StarDestroyer.Net BBS

My first SW fic!

Test Pilot

Ch. 1: Wolf

"All right Wolves, we're going in, we're going in hot!" announced the squadron commander. "It's just like training. Remember that you're more maneuverable than they are." Will you just shut up, thought Rob Cloudrunner. The young Ensign, fresh out of flight school, tried to catch his breath as the TIE squadron closed in. He tried to wipe his forehead, but his hand bounced off his suit helmet. That PO'd him, so he focused his anger on the Rebels up ahead. "All right, BREAK!" The TIEs fell out of formation as red and green bolts of light filled the vacuum. Wolf seven, Rob's wingman, caught a torpedo and exploded. Rob juked left and right, searching for a target. It came in the form of a Y-wing taking potshots at other TIEs. Rob dropped in on the Ys exhaust and fired twice, collapsing the fighter's rear shields. The Y-wing juked and cut away to port, but Rob stayed with him. Another shot pierced the starboard engine, and the fighter detonated.

"This is Wolf five, I could use some help here." Rob turned in the direction of Mike's distress call to see an X-wing tailing his buddy. Without enough time to circle around and drop in, Rob came in from in front and below, his lasers tearing into the surprised X-wing's belly. "Thanks, eight."

"Anytime, five. Where's six?"

"All over space." Rob cursed.

"Stay with me, then." The two fighters moved into a wide loop, coming in behind a pair of Headhunters. They each vaped one, then red bolts shot past between them.

"Whoa! We've got an X-wing on our tail!"

"I noticed. Hang on." Rob hit the brakes and the foot yolks, pulling up and nearly coming to a stop. The X-wing shot past, still firing at Mike. Careless SOB, the Ensign thought. A few blasts later, the X was floating debris.

"This is eleven, there's something out here! It's a fighter I can't identify. I can't...quite...get a lock. Assistance?"

"En route," Rob answered. As they approached, they saw eleven tailing what appeared to be a streak of light. Rob frowned. He'd never seen this type in training. It was compact, with a bubble-style cockpit and a pair of engines almost as big as the fighter. Suddenly, the fighter pulled up, over, and dropped in behind eleven, who immediately started bouncing around. The mystery fighter fired...and it's guns moved to track the TIE and blow it apart!

"Jeez, did you see that, eight?"

"I saw." Rob's heart was racing. "Mike, we can't let leave this fighter alone to keep slaughtering TIEs."

"I read that." Mike juked to port and initiated a volley of laserfire, which the quick fighter dodged. Rob tried to drop in, but the fighter goosed its engines and began to pull away.

"Mike, I've got an idea." Rob told him the plan.

"That's crazy. But, I doubt we have a choice. Let's rock." Rob broke off and pulled back, while Mike dropped in and laced the fighter's aft shield. Sure enough, the fighter broke straight up and back in a loop; the same move that had finished eleven. However this time, Rob's fire caught it right in the face. The small fighter exploded. Suddenly, Rob's nervousness left him. He'd just gone up against a fighter he'd never seen, and won. Nothing could stop him now. Turning back into the thick of the battle, he caught a Y-wing coming straight at him.

"Head to head? You're on!" The two closed rapidly, Rob staffing and juking while the Y-wing came straight in, firing. The two hit each other simultaneously. Rob lost his port solar panel, but his shots pierced the Ys cockpit, killing the Reb instantly. The remaining Rebels realized that they were outgunned and fled, all except for a couple X-wings that stayed and were vaped almost immediately by Rob and Mike.

Wolf squadron came about, eight TIEs surviving out of the original twelve. "OK, Wolves, I want your reports."

"Two. One kill, no damage."

"Three. One kill. I've got a hit to the starboard brace."

"Can you land?"

"Yes sir."

"Four."

"He's dead," someone said.

"Five. Three kills, no damage."

"Six?"

"He's gone sir. So's seven."

"Damn. Eight?"

"Just a second sir, I took a hit, I'm trying to reconfigure."

"Alright." The Commander got the reports from the others, then dropped in next to Rob. "Oh, man. You won't be able to land normally with that kind of a hit. We'll have to tractor you in."

"As long as I get in somehow, sir."

The Commander laughed. "Ok, how many?"

"Sir?"

"How many kills, eight?"

"Uhh....seven, sir."

"What?"

"Seven, sir. Two Y-wings, three X-wings, a Headhunter, and some kind of interceptor that took out Eleven. Here's the data."

