Beyond - Legends X-Wing: Genesis of a Rogue - Complete! Sequel announcement 2/20 (Syal, Rogues, Doran, OCs, pre FotJ)

Title: X-Wing: Genesis of a Rogue
Rating: PG for language and violence
Genre: Action, drama, political conspiracy
Characters: Syal Antilles, Cheriss ke Hanadi, Wedge Antilles, Doran Tainer, Face Loran, original characters
Timeline: 41 ABY, in between Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters or the fandom. That belongs to Lucas and so forth.
Description: The Second Galactic Civil War is over and Darth Caedus lies dead. As the Alliance military struggles to regroup, one disillusioned pilot is given command of her own unit. Syal Antilles, daughter of the illustrious Wedge Antilles, is named the Commanding Officer of Rogue Squadron, the Alliance?s premier starfighter squadron.

Meanwhile, unrest in the Imperial Remnant threatens to expose a decade-old Galactic Alliance conspiracy. Despite her best efforts to distance herself from Alliance politics, Syal and her squadron soon find themselves embroiled in a cover-up that threatens each of their lives.

Syal is forced to lead her men and women forward despite her own reservations and an enormous secret she must keep from the brave pilots serving under her: she killed one of their own only months earlier.

Change log:
Complete as of 8/6/2010
First revision 9/15/2010

Notes from the Author

Genesis of a Rogue is fic that plays off of my Dap Zorvan trilogy, beginning with X-Wing: Rise of a Rogue. Though these fics share a common root, it is not necessary to read the Dap fics to understand and enjoy Genesis and its sequels.

Genesis of a Rogue takes place during 41 ABY, between the events of Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi. In addition, this fic is canon-compliant.

If you're interested in following the progress on the last few chapters I'm writing this week, you can check in on my LiveJournal account, username LaneWinree, or on Twitter with @LaneWinree. For more pilot!fic from myself and numerous other authors, be sure to check out the DownTime Pilot Index (link in sig).

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Dramatis Personae

With Rogue Squadron

Major Syal Antilles (Rogue One)(Human Female from Corellia)(Commanding Officer)
Major Cheriss ke Hanadi(Rogue Two)(Human Female from Adumar)
Commander Quint Staven (Rogue Three)(Human Male from Baroli)
Lieutenant Haruko Skobra (Rogue Four)(Human Female from Coruscant)
Lieutenant Ryann Anthek (Rogue Five)(Human Male from Danteel)
Lieutenant Rixar Dain (Rogue Six)(Human Male from Dantooine)
Lieutenant Diona Katar (Rogue Seven)(Human Female from Raltiir)
Flight Officer Kessila Lyell (Rogue Eight)(Human Female from Nar Shaddaa)
Flight Officer Jamee Farlander (Rogue Nine)(Human Female from Tatooine)
Flight Officer Telon Salan (Rogue Ten)(Human Male from Contruum)
Flight Officer Kellin Maru (Rogue Eleven)(Human Male from Iattu IV)
Flight Officer Ty Arthos (Rogue Twelve)(Human Male from Belovia)

With the Jedi Order

Doran Tainer (Jedi Knight)(Human Male from Topwara)

With the Smuggler?s Alliance

Talon Karrde (Captain of the Wild Karrde)(Human Male from unknown birthworld)
Mirax Terrik Horn (Acting Captain of the Errant Venture)(Human Female from Corellia)
Gamma Contact (Unknown Affiliation)(Unknown species and birthworld)

With the Imperial Coalition

Moff Adan Mentzer (President of the Coalition to Restore Palpatine?s Empire)(Human male from Jaminere)
Admiral Selon Carracker (Commanding officer of the Thrawn)(Human Male from Coruscant)
Captain Keilara Talatheen (Tau One)( (Human female from Bastion)(Tau Squadron CO)

 

Prologue - Uncertainty

Upon reflection, it was really the first chance Syal Antilles had had to mourn. The Second Galactic Civil War had been so swift she had barely had time to gather her thoughts. Yet, here she was, back on-board a Galactic Alliance vessel and taking her mandatory downtime. The full mass of the war finally hit her. It was bad enough that for a brief amount of time, she and her father had been on opposing sides of the war. There had been a brief moment in time where she had squared off against another X-Wing while on patrol. As hard as she tried, she couldn?t intercept the enemy pilot, and to this day she thanked her lucky stars she didn?t have the skill. The mere thought that she could have vaped her own father that day kept her up at night.

Things only got worse from there. She lost her entire squadron, her fiancé, and somehow found herself flying against the Alliance

Syal knew that she should have resigned her commission as soon as the fighting had ended. She didn?t want to sit behind the flightstick anymore. The notion of flying combat for the Galactic Alliance made her sick to her stomach. During the war she had been ordered to open fire on two of her childhood heroes, former Rogue Squadron commanding officers Luke Skywalker and her father, Wedge Antilles. The experience left a sour taste in her mouth. It should have been more than enough reason to leave Starfighter Command, but she was back aboard an Alliance cruiser awaiting reassignment.

Every terrible memory ricocheted in her mind as she sat in her quarters. The tears had stopped flowing months ago when the initial shock hit her. All that was left was numbness. She should have left, but she couldn?t. She felt honor bound to return to active duty, for she was an officer of the Galactic Alliance Navy. When she accepted her commission as a naval pilot, she promised to serve to the best of her ability. There would be no doubt that she was her father?s child.

Glancing at the chronometer on her nightstand, she realized it was time to take the long walk to the administrative offices. She stood and took a deep, steadying breath. With any luck she would be stationed to a coreward squadron responsible for little more than routine patrols. With her name and service record, she knew the chances were high that she would be assigned command of a unit. Syal could turn the offer down, but once again that pesky sense of duty was at play. Being in charge of another starfighter squadron was the absolute last thing she wanted. She had already lost eleven pilots in one terrible moment during the war. She didn't want to experience that again.

?I must say, your record is remarkable Captain,? General Rizocan said, joltig Syal from her thoughts.

Syal forced a smile, ?Thank you, sir.?

?There?s a whole lot of your father in you,? the General said. ?Shame about the situation he found himself in during the war.?

?Yes, sir,? Syal replied through clenched teeth. She wasn?t about to discuss the way her father, a decorated Rebellion war hero, had been treated by the Galactic Alliance leading up to and during the war.

The General scrolled down the datapad he was holding, ?I?ll be blunt. We?re looking for someone of your skill and reputation to take on a rather important post. Your record indicates that you?re an exceptional pilot with an impressive service record. Previous command experience, time as a test pilot, excellent marks from the Academy,? the General paused and looked up from the datapad, ?the recommendation of General Celchu.?

Syal continued to smile nervously. She didn?t like where this conversation was going in the slightest, ?I?m just doing my job, sir.?

?There?s something your father never had, a controlled ego,? the General replied, ?Captain, as of now I?m under orders to do two things. First, I?m promoting you to the rank of Major.?

The general stood and Syal quickly followed suit, recognizing the military formality she had to go through. General Rizocan reached over his desk and removed the two blue uniform pips on Syal?s unif

 

Chapter One - Asserting Authority

Much as she didn't want the position, Syal had to admit there were a few perks to being a commanding officer.

First and foremost, she got a bigger room. Of course the problem with that was the fact that most of her belongings had been aboard a Third Fleet cruiser that had been obliterated by the Centerpoint Station superweapon. There was only so much decorating one could do with a duffel bag full of clothes and a starfighter helmet. Syal made a mental note to hit up requisitions for some room furnishings.

