OOC:

This story takes place prior to, and after, the events of Operation: Typhus. Chapter 1 begins prior to..

Blue Sickness
Chapter 1: A New Friendship

Phineus stood hands behind his back, in a strong stance as he peered out of the view port of his Bothan Assault Frigate, the Fortis, and his ever-so trusty T3-K1 droid by his side as usual. As a matter of fact, TK played a very important role onboard the Fortis; he not only was the ships head of repairs unit, but he was Phineus’ right hand droid. Behind them both, an A9G archive droid mechanically walked up.

“Captain Gage,” the droid began, “we seem to have a problem.”

Phineus turned to the droid, “And that is?”

“If my calculations are correct, we seem to have lost sixty-one and a half percent of our food supplies, including oil for the droids. Our medical supplies have also, well, been bitten into, sir.”

Phineus cocked his head to the side and offered a quizzical look, “Did you say, bitten?”

“Why yes, sir. Our food has been eaten; our med supplies have been torn into, by teeth, presumably.”

Phineus rubbed his bearded chin, and then glanced down at TK whom offered a confused whistle as well.

Phineus issued orders, “Thank you A9, good work, resume your route,” A9 saluted and walked off, Phin looked over at TK, “Alert HK-95, tell him to get to the source of this and report back.”

HK-95 was a Hunter-Killer assassin droid, and was appointed as the commander of Phineus’ inherited droid squad. HK-95 took the role very seriously, as it was his programming to ensure Phineus Gage’s survival. He even decided on taking care of this newest problem all on his own. HK trekked through the Fortis' corridors, into the food container storage room. The door slid open, and HK came face to face with the enemy. Gizkas.

“Statement:” HK announced to the copious amount of gizkas, “I’m afraid this is your last meal.”

HK lifted up his blaster rifle…

Phineus was once again approached by TK, who informed the captain that HK was on the task, and that they desperately needed to go planet side to restock supplies.

“What’s the nearest planet?” Phineus inquired.

His protocol droid, D-3PO, stated, “Nar Shadaa, such a waste of a planet, if you ask me, sir.”

“Waste or not, D3, it has what we need. Set a course for Nar Shadaa, green light the hangar bay when we’re in range,” Phineus turned to TK, “Alert G2, the two of you are coming with me.”

TK let out a satisfied whistle, Phineus responded, “That’s right, TK, another fun adventure.” Phineus smiled, making his way towards the hangar bay.

“Inquiry:” HK began in a mocking tone, “Is that all you’ve got?”

HK stood as his blaster rifle cooled, twenty or so gizka now lay dead on the floor, never to have a meal again. HK spotted two more creep out from behind the food storage container; HK immediately opened fire, and disposed of the remaining gizka. He turned, making his way back to his post, chuckling to himself.

Phineus readied his Wandering Flyer 191 as TK settled in his seat, with G2 strapping in behind them. The hangar shield went down, and D3 gave Phineus the go ahead. They took to flight, descending from the Fortis into Nar Shadaa’s air space.  Landing space had already been set up by D3 from the Fortis, something that Phineus loved about his crew. Whenever something needed to be done simultaneous to Phineus having to complete his own task, he could always count on his reliable staff of droids. He had come to care strongly for droids, more so than humans, since droids were reliable, and never turned on their masters. Phineus came to like that, he was able to expect nothing short of that from his droid crew, and they knew their captain was just as reliable and loyal. It all flowed very well aboard the Fortis.

The Flyer landed on the landing zone, and Phineus set the parameters for the Flyer’s anti-intruder settings, and turned to his two droid companions.

“This place is dangerous; I want you two to stay close to each other, and me. D3 placed the bulk supply order; we just have to pick it up. However, it won’t be ready for another hour or so. So, while we’re here, we might as well get in some R and R. Let’s head over to the cantina, I could go for a drink. After that, I think I know two droids who wouldn’t mind an oil bath.”

TK and G2 both replied with satisfaction. G2, a security droid whom carried around his personal staff and blaster, spoke up, “Captain Gage,” his voice was rather smooth for a droid, “rules of engagement?”

Phineus walked off the ship with his droids, “Don’t fire until fired upon, but even so, find cover first and let me handle it.”

The three party members found their way into the sleazy, dark cantina. They took their seats in the back, left quadrant. Phineus spotted all sorts of folk, humans, Ewoks, Wookies, every form of creature one could imagine. And they all looked suspicious. He made sure to keep his wits about him, carefully scanning over every last one of them. His Mustafarian Disruptor pistol was strapped to his thigh, and his G2 droid was on alert. They couldn’t be too careful, but they also had to relax. Phineus ordered himself a drink, and sat back, resting his mind, but not his eyes. 

