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Author	Topic: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
_JM_ Registered: Jun '01	Date Posted: 3/24/04 12:24am Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, updated 3/23
	I'm with Quiver, go pick up the X-Wings again (remembering to check for booby-traps)- they're expensive! I take it Crescent Star was what kept the orbital forces at bay while the Quakes went atmospheric. Good job Thumpers hyperdrive isn't out though since they've already left, even better job that the Quakes decided to extend their time searching. At least I hope his hyperdrive is operational, could be cosy trying to fit him into a Y-Wing with the pilot and gunner (possible, but definitely cosy ). -----signature----- Seeming unable to just say "Nice post, I enjoyed it" Sometimes amazed at how "I'll reply tomorrow" becomes "I should have replied last week" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Return of a Jedi. http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/23421597
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Mjsullivan Registered: Dec '03	Date Posted: 3/24/04 3:54am Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, updated 3/23
	Oh dear! Thumper you deviant girl, you've changed this story around! And here i was thinking that i was way ahead of everyone else After reading both versions, i think i prefer this one Quick Question: Will you consider posting the other corona stories once Solid Ground is finished? I think they'd be well receieved! -----signature----- Working in Darkness - On Hiatus :::::: http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/15283754/p1
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 3/24/04 9:22am Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, updated 3/23 - Date Edited: 3/24/04 5:15pm (2 edits total) Edited By: Thumper09
	. JM, ...they're expensive! Yup, and supplies are short for the Rebels now... At least I hope his hyperdrive is operational, could be cosy trying to fit him into a Y-Wing with the pilot and gunner (possible, but definitely cosy). He could always strut-ri--um, wait, I guess he couldn't do that. So yeah, unless he wants to be shoved inside an occupied Y-wing cockpit, an operational hyperdrive is a necessity. Darin would be really upset at having to leave Botch behind, too. Mjsullivan, Thumper you deviant girl, you've changed this story around! Yeah, that was the last substantial part I wasn't happy with, and I didn't get to it until last week. Now I'm at least happier. The rest should be the same, but I have a part to smooth out in the next post. Hopefully it won't change anything. After reading both versions, i think i prefer this one Thanks. This one doesn't show as much of Mackin, but I think it's more plausible with the timing of everything. Will you consider posting the other corona stories once Solid Ground is finished? I'm not sure yet. I wasn't planning to, at least not right away, but we'll see how this goes. The others are a lot more dependent on background knowledge than Ground is. Thanks for the comments, everyone. -Katie Edit #2: formatting -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
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LordGoldenArrow Title: Retired Chapter Rep Melbourn e, FL USA Registered: Jan '02	Date Posted: 3/24/04 10:31am Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, updated 3/23
	Quiver's X-Wing is always "boobie" trapped. It's got Quiver in it. :-P
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 3/30/04 2:49pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	LGA, Quiver says he's planning a special April Fools Day visit for you. (I tried to tell him that it's not like Christmas where Santa goes around to each house, but he seems to get these Earth holidays mixed up). Anyway, everyone, here it is. And, shall we say, here goes nothing. ***** Chapter Twelve Quiver silently followed the transport and Ikoa's and Weas's X-wings down to the plain-looking planet. These were the jump coordinates they had been given by Crescent Star up above Lokinha, and Mackin had explained to them that they were going to be landing here temporarily. Command wanted to quarantine the transport and any fighters from which they had been separated while on Lokinha and go over them with a fine-toothed comb to ensure there were no Imperial tracking devices on them. Plus, Quiver knew that this way the ships would be isolated from Star for a while in case they missed a homing device and the Imperials showed up anyway–-then when they did show up, they'd just find empty X-wings on an empty planet. Quiver couldn't fault their logic, but he really just wanted to go back to the ship. He envied Pellicer, who had needed to land on Star to escape because his hyperdrive was out and then got to stay aboard. The plan was for another pilot to bring his fighter down to the planet for him when they arrived so that it too could share in the quarantine. The three X-wings and the stolen transport started bumping through the atmosphere, heading to their designated landing spot. They softly settled to the ground soon after. Corona Ten awkwardly powered down his X-wing with his off-hand and opened his canopy. He just sat there for a while, taking a long look all around at the sky and then blankly staring out ahead at the bleak landscape. The end of his flight made him feel like other things were coming to an end as well. While in hyperspace, Quiver had stared out his windows the entire time like he'd expected Darin to fly right up beside him and wave, but he hadn't. The two Quakes who had been looking for him hadn't found him before the Coronas jumped to hyperspace, and Crescent Star hadn't picked up anything either. Part of the plan was for Darin to transmit a