Not even twenty-four standard hours after receiving her orders Syal had found herself on a shuttle heading towards the Tatooine starsystem. Her new assignment had her reporting to the Imperial Class II Star Destroyer Mon Mothma where Rogue Squadron was currently stationed. Her transfer orders had taken effect so quickly she had barely had time to sleep. She clumsily stumbled towards her bed and collapsed in a heap, staring up at the ceiling. Despite the exhaustion, Syal knew sleep wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

There were two things she feared now that she was commanding Rogue Squadron. The first was that her pilots would discover that only months earlier she had killed one of their own. Her time with Rakehell Squadron had been classified as privileged information the moment she returned to active duty, but that was no guarantee word wouldn't get out. She couldn't imagine the backlash if her pilots discovered what she had done.

The second thing that bothered her seemed much more trivial in comparison: the accusation that her name was the only reason she was commanding Rogue Squadron. Her father had been perhaps the greatest pilot and leader in the unit?s storied history. His exploits were the tales legends were made of. No doubt, there would be pilots and officials who believed that Syal was riding on his legacy.

Her identity had already proven to be a problem several times throughout her career. She had legally changed her name while at the Academy and early in her tenure to keep attention focused on her ability as a pilot. At one point during the war her true identity was exposed, which had caused a rift between her and the commanding officer. After that she was relegated to test flying prototype starfighters, which she viewed as being well beneath her. After that she knew people were going to grumble at her promotion.

Of course, that was bantha poodoo in her mind?s eye. Syal Antilleswas her daddy's girl. Though she was a good deal better at hiding it, she had his ego. Syal knew she was a good flier and was more than capable of being Rogue material.

Syal looked up as the doorchime to her quarters sounded. Groaning, she forced herself back onto her feet and made her way towards the door, keying for it to open. Standing on the other side was a uniformed ensign with a sealed box in his arms, ?Can I help you??

?Major Antilles?? The ensign asked.

Syal rubbed the back of her neck, ?Last I checked that was the name I was going by.?

?Excuse me??

?Nevermind,? Syal shook her head, ?What can I do for you, Ensign??

The young man extended the package, ?Mail call. This arrived for you a few hours ago.?

Syal took the box and nodded her thanks, turning around and closing the door behind her. Sitting down at her empty workdesk, she carefully pealed off the tape holding the lid of the box together. She reached in and pulled out an all-too familiar object. It was a battered starfighter helmet used primarily by X-Wing pilots from the earliest days of the Rebellion to the current. The green and white paint of the helmet had faded and scratched away long ago. The yellow protective visor was in even worse condition, scratched and smudged to the point where it needed to be replaced. As Syal turned the helmet over, a folded sheet of flimsy fell out from within it and onto her desk. She picked it up to read it.

I can?t begin to tell you how proud I am of you. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but for now this will have to suffice. Rogue Leader always

 

Chapter Two ? Veteran Presence

Reality had a terrible habit of transforming good moments into nightmares in a hurry. Just an hour earlier Syal had purged her squadron of pilots with character issues she wanted no part of. That had been all well and good, but now she was left with five openings on the duty roster. Worse, she had five openings on the duty roster and still no executive officer to help vet the potential candidates.

There were two ways she could go about appointing an XO. The first solution was to promote within. The problem with that was that Syal simply didn't know any of the remaining candidates well enough, as people or as pilots, to trust them with the position. She had never flown with any of them in any capacity and hadn?t gotten to know them personally. Syal was reluctant to go that route.

The second option was to try and bring in someone she'd already worked with. That wasn't any easier, though, as most of the pilots she trusted had been killed during the war. Those who hadn't were already settled in their own squadrons.

Syal shook her head and grumbled as she dropped her head forward to rest on the small dining table. She needed a drink. The last two days had gone by painfully fast and she had yet to really unwind. Hopefully some of the remaining Rogues would take her offer of drinks on her credchit. Potent drinks on someone elses tab was hard for any pilot to turn down, even if they were coming from a commanding officer who had made it very clear that none of their jobs were safe.

Syal felt bad that she had been so hard-nosed in the two brief meetings she had conducted. It really wasn?t in her nature to be so rigid, but she had little choice but to lay down the law as it were. She felt little desire to fly in formation with pilots she didn't trust. Tycho had been right, she needed to get them off of the roster. She knew she had done the right thing, but she still felt guilty for putting the fear of the Gods into the Rogues who had survived the razing of the roster.

Hopefully a few rounds of drinks would be a sufficient apology.

As Syal was just about to leave her room, her communication terminal sounded off. Sighing, she walked towards it and took a seat in front of the display, tucking a few stray strands of blonde hair behind her ear as she answered it, ?Antilles.?

?Major, I hope I haven?t caught you at a bad time,? General Rizocan appeared on the screen. Syal couldn't help but notice he looked rather upset.

?Not at all, sir,? she replied. ?I was about to step out to the lounge, but I can wait a few minutes. Is there something I can do for you??

?I won?t mince words,? the General said, ?I just saw these transfer orders and I?m concerned. Your squadron was already down two pilots, yet you just booted three more from your active roster? I?m not sure what that father of yours has told you over the years, but there isn?t exactly a wealth of available pilots out there and there most certainly aren?t many capable of flying in Rogue Squadron.?

Syal tried not to let agitation appear on her face. She wasn?t in the mood to have another superior suggest that her father was the reason she was in this position, ?I understand that sir.?

?Care to explain yourself, then??

?I wasn?t comfortable flying with them,? Syal reached down and squeezed her right leg as she felt it begin to twitch.

Her superior officer frowned, ?That?s not an acceptable answer, Major.?

?Sir, I am not willing to jeopardize my life and the lives of my other subordinates because a quarter of my squadron had egos and emotional baggage they couldn?t keep in check,? Syal explained. ?I didn?t come to this decision lightly.?

?This kind of cavalier behavior might have been something your father got away with,? he said, ?but don?t expect to have the same leeway on my watch. You?ve got until the end of the week to fill your squadron or I?m invalidating these transfer orders and putting the pilots you kicked out back onto your active roster. Is that understood, Major??

?Yes, sir,? Syal said through clenched teeth

 

Chapter Three
The Gamma Equation

Syal had lost track of exactly how much time she and Cheriss had been poring over various applications and pilot records. The wall chrono in her office had been malfunctioning since she first stepped on to the Mon Mothma, but she had been far too busy to requisition a new one. She had already downed five mugs of caf Given that she typically took about twenty standard minutes to finish just one while she was working on paperwork, she estimated that she had been sitting at her desk for well over an hour and a half. It was no wonder her back was starting to bother her.

?So where are we, Cheriss?? Syal asked.

Cheriss glanced down at her datapad, ?There?s the two of us as well as the pilots you retained-?

?Staven, Skobra, Anthek, Dain, and Katar.?

?Correct,? Cheriss nodded. ?We?ve also sent transfer requests to Flight Officer Telon Salan and Flight Officer Jamee Farlander.?

?Salan?s flying with Gold Squadron right now,? Syal noted. ?If I were him, I?d be itching to get away from those old B-Wings and into a real unit. Farlander I?m not worried about. Jamee and I went through the Academy together and if she?s still as proud of her family?s name as I remember, she?ll jump at the chance to fly with us.?

