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Subject: {Walter Slaven}"STAR WARS: The Tie Fighter"( MF MMF MFF cons Sci-Fi ) [5/5]
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STAR WARS  THE TIE FIGHTER

Part Five A Dirty Little War

I was awakened in the middle of the night by an incessant knocking at
the door to my quarters. The chimes were buzzed repeatedly and I
finally managed to fight my way through the fog of sleep. I started to
move, but then became aware of a weight on my chest and legs. Kao. I
gently disentangled my- self from her and she rolled over and went
back to sleep. 

The knocking and chiming continued, and I was becoming irr- itated. I
grabbed a robe and cast a backward glance at Kao's naked, sleeping
form, recalling for a moment our latest bout of lovemaking. My prick
started twitching so I stopped thinking about it and went to the door.
This had better be good, I thought.

I released the lock and the door slid open. Standing there, ob-
viously uncomfortable, was a young crewmember whose red tabs on his
collar identified him as a member of the ship's communications
department.

"What is it?" I asked groggily.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," the young man said crisply, "but
Commander Cibock said you'd want to see this right away." He held out
a text data pad.

"A text pad?" I asked, a little surprised. "Not a hologram?" Usually,
personal messages, which I assumed this to be, came via a hologram.

"No, sir," the crewman answered. "This came from one of our more
remote stations, which doesn't yet have holographic capability."

"That's odd," I said. "I don't know anybody on any remote outposts."

The crewman offered the pad to me again. "Commander Cibock insisted,
sir."

I nodded and took the pad. "Okay. Thanks."

"Yes, sir," the crewman said as he spun on his heel and left. I went
back inside my quarters, the door closing behind me, and turned on a
light. I flipped open the data pad and nearly fainted.

VEL,

THE BASTARDS MISSED ME!! SEE YOU SOON!

				J'UNA Tatooine


I suddenly had trouble breathing and my vision fogged up as waves of
powerfully strong emotions crashed over me.  Through the tears welling
up in my eyes I reread the message several times to make sure that it
was real. J'Una alive? Could it really be?  Where the fuck was
Tatooine anyway? I was so overcome that I became somewhat giddy and I
think I even jumped up and down a little. Not what you'd expect from a
veteran Imperial TIE fighter pilot, but there it is.

I must have made more noise than I thought because, when I turned
around, there was Kao standing in the doorway to the bedroom. She had
put on one of those black Imperial issue robes but hadn't belted it.
It hung open in the front, exposing her breasts and crotch. Her red
hair was wildly unkempt and stood out from her head like tongues of
fire. She was still half asleep and was leaning against  the
doorframe.

As quickly as it had started, the euphoria inside me stopped. I
suddenly realized that the relationship that was rapidly devel- oping
between Kao and me grew, in part, out of the assump- tion that J'Una
had been killed. Now that I had in my hand a message that said J'Una
was very much alive, I was uncertain, and a little apprehensive as to
what would happen next. I sud- denly remembered why I had never
allowed myself to get too involved  with females.

"What's going on, Vel?" Kao asked sleepily.

"You won't believe this," I said, handing her the data pad.  Kao took
it and I watched her as she read it. Her eyes grew wide with
amazement, and a large smile broke out on her face.  She looked up at
me with tears of joy in her eyes. 

"This is wonderful, Vel" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. I
was a little surprised. I'm not sure what I ex- pected, but this
wasn't it. I was relieved, however, that she seemed happy at the news.
She pulled back and looked at me for a moment, then  kissed me.

"You're not the only one who loves J'Una and misses her," she said
softly. My raised eyebrow and obviously puzzled ex- pression elicited
a smile. 

"J'Una is a wonderful person and a fine officer," she said in a
direct, almost scolding tone. "The fact that she is apparently not
dead makes me very happy." She paused, looking intently at me. Then
her eyes brightened  and she actually giggled.

"Did you think," she said between giggles, "that I would be- come
jealous, or that this news would somehow create fric- tion? Is that
what you thought?"

I didn't say anything, but my expression must have given me away. Kao
broke out in laughter and kissed me on the cheek.

"You silly, silly man," she said, still laughing. "You men all think
that everything revolves around you. That you're the center of the
universe." She laughed again. "I've grown very fond of you recently,
Vel," she said, the laughter finally giving way, at least temporarily,
to seriousness. "But I know what J'Una meant to you, and what the
thought of her dying did to you. What you don't know," she said and
her eyes twinkled again,"was what she meant to me. We were developing
a very close relation- ship and I'll be very glad to have the chance
to resume it."

'Very close relationship'? Now I was thoroughly confused. I wasn't at
all sure what she was telling me, but at least she seemed pleased by
the turn of events. I smiled at her and shook my head.

"I guess I didn't realize that you and she had become so close," I
said.

"That," she said as she kissed me and snaked her hand under my robe
and grabbed my cock, " is because you're a man."

I quickly tried to come up with a suitable rejoinder but  Kao was
kissing me and running her tongue inside my mouth while she grabbed my
cock with both hands and began stroking it to life. I forgot all about
a witty reply as I slipped my hands inside her robe and fondled her
breasts, the nipples already hard with arousal.

We pulled each other's robes off and sank to the floor right in the
middle of the room. Our hands were all over each other and our tongues
battled as we kissed deeply. Kao was a wonderful woman and a great
fuck, but the news that J'Una was alive somehow stimulated me in a way
that I hadn't be- fore experienced. My cock was painfully hard and I
went at Kao with little of the soft, tender approach that had charac-
terized our first union. For her part, Kao returned the frenzy.
Apparently she was as excitied by the prospect of seeing J'Una again
as I was. She tore at my back with her finger- nails while I bit and
sucked roughly on her tits, both of us moaning, yearning for a
release.

Kao scissored her legs around my back and reached be- tween our
thrashing bodies to grab my cock. She jerked it hard several times and
I nearly shot into her hand. She placed the tip against the entrance
to her cunt and pulled me into her. She was like a cauldron inside and
I gasped at the heat that engulfed me. 

We rolled over on the deck so that she was on top of me. I grabbed her
breasts and squeezed them as she began a slow thrusting motion,
impaling herself on me. Her movements didn't stay slow for very long.
We were both too hot, too out of control with lust for that. I'm not
sure if our frenzy was caused by our desire for each other, or that we
were each thinking of J'Una, or simply a longing for release from the
stresses of incessant warfare. Maybe it was all three. In any case,
neither of us was concerned with gentle foreplay. We slammed into each
other with an intensity that was almost painful.

I continued to manhandle Kao's tits, squeezing them hard and pinching
the nipples as she rode me. Her head was thrown back in ecstacy, her
long red hair draping over my upraised knees like a soft fur rug.
After several more sav- age thrusts, Kao let out a sharp cry and flung
herself for- ward onto me, her breasts in my face, her hair flowing
over me and onto the deck. I took a nipple into my mouth and bit on
it, sending a shock wave through her that ended with another hard
downward thrust onto my cock. She shudder- ed and moaned and I could
feel her orgasm flowing out from the depths of her cunt and onto my
cock and balls.  She flooded us with her juices, smearing our thighs
and my belly. The force of her orgasm nearly overwhelmed her and she
buried her face in my neck, moaning and weeping.

"That is so good, Vel," she gasped into my ear. "So fucking good." She
wriggled around on my cock.

I grabbed her hips and thrust into her with renewed vigor, my own
climax fast approaching. Kao sat up and began thrusting back down on
me again, wanting to give me pleasure also. I didn't have long to wait
until I felt the cum boiling within my balls. She smiled down at me as
she re- cognized the signs of my impending orgasm.

"Let it go," she cooed softly at me. 

I didn't need much more encouragement. I gave another powerful upward
thrust, lifting her off the deck, impaling her completely as my prick
shot blast after blast of cum into her. I groaned with the effort. My
cock finished spewing its load and we collapsed together in a heap in
the middle of the room. We fell asleep that way.



"Many of you may have heard by now," Commander Cibock said at the next
morning's briefing, "that Commander Selena, our former Operations
Officer, was not onboard the Death Star at the time of its
destruction."

Several officers applauded. All were smiling and the supply officer,
who was sitting behind me, clapped me on the shoul- der. J'Una had
been very popular among GUSTAV's crew, and highly respected by her
fellow officers. It was good to see that they cared about her. Kao
smiled at me and squee- zed my hand.

"Commander Selena is presently at a place called Tatooine," Cibock
continued. A holographic map appeared near the front of the room
showing a dry, desert looking planet orbiting a binary star system.

"Several other Death Star personnel, "Cibock said,"are also at
Tatooine. It seems that Commander Selena was assisting in the
establishment of a permanent and extensive Imperial installation on
that planet."

Several officers exchanged questioning looks. What did we need an
installation there for?

Commander Cibock sensed the questions and moved im mediately to answer
them.

"I do not have all of the details yet," he said,"but it appears that
Tatooine has harbored Rebel sympathizers for some time and that
several spies transported the plans for the Death Star through Mos
Eisley, Tatooine's spaceport. Commander Selena was conducting a
follow-up investigation when the Death Star was destroyed. As a
result, Tatooine is being secured as a major base to support
operations in the surrounding sectors."

Major Maarek, our stormtrooper commander nodded in satisfaction.
"That'll teach the treacherous scum," he said.

Commander Cibock looked sternly at the major but said no- thing in
response. "We are being diverted to Tatooine," he went on. "A shipment
of replacement TIE fighters along with some new pilots has arrived.
They were originally meant to be transported to the Death Star."

Diverted to Tatooine? I would get to see J'Una again? So much sooner
than I would have expected. Kao and I smiled at each other. I knew she
was just as happy about it as I was.

"Once we arrive," Cibock continued,"we will take the TIEs aboard and
immediately commence integrating the new pilots." He nodded at Kao and
me. "Captains Tallig and Ijuf will ensure that these new pilots are
ready for future assignment."

"Yes, sir," I responded.

"Upon arrival we will receive new instructions from an Imperial
Special Envoy at the new Tatooine installation." Seeing our puzzled
expressions Cibock smiled. "I don't know what an 'Imperial  Special
Envoy' is, either." He shrugged. "I guess we'll find out together."
And he left the room as we all stood to attention.

Kao and I looked at each other as the other officers filed out.

"It will be great to see J'Una again so soon," she said with a smile.
"I'll bet she's had quite an exciting time."

"No doubt," I said. "Knowing J'Una."

Kao laughed. "What are you implying, captain?" she asked, her voice
rising musically.

"Only that J'Una has always had the ability to insert herself into the
middle of things," I replied, smiling back at her.

"And get things inserted into her?" Kao asked, teasing me. Her eyes
were bright, and her smile had broadened.

"That, too," I said, chuckling. "You must remember that she's a
Bardin."

"Horny or not," Kao said, still smiling, "it'll be good to see her
again. Do you think she'll be transferred back aboard GUSTAV?"

"I don't really know, Kao," I replied. "It would depend on what they
have her doing on Tatooine. She may be heavily involved in setting up
the new base there."

Kao grew serious. Her brow furrowed, the smile disappeared.  "Is it
true, Val?"

"Is what true?" I was somewhat taken aback by her abrupt change of
mood. Unlike J'Una, whose mood could change from moment to moment, Kao
was far from being mercurial.

"Is it true what I hear about what happens when we occupy a planet?"

"Surely you know what goes on, Kao," I said, somewhat flabbergasted at
her display of apparent naivete.

She averted my gaze. "I guess I never paid much attention. I just flew
my missions and killed Rebels."

I just stared at her for a moment. This side of her was completely
uncharted territory. "If you don't know, Kao, it's because you didn't
want to know."

"Maybe," she said softly, then raised her gaze to meet mine.   "But I
want to know now. I want you to tell me."

"What do you think happens, Kao?" I asked rhetorically. My voice had
started to rise and I had to tell myself to lower it.  "What do you
think happens when the Empire takes over a planet that has shown the
slightest sympathy to the Rebellion?  You were at Resead, dammit.[see
pt 3] Didn't you see the shuttles transporting the leaders and their
families and anyone who might cause trouble off the planet? Where did
you think they were taking those people? They're all on a prison
planet.   Or dead."

I paused. Kao was staring at me. "You want to know what else usually
happens?" I went on. "A military governor takes over.  Whatever
personal freedoms the inhabitants once had are gone.  Stormtroopers
are everywhere, and they get the people to start spying on each other.
All of the planet's resources are taken to support the Empire's war
efforts. In short, life becomes pretty unpleasant. And that," I said
finishing, "is what happens to a system that had supported the
Rebellion. It happened on Resead, and it's probably happening on
Tatooine. Hell, my homeworld of Kuan isn't in a whole lot better
shape, and we welcomed the Empire in."

Kao snorted sarcastically. "I thought the Rebels were the bad guys,"
she said.

"They're no better," I said. "They're just as capable of using people
or exploiting worlds for their own agenda. My experience tells me that
in a war like this one, the lines between good guys and bad guys often
get blurred and confused."

Kao shook her head. "Is this what we're really about, Vel?"

"It's what the Emperor's about," I said grimly. "And he's in charge."


>From a geosynchronous orbit high above the planet's surface
Tatooine looked like a big, dirty brown ball. There was very little
surface water visible, and large brown clouds, which were in fact
enormous dust storms, roamed the planet's surface.  Mos Eisley
spaceport was the only visible sign that the planet was inhabited.
There were, we knew, other settle- ments scattered around the planet,
but they were too small to be seen from this height.

GUSTAV had entered orbit above Mos Eisley and one of the first things
I noticed was the traffic. Imperial freighters and transports of all
shapes and sizes were maneuvering into and out of  the spaceport. From
several ships that were just too large to land at the spaceport an
endless stream of shuttles flowed back and forth, offloading and
delivering cargo. Among those were several large assault transports
delivering more stormtroopers. The occupation of Tatooine, and its
conversion to an advanced Imperial base, was evidently well underway.

I was standing to one side on the bridge, gazing out of the large
observation windows as Commander Cibock and his bridge team completed
the maneuvers that placed GUSTAV in her assigned orbit. 

"Quite a lot of activity, eh, Captain?" Commander Cibock was standing
behind me, looking out of the window as well. I turned around.

"Yes, sir," I agreed. "Looks like we're serious here."

"It would appear so, " Cibock replied smiling. "I suppose the Empire
is in dire need of another desert planet," he continued sarcastically. 

I was a little taken aback, hearing such sarcasm directed at Imperial
activities by the Commanding Officer of an Imperial Starship. But,  I
had served with Commander Cibock long enough to know that he was a
competent and loyal officer, if a bit outspokenly skeptical at times.
It occurred to me that perhaps the recent death of his son aboard the
Death Star might have jaded him a little more. 

I smiled at his attempt at humor. "It doesn't look very inviting, does
it, sir?"

