Lieutenant Wedge Antilles stared at his blank viewscreen. As Blue Squadron was about to exit the Goldaan system, a group of fighters attacked them. Commander Roth surrendered immediately. Their droids were disengaged and each ship was slaved to one of the captor’s. They had gone into hyperspace soon afterward.

He perked up as he heard the familiar whine of engines reverting to real space. The area around them wasn’t much more inhabited than Goldaan. The comm came to life as Commander Roth addressed his ships.

"They are going to give us control of our ships," he began. "Do not, I repeat DO NOT attempt any kind of escape or other crazy stunt. We will follow the trajectory they give us and land on the planet. We will maintain comm silence from here on out. Do you understand?"

A series of clicks answered his question and every pilot fell into flying formation. They descended into the atmosphere and found that the landing area was in the middle of a swamp. Wedge wondered where they were. He found the terrain much like Yavin, however it seemed to have more plains than forest and swamp.

The freighters were told to land in the middle of the dry area. The X-Wings surrounded them like a protective ring. Only their captor’s two largest ships landed.

After shutting down the systems, Wedge popped his hatch and pulled off his helmet. He threw the emergency ladder over the side and began to crawl down. Below him were three aquiline creatures. They were tall and lean and looked similar to Mon Calamari, yet there were distinct differences. Each held a long pike, which they used to gesture Wedge towards where the other pilots were being corralled.

He watched the creatures carefully as he moved up beside Commander Roth. "Sir, what’s going on? Where are we?"

Roth didn’t bother to turn his head to answer. "That question will be answered as soon as everyone gets over here." He watched as the rest of his squad was ushered into the circle.

A rather stunning looking young woman stepped up on a stump at the outer edge of the circle. She quickly had the attention of everyone. "I want to thank you all for being so accommodating. I am sure you are wondering what is going on, why you are here. I hope I will be able to answer all your questions.

"My name is Sabé. My grandmother served diligently for Queen Amidala during the Trade Federation assault. I fear we are again under such an assault. The Imperial Navy has taken over our government and is cutting our people off from supplies of all sorts.

"One of our inside contacts was able to discern the path of the supply ships. We were the ones who gave the Rebellion the information." She paused as the pilots mumbled among themselves about this revelation. "We were able to take off in our ships undetected, much in the same way we brought you here. It was our intention from the start to bring you here. We need your help."

Major Eron Stile, one of the commandos, stepped towards the makeshift podium, "You kidnapped us so we could help you win a war?"

Sabé’s eyes narrowed. "Your commanding officer surrendered to us willingly. We gave him the option to leave, but he chose to help.

Stile turned towards Commander Roth. "And why did you not tell anyone about this?"

Roth crossed his arms and looked Stile in the eyes. "You didn’t need to know that information at that time. I felt that we could assist these people in their fight against the Imperials."

"A group of beat up X-Wings going up against a fully functional Star Destroyer. Wow, that sounds like a great idea." He threw his arms in the air in frustration.

Wedge began to step forward to defend his commander’s decision, but Roth stopped him short with a look. "You don’t have to help these people. However, if you decide not to, you will remain here well guarded until we are finished with our current mission. You will not be allowed to leave, because you may endanger these people. Do you understand Major?"

Stile looked hard at Roth. "Yes sir," he said through clenched teeth. "You are the ranking officer. We will follow your orders."

Roth nodded to the other man then turned to Sabé. "I apologize for the interruption. You may continue."

"Your commander is correct. You may choose not to help. You will be left here under the care of the Gungans. They do have orders to restrain anyone who attempts to do anything that will jeopardize our plans."

Silence answered her. From the determined looks, the crew had decided to side with their Commander. For that she was thankful. "All right then, let’s begin."

Wedge looked through the macrobinoculars. Not much had changed in the past few days. The Imperials were still patrolling the streets. Many of the native people had decided to stay inside and not brave going out into the streets for fear of being arrested. There had already been many arrests made. Those who had been unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time were now prisoners.

A body flopped on the ground beside him. "Any change," asked Wes.

"Not really. Just less people and more stormies moving about." He held out the binoculars to the other man.

Wes waved them off and brought out a sniper rifle. He peered through the scope, tagging a stormtrooper with its infrared beam. "Well, we better think about moving on this soon. If we don’t, the whole city will be arrested."

"The Commander knows what he’s doing." Wedge moved to sit with his back against the fallen tree he had been using as cover. He ran a hand over the stubble on his chin. It had been days since he had last shaved.