Cheriss set her datapad down for a moment, ?She wouldn?t happen to be related to Keyan Farlander, would she??

?That?s right,? Syal confirmed. ?Strangest thing. She?s a Force sensitive just like her father, but she wanted to become a pilot instead of a Jedi.?

?There?s a tremendous amount of honor in both paths,? Cheriss said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "However, I choose to believe that the path of a snub pilot provides better wardrobe. Flightsuits are far more attractive than Jedi robes."

Syal laughed, ?Sure, but the life expectancy of a Jedi seems to be a few years longer than that of a snubfighter pilot.?

?I won?t argue that,? Cheriss said. ?How skilled of a pilot is she??

?Exceptionally gifted. Frankly I?m surprised to see she?s still kicking around outer-rim stationed squadrons,? Syal frowned, ?She?s far too talented to be holding down some dead-end assignment.?

?So like Salan, Farlander is probable,? Cheriss made a note on her datapad. ?That brings us up to nine pilots. What are your feelings on Ty Arthos??

Syal brought the pilot?s information up on her desk terminal. She flinched as she noted his age. Nineteen? Everything else on the pilot?s record was remarkable. High marks from the Academy and praise from every instructor that had worked with him. Exceptional simulation scores. More praise from his current commanding officer. Despite all that, Syal couldn?t look past the age. He wasn?t even old enough to drink on half of the planets in the Alliance.

?Too young,? Syal said. ?I?m not all that comfortable assigning a kid to the squadron with the lowest life expectancy in the Navy.?

?I think you should give him a chance, Syal,? Cheriss said. ?I wasn?t much older than him when I started flying with Rogue Squadron. Hell, there was another pilot about my age who was recruited by your father.?

Syal considered for a moment. ?Well, you seem to have turned out all right. What about the other pilot??

?Oh, he was a good, technically sound pilot,? Cheriss recalled. ?Probably would have stuck around if it weren?t for the borderline psychopathy.?

Syal flashed Cheriss a concerned look. ?Borderline psychopathy??

?We missed some preexisting signs with him and screwed up,? Cheriss said, waving her hand. ?That?s not important though. Point is he was a gifted nineteen-year-old pilot who flew a few stints with Rogue Squadron. If you?re concerned, have a psych evaluation run on Arthos.?

?You sure about this?? Syal said with a sigh. Throughout this entire process she hadn?t been feeling very confident. She was feeling even less so now that she was considering bringing an exceptionally young pilot into the unit.

?Major, you?re the one who gives final approval, I?m just giving you my input,? Cheriss said. ?I think you should give him a chance, though.?

Syal looke

 

Chapter Four ? Old Foes

The outer-rim was where piloting careers went to die.

If you had done nothing to distinguish yourself from the multitude of other flightstick jockeys, you would inevitably find yourself assigned to an aging cruiser or deep-space platform running endless sector patrols for days on end. The sheer monotony of outer-rim territory postings drove many young pilots to early resignations. More lucrative offers could be found serving as an astrogations specialist on board private transports. At the very least, the private sector would allow a struggling pilot the opportunity to head back coreward and get themselves away from the dreaded far-reaches of the Galactic Alliance.

Flight Officer Syx Trunia was one such pilot debating her future with the Alliance Navy. For three years she had been attempting to transfer into a different unit only to have each request denied. Alliance brass felt that her qualifications weren?t strong enough to merit consideration for a more prominent squadron. She knew that her required obligation to the military would soon be wrapping up and she would be given a choice to re-enlist for another tour of duty or take her meager pension and walk. Unless something changed soon, Flight Officer Trunia couldn?t see herself taking another assignment. She had already been courting offers to captain passenger and cargo haulers for several prominent private industry corporations. At least they would pay well.

Until then, she would have to cope with her dead-end combat piloting career.

For five hours she had been locked into one of the dullest patrols she could remember. Normally she would at least have an interesting sensor anomaly or two that her flight wing would investigate, but today there was absolutely nothing on the scanners. She was tempted to figure out a way to jump back to hyperspace and return to Platform Gamma-Epsilon early without breaking any rules. She didn?t think she could endure another three hours behind the flightstick.

?Lead, this is Four,? her wingman said through the comlink mounted in her helmet

Trunia keyed on her microphone, ?Go ahead, Four.?

?I?m picking up something strange on my forward sensors, but we?re too far away for me to get a firm reading on it,? Four said. ?You want to go check it out??

?Not really,? Trunia admitted, ?but I suppose we don?t have a choice. Kryat Two, Krayt Three form up on me. I?ll take the point.?

As her wingmen acknowledged their orders, Trunia adjusted her forward sensors to try and pick up on the anomaly Four had reported. Sure enough, there was a faint electrical reading on her scope. It was hard to spot, but something was definitely there. As her flight of A-Wings approached the target, she couldn?t get a visual on whatever was causing her forward scope greater and greater agitation. She craned her head, looking through every angle that her cramped starfighter cockpit would allow. Finally, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a round, dark object approaching on the port-side of her ship. As she reached for her throttle lever to slow down her rate of approach, the object exploded

Her forward viewport was immediately lit up by electromagnetic interference splashing against her shields. Before she could respond, electrical systems began shutting down one by one. Moments later, she found herself in a completely dark cockpit. She reached forward to try and manually restart primary functionality. Trunia swore as her command console remained dark and inoperative. Gritting her teeth, she began to take stock of her situation. As she looked to her aft, she saw that her three wingmen were stranded as well. Whatever had marooned her starfighter had also done the same to the other A-Wings in her flight.

Trunia looked down at the white support vest she wore atop her orange flight suit and breathed a sigh of relief. The lights were still on, meaning that it was still functioning. She opened a small hatch on the side of the blocky vest and pulled out a thin, black cable, attaching it to her flight helmet. Pressing a

 

Chapter Five ? Old Conflicts

Syal gritted her teeth as she threw her X-Wing into a hard dive. The TIE Avenger locked onto her aft refused to be shaken, matching her every movement and taking opportunities to spray her aft shields with cannon fire. She juked her flightstick in all directions to create a harder profile for the Avenger to hit. Frowning to herself, she decided to attempt a stunt she had read about in an advanced combat manual a few days earlier. Syal pulled her flightstick to the left, putting her X-Wing on her port S-Foil. Immediately, she pulled the stick back towards her and initiated a moderate bank. The Avenger took the bait, matching her movement precisely. Grinning, Syal cut the throttle of her starfighter back to three-quarters thrust.

The TIE Avenger couldn?t compensate in time. The opposing pilot hadn't noticed that Syal?s X-Wing had slowed down, and the moment it engaged in its own bank maneuver it overshot Syal completely. Pulling out of the bank, Syal lined up her targeting reticule on the TIE and held down the trigger on her flightstick. Her cannons, set to single-fire bursts, tore through the Avenger?s shields. When her targeting computer informed her that the target?s aft shields were down she switched to dual-link firing mode and realigned her reticule. She squeezed the trigger once, sending two bright red bolts of superheated Tibanna gas towards her target. The blast pierced the Avenger?s twin-ion engine drive core, setting off a chain reaction that engulfed the doomed ship in an explosive fireball. Quickly, Syal shifted her shields to double-front coverage as she rode her X-Wing through the explosion.