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Words- 903

OOC:

Sorry for this being a bit lack-luster, Blue (and readers), but it's just setting up Phineus and friends being in the right place at the right time

Phineus sat, his droids on alert, his mind focused, his hand running through his silky hair. He had taken a small sip of his drink, and then removed his holo-com, which had now displayed a holographic version of his HK-95 droid.

“How’s our little problem, HK?” Phineus inquired.

HK sounded quite pleased, “Statement: All is well Master, it seemed we had a Gizka infestation. They won’t be eating our food ever again, I assure you.”

Phineus chuckled to himself, HK was possibly a bit too serious about his position, but Phin knew that HK would always get the job done.

“Copy that, HK,” Phineus scanned the cantina over, “good work. We shouldn’t be much longer.”

Phineus clicked off the holo-com; he didn’t quite like the aura surrounding this place. It all felt dirty in a way, as if trouble wasn’t just around the corner, but it was constantly happening. He wasn’t scared, but he still wanted to get his supplies and fly off this planet as quick as possible. He missed the sense of security he had on the Fortis, it put him in a calm, soothed mood. But this place? It crawled with various species, most of which would be willing to place a blaster in your face just to get a better seat at the show. It was rough, but nothing Phineus wasn’t used to.

In the middle of the cantina, Phineus spotted the pazaak game get under way. His eyes glanced over the participants, only one of which was a human. Phin chuckled to himself, something bad happening was imminent. Phineus swallowed back the last of his drink, stood, and motioned for his droids to follow his leave. A large Trandoshan had another idea, however, putting his hand out to stop them.

“You with the other human?” The ‘Shan asked.

Phineus gazed at the human pazaak player, whom looked vaguely familiar, then shook his head, “No, I’m not.”

At that moment Phineus heard blaster fire go off at the card table, screams of pain and shock, and ultimately, bodies hitting the floor. He noticed the card playing ‘Shan attacked the human and the ‘Shan in front of him looked angry, pulling out a blaster and aiming for the human. Phineus dove for the ‘Shan, spearing him down to the floor. An Ewok jumped on Phineus’ back, but was quickly kicked off by G2, as the security droid readied his blaster, and TK readied his stun bolts and flame thrower. The tackled ‘Shan elbowed Phineus in his jaw, sending sparks of pain throughout his entire face. Phineus arose, and kicked the ‘Shan in the jaw, with as much force as possible. He aptly glanced over at the card table, two Zabraks were now fighting the human, a battle that would be tough to win for the human.

“G2,” Phineus exclaimed, “Take out this Trandoshan, TK,” he turned to the tiny droid, “Report to the Fortis, tell them to ready for abrupt departure.”

Phineus dashed over to the two on one fight, one of the Zabraks unsheathed a Ryyk Kerarthorr blade, something extremely rarely seen by anything other than a Wookie. The Zabrak pulled the blade back, preparing to side swipe the human.

“G2,” Phineus exclaimed, apparently not needing to say more, as within a second the security droid tossed Phineus his MG-1 electrostaff.

Phineus jumped in behind the blade-toting Zabrak and turned his staff on, “Oh, I don’t think so.”

The Zabrak caught himself in mid swing, and turned to face Phineus. The last thing he saw was an electrified rod pummeling his head in.

One down, one to go, Phineus mused.

The human managed to get to his feet, as he continued to spar the remaining Zabrak. The human delivered a kick to the Zabrak’s knees; buckling them and making him fall to the ground in agony. Phineus trekked over to the fallen Zabrak, and knelt down.

“All this over a card game?” Phineus asked in a tone of utmost sincerity.

“You and your friend have really messed up, silly human,” the Zabrak punched in a code on his com, “your death will surely come.”

Phineus looked over at the heavy breathing human, “Suppose we better go.”


The human nodded, walked over to the Zabrak and kicked him in the ribs, then grinned at Phineus, “For good measure.”

Phineus smiled back, and the two of them left the cantina with their respective allies in tow. They hurried for the landing zone, when laser fire crippled the zone. Up above, five A-9 Vigilance Interceptors flew barely above their heads. Phineus caught a slight glimpse at the pilots, all were either a Zabrak or a Trandoshan.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” the human, whom Phineus had learned to be Zhar Bacredi, announced sarcastically.