code word over the squadron frequency right before he escaped the system so the others would know he'd gotten out, but they'd heard nothing from him since his distress call. The chances that Darin was still alive were fading with each passing minute. This mission had cost Quiver his two best friends in the galaxy. He'd experienced the loss of squadmates before, but never anything like this. It hurt like hell, and Quiver didn't know how to make the pain stop or if it ever would. He'd had a little bit of time to prepare himself for losing Darin, which had helped a tiny bit, but CC's death was still a mind-numbing shock to him. Saying goodbye to her had been the hardest thing he ever remembered doing. On Lokinha when Mackin had brought Quiver to his fighter, things had started out normally enough. Sure, Mackin had given him a good warning about how he had better go straight up to orbit as soon as his fighter was powered up, but Quiver had just offhandedly agreed and climbed onto his fighter. However, after Quiver had disabled the booby-trap and started powering up his X-wing to leave, he caught sight of the crater where CC's fighter had been, and the entire world stopped. He remembered feeling like a dewback had barreled into him at full speed. By that time Mackin had already left with Weas to get their last X-wing, Pellicer's, but Ikoa had remained behind in Weas's X-wing. It took more than a few calls on her part before Quiver had realized the voice was talking to him. Even then, he hadn't cared what the voice said; all he could do was stare at the crater, its deep shadows in the night making a black void in the ground that matched the one inside him. He almost turned on his landing lights to illuminate it and chase the shadows away, but he figured that would just be worse. Quiver suspected he would have stayed that way for hours had not something else caught his attention in his peripheral vision and made him look up. The stars had begun to come out, and his distracted gaze found a bluish star that was part of a somewhat familiar-looking constellation. Quiver had blinked back tears as he remembered the star was the one that Darin had pointed out to CC as her home system of Avalar during their stargazing session just two nights ago. It looked so peaceful, twinkling up there. He'd wondered if it had seen the atrocities there on that world from its vantage point high in the sky. He'd wondered how far away it was, how long it would be before the leftover light from those blaster bolts in her cockpit reached it. That, more than anything else, finally convinced him he had to go. He had needed to get away from there, far enough so that he could look up into the starlight and see his friend reflected in it, alive and well once more. When Quiver had looked back down, though, he almost couldn't do it. His throat had tightened, making breathing difficult. Finally, in a wavering, unrecognizable voice that was somewhere between angry and pleading, he'd said, "This is not the way it's supposed to end." Quiver wasn't sure if the galaxy had heard him or not. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he'd wiped at his eyes and choked out past the lump in his throat, "Bye, Chryse. I'm sorry." After one second more, he'd angrily jammed in his throttle and peeled off, with a very surprised Ikoa turning to follow. Sure enough, only three of his engines worked. Once he'd gotten some altitude, Quiver had tried contacting Darin and looked for him on sensors, but had come up empty on both counts. Even with repeated assurances that the two Quake Squadron pilots were doing their best to find him, Quiver had still turned toward the colony, intent on looking for his wingman himself. When Quiver didn't stop even after strong warnings from Mackin that the conditions of both him and his X-wing made neither one battle-worthy, Mackin had threatened to use the transport's ion cannon and tractor beam on Quiver's fighter. Quiver had no idea if the stolen transport had those capabilities or not, and he'd considered calling Mackin's bluff and disobeying the order to stop; however, Ikoa cut him off in her fighter before he could. She gave him a quick scenario in which Quiver, with his shoulder injury, broken emergency life support and less-than-capable fighter, went looking for his wingman, encountered resistance and ended up being shot down or stranded in a place where they couldn't get to him. She emphasized how Darin was doing his part to allow Quiver to escape, and if he didn't leave while he had the chance then Darin's actions were meaningless. Besides, for all they knew, Darin could already be in orbit or out of the system, and what would he think if they showed up without Quiver? All of that finally got Quiver to listen. Everything was telling him, forcing him, to leave, and he'd reluctantly followed Ikoa to orbit, feeling hollow and hoping Darin would forgive him. And that had been it. Now Quiver found himself here on this quarantine planet, safe with everyone else but facing two memorial services he'd hoped never to attend. With a sigh, he unenergetically unfastened his seat restraints one-handed and climbed to the ground. The surviving Coronas all disembarked from the stolen transport and waited beside it, where Quiver, Weas and Ikoa silently joined them. Some offered small, disbelieving grins to each other as they began to realize the ordeal was truly finally over, but that and the obvious relief to be away from Lokinha that all of them shared couldn't completely cut through the general feeling of gloom and depression at what the mission and their escape had cost. A short time later, a medium-sized shuttle approached, flying beside an X-wing painted in Corona Squadron colors, a grey base and a red stripe with black borders. Quiver