"Oh yeah? Well now might be a good time to make a move. The big boss man has arrived."

He flipped over and put the macrobinoculars to his eyes. There amongst the sea of white uniforms was a dour man in gray. He couldn’t tell what rank he was, but from the way the stormies around him were pushing the others aside, he had to be high up on the ladder.

Wedge pulled his comlink out. "Blue Three to Blue Leader," he whispered.

"This is Lead," Roth responded. "Have you spotted something?"

"There’s an Imperial Commander of some sort moving through the ranks sir."

"I’ll be right there."

Wes was still looking through the scope. "If memory serves me, the rank insignia on that guy is Admiral."

"You can see that? Can you see his name badge too?"

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Hey, I was being serious," he said with a grin. "What’s going on down there?"

"Well, not much at the moment." He moved the scope to scan the area. "Well, what have we here?"

"What is it Lieutenant," asked Commander Roth as he stepped up to their hiding place.

Both men jumped, Wes nearly dropped the rifle. "Uh, sorry sir. I was just..."

"Relax Janson. What did you see?" Roth picked up the pair of macrobinoculars Wedge had dropped and looked down on the city.

Wes breathed a sigh of relief. "It was a citizen being harassed by some stormies. Another citizen walked up and saved her. It was weird. The stormies just walked away."

Commander Roth looked and only saw white uniforms. There was no indication that anyone else had been in the streets. "Come on Janson, you’re going with me to see Sabé. I want you to describe this man to her. Perhaps she knows who he is. Antilles, you keep watch."

"Yes sir," both said. Wes stood and followed the commander and Wedge turned back to the city.

Roth and Janson walked into the tent that served as the command center. There were several people pouring over maps and reports. Roth led Janson to the back behind a curtain. Sabé was sitting behind a desk and looked up as they entered. "What is it gentleman," she asked.

"Lieutenant Janson here saw someone down in the city save a young lady that was being harassed by the troops," Roth said.

"He did? Please, tell me what you saw."

Janson cleared his throat. "Well ma’am, I was watching the troops through the scope of my rifle and noticed some unusual movement. I focused in on that area and saw a group of stormies, uh troopers, surrounding a young girl and tormenting her. To be honest with you, I was considering taking out a few of the troopers until I saw this man enter the ring."

"Describe the man please, Lieutenant."

"Well, he looked to be about my size with blonde hair. He may be a bit taller than me. He was wearing a white tunic with a robe of some sort over it."

"And what did he do?"

"All I saw was him speak to the troopers and take the girl under his arm. The troopers parted and he left with the girl. It was quite strange."

Sabé looked thoughtful. "Do you know that person," asked Commander Roth.

"No," she said. "But I don’t think he is a citizen either. His attire gives me that impression."

"Perhaps we should send someone in to contact this person. Maybe he could help us on the inside."

"I volunteer to go sir," Wes said rather quickly.

Roth crossed his arms and looked at him curiously. Janson never volunteered for anything. "You know you can’t go in there and just start blasting stormtroopers."

"I know sir," he replied seriously.

He held Wes’ gaze a moment longer. He was hiding something. "Take Antilles with you."

Sabé spoke up. "I wish for one of my people to go with you as well. You will need a guide through the city."

"Yes ma’am," replied the Lieutenant. "When can we leave?"

"Night would be best. You can enter by the waterfall. The guards are fewer there and the darkness and noise would cover your approach."

"Go finish your watch," instructed Commander Roth. "Then you and Antilles be back here at dusk with anything you need."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed Janson."

Wes turned and jogged out of the tent.

"Any speculations Commander," Sabé asked after the Lieutenant cleared the entrance.

"Not off hand. Hopefully Janson and Antilles can find something out."

Wedge pulled his eyes away from the macrobinoculars and rubbed them. He was about cross-eyed from watching the city. "What’s the verdict," he asked as he felt more than heard Wes sit beside him.

"You and I are going into town tonight."

"Excuse me?"

"Sabé wants us to find the guy I saw and make him our inside contact."

"That’s a logical idea. When do we leave?"

"We’re to meet our guide in the central tent at dusk."

"Cover of night. Good."

"Have you seen our mysterious man again?"

"I didn’t see him the first time, remember?"

"Oh yeah, right." Wes settled back in the spot he had been before and rested his rifle on the log.

Wedge shook his head. It was going to be a long day and an even longer night.

