Her voice snapped me back to reality quicker than I cared. I could feel her reaching down to pick me up.“Not, you, please not you!!!” she screamed as her hot tears dripped off her face. Their salt burnt my wounds further.
“UGH!!!. Get me the bacta patches. Then, get to help me to the gunner’s station.”
“You can’t help me, you should rest.”
“Gabi, listen to me. We’re dead. The auto-pilot is useless. It will lead us straight-lined on Thrawn’s course. You need to evade fire. I can blank out the pain till we hyper out. Just help to the chair, and I’ll put on the patch.” She did as I said which is and will be a record, two times in one day. Reflecting back on that day, I know why she listened to me the second time that day, still am working on the first.
“No, you’re half dead.”
“I’ll rest when we hyper out. Now, get me to the gunner station.”
“Alright, but let me put the bacta patches on you and dress the wounds.”
“Fine. You’ve got two minutes.” She dressed applied a bacta-patch to my knee. It was probably a good thing that she wrapped it as soon as applied it too. The blast had lanced straight through me kneecap, burning away all the ligaments and tendons. There was a whole where my kneecap should have been. She applied the others and helped me to the chair of the gunner’s seat. She buckled me in, gave me a quick kiss on the forehead then took the last two steps to the pilot station.
I plugged my commlink into the comm.-system of the Blastboat. I keyed channel four.
“We should be receiving Defender Squads encrypted messages now,” I moaned.
“One problem. There’s a trio of Star Destroyers between them and us,” she said back at me.
“Boys,” I coughed, “What took you so long to find planet paradise?”
“Take heading One-twenty, by forty, by three.”
“Rodger that,” Chief said. “My pilot is hit. He’s trying to maintain the guns, while I drive this bucket. Assistance would be appreciated.”
“Leader, this is Two Flight. Permission to guard our birds on a torp run at those Imps shield generators.”
“Granted Five. Scorpions, lock on to shield generators with torps, and fire. Maintain Two point five clicks distance for safety.”
“Read that Defender One”
“Andy, Zaron, take up flanking positions. I got point.” I watched on the combat computer as Fal took a position to the relative top of the formation. Andy and Zaron on each port and starboard, and Scorpion squadron filled in between them, making a flying pyramid of death. I then requested telemetry from Thrawn’s Blastboat. I actually was behind the target, but was in closer then they were already to the IDSII Grey Wolf.
“This is Eight Monkey’s in a Barrel. I got target lock on the Wolf. Firing torps. Use my telemetry Scorpions Six and Seven.” They double clicked their comunits to acknowledge. I single fired one proton torpedo at the star board shield generator. “Launch two salvos.” They dual fired their torpedoes. “Feed new target. Locked. Fire when ready.” I switched to dual fire mode and launched two torpedoes. They launched another two salvos. “Scorpions, get clear when you’re out of torps.” Three seconds later, the torpedoes hit The Grey Wolf’s shield generators and they burst apart. The fire, extinguished quickly by the lack of oxygen was a spectacular orange fireball. I switched the targeting computer to target the Bridge. Three clicks away still. The tone was good. I opened fire. The torpedo, made a U as it turned over the bridge tower and smashing through the bridge portal. Exposing the cold hard vacuum of space to the pressurized bridge of Grey Wolf proved fatal enough. Her guns stopped pouring out turbolasers. The green spears no longer threatened us. The same could be said of other two Imperial Mark Two Destroyers. Except with more devastating results. Thrawn’s flight targeted our old ship, The Vanguard. She was not as lucky as the Grey Wolf. Her bridge tower had been blown away, and most of the city super structure, leaking oxygen flames out into space. The Intrepid’s bridge tower was similarly decimated, but taking advantage of the wide flank, Scorpion’s Two Flight and Three Flight’s chose the wide flank as their exit vector.
“Scorpions hyper out of here,” Thrawn said.
“Defenders, cover their retreat. Two Flight, get our bird out of their and hyper. Three flight, clear our jump vector. We’ll deal with Two Flights exit vector.” That had to be the admiral; maybe he wasn’t as bad at tactics as I thought. No, he was. He missed what was coming up from the planet. A squadron of TIE Advances was rapidly entering the hot zone.