Cibock shrugged. "No, but we're here," he said quietly. "And,
unfortunately for the people of Tatooine, we'll be here for a long
time." He turned away abruptly and addressed the Deck Officer. "Is the
shuttle ready to take Captains Tallig and Ijuf and myself down to the
surface?"

"Yes, sir," he replied. "Your shuttle is ready to depart at your
convenience."

"Very well," Cibock said. "Ask Captain Ijuf to meet us in the shuttle
bay. I want to depart immediately."

"Yes, sir," the Deck Officer responded and turned away to carry out
Cibock's instructions. Cibock nodded toward the turbolift doors.
"Let's go, captain," he said and headed off the bridge. I fell in step
with him.

Less than ten minutes later, having been joined in the hangar bay by
Kao, we boarded our shuttle and departed at once .  The shuttle pilot
darted and weaved his way through the freight- er traffic in a long
looping spiral down toward Mos Eisley. As the detail of the city
emerged, Mos Eisley began to resemble an egg that had been hurled
against a wall. It was spread out all over the place in an apparently
random and unplanned manner. The spaceport itself dominated the city's
central sec- tion, with numerous webs of streets and alleys weaving a
sinuous pattern outward from the facility. The new con- struction
needed to support an Imperial base could also be seen. These new
installations were going up near the space- port and, as we got
closer, we could see piles of rubble from previously existing
structures that had been demolished to make room for them. Yes, I
thought to myself, the Empire has arrived in force.

The spaceport appeared primitive by modern Imperial standards and had
obviously not been designed to handle the current volume of traffic.
The pilot gently set us down in an open air docking bay and opened the
main hatch to the passenger compartment.   Instantly, we were nearly
overwhelmed by the planet's intense heat. As we stepped out of the
shuttle, it felt like we were walking into a blast furnace. Dressed as
we were in our heavy Imperial uniforms, all three of us broke out in a
sweat. The two suns were directly overhead hammering us as we walked
across the docking bay toward the squad of stormtroopers who were
waiting for us. I don't know how they managed to survive in that heavy
armor that they wore. I guess it must have been because storm-
troopers were such well conditioned and exceptionally tough bastards.
I also think that they were too fearful of their superiors to allow
themselves to be affected by heat or cold or anything else.

The squad leader stepped forward and saluted Commander Cibock.
"Welcome to Tatooine, sir," he said briskly. "The Special Envoy and
Commander Selena are waiting for you." He turned and led us into a new
and hurriedly constructed headquarters building, the rest of the
troopers falling in behind us. I was grateful to get out of the sun. 

The trooper led us through a maze of hallways and down two flights of
stairs. Obviously, the headquarters' nerve center was below ground. It
got cooler and more comfortable as we de- scended. There was a great
deal of activity as personnel hurried about, and construction workers,
assisted by droids, mounted equipment and strung communications cable.  

The trooper finally came to a stop before a large set of double blast
doors. He activated the comm link and announced our arrival. He
stepped aside as the door slid open noiselessly.

The room, obviously a command office, was huge. It had been so
hurriedly constructed that the rock out of which it was cut was still
visible in several places where wall covering had yet to be applied.
Comm screens were hung haphazardly and computer equipment was stacked
along the sides. At the far end was an enormous desk. And standing
next to the desk, tall, black, beautiful and sexy, was J'Una. She was
smiling broadly at me and I felt relief surge through me, followed
immediately by joy, then, inevitably, arousal. I wanted to dash across
the room, take her in my arms and fuck her brains out.  She always did
have that effect on me. But, Imperial etiquette prevailed and I merely
smiled back and nodded a wordless hello.  I glanced at Kao, who was
smiling broadly, as well.

There were three other people standing with J'Una around the desk on
the far side of the room. At the end of the desk opposite from J'Una
stood two men. One was middle aged with graying hair, fierce blue
eyes, stocky build and was wearing the uniform of a stormtrooper
general. The other was very tall, very big and very blonde. His
shoulders were broad, his hands were huge and his biceps were massive.
He wore two blasters strapped to his hips and stood with his arms
folded, leaning casually against the wall. 

Easily the most dominating presence, however, was that of the woman
standing behind the desk.  She was only of average height, but she was
exceptionally well proportioned with beauti- ful sloping hips, a firm
round ass and large upsweeping breasts.  She had short black hair that
neatly framed her face, dark eyes, very red lips and finely chiseled
features that stood out in stark relief. Her demeanor was one of a
person who is used to being in charge, used to being deferred to, used
to being important. Her eyes seemed to glow with the intensity of  a
person on a mission. She wore a simple black tunic with dark grey
trousers. In contrast to J'Una and the general, she wore no medals or
decorations or any rank insignia. Though hers was the least impressive
presence physically, it was immediately obvious that she was in charge
and that the others, including the gen- eral, deferred to her.

"Welcome to Tatooine, Commander Cibock," the woman said as she
gestured, somewhat imperiously I thought, for us to cross the room and
approach the desk.

"I am Marta Emoh," the woman said, "Special Envoy to the Imperial
Staff." She paused a moment to let the importance of her title sink
in. I  had never paid much attention to Imperial politics, and was not
easily impressed by titles or rank, but I instantly caught the
significance of what she said. So, too, did Commander Cibock. The
'Imperial Staff', as opposed to Imperial Headquarters,  was the
Emperor's personal organi- zation, which was apart from the Imperial
Navy. It also placed itself outside the military's sphere of
authority. This had often caused friction. There were rumors of a
'secret order,' of which the Emperor and Vader were the founding
members, and which  pledged undying loyalty and allegiance to the Em-
peror personally. I had no first hand knowledge of such a 'secret
order' but it  wouldn't have surprised me.

Marta continued with the introductions. She waved a hand toward the
general. "This is General Koss," she said. "General Koss is the
Commanding General of this installation. It is his job," she
continued, her voice suddenly turning cold, "to get this installation
fully operational on schedule and to con- tinue the extermination of
Rebel sympathizers." Koss shot her a quick glance, but said nothing.
Instead, he turned and welcomed Commander Cibock.

"I believe you all already know Commander Selena," Marta said with a
smile.

"It's good to see you safe, Commander," Cibock said warmly.  "When we
heard about the Death Star, we feared the worst."

J'Una smiled, and was about to say something, but Marta inter- jected.
"No time for sorrows, Commander. There is much to be done." She
paused, and smiled.

"Commander Selena and I and a few others," she said smoothly, "had
been sent here by Grand Moff Tarkin to begin preparations for this
base. At that time I was the Grand Moff's Chief Assistant." For a
moment I thought her eyes were starting to tear up, but she quickly
regained her imperial air.

Casting a quick glance at the blonde giant in the corner Marta said,
"And this is Tomba, my assistant." The way she said assistant made it
clear to me that he was her muscle, to be used when she needed to
exert some force. Judging from his physique and the way she had looked
at him I figured he probably used some muscle on her from time to
time. Marta definitely im- pressed me as someone you didn't fuck with,
unless she want- ed you to fuck with her. 

Marta sat down behind the desk. As there were no other chairs in the
room, the rest of us remained standing, which is probably what she had
had in mind. It helped to reaffirm her superior status.

"Now, Commander," Marta said briskly, "let's discuss your orders."

Cibock nodded, but said nothing.

"Since the cowardly attack by the Rebels on the Death Star," she
continued, "we have been pursuing those responsible. What you must
understand is that although Yavin was a principle Rebel base, it was
not the only one. There are many other Rebel cells who, along with
their allies, have become emboldened by the Death Star's destruction.
Lord Vader has amassed an enormous fleet to pursue the Yavin Rebels.
Unfortunately, this has left us with painfully few assets elsewhere."
She paused, and leaned back in her chair. 

"We have received disturbing reports that a group of pirates,
supported and supplied by the Rebels, have begun operating out of the
Pakuuni system. A primary trade artery runs through Pakuuni and on to
Mylok IV, a major Imperial industrial base.   These pirates have
become quite bold, and unfortunately quite successful, in raiding our
commerce vessels. We have been unable to counter them due to
commitments elsewhere." She smiled grimly. "Even the Empire has its
limits, Commander."

"Yes, Special Envoy," Cibock agreed deferentially. "What are the
orders for GUSTAV?"

"There are two full squadrons of replacement TIE fighters here at
Tatooine," she began.  "They were meant to be transported to the Death
Star. Take aboard as many as you can fit in GUSTAV's hangars. It will
be crowded, but you will need as much firepower as you can get."

Cibock nodded, but I could see a questioning look on his face.  Why
was it necessary for a 'Special Envoy' to issue what looked to be
routine patrol orders? We could just as easily have re- ceived the
orders by message, taken the replacements onboard, and headed out. 

"Once that's done," Marta continued, "we will proceed directly to the
Pakuuni system." WE?  Kao and I exchanged questioning looks, and
Commander Cibock's puzzled expression was not lost on the Special
Envoy.

"Yes, Commander," she said smoothly, responding to the un- asked
question. "I will be accompanying you. And Commander Selena will be
reassigned to GUSTAV, at least temporarily." A surge of joy rushed
through me and I looked over at J'Una and smiled. She smiled back
warmly. 

"Her tactical abilities," Marta continued, "were remarked on
frequently by Grand Moff Tarkin, who held her in very high regard. Our
mission is to smash the pirates and their Rebel friends and establish
a permanent, enduring Imperial presence."

"Yes, Special Envoy," Commander Cibock replied. "But isn't that a
rather large task for one frigate with a few squadrons of TIEs and a
couple of companies of stormtroopers?"

Marta stood up and walked around the desk until she was standing
directly in front of us.

"Oh, we'll have help, Commander," she said vaguely  in a voice that
held out the prospect of sinister things to come. 

Obviously, there was more going on here than merely nailing some
pirates, but Commander Cibock remained silent. 

Marta Emoh paused for what seemed to be a long time. Then, she raised
an eyebrow. "Doesn't Admiral Haarkov's daughter serve aboard your
vessel, Commander?" she asked. Even some- one as politically unaware
as I could quickly make the connection.  She was after Admiral
Haarkov. What that had to do with us and our assignment I hadn't a
clue. I assumed that the reports that Commander Cibock had sent in
regarding the admiral's activities during the Sepan operation [see pt
4] were the catalyst for this development.

Instantly I was afraid for Marina Haarkov. I was sure that she was
unaware of her father's "questionable" activities, but it was also
clear to me that this Marta Emoh had a game plan, and that Marina
would play a part in it.

Commander Cibock must have been thinking the same thing because he
stiffened noticeably.

"Ensign Haarkov is one of our leading maintenance officers," Cibock
said slowly, measuring his words. "She has an exemplary record."

Marta smiled at him. "I'm sure that she does, Commander," she said.
She turned and moved back behind the desk and sat down. Abruptly, she
turned to J'Una.

"Commander," she said as she waved her hand imperiously toward Kao and
me, "perhaps you could show the captains around for a few minutes.
Commander Cibock, the general and I have a few more things to
discuss."  She didn't mention her 'assistant', and he wasn't moving
from his position against the wall, so I assumed it was understood
that he was staying.

"Of course," J'Una replied, then motioned Kao and me to exit through
the same double blast doors through which we had entered.

Once we were outside and the heavy doors had slammed shut, J'Una and I
flew into each other's arms, our lips meeting in an intense, almost
savage kiss. It's amazing the emotions that come over you when you see
someone after getting used to the idea that they're dead. J'Una
grabbed me in her powerful arms and slammed me against the wall, her
tongue probing deeply into my mouth. For a few moments we forgot where
we were, forgot Imperial decorum, lost in our mutual longing.

Suddenly, almost as one, we remembered Kao, who was standing there
looking at us, a wry smile on her face. J'Una and I broke apart,
grinning sheepishly like a couple of schoolkids who had been caught
necking by their parents.

"It's alright," Kao said softly. "In fact, I feel like doing the
same." And she stepped up to J'Una and placed a gentle, soft kiss on
her lips. J'Una returned the kiss hungrily and it was obvious to me
that this wasn't the first time they'd kissed like this. Kao broke
away and stepped back. 

"Well, Commander," she said in mock deference, "aren't you going to
show us around?"

J'Una laughed. "There really isn't much to see around here," she said.
"Everything's a mess, what with all the construction going on." As if
to validate her statement several base personnel, their uniforms
wrinkled and dusty, hurried past accompanied by two droids carrying
heavy construction materials. J'Una followed them with her eyes as
they disappeared down the passageway.  She stared after them, then her
face brightened, her red eyes lit up and she turned to us with that
wide, beaming smile of hers.

"Come with me," she said as she began striding purposefully toward a
stairwell that led up. "I know a great little cantina that's just down
the street, and it's got a band that you won't believe."




J'Una and I were naked, locked in a fierce embrace, my cock plunging
deep into her pussy, her Bardin cunt muscles working me over. It had
been two days since our reunion on the base at Mos Eisley, but we had
each been so busy that we had had no opportunity to be alone together.
Kao and I had supervised the onload of the replacement TIE fighters
and the indoctrination and berthing of the new pilots. J'Una had been
busy gathering the latest intelligence reports on the Pakuuni
situation, and ensuring sufficiently lavish quarters were made
available to Marta Emoh and her 'assistant,' Tomba. Not an easy task
on a frigate, but J'Una had managed to satisfy the Special Envoy. It
had been a hectic two days. And a long two days.

Finally, however, GUSTAV was underway and we began to settle into our
transit routine. J'Una and I had been able to arrange to meet in my
quarters the evening after we'd left Tatooine. When she arrived, we
went at each other like a couple of rutting animals. No preliminaries,
no conversation, no petting, no foreplay. We tore each other's clothes
off and tumbled onto my bed.

I raised myself up onto my elbows and sucked on J'Una's fantastic
ebony breasts as my cock continued to piston in and out of her cunt.
Her long, powerful legs wrapped around me and pulled me deeper into
her. I ran my tongue over a nipple and then sucked the breast into my
mouth, biting it, remember- ing how much she loved having her tits
handled roughly. She moaned and thrust her pelvis up hard at me,
exercising that incredible vaginal muscle control that sent lightning
bolts of ex- quisite pleasure up and down my spine. My balls churned
as I felt my desire grow to new heights. I increased the tempo of my
thrusting, my balls noisily slapping  against J'Una's ass.  My cock is
not huge by any standards, but, fortunately, it's big enough to get
the full benefit of those exquisite Bardin cunt muscles which actually
felt like an internal hand grasp- ing and milking my cock.

I raised myself up on my arms and looked down at her as I continued
pounding away at her pussy. J'Una's red eyes were glowing  and her
lips were curled back in a kind of snarl and I could hear a low
growling in her throat as she became more and more aroused. She
grabbed my arms and pulled herself up onto me until her tits pressed
against my chest and her lips ground against mine. She was getting
hotter by the second and I knew her well enough to know that her
orgasm was fast approaching. The tingling at the base of my cock told
me that mine was, too.

