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Author	Topic: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OCs, OT, complete 6/17 (extras 6/24)
Trika_Kenobi Registered: Nov '99	Date Posted: 5/15/08 9:02am Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 5/13
	Chase is just a mess. Wow. I, too, am wondering when he'll hit bottom. Thanks for the read. Your writing is really just spectacular... I'm currently on "vacation" right now, but I got this PM and just had to get over here when I could! Thanks a bunch, and have fun across the pond. -----signature----- My Uncle Sam sends me places... the "going OCONUS lol" is here! Current Location: Iraq Don't bother running. You won't get far enough. http://www.TalonIntelligenceSquadron.com
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Idrelle_Miocovani Registered: Feb '05	Date Posted: 5/17/08 6:23pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 5/13
	"A misunderstanding?" Radek interrupted. "What kind of misunderstanding could possibly have caused this from Unflappable You?" Ha, I love Radek! Unflappable You indeed... however, I think Chase is the exact opposite of that right now. He's in a complete mess, and I can't see things getting better any time soon. ~Idri P.S. I don't think I've ever mentioned how much I love your PMs. This one was my favourite so far. Loved the [CENSORED BY IMPERIAL SERVER - REPORTED TO I.T.] bit. Brilliant! -----signature----- Nat is my new Muse. Yes, you may have one of those flowy Greek-robe things you say you can't spell. This Time Around: http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27062943/p1/?2 DarthIshtar's Padawan
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MsLanna Title: CR GSFF Central = Offizieller Burger Brater Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 5/28/08 1:06am Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 5/13
	phew At least Adilinik's not dead - yet. I wonder if he'll survive. Good survival instincts on Chase. Though that will all just get him further down the spiral. Poor him, I don't think he'll get out again. I wonder what his wife will do when she finds out. -----signature----- I give up. Fett is great. Member of the waadas'dar Club. Cuyir adate jate, bal droten ori'dush Proud Master and buir'ika of Commander_Ducky. My New Title: Lords and Ladies of the Empire
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 5/29/08 3:22am Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 5/29
	Arcalian: We'll see in this chapter what Chase has planned for the captain on his continuing fall to the bottom. It's nothing that the captain is going to enjoy, that's for sure. I only spent about one day in London a couple years ago, but I agree, it was enjoyable and a pretty neat place. I need to go back there one of these days. Thanks for reading and replying! Face: Hmm, I may just have to check out Day Break. Thanks for the recommendation! I've followed Adam Baldwin to different shows before, and then I saw that Moon Bloodgood was in it too, whom I recently got to know from Journeyman... huggles her VCR tape recordings of Journeyman and cries pathetically about how unfair TV show cancellations can be ... ahem uh, sorry about that. Coming up next: "The Way", sitcom style. Thanks for commenting and reading! Trika: Aww, thanks. I hope you're having a good vacation, and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so far. We'll see how much longer Chase keeps falling (and now I'm reminded of the new "Journey to the Center of the Earth" trailer, LOL). Thanks for the reply and for reading! Idri: Don't worry, Chase has got everything under control. I'm glad you're enjoying the PMs. Radek's personality leads to all sorts of interesting things coming out of his mouth, LOL. When he's not annoying he can be fun (at least in my mind). Thanks for reading and replying! MsLanna: Chase has learned to think fast in dogfights, but it does seem like all it's doing now is keeping him one step ahead of failure and just making things worse. He's certainly hoping his wife doesn't find out about any of this, though: "mess" would be an understatement then. Thanks for reading and commenting! ----- And in the midst of jetlag recovery and withdrawals from my new favorite dessert from Germany, Spaghetti Eis (not found in the States to the best of my knowledge, grumble grumble whine whine), here is the next chapter. ----- Chapter Eleven It was a long night for Chase with little sleep and lots of worried thoughts. His tossing and turning woke Lataise up more than once, which she made sure to mention to him in the morning. The lack of sleep was nothing particularly new, but everything else made it hard for him to force a smile when he reported for duty a few hours later that morning and held up two donri game tickets. "What do you say? A little apology for...well, you know. Yesterday." Radek grinned and took one to read it more closely. "Great! When is it?" "This evening. Sorry for the late notice, but I just happened into these." Radek's grin faded as he inspected the ticket. "Chase, you know this isn't a Legis Bay game, right? It's way down in Corvallis." "Yeah," Chase said offhandedly. "Somewhere different to go." The younger pilot's enthusiastic expression from a few moments ago was now replaced by one of discomfort. "I don't like going down in that area," Radek said. "Even the commander doesn't like us going down there if we don't have to." Chase dismissed the concerns. "It'll be fine. We're just going to the game. All the anti-Imperial hotspots around there are well outside the city. What, do we need to stop at the Army base there and get an escort for you? One bodyguard-slash-babysitter for Fighter Pilot Radek Deror?" Radek gave Chase a dry look, and then he asked, "And your boss is letting you go? She doesn't have some chores lined up for you to do tonight?" Chase returned the dry look and dehumidified it even more. "If you're referring to the person I've chosen to spend the rest of my life with," he said pointedly, "it was her idea that we go to a game." "Hey, not too shabby, having a boss like that. Sure, count me in." ***** The sun was getting low in the cloudy sky when Chase purposefully pointed the landspeeder toward the Legis Bay Spaceport. He dug out his comlink and dialed in Radek's frequency. "Yeah?" Radek said by way of greeting. "It's Chase. I'm running really late, and I won't be able to pick you up. Go on without me, and I'll meet you there at the game." He did his best to sound hurried and contrite. "Oh. Well, I can wait for you," Radek offered. That wouldn't do at all. "No, I don't want you to miss the game. I'll meet you there," Chase said. "Save my seat." "Well...all right." Radek didn't sound too thrilled at the notion. "Sorry about this, Radek. I'll see you soon." Chase closed the transmission and refocused his attention on driving the landspeeder and doing some calculations in his head. The hour of travel time each way to Corvallis plus the expected length of the donri game would hopefully buy Chase enough excused time from Lataise for what he needed to do on his own this evening. It would have to be enough. He parked at the Legis Bay Spaceport, donned a cap and pulled his jacket collar up around his neck as much as casually possible to try to hide some of his features from security holocams. When he was ready, Chase made his way over to the landing platform where Speed of Dark sat, and he was relieved to see it was still there. Now the hard part would begin. Thanks to the electronic entry key, Chase cautiously stepped aboard the ship without any problems and locked the door behind him. He put on some gloves and made his way first to the cockpit and then to the living quarters, looking for any hidden weapons that might cause problems if Adilinik got to them. There was one blaster pistol kept near the bed in a drawer of a nightstand, on which numerous holos of people were displayed. Chase's gaze swept the holos briefly out of curiosity, then he took the weapon and stuck it in his belt at the small of his back. Once he was satisfied with his search results, he headed to the refresher. He stopped outside of it for a moment and listened. He could hear muffled swearing coming from inside. Chase wasn't looking forward to this in the least, and he wished he could have gone to the donri game instead of just using it as an excuse to be gone. His stomach felt like it did when he was flying into a dogfight. Chase stood to one side completely out of the doorway, briefly cleared his throat and keyed the door open. The swearing and sounds of scuffling stopped abruptly, and then they were replaced by a voice calling, "Hey! Who's there? In here! I need help!" Satisfied that Adilinik wasn't free and wouldn't come flying through the door to attack him, Chase stepped into sight and leaned casually against the 'fresher