saw the snubfighter and instantly thought it was Darin, but as it got closer he recognized it as Pellicer's X-wing, and Quiver's hopes were dashed hard against the rocks after being brought up. The two ships landed, and Lt. Kammaror, one of the Y-wing pilots from Quake Squadron, powered down the X-wing and then climbed out. He walked over to the Coronas and somberly said, "Hey, glad to see you guys. Must have been a rough time, going from the highlights Scoop quickly filled me in on. I'm sorry about the pilots you lost." He quietly talked to Mackin for another moment, and then he walked over to the Rebel shuttle and went inside. A minute later, Kammaror called Mackin over his combadge and let him know they were ready to go. Mackin acknowledged the transmission and spoke to his subdued pilots. "Okay, Coronas, the shuttle's ready for us. I'm sure you're all ready to head back, get some medical treatment, hot food and sleep, right?" They didn't need to be told twice. With a newfound energy borne of relief and feelings of safety, they quickly walked toward the shuttle. As they neared it, however, the two pilots in the lead, Ikoa and Slurry, looked up and saw the red-haired man waiting at the top of the rescue shuttle's side loading ramp for them. Lieutenant Colonel Trainneer actually looked pleased with himself, as if rescuing the bone-weary pilots, or at least coming down on the transport to greet them personally, was a good deed he had gone out of his way to do. Slurry and Ikoa slowed their pace, which caused all the pilots behind them to do the same and notice what the first two had. By the time that limping Chopper and his crutch Kalre had caught up to the group with Mackin behind them bringing up the rear, Ikoa and Slurry had started moving forward again but with a much less enthusiastic step. Upon seeing Trainneer standing at the top of the ramp, Quiver stopped dead in his tracks. He remained that way until Chopper and Kalre walked around him and Mackin gently pushed Quiver forward from behind. "Come on, Ten." Mackin couldn't see Quiver's face turning redder or his narrowed eyes shooting lasers at the Special Forces officer. He didn't notice Quiver's breathing quicken and couldn't feel the lanky pilot's heart rate increase. Quiver reluctantly stepped forward again toward the ramp and toward the man who had ordered their abandonment. That was the person who had refused to help CC--and she might still be alive if he'd assisted–-and whose abandonment of the pilots ultimately caused Darin to be missing and almost certainly dead, though Quiver would never know for sure now, which just made it worse. He felt his hands ball into fists, and he clenched his jaw shut hard. The others apparently felt the same way, though maybe not as acutely as Quiver did. As Ikoa and Slurry each boarded the ramp and moved into the back of the shuttle, they pointedly ignored Trainneer at the top and brushed past him, never once even pretending to notice him or salute. Trainneer got visibly more and more agitated at each blatant show of disrespect, and when Weas came aboard he pulled the pilot to a stop, holding up the line behind him. "Lieutenant, I strongly suggest your pilots show some respect. These are grounds for–-" Trainneer stopped, appalled, as Weas's brown eyes pierced him with an angry glare. The Coronas' XO shook off Trainneer's grip and silently continued past him as well. Chopper hopped aboard with Kalre's help, and Quiver followed them up the ramp with Mackin right behind. With each step closer Quiver's heart raced faster from the bottled-up anger, especially after he noticed Trainneer now glaring at each pilot as they passed. Quiver slowed momentarily while Chopper and Kalre hobbled past Trainneer, and the SF officer's attention then focused on Quiver on the ramp. Trainneer's angry look plainly said that if he valued his future, this next pilot would be smart to show a little respect for a superior officer and therefore save himself from a lot of trouble down the road. Quiver had had it. His only regret as he brought his arm back and punched Trainneer in the face was that since he'd separated his shoulder, he had to use his off-hand to punch and couldn't get as much strength behind it as he could have otherwise. He was instantly yanked backwards and was backpedaling off-balance down the loading ramp. Quiver stumbled as he hit level ground and was whirled around by the grip on the back of his flightsuit, then Mackin was between him and Trainneer. The lieutenant colonel was so mad that the color of his face almost matched his hair. "What the hell are you doing?!" He stormed down the ramp toward the two pilots with his eyes boring into Quiver, who tried to maneuver himself out from behind Mackin for another confrontation. Mackin grabbed Quiver's collar with his other hand, then pushed his pilot back some more as Trainneer approached. Ignoring his throbbing hand, Quiver was defiantly glaring back at Trainneer and was trembling with rage while Mackin held him in place with a death grip on his collar and flightsuit. There was the sound of running footsteps behind Trainneer, and the other Coronas immediately appeared and skidded to a stop in the shuttle's entranceway at the top of the ramp, crowding around the opening to see what was going to happen below them. The Coronas all watched Trainneer intently, the expressions on their dirty faces showing beyond a doubt that they were ready to instantly jump down and defend their fellow pilot if need be. Trainneer stopped advancing, though his expression was no less angry. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!" he yelled at Quiver. "I'll have you up on charges so fast you won't know what hit you!" "Apparently you don't know, either," Quiver muttered through his clenched jaw. Mackin shoved Quiver back another step or two and turned to Trainneer. "Sir, I'm sorry. I'll–-" "Commander," Quiver interrupted with a hard edge to his voice while still glaring at Trainneer, "let me worry about this. I'll handle it." Mackin gave him another shove, harder this time, and hissed, "You will not handle it, Flight Officer, do I make myself clear? I think you've done quite enough." "Not as much as he's done." "Listen to me, Flight Officer," Mackin warned in a very low voice. His dark blue eyes locked onto Quiver's pale blue ones. "Not another word, understand?! Or I'll step aside and let him ruin your career. You want to be the third pilot we've lost from this mission?" Quiver felt like he'd just been slapped and decided to actually keep his mouth shut for once. During Mackin's private little chat with Quiver, Trainneer's face had returned to its normal color except for where Quiver had hit him, but his eyes were still dangerous. When Mackin turned back to the Special Forces officer, Trainneer said to him, "I'll be pressing charges, Commander: count on it. All of your pilots have been disrespectful here. All I'd expected was a little appreciation, and instead I got this. If your pilots aren't on that shuttle in ten seconds, we're lifting without them." He spun on his heel and stalked up the ramp. The Coronas jumped back to give him a wide berth as he passed them and turned the opposite way to the cockpit, then they cautiously looked back out at Mackin and Quiver. As they did so, no one said a word, and few dared to even breathe. Mackin looked at them and quietly said, "Everyone get in your seats." The Coronas quickly pulled back out of sight and retreated into the aft of the transport, exchanging glances as they did so. Quiver knew they were wondering whether it was safer to be out there with Mackin as angry as he was or to stay on the same ship as Trainneer. The commander of Corona Squadron released his grip and turned to Quiver, who stood there and stared back unapologetically. "I thought you were smart enough to know that insanely stupid stunts like that do not improve situations, Flight Officer." Mackin was so angry that his voice was almost inaudible, and Quiver had to strain to hear. "Now get onboard, sit there and do not say a word. We'll discuss this more, a lot more, when we get back." "Yes, sir," Quiver said, almost spitting the words out in his anger. He spun and stormed up the ramp with Mackin close on his heels. Mackin was so close, in fact, that he very nearly ran into Quiver when his subordinate suddenly stopped at the top of the ramp and jerked his head up as three Rebel starfighters flew slowly overhead and circled to land. The one in front was missing a canopy window. ***** Darin continued circling for a moment, gathering his nerve, then set up on a landing approach angling away from the other ships. It would be just his luck to have survived that dogfight but die in this crash landing in friendly territory. "Hang on!" he called to his droid. He started softly pleading with his X-wing to get them down in one piece. As he descended, the ground came up from below frighteningly fast. Darin reflexively braked hard, too hard, and wished for the thousandth time that his repulsors worked. A sudden plunge in altitude and a few anxious overcorrections later, the belly of his X-wing hit the ground with a bone-jarring impact. It bounced up, hit again and started skidding over the grass. Botch squealed in alarm as Darin cut out the throttle and desperately tried to stop the runaway fighter. It eventually slowed to a halt after spinning around to almost point back the way it had come and digging a little trench in the ground. Darin just sat there for a moment, not truly believing he was still alive after everything that had happened. A sharp blat from Botch snapped him out of it, and he hurriedly shut down his X-wing before something leaked and decided to explode. Darin removed the pieces of wreckage from his window, opened his canopy and put his helmet and gloves next to his heads-up display. Botch whistled at him in annoyance, to which Darin replied, "Hey, you try a gear-up, high-speed landing, and we can see how pretty you can make it. We're still in one piece. That's all that matters." He paused, and then added, "But thanks, Botch–-you really helped me out in that fight back there. I couldn't have done it without you." Botch beeped with pleasure at the compliment. Darin grinned, then affectionately patted the top of the forward console in his cockpit. "And that's my good ship," he whispered. "You did well too. We'll get you all fixed up, don't worry." Darin climbed out of the cockpit on weak legs and slipped to the ground in exhaustion, then sat back against his fighter's hull to catch his breath. He also briskly rubbed his arms to warm them; personal magcon fields from a pilot's emergency life support didn't trap much heat, and even with the cockpit heater on max the whole time he was still shivering from his flight through hyperspace. He suspected if he hadn't been able to mostly board up his canopy window and keep some heat in that he'd at best be suffering from hypothermia right now. The two Y-wings landed near his fighter, and the pilots and gunners powered down the fighters and climbed out. "You okay, Thumper?" Lt. Connley, Quake Five, asked as the four of them approached. Darin nodded. "Good. I bet solid ground feels good again, huh, kid?" the other asked with a smile. That was Quake Six, Lt. Welker. "And don't forget those drinks," Connley added while pulling Darin to his feet. "Don't worry," Darin said with a weary grin of his own. "I owe you guys. You saved my life back there. Thanks." They all looked up at the sound of running footsteps approaching. The four Quakes were only