The forward viewport and her command console suddenly went black. Syal winced slightly as the hatch of the simulation chamber opened, letting in the artificial light of the room she was in. Sighing, Syal removed her helmet and set it on her knee as she caught her breath. The first time she had sat in a combat flight simulator had been an eye opening experience. She had never realized just how much physical exhertion went into flying. There were days where her arms and legs would feel sore for hours just from manipulating the control stick and etheric rudder pedals.

?Major Antilles,? a simulation chamber attendant said as he approached her, ?You?ve been summoned to briefing room one by General Suriz.?

Syal raised a brow, ?That?s a little short-notice. Were you told anything else??

?No ma?am,? the attendant said. ?All I can tell you is that General Suriz said it was urgent and he expects you to report as soon as possible.?

?Understood,? Syal said as she climbed out of the simulator, ?Is Major ke Hanadi still running a sim? I?ll need her to join me.?

The attendant shook his head, ?Sorry, ma?am. The Major said she needed to end her run early so she could speak to someone in Internal Affairs. Would you like me to page her??

?No, that will be fine,? Syal said. ?I?ll go track her down myself. Tell General Suriz that I?ll be there ten minutes.?

?Yes, ma?am.?

Syal unzipped the top of her flightsuit, peeling her arms out of the orange material and tieing the sleeves around her waist, leaving her in an old shirt with a faded red Rebel Alliance insignia on the front. If she remembered correctly, she had stolen it from her father a few years earlier. As she walked towards the Internal Affairs offices, Syal wondered why her executive officer had ended her simulation early. If there was one person who insisted on spending more time in simulations than she did, it was Cheriss ke Hanadi. In the few days that they had been working together, Syal had been forced to reschedule a handful of meetings because Cheriss insisted on completing her regular simulation excercises. What could possibly have gotten her to stop one part-way through? As Syal approached the entryway to the IA offices, she heard the sound of her executive officer yelling at the top of her lungs. Syal assumed that she was about to find out why Cheriss had left early.

?They?re the only ones without memorials!? Cheriss excl

 

Chapter Six ? Deployment

?First order of business,? Syal said as she shuffled the stack of notes written hastily on sheets of flimsy, ?is introducing the newest members of Rogue Squadron?

She gestured towards the front row of the briefing room where the young greenhorns were seated, ?Major ke Hanadi and I have selected who we believe are the finest young pilots available to us.?

?Mr. Selan, if you could stand,? Syal said. As ordered, the human male on the far left stood. ?Telon Selan transfers to us from Gold Squadron. Mr. Selan has trained extensively in capitol ship neutralization strategies as well as controlled demolitions.?

Syal motioned for Selan to sit and nodded towards the next pilot, a young, dark-skinned teenager, ?Ty Arthos was previously serving as a reserve pilot with Kalidor Squadron. His former commanding officer tells me that we?ve got a real promising candidate.?

?He?s also under the drinking age,? Cheriss chimed in, ?so if he offers to buy a round for all of us be suspicious.?

Syal let the chuckles from the rest of the squadron subside before proceeding further, ?Also joining us is Flight Cadet Jamee Farlander. If the name sounds familiar, it should. Yes she is related to that Farlander, but I assure all of you that her skills with the flightstick are superb.?

?Of course they are,? Farlander interjected, ?I was the only one at the Academy capable of vaping you in a simulator.?

Syal glared. ?You got lucky. I had a cold.?

?Sure, Major,? Farlander replied smugly, ?Keep on clinging to that one.?

?Moving on,? Syal said, rolling her eyes. She looked towards the last pilot in the row, but the young flight cadet seemed disinterested in the entire process. Her arms were folded across her chest and her eyes were locked on the cold floor below.

Syal did her best to keep her annoyance in check. ?This is Flight Cadet Kess Lyell. Cadet Lyell has flown exclusively with XJ series X-Wings and has crosstrained as an Incom certified mechanic.?

Leaning against the podium, Syal finally looked up from her notes. ?That does it for the introductions. I will ask the long-time Rogue Squadron veterans to refrain from rookie hazing that might cause physical harm. Anything else is fair game.

?And now,? Syal continued, ?for the real reason we?re here this morning. Boys and girls, we?re going on a field trip. Major, if you would??

Cheriss approached the podium, triggering the switch to dim the lights. A map of several outer-rim territory sectors appeared on the large wall display behind her. ?Over the last few months several flights of recon starfighters stationed onboard non-mobile platforms have mysteriously gone missing in action. To date, one flight of B-Wings, two flights of A-Wings, and two full squadron compliments worth of X-Wings have vanished without a trace. Search crews investigating the last known locations of these flights were unable to find any sign of debris or distress.?

Syal took a seat in the back of the briefing room as Cheriss continued. ?At this point, Alliance Intelligence suspects that foul play is involved. Forensics crews have detected faint magnetic pulse discharge readings in several of the sites where loss of signal with the patrol flights were registered.?

?Magnetic pulse discharge?? Quint Staven spoke up from the middle rows, ?Sounds like those ships were captured. You don?t use electronic-disrupting weaponry if you?re more worried about destroying a target.?

Cheriss nodded an affirmative, ?That?s what we believe has happened.?

?Any idea who is involved?? Lieutenant Skobra asked.

?Intelligence has a guess,? Cheriss said. ?We believe that a small splinter group within the Imperial Remnant has broken off from the majority and is engaging in quick hit-and-fade attacks on Alliance patrols in preparation for something larger.? Cheriss took a deep breath. ?Alliance agents on Bastion have identified this cell as the Coalition to Restore Palpatine?s Empire.?

Commander Staven scoffed, ?Stormtroopers and TIE Fighters. Now there?s a unpleasant childhood nightmare comi

 

Looks to be another AMAZING story Lane!! I can't wait to see where this goes. Also hope your bringing Doran in on this soon! Can't wait for the next update.

 

voxynking - Thanks for reading! I do enjoy writing these pilot fics, so I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Chapter Seven - Studying Up

The only place Syal felt truly comfortable anymore was behind the flightstick of her X-Wing. Unfortunately she had just been assigned a new personal starfighter to replace the one she had left with Rakehell Squadron. Nothing in this new X-Wing felt right. Her old flightstick used to have a noticeable hitch when she pulled left, a marker she used when banking in that direction. The new ship's factory-smooth controls had no such distinctions yet. Syal realized it was going to take her some time to bring out the starfighter's personality. Now it was little more than a blank slate.

As she fiddled with the positioning of her ejector seat to better reach the etheric rudder pedals, Syal looked at the protective helmet sitting atop the flight console. The green and yellow paint had chipped away in places over the years; the once pristine white had turned grey. This had been her father?s flight helmet, the one he had worn through two Death Star runs. Occasionally when Syal was younger, she would sneak into her father?s office to try it on and fantasize that she was a brave X-Wing pilot as well.

Her father claimed that the old helmet was lucky. Syal hoped that she wouldn?t need any of that moving forward, but she couldn?t help but shake the feeling of unease that had been consuming her over the last few days. She didn?t like the reports she was receiving from High Command. More starfighter outfits were going missing in the outer rim sectors. They only clues that were left behind were trace amounts of ionization discharge, suggesting they had been captured rather than destroyed.