Phineus spent little energy to nod, sending orders to his two droids, “Take the Flyer back up the Fortis, G2, inform HK of the current events and tell him to await my report.” Phineus opened up his com, “R6-T9,” he called out to his astromech droid, “Get in the Blue Lightning and head to my coordinates, don’t spare a single second.”

All of the droids confirmed their orders, and within a moment the Wandering Flyer was quickly ascending to the Fortis, and R6 was setting the navigational path for Blue Lightning, Phineus’ Eta-2 Starfighter.

Phineus turned to Zhar, “I’ll meet you up there.”

Zhar acknowledged, and opened the hatch and climbed aboard his fighter. Phineus had seen him somewhere, but the name sounded unfamiliar.

Maybe from the academy? Phineus thought to himself, but just couldn’t place it.

A breath later and Zhar was airborne, and Phineus’ Eta- 2 had landed. The A-9’s were circling around, letting Phineus know he only had seconds to get in and get up.

“Good to see you, R6,” Phineus stated as he jumped inside the cockpit.

As the hatch closed, his confidence arose. He’d never felt so in control, not even aboard the Fortis. Flying was were he belonged, it was that simple. Mustafar and Coruscant were nice, but space was his home, and the cockpit was his bedroom. The Eta-2 was now airborne, and he rose right up to Zhar’s as the flew fast from the A-9s.

“Glad you made it,” Zhar announced over the com, “ever fight an A-9 before?”

Phineus replied aptly as he made adjustments, “Never, but they don’t have shields and we have the advantage in firepower, so as long as we stick together I think we can handle them.”

“Good,” Zhar rebutted, “another happy flight.”

The five A-9s formed a V formation, with one leading the way, and two off to each side. However, they flew very loosely, a very large flaw in Phineus’ eyes. The two Eta-2’s were slower than the A-9s, but their shields and firepower made up for that, and just as long as they got a shot at the A-9s, they’d be fine.

“Alright,” Phineus announced, “Let’s ascend a bit, gain some speed.”

Zhar stayed close to Phineus’ right wing as they pointed their noses upward and pushed the throttle. Phineus positioned his spoilers to attack position.

“This is where we make our living, eh?” Zhar chimed in.

That was it. Phineus did recognize him; he was a fellow pilot for the Imperial Navy. Phineus felt much more comfortable now, knowing that he could trust Zhar a bit more. A lot more.

“They’re coming in to fast,” Phineus offered, “We need to break their formation up, try to take them one at a time.”

“Right,” Zhar gave back, “Here, I’ll break hard to the right and descend at top speed, and fly right beneath them. That should make them separate, split off to take on me.”

“Copy that,” Phineus announced, “I’ll toy around with what’s left. R6, on my go, reverse thrusters,” the droid beeped in affirmation.

“Best of luck to you,” Zhar said, as he broke down and right,
pushing the Eta-2’s engines to the max.

Phineus was barely able to see the zooming craft fly away. Three of the A-9s turned to follow Zhar, leaving Phineus with the pilot leader and his left side wingmate.

“Go!” Phineus exclaimed to R6.

As the words seeped out, R6 reversed the thrusters, sending the Eta-2 straight ahead, but flying wing over wing. Phineus pulled up on the yoke, sending the spiraling fighter upward, and eventually changing direction, positioning himself directly behind his two enemy A-9s. Phineus bore the most serious of faces, never concentrating so hard on a fight.

“Good work, R6,” Phineus claimed as he evened the Eta-2 out, “Now we’ve got ‘em.”

Phineus targeted the Leader’s wingmate, locked on, and fired from his dual Ion cannons, blasting the A-9 out of the sky. The leader however, was much less willing to die. Phineus locked on, but the leader dropped seventy percent of his speed, and pulled up hard ascended and repositioning himself away from Phineus. The A-9 picked it’s speed back up, heading directly for Zhar.

“Watch out,” Phineus alerted, “Another one coming your way.”

Zhar sounded a bit busy, “Well some help would be nice.”

Phineus grinned, “I’m on my way.”

Phineus Gage shifted his Eta-2, dropping speed as he sharply turned to the left, and gained speed again as he descended, finally reaching Zhar and friends’ level. He was behind, and off to the right quadrant, of Zhar and the four remaining A-9s. Inside his cockpit, Zhar heard warning alarms and witnessed red lights blink on and off. One of the A-9s locked on, and was preparing to fire. Zhar had to enlist a defensive maneuver, and quite abruptly as well. At the same instant, Phineus would have to pull of an offensive maneuver, even as abruptly, do help out his new friend.