"Fuck me, Vel. Fuck me," J'Una whispered as she licked my ear. I
pounded away, harder and faster, my cock slamming into her sopping
pussy. J'Una released her grip on me and flopped back onto the bed,
arms stretched out above her head, breasts heaving, red eyes rolling
back into her head. That was the signal to me that she was cumming, so
I slammed even harder into her, grunting and perspiring with the
effort. J'Una uttered a moan which started deep in her throat and
worked its way up until it exited her mouth as an ear splitting shriek
and her legs scissored around behind me and threatened to chop me in
half. I felt a shudder deep within her and her Bardin cunt muscles
gave my cock one last squeeze which sent me over the edge. My cum
poured out of my balls and raced up the length of my prick, blasting
out deep within her. I slammed into her again, feeling spurt after
spurt of my cum shooting out of my prick. It felt so good that it
almost hurt. The memory of the emotions I had experienced when I
thought she had been killed suddenly washed over me and my eyes teared
up. I buried my face in her neck so she wouldn't notice. We held each
other tightly as we slowly came down from our mutual ecstacy, our
breathing grad- ually  returning to normal.

Presently we disentangled ourselves and J'Una sat up, leaning back
against a bulkhead, the scent of our sex hanging over us.  I stretched
out next to her, my penis resting limply against my thigh. J'Una
seemed pensive, and her expression, for a moment, was far away.  Since
returning to GUSTAV after serving on the ill-fated Death Star, J'Una
seemed to have changed. She seem- ed to have lost some of the
exhuberance and enthusiasm which was so characteristic of her. Her
lovemaking was still the best, but she seemed somehow detached. I was
sure that something was troubling her, probably something that had
happened while she was on the Death Star, but I wasn't sure how to
broach the subject with her. So, I just did. 

"Do you want to talk about the Death Star?" I asked directly. I
thought that she did, and didn't know how else to get her going.
Hell, I'm a pilot, not a diplomat or a politician. I tend to take a
straight line approach to things. Sometimes that gets me into trouble.

J'Una looked at me for a long moment. Her expression was tough to
read, but I noticed lines and wrinkles around her eyes that hadn't
been there before. She heaved a sigh and patted my thigh.

"I'm not sure I like what we've become," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised by her answer. I'm not really
certain I knew what kind of response I should have expected, but that
one wasn't among them.

"The things that we do in the name of the Emperor...." she said, her
voice trailing off. She had definitely aroused my curiosity now, and I
sat up next to her. It was hard not to be aware of her nakedness, of
her smooth, gleaming black skin, of her overpowering sexuality, but I
forced myself to concen- trate on what she was saying.

"What things, J'Una," I asked quietly, not certain I really want- ed
to know the answer.

She looked at me intently, her red eyes glowing, and let out a deep
sigh, almost of resignation. 

"Remember when we first brought Tarkin to the Death Star, and he met
Vader and there was talk of busting up some Rebel spy ring?" I nodded.
We had delivered Grand Moff Tarkin to take over the Death Star amid a
great deal of activity involving Vader's pursuit of some Rebel spies
[see pt 3]. I hadn't paid much attention then. I was too busy feeling
sorry for myself because J'Una had chosen to take a position on
Tarkin's staff.  Now, I was paying very close attention.

"Well," J'Una continued, "Vader caught one."

"A spy?"

J'Una nodded. "At least someone he thought was a spy. Her name was
Leia."

"A female?" I asked, surprised. I don't know why I was sur- prised. A
woman can be a spy just as well as a man can, I suppose. I guess I was
just expecting something else.

"Yes, a female," J'Una replied smiling. "She was a princess or senator
or something, a fairly important person. But Vader was convinced she
was involved with the Rebels so he attacked her ship not far from
Tatooine and took her prisoner."

Tatooine. I made the connection. "So that's why we've occupied
Tatooine?"

"Yes," J'Una said bitterly. "Vader thought that this Leia person was
meeting contacts on Tatooine so he sent a bunch of storm- troopers
down to find out while he interrogated her."

"Did the stormtroopers find out anything?"

J'Una shook her head. "Not much," she said. "But it wasn't from lack
of effort. They killed and tortured people. They arrested people on
sight. They burned farms. Lots of nasty stuff. And for what?" She
looked at me with a deeply troubled expression.  "So," she continued,
"Vader and Tarkin decided that Tatooine was a hotbed of Rebel activity
and ordered it occupied. You saw the results." She slowly shook her
head.

"So, what happened to that woman?"

J'Una laughed derisively. "Oh, it gets better," she said, her voice
dripping with sarcasm. "Vader and his people did the most un-
speakable things to her. They drugged her. They beat her. They raped
her. They forced her to eat her own shit." J,Una's eyes welled with
tears and she continued with difficulty. "Vader's men took turns
raping her. One after another after another until she passed out. Then
they'd revive her and rape her some more." A single tear ran down her
cheek. "It was horrible, Vel.  Horrible."

I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. I suppose I was guilty of
the same kind of naivete that I had accused Kao of earlier. Or, maybe,
I had refused to acknowledge what was really happening, while
pretending that I did. If I had really allowed myself to understand
and accept the reality that inci- dents like this actually took place,
I wouldn't have been so shocked. But now, confronted by J'Una's first
hand descrip- tion of accepted Imperial methods, I found myself
questioning myself and, thus, was unable to  respond.

"That woman was a tough little bitch," J'Una said smiling and
sniffling at the same time. "She didn't tell Vader anything. I don't
know if she knew anything, but she didn't tell him anything. No matter
what he did, the humiliations, the raping the drugging, she defied
him. This little woman didn't give an inch." There was a tone of
admiration in her voice.

"So, what did Vader do with her?" I asked, finally able to speak.

"He went nuts trying to get her to give him the location of a Rebel
base. He and Tarkin wanted to use the Death Star to destroy the base
and bully others into submission. But she just wouldn't talk. So Vader
wanted to kill her. That's usually Vader's approach." Her tone became
bitterly sarcastic. "If they don't cooperate, kill them." She shook
her head. "I don't know how lunatics like him get into positions of
power." My eyebrows must have shot up because she smiled at me.  I had
never heard her talk like that before.

She got up from the bed and grabbed a robe and put it on.  "Anyway,"
she continued and started to pace in front of the bed where I still
sat, naked, "Tarkin got a bright idea to try to make this Leia talk.
It turns out she was from a place called Alderaan, not far from the
Tatooine system. So, Tarkin takes the Death Star to Alderaan and
brings Leia up to the bridge and tells her he'll blow up the planet if
she doesn't tell him where her Rebel friends are."

"Blow up the whole planet?" I asked exasperated. 

"Yep," she said. "He threatened to use the Death Star's weaponry. I
was there. I saw everything." Her eyes teared up again. "Everything."
She paused and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, then turned
back to me, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Well, that broke her," she said quietly. "Or, at least that's what
Tarkin thought. She gave him the name of some planet on the other side
of the quadrant. Dantooie or something like that. Tarkin got all
puffed up and strutted around in front of Vader, crowing how he had
made her talk and Vader couldn't.  Then,"  and she stopped and looked
right through me, seemingly right into my soul, "he blew up the planet
anyway." She struggled to maintain her composure, but the tears were
flowing. "The bastard destroyed that entire planet, Vel. Tens of
millions of people vaporized in an instant. Is that what we've become,
Vel?  Is that what I've become? I fucked that bastard more than once
so I could get a job on his staff and serve on the Death Star and be
real important and get promoted. Instead, I feel like I have blood on
my hands and it won't wash off." She collapsed into a chair and pulled
the robe tightly about her. She seemed tired, though her red eyes were
still blazing. I just sat there, unable, or maybe unwilling, to
comprehend what she had just said.

"Not long after that," she continued quietly, "Marta and I were sent
back to Tatooine to oversee the establishment of a base.  Later, I
heard that there wasn't any Rebel base on that planet that Leia had
given them. They were chasing phantoms. I don't really know what
happened at Yavin, or how the Death Star was destroyed. I do know that
that woman Leia somehow ma- naged to escape and wasn't onboard when
the Death Star was attacked." She paused and smiled at me. "Vader's
still chasing her and the other Rebel leaders. I guess she got the
last laugh on all of us." I could tell that J'Una was pleased by that
thought.

"Who is this Marta person, J'Una," I asked innocently, trying to
change the subject a little, "and why is she here? Why is she
important?"

J'Una's brow furrowed and her eyes glowed like two embers.  "Marta
Emoh was Tarkin's chief assistant," she began. "She was devoted to
him, did anything he asked. Tarkin's death really got to her. I don't
think she's gotten over it. She's also a loyal follower of the
Emperor, so watch what you say around her. She's very sharp and well
connected, but ruthless. She gets what she wants. Watch out for that
Tomba character she hangs out with. He's little more than a hired
gun."

"I got that impression," I said.

"Marta's not as bad as Vader," J'Una continued, "but she has been
known to kill and torture in the name of the Emperor." She chuckled.
"She's also known for getting the hots for any- one she finds
attractive, or thinks can be useful, so watch your- self, stud." She
laughed.

"Marta's not all that bad, I guess," she continued, "considering some
of the real sick characters I've heard about. But she is passionately
devoted to the cause  of the Emperor. She is also passionately devoted
to the cause of Marta Emoh. She is a very tough woman." She took a
deep breath  and let it out slowly.

"You may not be aware of this, Vel," she said and she leaned forward,
almost as though we were engaging in a conspiracy, "but there's a
growing rift between various elements within the Imperial hierarchy."

I shook my head. I hadn't a clue what she was talking about, other
than the fact that while we were in the Sepan system Commander Cibock
had suspected Admiral Haarkov of supplying arms to the Rebels [see pt
4].

"First, there's the Emperor's faction," she went on. "These people are
devoted to the Emperor personally. They derive all of their power and
status from association with him. They hate the Rebels and want to
wipe them out, because the Rebels pose the greatest threat to an
Imperial domination of this part of the galaxy. The Rebels are so
opposed to the Emperor that they won't even consider negotiating. So,
the Emperor's faction has to destroy the Rebellion in order to
survive."

I merely nodded stupidly, dumbfounded and fascinated by this analysis.

"Marta Emoh," J'Una continued, "is part of that faction. So was
Tarkin. So is Vader. Vice Admiral Thrawn might be, too. Right now they
have the upper hand but I think they're getting ner- vous. That's why
they're going to such extreme measures."

"What are they nervous about?"

"The other factions, of course," J'Una said smiling. "There seems to
be a growing number of senior military officers who, while loyal to
the Empire, are not personally loyal to the Emperor.  They aren't fans
of the Rebels, but I get the impression that they would like to see
this war ended. After all, they and their troops are the ones doing
the dying. I don't think they'd be averse to some kind of negotiated
settlement but, since the Rebels think the Emperor is a criminal and
won't negotiate, they have little room to maneuver, unless they want
to try to depose the Emperor and I don't think they have the strength
or the balls for that. Yet." She said 'yet' with such finality that I
knew she believed that it was only a matter of time before a coup was
attempted. I was stunned. I was also getting angry. Here we were, my
pilots and I, out here flying combat mission after combat mission in
inferior starfighters and our leaders, the very people who should be
giving us the most support, were busy maneuvering against each other.
Unfuckingbelievable!

"That leads us to the third faction," J'Una continued matter-of-
factly, "and the reason that Marta Emoh is with us on this assignment.
There appears to be a very small but growing num- ber of people in the
military who are so disgusted with what the Empire has become that
they are willing to actively help the Rebels. A few of these people
have been exposed and ex- ecuted as traitors. Admiral Haarkov is
suspected of being one of those people." She sat back, finished. 

"We're out here to get Haarkov?" I asked.

"If he's dealing with the Rebels, yes," J'Una replied. "That's what
Marta is going to confirm. The Emperor has to be care- ful how he
handles senior officers like Haarkov, or he'll just piss a lot of them
off, and drive them away from him. He may be the Emperor and he may be
very powerful, but he's not untouchable. If Marta establishes proof
that Haarkov is giving arms to the Rebels they'll move against him."

"Do you think Marina's in any danger?" I asked.

J'Una paused for several moments. "Assuming she doesn't know anything
about what her father is suspected of doing," she looked at me and I
shook my head, "probably not. But you never know what someone like
Marta will do. She may try to use Marina to force the admiral to make
a move. Who knows?   I'll keep an eye on Marina, though. Marta and I
get along pretty well. We were the only two females in any kind of
leadership position on Tatooine, so we became close." She stopped,
pondering, it seemed to me, whether to elaborate. She didn't, and I
didn't ask.
 "So what do we do?" I asked, finally. 

"Why, captain," she said with a smile. "We do what we were sent here
to do- smash a bunch of pirates." She stood up.

"And now that I've given you all of this cheery information," she
said, smiling devilishly, "I'm going to take a shower." She walked to
the doorway of the bathroom, turned and dropped the robe. "Care to
join me?" she asked, batting her eyes in mock innocence. Instantly I
forgot all about the Emperor and Marta and Haarkov and infighting. My
prick sprang quickly to life and I swiftly crossed the room and
followed J'Una's gorgeous, swaying black ass into the shower. Caught
up in my  rapidly reviving lust, I forgot to ask her which of these
three 'factions' she thought she belonged to.



GUSTAV was still in hyperspace, but we were nearing our objective, the
Pakuuni system. Commander Cibock had had the word passed for all
senior officers to assemble in the briefing room. Special Envoy Emoh,
we were told, wished to give us some final instructions for our
mission. We hadn't seen much of the Imperial Special Envoy or her
muscle bound assistant Tomba during our transit. One of the galley
stewards who was tasked with delivering meals to their quarters told
me that they were nearly always in a state of undress when she
arrived. She had been quite shocked, in fact, when she saw Tomba enter
the room completely naked while she was setting up the meal. Some
'assistant,' I thought.

I took my customary seat up front next to Kao as the other officers
filed in. J'Una was at the podium, organizing briefing materials,
holographs and displays. It was good to see her there again. She fit
into GUSTAV'S routine so naturally. Or, maybe, GUSTAV fit her routine.
She exchanged pleasantries with many of the officers as they entered
and sat down. They were obviously happy to see her back. A warship
that operates on its own for an extended period of time, as we had
[see part 1], develops its own rhythm, its own cadence. Each memb- er
of the crew occupies a unique place in the ship's life. The more
senior the person, as J'Una was, the more important and vital a part
they played. J'Una's departure had disrupted that cadence and we
hadn't established a new one. Her return re- established a sense of
balance and familiarity. The crew seemed more relaxed and less tense
and edgy than we'd been during the Sepan operation. I always preferred
to take a relaxed group of starfighter pilots into combat. It improved
my chances of staying alive.