What she had a hard time coming to terms with was who Alliance Intelligence believed was behind the rash of missing starfighters and pilots. A splinter cell within the Imperial Remnant? Surely the remaining holdouts of Palpatine?s empire couldn?t be this fragmented. One of their own was head of the Galactic Alliance, a thought that made Syal cringe. What was to be gained by breaking away from the Remnant? To Syal, it seemed like an incredibly far-fetched explanation. There were bands of pirates out there that had been known to prey upon remote Alliance installations.

Of course, the number of ships that had gone missing made the pirates scenario less likely. She had never heard of pirates who could be that bold. What was even more disturbing was the reaction several of the long-time Rogues had when the theory was explained to them. It was almost as if they were expecting it, as if they knew that this Imperial splinter cell would rear its head at some point in time. They weren?t the least bit surprised.

They were furious.

Syal had meant to use her security clearance to try and read up on the Jaminere campaign. Prior to her briefing with Director Kalenda she had been completely unaware that the Rogues had ever been assigned to that system on a mission. Several times she had tried to coax some information out of the older Rogue pilots, but for some reason they seemed reluctant to say anything. She knew many of them were under orders not to discuss what had happened, but to Syal it felt as if they were purposefully trying to avoid the topic lest they dredge up memories buried long ago.

Something terrible had happened to her squadron eleven years ago and she was determined to figure out what it had been. Syal wasn?t sure if the events on Jaminere were linked to the disappearing starfighters. All she knew was that her pilots were distracted, and she needed answers if she was going to get through to them. She glanced at the datapad stored in an open side-compartment in her cockpit. Hopefully the Alliance records she had downloaded onto them the previous night would yield some answers.

?Hangar Control to Major Antilles,? a voice said from the left side of the cockpit.

Syal blinked and looked over to see Flight Officer Jamee Farlander leaning against the hull. ?Sorry, I didn?t even notice you were there.

 

Honestly, I think I love you more than I love ice cream right now. Syal!fic? Pilot!fic? Together at the same time? It's love!

 

Always good to have a story starring Syal

Inteesting read, can't wait for more.

 

Controller - Thank you! You won't have to wait too long for more. I should be able to hold a regular Monday-Friday update schedule since I've already written most of the story. I put the finishing touches on the fifteenth chapter last night and should be able to get through the last three posts (if the current outline construction stays true to how I drew it up) by the middle of next week. The only way I really foresee not sticking to the schedule is if I'm struck down by lightning or a plague. Or both. You never know.

Elena - More than ice cream? Hey now, let's not say things we can't take back. Ice cream is the wonderful manna that runs the universe.

Seriously though, thank you so much! I absolutely love pilot-fic (which seems to be what I've written exclusively here since 2005, I've got a few more longfics noted in the link in my sig) and Syal has become my favorite new EU minor character. I wish more fanfic and profic writers would use her in their stories.

By the way, I hopped over to your LJ fic archive and had a gander. Love how you handle Syal, Wes, and Hobbie!

 

Chapter 8 ? Conspiracy

Syal had a number of hours before she would be dropping out of hyperspace. Finally she had time to review the files concerning Rogue Squadron?s assignment to Jaminere ten years ago. Unstrapping her helmet, she removed it and set it over her knee. Syal reached into the cargo pocket on the leg of her flightsuit and withdrew her datapad, powering it on and bringing up the files she downloaded. It wasn?t long before she was met with frustration.

A good majority of the information had been redacted. As near as she could tell, Rogue Squadron had been in a nearby star system during that stretch of time, but she had no idea if she could trust that report. There were so many holes in the data. One particularly troubling omission came in the roster manifest at the time. Syal could only shake her head as she read over it.

ROGUE ONE: Lieutenant Colonel Jaina Solo
ROGUE TWO: Captain Kral Nevil
ROGUE THREE: [REDACTED]
ROGUE FOUR: [REDACTED]
ROGUE FIVE: Major Cheriss ke Hanadi
ROGUE SIX: [REDACTED]
ROGUE SEVEN: [REDACTED]
ROGUE EIGHT: Flight Officer Haruko Skobra
ROGUE NINE: [REDACTED]
ROGUE TEN: [REDACTED]
ROGUE ELEVEN: [REDACTED]
ROGUE TWELVE: Lieutenant Lensi
ROGUE THIRTEEN: [REDACTED]
ROGUE FOURTEEN: Flight Officer Ryann Anthek
ROGUE FIFTEEN: Flight Officer Rixar Dain
ROGUE SIXTEEN: Flight Officer Diona Katar

Half of the squadron members at the time had been stricken from the records. This, in conjunction that she was already aware that Rogue Squadron had been in Jaminere and not the star system listed at that time, confirmed her suspicions that there was a massive cover-up taking place. The Alliance didn?t want anyone to find out what Rogue Squadron had been up to ten years ago. Syal was half tempted to try and comm. Jaina Solo to try and wrangle information out of her. At this point, she just wanted answers. She wanted to know why Alliance Intel believed that the events on Jaminere ten years ago were linked to the disappearing starfighters now.

Frustrated, Syal was about to power off her datapad when she noticed an unread message in her electronic mail inbox. Her eyes narrowed as she saw who was listed in the ?sender? field: Gamma One. This unknown person had already managed to sneak a message through secure Alliance lines of communication once. How had they pulled it off a second time? Opening the message she could see that there were several attachments, old Alliance news articles written ten years earlier. In the main body of the message was a short note:

Want to know what happened on Jaminere? This isn?t the truth, but it will get you pointed in the right direction

Gamma One

Intrigued, Syal opened the first attachment.

Alliance Pilot Pleads Guilty to Charges of Treason and Mutiny

A high-ranking senior officer assigned to Alliance Navy group Rogue Squadron plead guilty to charges of treason and mutiny, a pair of serious crimes punishable by life in military prison or death. Major Darvix Zorvan appeared defiant in front of the military tribunal convened to assess the case against him and determine what punishment would be appropriate for a case of this magnitude.

Despite the guilty plea, Major Zorvan insisted that he acted in the best interests of his squadron. Alliance Military High Command would not elaborate on the specifics that had caused Zorvan to be brought up on charges. A public relations official was quoted as saying that ?Major Zorvan is believed to have falsified orders pertaining to the classified mission Rogue Squadron was assigned. He put the safety of his squadronmates and the Alliance in jeopardy.?

Alliance Military officials are keeping tight-lipped concerning the events that prompted this tribunal. Lieutenant Colonel Jaina Solo, commanding officer of Rogue Squadron, was equally disinclined to speak regarding her second-in-command. Numerous members of the media approached her in the hallway after the first session of the tribunal, but she chose to offer a ?no comment? only.

The one person willing to speak with the media was former General and retire

 

Chapter 9 ? Captured

Commander Staven wasn?t at all interested in a prolonged interrogation session. There really wasn?t much of a point to holding out information that his captors could easily ascertain by going through the computers on his X-Wing. Some younger pilots would be tempted to hold out information and go through some rigorous torture session like they had seen in some holofilm growing up. Quint knew better than that. If he was going to get out, he stood a much better chance if he were in one piece rather than having to go through a brutal interrogation instead. That?s why he was going to spill his guts, it was the smart thing to do.

He looked up as the door to the interrogation room slid open. A rather imposing looking woman walked in, clad in a grey Imperial officer?s uniform. By a quick glance he could tell she was a pilot of some sort, he assumed Imperial Navy. Captain?s bars, likely a commanding officer of a squadron. She exuded an air of supremacy with each stride and in the way she carried herself, likely a native of Bastion. Quint could tell that this woman was going to press until she got the answers she was looking for.