doorway. "Captain." Adilinik was still bound to the pipe, though it was obvious he had been working hard at getting free for quite some time. The captain froze for a moment, and then his glare and voice shot venom at the Imperial. "You!" was all he managed. "That's right," Chase said, outwardly calm. Curses and expletives that Chase had never even heard before came flying his way from Adilinik. Chase simply stood there in the doorway without reacting and waited. When Adilinik's rant finally wound down, Chase asked, "Are you done?" That brought a few new swear words into the mix, and Adilinik ended it with, "What the hell are you doing to me?! What do you want, you damn Imp?! Let me go!" "If you'd just be quiet for a minute, I'd answer your questions." Chase picked at a fingernail with apparent disinterest. His nonreactions seemed to be driving Adilinik crazy, and Chase secretly was enjoying that immensely. When silence had prevailed for a record-breaking five seconds, Chase looked back at the captain. "If you cooperate, this will go very smoothly and easily. I would like that very much, and I hope that's the route you'll decide to take." "To do what?" Adilinik demanded. "We're going to be selling your cargo," Chase replied. Adilinik almost choked. "Like hell! My money wasn't good enough, now you have to take my cargo?!" "Captain, listen," Chase said in a low, warning voice. "You know what? You were right: I am interested in getting money, but only a certain amount of money. The quicker I get that amount, the quicker I stop collecting. I know from your filed manifest what your cargo is worth, and it more than covers what I need. If you cooperate and get good prices for your items without any problems from the authorities, you'll have to sell fewer things for me to reach my goal, and I'll be out of your way sooner. It also means you have more goods left over for yourself. It's that simple." "Forget it," Adilinik spat. "You can take your simplicity and go to hell." "That's not the cooperation I was hoping for," Chase said. "This is going to happen whether you like it or not. If you don't help, you know what it'll be like then? I try my hand at selling your cargo. I'm not a salesman. I'll be lousy at it. I won't get good prices, so I'll get less per item, so I'll have to sell more or all of it to get the money I need. It's really in your own best interests to help me here." "How wonderfully considerate of you. I'm touched that you're looking out for me. And what's this magical amount you need?" Adilinik grumbled. Chase added some contingency money for potential unforeseen expenses onto the amount he still needed to raise to pay CodeBlue, and he came up with, "15,535 credits." Adilinik stared dumbfounded at him. "That's well over half my cargo!" he finally said. The subsequent cursing gave a very definite answer of "No." Chase sighed in aggravation. "Fine. It's your loss. I was trying to let you come out of this with at least something, but I guess you don't care. Besides, I can't trust someone who's not willing to at least attempt to cooperate with me. I guess that means I'll need to rethink letting you go afterward. I hope the satisfaction you're getting out of self-righteously fighting me on this is worth the fact that you'll meet your end while tied up in a smelly refresher. Sounds real dignified to me." Chase stepped backwards out of the doorway, turned and reached for the button to close and lock the 'fresher door behind him. His hand was halfway there when Adilinik urgently called, "Now wait just a damned minute! You're insane, you know that? I'd like to see how receptive you are to cooperating when someone tells you to happily and willingly give them thousands of credits or else!" The pilot paused and turned to face Adilinik again. "I imagine I'd have a similar reaction as you, but I'd also face the reality of the situation and decide that a temper tantrum and some credits were not worth my life," Chase said. "As it is, you have the opportunity to allow me to pay off a rather important debt. Doesn't that make you feel all special inside? It should." Adilinik snorted. "'Special' is not the feeling I have right now," he said in a low voice. The captain glared frigidly at Chase for a long moment. "You keep changing the rules. Would you trust someone like that in a situation like this?" "Would I have a choice?" Chase countered. "Do I have one?" "Not as much as you'd like to think you do." Adilinik didn't say anything for a moment, and then he muttered, "So that's the deal then? Those are my options? My cooperation in helping you steal my own money, or my life?" Chase nodded. "There's the easy way, and there's the hard way. And of course, both ways require that absolutely no word of this gets to the authorities, now or ever." Chase unflinchingly met Adilinik's glare while it continued for several moments more, and Chase saw him discreetly and unsuccessfully pull one more time at the tape binding his arms together around the pipe. Finally Adilinik muttered through a clenched jaw, "Fine. I'll get you your money." Chase smiled tightly. "Excellent." "But if I show up at my original destination afterwards with all or most of my cargo gone, the people I answer to will be asking a whole lot of hard questions." "So you had to sell the cargo to pay for the 'repairs' to your flight controls. We can even make up a phony bill if you want," Chase answered. "Now tell me what types of places your cargo can best be sold at on a planet like this so I can fly us to the right city. We only have a few hours to do this." *** "How long 'til you get here? The game already started," Radek said over the comlink frequency. Chase was sitting off to the side of the cargo hold, trying to keep tabs on Adilinik's negotiations with his latest customer. "Blast it, Radek, I'm sorry," he said distractedly. "I should have commed earlier. My speeder broke down on the way there, and the tow service speeder just got here. I can't talk long." "Your speeder broke down? What happened to it?" "Huh?" Chase forced more of his attention back to the comlink conversation. This had to be at least somewhat believable or the whole setup would have been pointless. "Oh, I don't know. Something with the thrust engine. It's been acting funny for a while, and I never got around to taking it in like I was supposed to. I'm going to be in big trouble with Lataise if she finds out I never got it fixed before, so do me a huge favor and don't mention this to her or anyone else, okay? I'm getting it fixed now. If it ever comes up, just say I was with you at the game the whole night." Chase was glad now that Radek was a bit gullible and did what Chase asked without question. He was the only one who could be an alibi like this. "Do you need me to come get you? I will." "No, no, I'm covered. Just enjoy the game." There was a pause, and then Radek asked, "Chase, what's going on?" Chase hadn't expected that. He hoped Radek wasn't asking what it sounded like he was asking, so Chase tried to play innocent. "I'm getting my speeder fixed. And I'm running short on ti--" "That's not what I meant," Radek interrupted. "You've seemed to go in stress waves for the last couple months, and it was okay for the last few weeks, but from yesterday and now this it looks like you're cresting again. You're being weird." "I'm not being weird." "Yes, you are. You're acting all weird, especially...well, especially yesterday. This evening was less weird but still weird. What's going on?" "You're so wonderfully articulate, you know that?" For once Chase's attempt at redirecting the conversation didn't work. "Come on, Chase. I mean it." Chase silently cursed. "Nothing's going on, okay? It's just a little stressful with the baby preparations." "So you try to set up something like seeing a game in Corvallis which takes more time and adds more stress?" Radek asked. "That makes no sense. It's downright dumb, and you're smarter than that." Chase's patience was wearing thin. "Well, I'm ever so sorry that my misfortunes and my life are not meeting with your approval! You think I wanted all this stuff to happen tonight that prevented me from going and getting away from everything here for one little evening?" "But all that stuff that happened doesn't sound like it should've," Radek replied. He didn't sound happy. "You never forget about speeder maintenance. You never run hours late. I'm not really buying what you're telling me, and that makes me think you just wanted me out of the way so you dumped me somewhere you know I didn't want to go to in the first place." "Now you're the one who's being stupid." Chase belatedly realized that line would have been easier to swallow if he hadn't said it so sharply. He should have said it more lightly as if he was just teasing, but this conversation was going on for much longer than it should have been and was venturing into areas it