"Damn!" said the commander, thoroughly impressed. "Seven kills, on your first mission! Well, without trying to be a psychic, I'd say you have quite a career ahead of you, Cloudrunner."

"Thank you sir."


Chapter Two coming soon!

Jesus Christ! What's with these fucking numbers!?!?!?!

That's what you get for using Microsoft products. Try turning off smartquotes and autoformatting.

how? HOW?!?! This is my first SW fic! It must get out AND BE READ!

Fixed it for you.

Fixed it for you.

Thanks Dalton! I fucking H8 M$!!!

how? HOW?!?! This is my first SW fic! It must get out AND BE READ!

I read it, and I love it! MORE! MORE!!!!! Lata and Happy Fragging!

Chapter two will be up either later today (today being 10/2) or tomarrow.

POST NOW!

Looks good, but I have one little quirk.

Put spaces between paragraphs.

It's really hard to read like this, all squished up together.

good suggestion. I'll do it.

OK, Chapter 2!

TEST PILOT

Ch. 2: Career Change

Rob set the TIE down on the deck, aided by the tractor beam in the strike cruiser Fury's bay. As soon as it was shut down, he awkwardly climbed out, removed his helmet, and ran a hand through his short brown hair. Suddenly, he was lifted into the air by Mike, Jered, and Andy.

"Three cheers for the first-mission-seven-kill ace!" Mike yelled. His whole squadron surrounded him, plus some nearby techs. Rob started laughing. He couldn't believe this. A few hours ago, he'd been ready to bite off his own tongue and swallow it rather than fly into real combat. Now, he'd buried that fear and was an ace.

"All right, that's enough!" said Commander Harrak. The crowd calmed down. "Now, see to the damage on your fighters and report it to the techs. Rob, Telle, we'll have you on support until we get replacement parts. Telle's cockpit wall had been damaged. If it hadn't been for his flight suit, he'd be dead.
........
A week later, a Lamba-class shuttle landed in the Fury's primary hangar. While on free time, Rob and Mike went to check it out. Hiding behind a crate, the two peeped out at the shuttle, which was guarded by a pair of stormtroopers. "Man, that's nice," Mike whispered.

"She's got a fine ass on her," Rob said, mesmerized. "Absolutely gorgeous."

He turned to find Mike giving him a sidelong look. "You are weird."

Rob shrugged, and the two went back to looking at the Lambda. "Man, just imagine sliding into one of those seats, right in front of that shiny control panel, cleaned just that morning?"

"With the Moff sitting right behind you, casually remarking to his aide about how smooth the flight is?"

"Yeah."

"Can you scope a name?"

Rob squinted. "Uh, I see Rev."

"The shuttle's name is Rev?"

"No. It must be R-E-V-something. R-E-V...;damn it, the wing's covering it up. R-E-V-"

"Actually, it's the Revealer." A voice from behind made both pilots jump. A tall, blond-haired man in an Intelligence uniform stood behind them. His nametag read Artsan, and his green eyes sparkled merrily as the two Ensigns scrambled to their feet and hastily saluted. "And you two gentlemen are...?"

"Ensign Mikeyl Stethral, sir."

"Ensign Robert Cloudrunner, sir."

The man's smile shrank. "The seven-kill pilot?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ah, so you're the young man we're here to see."

Rob's heart jumped into his throat. Intel, here? For me? "Um..."

"Please come with me." Artsan turned to walk away, and with a fond parting glance at the Revealer, the two ensigns fell into step behind him.

They walked nearly half the length of the Fury, eventually coming to a small briefing room. Artsan knocked, and the door opened. "Stay here, Ensign Stethral." Mike swallowed and stood at attention by the door as the other two entered.

Rob blinked a few times. The room saw sparsely lit, and as far as he could tell, he and Artsan were alone. Then, the lights at the head of the table came up, revealing a seated man. His hair was dark, and contrasted with his piercing blue eyes. "Is this the pilot, Lieutenant?" he asked.

Artsan saluted. "Yes, Colonel Ipord." The Colonel motioned for Artsan to sit beside him. The Lieutenant did so. "You are Robert Cloudrunner." It was not a question.

"Yes sir."

"Born on Tatooine twenty years, four months, and three days ago."
"Yes sir."

"Joined the Imperial Starfighter Corps two years ago. Completed that training three and a half weeks ago, and were assigned to the Strike Cruiser Fury three weeks ago."