After watch was over, Wedge and Wes went to their tents to get some rest before their little outing. They met an hour before dusk to gather things they thought they might need. The two Lieutenants arrived in the main tent five minutes early. The front area was already bustling with people.

Commander Roth whistled and waved them over to Sabé’s office. They crossed the tent, receiving several glares from those in the room. The flap of the doorway was pulled back to allow them to enter.

"Lieutenants, you are actually early," said Sabé as she came around her desk to greet them. "I am very impressed."

"So am I," Commander Roth said under his breath.

Sabé smiled. "This will be a dangerous mission. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Yes ma’am," they said in unison.

"Good. Let me introduce your guide." She waved a young woman over to her. "Lieutenant Janson, Lieutenant Antilles, this is Rhian."

"Excuse me, ma’am," Wes started, "but she is a woman."

Rhian raised an eyebrow, but Sabé merely smiled. "Do you have something against women, Lieutenant Janson?"

"No ma’am. It’s just that this is going to be dangerous and I don’t want to have to be responsible for her."

"I can take care of myself," Rhian said in a deep and sultry voice.

Both men swallowed hard. "I think what Wes means," Wedge tried to help his friend, but couldn’t finish.

Sabé chuckled. "Rhian is also a descendant of one of the Queen’s handmaidens. The Queen chose each handmaiden personally. They trained in the arts of defense. They passed their knowledge down to her daughters and granddaughters."

"And great-granddaughters," added Rhian with a small smile.

"Yes, and great-granddaughters," Sabé amended. "Until the Queen’s death, we took the place of our mothers and grandmothers by her side. After that time, we all entered the Naboo Volunteer Security Forces to continue our work as protectors of the people."

Despite the logic, Wes still found it hard to accept Rhian. His desire to meet the man who helped that girl won out. "Since you know the area, you should be in charge." He gave her a strong look.

Wedge breathed a sigh of relief. He was feeling the anxiety of having to rely upon this young woman too. He wasn’t prejudice against women in authority, but walking into a hive of Imps was different. He didn’t know if she knew that the Imperials saw women as lesser beings, but he now knew not to underestimate her.

Commander Roth was unsuccessful at hiding the grin spreading across his face. He was proud of Janson. "I want Antilles in charge if you have to deal with any of the Imperials, understood?"

Rhian and Wes nodded.

"Ok then, be on your way."

Sabé hugged Rhian. "Good luck and may the Force be with you."

The three dark clad young people each saluted and marched out of the tent.

They traveled for several hours in the Gian speeder Sabé had provided for them. Rhian explained that they were going to climb up the trail by the waterfall, then take one of the caves along the trail to get deeper into the city. She asked Wes the area where he had seen the altercation so she would know which tunnel to take.

They pulled over into a secluded glen and covered the speeder with camo netting. Gathering their things, they headed for the waterfall. Wes and Wedge were surprised at how close the waterfall was to the speeder’s hiding place. The moon shone brightly on the water, creating a spectacular visual effect.

Rhian led them up a path that was nothing more than an animal trail. They climbed about 1200 meters before entering a cave. The rush of the water over the fall masked their sounds, but also made impossible to speak to each other. They used hand signals to direct each other.

The cave was dark and dank. Wedge let Rhian and Wes take the lead while he took the rear. His ears were still ringing from the roaring of the water. The walls and floor were wet, which made the journey treacherous. Wedge found this out when he stepped on a loose rock and lost his footing. He caught himself before he hit the floor, but when he looked up, Rhian and Wes had disappeared.

He pointed his lamplight ahead of him and saw a corner. He moved up and peered around. Neither was to be found. In a matter of seconds, he had become lost. It reminded him of a time when he and Kelly were little and had gotten lost while following Mother through the station. Kelly cried, but he had remembered something she had always told them. "If you get lost, go to the last place you remember being with me and stay there. I will find you." He had taken Kelly back to the dress shop and they waited for what seemed like hours. Finally, Mom showed up. Both of them had been so happy to see her and she had been so proud of him for remembering what to do.

That had been a long time ago, but the principal still worked. He decided to stay at the intersection until Wes and Rhian realized he was missing and came looking for him. He really hoped that wouldn’t be long. He leaned against the wall to rest and fell through, landing on his back. He looked up into the eyes of a young girl. She couldn’t have been more than ten years old.

"Hello," she said to him with a smile. "How nice of you to drop by." She giggled at her joke.

"Hi. I’m sorry about this. I got lost and..."

"You’re not lost. The others are here. We will be taking you into the city."