shouldn't have gone near. He had to get control of it back. "We can talk about this later if you're so desperate to. Now I've got to go." Radek's reply was immediate and stern. "No, just wait a second. Stop snapping at me, and stop being a jerk about this. Damn it, Chase, I'm your wingman, and I'm getting worried about you. I can help with stuff if you want." It looked like Adilinik was finishing up the latest sale. If he noticed Chase's attention was divided by the comlink, the captain could exploit that with very bad consequences. Chase just barely managed to clamp down in time on the reflexive response that Radek calling someone a jerk was like a Hutt calling a bantha fat, and instead he said, "Listen, you can help me the most by minding your own business. I'm fine, so save your worrying." A new idea popped into Chase's head, one that would be perfect for defusing this situation and bringing it to a close. That hope even allowed him to lighten his voice while he explained his idea to Radek. "Oh, wait, I know. I'll finish up my report on your ship inspection progress tomorrow and give it to the commander with a lot of good words for you. Will that help prove nothing's wrong?" Chase was just about done with it anyway, and he'd made it quite clear in the report that Radek was doing an excellent job with the inspections and was more than ready to handle them on his own. If Chase got the rest of his needed money tonight, he could stop doing all the inspections now and wrap up this part of Radek's training. The enthusiasm Chase was expecting from Radek never came. All that did come was a few seconds of silence and then a sulking voice saying, "So you're not passing me because I did good, but just as a bribe for me to shut up now and stop asking about everything?" That threw Chase more than he liked to admit. "What? No, that's not it at all. I've already got most of it written, and it--" "Whatever. Stow it." Radek closed the comlink frequency. Chase blinked, then he closed his end of the frequency as well and put the conversation out of his mind. It was over, and that was all that mattered. So what if Radek was mad at him? He had more important things to deal with now. *** "Here." Adilinik shoved the last credit chip at Chase when they arrived back in Legis Bay. "15,535 damn credits. That's what you needed. You have it." Chase took it, inspected it and then put it securely in his pocket along with the rest of the credit chips from that night. "Perfect. See, that wasn't so bad." Adilinik sullenly looked around his half-empty cargo hold where they were standing alone. "Speak for yourself," he grumbled. "Well, thank you for your help," Chase said, half sincerely and half to get under Adilinik's skin. "It's late, and I should let you be on your way now." He walked back to the ship's outer door with Adilinik stalking along behind. Just before he reached the exit, Chase paused, pretending to be deep in thought. "Although..." Adilinik looked darkly at the pilot. "Although what?" "Although I'm a bit concerned that you won't keep this quiet," Chase said with a shrug. "So while you were busy selling, I was thinking of what to do about that." He reached back to where he had stuck the blaster in his belt earlier. Chase saw Adilinik's eyes go wide, and then they defiantly narrowed to tiny slits. "You said you'd let me go if I got you your kriffin' money!" Adilinik all but shouted. "I knew you'd change the rules again!" Chase shook his head. "I'm not changing the rules. What, do you think I'm going to shoot you?" He brought his hand forward again, and it held only the power pack from the blaster. "No, no. I'm not going to do that. Your blaster is in a storage locker on the side of the cargo hold." The time lock was set for thirty minutes; he'd be long gone by the time it opened, and having to reload it would give Chase even more time to put distance between him and the captain. Now that he had Adilinik's full attention, Chase pocketed the power pack and made sure he was a few steps out of reach. "So don't worry, you can go back home to your wife now. Actually, I wanted to compliment you on your lovely wife. I saw the holos of her in your living quarters." Adilinik processed those words for a long moment. Chase shrugged again with fake amicability and added, "I'm hoping I'll never see you again in my life, and I'm sure you feel the same way about me. But I've got to say, if word of any of this ever gets to the authorities or anyone else whatsoever, it'll be extremely simple for me to find out where you are by using any of the countless resources at my disposal. Then I'd have to come pay you a visit, and I'd be sure to bring a special gift just for your wife too." He patted the pocket holding the blaster's power pack. "Understand?" For once there was no swearing, no cussing, no outraged threats from the captain, only a red face and an extremely shaken look. Chase fought the urge to smirk. Adilinik had demanded to know earlier if their reactions to being powerless in a situation would be the same, and now he had gotten his answer. Chase knew the only thing in the galaxy that would guarantee his own complete and utter obedience would be a threat against Lataise or his child, and just like he'd figured, it was the same for Adilinik and his family. Chase gave a small, mock-helpless sigh before Adilinik could say anything, and then the Imperial said, "You really should have just paid that 35 credit certification fee, Captain." He opened the door and slipped out. ---- -----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 "That's 'stupid plan, sir,' Lieutenant." -Wedge
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Trika_Kenobi Registered: Nov '99	Date Posted: 5/29/08 4:08am Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 5/29
	Well, when Chase loses the respect of Radek, we know he's got problems! LOL. "You really should have just paid that 35 credit certification fee, Captain." Teehee. Yeah. Great job, Chase. You got this all figured out and taken care of, now, I'm sure. Fantastic update. Love your writing. Love this experience. Thank you. -----signature----- My Uncle Sam sends me places... the "going OCONUS lol" is here! Current Location: Iraq Don't bother running. You won't get far enough. http://www.TalonIntelligenceSquadron.com
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 6/4/08 4:21pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/4
	Trika: Well, when Chase loses the respect of Radek, we know he's got problems! I got such a kick out of that line, LOL. And yup, you bet it'll be smooth sailing for him from here on out. Because what else could possibly go wrong when he's got it all figured out so well? Thanks a bunch for reading and replying! ------------ Minor side note: I'm using the Galactic Standard Calendar in this story, so if the related numbers don't appear to add up or divide out correctly at first glance, that's why. Some parts of this update may be rough. Apologies for that. ------------ Chapter Twelve The comm frequencies were silent yet again. On one hand, Chase was enjoying the reprieve from Radek's nonstop chatter. On the other hand, there was no distraction to help Chase avoid thinking about the void of space outside his cockpit. Plus, he didn't like the constant reminder that something was wrong. He'd had enough of that in the last sixteen weeks to last him the rest of his life. Chase received landing clearance at the completion of their system patrol, and as they headed home in their TIEs he switched to the private frequency he shared with his wingman. "It's been a week, Four. Will you get over it already? I told you days ago that what I said about your inspection training report came out wrong and I never intended it like you took it." Radek snorted. "You think that's all this is about?" he asked. "It's not. You've made it pretty clear that I'm not worth your time, so I'll be a professional like you're always telling me to be and suck it up and do my job with you like I have to. Beyond that, though, you don't have to worry about me bothering you." "What? This breaks even your record for overreacting," Chase said. "After all those ship inspections we did so you could learn how to do it, how have I made you think you're not worth my time? That's absurd." "Let's see..." Even over the comm, Chase could pick up the sarcasm in Radek's pretend-deep-thought voice. "For starters, you sure took your sweet time pointing that blaster somewhere else even after I told you it was me." "Can we talk about that when we're not on an official, recorded frequency?" Chase interrupted. He hoped he hid the nervousness in his voice well enough. "Fine, since we're doing everything else your way anyway," Radek grumbled. "Oh, and have I mentioned how much I didn't appreciate being tricked and left alone for that game in Corvallis when you knew I wasn't comfortable