“Anything in mind,” Zhar asked frantically.

“Not really, you?”

Zhar decided not to answer in mere speech, choosing his actions to reply in stead.

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Words- 1,651

The two Vast Empire pilots stood gazing out of the viewport, staring at the amazingly soothing stars. Phineus turned towards the HK droid behind him, running his hand through his hair.

“What were you able to find out?” Phineus asked.

HK-95 repeated in his metallic tone, “Answer: They were a gang of mercenaries called the Za’za’Shan, hired by the Rebels. They’ve been tracking this meat bag around for the past two weeks.”

Zhar now faced the droid, “Meat bag?”

Phineus gazed over at Zhar, “It’s nothing personal,” he said, sounding tired as if he had said it one too many times, “Good work, HK, as always.” Phin looked to the lower level a few feet down where the navigation droids sat at their screens, “D-3, has there been anyone following us since we left Nar Shaddaa?”

D-3 replied, “No Master, I don’t think there will be.”

Phineus knelt down towards the droid, “And why not?”

D-3 looked up, “Well, in all due respect to your new friend, I doubt the Rebels would seek so far for one simple pilot.”

Phineus nodded and smirked, “Good work, D-3.” Phineus stood, and motioned for TK, “TK, put me on the intercom,” The droid did.

“Attention all staff,” Phineus stood with his hands clasped behind his back, “We are setting a course to Dantooine, I will be taking up refuge in Zhar Bacredi’s home as we get supplies. While I’m off board, Commander HK-95 will be in charge; this ship is to be on complete lock down. Rules of engagement are not to fire until fired upon, but to fire to kill. I have a strong feeling we won’t be seeing the last of the Rebellion’s attempts at our lives. Keep the Fortis in orbit while I’m gone, and HK,” Phineus smirked wider, his trademark, “No brutal killing of pets. That is all.”

TK shut the intercom channel off, and wheeled behind as Phineus lead Zhar to his quarters.

“You’ll have your own room, though food is low so please only eat what you must. If you need anything, just contact one of the protocol droids. When we get to your manor, I can supply any security needed.”

Zhar shook his head, “That won’t be needed, I’m well stocked.”

Phineus lengthened his stride, “Good. I’ll only be in your hair for a day, two at the most. I’d like to restock, and also make sure we weren’t followed.” Phineus stopped at a red-brown door, and waved Zhar in with a motion of his hand.

Zhar felt something in Phineus, he questioned the kid a bit, “Phineus, you’ve been more than gracious and for that I thank you. However, I’m getting some sort of vibe from you, is anything the matter?”

Phineus lowered his head, “This whole business with the Rebellion has me a bit on edge. I thought I was done running.”

Zhar wasn’t sure of how close to approach Phineus’ unsure feelings, so he let them linger, “I assure you, we will be more than safe at my Manor, you can get supplies, and be on your way. You’ll see.”

Phineus grinned, “And so I will. I hope you enjoy your stay aboard my humble abode, until tomorrow.”

The two nodded, and Phineus departed.


-Three hours later-


Phineus wasn’t able to get any sleep, his mind was actually quite numb, but something stirred within him. He felt as if a large piece of his life had been broken off, and cast into the Mustafarian lava. He had learned to defeat his shaky emotional traits, but this one still bugged him. He had taken his Eta-2 out for a quick fly around the Fortis, getting in the sights of the stars and moons displayed over a tinted blue background of space. He fell in love with the stars, but his love for them could never match the love he had for Ashaleigh. After his mother died, his beloved girlfriend killed herself from overwhelming depression, forced upon her from her own tough up bringing. It’s been five years, but the pain never went away. Phineus had learned how to control his hatred, his anger, his angst, his trust, or mis-trust for that matter, but never his feelings of remorse, of pain for his long lost lover. A tear screamed down his left cheek as his eyes met with a far away star. He turned about the Fortis, heading back towards the hangar bay.


-Two hours later-


The Fortis had reached Dantooine atmosphere, and Zhar had already departed the ship to make arrangements at his manor. Phineus was readying his Wandering Flyer 191.

“In you go, TK.” Phin said to his favored droid.

The hatch closed, sealing the two friends inside, as he prepared for take off down to Dantooine. TK let out some whistles and whoops.

“A little late night flight is all, nothing important,” Phineus said in reply as the Flyer took off into space.