The woman took a seat, folding her hands together and setting them on the table. ?First off, you?re going to tell me-?

?Staven, Quintyn. Serial identification number seven-nine-alpha-eight-oh-zeta-epsilon-six-four. Galactic Alliance Navy, rank Commander. Specialization in Incom X-class starfighters. Assigned unit Rogue Squadron. Assigned mission to determine the cause behind a series of missing outer rim squadrons. Now, if you wouldn?t mind indulging me, who are you and where is the rest of my squadron??

The Imperial officer blinked a few times, clearly surprised by how forthcoming her prisoner was. Quint could sense a hint of disappointment coming from her. No doubt she wanted to at least hit him a few times, if for nothing else than to get a bit of excitement out of what was turning into a more-than-routine interrogation. She frowned as she replied. ?I?m Captain Keilara Talatheen, commanding officer of Tau Squadron.?

?You?re the commanding officer of Tau Squadron?? Quint asked. ?I think you?re full of it. I?ve met the commanding officer of Tau while on exchange on a Remnant cruiser. He most certainly does not have your-" He paused for a moment. "Figure."

Captain Talatheen glared at Quint. ?Commander Korimor was?relieved of his duties several months ago. He had a difficult time accepting the orders of Admiral Carracker and Moff Mentzer.?

?How delightful!? Quint exclaimed. ?You?re under the command of that traitor Mentzer? I?m sorry to say, but I think Commander Korimor might have been on to something.?

?You?ll shut your mouth if you know what?s best for you.?

Quint smiled. ?Oh, I think my troubles pale in comparison to yours.?

?How do you figure, Commander Staven??

?Did you miss the part of my prepared confession where I said I was a part of Rogue Squadron?? Quint asked. ?You may have half of us, but the other six members of the squadron are still out there, waiting to pounce on you and Mentzer, and trust me, when my commanding officer finds out that you?ve got us here, she?ll be ready to blow a hole in this starship to pull us out. I do hope you?re ready to deal with the consequences.?

He could see that Captain Talatheen was not amused by what he had just told her. He even detected a small hint of fear. Standing, she turned her back to Quint and walked towards the door, speaking with a guard posted on the other side. ?Put him with the others. I want a double-strength security detail on this group.

?How are my pilots, Captain??

?They?re fine,? Talatheen responded coldly, ?For now, anyways.?

***

Keilara was concerned. Perhaps that was putting it mildly. Keilara was panicking. She moved briskly towards the bridge of the Thrawn, pushing past several idle Stormtroopers that were in her way. She needed to bring this news to Admiral Carracker?s attention. Keilara burst onto the bridge, announcing her arrival and storming towards the Admiral. This had to be tak

 

DAP!!!! dap dap dap dap!!! Please say that was Dap at the end. It sounded like Dap. It would make sense if it was Dap. Here I was going to have the whole "how could you kill Dap", which I can't promise. That may still come if it's not really Dap but I'm really hoping it will be. Great job!!

 

voxynking - It could be, but remember there are six pilots who left Rogue Squadron after the Alliance swept them under the rug eleven years earlier. Any one of them could be working in the shadows to help Wedge.

Thanks for reading, all! New post today, in which a tall, smarmy Jedi comes into play.

***


Chapter 10 ? Waltz

?I?m pretty sure the Alliance couldn?t have left us in a worse position if they tried,? Syal rubbed the exhaustion out of her eyes. Two days earlier they had set up shop in a residential complex in the heart of Bastion?s capitol city. It had taken hours to sneak equipment off of their transport and set them up. Now the living area of the unassuming apartment had been transformed into a makeshift listening post, filled with gear that was tapped into local area communication networks. Currently Haruko Skobra sat in front of the monitoring tools, cupping her headset to her ears as she tried to parse through the data.

Cheriss scoffed. ?Speaking from experience, I can assure you it?s entirely possible for the Alliance to leave us in worse position.?

To say Syal wasn?t pleased was a tremendous understatement. She had been given assurances that she would be properly briefed and given a course of action when she reached Face. She wasn?t angry with the long-time intelligence agent for not giving her enough of a plan to work with. No, that was squarely on the shoulders of Alliance Intelligence as a whole. This wasn?t what she had signed up for. Her pilots weren't ground operatives.

They were pilots and they were way out of their element.

?Keep your hands off of my stuff you scum-sucking mynock!?

Syal groaned and made her way to the back room. Lyell was at Arthos? throat again, something she had been doing since they touched down on Bastion. For some unknown reason, Lyell wanted nothing to do with the young rookie pilot. Often these were shows of superiority by older pilots.. If they were back on the Mon Mothma, Syal would likely have taken the time to sort out these issues. Unfortunately, they were in the heart of the Imperial Remnant, and furthermore, she was in a bad mood.

?I have no idea what is going on between you two,? Syal snapped, ?but this is neither the time nor the place for you two to argue like school children.?

Lyell glared at Arthos. ?If he wants to keep his head attached to his shoulders he?s going to leave my personal gear alone.?

?I assure you it was an accident, Kess,? Arthos said diplomatically, holding up his hands as a sign of innocence. ?I merely thought that was my duffel.?

?Like hell it was!? Lyell shot back. ?I caught you reading through my datapad yesterday.?

?Enough!? Syal exclaimed. ?Arthos, be more mindful about other people?s gear. Lyell, you had best learn to deal with people you don?t necessarily like. Now get this straightened out. Major ke Hanadi is conducting a briefing in five minutes.?

Turning on her heels, Syal left her two subordinates to work out their own issues. Stepping back into the living area, she saw that Cheriss had set up a portable holoprojector on the dinner table, dimming the lights and turning it on. Arthos and Lyell walked in shortly after, making a point not to make eye contact with each other. Skobra and Jamee looked on from the table where their communications tapping gear was set.

Cheriss began as the projector displayed an image of the communication building that was their primary target. ?Here?s what we know. Officially the designation of this building is CommHub thirty-eight. It?s the primary holonet routing station for Imperial military traffic and also serves as a secure data archive and storage facility. The latter part is what we?re after,? The image on the projector changed to a schematic view, panning down towards the basement levels, ?We want to try and make it here, but the catch is the security clearance required is fairly high-level.?

?Unfortunately, we don?t have a slicer at our disposal, which leaves us with one real option left,? Cheriss said. ?We?ve got to lift access credentials from someone.?

 

Chapter 11 ? Discovered

?You?ll notice that we?re joined by someone that will no doubt make Mr. Arthos feel somewhat more at home,? Syal gestured towards Doran Tainer, the second of only two males in a largely female dominated briefing. ?Mr. Tainer is a member of the Order and the son of former Wraith Squadron pilots Kell and Tyria Sarkin-Tainer. By lineage alone we can probably trust him.?

Syal was surprised. She expected there to be some pushback or anger that another variable had been inserted into their already convoluted, poorly defined plan of attack. She didn?t get that feeling from them. ?Jedi Knight Tainer will be assisting with this operation moving forward. I believe that he has access to resources that will prove immediately useful to us.?

?Please tell me that those resources are foodstuffs,? Flight Officer Farlander said. ?I?m sick of ration bars.?

?No, but I do have a crate of Whyren?s onboard my transport,? the tall Jedi offered.

?I like him. Can we keep him??

Syal rolled her eyes. ?Diverting our attention back to more pressing matters. Cheriss, if you would.?