going there in the first place?" "Only about a dozen times," Chase replied, "and I've apologized a dozen times. For all the snow in a blizzard, what can I say to convince you I didn't try to trick you and I didn't mean for any of that to happen?" Radek ignored the question and instead said, "There could have been an anti-Imperial flare-up down there, and I would have been caught in the middle of it, maybe even targeted. That's exactly why the commander doesn't want us down there, and why I didn't want to go. So thank you so very much for putting me in that potential situation." "You're a fighter pilot, Four. If you're that afraid of getting into a little scuffle, then maybe you should find a new occupation." "Like you're one to talk, Mr. Worried-for-His-Wife-and-Future-Kid." "What?" Chase said sharply. "When did I ever say anything like that?" "You didn't need to say it." The pilots were interrupted by their landing procedures. Chase was none too happy while he finished up with his crew chief; he was upset at being that transparent and angry with Radek for picking up on it. Chase used to have more control than that, and he needed it so he could stay in control. If he wasn't in control, things fell apart and endangered him and his family. Radek finished with his fighter first and approached Chase just as he was wrapping things up. "But you know what, Chase?" Radek said, picking up where he'd left off as if there had been no interruption. He had the same combined sulking and angry look on his face that had been so prevalent during the last week. Chase quickly grabbed Radek's arm and pulled him out of earshot of the tech crews, then he gave a short, aggravated sigh. With any luck Radek's bad ear wouldn't pick it up. "What, Radek?" His voice was as clipped as his sigh. Chase was getting very tired of this conversation very fast. "I could've lived with all that," came Radek's answer. "Really, I could've. But what really bothers me is that you don't even see me as your wingman. It's all too obvious there's something wrong or something unusual going on, and instead of letting me help you're viewing me as an obstacle to get around. You're not even giving me a chance to try. So--wait, what was that? You're asking how I read this? Oh, no problem, I'll tell you," he said sardonically. "It means the perception of us being wingmen had only gone one way, and in your mind we're just two people who happen to fly together. You don't trust me. And if you don't trust me with whatever this is, you won't trust me with something bigger like watching your back in a dogfight. Which means we're useless to each other." "Oh, for--that's ridiculous. Just because we're wingmen, it doesn't mean that I need to share every little detail of my life with you, and just because I don't do that it doesn't mean I don't trust you." "That's not what it means from where I'm standing," Radek replied. Chase paused a moment. "Wait, what?" he asked in confusion. Too many meanings and non-meanings were being thrown around. "I don't agree with you," Radek clarified. "Why are you making such a big deal out of two little things that happened?" Chase asked, exasperated. First Lataise, now Radek. This was getting old. "Because it's not just two little things. You've been like this for over two months now. Everything seems to trace back to the timeframe of when we were in combat." "Two months, and you're yelling at me for not speaking up and asking for help with this problem you seem to think I have?" Chase asked plainly. "I sure haven't heard you bring it up before now, so why am I getting blamed for the entire amount of time?" "Because I always wrote off the signs to something else before. Nothing really came together until the blaster stuff and Corvallis, and that's when I started really thinking about it all. I had a lot of time to do that at the game before I left." Radek hesitated before looking down and continuing in a self-conscious mumble, "The more I thought about it, the more I realized that things seemed fine between us before that fight where you got hurt. Well, we both did, but you were the one who was stranded. I'm sorry if I screwed up there, okay? I did all I could think of at the time to help you, but I guess it wasn't enough. Maybe I'm the one who ruined it all because of that, but you haven't exactly been trying to set this right either. If you can't stand me that much after what happened, then you should've requested a different wingman or something to get me out of your way instead of trying to get back at me. Now I've got to go do my paperwork for this patrol." Radek immediately spun before Chase had a chance to say anything, and he quickly walked toward the locker room. Chase saw some color beginning to flush Radek's eartips, and Radek slammed his helmet against the locker room doorway as he walked through it. The echo rang throughout the landing bay and made some of the nearby techs jump. Chase could only stand there for a minute and stare after Radek. He had never, ever heard Radek accept so much responsibility for something that wasn't a success, and apologies from Radek were almost as rare and were never words he enjoyed saying. Chase felt a bit bad that Radek thought he was getting blamed for what happened in that fight, but that feeling was quickly erased by Chase's realization that he could work with this very easily. All he had to do was convince Radek it was the Rebels that Chase was mad at, not him, and maybe he could throw in some lines about how he shouldn't have been taking his anger out on Radek. That excuse sounded sufficiently plausible, and Radek would be back to his old annoying self in a heartbeat. Then Chase wouldn't have to worry about Radek's suspicions anymore; it would be just like what he had done with Lataise. Chase began walking toward the locker room himself, quickly working out the best way to start the blame shifting toward the Rebels, which was more true than most of the things he'd told people recently. That would make it easier. Before he got there, the Fireburners' Executive Officer came out. Lieutenant Commander Jahreiss noticed Chase and began walking toward him. Chase stopped when Jahreiss stepped up to him. "Good afternoon, sir," Chase said. "Good afternoon, Lieutenant," Jahreiss replied. "Do you have a few minutes?" It was merely a matter of courtesy for senior officers to even ask that, since there was only one acceptable answer from the subordinate. "Yes, sir." "Good. Go ahead and get out of your flight equipment, put your sidearm in its locker, and then report to my office immediately. I need to talk to you." Chase had never liked it when a superior said those six words, and the dread in the pit of his stomach was much more intense this time. "Yes, sir." ***** Chase barely even noticed how much he was banging on the computer console's keypad as he typed. All he knew was that as livid as he was, banging on it seemed both appropriate and psychologically helpful. At the same time he was silently trying out some of the new swear words he had learned from Adilinik. It also seemed appropriate that they were directed at and referencing the teacher. The talk with Jahreiss hadn't gone well. It was too out-of-the-blue and too pointed to be idle chitchat. Jahreiss never chitchatted anyway. He knew enough to be suspicious that something was up with Chase, and he'd been digging for information and details the entire time. Chase knew he'd been damned lucky Jahreiss hadn't grounded him or suspended him until a further evaluation was completed, but Chase figured he just barely managed to explain enough of his so-called odd behavior away by using the excuse of baby preparation stress at home. If Jahreiss had had anything hard on Chase, more serious action would have already been taken, so Chase knew the XO didn't have enough information yet to do that. He just had to prevent him from getting enough information, which partly meant Chase would need his Perfect Behavior back again until this blew over. He couldn't give his superiors any additional reasons to think he was doing something he shouldn't be. Jahreiss didn't say if he had a source of information that prompted this talk, but he didn't have to. Chase knew whom it had to have been: Adilinik had ratted on him. The captain had probably kept details vague enough so nothing could be traced back solely to him based on what was said, but honestly, did Adilinik think he wouldn't be suspected after all that had happened? Chase couldn't believe Adilinik had been so stupid to take that chance and had actually gone through with his self-righteous threats of reporting Chase for his actions. And that meant... Chase finally tracked down Adilinik's personal information in one of the Imperial databases tied to the Corporate Sector Authority ship records. He scribbled down Adilinik's home address on a datapad, closed it