-Zhar’s Manor-


When the Flyer’s hatch opened and Phineus took in the gigantic size of the manor, he couldn’t help his eyes from widening and his jaw from dropping. Zhar came jogging out with his arms wide open, a large smile on his face.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” He said, “How do you like it?”

Phineus’ smile was as big as Zhar’s, “I think it challenges the Fortis in size, you got a hyperdrive in there?” Phineus joked.

Zhar laughed a bit, and welcomed Phineus with a handshake, “And hello, TK.”

TK let out a volley of satisfied whistles and beeps.

The Dantooine sky was as gorgeous as Phineus had ever witnessed. The sun lit up the blades of grass, which glimmered green in the light winded morning. Phineus’ hair blew around a bit, the robe of his Mustafarian garb flung around calmly.

“You know,” Phineus walked with Zhar to the Manor’s entrance, “I could live here.”


-Within the Manor-


Zhar and Phineus sat talking, as Zhar personally sent out his own droids to buy supplies for the Fortis.

“…and with the constant threat of Bantha droppings…” Zhar was cutoff by Phineus’ T3 droid.

After several beeps and chimes, Phineus interrupted, “Wait, slow down.”

Immediately following Phin’s words, a loud explosion went off outside the Manor, followed by muffled blaster shots off in the distance.

“Expecting friends?” Phineus asked with a strong tone.

Zhar jumped to his feet, “My guards haven’t reported,” he alerted, withdrawing his blaster of choice, “Something’s amiss.”

Phineus stood to his feet, “TK,” he commanded, TK knew exactly what to do as he tossed Phineus his Mustafarian blaster pistol, and readied his stun gun and flamethrower himself.

The three of them quickly made their way to the exit doors, as Zhar motioned for some guards and droids alike to follow.

Outside, they bodies of Mercenaries lay defeated on the ground, one of Zhar’s Foran guards approached him.

“Sir,” He gave a quick, tired salute as he tried to regain his breath, “Mercs attacked us a few minutes after Sir Gage landed.”

Zhar shook his head at all the dead bodies, even finding a few of his own men. Phineus dialed up a Com channel to his ship.

“Captain Gage here, do you copy,” Phineus asked, an affirmative yes came across from HK, “Have any ships passed by on the radar? Any look suspicious?”

HK quickly answered back, “Negative Captain.”

“Ten-four, out.”

Phineus peered over at Zhar, “They must have been here before we even arrived.”

Zhar ran his hand over his beard in contemplation, he addressed the Manor guard, “Enter red alert security, I want everyone on their feet at their posts.”

“Yes, Sir,” the guard replied.

Phineus gave out orders himself, “TK, inform HK of the happenings down here, tell him I want him here personally, with his task force, and to not waste a second.” Phineus commanded.

TK sent his affirmation, and wheeled a few yards away to send his Master’s requests.

Zhar faced Phineus, “I suspect this is more than just tracking down an Imperial pilot.”

Phineus nodded in agreement, folded his arms in contemplation, and replied, “I concur. Something seems out of place.”

Zhar’s Manor guard re-approached, “Sir, we’ve spotted an outpost we believe to belong to the mercenaries, about three clicks from here, north-east side.”

Zhar looked over the data pad his guard presented to him, “So I see,” he turned towards Phineus, “something on your mind?” He asked, noticing Phineus’ puzzled look.

“Yes, actually,” Phin replied, “I suggest you assemble your best men,” Phineus moved over to trace outlines on the data pad, “You’ll lead your force, from the west side of the outpost, my force will move in from the east, we’ll play it quiet at first, confirming whether or not they’re the mercs.”

Zhar grinned, “Go on.”

“Once we get confirmation, we’ll attack from both sides, making them crumble inwards, they’ll be trapped, and we’ll get answers.”

Zhar was impressed by Phineus’ plan of attack, he hadn’t expected that from someone so young, “I agree. I’ll need an hour to prepare my men, help yourself to any weaponry.”

Phineus nodded, his hair blew rapidly in the wind, scarping across his eyes, his robes flailed around uncontrollably. He looked up, squinting as the wind blew across the Manor.

HK and fifteen other battle droids descending in their transport, “Were we quick enough, Master?” HK asked, a bit sarcastically.

“Right on time,” Phineus said with a smile.

Zhar turned to his guard, “Right, it’s about time we got ourselves together.”

Phineus informed his droid force of the plans, “…finally, we will be known as Red team, Zhar will lead Blue team. Now, everyone prepare yourselves, we’ve got a battle to win here.”