barely able to get out of the way as Quiver ran up. He had too much momentum to stop in time, so at the last minute he put out his left arm to hook the inside of his elbow around Darin's neck. Darin yelped a bit and was almost knocked over, but he was enough of an anchor to arrest Quiver's speed and bring his wingman to a stumbling, skidding stop. "You're alive!" Quiver exclaimed as he used his hold on Darin to pull Thumper's head close and squeeze it against him in a weird, one-armed hug. "Ow, cut face," Darin managed weakly. Ikoa wasn't too far behind Quiver but took more care to slow down while approaching. "I'm so glad you're okay!" said Ikoa as she wrapped her arms around Darin at the same time from behind and hugged him. "Ow, cut arm." Darin's voice was muffled in Quiver's flightsuit. He pulled away from the two pilots pinning him so he could breathe, and he was surprised his face could hold his huge smile. "It's so good to see you guys! Where's everyone else? Are they okay?" He looked around and saw the rest of the squadron coming up, answering his questions. Mackin smiled broadly as he shook Darin's hand and then pulled him close to heartily pat his back. "Glad to see you safe and sound, Thumper. Great job." The other Coronas started to intervene with congratulations and pats on the back and friendly demands to know what had happened to him after the distress call, all while Quiver looked on like a proud parent. Standing there in the middle of them all, Darin was just thrilled beyond measure to see each one again. In no time at all, he launched into the story of the dogfight and his escape, excitedly demonstrating the fighters' actions with his hands, while Mackin started gently herding all the pilots toward the shuttle to go home. Epilogue Two days later, Darin wearily walked up to the quarters he shared with Quiver onboard Crescent Star. He'd just had a long discussion with the techs who were upset that Botch would not allow them to do a memory wipe after his prolonged exposure to the Imperials on Lokinha, then he'd had just as long of a discussion with Botch about the same subject. What followed was another talk in which he examined other options with the techs and started pushing through the appropriate paperwork to waive some of the memory wipe requirements in favor of work-arounds and scans that hopefully were just as effective. Darin had never memory-wiped his droid before, and he had no intention of starting now. At his door he punched in his access code, looking forward to taking a nap. The door slid open, and the moment he had stepped in and the door had closed behind him, Darin saw something small and dark flying at his face. "Aaah!" He jumped back and raised his arms to protect himself against the unknown and unexpected projectile. His back hit the wall, but that was the only impact he felt; instead, he heard Quiver laughing uncontrollably, and he also realized that something small was sitting on one of his upraised arms. Darin cautiously peeked out and saw the double-fist-sized, shimmering black avian perched on his arm, clinging to his sleeve with tiny claws on its four feet and now folding its wings against its sides and happily twitching its long tail. It looked at him curiously with wide, dark eyes as dark purple, green and blue highlights glistened in its black fur. Ears that were proportionately a bit too large were pricked to hear any sound Darin might make. Thumper exhaled as he recognized it. "Quiver!" he said over his wingmate's laughter. "What's going on? Why is Hue here?" CC's pet, Hue, flapped up onto Darin's shoulder and started nibbling curiously at what was left of one of the cuts on his neck. "Ow, Hue, stop that," Darin said as he gently pushed the small creature away from his neck. Hue climbed up onto that hand and then jumped onto Darin's head. Darin made him go onto his hand again and then brought him down to chest-level. Hue just climbed up again onto the pilot's other shoulder and spontaneously curled up and fell asleep while Darin waited for an answer. Quiver finally stopped laughing long enough to start giving him one. "Hoooo, Thumper, you should have seen the look on your face!" His control threatened to disappear again, but he managed to calm himself down after another minute, and then he simply said, "Hue is going to be staying with us now." Darin curiously raised an eyebrow. "Kile always watches him when we go on missions. Why doesn't he keep him? Or Ikoa?" Quiver walked up and studied Hue as he slept. "Kile doesn't want a permanent pet. Plus, Hue's better off in the company of other flying creatures like himself. Aren't you, Huey? None of those ground-pounders for you. And I talked it over with Ikoa, and she's okay with it." Then Quiver turned a somber look to his wingmate, an expression full of more seriousness and sadness than Darin had ever seen from his carefree friend before the mission to Lokinha. Quiver added more softly, "She was one of my best friends, Darin, and now she's gone. Not even that crazy droid of hers is around. The least I can do for her now is to make sure that her pet is taken care of. I think she would be happy to know that he's okay." Darin nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah," he said quietly with a soft half-smile. "Somehow I think she'd want him to be stuck with you." The End ***** Well, there you have it, everyone. Thanks to all those who stuck through to the bitter end. I hope you enjoyed it. Just a couple random notes. First, I didn't plan out the timing of when this last section would be posted, but it's kind of strange how it ended up, considering that tomorrow is the day I consider to be Darin's birthday. The reason for that is that three years ago tomorrow was when I first created the character for a Star