all down and then headed home. He obviously had lost control of Adilinik, and serious problems were coming his way. He had to get control back. Chase quickly planned things out on his way home. He'd stop to change clothes, then head to the spaceport. Lataise would be annoyed that he was running out this evening with no warning, but that didn't matter now. He had to take care of Adilinik tonight, right away, before things got worse. Before Adilinik said more. Before Adilinik knew he was coming. Before Adilinik fled with his wife. It had to be done now. Thinking about what he would have to do in a mere couple hours made Chase feel a bit queasy, but he stubbornly pushed the feeling down. This was no different than a dogfight. He was trained for combat. He had killed people before. It was his job, his duty, and he would do it again one way or another. Chase arrived at his house and walked in through the front door. He had hoped to slip into the bedroom unnoticed, but unfortunately Lataise was right there in the living room and saw him enter. "Hi, Chase." She smiled warmly at him, and her eyes sparkled happily as she came over and kissed him. Even with the growing bulge on her belly, she looked beautiful. Chase just stared at her for a moment, feeling the queasiness return and take the place of his anger. Lataise's smile faded to a look of concern. "You okay? You look upset." "Yeah, uh..." Chase faltered. He was drawing a complete blank on any excuse to leave the house. "I just...I just had a rough day. The XO had a little talking-to with me." He quickly turned and went into the bedroom to change. Lataise followed him. "What happened? Is everything all right?" "Yeah. Yeah, things are fine. I just made a dumb mistake with something and he wasn't too happy." Chase pulled on his civilian clothes and boots. "It just made for a lousy day. Um... Some of the guys offered to take me down to Interdictor's for a few glasses of Coruscant Cooler. We might watch the game there too if it's not too crowded. I really need to de-stress a little. I'll be back in a while, okay?" "Well...okay. If you're sure you're all right." Chase nodded in reply. Lataise hugged him and said, "We'll talk about it later tonight if you want another sympathetic ear. I've been pretty tired today, so if I'm taking a nap when you get home then wake me up. I know you guys usually eat supper there too, but we can have dessert when you get back." She let him go, and suddenly Chase was unimpeded, free to go kill another man's wife. His forced smile felt fake even on the inside, and he managed to say, "Thanks. See you tonight," before he walked out the front door to the speeder. He got in and slowly drove off. As the distance to Legis Bay Spaceport decreased, so did his speed. The only thing increasing was Chase's queasiness, and that gradually built up to nausea. When the spaceport came into sight, he had to pull over to the side of the road to calm down. From the speeder, Chase watched the different ships rising up from the spaceport and disappearing into the clouds above. That's where he would be before too long. One of those ships would take him on the first part of his journey to the Corporate Sector planet Ession, where Adilinik lived with his wife. Maybe Adilinik was getting home around this time too. Maybe his wife was happy to see him. Maybe she was smiling and laughing and was eager to make things better for her husband. Just like Lataise did. Chase had already known that it was simple to put himself in Adilinik's shoes; that was how he knew what sort of effect a threat on Adilinik's wife would have. He just hadn't anticipated that it would similarly be so easy to put Lataise in the shoes of Adilinik's wife. Chase felt himself trembling. He had to go. He had to do this, just like he'd said he would if Adilinik got out of line. If he didn't do it, everything would be worse and out of control. Just like that, it could all be over for him. Adilinik would know he'd won, and then there'd be nothing stopping him from getting Chase sent to Kessel. This was just like a dogfight, wasn't it? Chase had been trained to kill people. He got paid for it. This was his job. The bile rising up in him disagreed. This was more like pulling the trigger on his own wife. He'd sooner shoot himself. Chase wished he hadn't run into Lataise after work, or even that she'd been angry at his quick leaving. Anything negative would have helped him follow through with this. Ten minutes of trembling and bile and conflict later, his shaky hand resolutely gripped the speeder's control stick. Chase pulled back into traffic. He turned off the road leading to the spaceport and instead headed southwest. Thirty minutes later he arrived at a small neighboring town called Bedlom. He knew he should be farther away for security's sake, but he couldn't wait any longer. He might change his mind if he did. Chase found a public-access Holotransceiver. He set it to audio only, paid for the service with hard credits and entered in Adilinik's comm frequency. Adilinik's unmistakable voice answered the comm a few moments later. "Yeah? Who is this?" Chase sought out some of that livid anger from earlier and used it to harden his voice. "I thought we had an agreement, Captain." There was silence for a moment, and then Adilinik said, "Wait, is this--? Wait a damned minute! What's going on? What do you want?" Satisfied that Adilinik knew what the comm was about, Chase plowed ahead. "I said, I thought we had an agreement. I just found out it was broken. And here I was under the impression that you didn't want me to bring any gifts for your wife." "What?! What the hell are you talking about?!" Adilinik sounded both angry and terrified. "I didn't do anything! I've kept our damned agreement!" "And you expect me to believe that?" "I didn't say anything to anyone! Explain to me how I can prove I didn't do something!" "And now you see my dilemma," Chase said. "I don't trust you, and you can't prove you're innocent. There's only one course of action open to me now as per the terms of our agreement." It was a bluff, but Chase still had to make Adilinik believe he was willing and capable of killing his wife. "Wait, wait!" Now Adilinik sounded scared and desperate. "I--we--please, don't! How about--how about a substitute? I'll give you something instead if you don't do this." Chase wasn't really following Adilinik's jumbled words as they tripped over themselves, at least until Adilinik said, "If you leave us alone, I'll give you the name and information of someone I know in the Rebellion. You're an Imp-you must want that! You have to!" Chase's ears perked up. He had only been intending to scare Adilinik into silence with this call, but things were getting better than he'd ever imagined. "You have a Rebel contact?" "Yes, I do. It's not me--I'm not a Rebel--but I know one." Chase processed that for a minute and slowly began to smile. "Well then, that changes things. Give me this information, don't do anything to tip the Rebel off, and be prepared for a possible request in the future to make contact with him, and we'll call it even." Chase copied down the information on a datapad, ended the conversation with Adilinik and lightly hopped into the speeder as if a huge weight had been lifted from him. He felt more relaxed, more stress-free than he had in a long time. Now to head home to where his wife was waiting for him. ---- -----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 "That's 'stupid plan, sir,' Lieutenant." -Wedge
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Trika_Kenobi Registered: Nov '99	Date Posted: 6/4/08 6:24pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/4
	Well, well, well... another super update! I definitely garnered enough of a "weird Chase feeling" when Radek started talking about the incident those months back. I knew Chase would get excited about the possibility of covering his tracks once again! She let him go, and suddenly Chase was unimpeded, free to go kill another man's wife. Such a way with words! So shocking! Exactly what I was thinking, right there in the text. Beautifully (and horribly! LOL) done! And now there's the matter of this Rebel contact. I wonder who it is... It sounds like I'll be eagerly awaiting your next update! Thanks for the adventure! I'm enjoying this thoroughly! -----signature----- My Uncle Sam sends me places... the "going OCONUS lol" is here! Current Location: Iraq Don't bother running. You won't get far enough. http://www.TalonIntelligenceSquadron.com
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katriene Registered: May '08	Date Posted: 6/4/08 8:16pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/4
	I'm still catching up here, but I am liking the unexpected mystery surrounding a 'simple' guy...interesting! -----signature----- Padawan of Toastmaster Etain In training to be 'well-done!'