The hubbub of conversation ended abruptly and we sprang to our feet as
Commander Cibock, followed by the Special Envoy and her assistant,
entered the room. There were no preliminaries. Marta strode directly
to the podium and took charge. 

"Good morning," she began. There was no pleasantness in her voice. The
greeting was merely perfunctory. She looked around the room at the
assembled officers, her eyes bright with intensity, her bearing rigid,
imperious, businesslike. 

"As many of you may know, Lord Vader has most of the Im- perial Navy's
assets employed in hunting down and exterminat- ing the Rebel
terrorists who were responsible for murdering our colleagues aboard
the Death Star." There was a support- ive murmur among the officers in
the room. Most everyone there had known someone who perished on the
Death Star and we were still out for blood. Marta gave a thin smile,
then proceeded.

"Although Lord Vader has not yet located these scum," she continued,
"I assure you it is only a matter of time until he does." Her voice
was chilling in its tone and I almost, but not quite, felt sorry for
those Rebel bastards once Vader caught up with them.

I glanced at Kao, who was sitting stoically, her face betraying no
emotion. I knew she had no love for the Rebels. After all, they had
killed her parents and shattered her comfortable, privileged existence
[see pt 4]. But I had been sensing a change in her. It seemed that the
zeal which she had displayed for kill- ing  Rebels was slowly being
tempered by a realization that all was not black and white, good and
bad, and that pure ven- geance was an insufficient foundation upon
which to base one's life.

"Because of the large force gathered by Lord Vader," Marta continued,
"our assets in other regions of the Empire have been stretched fairly
thin." She gave a rather wan smile before pro- ceeding. "In the
Pakuuni system there has been an alarming in- crease in pirate
activity. These pirates, supported by the Rebel- lion, have become
quite bold in attacking our commerce." She paused, her eyes narrowing
in intensity. "Our job here is to smash these pirates and anyone who
helps them." I noticed, as I'm sure J'Una did also, that Marta didn't
just say 'Rebels.' The implication was clear to me. Treachery was
suspected and that was really what Marta was here about.

"I am not a military person," Marta continued, suddenly showing some
warmth, "so I will not tell you how to do your jobs. Com- manders
Cibock and Selena have come up with an impressive operational plan,
which Commander Selena will brief you on.  My role is to represent the
Emperor and emphasize the import- ance of this assignment." She turned
to J'Una. "Commander Selena."

J'Una rose and walked to the podium as Marta took a seat. I had to
hand it to the Special Envoy. Marta had been direct and professional
and had shown due respect for GUSTAV's senior leadership. I could tell
that she had won a grudging re- spect from most of the officers, many
of whom were naturally reluctant to trust a civilian. She had done
well.

"Thank you, Special Envoy," J'Una said, bowing in Marta's direction.
She turned to face us. "Our battle plan for this oper- ation employs a
series of hit and run raids against several locations that we have
identified as being centers of pirate activity throughout the Pakuuni
system." A holographic repre- sentation of the Pakuuni system appeared
on the front table.  While there were several sizeable planets, what
dominated the system was asteroids. They were all over the place,
large and small, floating in a seemingly random pattern throughout the
system. The only significant open area was near one of the inner
planets. That was the jump point for the merchant traffic that Marta
had alluded to. The rest of the system was a floating rock pile. A
good place for pirates to hide in, and a tough place to operate with
unshielded starfighters. I let out a soft groan.  Kao looked at me and
nodded. She was thinking the same thing.

"Our first target," J'Una continued, "will be a large asteroid
identified as Delta 5." The holographic display changed, highlighting
a medium to large sized asteroid orbiting one of the system's outer
planets. At least we won't have to penetrate too far into the field, I
thought.

"Intelligence reports indicate increased pirate activity coming from
this asteroid. It is an old abandoned mining facility that we believe
is now being used by pirates and their Rebel friends. As soon as we
come out of hyperspace we'll launch all of our  TIE Fighters. Captains
Tallig and Ijuf will establish local superiority by defeating any
enemy craft that oppose us. Hopefully, we will achieve sufficient
surprise that the pirates are unable to respond quickly." She paused
and smiled at Kao and me. "Once Cap- tains Tallig and Ijuf have
eliminated the opposition, TIE bomb- ers will attack the asteroid with
heavy space bombs. Major Maarek's stormtroopers, in three Assault
Transports, will land on the asteroid, overcome any resistance and
destroy as much of the installation as time permits."

"Excuse me, commander," said Major Maarek, our erst- while
stormtrooper commander, as he rose from his seat. "But what about the
pirates who are still on the asteroid after we secure it? Do I kill
them all?" He asked the question in such a casual, detached tone that
J'Una was momentarily taken aback.  He could just as well have been
asking about the weather, or the price of blaster rechargers.

"I want prisoners, Major," Marta Emoh said from her seat. "No
wholesale killing. We want some to survive to spread the word about
what's happening."

Maarek sat back down, clearly disappointed. J'Una, having re- gained
her composure, continued her briefing.

"Once the installation has been sufficiently damaged," she said, "the
stormtroopers and any prisoners will return. GUSTAV will hyperspace
out of the system and we will begin planning future attacks. The
pirates have been working with the Rebels, so it is possible that
during this or subsequent raids we could see Rebel starfighters. Keep
alert." The holographic display terminated and J'Una looked out at us.
"This series of operations is de- signed to eliminate the threat posed
by these pirates to Imperial commerce. We will be coming out of
hyperspace shortly, so let's man our stations." She turned toward
Marta. "Special En- voy Emoh?"

Marta stood up and smiled at us. "I know that you will all serve the
Emperor well," she said. "Good luck. That is all." She strode quickly
out of the room, followed by Commander Cibock and the ever present
Tomba. Kao and I looked at each other.

"Great," Kao said sarcastically, "Fighting X-wings in an asteroid
field in unshielded starfighters again. Not my idea of a good time."

"Nor mine," I agreed. "At least you'd think we could get shield- ed
fighters."

"Preferably before the war is over." Kao didn't look too hopeful.  She
picked up her flight helmet and strode from the room.


I climbed into my TIE, strapped in and hooked up the comm link. Kao
and I had briefed our pilots on the upcoming opera- tion and GUSTAV
had just come out of hyperspace on the edge of the Pakuuni asteroid
field closest to our target. Comm- ander Cibock demonstrated once
again his superior ship handling skills as he kept GUSTAV as close to
the field as possible without risking a collision with a boulder.

The hangar deck filled with the high pitched whine of TIEs winding up,
and the overhead cranes began picking us up and maneuvering us to the
launch bay. I quickly went through the pre-flight checklist and
energized the ship's sensors and weapons systems. The heavy launch bay
doors in the bottom of the ship opened, the crane lowered me through
them and re- leased me out into space. I engaged the twin ion engines
and my craft surged forward. It felt good to be at the controls of my
TIE again, away from the intrigue and the politics and the bureacratic
bullshit that permeated the Empire. When all was said and done, this
is where I belonged, where I felt most com- fortable. Flying a TIE,
particularly in combat, gave me a sense of accomplishment and
importance like nothing else I had ever done. Leading a highly trained
and motivated group of TIE pilots into a combat mission was an
incredible rush and, for a time, any doubts I had about the Empire
were set aside.

"GUSTAV, Gamma One," I called, establishing comms.  "Flight group
forming up."

"Roger, Gamma One," J'Una replied. It was good to hear her voice on
the other end again. "Commence your attack as soon as you and Tau
leader are ready. No signs of enemy craft." That was good. Maybe we'd
surprise them after all.

"Roger, GUSTAV," I acknowledged.

My flight had formed up, Dromo in his usual position off my port side.
My sensors showed that Kao's group was about ready as well.

"Gamma leader to Tau leader," I called to her, changing fre- quencies. 

"Go ahead, Gamma leader," Kao replied. I could see that her flight had
formed and they had taken up station behind mine.  We were approaching
the asteroid field in two loose formations.

"We'll attack the installation and take out their ground de- fenses,"
I told her. "You cover us and watch for any new- comers."

"Acknowledged, Gamma leader," Kao said coolly. "Give 'em hell, Vel."

"Gamma leader to Gamma flight," I called to my group, "stay in a loose
formation until we pass through the asteroids to the pirate base,
Delta 5. We'll make a few strafing runs to take out their ground
defenses and soften them up for the bombers.   Watch for any fighters
that may rise to meet us."

I increased speed and turned into the asteroids. We threaded our way
through with little difficulty. It wasn't  a particularly thick
asteroid field and we weren't being shot at- yet- so it was fairly
easy going. The dodging and weaving was actually fun and I enjoyed
watching Dromo trying to stay with me through all the twists and
turns. Of course, he did.

We were nearing our objective, Delta 5, and still no sign of any
response. The hair started rising on the back of my neck.  Although
there was no reason to suspect an ambush, I had had too many bad
experiences not to be wary. Either we had actually achieved complete
surprise, or they were waiting for us, or they were gone. Since I had
no way of knowing which was the case, I activated my targeting
computer as I led my group down toward the asteroid's surface. I
switched my weapons to missiles and sighted a turbo laser
installation.

"These guys must really be asleep," Dromo  said curtly.

"Commence attack," I ordered, ignoring him. My targeting system gave
off a series of beeps indicating that my missiles had a lock on the
turbo mount. I fired two missiles -out of the four we each carried-
switched to lasers and opened up.   My missiles found their mark and
the laser mount disappeared in a series of explosions. Other surface
installations were suffering the same fate as the rest of my TIEs
commenced their runs. 

The pirates on Delta 5 finally responded to our attack. I didn't
understand how people who made their living off of illegal activities
could be so lax in their security arrangements. Maybe they thought the
Rebels would protect them. Or perhaps they got lazy because the Empire
had not had a presence in this area for so long. Whatever the case,
these guys had definitely been caught napping. 

Once they did begin to return fire, the pirates did so with im-
pressive ferocity. Green and red laser bolts leapt up at us from
several turbo laser mounts and the space around the base be- came
thick with missiles. Several fighters launched and rose to meet us,
mostly old Z-95s. 

I looped around a small, drifting asteroid- really a big boulder- and
targeted a Z-95. I activated speed matching, switched my lasers to
rapid single fire and opened up. My shots quickly took the pirate's
shields down (Z-95 shields aren't all that strong anyway, but, hell!
They're shields). He twisted to the right to avoid my fire and flew
straight into an asteroid. His craft disintegrated in a blinding flash
of color. I flew past the asteroid and locked onto another pirate
craft that had somehow gotten onto the tail of one of my TIEs and was
blasting away. Once again I  intended to approach from the rear.

"Gamma Four, Gamma One," I called to the pursued TIE pilot, "Hang on.
I'm on him."

"Thanks, Captain," came the relieved reply.

The three ships twisted and darted through the floating rocks.  The
pirate seemed so intent on his prey that he never checked his six. I
crept closer and closer, wanting a clear shot so that I wouldn't miss
and hit my own pilot. As we rounded another boulder I saw my chance.
The Z-95 and the other TIE were now no longer in a direct line so I
opened up and rapidly cut the pirate into pieces. I don't think he
ever knew I was there.

"Gamma One, GUSTAV," J'Una's voice in my ear. "There are more Z-95s
approaching from outside the field. They appear to have launched from
another asteroid."

"GUSTAV, this is Tau Leader," Kao broke in. "This group has just
passed between my flight and the field. I'm above and behind them."

"Roger, Tau Leader," J'Una responded. "Attack."

"Tau flight attacking," Kao acknowledged.

"Gamma One," J'Una called to me, "the TIE bombers are launching, as
well as the ATRs. Cover their approach."

"Roger, GUSTAV," I replied. "We've taken care of most of the
opposition here. It should be clear for the bombers."

"Acknowledged, Gamma One. Commencing launch."

On my screen I could see the wave of TIE bombers form up and begin
navigating the asteroid field as they approached the pirate base. I
could also see the three ATRs carrying the stormtroopers following
behind them.

Dromo was back with me and he and I looped around some asteroids to
close up with the bombers and provide escort. The rest of my flight
was finishing off the meager opposition. I watched the bombers go in
and begin pounding the asteroid with their heavy space bombs. The
idea, as I was told by one of the bomber pilots, was to collapse some
of the many tun- els that had been dug into the asteroid, first by the
mining interest, then expanded by the pirates.

The asteroid seemed to literally shudder from the pounding as bomber
after bomber delivered its weapons. At one point I half expected the
asteroid to fly apart into a million little pieces.  It didn't, of
course, but it took a horrific beating.

It was while I was watching the bombers in action that I com- mitted
an error which few combat pilots commit and live to tell about. I got
lazy and inattentive. I didn't see a lone Z-95 emerge from its hiding
place among a series of large aster- oids and target me from behind.
In fact, I had no inclination that anything was amiss until his laser
bolts started slamming into my ass. Then it was too late.

My TIE was shaken and thrown about violently from the force of the
laser hits. I fought for control, but my maneuvering jets were gone.
The cockpit started filling with smoke and the smell of fried
electronics filled my nostrils. 

"Dromo, I'm hit. I'm hit," I yelled, not knowing if the comm link
still worked. The Z-95 fired again and ripped the starboard solar
panel to pieces. I was still fighting for control when I heard Dromo's
voice in my ear.

"Eject, captain," he called. "Eject NOW!"

A pilot's instinct is to stay with his ship and I hesitated a mo-
ment. I also had another consideration. The TIE's ejection sys- tem
was notoriously unreliable. Sometimes the hatch wouldn't open and the
pilot would be smashed to a bloody pulp by the force of the ejection.
Sometimes the life support cocoon wouldn't activate and the pilot
would instantly freeze to death in space. Sometimes nothing at all
would happen and the pilot would die with his ship. All of those
things flashed through my mind in an instant and I refrained from
activating the ejection system. My mind was changed, however, by the
fire that started inside the electronics suite and spread rapidly
through- out the cockpit.

"Dromo, I'm ejecting," I called and hit the button and prayed.  This
time, everything worked right. The life support cocoon wrapped itself
around me in a moment, the escape hatch blew off and the chair
rocketed itself out of the top of the TIE and into space. I hoped that
there weren't any asteroids close by. I also hoped that the homing
beacon had activated.

I couldn't see much, being wrapped up like I was, but I knew that
Dromo would have to get help. A TIE fighter is just too small for a
second person to fit inside. Also, it doesn't have a tractor beam. So,
I figured I'd be out there awhile until a shuttle from GUSTAV could
pick me up. The emergency life support system was rated to last about
three hours. I didn't want to test it, however.