"Yes sir."

"First saw combat one week ago. Earned seven kills, an instant ace, one of which was an unknown, highly maneuverable fighter."

"......yes sir." Rob was getting nervous.

Colonel Ipord took in a deep breath, leaned forward, and placed both hands on the desk, his glare burning. Rob recognized the posture and braced himself for a massive chewing out. What did I do to deserve this? Instead, Ipord smirked. "Tell me Ensign, have you ever considered a career in Military Intelligence?"

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. Intelligence.

Wait, Military Intelligence. Isn't that an oxymoron?

Thanks for the feedback, Kelly! *sarcastic laugh*

I really am enjoying this story. You have a really good writing style.

Thank you. Actually, the MI joke kept popping up while I was writing the chapter.

As per Kelly's (and several other people's) request, I have re-edited the first chapter for easier reading.

Only one complaint.

The chapters are too short!

Well, this one's a little longer. Give me a break, it's my first fic!

TEST PILOT Ch. 3: Welcome to Hades

"Um...Intelligence, sir?" Rob was put off by the question.

"Yes, mister Cloudrunner."

"Well, I've always been interested in piloting, sir. I have no idea about Intelligence gathering."

The smirk grew to a smile. "Have you ever heard of Hades Installation?"

"No sir."

"Which is exactly the way we like it. Hades is a large space station orbiting an uncharted M-class planet in the Mid Rim. Most of the system is full of asteroids, which make it a great place to keep a secret. The purpose of Hades Installation is...testing."

"Testing, sir?"

"Yes, ensign, testing."

Artsan leaned forward. "Hades receives starfighter concepts and prototypes from R&D, and the pilots there fly them and suggest modifications."

Rob's heart raced, and his eyes opened wider. Are they suggesting what I think? Ipord chuckled. "Yes, ensign. We are." Rob started to gasp, but Ipord waved him down. "I saw your reaction, young man. Yes, we want you to be one of these test pilots. You'll earn good pay, a good bunk, and an advanced starfighter."

"I...don't know sir. I've only had one-"

"Yes, one mission. One mission in which you downed a Headhunter, four X-wings, and three Y-wings, any one of which could have brought you down. You also brought down one of the Alliance's new A-wings, quite a feat for any pilot."

Rob looked at his feet, his mind running in every direction at once. "Well, what if I accepted, sir?"

Artsan took that one. "You'll have two hours to shit, shower, shave, pack up, say your goodbyes, and depart with up aboard the Revealer."

Rob hesitated, but he didn't know why. He knew his answer as well as he knew his own name.
.........

"Intelligence? Wow!" Jared said. Rob had shoved most of his few belongings into a bag and now checked his watch. He had ten minutes.

"I still can't believe you're on the fast track, Rob," Andy added.

"I can hardly believe it myself. You two take care of each other now, you hear?"

"Got it, man," they said in unison. Walking out the door, Rob met up with Mike. The two walked in silence for a minute.

"Well...it's been crazy, man," was all Mike could say.

"Yeah. I'll miss ya."

"Bye." Mike stopped at the entrance to the hanger, watching Rob approach the shuttle.

Artsan stood at the base of the Revealer's ramp. "Welcome aboard, Ensign."

"Thank you sir."

"I'm looking forward to a smooth flight."

"What?!? Sir?"

Artsan rubbed his chin. "Yes, you're flying us to Hades. Don't worry, your copilot will tell you what to do."
........

Rob slowly slid into the soft pilot's chair, the glossy control panel winking. It was exactly the way he'd imagined. Slowly, he reached out and brushed the control yoke. "Wow," he said, barely able to hear his own voice.

"Do you like it?" the copilot said softly.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Respect for the machine is a must-have quality at Hades." Ipord and Artsan came into the cockpit and strapped in.

"Everything's ready, Ensign Cloudrunner. Take us out."
"As ordered, Colonel." Rob's eyes played over the instruments, all of which read green. He took the control yoke and pulled back, feeling the Revealer majestically lift off the deck. Slowly, he rotated the shuttle to point towards the hanger exit, where a tech was motioning the 'all-clear' signal. Applying forward thrust, Rob brought the shuttle out into open space.

"All right, lower wings...mark." Rob hit the switches, and Revealer's wings dropped into flight position. "Bring us around to four-point-two-mark three." Once again moving slowly, he brought the shuttle around to point in the direction indicated.