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Idrelle_Miocovani Registered: Feb '05	Date Posted: 6/6/08 5:01pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/4
	Sorry for the lateness -- I'm still getting caught up on those last two chapters. Great stuff so far and brilliant writing! -----signature----- Nat is my new Muse. Yes, you may have one of those flowy Greek-robe things you say you can't spell. This Time Around: http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27062943/p1/?2 DarthIshtar's Padawan
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MsLanna Title: CR GSFF Central = Offizieller Burger Brater Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 6/8/08 2:41am Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/4
	Eep! I missed one. How can that happen? You know, I'm rather partial to several pms for one story. Nothing like a friendly kick to remind me of reading. This story is just like a car wreck, i can't just walk away, i have to stay and stare. Very good work there, Chase is so far gone now. Not much further to fall, I think. I just wonder how hard he'll land in the end. Uh-oh. Mabye things will turn out a LOT worse than I expected. Rebels, bosses, captains - Chase will never gat control back that way. Great updates, both of them. -----signature----- I give up. Fett is great. Member of the waadas'dar Club. Cuyir adate jate, bal droten ori'dush Proud Master and buir'ika of Commander_Ducky. My New Title: Lords and Ladies of the Empire
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 6/11/08 5:38pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/11
	Trika: Heh, yeah, Chase is learning to take advantage of every opportunity that he gets. It would have been a lot harder for him if Radek had kept his mouth shut. And cool, you picked out one of my favorite lines from that section. I'm glad you liked it. And the Rebel contact... yup... another opportunity. Thanks for reading and replying! katriene: Thanks! I know there's a lot of sheer text here, and I appreciate that you're making the effort to catch up through all of it. The OC Project (which this was written for) encouraged making a sympathetic character, so that's why I attempted to make Chase more of an "everyday guy". Thanks for reading and commenting! Idri: No problem, there's certainly no rush here. Thanks for the compliments and for replying and reading! MsLanna: Sorry about that. It may not even come into play again since we're drawing to a close with the story, but I'll be sure to send you updates each time. Yeah, Chase has fallen pretty far compared to where he began. Things have also gotten a lot more complicated than he first imagined, but I'm sure he feels he can deal with them all, no problem. Thanks for reading and replying! -------- No author's notes this time. Well, except for this one, which says there isn't one. And which has now contradicted itself. -------- Chapter Thirteen Early morning light was filtering in through the curtains of the bedroom when Chase finished putting on his naval uniform. He saw that Lataise still hadn't gotten out of bed, so he lay next to her on his side on top of the covers. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked while his hand sought out hers and gently clasped it. "I can postpone the trip if you want." "I'll be fine," Lataise said. She was now entering her final trimester and was definitely looking the part. "I'm just going to try to get some more sleep. I'll probably still be here in bed when you get back if my back pain doesn't ease up." Chase nodded. She'd been up half the night because the baby wouldn't stop kicking, and as a result he'd been awake too. He was more accustomed to a lack of sleep than she was, though. "I commed your office already and told them you wouldn't be in today. Do you want anything for your back before I go?" "No, the heating pad from last night is still helping." "All right. Well, I'll get you some water and put it on the nightstand so it's handy." "Thanks." Chase got up and headed into the kitchen. "Some water" became "a pitcher of juice," which then became "muja fruit and juice," which in turn became "muja fruit salad, juice, para-rolls and the holonovel Lataise was reading." Chase kept adding things at his whim, fueled by an exceptionally good mood that even the lack of sleep couldn't dampen. He would have been too excited to sleep last night even if Lataise hadn't kept him up. Today was the day. Two months had culminated into this one extra special occasion when he had scheduled a meeting with CodeBlue to pick up the final version of the computer virus he had ordered. The only thing that could have made it all even better was if Lataise was feeling well, and that was the only reason he wasn't whistling from happiness as he brought Lataise's breakfast into the bedroom. If she hadn't felt so bad, he would have tried to pull her into a few dance steps. When she saw the tray he was carrying, her eyes widened. Chase smiled at her and set it down on the nightstand within easy reach. "Water wasn't good enough," he simply said. Lataise hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him down until he was leaning over her and their foreheads met. "You," she said lovingly, drawing it out just a little. She had never once had to say more than that for Chase to understand what she meant. "It's the least I could do," he replied. Lataise's voice was light. "I wouldn't mind some more of this type of service. Hurry back, will ya?" "This won't take long," Chase said. "Just checking on a few things for the squadron." "I thought that was the kind of thing they used the Junior Grades for," Lataise teased. The newly-minted full lieutenant smiled at her again. After selling Adilinik's cargo, Chase had no longer needed to collect money or do anything unusual while on duty. Over the last few weeks, all of his energies during his duty hours had gone toward patching things up with Radek and being and acting as squeaky clean as possible to show his superiors that he was the same old trustworthy, reliable, obedient, by-the-book Chase. It must have helped at some level because that behavior plus all the "practice" with Radek to teach him boarding and inspection procedures had been the final things needed to convince Commander Wiantance that everything was fine and that Chase deserved a promotion. If he only knew. "They figured I got used to it during my JG days. Now, if you're sure you'll be all right, I'll see you later today. My ride will be here soon." Lataise unhooked her arm, but before straightening up Chase put a hand on her growing belly and affectionately kissed it, and he grinned when he felt a small kick in return through the thin blanket. Then he kissed Lataise, exchanged goodbyes with her and walked out of the bedroom. He ducked into the refresher, quickly changed into some civilian clothes and put his uniform in a small duffle bag that he slung over his shoulder. He wished he could have just left it at the house, but he didn't want Lataise to accidentally stumble across it while he was gone. Chase went out the front door, and within seconds Radek's speeder pulled into the driveway. "Ready to go?" Radek asked. "Yeah. Thanks for the ride," Chase said as he climbed in. Things weren't back to normal between the two wingmen quite yet, but they were slowly improving, and Chase was trying his best to assist that improvement. "Lataise is having a rough time of things now, and I didn't want to ask her to drive me to the spaceport." "No problem," Radek said. "It'll be a slow day for me with you on leave anyway. You can repay me by bringing me back something good from wherever you're going. I forgot where you told me. Okay? Some good local wine or something like that." "Which will cost more than a taxi to the spaceport would have?" Chase remarked. "Yeah, but you won't get this kind of personal, courteous service from a speeder taxi. Right? Right?" Radek gave a small smirk and pulled sharply into the street. Chase always forgot until it was too late that Radek drove his speeder like it was a TIE Fighter in a dogfight. He gripped the seat. "Actually, this reminds me quite a bit of some taxi rides I've taken," Chase said. His mother in particular drove like this. Radek's smirk got bigger. "We're fine. No one gets near me when I drive my speeder this way because they try to avoid me and give me lots of room. It's actually safer." Chase made a mental note to never allow Radek to drive his child anywhere. He'd already been crossed off the babysitting list long ago. It didn't take long for Radek to change the subject. "What's it feel like to be a full-fledged lieutenant?" It was wonderful. "It's not much different than being a JG. Some different expectations, though, and I'm still getting used to those." Chase shrugged a bit. "I'm happy you got it. I know you've been trying for it for a long time," Radek replied. "And I'm glad that...I didn't mess it up for you." "We've been over this, Radek," Chase said as patiently as he could. "You didn't mess up in that fight." "That's--um--that's not what I meant." Radek kept his eyes fixed squarely on the road ahead of them. "Back when we had our big problem and I was really steamed at you, I think I complained about it to one person too many, and Jahreiss got wind of it." Chase blinked. "That was you?" "What was me?" "You're the reason he sat me down for a grilling one day?" "He did? Oh. Um, oops. I never meant for it to get up that high, Chase. It's not like I went in and made a formal complaint about you or anything. I wouldn't have done that, not even then. But it didn't affect your promotion, and that's good. That's all that matters." Chase processed that information in silence for a few moments, then Radek hurriedly spoke up again, steering the conversation a different way. "So when's your promotion party?" Radek asked. "You haven't set anything up yet. You're not going to gyp the rest of us