Saga Solid Ground -- X-wing squadfic, OCs, OT era, completed 2/23

Great update and now I hope they will get to safety

 

Awesome update, as usual. You did a really good job of describing all of the different ways that people react to awful things happen. I can't wait to see how they pull off this escape; it seems pretty hopeless.

Keep up the great work!

 

Oh, how much I've missed and Oh, the pain

Please, PM me on the next update, I just need to know how this ends!

 

DMC: Yeah, Darin got beat on in this chapter. And thanks, it's good that the mood came across well. Thanks for reading!


Peri: Doomed is a good word. [Bender]DOOOO...OOOMED![/Bender] I'm happy to hear there's some question of what they can do to escape; I was hoping for the doomed feeling. And really, nothing about a fictional character's life should ever be easy anyway. Er, did I just say that out loud? Thanks for reading!


Trikes: Quiver was by far the hardest character for me to write in this story in the parts after CC died. He probably should have gotten more of the limelight than he's had so far in the last chapter, but that's my fault. Emotional Quiver is just... difficult on many levels. Realistic anger's hard for me to write as well, so I'm glad it came out all right. Thanks for reading!


earlybird: Thanks! They share your hope about getting to safety. Thanks for reading!


snowy: Thanks! Some of the reactions were hard for me to figure out, but I'm happy it's seeming to work so far. Their escape will be a work in progress. Thanks for reading!


Danaan: We've still got a little ways to go in the story yet; we're not quite halfway through. I'll put you on the PM list. Thanks for reading!


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Here are the next two chapters. Bear with me just a smidge longer-- I know this is a bit of a slow spot. Thanks so much to everyone!

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Chapter Seven


"Seven just gave me some news from the comm. We need to get out of here. Someone please tell me you've found a suitable hiding spot," Mack said, interrupting Darin's concentration. Darin and Pellicer paused in the jury-rigged repair they were working on together at the lieutenant's snubfighter and listened. Darin also took the opportunity to pull his flight suit's damp, clammy fabric away from his skin in areas and wipe the light rain off his face.

Ikoa and Chopper were going over sensor logs out of the rain underneath the S-foils of Pellicer's X-wing. "We think we might have a place, sir," Ikoa said. "Lots of plant and animal life readings, and it's far enough away but not too far. We're not sure of the exact terrain or the coverage though."

"Is it our best option?"

"So far, yes."

"What direction?"

"Southeast."

"From the reports Seven heard, the Imperials are coming this way from the west. It'll do," Mackin replied. "The strut-riding, for better or for worse, seems to be the safest option we've come up with so far, if you can believe it. Two, figure out the strut-riding assignments. Balance things out as best you can." Ikoa nodded. "Nine, go get Eight and Ten. They're out on patrol."

"Yes, sir." Darin jogged off after Pellicer indicated he'd close up the repair access area.

Ikoa had the assignments figured out when Darin returned with Weas and Quiver a couple minutes later. Chopper gave the new location's coordinates to Pellicer, Mack and Ikoa, and soon they were ready to go. Pellicer was carrying Kalre and Slurry each on a main strut, and Darin took a main strut on Ikoa's ship while Quiver opted for that fighter's nose gear where there was more head room. Weas helped secure Chopper to the nose strut of Mackin's fighter and took a main gear on it for himself. This time they thankfully had an opportunity to buckle their belts around the struts and their waists for a minimum of security.

The X-wings slowly lifted up and headed off while skimming the treetops. They mainly used repulsorlifts with low engine throttle to minimize any engine emissions the Imperials could detect. The noise caused by the wind was still loud, but nothing like it had been with an engine running with substantial power right above the strut-riders. Darin shivered from the rushing cold air hitting his wet clothing and skin.

Eventually the terrain below changed. The forest thinned out, but each individual tree got bigge

 

It's exciting!

Also loved the scene between Darin and Quiv. Seems like Darin is getting out of just being the Rookie. Got for him. Very sad it had to be this way, though.

 

Nice update! Our heroes are in for it now; down a ship and running out of places to hide. It's getting tense! I'm thinking they should use the dying X-wing as a bomb. At least that way you can tick those Imps off.

I didn't find this to be too slow of a post, Thumps, I think it works well, it moves the action along nicely.

"Thank you, Sergeant. Sooner or later, they'll have to stop running."