Wedge leaned his head back and saw several other people standing around Rhian. Wes stepped in front of him with a grin on his face. "Need some help," he asked offering him a hand.

He took his friend’s hand and pulled himself to his feet. "I only took my eyes off you for a second. Why didn’t you wait?"

"Hey, we didn’t know you weren’t watching us."

"I slipped and had to regain my balance. Who are these people?"

Wes put an arm around the small girl’s shoulder. "This is Marnie. She is going to take us to where she thinks the robed guy is."

"Hello Marnie," he said to her.

"Hello. You’re here to help us, right? Sabé sent for you."

He stooped in front of her. She had long brown hair that reminded him of Kelly. Her green eyes twinkled with mischief. "We’re going to do the best we can."

"I know you will," she replied with a smile. "He told me."

"Who told you?"

"The robed man. He said that the men in orange were going to save Theed."

Wedge looked down at his dark outfit. "But I’m not wearing orange."

"You were when you came to Naboo." She grinned triumphantly.

That reminded him even more of Kelly. "How do you know that?"

Rhian interrupted before the child could answer. "I see you have met Marnie, Lieutenant Antilles. She will help us find the robed man."

Wedge looked up at their guide. "Ok, but I think these outfits will be a bit noticeable out in the open."

"I see we agree. I have sent someone to try and find you and Lieutenant Janson appropriate clothes."

While they waited on the clothes, Rhian introduced them to the rest of the group. These citizens had been able to sneak away to warn Sabé about the invasion. They had set up a camp here in hopes that help would arrive.

It wasn’t long before the clothing arrived and the trio changed. Wrapping the dark cloaks around them, they followed Marnie into town. She led them through the back alleyways to avoid running into any Imperials. They twisted and wound through the city until Wedge was sure the child was lost.

"Are we close," he asked in a whisper.

Marnie turned to him and nodded. She moved up to check around a corner. "There are some of those guys in the white suits blocking the way."

Wes peered around and counted. "There’s only five. I can take ‘em."

"And warn everyone that we’re here," responded Wedge. "No. We need another plan. The direct approach may be best. We’ll just walk past them. If they stop us, then we just tell them we were going to a friend’s house."

"And if they don’t believe that?"

Wedge just shrugged. "Marnie, you should stay close," he said to thin air. The child had disappeared. "Where did she go?"

Rhian merely smiled. "I forgot to tell you that she is Sabé’s niece."

He shook his head. "And she already has begun her training?"

"The Jedi were trained even earlier than we begin to train our daughters."

He sighed and nodded. "Let’s get this over with."

The threesome rounded the corner and walked close together, their hoods pulled low.

"Halt," said a voice. "What are you three doing out on the street?"

"We are trying to visit friends," replied Wedge. "Please let us pass."

"I don’t think so. Don’t you know there is a curfew?"

"We were unaware of such."

"Oh really?" There was a hint of joy in his voice.

"You will let them pass," a voice said from behind the troopers.

"You may pass." The troopers almost mechanically stepped aside to allow them to pass. Beyond them was a tall, cloaked figure.

"Thank you for your help," Wedge said to the man.

The man pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal his face. He looked to be in his thirties with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. "You are welcome, but please hurry this way. They won’t be fooled for long." He turned and led the trio to a door a short ways away.

They followed the man into the hovel. Just inside the door, Marnie greeted them. "Hi! What took you so long?" She grinned joyfully.

"Marnie," Wedge exclaimed. "How did you get in here?"

"I live here."

"Hush child," chided the man. "Now, go check on your sister."

She nodded and ran down the hall.

"You must be the Rebel contacts," he said. "I was wondering when you would get here."

Wedge pulled down the hood of his cloak. He noticed a shimmer in the man’s eyes. "Yes we are. I am..."

The man interrupted him. "Wedge Antilles. I know. Why is Kelly not with you?"

Wes looked between the man and Wedge. How did he know who they were and to ask about Kelly? "Why do you ask?"

The man was a few inches taller than Wes and just as muscular. He turned to face him, his blue eyes shining. "Perhaps if I tell you my name, you will understand. I am Aulduin..."

Wedge interrupted him this time. "You’re Kelly’s Jedi Master."

"Good to see that intelligence runs in the family. I had a vision and thought that Kelly would be here with you."

"She is back at the station. What kind of vision?"

Aulduin smiled. "Please, let us sit and be comfortable before I tell you my story." He led them into a living area. There were several couches and chairs arranged in a semicircle.

