Saga The Way -- Imperial TIE Pilots, OCs, OT, complete 6/17 (extras 6/24)

lol @ Chase... he's got this whole thing down pat, right? Sounds like nothing can go wrong!

Super update! I enjoyed it. Thank you.

 

He loved it when flying cleared his head.

Hopefully he'll be able to sort out his various problems (financial and other) soon! He really has his work cut out for him...

 

Idri: No worries. I hope you showed that essay who's boss before it could inflict any damage.

Chase is hoping the same thing, I'm sure. But when have fanfic characters ever gotten off easy? Thanks for reading and replying!

Arcalian: Nope, Chase hasn't hit the bottom of his spiral yet, but he's sure gaining speed. As for the rest... Thanks for replying and reading!

Trika: Sure, he's got it all planned out perfectly. Nothing to worry about. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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This is another split-in-two chapter due to its length.

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Chapter Ten, Part One

Looking back over the last month, Chase couldn't believe how amateurish and frankly dangerous his first fee collection with the Twi'lek had been. He'd been damned lucky she hadn't tried to research such an ambiguous-sounding fee afterwards and that he hadn't gotten caught.

Things were much better now. He was more prepared and more selective in the ships they stopped, and he adjusted his methods for each individual captain. Most of the time he simply wrote up fake citations if he thought they wouldn't know any better. All he had to do was rattle off some Imperial documents and form numbers he was quoting the "rules" from to make it sound as official as possible, and if their eyes glazed over or looked like an animal caught in speeder headlights, Chase knew he had it made. Plus, he convinced those people that if they paid the fine immediately, the infraction wouldn't go onto their flight record. This was his favorite approach, as the people often felt he was doing them a favor and would be less likely to complain to others about it or look into it more closely afterward. Chase found he could get a good amount of money from the more gullible or more anxious transport pilots. He was starting to get a secret thrill out of seeing how intimidated some of the more nervous ones got at his authority.

He had also made it a habit to enter the ship with his wingman, then stand back and let Radek do an inspection completely on his own. When Radek was done, Chase would have him stay by the airlock while Chase did a "follow-up inspection" alone to make sure Radek had done it properly. It was during that time when Chase found fake violations to write up.

Everything was going great, and if things kept going at a comparable rate he could have a decent portion of the 20,000 credits by the time the computer program was ready. He didn't believe he could get the full amount by only using this method and staying suspicion-free, but in the meantime he was thinking hard of other ways to get the money. He was starting to get nervous though, as time was running out.

"All done?" Chase asked from beside the airlock as Radek came out of the cockpit of a Barloz Medium Freighter called Speed of Dark with its captain following.

"Yeah." Radek handed Chase a datapad on which he had typed the results of his inspection. Radek looked annoyed, but he politely thanked Captain Adilinik for his time and then parked himself next to the airlock to wait for Chase.

Chase raised an eyebrow. He'd never seen Radek so anxious to be done with an inspection before.

Adilinik looked coldly at Chase, obviously not happy that an Imperial was still onboard and interrupting his schedule. Ignoring the look, Chase glanced over the datapad. Radek had written up a few minor but legitimate infractions, and Chase was happy for it; that made things much easier when dealing with people as uncooperative as this man had proven himself to be so far. On the bottom of the list Radek had typed a note that said, "Three: this guy's being a damn pain. I wouldn't stick around longer than needed if I was you."

Chase had already guessed that much, but Radek's note confirmed it. He couldn't push this guy too far, which meant he'd be getting very few extra credits out of him. Chase took his time transferring Radek'

 

Yowzah! lol @ Chase, once again. I sorta figured something like this would eventually happen, but you had me nervous for Chase the whole time. Suspenseful and well-done. Thank you. I can't wait to see how Chase is going to explain this one away.

 

Heh, of course I jump into the story right at the nastiest cliff-hanger. Go, me.
Great story so far. Love how Chase is going down slowly, and trying to be the 'good guy', no less.
Great work on that scugger!

Oh, please, tell me whn you update.

 

You know what? I'm starting to think that when Chase finally does get caught, as he may have been just now, Palpatine or someone may get wind of it, approve of his actions, and make him some sort of agent, or something.

 

YIKES!

He's got a major problem now, doesn't he? When he gets caught... Or should I say, if he gets caught...

Suspenseful. And a nasty cliff-hanger. More soon?

 

Sorry I?m late, but I?m finally caught up again.

Daetwyler from that PM? I don?t suppose any relation to the show ?Day Break??

CodeBlue held one hand to his chest, and his voice changed to almost bashful intonations. "Why, Needed, we just met. Don't you think that's more of an activity for a second date? Or do you just get more forward with handsome blue-furred fellas like me? I shouldn't fault you for it. I am pretty irresistible."

I like this guy.

So now we see Chase?s plan. And a heck of a plan it is. Verrry clever.