"Smooth flight," Ipord remarked to Artsan softly.

"He's a natural," Artsan responded. Rob's cheeks burned as his fantasy came true.

"Hyperspace on my mark," the copilot said, bringing Rob's attention back to where it was supposed to be.

"Three...two...one...mark!" Rob hit the lever, and Revealer disappeared into the stars.
.......

Roughly two hours later, the shuttle entered the orbit of a world that had been deleted from every star chart and databank in the galaxy. "OK," the copilot said. "Bring the nose up." Rob did so...and actually gasped!

Imperial Installation Hades glimmered above his head. The expansive station hovered over the blue-green ball of a planet like a beautiful diamond. It had to be at least four kilometers wide and two klicks tall, and small points of light that Rob knew to be TIEs buzzed around it like electrons around an atom's nucleus. The metal it was made of was a dark violet, blue in some places, and the lights coming off of it made it look like a building on Coruscant.

"Impressed, Cloudrunner?"

"It's...incredible sir...I...there's no words." Ipord chuckled. Suddenly, a flashing red light caught all four men's attention. "Oh no. Colonel, Lieutenant, you two had better brace yourselves. I'm initiating evasive maneuvers."

"Why?" asked Artsan. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know how, sir, but the Rebels have followed us here!"

'da hell?! Rebels?! POST MORE SOON!

OK, I'm working on it. And BTW, to those who read and run, please post your feeback!

TEST PILOT Ch. 4: A New Fighter

"Hang on!" Rob shouted as the Rebels initiated a strafing run. Three unmanned drones screamed past.

"I'm requesting reinforcements!" the copilot shouted. They won't get here in time, Rob thought. Guess I'll just have to take care of these guys myself. He pressed several buttons, bringing the shuttle's laser cannons online, along with the missile launcher. Even as he did so, the drones made another pass, stitching his shields with their laserfire. Rob yanked back on the controls, banking to port to bring the drones into his sights. Then, he squeezed the trigger, and green laser bursts erupted from the Revealer. The bolts slammed into one drone, and it exploded.

The other drones broke in opposite directions and came at the Revealer again. The shuttle rocked under the bombardment. Rob immediately broke off and made top speed (which wasn't much) towards Hades. Suddenly, he began to slow down.

"What are you doing?" Ipord demanded.

"I'm bringing them in closer."

"You're gonna do WHAT?!" the copilot shrieked. The drones continued to pound the aft shields, as Rob made no attempt to evade. Suddenly he hit the brakes. Unable to compensate in time, the drones flew past. Rob hit the trigger, and blew the second drone away. The last moved out on a long swing. Bringing up the missile targeting system, Rob worked to get a lock. The beeping became steady as the Revealer locked on to its prey.

Rob grinned darkly. "Gotcha." Two concussion missiles dropped away and screamed towards the drone, which turned to run. This was a HUGE mistake, because it gave the missiles that strongest possible lock on the drone's thrusters. The drone paid for its foolish mistake with its 'life.' Rob checked the scanners to make sure there were no other enemies. All was quiet. "That was close. "I'm taking us into Hades Installation now!"

"No rush," Artsan said. "You got them all."

"Lieutenant, where there's some, there's more. And now Hades' cover's been blown, so-"

"There won't be any more, Ensign," Ipord said in a strange tone of voice. Both Intel officers were looking at him, smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths.

Rob got it. "That was some kind of test, wasn't it?"

Artsan nodded. "And you passed. Congratulations."
..........
Rob strode out of the Revealer and into the Hades hangar bay. About a dozen people were there to greet him, clapping. He blushed. One of the men strode forward and saluted. "Welcome to Hades, Lieutenant." Rob assumed he was a friend of Artsan's and stepped aside. Ipord grabbed his shoulder.

"Well, answer the nice man."

"But, he's not addressing me sir, he's-"

"Oh, yes! I forgot to mention. It was part of your deal. The moment you stepped onto Hades Installation, you became Lieutenant JG Cloudrunner of Imperial Intelligence."

Rob felt lightheaded. "Really? Sir?" Ipord nodded. After a moment, Rob regained his composure and returned the man's salute. "Thank you sir. It's an honor to be here."

The man smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Commander Delth. You'll be operating under my authority in Skull Squadron, although I'm sure you'll find that regulations here are a bit looser than most places."