on that, are you? You know we demand a party." With an effort, Chase tried to put Radek's admission out of his mind. It wouldn't change anything now, and thank all that was good in the galaxy that he hadn't gone through with his initial course of action. "Right, I just haven't had much of a chance to set anything up for it yet," Chase said. Chase saw Radek open his mouth, hesitate without saying anything, close his mouth and then look sidelong at Chase to gauge his mood. Chase raised an eyebrow questioningly. This type of indecisive action from Radek had been happening ever since their argument a few weeks back. "I could maybe put some parts of it together if you want," Radek ventured slowly. Chase grinned a bit. "That would help me out a lot. Thanks." Radek grinned more strongly in reply and went back to risking both their lives in bordering-on-illegal traffic maneuvers. Chase was extremely glad to finally step out of the speeder at the Legis Bay Spaceport, and Radek drove off. Before entering the spaceport, Chase looked up at all the ships ascending and piercing the grey clouds above. That's where he would be very soon, and the mere thought caused him to smile. He'd been back to meet with CodeBlue one other time for an in-progress demonstration, and after he'd gotten over his initial relief that the alien was actually doing the work and hadn't just run off with the down payment, Chase had been duly impressed at the work done so far. Now, though, now was the time that had dichotomously come much too fast and couldn't come fast enough. Chase patted the pocket holding the datacard with the account information for the final payment, then he walked into the spaceport to put his duffle bag in a locker and find the transport that matched his ticket to Mondder on Etti IV. He couldn't wait. ***** "You can tell me how wonderfully skilled I am. I won't mind," CodeBlue said. For the fourteenth time, Chase entered another hyperspace destination on the setup's control panel and eagerly watched the results. Two different R2 processors were hooked up to the control panel. One of them was marked "virus" and the other was designated "clean". Each in turn was hooked up to its own simulated Incom navigational computer that had a data display added to it. The R2 processors whirred and blinked. The one with the virus sent data to the navcomp data display that did not match 100% with the data output for the same destination from the uninfected processor. It was the second time it had done so; the other twelve results had matched exactly. However, Chase needed that delay: a virus that acted too fast would wipe out all the carriers before it could spread. CodeBlue had said that when the virus program started up, it would choose a random number between one and ten. When the number of hyperspace calculations done by the astromech after the program's initiation reached the value of that stored random number, the next hyperspace calculation would then be erroneous. After that error occurred the virus program would reset, and it would begin all over again, assuming the astromech hadn't been destroyed as a result of the last error. "It looks perfect," the pilot said. "'Perfect.' I like that. It fits. You're too kind, Needed, too kind." "And this cannot be erased with a memory wipe, right?" CodeBlue used all four of his arms to pick up a datapad from the dirty cellar's workbench and simultaneously plug it in to another port on the control panel, then he handed the datapad to Chase. "You know some reformatting commands, don't you? Try to reformat it, erase it, anything you can think of. It's etched in stone. I was quite proud of myself for that." Chase did indeed know some reformatting commands, but CodeBlue was right: the virus stayed put each time, and the R2 processor remained infected. Chase even used the datapad to run a diagnostic on the processor, and that came back with a clean bill of health. He ran the simulation several more times until he got the virus's incorrect output again to make sure it was actually still infected. "It spreads by comm frequencies, both short-range and long-range," CodeBlue said. "The long-range ones work by riding on a subchannel of the starfighter's long-range comm. I don't know how much it'll spread, but that's all I could get unless you want me to keep working on it. I started tinkering with capital ship subchannels in case the astromech ever plugs into a capship or a base itself, but I can't guarantee that'll work." Chase handed the datapad back to CodeBlue and said, "I hate to stroke your ego, but I'm extremely pleased with the program. It's exactly what I was looking for." "Wonderful! And just think, all this can be yours for another 18,000 credits," CodeBlue replied. They exchanged payment and product. Chase held the datacard containing the virus in his hand and looked at it almost reverently. This was it. It looked so simple, so benign, but it was well worth every milligram of trouble he'd gotten into--and almost gotten into--in the last two months. This humble little datacard was going to do so much good for the galaxy. At last, he had a chance of keeping his family safe. When he looked up, he saw CodeBlue gazing at his new account balance in almost the same way. Now it was time to let this humble little datacard prove its potential to the galaxy. Chase cocked his head a bit and said, "Let me ask you something." CodeBlue looked back at him. "As long as I can give my complete and unbiased opinion in return." "How easy is it to buy used but usable R2's and R5's here?" CodeBlue snorted. "Try walking into any used parts store and not finding one." "Good, good. Listen, I need to get this virus out where it can actually be useful. If I can buy some astromechs today, would you be willing to install the first viruses in them and then do another small job?" The blue alien shrugged his upper arms. "I'll be bored this evening without your program to work on. So sure. I can wait until tomorrow to rebuild my social life." ***** Chase had never before bought a "gift" for the Rebels. He knew it was anything but that, but it still felt odd and almost treasonous. He sat in the workbench chair down in the cellar and watched as CodeBlue finished verifying the virus in the tenth and final astromech Chase had purchased. CodeBlue had only loaded the virus program into four of them, and he had infected the other six by way of communication frequencies from the first four to demonstrate that feature. Afterwards, every droid was tested and found to be positively infected. "Done, done and done," CodeBlue announced. "And I've turned them all off so they don't start messing with the droids here on planet and causing problems. Now what's this other little job you had in mind?" "Oh, it's simple, really, especially for you. I need a secure Holonet account made." CodeBlue's ears sagged. "That's way too simple. There's no challenge in that. I'd expected better from you." "No challenge, but there's money." The Pho Ph'eahian pricked his ears up at those words. "I'm listening." Chase figured if he could get CodeBlue in on this, he wouldn't have to involve Adilinik again, and that was a very welcome prospect. "Now, I could make a so-called secure account myself, but I really need this one to be bomb-proof. It has to be totally untraceable to you and me," Chase said. If anyone managed to connect Chase to this part of the plan, the consequences would be a lot worse than Kessel: he'd likely be executed for treason. "The account just has to be used to send a couple messages to a certain Rebel contact so he can pick up this anonymous-for-fear-of-being-discovered-and-imprisoned gift of ten astromechs for the Rebellion's cause. Once he does that, we wait a while, say a couple months, to make sure the astromechs get distributed. Then we'll use the account to contact the Imperials' anonymous tip collection center and report that person as a Rebel, and we split the reward credits 50/50." Chase hoped that a high and equal percentage like that should encourage CodeBlue to play on the up-and-up and also keep things quiet and safe. For his part, Chase figured the money he would receive from this plan would be a good nest egg to start for the baby. He could tell he'd definitely gotten CodeBlue's attention. "How much do these rewards pay out?" the blue alien asked. "It could be anywhere from 500 to 5000 credits, depending on how important the captured Rebel is," Chase replied. CodeBlue grinned mischievously. "Excellent. You know, Needed, it was so nice doing business with you before that I believe I will do it again." ----- -----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 "That's 'stupid plan, sir,' Lieutenant." -Wedge
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Commander-DWH Title: Shiny Fan Fiction Manager Registered: Nov '03	Date Posted: 6/12/08 12:29am Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/11
	Yeah, so I'm definitely lame for not jumping in here before, but you just kept me up very, very late because I couldn't stop reading. I'm very much liking this story, Chase's descent is fascinating, and you'll PM me when this is updated, right? That's what I get for clicking on links late at night... who needs sleep, anyway? -----signature----- Complements (KOTOR)- http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/21177927/ Luminosity- http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/27900517/ Barefoot hippie in the OC revolution Master of the lovely and talented SoA
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Idrelle_Miocovani Registered: Feb '05	Date Posted: 6/12/08 5:51pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/11