I had been floating less than five minutes when I felt the unmis-
takeable tug of a tractor beam pulling me in. It was 'way too soon for
a shuttle to have gotten out here, and I knew that the Z-95 didn't
normally have a tractor beam. Well, I thought, at the very least I'll
get out of this damned cocoon. I could hardly move and I was starting
to feel claustrophobic.

The tractor beam continued pulling me in. I strained to get a look at
the ship that had found me, but the life support co- coon so severely
restricts your field of vision that I couldn't see it. So, I waited,
and longed for a blaster.

The tractor beam ride ended abruptly. A hatch on the bottom of the
ship opened and I was pulled inside, the hatch closing behind me. My
chair landed heavily on the deck. I heard the loud hissing sound of
the compartment being pressurized, followed by the sound of  a door
sliding open. Hands pulled at the life support unit, unwrapping it. My
legs were freed first and I was able to rise from the pilot seat to
facilitate the removal of the rest of the unit. The cocoon was removed
from around my head and I found myself looking into the smiling face
of Major Maarek, who was in full stormtrooper gear, minus the helmet.
Two other troopers were busy helping me out of the life support unit.
I stepped free of it and moved my arms and legs to get the blood
flowing again. I had never felt so cramped, but was grateful that the
ejection system had actually worked.

"Welcome aboard, captain," Maarek said pleasantly. "We saw you eject,
but had to double back through some boulders to pick you up."

The intercom speaker on the bulkhead squawked. "Pilot to Major Maarek.
Do we have the ejected pilot, sir?"

"Yes, lieutenant," he called. "Let's proceed to the assault point."

"Yes, sir." I felt the ATR surge ahead.

Maarek turned to me with a sarcastic grin. "Looks like you're joining
the grunts on this one, captain." I smiled thinly. If I had wanted to
experience ground combat I wouldn't have become a pilot. 

Maarek chuckled. "That Z-95 really flamed your ass, didn't he?" He
laughed. He was really enjoying this.

"Shouldn't we notify GUSTAV that I'm aboard?" I asked, ig- noring his
sarcasm.

"Can't break comm silence, captain," he said.

"Major," I said, somewhat exasperated, "don't you think that the
pirates know by now that we're here?"

Maarek gave me a long, cold look. I was questioning him in front of
his men and he didn't like it.

"Of course the pirates know that we are attacking them with
starfighters," he said calmly, patiently, as though explaining
something to a child. "But they might not know that three ATRs loaded
with stormtroopers are about to descend on them. If it's alright with
you, captain, I'd like to keep it that way."

I said nothing. He was right, of course.


"If you'll excuse me, captain," Maarek said impatiently, "I have an
assault to lead." He turned and left the airlock chamber followed by
the two troopers. I trailed behind them.  We walked down a short
passageway, through a blast door into a large troop assembly area. It
was the largest compart- ment on the transport. Fifty or more
stormtroopers were seat- ed on the long benches that ran the length of
the compartment along either bulkhead. They were in full combat gear,
assault rifles at the ready. Maarek and the two troopers sat down and
strapped themselves in. 

"Better take a seat, captain," he said indicating a jump seat at the
front of the compartment. "It can get a little rough." I sat down and
strapped myself in. Maarek grinned at me, then reached behind him and
unfastened  an assault rifle from a rack on the bulkhead. He looked at
the rifle, then tossed it to me.

"Here, captain," he said. "You might need this. Try not to hurt
yourself." He laughed and pulled on his helmet. I could hear snickers
and chuckles from nearby troopers. I examined the rifle. It was set on
'kill.'

The intercom speaker squawked with the pilot's voice. "We are
commencing our approach on the target. Stand by for evasive
maneuvers."  The pilot put the ATR through a series of gutwrenching
twists and turns as a precaution against possible enemy fire. I don't
know if the pirates were shooting at us or not, but we weren't hit.

"We are approaching the main tunnel," said the pilot. "Standby for
touchdown."

"Feet up!" Maarek bellowed. Almost as one man the storm- troopers
lifted their feet up off the deck. I had no idea why, but I figured
there must be a good reason, so I did the same.

Maarek turned his helmeted head toward me. "If the landing is too
hard," he said, his voice muffled by the face shield, "the shock can
break your ankles." I nodded.

The ATR touched down with a heavy thud, and skidded to a stop. The
back of the transport opened up as a large ramp, which formed the rear
wall of the troop compartment, dropped into position. 

"Let's move," Maarek called as the troopers swiftly released their
harnesses and exited the transport. I followed them out.

The other two transports had landed on either side of ours and their
troops were filing out and forming up quickly. I had to admit that the
precision and discipline that they displayed were impressive. 

The troopers formed up into teams and began moving down the tunnel.
The tunnel was quite large, larger than I had thought it would be. It
was wide enough for the three ATRs to land side-by-side with plenty of
room between them. The tunnel was dimly lit and, due to the smoke and
debris from the bombing, I couldn't see to the end. In fact I soon
lost sight of the stormtroopers as they systematically moved down the
tunnel. 

The three ATR pilots were standing near the center shuttle, talking. I
started to walk toward them when I heard  an ex- plosion, then laser
fire, erupt down the tunnel. I stopped and turned toward it. The fire
got heavier and heavier, the sound reverberating through the tunnel. I
could see laser bolts flying about and, above the din, I heard
screaming. 

Presently the firing sputtered and stopped. I couldn't restrain my
curiosity and began walking slowly, carefully, down the tunnel, the
assault rifle at the ready. I had gone about fifty meters when I came
upon the bodies of two stormtroopers that had been ripped apart by
some sort of blast. There were parts of another, non-uniformed, body
strewn about. I took a deep breath and continued down the tunnel,
trying not to slip on the blood and the gore. 

I went another ten meters and then I saw them. Bodies. Many, many
bodies. Some were piled in heaps, some scattered about the tunnel. I
drew closer and the vomit suddenly rose in my throat. Many of the
bodies were children! Some very young children. At first I thought
they must have been killed in the bombing, but then I saw the
unmistakable scorch marks of assault rifle blasts. The little bodies
had been ripped and blast- ed and were horribly contorted. Amidst the
dead children was the occasional body of an adult, some of whom had
weapons nearby. In a small alcove, where she had obviously tried to
take refuge, was a dead woman, the headless body of an in- fant
clutched in her arms. This part of the tunnel was literally awash in
gore, blood, limbs and internal organs that had been splattered about.
Leading away from the carnage down the tunnel were the bloody
footprints of the stormtroopers. It was the most horrific sight I had
ever seen.

My eyes welled up with tears and I could go no further. I turned my
back on the carnage and slowly walked back to the ATRs.  The pilots
acknowledged me but I walked past them to the rear of  Maarek's ATR
and sat down on the ramp, my mind numb.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring out at the tunnel en-
trance, before I heard heavy footsteps approaching. I stood up and
looked down the tunnel. Maarek and some of the troopers had returned.
Maarek's body armor was splattered with blood, but it was obviously
not his own. Maarek pulled off his helmet and grinned at me.

"What's the matter, captain?" he asked in mock seriousness.  "Does the
sight of real combat make you ill?" Again, snickers among the
troopers. I walked up to Maarek and looked him coldly in the eye.

"Since when," I said slowly, deliberately, biting off each word, "do
we massacre children, major?"

I was glad to see that Maarek actually flinched. Not much, but he did
flinch. He recovered quickly, however.

"Ground combat isn't clean and neat and tidy, captain," he said
indignantly. "We don't have sensors and scanners that clearly label
the enemy, like starfighter pilots do." The contempt was heavy in his
voice. "We don't always know what or who will be waiting for us in a
tunnel, or on a space platform or down an alley. My orders were to
secure this asteroid, and I have done so."

I was becoming angrier by the moment. "What orders gave you the right
to butcher children?" I noticed that all other con- versation among
the troopers had ceased. They were looking at Maarek and me. Senior
officers aren't supposed to argue in front of the troops, but I was
unconcerned with Imperial protocol at that point.

Maarek gave me a long, cold stare. I could tell that he was seething.
His disdain for pilots was well known and he was damned if he was
going to allow his ground combat leader- ship to be questioned by one.

"Captain," he said slowly, fighting to control himself, "we were
advancing down a dark tunnel and we were attacked.  We returned fire
and kept firing until the resistance was over- come. Then we moved on.
If these damned Pakuunis want to bring children into a war zone they
have only themselves to blame for what happens to them."

I was furious at what I was hearing. "What kind of threat did those
children pose, Major?"

"There was fire coming from that area, captain," Maarek re- plied,
obviously becoming as furious as I, but for different reasons. "When
someone's shooting at me I don't stop to check their age. How do you
know that that pilot who flamed your ass today wasn't some kid? The
Rebels have been known to make up for pilot shortages by using sixteen
year olds. Are you so sure that none of the pilots you've ever flamed
was a kid? Do you even think about it up there?" He paused only for a
moment, then answered his own question. "Of course you don't. All you
see is an enemy fighter shooting at you.  You take him out. That's
what we did. I'm sorry if it offends your moral sensibilities, but
warfare isn't always clean and neat. I suggest you pull your head out
of your flyboy ass and join reality. As long as the Rebels continue to
defy our Emperor, and as long as scum like these cooperate with them,
this kind of thing is going to happen. Get used to it, captain. This
is only the first raid on these pirates."

"I don't think you give a fuck what you're shooting at, Major," I
said, spitting my words at him. "And I don't think you plan- ned to
take any prisoners, either. I think you and your men get your rocks
off massacreing anything that gets in your way.  The fact that they
were children doesn't matter to you at all."

Maarek took a step toward me. He was sweating profusely inside that
heavy body armor. "My job, captain," he said through clenched
teeth,"is to accomplish my mission with as few casualties as possible.
I lost two men today. One of your precious 'children'" and he spat the
word out,"approached with his hands in the air then detonated a bomb
that was hid- den in his clothing. He blew himself up, along with my
two men. They were good men, captain, and they both had fam- ilies.
Maybe you ought to worry about their kids." He turned away from me and
walked into the ATR, where one of the troopers had activated the comm
link with GUSTAV.

"Notify GUSTAV that we've secured the asteroid," he told the trooper.
He turned and looked at me, disgust in his eyes.  "Tell them also," he
continued, "that we have recovered Cap- tain Tallig and will return
him to the ship as soon as we can."

I walked away from the ATRs, found a big rock, knelt down behind it
and threw up.


Several hours later I stepped out of the shower in my quarters on
GUSTAV and toweled myself off. I had felt unclean and was trying,
unsuccessfully, to wash that feeling away.

GUSTAV had jumped into hyperspace after recovering the stormtroopers
and starfighters and was proceeding out of the Pakuuni system to
prepare for the next raid. The pirate installation on Delta5 had been
thoroughly wrecked, and Special Envoy Emoh had seemed quite pleased
with the re- sults. My description of what had happened inside the
aster- oid hadn't seemed to bother her much. I guess I wasn't really
surprised, particularly not after hearing J'Una talk about what kind
of person she was.

I finished drying off and put on a robe. I went into my sitting room
and collapsed onto a couch. I realized just how long and arduous a day
it had been, and I suddenly felt very tired.  I put my feet up on a
stool and was just starting to relax when my door chimed, and I heard
the access code being entered.  Only J'Una and Kao knew my access
code, other than ship security, of course,  and I briefly wondered
which one of them it was. The door slid open and, to my surprise, both
J'Una and Kao strode into my quarters, the door sliding shut behind
them.

They were both smiling but, at the same time, looked worried or
concerned about something. Kao seemed to look me over critically.
There I was in my bathrobe lying on the couch, feet propped on a
stool, too tired to even stand up and say hello.

"Did we have a tough day, captain?" she asked in mock sympathy.
Obviously, they weren't worried about me.

I smiled weakly. "You could say that."

"Pretty dirty business, isn't it?" J'Una asked as she sat down in a
chair opposite my couch. Kao pulled up another chair and sat down next
to her.

I nodded. "If this is the way the Empire operates," I said, "no wonder
the Rebels hate us so much. No wonder they have so many allies."

J'Una looked at me skeptically. "Just remember that the Rebels
destroyed the Death Star and everyone on it," she said.

"After Tarkin blew up Alderaan," I said. "At least the Death Star was
a military target."

"Maarek would tell you that that tunnel was, too," J'Una said.

"And the Rebels certainly think that industrial installations are
legitimate targets," Kao added. "My parents weren't in the mil-
itary." [see pt 4]

I stared at them. Were they serious? Were they justifying what I'd
seen today? I shook my head in bewilderment and longed for a time,
which wasn't that long ago, when things seemed so clear.

"So, what are you telling me?" I asked, somewhat plaintively.

J'Una gave me a long, cold stare. She was being all business, the
complete professional.

"I'm telling you something you ought to already know," she said. "War
is a dirty, nasty, bloody business and yelling at Maarek in front of
his men doesn't help." I had never heard such sternness in her voice
directed at me, but she was just getting started.

"You are a professional officer in the Imperial Navy, Vel," she
continued, her voice rising. "We have a job to do here, so you'd
better realize that and not let emotion cloud your good judgment. You
wouldn't have survived as long as you have flying TIEs if you did."
She paused, and seemed to soften a bit.

"A lot of us dislike what we see going on," she said. "But we are
professionals and we do our duty. I suggest you remember that." She
looked at me, red eyes blazing. I nodded in silent agreement with what
she had said. She sat back, speech over.

Kao looked back and forth at J'Una and me, then said quietly, "From
what J'Una tells me, Vel, the Pakuuni have been more than just space
pirates."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Kao was about to answer when J'Una interrupted. "What she means is
that the Pakuuni are actively supporting the Rebels by funneling
stolen Imperial weapons and munitions to them."

I sat up, alert. "Imperial weapons? Where do they get them?"

J'Una just smiled. I wasn't sure at first why she was smiling.  Then,
the lights came on inside my head.  "Haarkov?" I asked.

"Quite possibly," J'Una replied. "Marta Emoh has recently re- ceived
some reports from Intelligence that indicate that a lot of ordnance
has been moved through here lately and on to the Rebels. So, our raids
here may bust up the Rebels' supply lines."

"If that's true," I said, "we could be getting some visitors."

"If  that's true," J'Una echoed, "that would be the whole idea." J'Una
deliberated for a moment, then continued.  "Marta is also sending and
receiving a lot of high level, high- ly encrypted communications from
somewhere, but we don't know where. She has her own dedicated comm
channels."

We sat silently for a few moments. We could all see what was going on.
Marta Emoh was attempting to lay a trap, and GUSTAV was the bait.

"So you see," J'Una said quietly, "the Pakuuni aren't exactly
innocent, either."

"I guess no one is," I said, almost to myself. "Not even child- ren."
I looked up at J'Una and Kao and, for some reason, thought of Marina
Haarkov.

