel that we stood a chance on our own.”
She shook her head, laughing a little. “To think that if we’d been able to contact you then, we would have gotten one of the most skilled fighter units in the Empire along with a heavy cruiser.”
I smiled, amused by her assessment. “Yes, two fully operational squadrons of advanced TIE models, another of gunboats and a fourth of our Diamond Blues, plus five Skiprays and assorted support craft. Eighty commandos, two hundred and eighty fleet troopers and an entire heavy cruiser and her crew. Would have been quite a haul if you had approached us.”
“How much of the unit would have gone along though?”
“Considering the unique nature of our unit,” I said with a smile, the very thought of us defecting back then raising all kinds of ‘what if’ scenarios. “You would have gotten nearly every core member, in other words most of our officers and specialists would have happily joined. The grease and grind crew member I wouldn’t be able to speak for, but we were a very close knit unit by that point, with the exception of the Shrikes and a few outstanding individuals and newer members we got in transfers, most considered our first loyalty to our unit rather than the Empire by that point.”
She considered me for a moment before she spoke again. “Was that something Thrawn planned for do you think?”
My smile remained in place. “I’ve never been sure of that, considering what he eventually tried, it is quite possible that he fully intended to create a crew that would be loyal to itself first and Empire second so that when the time came he would have at least one major combat asset he could rely upon without a shadow of a doubt.”
“So what happened at Endor during the run up to the battle?”
“We moved our trooper compliment planetside, keeping Major Yvonne and her commandos aboard since the order didn’t stipulate they needed to be moved with the troops and then we received our next order from Vader after the last supply shuttle went planetside. The fleet was to reassemble on the far side of the Sanctuary Moon and await further commands. It was about that time we heard rumors of sightings of the Rebel Fleet massing at Sullust. Reports were sketchy, but as we learned later, you managed to commit a great deal of your forces to the battle which summed up to a fairly good sized fleet.”
She nodded. “We committed every available unit that could reach Sullust in time to the battle.Of course we had no idea that it was a trap. We just assumed that there would be a heavy escort for the Emperor, our intelligence said that most of the Imperial Fleet was dispersed and either hunting us, or involved in policing actions.” she seemed almost apologetic as she continued. “Our intelligence was not only flawed, it was planted as I'm sure you know.” I had suspected but her confirmation was irrelevant. “Add to that the arrogance of the Bothans that had obtained the information and we took the bait all in one swallow without checking further. Especially since the Executor hounded the task force that had obtained the data for such an extended period of time, we wanted it to be true, to believe that everyone who had died and sacrificed for the data hadn’t done so without purpose.”
I nodded, fully understanding and even pitying the Rebels. Belief could be a powerful driving force for anyone. The Empire could have done with a lot more belief considering the faltering commitment of individuals like myself and Stele at the time.
“The last twenty-four hours or so running up to the battle were the hardest, we all knew that this was going to decide the fate of the galaxy, no one was stupid enough not to realize that. We just had no idea how many of us would live to see it, so we all spent our time with those we cared for and called friends, Stele and the Shrikes be damned….”

Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser Black Knight, orbiting Endor

Daru’s eyes flickered open at the soft touch on her hand, her fingers entwined with Garin’s as she smiled at him.
“Welcome back sir,” she murmured.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, raising it up and kissing it affectionately. “Sorry you can’t come up and see the mess we’ve gotten ourselves in.”
“Did the Major shoot more of the Shrikes?” She asked half-teasingly.
He chuckled, running a hand over her forehead and down her lekku gently, being careful to avoid the areas that had been bruised. Bacta had worked its miracles, but she was still weak and ached where her bruises had been.
“We weren’t so lucky,” he reached into his flightsuit and pulled out a small holopad, placing it in her other hand and activating it. Images of the fleet they were part of sprang to life and Daru’s eyes lit up excitedly.
“There are over thirty major ships here,” she said in awe.
He nodded. “Yes, and dozens of smaller warships as well. We’re one of the latter.”
Her face fell worriedly. “Garin, what’s happening?”
He explained in brief what he knew about the plan and she shivered. “It’s an all or nothing gamble, and I don’t see how the Rebellion can survive this.”
“You sound concerned about that,” Garin said quietly, still holding her hand.
Daru nodded, “after everything that’s happened the idea that there won’t be an organized resistance to the Empire is terrifying. I don’t think that the Empire is intrinsically evil, but I believe that the men currently in power are. The men under Stele’s command are evidence enough of that.”
Garin nodded quietly. “How are you holding up?”
She smiled, and he was glad to see her old strength in that smile. “I’ll be back on my feet soon the medics say.” Then she shivered and pulled his hand closer, he went one step further and moved closer to the bed, letting her wrap her arms around him. “I was so scared, but I knew that my family would come for me and you all did. You even killed one of them for me.” She let him go, pressing her lips to his gently. “And you’ve been here everyday since I was attacked, I couldn’t ask for anything more except to wish it had never happened.”
Garin tried to keep the tears out of his eyes as he brushed a hand along her cheek, leaning his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you Daru.”
“We let our guard down Gar, we never thought they’d do anything during duty hours, it wasn’t your fault.”
He nodded even if he didn’t truly believe her; he kissed her forehead affectionately, stroking her lekku gently. Daru closed her eyes and shuddered with a faint smile. “I can’t wait to get out of this bed Garin.” She whispered.
He opened his mouth to reply but his comlink chimed and he scowled as he leaned back, pulling it off his belt. “This is Durives.”
Kindran’s voice greeted him. “Sir, we’ve been ordered to prepare for combat, its starting.”
Garin nodded, looking at Daru meaningfully. “I copy, orders from the Commander?”
“He wants all pilots to their fighters and launching immediately, we’ll be jumping separately.”
“Alright, you know the drill Commander,” he paused and smiled a little, “Orlis, do me a favor.”
“Sir,” Kindran asked curiously at the unusual request.
“If Iriana tries to block the path of an escaping ship with the Knight knock her out and assume command.”
Kindran actually laughed for a change, Garin realized it was the first time he’d ever heard the typically reserved officer do so. It was a warm and rich laugh that trickled into a hearty chuckle. “I’ll do that sir. I’ve had enough heart attacks for one lifetime.”
Garin killed the comlink and turned to Daru who was smiling at him though there was worry etched across her features as he lekku twitched nervously, he’d slowly been learning what the various motions of the brain tails meant and he didn’t need to see her expression to know what she was thinking.
“I’m coming back Daru, I’m not going to leave you.”
She nodded, though he could tell that she didn’t believe him, she reached over the side of her bed and produced a small ovoid disc. She handed it to him and he turned it over curiously, it was cast in chrome and there was an etching of the Black Knight at the center and around it were all the fighter craft that had served with the wing thus far.
“My crew made that for me, I want you to have it. It can attach to your belt buckle, wear it for luck.”
He stood and clipped it onto the belt on his flightsuit and then leaned down and kissed Daru passionately. When he began to draw away she grabbed the front of his suit.
“If you don’t make it back, I’ll come find you Gar.” She whispered to him.
He nodded, putting a loving hand beneath her lekku and pulling her close. “I know, I’m not worried about getting lost, I have you to come back to.”