Phineus marched at the front of his troops towards the Manor, “Ready when you are, Zhar.”

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Words- 1,630

Once Phineus gave the go ahead, he witnessed as Zhar’s men reigned havoc over the encampment. Phineus droid force of twenty laid waste on a few mercs themselves, lead by the war leader, HK-95. Phineus equipped his DC-15s in his right hand, his Mustafarian Disruptor pistol in his left. Standing to the left of HK, dressed in his Mustafar robes, Phineus lead his droid force further into the encampment. Laser bolts rang past his ears, followed by two more laser bolts from his Droideka’s or other such droids. He was proud of his droids, they were doing an amazing job, and HK was leading them, his red-orange frame stood tall through the smoke and lasers.

“Blue-Leader, Blue-Leader, this is Red-Leader, over,” Phineus announced through his com.

Zhar’s Coruscanti accent came through, “I read you, Red leader.”

Phineus’ droid force, as well as Zhar and his guards, had cleared the outside perimeter of the encampment, “Position, M-3-3-K, yours?”

“Copy that, position M-5-3-L,” Zhar replied.

Phineus chimed back, “Good, have you and your men meet up with us at point T-Alpha-9-9.”

“Will do.”

Outside of the front door of the encampment, both squads met up, Phineus was happy to see all of Zhar’s men had made it, “Great work men. Zhar, you and I will search within this outpost with one man each; the rest will patrol the outlining area.”

Zhar nodded toward his guard captain, “You stay here, and I’ll take Jenkins in there with me.”

Phineus turned to HK, “Stand guard out here, M3P will come with me.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” HK replied.

Phineus motioned towards the encampment, “Let’s see what we can dig up.”

Upon entering the encampment, the four came to realize it was empty, devoid of anything aside from food storage and a large central computer. M3P began hacking into the logs, searching for any valuable information.

“Interesting,” M3’s smooth determined droid voice rang out, “It appears as though the information D3 gave you was a bit vague compared to my readings. They are much more than mercenaries, Master.”

“What do you mean?” Phineus quizzically inquired.

“Captain, the Za’za’Shan is a Zabrak/Trandoshan army based out of the colony world of 23 Mere. Very dangerous, highly lethal.”

“Great, an army,” Phineus muttered.

Zhar butted in with his normal, calm demeanor, “Why are they after us?”

M3 scanned through some more files, “It appears as though Lord Bacredi has enraged someone of importance on Iridonia.”

“That explains the Zabraks,” Phineus inputted.

“Who is it, M3?” Zhar asked calmly.

M3 continued, “Governor Calysha.”

Zhar sounded a bit surprised, “Wait, did you say Calysha?”

“Affirmative,” M3 confirmed.

Phineus chimed in, “You know him, Zhar?”

“Not him, but the name. Sounds familiar, sounds…” Zhar’s mind trailed off into the past.

M3 butted in, “Master, I’m afraid we must leave,” He paused, “Immediately.”

“Is there a problem?” Phin asked.

“It seems through my hacking, I triggered the self destruct mechanism. This outpost will explode in five minutes,” M3 said calmly.

Frak.

“Zhar, get your men out of here,” Phineus was cut off by Zhar.

“Move, move!” Zhar exclaimed to Jenkins, opening up a com channel, “Everyone evacuate the premises! Get on your speeders at full speed!”

The two men ran out of the compound as Phineus opened his com, “D-3PO,”

The protocol droid on the other end spoke, “Master?”

“Prepare the Fortis for immediate take off,” Phineus was then cut off.

“Sir, I’m afraid that cannot happen,” D3 alerted.

“Why not?”

“Capital Ships are moving on our position, threateningly.”

“How many?”

“Five Longhorn-class, two Nebulon-B class, and…” D3 paused.
“And?” Phin questioned.

“And a Venator class, Captain. We are doomed.” D3 sounded, as always, worried.

Kriff.

“D3, have Jules, Dice, and Zuey returned yet?”

The voice suddenly changed from D3’s robotic tone, to Julius Xerxes medium pitched weariness, “Hot dayum! Phineus, we got trouble, man.”

Phineus couldn’t help but chuckle as he and M3 made there way to the Wandering Flyer, “Glad to hear your voice, Jules. How bad is it?”

Julius chimed back, “Terrible. When the three of us got back home, we were targeted. Luckily the Fortis was close enough.”

Phineus grew worried; he didn’t like not being with his crew while they were being threatened.

“I’m making my way onboard, prepare for my arrival.” Phineus closed the com.