"Does Marina know any of this?" I asked. J'Una and Kao shot each other
a worried look. Something was up.

"She does now," Kao said bitterly.

I looked quizzically at J'Una.

"That's the other thing we wanted to discuss with you," she said.
"Marta has already moved on Marina Haarkov."

'Moved on'? What did that mean? I began to get alarmed.

"Did she arrest Marina?" I asked. J'Una and Kao both shook their
heads.

"No, Vel," J'Una said. "At least not yet. She questioned Marina at
considerable length about her father and then flat out told her he is
suspected of treason."

"She told Marina that?" I was incredulous. What purpose could it have
served?

J'Una nodded. "Naturally Marina became quite upset and, as she told
Kao and me, Marta tried to take advantage of that by seducing her."

"Seducing her? What the fuck are you talking about?" Sud- denly that
bloody damned tunnel didn't seem so bad. At least there one knew what
the fuck was real, and what wasn't.

"I told you that Marta is a real smooth operator, and usually gets
what she wants," J'Una said. "Marina told us that before she knew what
was happening Marta had her coveralls un- zipped and was fondling her
breasts and kissing her. She has quite an effective technique." She
paused, looking directly at me. "I know."

I sat back, slightly stunned. Kao looked nervously from me to J'Una.
"Marina started to submit," she said to me, "but then she saw that
Tomba character approaching with his cock hanging out and she wanted
nothing more to do with them. So she left and came to see us. She was
nearly hy- sterical."

"How did Marina manage to get away?"

"Marta let her go," J'Una said matter-of-factly. "She may be somewhat
predatory, but she's not a rapist. Nothing's been proven about Admiral
Haarkov yet, and Marina is an Im- perial officer. Marta knows her
limitations."

"Does Commander Cibock know any of this?" I asked.

J'Una nodded. "I discussed it with him. There isn't much he can do,
however. Marta has been given virtually unlimited authority by the
Imperial Staff. Cibock can protest through channels if he wants to,
but it won't do much good."

"So, what do we do?"

"'WE' do nothing," J'Una said sternly. "I will talk to Marta about
Marina. You two say nothing about this and stick to flying your
missions and accomplishing what we need to accomplish out here."

Kao and I nodded our concurrence.

"Remember," J'Una continued, "Marta is out here trying to find and
stop whomever it is that's supplying weapons to our enemies."

"And, after all," I said sarcastically, "it is only the word of an
Ensign against an Imperial Special Envoy who was merely con- ducting
an inquiry."

J'Una looked at me and smiled. "That's the smartest thing you've said
all evening."

I flopped back on the couch, defeated. J'Una was right, and I knew it
and it angered me. I couldn't get the vision of those slaughtered
children out of my mind, and no amount of words about 'targets' and
'Rebel sympathizers' could change the way I felt about it.
Pragmatically speaking, J'Una was right. I knew that she had been
disturbed by the Alderaan episode, but she seemed to have been able to
put it behind her and carry on as a loyal, professional Imperial
Officer. I wondered if I could. I gazed at the overhead and let out a
sigh.

"It looks like the captain has had a tough day, Commander." Kao's
voice. I moved my gaze from the cieling to the two females. Kao was
looking at me and smiling mischievously, blue eyes sparkling, red hair
flowing about her shoulders.

J'Una glanced at Kao, then looked at me. Her red eyes were glowing as
she stood up and walked purposefully over to where I was sitting. She
reached down and unceremoniously opened my robe. She looked down at my
penis, which was resting limply against my thigh. She straightened and
looked over at Kao.

"I think you're right, Captain," she said to her. "He has had a tough
day." She sank to her knees next to the couch and took my cock in her
hands, stroking it softly at first. She smiled up at me, then bent her
head down and licked the tip of my penis, running her tongue around
the head. My cock began surging to life and I suddenly didn't feel so
tired.


Kao stood up from her chair and began peeling off her uni- form.
Naked, she moved toward the couch, her blue eyes sparkling, her full
lips slightly parted, her red hair flowing gent- ly over her shoulders
and caressing her breasts, whose nipples were already hard with
arousal. She was a true vision of ele- gant beauty and my prick surged
to greater hardness at the sight of her.

Kao knelt down next to J'Una and ran her hands through the Bardin's
lush black hair. J'Una lifted her mouth from my cock and turned to
Kao, her hands never missing a stroke on my rod. The two females
leaned toward each other, their lips pressing in a deep, passionate
kiss, their tongues battling in- side their mouths. Kao moaned and her
hands clutched J'Una's hair firmly, pulling her tighter against her
mouth.  J'Una's hands abruptly abandoned my cock and moved to Kao's
breasts. Her long fingers, ebony against the ivory white- ness of
Kao's skin, fondled and gently caressed the redhead's breasts,
eliciting soft groans of pleasure. Kao broke the kiss and drew her
face back, gazing at J'Una with lust in her eyes as J'Una pinched and
tugged at Kao's swollen nipples. J'Una gently cupped one of Kao's
breasts in her hand and, bending down, ran her tongue over the turgid
nipple. Kao gasped and looked over J'Una to me.

"You like this?" she asked, teasing me. She gasped again as J'Una
opened her mouth wide and took as much of Kao's tit inside her mouth
as she could. J'Una, who hadn't removed any of her clothing yet,
wrapped her powerful arms around the red- headed starfighter pilot and
pulled her to her, her mouth sucking insatiably at Kao's breast. I
knew what it felt like to have J'Una's hot mouth go to work on my
cock, so I could imagine that Kao was feeling similar pleasure.

"You see why I'm glad she's not dead?" Kao said, laughing.

"I get the picture," I replied, grinning at her. "It would have been a
shame to have wasted such a good fuck." Kao laughed again and nodded
in sarcastic agreement.

J'Una released Kao's tit from her mouth and sat up, looking at each of
us in turn. "It's good to be appreciated," J'Una said, her voice
caustic. J'Una stood up and began unbutton- ing her tunic. Kao
remained on her knees and, reaching up, began tugging at J'Una's
trousers, eager to get at her pussy.

J'Una pulled off the tunic and tossed it aside, her magnificent
breasts coming into view. She cupped her hands under those twin ebony
towers, pinching the nipples with finger and thumb, pointing them at
me in a gesture of offering. Her red eyes were hot and she smiled
salaciously at me.

Kao finally worked J'Una's boots and trousers off and ran her hands up
along the insides of the Bardin's sleek, dark thighs.  As Kao's
fingers slid inexorably toward the juncture of her thighs, J'Una
straddled her legs slightly, and reached down and ran her hands
through Kao's long red hair. Kao's probing fingers met at the entrance
to J'Una's cunt. She inserted a fin- ger and moved it in and out of
J'Una's very wet pussy. J'una straightened and gasped in pleasure.
Kao's tongue quickly accompanied her finger and she licked and sucked
at J'Una's pussy lips.

Needless to say, I was becoming quite aroused by the sight of these
two beautiful females going at it right in front of me.  My cock was
rock hard and, after the day I'd had, some sex- ual diversion seemed
just what I needed. As much as I want- ed to dive right in, I was
enjoying watching Kao lap noisily at J'Una's dripping snatch, and
hearing J'Una moan and grunt with pleasure. It was quite stimulating,
so I contented myself with sitting on the couch and lazily stroking my
prick, my eyes glued to the sight before me.

Kao reached through J'Una's legs and grasped her buttocks, pulling her
snatch against her mouth, her tongue snaking into J'Una's cunt. J'Una
was moaning and wriggling with excite- ment, her breasts tense,
nipples hard, her hands firmly grasp- ing Kao's head, holding it
against her. I could see Kao's teeth and tongue working on J'Una's
cuntlips and clit, causing the Bardin to shudder with ecstacy.
Although Kao was lapping hungrily, she missed some of the heavy flow
of cunt juice that poured out of J'Una's pussy and ran down the
insides of her thighs, a sheen on her already gleaming black skin.
Kao's fingers worked their way between J'Una's buttocks and probed her
asshole. She thrust a finger hard into J'Una's anus as she increased
the tempo of her licking and sucking on J'Una's cunt. I could sense
that J'Una was losing control, and was about to explode. Her head was
back, her red eyes were blazing and she thrust against Kao's invading
finger, brutally impaling herself as she held Kao's face even tighter
against her, nearly smothering Kao with her cunt.

J'Una grunted and groaned and thrashed her hips about, but Kao kept
her face glued to the tall Bardin's cunt, licking, biting, sucking at
her. Kao's finger continued its brutal probe of J'Una's ass, pushing
in deeper and deeper with each thrust.  

Kao continued her assault on J'Una's pussy, her tongue a blur against
J'Una's swollen and distended cuntlips. J'Una threw her head back and
growled in ecstacy, her thighs qui- vered visibly and her knees
buckled collapsing her and Kao into a heap on the deck, Kao's mouth
never losing contact with J'Una's cunt. Kao's finger continued to
penetrate J'Una as she thrashed about on the deck in the throes of her
or- gasm.

The sight of Kao's puckered asshole and dripping pussy pointing
directly at me was too much. I could remain a silent onlooker no
longer. I walked on my knees across the deck to where the two females
were thrashing and writhing, my bobbing erection leading the way.  

I maneuvered in between Kao's legs, her ass facing me as she continued
to eat at J'Una's pussy. I gripped her hips and, placing the head of
my cock against her cuntlips, plunged it deep into her, shoving her
face against J'Una.

Kao raised her face, now covered with J'Una's cuntjuice, and smiled at
her Bardin lover.

"He is good, isn't he?" she asked, grunting as I thrust into her
again.

J'Una smiled down at Kao, running her hand through the pi- lot's long
red hair. 

"Yes he is," she agreed, smiling over her at me. "For a man." She
laughed at her own joke, gasping as Kao resumed lick- ing her pussy.

I got into a comfortable rhythm as I fucked Kao's hot, wet pussy. She
thrust back at me, her pussy gripping me tightly.  She didn't have
J'Una's amazing cunt muscles, but her cunt had a good grip just the
same.

J'Una disengaged herself from Kao's mouth and moved to kneel next to
me behind Kao as I started to pound into Kao.  She kissed me and ran
her hands across my chest, pinching my nipples. I closed my eyes,
savoring the sensations, my pulsating erection pistoning in and out of
Kao's cunt, my balls slapping against her. J'Una bent down and kissed
and licked Kao's buttocks and gently probed her anus with her tongue.
Kao groaned, burying her face in her hands, and thrust her ass harder
against me.

"Turnabout is fair play, no?" J'Una asked as she continued to lick at
Kao's anus. Kao's entire body shuddered and she moved her hands to her
breasts, pulling harshly at the nipples.  J'Una moved a hand between
my legs and squeezed my balls. I groaned and increased my thrusting
into Kao.

J'Una maneuvered herself so that she slithered between my legs and
laid on her back underneath us, her face inches from the juncture of
my cock and Kao's cunt. She reached up with her tongue and licked us,
her hands stroking Kao's legs.

"God, J'Una," Kao gasped, grunting with my thrusts, "This is so good.
So good." Looking down between us I could see J'Una's tongue going to
work on Kao's swollen clit.  That did it. Kao started to wail and
shudder, overcome by her orgasm. J'Una grasped my cock, pulled it out
of Kao and took it into her mouth sucking and stroking me.

J'Una's artful mouth on my cock quickly sent me over the edge. Cum
shot forth from my prick, rapidly filling her mouth, spilling out of
the corners like white lava. J'Una swallowed heavily and continued
sucking on me. Kao quickly reversed her position and licked my balls,
moving up my cock to where it entered J'Una's mouth. She licked the
cum that had dribbled down the side of J'Una's face.   Kao grasped my
cock and eased it out of J'Una's cum filled mouth and licked and
sucked the last of my orgasm from me. 

I collapsed onto the deck as the two females began kissing each other,
my cum still drooling from J'Una's mouth. It was an exhausting end to
a long day. I fell asleep on the deck.


We flew two more missions against Pakuuni installations with similar
results, with the exception that I managed to get through them without
getting my ass shot off. I also didn't have to get a closeup view of
Major Maarek's handiwork. I was grateful for that.

Although the Pakuuni weren't caught napping the way they were on the
first raid, they offered feeble opposition to our forces. As I've
pointed out before the Z-95, while still avail- able in great numbers,
is obsolete and seriously flawed, and the fact that the Pakuuni were
not trained to fight as a military unit only made things worse for
them. I was impressed, how- ever, by the bravery demonstrated by those
pilots. They had to know they were totally outclassed, yet they still
put up the stiffest resistance that they could. And they died doing
it.

It was on the second of those two missions that Maarek's men hit the
jackpot, and validated the suspicions that Marta Emoh and the Imperial
High Command had held all along.  Maarek's men discovered and siezed a
huge cache of Im- perial weapons and munitions that were being
prepared for transfer to the Rebels. Now, there was no longer any
doubt that someone was supplying arms to our enemies. The ques- tion
of who that someone was was quickly answered. Marta and J'Una ran a
trace on the weapons siezed and discovered, to no one's surprise, that
they came from Imperial depots that were under the authority of
Admiral Haarkov.

"The trap's been baited," J'Una told me. "Now we'll see what we
catch."

GUSTAV came out of hyperspace and, once again, we pre- pared to
strike.  This time our target was an installation that had been
identified on a small moon called Echo 3 that orbit- ed the outer most
planet of the system. Since the Pakuuni and, presumably, the Rebels
knew we would be coming again, it was speculated that they might have
moved much of their supplies and munitions out of the system. Marta
Emoh had acknowledged such speculation but stated her be- lief that
our incessant destruction of these installations had to be hurting the
Rebels and that the mission was worth con- tinuing. I found myself in
complete agreement with her view.

The overhead crane had lowered my TIE through the open launch bay
doors in the bottom of GUSTAV's hull and re- leased me into space. I
engaged the twin ion engines and my new TIE- it was one of the
replacements we picked up at Tatooine- surged forward. I did my
customary loop around GUSTAV and established communications while I
waited for my flight group to assemble.

"GUSTAV, Gamma One," I called. "Flight group forming up."

"Roger, Gamma One." J'Una's voice, confident, professional, assured.
"Be advised that our sensors are detecting no, re- peat no, Pakuuni
activity."

I glanced at my sensor displays. They didn't show anything, either. No
electronic emissions at all; not from Z-95s; not even from our
intended target. The hair started to rise on the back of my neck.

"Concur, GUSTAV," I replied. "I don't have anything."

"They might be hiding among the asteroids," J'Una offered, but I could
tell that she was no more convinced of that theory than I was. To hide
a large group of Z-95s among an asteroid field without emitting any
kind of signal, be it a stray communication or a scanner, required a
much high- er degree of training and discipline than what the Pak-
uuni had thus far demonstrated. No, I was starting to feel that maybe,
this time, we were the ones being set up.