Wars RPG. Quiver and the others came along later as I started fleshing out his background and, well, here we are. Between the age of the character sheet, Darin's age in Galactic Standard Years, and his age in Cracian years, it's too many ages to keep track of. But it's fun. Second, I've been tossing around the idea of posting a couple of my "outtakes" for this story. What I mean by that is when I'm writing, I have to be able to visualize the scene in my head. Sometimes when I'm trying to picture the scene, the characters (Quiver especially) like to goof around, or something random or unexpected will happen that I won't include in the story, and I sometimes write it out as a small blurb or scene snippet (couple paragraphs max). Some also make for good hypothetical alternate endings. If you've ever seen outtakes on DVDs or at the end of a movie, that's kind of what I'm talking about. I'm leaning toward doing it, but I haven't completely made up my mind yet. If I do, it'll be either Thursday or Friday, but I probably won't change the topic header. Check back if you want, otherwise just ignore this whole rambling paragraph. With that, I'll wrap this up as I'm sure you're tired of listening to me by now. Anyway, I've got a ton of homework to finish. -Katie Thumper -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
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Mjsullivan Registered: Dec '03	Date Posted: 3/30/04 4:33pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	This was definitely one of my favourite X-wing fics, Thumper. I've read others that have been good, but the thing that shows through well with yours is the Corona's history with each other. They laugh and joke together like old friends (the briefing from the first chapter remains one of my favourite scenes from any fic to date ) Whatever you do, keep writing. You gave me OC's to care about - which can be hard to find on the JC forums - and I hope you find time to keep expanding the Star Wars universe! Great job, MJ -----signature----- Working in Darkness - On Hiatus :::::: http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/15283754/p1
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_JM_ Registered: Jun '01	Date Posted: 3/31/04 3:30am Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	I hope that Trainneer realises his career is over and that, although any court martial would almost certainly clear him of wrongdoing, by his actions he has forfeited the trust of those under his command and destroyed any reputation he had for being able to execute a field command. Or at least I certainly hope so Poor Thumper! It seems like there were options other than making him do a belly landing, but congratulations to him in managing it with enough skill that his X-Wing potentially might be salvageable. I love Quivers thoughts when he was looking at the crater where CCs X-Wing had been and I think Ikoa chose the only means (short of shooting Quiver) to dissuade Quiver from his rescue attempt. Quiver was not going to allow any consideration of his own safety to influence him, but saying that he could be endangering Darin made him think. Hue sounds cute. (Actually Hue sounds CUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTEEEEE!) A very good story, a wonderful set of OCs who you made us care about and who I really want to see more of. -----signature----- Seeming unable to just say "Nice post, I enjoyed it" Sometimes amazed at how "I'll reply tomorrow" becomes "I should have replied last week" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Return of a Jedi. http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/23421597
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 4/1/04 3:56pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	. Mjsullivan, Thanks for the compliment and the comments. One of the things I love most about pilot stories is the opportunity to show the camaraderie that squadmates can build with each other, especially after serving together for a while. I'm sure the same could hold true with any type of unit in wartime, I'm just biased with pilots. The briefing scene was a lot of fun to write. JM, I can tell you that after this, the Coronas definitely aren't happy with Trainneer. Poor Thumper! It seems like there were options other than making him do a belly landing, True, but it was better than trying to have him land in Crescent Star's hangar like that. I guess I should figure out if that kind of ship has tractor beams... Hue sounds cute. Yeah, CC would settle for nothing less than the cutest pet she could find. Thanks for the compliment and your comments. ****** Okay, maybe "outtakes" was the wrong word for most of these. It's more like a gag reel if this was being filmed. These are just weird, goofy little things I've imagined while trying to picture a scene or an action, and are meant for nothing more than amusement purposes. Most are not in-character for the specific situation, which is why they're not in the real story. April Fools Day edition of "Solid Ground." Chronological, most from the beginning of the story. * Chapter Two Darin sat up and slowly spun around to face Quiver, hanging his head. "Yes, master. I'm sorry, master. It won't happen again, master. I go now." "And stop groveling. I hate it when you grovel." "Yes, master. I'm sorry, master. It won't happen again, master." By now CC had climbed up on Darin's X-wing, and she playfully gave Quiver's shoulder a shove. The force of the push sent Quiver off the snubfighter, and he tumbled to the ground. CC just smirked. "Oops." *** Chapter Three Darin shrugged sleepily. "Suit yourself. Just don't blame me when you get soaked." He walked back to his X-wing, laid out his bedroll underneath one of the S-foils and had just begun trying to get back to sleep