	When she saw the tray he was carrying, her eyes widened. Chase smiled at her and set it down on the nightstand within easy reach. "Water wasn't good enough," he simply said. Lataise hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him down until he was leaning over her and their foreheads met. "You," she said lovingly, drawing it out just a little. Awwwww. By the way, I was always wondering this: how did you come up with the name Lataise? It's a pretty name and really suits the character. I loved the scene with CodeBlue. Really well written and CodeBlue's kind of intriguing. I hope we see him again. "I'll be bored this evening without your program to work on. So sure. I can wait until tomorrow to rebuild my social life." Hee hee! I like his obsession with working on Chase's program. Fitting. Chase had never before bought a "gift" for the Rebels. He knew it was anything but that, but it still felt odd and almost treasonous. Yes, well I suppose there's a first for everything. Even if they're not-so-good firsts (meaning that the gift is kind of bad ). CodeBlue grinned mischievously. "Excellent. You know, Needed, it was so nice doing business with you before that I believe I will do it again." Does this mean we'll be seeing him again? Excellent update, Thumper! -----signature----- Nat is my new Muse. Yes, you may have one of those flowy Greek-robe things you say you can't spell. This Time Around: http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27062943/p1/?2 DarthIshtar's Padawan
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Trika_Kenobi Registered: Nov '99	Date Posted: 6/12/08 7:19pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, updated 6/11
	Chase always forgot until it was too late that Radek drove his speeder like it was a TIE Fighter in a dogfight. He gripped the seat. LOL. That's it. Just LOL. And more CodeBlue! Gosh, love him! For his part, Chase figured the money he would receive from this plan would be a good nest egg to start for the baby. Yes, yes. Sounds all good and noble! Chase is a riot. Super update. I'm always impressed with your writing quality! You've woven an intricately-detailed, awesomesauce-filled, fascinating tale with words that just flow with such ease! It's easy to get into this story. Thank you! -----signature----- My Uncle Sam sends me places... the "going OCONUS lol" is here! Current Location: Iraq Don't bother running. You won't get far enough. http://www.TalonIntelligenceSquadron.com
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Thumper09 Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 6/17/08 6:09pm Subject: RE: The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OC Project, OT era, completed 6/17
	DWH: Sorry for inducing insomnia. Honestly I'm flattered that the story made you want to keep reading, especially because I know it's pretty long. I'll put you on the list for the couple remaining PM updates. Thanks for reading and commenting! Idri: Very true--that's not a particularly good gift Chase is giving the Rebs. But as with all gifts, it's the thought that counts, right? I could have sworn I found the name "Lataise" in a baby names book I was using at the time I created some of the core characters. I coulda sworn! But I can't find it in that book now, so that means one of three things happened: 1) I made up the name completely; 2) I modified a name in that book to the point where I don't recognize the original entry; 3) I lost my mind. In any event, thanks, I'm glad you like her name. Chase worked with CodeBlue again after that meeting to set up the secure account, but unfortunately CodeBlue demanded too much money for another guest appearance here (his agent cited "skyrocketing popularity and sharply increased demand for his valuable time" as the reasons for the fee increase) and we won't be seeing him in this story anymore. Thanks for reading and replying! Trika: CodeBlue had to get in there one more time, heh heh. And of course it sounds all good and noble--Chase is an officer in good standing with the Imperial Navy, after all! "Awesomesauce"? LOL, that word amuses me to no end. Thanks so much for the compliments. It's hard for me to see the forest for the trees sometimes with my writing, and it helps a lot to find out that the forest is still looking okay. Thanks for replying and reading! ------ Before we go ahead and wrap this up with this short post, I'd like to mention two things. First, even though the story itself is now completed, there will be a post next week containing some odds and ends about the story and hopefully a couple of outtakes just for fun. That will be my last PM update for this story. Pop in if you'd like to. Second but most importantly, I'd like to thank everyone who came on this wild and crazy ride with me. It was a blast having you all to share this story with, and I sincerely appreciate all the time and effort you spent reading and joining in and also helping me along. Even though I had most of the story written before I started posting it, I ended up adding and changing some events in the second half of the story based on your inputs and the thoughts you guys put into my head, and the story itself is much, much better for it. So thank you. Y'all are the best! ------ Chapter Fourteen "See? Isn't she amazing?" Chase Barton said proudly. It was his first day back, and he had been systematically tracking down each Fireburner as they filtered into the briefing room. Lieutenant Panas was his latest victim, and Chase was holding one of dozens of holos of his three-week-old daughter, Cayin, right in front of him so he could see it. "She's got her mother's eyes and my nose. She's strong, too. She's going to grow up to be a fighter, but she looks so adorable sleeping in her little hat, doesn't she? She's perfect." His life had changed forever, and he couldn't be happier. Panas nodded in agreement with the words and then grinned at Chase. "She's beautiful. Congratulations to you and Lataise. How's your wife doing?" "She's fine, just a little worn out," Chase replied. "It helped out a lot that I was able to take paternity leave these last few weeks to stay home with her." "I'm surprised you made it back in today after that. I figured you'd try to take more time off to be home." "Well, I would have, except the in-laws arrived a couple days ago to help out too." Chase shrugged. "Ah." Panas smirked knowingly. "Coming back to work didn't sound so bad then, did it?" "It's not that bad. The house is getting a little small, but Lataise is happy they're here." "That sounded really convincing. So how much sleep does Cayin let you get?" "Enough. I'm used to it, so I've been getting the night shifts with her a lot," Chase said. He left out the fact that he actually volunteered for the "night shifts". There was just something about the nighttimes that felt special--holding his daughter, comforting her, protecting her, just the two of them alone while the rest of the house and city were asleep and dark and still. There was nothing to disturb them and burst that perfect, peaceful bubble when Cayin would finally quiet down. The big, dark, cold void of night didn't seem so big and dark and cold and empty with her there in his arms. Lataise would kill him if she ever found out Chase had been subtly encouraging Cayin to be nocturnal. He had to stop that practice now anyway since he was returning to duty and had to be able to function during the day. A few moments later, Commander Wiantance spoke up from the front of the room. "All right, Lieutenant, baby pictures away," he said mildly. "Let's get this briefing started." "Yes, sir," Chase replied. He turned off the holodisk, stashed it in a pocket and sat down. Radek sat beside him like he normally did. Wiantance started off with the usual things: roll call, announcements from Naval Command, announcements from the base command, and the upcoming patrol and maintenance schedules. Chase tried to pay attention and get back up to speed after his absence of the last few weeks, but his new daughter kept invading his thoughts. ...At least until one particular topic snagged Chase's mind in a tractor beam and wouldn't let go. "I got some interesting news from Intel regarding the Rebels," Wiantance stated. "Specifically, their starfighter corps." Suddenly Chase couldn't pay attention closely enough. He got the chills and held his breath as the commander continued, "Intel's sources have been telling them about a strange problem or glitch in a fair number of Rebel starfighters. Whatever it is seems to be affecting the hyperdrive, as some starfighters are either lost for a while or completely MIA after hyperspace jumps. The unknowns about the causes and therefore how to prevent it are causing quite a stir among the Rebel pilots. Recently some Imperial fleets have reported seeing a change in tactics by the Rebels to avoid having their starfighters jump to lightspeed. It has yet to affect any capital ships as far as we know. They're waiting on more news from their sources. I'll pass along anything else I hear on this interesting development." Some of the other TIE pilots started to murmur amongst themselves in surprise and curiosity. Any major problems the Rebels had was good news to them. Chase, however, didn't feel the need to gossip and guess about what was going on. He leaned over with his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands to stifle his sudden gleeful laughter. A moment later he heard an amazed whisper beside him. "Chase?" Chase pulled his hands down just enough to uncover his eyes, and he looked over at Radek on his right. His wingman was staring at him like Chase had just turned into the Emperor wearing a pink frilly dress. "You're... Are you of all people laughing? You? What's going on? What's wrong with you?" Chase kept his hands folded together over most of his face to hide the huge smile he couldn't wipe from his expression. It was an enormous effort to sound even mostly neutral and natural. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong." The End -------- -----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 "That's 'stupid plan, sir,' Lieutenant." -Wedge
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