“Be advised, Avengers entering the combat zone.” For reasons unbeknownst to me, I switched to link the powerful laser and ion cannon system of the Blastboat together. Six heavy cannons would fire instead of one or three.
“Form up Eight. What the hell is that thing? Where’s your X-wing? Try and keep up.”
“Fal, if I live to see tomorrow,” I coughed some more, “I’ll show you where exactly up Andy’s ass I hid my flight.” I coughed heavier this time. The assault of the Dark Disciple had took it’s toll.
“Be advised, he was hit with some sort of electricity shot from a Dark Jedi down there. He’s very weak.”
“Keep cool. We got it.” With those words, I fired cannon twice. The Avengers were in range.
“High low Zaron,” Andy came in.
“I got low,” Zaron came back. Fal started to distance himself from me. He went to engage the TIE Advances. One came right up on his six. I opened fire again. The lasers and ions first salvo took down the shields. The second barrage did its purpose. The wings snapped off as the circular cockpit burst into the same flame ball and quickly went out as the Star Destroyers’ shields.
“We’re clear. Here are the jump coordinates ,” Fal’s voice said.
“Received, activating hyperdrive now,” Chief said. She pulled the lever.
“We safe yet?”
“Yes,” she said rushing to me. “I’m not losing you now or ever, you hear me?” Another one of here tears burned on my wounds as her arms wrapped around me. She began to loosen my restraints.
“Good, I feel terrible. I’m going to rest now,” I squeaked and fell over onto the control panel.
“Is the he up yet?” a grovelly voice that sounded distant, hollow and concerned all at the same time.
“He should be shortly sirs.” That one sounded like Emdee medical droid’s vocal synthesizer, but more hollow than normal. The universe seemed to be spinning. Nearby I could sense the Chief’s presence. I know my eyes were closed, but the light was blinding me from them. The light was intense as if blinding daylight. I can’t be dead. I don’t remember letting go of my conscious-self. Then again, maybe all the philosophical and theological discussions about the end and death are wrong. I’m dead and well, this is what it feels like to be dead. My eyes opened to the overhead lamps above me.
“Reduce the illumination overhead by forty percent,” the Emdee droid commanded to something or some one. “Good afternoon, sir. The discomfort you feel is due to decalcification in your bones. We’ve also had to reconstruct a new left knee for you. You’ve spent nearly five days in a bacta tank. You should feel luck that you diverted here instead of on with your squadron.”
“Ah, Lieutenant Pbarny it is? I’m Adm. Ackbar,” the salmon colored Mon Calmari Commander in Chief came into my view. I tried to rise up to a more proper angle. “Stay as you are. You were severely wounded. You were lucky to make it out alive.” I tried to speak but no words came.
“He may not be able to speak, sirs, long term bacta emersion,” the Emdee droid announced. I then nodded my head in agreement.
“How soon till he can speak again?” Gabi asked.
“A few days, ma’am.”
“Very well. I’ll come back and see you until then. Master Chief, Lieutenant,” with that Adm. Ackbar dismissed himself. I can’t believe I did anything worthy enough to warrant his attention. The next sensation was that of a soft hand touching my neck. I turned to see my redheaded green-eyed beauty, change that, wife. I couldn’t help but smile.
“You do that to me again, I’m leaving you,” she told me. I took her free hand closest to the bed. Our eyes met. I think she understood my question. “Yes, Admiral Ackbar, Admiral Drayson, General Reiken, And General Madine ruled this morning. We’re married and get to keep our commissions.” Then the tears opened up. I’m not sure who’s first, hers or mine, but the opened up. “And you, you stupid son of a bitch, have to go and nearly get killed on our wedding day.” I moved, my aching right arm to wipe the tears off her cheek, then mine, and just shrugged. “Yeah, I know, what the hell right we’re still married. I nearly lost you out there. Promise me, you won’t do anything that stupid again. Promise me. Right now.” I nodded my head. Took my right hand, kissed the index and middle fingers and my two fingers to her lips. “Of all the lame brained officers to fall in love and get married to, I have to pick the smartest one who’s so stupid he nearly get’s himself killed.”