when he heard some commotion. Rolling onto his stomach, he peered in the direction of the sound and saw Lt. Weas running between the squadron's fighters and calling to the pilots asleep under the wings. "Coronas, up, now! We've got a situation! Wake up!" Darin quickly pushed himself to his feet, forgetting there was an S-foil directly overhead. The clang of his head hitting the wing reverberated throughout the canyon almost as loudly as the surrounding pilots' laughter did. "Ow!" Darin yelled. "Stop laughing! That hurt!" *** "Here's the deal," Weas told his flight on the way. "I'll land by Three and help him out. Nine and Ten, help Six. Seven, fly cover for us. All of you, think of ways to get them from here to the rendezvous point." "Yes, sir," came the chorus of acknowledgments. As they split slightly and headed to their respective destinations, Darin said, "Looking back, I think your mission was safer, Ten." "What?" Quiver said loudly over the wind noise in Darin's cockpit. "Booking dewbacks makes missions safer?" "Huh? No!" "Cooking sarlacc brings fission paper pens?" "No!" "Wookiees back in the brig tore his shunned safe open?" "No, you nerf-herder! Stop it!" "Top it? I don't know, that last one was pretty good, I thought." *** Chapter Four As soon as it seemed like they were all set, Darin yelled above the wind caused by the idling repulsorlifts and engines up to the astromech, "Rudder, go! And keep the gear down!" Rudder, Ikoa's R2 unit, beeped in acknowledgment and relayed the message to Ikoa. The pilots thought they were home free until there was a wrenching sound from above them, and suddenly the X-wing lifted off, leaving them and the three struts behind sitting on the ground. "Somehow I don't think that was supposed to happen," Quiver said after a moment of silence. "Were these made by the lowest bidder or something? *** Chapter Five Carefully unwinding his legs from around the strut, Darin lay back onto the ground and slowly rolled out from under the X-wing. As soon as there was murky sky above him again, he stopped rolling, tiredly shut his eyes and simply lay on his back on the wet ground, relishing its stability and firmness. A cold drizzle was falling, but at the moment he didn't care; it actually felt good on his face. Darin's ears were ringing from the nearly constant wind noise since his canopy had been blown open, and it was made worse by the wind and engine noise of the hitchhike after that, so he didn't hear Quiver approach; rather, he jerked violently as a blast of water hit him in the face. He sputtered in surprise and sat up in a panic, and when he opened his eyes he saw Quiver standing there smirking and holding an empty bucket in his bound hands. "You okay, Darin?" he asked mischievously. He dropped the bucket and ran as Darin jumped to his feet and took off after him. * (I have to admit that this one's my favorite) Mackin continued his status report. "They'll certainly pick up any transmissions and triangulate the signal, so no communications of any kind, understood?" "So no talking or using body language, sir?" Quiver interrupted innocently. Mackin sighed and covered his face with one hand. "No, Ten, body language is perfectly acceptable. To demonstrate, I want someone to smack you for me and we'll see that no Imperials triangulate that signal." Quiver quickly ducked under Darin's hand, which had immediately come up to whap him in the back of the head. Quiver turned to Darin on his right and said, "Ha, ha! Missed–-ow!" Rubbing his head, he turned to glare at Ikoa on his left who had used Darin's distraction to her advantage and had just smacked him. Darin and Ikoa both had evil grins on their faces. "Darin can play that bait game with other people besides you," Ikoa told Quiver. * Jump to Chapter Eight Mackin frowned at the news. That last Imperial group was south of them at Pellicer's leaking X-wing, and if there were groups east and north of there, it sounded like they were flying directly into more. They had to fix that. Mackin and Ikoa gently turned westward. After another five minutes' worth of flight, static suddenly filled their headsets, drowning out the Imperial frequency they were listening to. Just as suddenly, their tactical scopes lit up with numerous red dots. Mackin and Ikoa inhaled sharply as they saw the indicators of the Imperial ground forces dead ahead of them. Momentarily forgetting about their strut-riders, they pulled straight up and looped over. Ikoa frowned in the middle of her loop. Why did it sound like someone was screaming nearby, at this altitude no less? * Darin realized that might ultimately be a good thing as he saw Pellicer below desperately gather himself while running and take the one chance he had in that last instant before the X-wing was gone. Scoop jumped up and grabbed Darin around the waist, and with a startled yell Darin realized that being the connecting point between a fast-moving X-wing and someone bigger than him wasn't something he was cut out for. He tried desperately to hang on, but a moment later he found himself falling as the X-wing flew on. The pilots, with Pellicer still holding on to Darin's legs as if that could help, belly-flopped onto the ground and got the wind knocked out of them. "Owww..." Darin moaned in between gasps for breath. "Thanks a lot, Scoop. This is the first mission where I'll be captured twice. I really appreciate that." * Jump all the way to Chapter Twelve They all looked up at the sound of running footsteps approaching. The four Quakes were only barely able to get out of the way as Quiver ran up. He had too much momentum to stop in time, so at the last minute he put out his left arm to hook the inside of his elbow around Darin's neck. Darin ducked out of reflex, causing Quiver to miss his anchorpoint. Unable to stop, Quiver ran into the leading edge of the S-foil and bounced off of it. Darin couldn't help but laugh. "That does it. Next time I'll just go straight to the flying tackle," Quiver said. *** And with that, we're done. -Katie Thumper -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