The lights dimmed and the holoprojector on the dining table came to life. ?Good news all around, Haruko was successful in getting the login credentials and Mr. Tainer was able to assist in using the encryption algorithms to create four entry cards that should have the security clearance needed to get into the facility?s archive storage wing.

?Based on the level of exposure we?ve already had here on bastion, we?re going to proceed immediately. Group assignments are as follows: Group One will consist of Skobra, Arthos, and Farlander. Group Two will consist of myself, Major Antilles, Lyell, and Tainer.

?Group one will wait on board the transport. In the case that an emergency pullout is needed, you have clearance to go green with all weapons systems to punch a hole in the facility and get Group Two to safety. It goes without saying this is the last resort. Do not approach the communication hub unless you have received a distress signal. Lieutenant Skobra, you have command of the first group. Questions??

Flight Officer Arthos raised his hand. ?Why are we only sending four into the hub??

?Again, exposure,? Cheriss said. ?We don?t want to commit more than we need to. Furthermroe everyone in Group Two has cross-trained in other useful ground skills. Syal, Kess, and I are certified in the Academy?s hand-to-hand combat program.?

?Are you sure that-?

?This part of the plan isn?t up for debate. Major Antilles and I have selected the members of the squadron that we feel are best suited for this task. Moving on, Group Two??

The projector displayed a layout of the grounds surrounding the communication hub. A red dot illuminated one of the entrances. ?Group Two will enter through the front gates. We have procured uniforms, so as long as we don?t draw any attention to ourselves, we should be able to get in with relative ease.?

A path was traced on the projector as it switched from an overhead layout to a three-dimensional blueprint. ?Proceed to the secondary equipment turbolift and head down to sub-level twelve. If we time this right, we should arrive at the data storage wing exactly during a shift change. We will need to work quickly. Mr. Tainer will slice into the system and attempt to recover any data that looks to be of value to our investigation. While he?s doing this the rest of Group Two will act as lookouts.?

?What do we do if someone shows up and starts asking questions?? Kessila asked.

?Stall them. If you have to, shoot them.?

?But if you do have to shoot them, try to shoot them quietly,? Syal said. ?You know how much data archive people hate loud noises.?

Cheriss continued after the chuckles subsided. ?Once we have the information we?re looking for, we retrace our steps and casually make our way to the transport, take off, and Force permitting, we all enjoy some of Tainer?s Whyren?s and toast to the fact that none of us will ever have to come back here. Questions anybody? No? Unless Major Antilles has any further busines

 

Author's Notes: We're a little past the half-way mark so to make sure we're all on the same page, here's a quick rundown of the major players in this fic:

Syal Antilles - Daughter of Wedge Antilles and current commanding officer of Rogue Squadron. During the Legacy of the Force EU novels she, on orders from Galactic Alliance general Tycho Celchu, flew against Rogue Squadron as a member of the Jedi led Rakehell Squadron. She downed and killed a Rogue in combat.

Cheriss ke Hanadi - An Adumari blastsword champion and New Republic/Alliance starfighter pilot. In this fic she's the executive officer of Rogue Squadron and close friend of Syal.

Doran Tainer - A Jedi Knight and member of the Order. Son of former Wraith Squadron operatives Kell and Tyria Sarkin-Tainer.

Haruko Skobra - A longtime Rogue Squadron veteran and noted con artist.

Quint Staven - Another longtime Rogue veteran and the de-facto third-in-line to command the squadron.

Kess Lyell - Former Incom mechanic and noted hothead pilot. Seems to have a history with Cheriss ke Hanadi and a connection to Talon Karrde's information network.

Keilara Talatheen - Captain of the Imperial Coalition's Tau starfighter squadron. Spearheading the effort to capture Alliance starfighters.

Adan Mentzer - Former Alliance senator to the planet of Jaminere. Defected to the Imperial Remnant and now is the head of a splinter cell known as the Coalition to Restore Palpatine's Empire.

Gamma Contact - A mysterious information broker supposedly a part of Talon Karrde's storied information network.

Hope that helps!

Chapter 12 ? Cut Off

The Rogues arrived at the Wild Karrde four standard days after recovering Face Loran and discovering that half of the squadron had gone missing. The mood was as dour as Cheriss ke Hanadi had ever seen it. She had been on two prior tours of duty with the Rogues, but never had she seen the pilots of the Alliance?s premier starfighter squadron so thoroughly downtrodden. Syal in particular seemed to have taken the news harder than anyone. Cheriss couldn?t blame her. If she were the commanding officer of Rogue Squadron, she would likely feel responsible as well. Precious little had gone right since leaving Alliance space.

She was beginning to worry about the young Antilles. Cheriss was perhaps the only person in the squadron who understood the full gravity of her situation. It wasn?t just the crushing loss of half of her men and women, she was still dealing with wounds suffered during the Civil War. Syal had lost her squadron and fiancé to Centerpoint Station. Before she could even find a moment to grieve, the young pilot found herself serving alongside Cheriss with Rakehell squadron. Both of them would be forced to fight against Rogue Squadron. She had been forced to eject after her A-Wing had taken critical damage.

She had discovered later that Syal had vaped one of the Rogues she had gone up against. Cheriss couldn?t begin to pretend to understand how conflicted her now commanding officer had been. In the weeks since she had been brought aboard as the unit?s executive officer, Syal had confided in her how guilty she felt. For a while, it seemed as if the Corellian would be able to keep that guilt in check, but now that things were spiraling out of control she seemed to be losing her hold on her feelings. Cheriss could sense that she was quickly becoming emotionally compromised.

There was one more element to all this turmoil, though the hard-nosed daughter of Corellia would never admit it. Cheriss knew that Syal?s surname was weighing her down heavily. No doubt she had heard the whispers. Syal Antilles was only in command of Rogue Squadron because her father was an Alliance legend. It was nothing more than a public relations stunt. Objectively Cheriss knew that there were few pilots in the entire fleet as skilled as Syal. Still, if she were in that position Cheriss would likely have the same doubts in the back of her mind.

She looked across the transport at the seat her commanding officer sat in, the seat she had scarcely left

 

?Not for me. You should lock him up, marrying a Jedi is a wonderful sex life move.?

?You are worse than my mother."



There's a story there, right? 'Cause if not, there should be.

Syal took a few steps forward but stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes locked onto the man standing in the center of the living area.

?It?s good to see you, sweetie,? Wedge said.

Ahem. *coughs* Will Syal get full disclosure from Dad? Or more cryptic sideways talk that leads to frustration?

And will we see Dap, who I doubt is dead? Granted, Jaina knew about the IPE formula and could have passed it along to one of the Rogues who walked away, but ... but somehow I doubt it.

It's great to see another pilot-fic!

 

Nymue -

There's a story there, right? 'Cause if not, there should be.

With Mirax and Iella? There's always a story with Mirax and Iella

Ahem. *coughs* Will Syal get full disclosure from Dad? Or more cryptic sideways talk that leads to frustration?

Oh there will be some answers, but how much can you say about a mysterious information broker that goes to great pains to keep his identity a secret?

And will we see Dap, who I doubt is dead? Granted, Jaina knew about the IPE formula and could have passed it along to one of the Rogues who walked away, but ... but somehow I doubt it.

Don't discount the possibility! Jaina's awfully focused with the Jedi these days, but I imagine her loyalty to Rogue Squadron is unwavering.