Chapter Eight

"We can't keep running. We're getting nowhere," Kalre said.

I really like it when writers do things like this. It kind of puts both groups on the same level, even just for a couple of moments. Great job!

 

Really enjoying this so far, looking forward to seeing where its going!
Keep up the good work!

 

Nice update and with another X-wing gone this is going to be tough. Rebels to the rescue

 

Thumper, as usual, great job! I think you did a great job of capturing the mood of the Coronas. I really feel badly for Quiv and Darin, and enjoyed their conversation.

Great job!

 

Great work, Thumper! You've got a good game of cat-and-mouse goin' on here, and I'm interested to see what happens!

I've got to give a nod of agreement on Peri's comment about the phrasing at the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next... I like that sort of thing, too! Great job! Keep it comin'!

 

Danaan: Yeah, Darin's having to do more growing up than he wants to in this story, and he doesn't have Quiver to knock him back down a few rungs on the maturity ladder this time. Thank you!


Peri: I'm thinking they should use the dying X-wing as a bomb.

I totally wish I'd thought of that. I have to admit that I came really close to doing some rewriting and shamelessly adding it in, but I didn't. I'm glad you and Trikes liked the "running" connections/transition. It's a fun thing to mess with every so often. Thanks!


Azazel: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! Thank you!


Earlybird: Tough is a good word, and there will be new developments in this update. Thanks!


DMC: Yeah, that pair is going through a lot in this story, and Quiver appreciates your sympathy. I'm glad to hear the mood is still coming across well. Thanks!


Trikes: Linking phrases like that is fun. I'm happy you liked it! We'll drop in on the cat for a short time here and then get back to the game. Thank you!

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The upcoming locations of good break points were kinda funky, so this update is pretty long compared to my others. Here are the next two chapters, and thank you to everyone for reading!

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Chapter Nine


"Sir, we've found the X-wing with the leak. It's on the ground with no humanoid life signs within short-range, and it's powered down and secured," TB-045 reported.

Major Wendessin bit back a curse as he flew with TB-061 on a transport to inspect the last camp area the teams had found. Once again, these Rebels seemed to have anticipated his actions. They were flying that X-wing just a short time ago-- what would cause them to abandon it? Now, no less?

He frowned as he thought of something, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The Rebels had tipped their hand. He turned to TB-061 beside him. "Sergeant, do you get the feeling we're being eavesdropped on?"

The biker scout paused to consider that, then he slowly nodded. "It makes sense, sir."

Major Wendessin took out a datapad and called up a map of the area. "Quickly, indicate the Rebels' last known camp location, the location of the leaking X-wing, and the location of our largest amount of forces."

TB-061 immediately input the points, and the commanding officer smiled. "Excellent. So Group Gamma is to the west of where the Rebels seem to be going. Let's test this theory, shall we?" The major opened a private, encrypted transmission to TB-045. "Lieutenant, we have reason to believe the Rebels are listening in on the tactical frequency. I want you to use a more secure line to alert Group Gamma to expect the incoming hostiles. We're going to feed the Rebels enough false information over the tactical frequency to herd them in Group Gamma's direction. And get some TIEs or air support over to Gamma ASAP. Understood?"

"Understood, sir."

Major Wendessin waited a minute to give TB-045 time to relay the message to Group Gamma, then he turned to the tactical frequency. "TB-045, I want our groups to the east and north of that leaking X-wing's general location to increase their search areas and be alert. Remember they may have two other X-wings."

"Yes, sir."

*****

Lt. Ikoa Fyndcap frowned at the news coming over her X-wing's comm system. 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.

She pushed her helmet visor up momentarily and rubbed her eyes with shaky hands. She'd had a growing headache ever since Kalre had woken her up earlier, and this wasn't helping. She was starting to feel warm.

Ahead and to the side, Mackin slowed and motioned for Ikoa to come abeam his fighter. When she did, he tapped the side of his helmet, pointed straight ahead to the north and then over to

 

Another solid update, Thumper!

Poor Ikoa. The Coronas are in a really tough spot now. I hope that the plan goes well, but I'd be there's going to be some sort of complication that fouls things up.

 

And just when you don't think it can get any worse...it does!

Here's hoping Darin makes it through. Heck, here's hoping all of them does, even though odds are not looking like somehting I'd bet money on...