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_JM_ Registered: Jun '01	Date Posted: 4/1/04 5:12pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	I think I am just too used to playing X-Wing: Alliance where whenever you come within range of the hangar of what has been set as your “mothership” (whatever it might be, including the Dauntless OPT I did ) the little message pops up “Press SPACE to activate tractor beam”. I was also thinking of options like ejecting and being picked up by a S&R shuttle or having a larger ship snag Thumpers X-Wing with a tractor beam and lower him gently (to refer back to the post you do have Mackin threaten to disable Quivers X-Wing and then tow him). I love the gag-reel outtakes...I can really picture them playing as the credits scrolled at the end of the film or being incredibly popular at a Corona Squadron Convention The X-Wing landing gear coming off was my favourite along with Ikoa wondering where the screaming was coming from. Not sure what the problem your favourite with Quiver getting smacked upside the head was, though I suppose it would have slowed things down a little. I don’t blame Thumper for ducking in the last one, sounds like Quiver was going to do something between a wrestling clothesline and a high-tackle in Rugby And congratulations on getting a mention in the FanFic newsletter, your excellent story deserves as many readers as possible. -----signature----- Seeming unable to just say "Nice post, I enjoyed it" Sometimes amazed at how "I'll reply tomorrow" becomes "I should have replied last week" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Return of a Jedi. http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/23421597
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LumiKuningatar Registered: Nov '03	Date Posted: 4/2/04 6:20am Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	Oh, I loved the ending. My heart was in my throat when you described the anguish Quiver felt not knowing if his wingmate was alive or not. Oh, so well written. And knowing you, I didn't know whether or not you'd kill him. I was so releaved when he survived. I was crying happy tears. This has been one of the best X-wing fics I've read. Most definately. I hope you keep on writing more pilot fics, I really truly do. If you could PM me when you write another fic, okey. I'd really appreciate it..; very happy smiling -----signature----- Tell a man there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you, tell a man that a bench is wet and he'll have to touch it... Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. It's a bird, no wait a plane.. damn.. it IS a b
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 4/3/04 4:38pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	throws the homework aside for a moment JM, I was also thinking of options like ejecting and being picked up by a S&R shuttle or having a larger ship snag Thumpers X-Wing with a tractor beam and lower him gently (to refer back to the post you do have Mackin threaten to disable Quivers X-Wing and then tow him). You caught a plot hole. Having Darin crash-land was just a quicker and more dramatic way to get him down to the planet, which in turn made the story a bit smoother instead of having him land on Star. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out how to fix it. or being incredibly popular at a Corona Squadron Convention Ah, yes, CoronaCon. What I wouldn't give... But thanks. I'm glad you liked them. The only problem I had with including the "comm blackout/bait game" one was that that was going on right after Quiver and Darin told the rest of the Coronas that CC was killed. Quiver wouldn't have been in the mood to make wisecracks or jokes at that time. If it wasn't for that, I would have included it. And congratulations on getting a mention in the FanFic newsletter Thanks. That was really unexpected, but it really made my day. Lumi, Thanks for the comments and the compliments. I'm glad you liked the ending, even after more of that evil introspective stuff. I didn't know whether or not you'd kill him. That's one of the fun things about OCs. If I post another story, I'll PM you. Thanks again, all. Back to homework. bleh. -Katie Thumper -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
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-Z- Registered: Dec '03	Date Posted: 7/2/04 12:05pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	Thumper - Just finished reading. Great story. From the time you killed CC to the end I was constantly worried for the safety of the other characters, which was one of the trademarks of the X-Wing books for me. A+ in my book. Looking forward to whatever you decide to write next. -----signature----- "...Who said anything about slicing you up, man? I just wanted to carve a little Z on your forehead..." Check profile for stories.
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 7/3/04 12:20pm Subject: RE: Solid Ground - X-wing squad fic, OCs, OT, completed 3/30
	Thanks for reading and for the compliments, Z. I'm glad you liked it, and the Coronas appreciate your concern for their safety. Also, thanks for adding this story in your OC database. It's a great idea for a thread. -Thumper -----signature----- "Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method." -Karen Eiffel, _Stranger Than Fiction_ "Adamantine"--Rebel OC vig http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30390799
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