"Good to meet you sir," Rob said, pumping the Commander's hand.

"So! I guess you'd like to like to see your new toy? Come with me, I'll give you the five-cred tour."
.........
The Commander took Rob all over Hades. Rob had to admit, it was as impressive on the inside as on the outside. Everything was sparkling clean, thanks to the small army of druids kept on retainer. Rob went to see the mess, the workout room, and several fighter bays that were chock full of all kinds of starfighters, not just TIEs. When asked about the variety, Delth replied "we get everything here, Cloudrunner. Any crazy TIE variant, and hype-capable prototype, hell, anything with an engine and a gun. We get it, we test it, we report back." He paused in front of one particular door. "Now, here's our pride and joy." He opened the door and Rob nearly had a heart attack. It had to be the slimiest, grimiest, dirtiest, most littered place he'd ever seen. Gutted fighters and shuttles sat everywhere, their innards spilled across the deck. Spare parts were piled above his head, with no attempt made to sort them. A walkable path had been cleared through the debris. It was the biggest pile of junk anywhere on the station. He loved it.

"So what's this for?"

"Anytime you need a part we can't find, anytime you want to build something on your own time, you come here. But for now-" he looped an arm around Rob's shoulders "-we've got to show you your own set a' thrusters." The two walked to another bay, this one a mix between the junkyard and the first hanger. Although fairly clean, it was obvious pilots made their modifications here. "Well, there she is!" The Commander gestured, and Rob thought he was going to faint. An X-1 Interceptor sat on the deck, in pristine condition, awaiting its pilot.

"She's incredible!" Rob ran over to the fighter, tapping the glass, poking his head in the cockpit, inspecting the solar panels, even reaching into the engine housing.

"Well, look at that. Rob you look as happy as-oh! Hey, Rob! You're about to meet one of your saquadmates!" Rob clambered up to the top of the fighter to see his new partner...and it took all of his concentration not to fall off. Walking his way, smiling, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen!

Wait a minute? A female Imp?? This is going to be very interesting.

Well, I've got combat, mystery, a chance of romance, can you tell what's yet to be added? *evil laugh* Just wait, Kelly.

IG-88E wrote: *evil laugh* Just wait, Kelly.

Ok, now you're weirding me out.

That's a good thing.

Back by popular demand, (sort of)

TEST PILOT Ch. 5: The First Test

"Hi!" she said. "I'm Haman!" She was tall, with a great body, enchanting green eyes and dark blue-green hair, trimmed fairly short, but enough to frame her face. Wait a minute. Blue hair? But it looks natural, not dyed...whatever. Commander Delth suddenly cleared his throat, and Rob caught himself.

"Oh! Hi! I'm Rob, the new guy." You IDIOT! He hammered himself. He half jumped, half stumbled from the fighter to the deck. He extended his hand. "Ens...Lieutenant JG Cloudrunner, ma'am."
She took his hand, smiling. "Still getting used to the shock, huh? Lieutenant Haman Calle."

"Are you a pilot?"

"Are you a boy?" Rob laughed nervously, not sure what to make of the comment.

"I was just giving Rob the welcome tour," Delth broke in.

"Oh really? Mind if I join you?"

"Sure! I mean, I don't think the Commander'll mind, er do you sir?" Rob tried to cover his awkwardness with a goofy smile.

"Oh course not. I'm sure Rob'll appreciate the extra input about his room, since that's where we're heading." Rob and Haman looked at each other and both blushed.
............

A week later, it was time for Rob's first flight with the Skulls. Rob's breathing was even, but his eyes darted here and there, scanning the area around him. He'd been slapped up into a flight of three Headhunters with two other pilots. Req was a big, dark-skinned man with a perpetual smirk and a booming laugh. Cenrif Threal, who introduced himself as 'Hiss' was short and had a scar across his pale throat. Unable to speak above a thick whisper, he told Rob that his TIE had been damaged and he'd been hit by shrapnel. "All right you three," Delth had informed them. "Your opponent is a new prototype TIE fighter. It's fast and more maneuverable. You'll enter the combat zone and attempt to destroy it. Questions? Then good luck." Rob took a deep breath. The battleground was full of drifting wreckage that looked like it had been torn, chunk by chunk, from a Star Destroyer.

"I have something," Hiss said. "An energy contact, bearing two-mark-seven."