Back at the Flyer, his droid force already on their way back to the Fortis, he managed to run into Zhar.

“I’m heading back to my ship, apparently this army is up there,” Phineus announced.

Zhar ran his hand over his beard, “So I see. This is my business, and I will handle it accordingly. My fleet is moving towards your ship’s position.”

Phineus shook his head, “I won’t let you fight alone, plus, my crew was targeted.”

“But they were not shot at, and for a reason, the army is not after you. I will get to the bottom of this.”

Phineus stepped into the Flyer, closing the hatch, “As will I. You’ll need the help,” he said with a smirk, and made his way up to the Fortis.

The hangar bay shield opened, allowing the Flyer to enter and land. Phineus quickly ran out of the Flyer, and up to the command deck. He was greeted by his three most trusted crew members, Julius Xerxes, wearing his trademark smile, Keiji Dyson, with his face bathing in serious ponderment, and Zuyleika Tecla, grinning at the sight of Phineus’ normal, ear to ear smile.

Phineus’ long hair blew a bit as he quickly made his way towards them. His eyes steered over to the main viewport which stretched from one end of the ship, to the other. He witnessed the massive amount of Capital ships, and the star fighters that patrolled them. The fighters equaled at least twenty, twenty five. Phineus came to a stop in front of the large view port.

“Executive Officer Dyson, sit-rep?” Phineus commanded.

Keiji Dyson chimed in with his normal, serious attitude, “Captain, they have sent a warning, stating if we don’t turn around and retreat, they will open attack.”

Phineus ran his hand through his hair, then to his beard, “Prepare for attack, I want droids piloting the Validus and the Boat,” Phineus referred to his Jermagium star ship and YE-4 Gunboat, “Zuey, Jules, pilot the Gauntlet, Dice in the Belbullab.”

The three nodded as TK squealed and whistled at the droids Phineus most trusted to pilot his two star ship.

“I’d let you guys fly the star ships, but frankly, I need human instinct flying by my side.” Phineus finished.

Dice nodded, “We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Cap.”

The other two nodded, and Phin smirked, “I wouldn’t want you guess anywhere else.”

Phineus spoke yet again, “Alright men, let’s take it to them.”

The three saluted, then walked past their captain, their friend, and marched towards the hangar bay to climb aboard their respective fighters. Phineus quickly spat out a few more orders in as nice a tone as possible.

“Alright men, I want shields up, lasers at the ready. HK, you’re in charge here, as soon as their ships fire, return fire. Hopefully our fighters and star ships will help out here, as well as Zhar’s fleet.”

Zhar’s fleet comprised of his CR90, the Leviathan, and the ship Zhar stood tall in. He was accompanied by a GR-75 medium transport, the Bright Hope and Duty Free, along with the Sojourn, and his squadron of TIE fighters. The fleet began to show up on the scanners, side by side Phineus’ fleet.

As Jules, Zuey, and Dice’s two fighters left the hangar, Phineus kept his eye trained on them. Three Miy’Til fighters engaged his comrades, and Phineus witnessed the ensuing battle. He turned aptly on his heels, long hair flowing from side to side.

“Take the helm, HK,” He issued, “R6,” he spoke over his com, “Get the Eta-2 ready for flight, I’m own my way.”

As Phineus made his way to the hangar, the view port presented the massive fleet awaiting battle. Eight star ships, all waiting menacingly. As Phineus lengthened his stride, he began to realize just how tough this battle would be.

Hopefully we can scare them off, somehow. Phineus mused doubtfully.

One thing was sure, Phineus would not let his new friend, and fellow Vast Empire pilot, go on to fight this battle alone. Phineus turned into the hangar bay and bore witness to R6-T9 firing up the Eta-2. Phineus leaped onto the right wing, and climbed inside the comfortable and familiar cockpit. As the Eta-2 lifted off from the ground, turning towards the hangar bay’s exit, Phineus thumbed a switch, putting the spoilers into attack position. Phineus flew “Blue-Lightening” towards his other two comrades in battle.

“Nice to see you finally made it, capitano,” Zuyleika said with a smirk.

Jules chimed in, sitting behind Zuey in his co-pilot seat, “Dayum, Cap, thought you’d never join in on the fun.”

“Yeah, we were just talking about you,” Dice added.

The remarks, as per usual, were all full of happy sarcasm amongst the tightest of friends, and met with warm reception and some sarcasm of Phin’s own, “Good, thanks for the reason to demote you all. How’s it coming?”