I like Radek?s unbridled enthusiasm for getting to do the random ship inspection.

Ah, better living through hidden charges.

Oh crap! Stellar tension in that whole confrontation with Adilink. And quite a cliffhanger to end it on.

Fantastic updates, Thumper!

 

Trika: I think Chase is wondering how he's going to explain it away too. Yeah, problems were inevitable with something like this, but I'm glad to hear this provided some suspense. Thanks for replying and reading!

MsLanna: I think that was the only cliffhanger I've had here so far. You must have Cliffhanger Detection as a Force Power. Thanks a bunch for the compliments, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I'll add you to the PM list. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Arcalian: I bet getting summoned by Palpatine would be enough to freak out any "Joe Schmoe" Imperial, let alone one who knows he's not playing by the rules, huh? It's an interesting thing to think about: in the Empire, where does insubordination end and initiative begin? Where's that fine line? Thanks for reading and replying!

Idri: Yup, this is Chase's greatest challenge and most major problem to date. And he thought things would be so easy. Thanks for the comments and for reading!

Face: No, unfortunately: I got "Daetwyler" from a street I pass occasionally, and, well, it just looks like a cool name. I'm not familiar with Day Break.
CodeBlue was a fun character, LOL, and a breath of fresh air for me to write in this story. I'm glad you like him.

Ah, better living through hidden charges.

I'd love to make an "Asterisk Hunter" joke here, but I don't know how widespread those commercials were or if they were only local.

Thanks for the compliments and for reading and replying!

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There will not be an update next week, as I'll be busy annoying people across the Pond by playing American Tourist?. I'll resume on the week of the 25th.

And now, the rest of the chapter that was so rudely interrupted by my personal posting habits...

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Chapter Ten, Part Two

The sight was enough to even cut clean through the waves of adrenaline. Chase stopped and stared with wide eyes at Adilinik as he lay crumpled on the deck. That was definitely not a stun bolt like it should have been. His frozen mind could only articulate two words: Oh, no. It was just as well, since no Basic word had yet been invented that described how utterly bad this situation was to Chase. His frozen mind began to thaw out with panic.

"Chase?!"

Chase jumped at the unexpected voice, whirled around again and raised his blaster. Coming into his crosshairs this time was Radek, who was standing in the doorway to the cargo hold and gaping at his wingman. In one hand Radek held his own blaster at the ready but pointed up, and the other gripped his helmet, ready to activate its internal communications link.

The surprise and concern on Radek's face quickly turned to shock when he saw Chase bringing a blaster to bear on him. Radek jumped backwards out of the doorway and flattened himself against the corridor wall.

Chase caught himself just in time to prevent reflexively firing on Radek, but the sight of his wingman just panicked him even more. Even though he didn't shoot, he kept his blaster trained on what little he could see of Radek. "What are you doing here?!" Chase demanded, forcing thick, solid air into his lungs with difficulty. "What did you see?"

"Chase, calm down!" A frightened voice from Radek was something Chase just couldn't get used to. "Put the blaster down. It's me! What are you doing?"

"What did you see?!" Chase repeated. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Everything was collapsing all around him, and he had to fix it. He had to. Somehow. The familiar desperation demanded it.

"I--I--I don't know what I saw! I just thought I heard a blaster shot and came to make sure you were all right! Damn it, Chase, put the blaster down already! Please! You're really freaking me out here!"

Chase hesitated, unsure of what to do and scared of that uncertainty. He couldn't let Radek find out about any of this, but in the last five seconds R

 

Further and further he falls....wonder when he'll hit bottom. Is Chase gonna let the captain dehydrate to death, or whatever the equivalent is? Or is he gonna program the ship to fly into the sun?

Have fun playing tourist! I enjoyed London, personally.

 

You should totally check out Day Break. It's a failed show from a couple seasons ago (only 6 episodes aired), but there's a DVD set out with the whole series on it. It's like a modern noir Groundhog Day with a twist-laden conspiracy. Rob Bowman (X-Files!), Taye Diggs, Adam Baldwin, Mitch Peleggi... Good stuff.

It all stemmed from a misunderstanding that escalated more than it rightfully should have.

Unfortunately not the wacky Three?s Company type.

May I just say Speed of Dark is an enormously clever turn of phrase?

Great post! Thanks for the PM.

 

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.

 

"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!

 

*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.

 

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!

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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.

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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

 

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.

 

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!

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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.

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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 endan

 

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!

 

I'm still catching up here, but I am liking the unexpected mystery surrounding a 'simple' guy...interesting!

 

Sorry for the lateness -- I'm still getting caught up on those last two chapters. Great stuff so far and brilliant writing!

 

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.

 

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!

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No author's notes this time. Well, except for this one, which says there isn't one. And which has now contradicted itself.

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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 min

 

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?

 

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!

 

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!