"Ok gentlemen," Req said, "hit it!" The three hit their afterburners, rapidly closing with Hiss' contact.

"I'm reading it too," Rob said. "I've got visual contact." It was a TIE, but its panels were shaped more like daggers than blocks.

"OK. Hiss, go in quick. Rob and I'll lay down cover fire.

"Yes sir," the three hunters opened up with training-style lasers, but the TIE barrel rolled and disappeared behind a huge metal plate.

"Damn it, Hiss, don't lose him!" Req moved to follow while Rob popped up and over the plate, towards where he guessed the TIE would be. His lasers tracked and hit, but the computer informed him that it was only a glancing blow and had done no damage. The TIE broke right, moving a lot like the A-wing had done.

"Hiss, I've got an idea. I've fought an opponent like this before. Just stay behind him."

"As ordered." Hiss dropped in as the TIE juked and rolled. Come on, Rob thought. Break up. You'll die if you don't. The TIE broke...then cut left and fired on Req!

"Damn," Req said. "I'm out." Son of the Sith, that was great flying!

"OK Hiss, close it up. Let's get this guy." Silently, his wingman complied. "Can you see him?"

"No."

"Pick up your visual scanning." Suddenly, the TIE appeared in his aft arc! "Break! Break!" Rob and Hiss banked in opposite directions. "Keep going, Hiss, I've got another idea."

"My shields won't last much longer."

"They won't have to." By now, the two pilots had nearly gone full circle, and Rob could see Hiss just by looking up a little. Three seconds, two, one, and Rob fired! Three bolts struck the TIE's cockpit just as the sim reported Hiss' death.

"Good shooting, Rob," Delth's voice said. You four can come back now.
The TIE zipped away ahead of them while the three hunters fell in, Rob in
the center.

"Rob, I'm impressed," Req said. Good aim, good flying, good instinct, and good leadership after I bought it."

"Thank you sir."

"You can cut that 'sir' out. However, you should know that Hiss was technically in charge, since he is your senior."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No." Hiss said. "You're good."
............

By the time they set down, the TIE's pilot was walking over to see them. Rob doffed his helmet and strode up to the pilot, who was wearing a full flight suit. "Hello, sir. You're one hot hand." By way of answering, the pilot removed his helmet. What the? Haman?! "Oh! It's you!"

"Nice to see you too, Cloudrunner." Haman smiled, and Rob instantly reverted to swooning teenager mode.

"Uh, thanks. I'm glad to see you're such a good pilot! I mean, I'm sure you're a good pilot if you're here, but you're pretty good!" WHAT?!

"Not good enough to beat you, though," she said with a sly grin.

"Uh, well, hey, you got two, and I only got one, so you must've been doing some crazy flying! I mean, you were flying great, but...anyway, what's this TIE called?"

"An Interceptor. Personally, I like the X1, but I think they'll put these into mass production."

"Really? Why?"

"Well-"

"Later kids," Req said as he butted in. "Debriefing first."

"Oh," they said together.
..............

Two hours later, Rob wandered into the mess and grabbed some food. Looking around, he wondered where to sit. He didn't recognize many people in the large room. Over in one corner, he spied Haman leaning on one arm, drawing something. Problem solved. "Hey!" he said as he set down his tray.

"Oh, hi!"

"So, you were saying about the TIE?"

"Oh yeah. Well, it's cheaper and it's got no hyperdrive."

"What's wrong with a hype?" he asked, chewing on a piece of meat.

She leaned in closer. As she did so, he realized that her flight suit was unzipped far enough to give him a fair view of her cleavage. He swallowed. Hard. "Well, the Navy is afraid to buy fighters with hyperdrives. They don't want to slash their capital ship budget."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Yes, but it makes the TIEs totally dependant on a nearby ops base. The rebels can jump in and out whenever they want, but we're not so flexible."

He leaned back. "Guess you've gotta take the good with the bad." She shrugged and went back to her flimsi. What'cha drawing?"

"An idea for my X1. It's to round out the firepower. Does yours have torps?"

"Only four, but better than nothing."

"Here, take a look. It's a swivel cannon." He looked at the flimsi. The cannon was mounted just below and behind the cockpit, which would lead to flexibility problems... Suddenly an idea occurred to him.

"Hey. Hey! I've got an idea." He grabbed the writer she'd been used and began drawing lines.

"Hey! That's mine!"

He grinned. "Trust me, you're going to love this!"