The three fighters formed a V-shape as the four Miy’Til fighters gained speed to catch up.

“Not bad,” Dice, Phineus’ 2nd in command, noted, “They’ve just been playing cat and mouse with us, Tom and Jerry maneuvering.”

Tom Tuphus was an imperial pilot; Jerry Linx was a Rebellion squad leader. They ended up having the famed “Tom and Jerry” battle, chasing each other around for a good hour, before one of their lasers hit. Tom managed to find Jerry, shoot him, and ended up dying himself from the reaction of Jerry’s fireball. The term is used as a metaphor to inform of endless chasing.

“Trying to scare us, apparently,” Zuyleika chimed through, “But they have attempted lock on once or twice.”

Phineus rub his eyes with his right hand, then his beard, and then his eyes again, “Right, let’s take it to them. The odds aren’t bad, four to three, so we’ll split up.”

Phineus led the V formation, with Dice to his left, Zuey and Jules to his right, “Dice, break left, Zuey, right. I’ll fly straight ahead.”
“Copy.”

“Copy.”

The two pilots sent in, while Phineus opened up a com frequency to the Fortis, “HK, how long until the Validus and the Boat are airborne?”

HK’s metallic tone pierced through, “Ten minutes, Master.”

“Good,” Phin offered, “Get ready to fire on those capital ships on my call, but not until my call, understood?”

“Very good, Captain.” HK rebutted.

“Aye.” Phineus left.

Phineus prepared his Eta-2, as well as his mind, for the upcoming battle.

“Break!”
With this simple, yet meaningful exclaiming word, the fighters from both sides of Phineus immediately broke off to their respective angles, as Phineus pushed the Eta-2 for more speed.

The Miy’Tils were extremely fast, but lacked strong shielding, one laser bolt would easily send them spiraling out of commission. Phineus and crew shouldn’t have much of a problem, or at least he thought.

One of the MT fighters stuck with Phineus, drawing a grin to his face.

Let the fun commence.

Phineus excelled, trying to pull away from his MT bogey. The Eta-2 wasn’t too much slower than the MT, so Phineus was able to gain some more space between the two. Phineus thought it was odd, how he liked being attacked, rather than attacking, from the start. It made him feel as though the odds were against him, that he would have to somehow manage to get on the offensive, and take control. Something Phineus, to his opinion, did well.

The MT let off a volley of shots, all terribly aimed, so much so that Phineus didn’t have to move his fighter even the slightest of bits. He did however; begin to dip and dive, shifting around sporadically in all sorts of directions. Spinning, accelerating, purposely testing the skills of his enemy, which weren’t very high. The MT barely managed to keep up, struggling to keep a consistent speed, and flight path.

Phineus noticed that Dice was flying directly at him, with his own MT in hot pursuit.

“Dice, my guy’s nothing, yours?” Phineus asked.

“Not even a challenge,” Dice replied.

“Good,” Phineus smirked, “Adjust your path about a meter to your right so we don’t collide.”

“Was about to do that,” Dice chuckled.

“Aye, this will be tough. Once you pass me by, I’m going to spin above your bogey, hopefully my guy is dumb enough to turn in pursuit, and they’ll collide.” Phin said with utmost confidence.

“I like it, will be hard to pull off, but if anyone can do it, you can.” Dice added.

As Dice’s Belbullab 22 star fighter rapidly approached on Phineus’ left hand side, he began to slowly decrease his speed. The trailing MT began to catch up, as Phineus had hoped. Next thing he knew, Dice was maybe three feet from clipping wings with Phineus, and at that opportune moment, Phineus reversed his thrusters while simultaneously ascended, flipping wing over wing above Dice. Just as planned, the pursuing Miy’Tal turned to the left, to continue pursuing Phineus’ Eta-2. Before the MT could even get straightened out, it collided into Dice’s follower, making for one medium sized mid-air explosion. R6 beeped in congratulatory manner.

“Nice work, Dice.” Phineus said, met by no reply, “Dice?”

“Uh, boss?” Dice chimed in.

“Go ahead Dice-man,” Phineus said.

“We’ve got incoming bogeys, twenty of them.”

Phineus looked weary, “HK, HK, get the Boat and Validus airborne ASAP, we need help here. You three think you can handle this?” Phineus asked, already knowing the answer.

Jules responded happily, “Well hot dayum, cap, this is my jam.”

Keiji, Zuyleika, and Phineus all let out a smooth chuckle, and prepared for the impending battle.

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