 

Yikes, it's getting kinda dire up in that waterfall! I love the interactions between Darin and Quiver; and you can definitely tell that Darin has changed alot since he joined the squad- he's kinda scary when he's angry.

The strut riding part was so tense. Wow. I was so sure Pellicer was going to eat it then.

Keep up the awesome work!

 

excellent update and great discussions of the new plan.

Please let it work and let them escape. I really like all the characters to see them in more adventures.

 

A great couple of chapters! I really enjoy seeing how you build up the tension and show how it is effecting the men, but I hope they get off the planet soon so they can come back and kick some Imp butt!

 

What an awesome, true-to-life emotion-filled update. They have a plan! A terrifying, suicide-inducing monstrosity of a plan. I think it's the best plan they have, though; I hope it'll work! I sure am glad I wasn't asked to be the third pilot...I don't think I could have done it. Then again I don't think I would have liked to ride that strut for hours and hours, either.

"I will not order you to fly this mission, Darin. You can say no, and no one will hold it against you. But after seeing how well you evade TIEs when you and Quiver play that bait game of yours, not to mention that because of that you're more accustomed to having TIEs on you so you won't have as much tendency to panic when it happens...

That's what you get for letting people shoot at you. From now on, I'm the boss wingman, and not the flunky whenever I play a flying game.

Really really good, Thumps!

 

DMC: Nothing to worry about: plans always go perfectly, especially when things are already going so well. Thanks muchly for reading!


Danaan: It can always get worse for fictional characters.

Darin and the Coronas share your hopes. We'll see them start the plan in this update. Thanks for reading!


Snowy: Darin's a bottler, and he's been bottling up a lot on that mission so far. I'm glad some of the personality changes from his early Corona days are noticeable. And for a little trivia, in an earlier revision of this story (there have been quite a few ), Pellicer did fall off at that point.[/trivia] I think (and hope) this way works better overall though. Thanks for reading!


Earlybird: Cool, I was concerned the discussions of the plan would be too slow and too much of an information dump. It sounds like it came across all right though. Thanks, and thank you for reading!


Azazel: Thank you! I got a lot of practice with writing tension in this story, LOL. They'll be starting Step One to getting off the planet now, so we'll see how it goes for them. Thanks for reading!


Peri: I think the fact that they have a plan is probably the only positive thing about said plan. I'm glad this part sounded realistic. It's hard for me to tell if I'm going over the top or not reacting enough sometimes.

You definitely should be the boss and not the flunky. Have you heard that movie quote about a person acting as bait? Goes something like, "Have you ever been fishing? The bait always dies." Thanks, and thanks for reading!

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Here's a somewhat shorter update to help make up for last week's length. Thanks for reading, everyone! Next two chapters in 3... 2... 1...

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Chapter Eleven


There was still some dim natural light in the cavern when Darin awoke from a shallow, fitful sleep. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, tried to ignore his growling stomach and went to get a drink of water from the available consumables on the X-wings.

Mackin was there, doing the same thing. "Get some sleep, Nine?" he asked.

Darin shrugged. "A little, sir. How long until we go?"

"Another three hours. An hour from now, suit up and we'll go over everything."

"Yes, sir."

Mackin walked away. Darin finished his water and ducked down to open the cargo hold in the belly of Mackin's fighter. All the strut-riders had stowed their bulky chestboxes in there earlier, and Darin started looking for his; after a thorough search of the hold, however, it was apparent that his own equipment wasn't there among the rest. He was baffled.

The next logical course of action was to ask someone about it. Darin looked up to do exactly that but hesitated. Chopper, Kalre, Pellicer and Slurry were sitting together near Ikoa and within earshot of the fighter's comm speakers, and it looked like they were trying very hard to have a normal conversation together. Thumper couldn't hear the topic of the talk over the waterfall's din, but the specific topic wasn't necessarily important next to the act of having the conversation. Chopper and Kalre were chuckling at something Slurry had said, and the Bilgana looked confused about their reactions so Pellicer started explaining something to him. Probably just a cultural difference. From that small amount of laughter and the looks on their faces, Darin figured they'd been able to put their current situation out of their minds for the moment, and he couldn't remind them of it again.