Thanks for reading! Genesis has been an absolute blast to write.

 

Chapter 13 ? Sold Out

Syal could have sworn that her heart nearly was about to jump out of her chest. Without thinking, she ran towards her father and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Part of her recognized that this was a very childish reaction, but she didn?t care. She had missed her father terribly. This was as unexpected a surprise as she could possibly have been given. For an all too brief moment, she forgot about the botched mission and the inner turmoil she had been battling.

For now, things were okay. Her daddy was here.

?What are you doing here?? Syal asked as she wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.

?Oh, just checking up on a daughter that I am very proud of right now,? Wedge said, ruffling Syal?s hair. His eyes opened wide as he finally got a good look at her, ?You cut your hair!?

?Is that the only thing anyone is going to say to me??

Wedge laughed as he wrapped Syal into a powerful hug that only a father could give, ?How are you holding up??

Syal looked up at her father. It was at that moment the barriers finally broke down. She launched into a tear-filled account of the trials she had gone through. She recounted every detail, from the other pilots and Alliance brass who questioned her credentials to the disaster on Bastion. Syal shared the terrible guilt she felt for having lost six of her pilots. Even though she knew she wasn?t to blame for the Alliance turning their backs on them, she explained that she felt personally responsible.

Wedge sat Syal down and looked her square in the eyes. ?Have you heard any of them express concern about your abilities??

?Cheriss has shown some concern,? Syal admitted.

?She?s your executive officer,? Wedge said. ?That?s part of her job. Tycho used to watch over me like Drayberian hawk to make sure I was tending to my own welfare properly.?

?Syal,? her father took a seat beside her. ?The fact that these six pilots are still with you means that they trust you. I suppose what I?m trying to say is that you have to stop second-guessing yourself. I?ve seen your records. You?re as skilled as anyone ever to come from the Academy. Face even told me that you had the guts to drop skilled pilots.?

?You were spying on me with Face??

Wedge smiled sheepishly. ?Not spying so much as?" He paused, looking thoughtful, "Using a friend to confirm that my daughter is okay.?

If she were a few years younger, Syal would have been greatly annoyed that her father was keeping tabs on her like that. Now she found it to be a touching gesture. Despite the fact that she was all grown up and commanding her own squadron, he still cared deeply about her well-being. ?I?ll forgive you this time, but don?t make a habit out of it.?

Wedge rolled his eyes. "Syal, answer me this. Why did you kick so many pilots off your roster?"

"They had character issues," she mused aloud. "They couldn't let go of grudges and I knew that was going to be a problem."

"Reason enough as far as I'm concerned, but I'm curious. Did anything else play into it?"

Syal shrugged. "I didn't trust them."

"I thought you would say that," Wedge replied. "I'm going to set down my Father's hat for a moment to put on my General's bars."

"Does that mean I should address you as "sir" for the time being?"

"I'd prefer you not, this would get way too creepy for my tastes," Wedge said with a grin. "When I took command of Rogue Squadron, Luke left me with only one piece of advice. When I handed the Rogues over to Tycho I left it with him as well and I know he told Gavin the same thing when he became Rogue Leader."

"You're never going to be completely sure about anyone," he continued. "There are going to be times when you're just going to have to take a chance on someone, and that's okay. Sometimes they'll surprise you."

Syal opened her mouth to speak. Initially she wanted to object and argue that she had made the right call, but who was she to argue? Her father had been one of the best, perhaps the best at piecing squadrons together. She smiled warmly at her father, "I'll remem

 

Weeeeeeeeee!! More Dap. Yes, I know you're trying to be all mysterious about the identity of Gamma Contact, but I had a guess from the prologue, and Wedge's statment about Gamma being one of his boys, just confirms it. I'm gonna go re-read the other stories now. Can you PM when you update, please.

 

InsaneIsta - Thanks for reading! No need for PM updates this time around, this fic is going to take the weekend off and begin posting again Monday. Because I've got the entire thing written already there's going to be a regular posting schedule. Starting next Monday I'll begin posting the final chapters. Genesis will wrap up with the epilogue on Friday.

Yes, I know you're trying to be all mysterious about the identity of Gamma Contact, but I had a guess from the prologue, and Wedge's statment about Gamma being one of his boys, just confirms it.

Just remember, Wedge has had an awful lot of pilots pass through Rogue Squadron, and don't discount the Wraiths who were built around intelligence operatives!

Thanks for reading, all. New post today and as a reminder I'll be taking the weekend off. Back Monday to start the last run of updates.

***
Chapter 14 ? Cavalry

Syal was pushed off of the transport and onto the hangar floor. Her captors had, perhaps wisely, insisted on binding her hands behind her backs. Quickly glancing around she made a quick check on her pilots. Everyone was there, including Ty Arthos who had gone silent during the brief dogfight they had gotten into. She suspected that getting pulled out of hyperspace so abruptly had damaged his Y-Wing?s communication system. Syal thanked the Force that all six of them were okay. She had lost enough pilots in one week.

?All things considered it could be worse,? Cheriss said, her own hands bound as well. ?They could have shot us.?

?Well at least there are small miracles,? Syal said. She winced in pain as she felt a blaster rifle shoved into her back.

?Keep quiet, scum,? The armor-clad Stormtrooper walking behind her said.

Syal rolled her eyes and sealed her lips. She wasn?t about to add to the stress of her day by suffering another gaping blaster wound. They were ushered into a repulsorlift and taken down a number of floors, emerging in what appeared to be the Star Destroyer?s storage level. The Rogues were taken down a long corridor and were stopped in front of a room cut off by a neon blue forcefield. One of the Stormtroopers deactivated the barrier and ordered them to step in. Before any of her pilots could struggle- and she knew they wanted to- Syal took the first step in. The others followed suit. One by one their hand restraints were removed by their captors.

As the forcefield was activated behind her, a familiar voice spoke up. ?Major!?

Quint Staven rushed towards her. ?How the hell did they get you??

Syal couldn?t immediately respond. She was well aware that she was now being held prisoner by the splinter cell they had been chasing, but that couldn?t put a damper on the sense of relief that flooded over her. ?Quint! Thank the Force, you?re alive. The others?

The Commander motioned behind him. The other five missing Rogues were standing or seated against the back wall. ?We?re okay, but again Major, how did they get you??

?The same way they captured you, I?m assuming,? Syal said. ?We were pulled out of Hyperspace by an Interdictor and disabled by a wing of TIE Defenders.?

Quint looked confused. ?That?s not how they picked us up. We ran into concealed ionized proximity mines. As near as we can tell they would set them up as traps along known Alliance patrol routes. They?d go off, disable the starfighter that ran into it, and then a pickup team would show up to capture the pilot and commandeer the ship.?

?But, if that?s how you were captured, that would mean?? Syal paused for a moment to process that information.

?That would mean someone set us up and sold us out to the splinter cell,? Cheriss said flatly. ?How else could they have been sitting on our hyperspace routes??

?Who the hell could have...? Syal stopped mid-sentence and turned around to look at Kessila Lyell. She had detected an unusual transmission on a strange frequency coming from the Flight Officer?s Y-Wing. ?You sold us out.?

Kessila opened her eyes wide and shook her head furiously. ?No, ma?am! I swear, I had nothing to do with this!?

?You are full of it, L

 

I don't think you can now deny who Gamma Contact is.