Once each sat, Aulduin began his story. "When Kelly asked to take some time out of her training to go visit you, I was against it. However, she convinced me to let her go."

"She’s really good at that," Wedge commented with a smile.

"Yes she is," he replied. "I decided to use the time to do some meditation. I received a vision of Naboo. Her people were under great stress, so I came here to check things out.

"When I got here, the Imperials had already seized Theed. I was able to land unhindered, since my ship in an Imperial design. That is when I ran into Marnie. She had slipped into the landing bay and was trying to sneak aboard a ship so that she could get help. I stopped her. She explained all that was going on and I decided to stay and help.

"I had meditated during the flight and had another vision. This one was of a group of X-Wings fighting Imperial TIEs. I sensed Kelly among them."

"We were fighting TIEs when we captured the supply ships," explained Wes. "Kelly was flying with us then. Her shields were badly damaged, so the Commander sent her back to the station. Two of our pilots had lost their ships and she was to make sure they were ok."

Aulduin nodded. "That explains why she is not here. That does not explain why I saw her in Theed in my vision."

Rhian spoke up for the first time. "I may be able to explain that."

Kelly went directly to Commander Smyth’s office and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

She opened the door and stepped in. "Commander? I understand you have word from Naboo."

He looked up at her with a look that would stop a Star Destroyer. "I’m glad someone finally found you. We’ve had this information for an hour now. Where have you been?"

"Uh," she stammered, trying to come up with an explanation. "I was training in a sim."

"Who finally found you?"

"Admiral Ackbar."

"Did he tell you anything?"

"No sir."

"Sit down, Antilles."

Kelly sat in the chair across from Smyth’s desk. He turned his terminal where she could see the screen. She scooted the chair closer so she could see it.

Rebel Commanders,

Your squadron has arrived safely on Naboo. There has been an Imperial invasion of Theed, the capital. They have agreed to assist the Naboo Volunteer Security Force in the liberation of that city. Please advise if you have any others who may be able to help.

Commander Sabé
Naboo Volunteer Security Force

She read over it twice to make sure she had read it correctly the first time. "The Imperials have invaded Theed?"

"That is how I read it. Was there any Imperial threat when you last were there?"

"No sir. I thought we had chased them out, given them no reason to stay. I guess they changed their minds." She looked up at the Commander. "Are we going to help?"

"And how do you suppose we can do that?"

She shrugged. "I don’t have an idea at the moment, but I’m sure someone could come up with one. Please sir, we have to help them."

"I’ll arrange for a command meeting in thirty minutes. I want you there along with my squad. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," she said standing up at attention.

"Then go and pass the word."

"Explain to me again how you talked me into this?" Kelly groaned as she pushed Karyn through the door of the briefing room.

Karyn leaned back and looked up at her. "Because you aren’t going to leave me out of the planning to help Blue Squadron. They are my friends, remember?" This was the first time she had been out of the med lab since she had been back. The bacta was beginning to wear her nerves thin. "And besides, if you didn’t, I was getting ready to stage a breakout."

Aric Cherin chuckled from behind them.

"Shut up, flyboy," Karyn smirked. "You’ve been out for days."

He grinned at her. "I was more laughing at Kelly. She was right. You are a slave driver."

Karyn stuck out her tongue at him. "Hey Kelly, it’s your boyfriend." She grinned and pointed at Pash.

"He is not my boyfriend," she whispered between clinched teeth.

"Yeah right," replied Aric with a fiendish grin.

"Will you two be quiet? They are ready to start." Kelly took a seat next to Pash and moved Karyn’s repulsor chair in front of her.

Commander Smyth stood first. "I am sure everyone is aware of Blue Squadron’s current situation. The reason I have asked my pilots to join us is so they can possibly give us a prospective of what we could do to help our other squad I know this will come under some scrutiny with some of you.

"I now will open the floor for any discussion." Smyth sat down and Admiral Ackbar took his place almost immediately.

"First, I would like to say that I have no problem with the pilots being here. I believe they should be here since they will be the ones executing this mission. Now then, I would like to offer my command ship, Home One, as a base of operations for this mission. We have two squadrons of B-Wings at your disposal, as well as the weaponry on this warship itself."

A ripple went through the assembled. The pilots were impressed. The high-ranking officials were not. "This is unacceptable," touted a General. "We do not have the resources to spare the use of Home One on this. There should be no talk of a rescue anyway. Commander Roth got his squad into this, he will have to get it out." The man stared red-faced at the pilots.