Mackin and Weas were deep in their own conversation and Ikoa was still asleep, so that left one person he could ask: Quiver. His wingman was sitting by himself against the far cave wall and was working on something. Darin couldn't remember ever seeing Quiver voluntarily sitting alone or not participating in a group discussion before. Their fight was still fresh in Darin's mind and he seriously considered not asking

 

WOW, what an update, keeping us with a cliffie at the end. What will happen to the Corona's

 

Another solid update, Thumper!

I'm glad that things didn't go according to plan. That would have been too easy.

I think that you did a really good job with Mack - trying to stay calm, but having a really strong urge to panic.

 

Another awesome update! I know I keep saying that, but it's true. So impressive that you're able to keep an amazingly realistic story afloat even as the plot continues to be moved along, the characters keep reacting in believable, realistic ways, and our heroes are still fighting to rheir very lives.

Keep 'em comin, Thumps, this story's stupendous!

 

Aargh! The Tension!

Darin is in some deep doo doo this time...and I'm really not sure that Mack isn't either...and never mind the rest of the group, cornered like rabbits in a whole and very minute increasing the Imp's chance of finding them. Can't wait for the next post!

 

Earlybird: I've been learning about writing cliffies from Peri and Face. Feel free to blame them, heh heh. Thanks for reading!


DMC: Yeah, too easy is boring. For me, anyway. My characters, on the other hand, hate me. And thanks, it's been tricky to find the right balance with Mack in this story. We'll follow him a bit in this update. Thank you for reading!


Peri: Aww, thanks. I'm happy it's coming across well so far! I shall keep 'em comin, as is evidenced by this new update. Thanks for reading!


Danaan: I think yours might have been the first "Aargh!" reaction to a story post I've ever had. Is it bad that I love that kind of reaction?

We'll explore a bit more of Mackin's situation and his level of doo doo now. Thank you for reading!

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Here's the next chapter. It's been a troublesome one for me, so if it seems off at all please let me know. Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Chapter Thirteen


Mackin slowed his X-wing, circled and set down in a small clearing in the trees a short distance from the location of the transmitted coordinates. Soon the hum of the starfighter's systems faded away into the night, and he popped his canopy open, left his helmet on the seat and told Rudder to keep a lookout. Mackin quietly jumped out of his cockpit and nervously fingered the blaster in his holster. He hoped he wouldn't regret this.

On his flyby he hadn't noticed anything on sensors at the coordinates, but that didn't mean much. Mackin cautiously began walking toward the coordinates' location and remained close to trees and bushes for cover. Concealment was out of the question due to his orange flight suit. When he got back, he vowed he was going to invent a reversible flight suit: orange on one side and dark camouflage on the other. Mack wished he knew what he was looking for here.

A gruff voice from the trees behind and to his right commanded, "Hold it."

Startled, Mackin stopped in his tracks. "Who's there?" he demanded, looking around. He gripped his holstered blaster. He was itching to draw it, but would he get gunned down if he did?

"Drop your weapon," came another voice from the opposite side.

"Show yourselves," Mackin countered. The situation wasn't improving.

"A'right then. Just stay right there now," said a third voice, this one from the direction toward which the pilot had been walking. "We don't want to shoot you, so don't make us."

Out of the trees emerged four men. Each had a blaster pistol trained on Mackin, and he was quick to notice that he was surrounded. There was no way out of this.

The four men weren't Imperials-- far from it, actually-- but that didn't raise Mackin's spirits much. After all, the colony was at least partially to blame for the trap the Rebels had fallen into, so despite their words there was no reason to think these four burly locals wouldn't shoot the Corona where he stood or, worse yet, take him to the Imperials. He was such an idiot for coming here.

"Drop your blaster." The repeated words came from the third speaker this time.

Mackin's gut felt hollow while he slowly pulled his blaster out. He let it fall to the ground, and its light impact was muffled by the grass and sealed his failure. He could only miserably hope his pilots could eventually escape on their own. He held his hands out in plain sight.

The first man who had spoken came up and took the pilot's blaster while the other three stopped well out of reach but kept their weapons raised. One briefly shone a glowrod beam over Mackin. Now that they were closer, Mack could make out more details in the light from the glowrod: the men were definitely strong, and their clothing was the type worn by people who did lots of manual labor.

The third man spoke again. "Who are you now, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I'm

 

Oh nooh Mackin Please let him escape and find Darin

Waiting for more after this intriguing post

 

Another good update, Thumper!

I'm really digging your story, and I hope that Mack's able to find his way out of this mess.