"I don't think so, GUSTAV," I replied. "Nevertheless, my flight has
formed up, as has Tau flight." On my sensor dis- play I could see
Kao's group in formation following my own. "We will proceed through
the asteroids toward the tar- get."

"Roger, Gamma One," J'Una replied. "Proceed."

"Gamma leader to Tau leader," I called to Kao, "we're moving out to
transit the asteroids. Neither GUSTAV nor we have detected any enemy
activity at all. Follow at a safe distance."

"Roger, Gamma leader," Kao replied, "we'll take station about-"

"Hyperspace alert! Hyperspace alert!" J'Una's voice, excited.
"Vessels coming out of hyperspace and they aren't ours!"

Flashes of blue streaked across the blackness of space as numerous
vessels exited hyperspace right in front of us. X- wings. Lots of
them. Shit.

"Gamma leader to all flights," I called, a little excited myself.  Now
we were up against Rebel pilots, not poor, untrained Pakuuni in
inferior craft. "We have Rebel X-wings exiting hyperspace at
zero-one-four, mark six. Attack formation delta. Let's hit them before
they get organized."

Formation delta is a tight wedge formation. I figured we had to
respond fast and strike quickly. The Rebels would need a little time
to get formed up and see where everybody was once they all ended their
hyperspace journey. They wouldn't need much time, mind you. They were
highly trained pro- fessionals who knew their business. My initial
goal was to hit them with a tight formation, a mailed fist, and take
some of them out. This would have the effect of improving our odds and
disrupting their formation.

"Accelerate to max speed, charge lasers, activate missile targeting."
I increased speed and my TIE raced forward, the rest of my group in a
tight wedge on either side of me. As usual, Dromo was on my left wing.
I activated my missile targeting and picked out the first X-wing that
I saw. The TIE fighter doesn't normally carry missiles. Many of ours
had been modified by Vice Admiral Thrawn's technicians on MoftaIV [see
pt 2] and, since then, our own techs, armed with new schematics and
materials, had modified all new TIEs. I was counting on the fact that
these Rebels probably didn't know we had missiles and were expecting
your aver- age TIE with just two lasers.

A series of high pitched beeps told me that I had a lock on the
X-wing. I fired a missile and toggled to dual lasers. I had vectored
our approach so that we closed from an angle. It was near suicide for
an unshielded TIE to attack head-on against the heavily shielded, quad
laser firing, X-wing. The X-wing pilot had nearly all of the
advantages: shields, heavy armor, four lasers, missiles and a
companion droid which acted as a second pilot. The X-wing had a
superior power plant, an ejection system that was flawless, and could
match the TIE in speed. The TIE's only advantage was superior
maneuverability. It could turn circles around the X-wing and
accelerate and decelerate much faster. We also had certain
technological advantages such as speed-matching which we had to
exploit to the fullest if we were to survive combat with X-wings.

All of these considerations passed swiftly through my mind as my
missile found its mark, taking down the X-wing's shields. We piled
into the X-wings and I destroyed my target with several well-placed
laser blasts. I saw a number of ex- plosions as other X-wings suffered
similar fates. We had suc- ceeded in getting in the first blow.

More X-wings came out of hyperspace and the battle degen- erated into
a free-for-all. Kao's group slammed into the melee and all semblance
of  cohesion was lost. Several TIEs were vaporized as the Rebels
started shooting back with a vengeance. Green and red laser bolts
streaked across space and the commlinks were alive with excited pilot
chatter.

Dromo and I teamed up and dispached several more X- wings, always
endeavoring to attack from behind. We were holding our own against the
X-wings and, as the battle de- veloped, we were actually beginning to
gain the upper hand.

The Rebels, however, were disciplined, seasoned pilots and fought back
hard. Their quad lasers blasted more TIEs into space junk and we
continued our dance of death.

I performed a series of twists and loops, using the TIE's
maneuverability, and targeted an X-wing from behind. My missile system
had just achieved a lock when J'Una's voice, now almost electric with
tension, came across the comm link.

"Hyperspace alert! Capital ship coming out of hyperspace."

A capital ship? That's all we needed was some Rebel Cal- amari light
cruiser or something. A large blue streak flashed across my field of
vision as a sizeable ship came out of hy- perspace. My sensors
immediately told me that it was an Imperial class Star Destroyer. It
immediately began launch- ing TIEs. Help had arrived. I started to
relax just a bit. My sense of relief lasted about five seconds.

"Gamma One, GUSTAV," J'Una called. "You are to con- sider the Star
Destroyer and its fighters as enemy craft.  Attack at once. I say
again, the Star Destroyer is to be considered an enemy vessel."

What the fuck? Had they been drinking some of Dromo's nasty
concoctions?

"GUSTAV, Gamma One," I replied, "Repeat instructions."

"That Star Destroyer is the PREDATOR," J'Una said stern- ly. PREDATOR
was Admiral Haarkov's ship. But, would Haarkov attack fellow
Imperials? That would give him away for certain.

"Captain Tallig," Marta's voice, stern, forceful, exasperated.
"Captain Tallig, this is Special Envoy Emoh. We have reason to believe
that Admiral Haarkov and his entire crew are de- fecting. Do you
understand? Defecting! Now shut up and attack before they destroy us
all and take an entire Star Des- troyer over to the Rebels!"

Defecting? An Admiral in the Imperial Navy? What the fuck was
happening to us?

"Roger, GUSTAV," I replied. "Gamma Leader to all flights, this is
Captain Tallig. Consider Star Destroyer and her fight- ers as
hostiles. Change squawk to two-three-two-two. I say again, change
squawk to two-three-two-two. Authentication code Alfa Sierra one."

I ordered all of our starfighters to change their identification codes
to read 2322 as friendly, and all other codes as hos- tile. This would
help us differentiate between ourselves and the PREDATOR's TIE's who I
assumed would be squawk- ing standard Imperial codes. Or maybe not,
but I didn't want to take the chance.

I received verification that our flights had switched codes and
confirmed it by checking my sensors. The PREDA- TOR's TIEs now showed
up as hostile. The PREDATOR's TIEs had formed up and were approaching
us while the PREDATOR herself closed on GUSTAV, intending to take her
under fire with her considerable battery of heavy lasers.  This did
not look good. We were heavily outnumbered by the combination of
X-wings and TIEs, and PREDATOR, an IMPERIAL class Star Destroyer, was
easily three times GUSTAV's size.

"GUSTAV, Gamma One," I called. "We will engage these TIEs, but there's
an awful lot of them."

"Roger, Gamma One," J'Una replied. "We are launching our TIE bombers
to assist you." Bombers? To assist us in a dog- fight? Things must be
desperate.

"I don't know how much good those bombers can do, GUSTAV," I replied.
"Unless they can make some torp- edo runs on that Star Destroyer.
Watch out for those heavy turbo lasers."

"Acknowledged, Gamma One," she replied. "Let's all do our best." Her
voice sounded expectant, as though she were an- ticipating something.
I couldn't imagine what, and drove those thoughts from my mind as I
concentrated on the task at hand: killing fellow Imperials.

I targeted an approaching TIE, switching my weapons system to use my
last missile. I was hoping that PREDATOR's TIEs hadn't been modified,
and that we could get the jump on them.

"Gamma leader to all flights," I called, "If you have any miss- iles
left, use them now."

My targeting system beeped, indicating a lock, and I pressed the
trigger, lamenting for a moment the fact that I was about to kill a
fellow Imperial pilot. Seconds later the missile slammed into the
unshielded TIE, disintegrating it in a bright flash. Other missiles
streaked toward the opposing TIEs, most of them finding their marks.
We had narrowed the odds a bit, and messed up their formation. We
attacked while they were trying to reform.

"Stay with me, Dromo," I called as we piled into the PRE- DATOR's
TIEs. I quickly took one out with my lasers.

"I'm right with you, captain," he replied.

With Dromo on my wing I threaded my way through the giant fuzzball of
battling starfighters. I targeted a PREDATOR TIE that had just flamed
one of ours. I slipped behind him, switch- ed my lasers to rapid
single fire and opened up. My shots ripped the port solar panel to
shreds, then pounded the hull.  The TIE exploded.

"Gamma One, GUSTAV," J'Una's voice in my ear. "PRE- DATOR is launching
more TIE fighters." Shit. We were having a hard enough time with those
we were already en- gaged with.

"Roger, GUSTAV," I replied. "This isn't looking too good."

"Continue your attack, Captain," Marta Emoh interjected.  Her voice
was tough, hard, no-nonsense.

"Acknowledged, GUSTAV," I said.

On my sensor display I could see more TIEs pouring out of the bottom
of the Star Destroyer. I could also see that PREDATOR was closing on
GUSTAV. Soon the two ships would be exchanging turbo laser fire and
there was only one way that that fight could end.


I dived through the wave of oncoming TIEs, taking out two on the first
pass. Dromo nailed one that had tried to slip in behind me. The
perfect wingman, always watching my ass.

PREDATOR had closed GUSTAV and the two starships began exchanging
heavy laser fire. A spectacular fireworks show erupted as huge green
and red laser bolts were flung through space. I saw GUSTAV shudder as
she took seve- ral hits.

"GUSTAV, Gamma One," I called. "You still there?"

There was a pause, then J'Una's voice. She was coughing and
sputtering. "We've taken several hits, Gamma One," she replied.
"Damage and casualties," she coughed again.

I could see that GUSTAV would get pounded into space junk if this
continued. With no place to land, and no hyper- space capability to
get us anywhere, my pilots and I would be doomed. The TIE bombers that
J'Una had mentioned earlier had finished launching. I had the idea
that maybe we could buy some time. Time for what I wasn't sure.

"Alpha One, Gamma One," I called to the bomber leader.  "You guys got
torpedoes?" I hoped like hell that they did.

"Affirmative, Gamma One," was the reply.

"This is Captain Tallig," I said. "I want you to form your group for
an attack run on the Star Destroyer."

There was a pause. "Attack a Star Destroyer?"

"That's what I said, Alpha One," I nearly yelled back at him. "She's
about to pound GUSTAV into space junk, so move your ass or you won't
have a place to park it later."

That got his attention. "Roger, Gamma One."

"I'll provide escort," I told him. "Now move." I saw the bombers form
up and start toward PREDATOR.

"Gamma leader to Tau leader," I called to Kao. "Keep those fighters
busy. Gamma Two and I will cover the bom- bers while they make a run
on PREDATOR."

"Acknowledged, Gamma leader," Kao replied. "Good luck."

"Let's go, Dromo," I called to my wingman. We quickly intercepted the
bombers and slowed to match their speed.  The PREDATOR's TIEs were
preoccupied with dogfighting our groups and didn't molest Dromo and me
and the bombers as we approached her. PREDATOR's crew must have
noticed us, but didn't recall any fighter support, probably be- cause
she was so heavily armed with missile batteries and heavy turbo-lasers
that an attack by a group of TIE bombers wasn't deemed serious enough.
I'm not sure what they were thinking, but no fighters interfered with
our approach. I didn't complain.

PREDATOR's heavy batteries opened up on us and two bombers disappeared
in a matter of milliseconds. The bomber leader ordered evasive action
and his formation dissolved as each pilot attempted to approach on his
own.  With only our puny lasers, Dromo and I could do nothing to a
Star Destroyer, but we hung around anyway, drawing fire away from the
bombers and covering them in case the fighters returned.

Several of the bombers actually got close enough to launch and the
heavy blue streaks of proton torpedoes slashed across space as they
released their weapons. Incredibly, several of the torpedoes made it
through PREDATOR's heavy defensive fire and slammed into the Star
Destroyer's port side. I knew the a mere three torpedoes would neither
destroy, nor seriously disable, a Star Destroyer. I did hope, however,
that a few hits might take out a vital system or two, maybe cut power
to some weapons, cause confusion, or merely make Haarkov and his
people reconsider what it was that they were doing. Small chance of
that, though.

"GUSTAV, Gamma One," I called. "We've scored several hits on PREDATOR.
We've damaged her shields, but be- yond that I cannot assess any
damage."

"Roger, Gamma One," J'Una replied, her voice now com- posed, calm, in
control. "PREDATOR's fire has slackened noticeably. Well done. We will
recall the bombers for re- loading. Stand by for ATR launch."

Reload bombers? ATR launch? What the fuck were these people thinking?
I was thinking that, now that we might have a little time on our side
we'd recall all of our starfighters and GUSTAV could hyperspace the
hell out of here. That seem- ed the rational approach to me. I
couldn't imagine Comman- der Cibock leaving his ship in danger any
longer than he had to. But, perhaps Marta Emoh was overruling him. Who
knew?

"Roger, GUSTAV," I replied. Dromo and I shepherded the remaining
bombers back toward GUSTAV. The TIE vs TIE dogfight was still going
strong. Kao and her groups seemed to be holding their own, though
their losses were considerable. I still had trouble believing that
Imperials were killing Imperials. The Rebels must be laughing their
heads off.

Dromo and I had just looped around GUSTAV, the last of the bombers
having returned, when J'Una's voice came over the commlink.

"Hyperspace alert! Large capital ship coming out of hyper- space!" Oh,
shit, I thought. Not some Rebel ship like a Calamari cruiser. We'd be
fucked for sure. Funny, though.  J'Una didn't sound terrified. I would
have been. I saw the ATRs, carrying Maarek and his stormtroopers,
launch and begin their transit toward PREDATOR in what I thought was a
suicidal gesture.

Dromo and I made a hard left turn, placing us between GUSTAV and
PREDATOR, who seemed to have re- covered from the torpedo attack and
was once again clo- sing our frigate. Suddenly, the entire expanse of
space in front of me seemed to be ripped asunder by an enormous blue
flash. My sensors, temporarily overwhelmed, whited out on me and I
squinted through the brightness in an effort to see what was
happening.

A VICTORY class Star Destroyer, several times larger than PREDATOR,
came out of hyperspace and immediately began launching dozens of TIE
squadrons. They poured out of her like angry bees, heading swiftly
toward the dogfight that was still going on. My first thought was,
whose side are these guys on? My sensors had recovered enough to get
an ID on the newcomer. It was VANGUARD, Vice Admiral Thrawn's ship. I
smiled to myself because I figured he had to be on our side.

"Gamma One, GUSTAV," J'Una called. She sounded bouy- ant, optimistic.
"VANGUARD will attack and disable PRE- DATOR. Escort the ATRs who will
board her."

"Yes, Ma'am," I said, relieved. Perhaps we'd live through this after
all.