Aric jumped up from his seat. "How can you say that General? They are up against a Star Destroyer full of Imperials! There is no way they could survive that type of an assault!"

"Commander Roth had to know the consequences before agreeing to help these people. He knows we don’t have the resources to help."

"But we do! There is an entire squadron here ready to go right now." There was a chorus of "yeah" all around Cherin.

"Unacceptable. What if you were to be called for an emergency mission while you were away?"

"They would have to give it to another squad. Sir, aren’t we supposed to be fighting the Empire? There is a planet being held hostage by the Empire. It is our duty to save it!"

The General’s face had become extremely red. He looked as if he would burst at any moment. Admiral Ackbar laid a flippered hand on his shoulder. The air fled from him as he sat.

"General, your rejection is noted. However, I feel like Captain Cherin. This is the Empire suffocating a potential Rebel sympathizer. We must do what we can to help."

Kelly stood up slowly. "Admiral, if I may?" The Mon Calamari nodded for her to continue. "The people of Naboo are simple people. From what I’ve heard and read of their history, their desire to be left alone is not unwarranted. Many things have happened to that planet. It is obvious that the Empire is there to draw a reaction from the Rebellion. We must do our best to defeat the Imperials who have taken Theed to show the Empire that we are serious. I offer the Zena’s Revenge as an additional ship to help. She may not be as fast and maneuverable as an X-Wing, but her shields will hold and her firepower will damage a Star Destroyer." She turned and faced Ackbar. "Admiral, permission to take the Zena’s Revenge aboard the Home One and join your quest to liberate Naboo?" She saluted.

The Admiral’s whiskers twitched as a smile spread across his lips. "Permission granted, Captain Antilles. And anyone else who wishes to join us, you have two hours to ready your ships. We will move to a staging area closer to Naboo."

Commander Smyth rose with a smile on his face. "You heard the Admiral. Dismissed!"

Every pilot in the room stood and hurried out. Pash turned to Kelly before leaving. "Nice job."

She smiled. "Thanks. I said what I was feeling. This isn’t just to go help Wedge. It’s also to help those people on Naboo."

"See you on the Home One then," he patted her on the shoulder and left.

"See, he is your boyfriend," Karyn said as Kelly turned her chair around.

"He is not," she grumbled.

Aric appeared at Kelly’s elbow. "Do you need an extra hand on your ship?"

She turned and looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

"I can’t be left out of this. Without a ship, I can’t go. That is unless you’ll let me go with you."

"Hey," wined Karyn. "I’m going too."

She looked down at her friend. "You must be kidding. You have to stay here and heal."

"I’m healed! The only reason they keep me there is because there is a doctor that has a crush on me. Please let me go. My communications experience will come in handy."

"Look, I can’t really say if you can go or not. Commander Smyth is your temporary CO at the moment. You have to ask him. If he says yes, then ok, you both can go with me. Aric can man the turret and you can run comms."

They were ecstatic by her answer and both went directly to Commander Smyth. Kelly took that time to sneak out of the room. She didn’t quite make it.

"Captain Antilles, may I see you a moment?" Commander Smyth’s voice was firm.

She turned towards where he was standing with Aric and Karyn. "Yes sir." She walked over, glowering at the two others as she went. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"The Captain and Lieutenant here say that you gave them permission to fly with you on this mission."

Kelly looked the Commander in the eyes. "What I told them was that they could fly with me, but only after they got permission from you first."

She could see the humor in his eyes as he spoke. "In your opinion, are they fit to fly?"

"I cannot say, sir. I am not a doctor. However, since both have something at stake in this mission, I think they should go."

"You aren’t just saying that because they would probably kick your tail if you said otherwise, are you?"

"Yes and no, sir. Yes, they would kick my butt if I said no. And no, because I know how they are feeling right now."

"That settles it," he said turning to the two others. "Go get your things ready, but if I hear one thing out of either of you about being tired or hurting, you will be placed in the sickbay on Home One immediately. And I won’t tell them anything about your conditions and make them run all kinds of tests on you." Smyth grinned evilly.

Karyn and Aric swallowed hard. "Yes sir!" They saluted and left.

"You may leave too, Kelly," he said turning back to her.

"Will Taryn be joining us," she asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"He would be useful and he also has an X-Wing."

"Yes, he will be joining us. We’re going to need all the firepower we can get our hands on."

She smiled. "Thank you, sir. I will see you aboard the Home One."

How will the two groups get together?
Will Master Aulduin be able to help the people of Theed with Blue Squadron's help?