Dromo and I raced after the ATRs as VANGUARD op- ened up with a heavy
ion cannon volley, the blue bolts pounding into PREDATOR.  The ion
cannon is designed to disable a ship's ion driven power plant, thus
crippling its prop- ulsion and weapons systems. From where I sat,
PREDATOR was having the crap pounded out of her.

The dogfight ended almost immediately. Seeing the swarm of TIEs from
VANGUARD descending on them, the re- maining PREDATOR TIEs either
surrendered on the spot or ran. They might have been seeking refuge
among the pirates in the asteroids, but that didn't bode well. The Re-
bels had all hyperspaced out, leaving their Allies out on a limb.
Typical. For all their talk about liberty and taking on the Empire,
the Rebels were little more than cowardly terrorists in my book. When
the going got tough, they got gone.

Kao and her fighters turned over the renegades to VANGUARD's fighters,
then proceeded back to GUSTAV.

VANGUARD's ion cannon barrage continued to slam into PREDATOR. The
smaller ship tried to fight back but was quickly overwhelmed. Her ion
power disrupted, PRE- DATOR drifted limply, helpless. Dromo and I
escorted Maarek's ATRs to PREDATOR's launching bays, then doubled back
to do likewise for a dozen ATRs from VAN- GUARD. It was apparent that
PREDATOR was to be boarded and siezed, and the ringleaders arrested. I
shook my head in admiration. Marta Emoh had apparently had this entire
operation planned to the second, and she pulled it off.

Dromo and I linked up with VANGUARD's ATRs and head- ed toward
PREDATOR. Halfway there, I saw Maarek's lead ATR exit PREDATOR's
launching bay, heading toward GUSTAV. At the same time, a command
shuttle departed VANGUARD, also headed for GUSTAV.

I didn't see a need to provide escort for VANGUARD's ATRs since their
was no opposition, so Dromo and I broke off and headed toward GUSTAV.
Most of our fighters, in- cluding Kao's group had been recalled.
VANGUARD's nu- merous squadrons had fanned out, patrolling the area.
It was the most abrupt, and decisive, end to a battle I had ever seen.

"GUSTAV, Gamma One, requesting landing sequence," I called, changing
frequencies.

"You'll have to come in manually, Gamma One," was the reply from the
flight control officer. "The tractor beams are at reduced power, and
we have priority traffic ahead of you."

"Roger, GUSTAV," I responded. "Manual it is."

"Be advised that there is a lot of traffic and activity in the
hangar," the flight control officer said, almost apologetically.
"I'll have my people clear a path for you to your stalls."

"Thanks," I said dryly. Great. We damn near get wiped out by our own
people and I have to thread my way through who knew what on retros
just to land. I shook my head.

"Gamma Two, we're going in on retros," I called to Dromo.

"Understood."

I made my approach toward GUSTAV's landing bay and saw the shuttle
from VANGUARD begin her landing se- quence. As I drew closer I saw the
markings on the craft.  It was Vice Admiral Thrawn's personal shuttle.
Major Maarek's ATR had just completed landing. I could see a crowd of
people in the landing bay. I guessed that that was what the flight
control officer was talking about.

I cut my engines and engaged the retros, gliding slowly into the bay.
I saw a lot of heads turning toward me. The TIE's power plant makes a
lot of noise. Combined with the retros, the sound can be deafening,
particularly within the confines of an enclosed hangar deck. I set my
TIE down in my stall and rapidly flipped all the switches to 'off',
not bothering to go through the post-flight check-list. Once
everything was shut down I unhooked the commlink, took off my helmet,
dropped through the hatch in the bottom of the hull to the hangar's
deck, and walked across the hangar toward the shuttles, both of which
had completed their landing sequen- ces.

I pulled rank a few times and managed to push my way to the front of
the crowd that had gathered around the shuttles. I saw Kao near the
front and moved to stand next to her.  Marta Emoh, with Tomba and a
squad of stormtroopers, was in the center of the area between the
shuttles. She was unarmed, but Tomba had his hands on his holstered
blasters, and the stormtroopers had their assault rifles at the ready. 

I looked at Kao inquisitively.

"Maarek's brought in Admiral Haarkov," she said. "Captured him after a
fire-fight on PREDATOR."

"So it was him after all," I said quietly. Kao nodded.

The buzz of conversation among the crowd in the hangar deck came to an
abrupt halt as the door to VANGUARD's shuttle opened and Vice-Admiral
Thrawn stepped out. As usual, he was impeccably dressed, his admiral's
uniform crisp and neat, medals clinking softly as he descended the
stepladder. I realized that most of the crew had never seen him before
and his blue skin, deep red eyes and gleaming black hair must have
seemed an odd combination. Most people, I was sure, didn't know that
there was a non-human admiral in the Imperial Navy.

Thrawn moved with seemingly effortless grace to where Marta was
standing. They nodded acknowledgement to each other, but said not a
word. I guess they didn't have to.

Marta and Thrawn turned their attention to the ATR as the rear ramp
opened. Several troopers, weapons at the ready, came down the ramp
followed by Major Maarek, who was holding Admiral Haarkov by his
uniform collar, shoving him roughly down the ramp.

I heard Kao gasp as we got a good look at Haarkov. A blow to the left
side of his face had swollen the eye shut.  There was blood on the
side of his face, in his mouth, and mat- ted in his hair. His
complexion was pasty and he was sweating profusely. His uniform was
torn and soiled. As he descended the ramp he grimaced in pain at the
restrainers that bound his arms tightly behind his back. He was, in
short, a mess. It was hard to believe that this was the same man who
had been a- board our ship, in command of an operation, only a short
time ago. Straggling out behind the admiral, similarly bruised and
bound, were other officers. I presumed that they were Haar- kov's
fellow defectors from PREDATOR.

Maarek rudely jerked Haarkov along by the collar until they were
standing in front of  Thrawn's shuttle facing the admiral and Marta
Emoh. Haarkov drew himself up straight and, with his one good eye,
glared at the Special Envoy. Marta glared right back and, for a long
moment, the two of them were lock- ed in some kind of psychological
power struggle. Haarkov's stare was one of defiance, Marta's one of
sheer malevolence.  Finally, the Imperial Special Envoy broke the
silence.

"Well, Admiral Haarkov," she said, her voice dripping with a
combination of hatred and triumph, "it would appear that the Emperor's
suspicions about you were well founded."

Haarkov, for his part, didn't try to deny the obvious. He drew himself
up and spat a great gob of spit and blood at Marta. It struck her
tunic just above the left breast and dribbled down her front. Marta
shook with rage and raised her hand as if to strike Haarkov. Haarkov
just looked at her, not seeming to care if she hit him or not. Marta
lowered her hand. Sneering at her from behind a bruised face, cut lips
and broken teeth, Haarkov spoke loudly, but with some difficulty.

"This Empire is evil!" he shouted. "Evil! The Emperor and Vader murder
millions! You all have blood on your hands."

This time Marta did hit him, the sound of her slap echoing across the
hangar. Haarkov's head snapped sharply to one side with the force of
the blow, but he returned his defiant stare to Marta.

"You are a traitor, Admiral," she said quietly, her voice heavy with
emotion. "You tried to turn over weapons and technology and a starship
to our enemies! I am sure Lord Vader will look forward to questioning
you." Her voice oozed maliciousness.  At the mention of Vader's name
all color seemed to drain from Haarkov's face. 

"NO! Daddy!" A voice shrieked across the hangar and Marina Haarkov
pushed her way through the crowd, past the stormtroopers and flung her
arms around Haarkov, sob- bing. The admiral tried to comfort her, but
his arms were securely bound and he struggled in vain. He could only
kiss her head and murmur something which I couldn't hear.

Marta stared at them for a long moment and I saw a look of absolute
evil pass across her face. Her eyes narrowed and her lip curled upward
in a snarl.

"Arrest the daughter," she said to Maarek, who seemed stunned.

"No!" Haarkov shouted. "You can't. She's done nothing." An angry buzz
passed through the crowd of assembled GUSTAV crewmembers. They may not
have known all of the particulars of what was going on, but they knew
Marina and cared about her and couldn't believe she had done any-
thing wrong. In response, some of Thrawn's stormtroopers formed a wall
between us and the scene that was playing itself out on our hangar
deck. One of them shoved Kao into me and I had to grab her to keep her
from falling.

Marta seemed surprised by our reaction and was momen- tarily taken
aback. Her gaze darted fleetingly from the crowd to the troopers to
Thrawn to the Haarkovs and Maarek, and back. She took a deep breath
and glared at Major Maarek who actually seemed unsure what to do.

"Major," she said loudly, imperiously. "You will take Ensign Haarkov
into custody."

"No you won't." Another voice. J'Una's. I strained to locate her. She
pushed her way through the crowd and shoved a stormtrooper aside. He
didn't resist. Heads turned as she strode toward Marta and Admiral
Thrawn. She had an open cut above her left eye, her uniform was torn
and splattered with blood, her hair was in disarray and her black skin
was gleaming. She appeared to be almost wild, but her eyes were cool
and determined and she strode purposefully, ra- diating power and
authority. I didn't start to worry until I saw the blaster in her
right hand. I started to worry even more when I saw Tomba, hands on
his holstered blasters, edge closer to Marta. I cursed the fact that I
was unarmed.

J'Una  walked directly toward Marta and placed herself be- tween the
Special Envoy and the Haarkovs and Maarek, who still looked confused.
She held the blaster by her side, not pointing it at anybody. But
Marta saw it, and frequently glanced down at it.

"This officer has done nothing," J'Una said quietly, coldly,
indicating Marina with a nod. "There is no evidence against her. You
will not take her." She spoke as though what she was saying was a
simple, unrefuted fact.

Marta looked as though she had been slapped. "By what authority do you
dare speak to me this way, Commander?" she asked haughtily. She glared
hotly at J'Una. J'Una return- ed the glare with a cool stare.

"Commander Cibock was seriously injured during the attack," she said,
"and is receiving medical attention. I have assumed command of this
vessel and as Commander I am telling you that you will not take one of
my officers for your own personal reasons." She left unspoken what she
meant by 'personal reasons,' but I'm sure Marta got the point. Her
eyes widened in surprise and anger.

"How dare you speak to me this way," Marta said angrily, almost
spitting the words at J'Una. While the two females were glaring at
each other Tomba made his move. He stepped forward, his hands pulling
the blasters out of their holsters. Before a surprised J'Una could
react  Major Maarek lunged forward and jammed the barrel of his
assault rifle into Tomba's chest.

"I don't think so," Maarek snarled. Tomba stepped back quickly and
raised his hands, the blasters sliding back into their  holsters.
J'Una returned her gaze to Marta.

Vice Admiral Thrawn, who had been watching all this with a somewhat
bemused expression on his face, stepped forward and spoke to Marta.

"Special Envoy," he said smoothly, "perhaps the commander is right.
After all, we have the traitor, Admiral Haarkov, and his lackies and
their starship, surely not a bad day's work?" Marta glared at him but
said nothing. Thrawn smiled wanly at her and continued. "Ensign
Haarkov isn't going anywhere," he said. "If further investigation
reveals complicity on her part we know where to find her." He paused,
then added almost as an afterthought,"With your concurrence of
course." Marta stared at him, shock etched in her features.

J'Una turned back toward Marina. "Ensign Haarkov," she said
forcefully, "lay to your quarters immediately." 

Marina continued to sob, and looked up at J'Una with tears streaming
down her face. "I can't leave my father, commander," she said
plaintively.

"Go," Haarkov said to her as he looked thankfully at J'Una.

"Ensign, I am ordering you to leave this hangar now," J'Una persisted,
her voice firm and professional. Marina just looked at her, sniffling,
and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. But she made no
move to leave.

There was a slight commotion to my right and, turning, I saw Kao push
past the stormtroopers, who weren't offering any real resistance at
this point, and walk up to Marina. Kao gently put her arms around the
young blonde's shoulders and slowly led her off of the hangar deck. We
could hear mar- ina's sobs the whole way. No one tried to stop them.

Marta, who could barely contain her fury, looked first at Thrawn, then
at J'Una, then back at Thrawn. Without a word she spun on her heel and
stormed onto Thrawn's shuttle, Tomba following close behind. The Vice
Admiral nodded wordlessly to his troopers who quickly escorted Haarkov
and the others onto the shuttle. I could hear the pilot begin his
pre-launch sequence.

Thrawn turned once again to face J'Una, and smiled. "I respect your
loyalty to your crew, commander," he said, bowing to her."They and you
have served the Emperor well." He straightened.

"Thank you, Vice Admiral," J'Una replied. "We shall always try to do
so."

Thrawn smiled again, then turned and boarded the shuttle.  Seconds
later it lifted off on its retros and quickly exited GUSTAV's
launching bay. J'Una stared after it, oblivious to the cheers rising
from the crewmembers on the hangar deck. I walked over to her,
smiling.

"You were pretty good," I said. She looked at me, a sad expression on
her face, and tried to smile. She turned to Maarek, who was still
standing there looking like he was ready to shoot somebody.

"I appreciate your support, Major," she said warmly.

"I always support my Commanding Officer, Commander," he said gruffly,
then whirled about and walked away.  J'Una turned back to me.

"What will happen to Haarkov?" I asked her. I thought I knew the
answer, but felt compelled to ask the question.

"He's a dead man," she answered simply. "They're all dead men." She
looked down at the deck, and then at me. "They took a gamble, Vel. And
they lost. So they're dead."

"What about what Haarkov said," I continued, not quite ready to close
the subject. "About the Empire being evil and us being evil and having
blood on our hands?"

J'Una heaved a sigh. "I'm not sure that he was wrong in what he said,"
she said quietly. "But I am sure that he was wrong in what he did."
She seemed to stare off into space, her red eyes moist with tears.

"Would you really have used that?" I asked her, indicating the blaster
that she still held by her side. She looked at me and flashed one if
her trademark bright, wide smiles.

"I don't think so," she said, handing it to me."It isn't charged." She
laughed, and so did I. She had taken on one of the most powerful
people in the Empire, her heavily armed sidekick and a bunch of
stormtroopers with an uncharged blaster. She was either incredibly
shrewd or she was fuck- ing crazy. I honestly had no idea which she
was. But I was amazed.

We were still standing in the middle of the hangar deck, laughing our
asses off, when a crewman from the commun- ications department
hurriedly approached us.

"Commander Selena," he said. J'Una nodded for him to continue. "We
have received urgent orders from the Imperial High Command. Lord Vader
has located the Yavin Rebels." J'Una and I looked at each other.

"Go on," she said to the crewman.

"Yes, commander," he said. "We are to rendezvous with the main fleet
at a place called Hoth."

J'Una nodded to the crewman and he turned and walked away across the
hangar. She looked at me and shook her head in a sad, almost resigned
way.

"And so it goes," she said.


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