Chapter 1

      A cold, evil man. JMac had been exactly what Chipmunk had expected to see when he met the head of the Vast Empire's Naval Academy. Those piercing blue eyes boring into his mind, prying into his soul.
      "Congratulations on passing your Aviator's Exam. You'll be placed in Aegis Squadron, under Lonewolf," JMac said.
      Chippy nervously replied, "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" His thoughts drifted back to school on Corellia, where his classmates and he had formed a military club to train themselves. He had had a habit of being overly formal with the officers, even if they were close friends. That camp had also been how he had met a certain girl...
      JMac suddenly asked, "You're Corellian, correct?" Not waiting for a reply, he continued. "Have you ever heard of a woman named Tiana Fafdra?"
      "Of course, sir. Just about every Corellian has seen the news-holos. Some sicko really beat the crap out of her; mangled the body pretty bad. Then he stole some piece of jewelry. Weird thing is, he left a whole bunch of valuables. CorSec is still looking for him." Chippy paused. "May I ask why?"
      JMac grunted. "Still looking? Good. No, you may not ask."
      An odd feeling came over Chippy, brushing the subject aside.

*    *    *    *    *    *

      Chippy walked through the halls of the Atrus, the super star destroyer he had been assigned to. He was looking for the Aegis section so that he could report to his commander and settle into his quarters. He found his door - CREWMAN ROBERT "CHIPMUNK MAN" HENDERSON engraved on the plaque next to it. Of course it was set up for someone a little taller. At 5'6" inches, Chip was short by Imperial standards. And he only weighed 140lbs, so he made darn sure to stay out of wrestling matches. But there was a little more to this little guy than met the eye.
      He ran his fingers through his brown hair. He'd probably wind up bald, his legacy from his dad's side of the family. He'd been told that his great-grandfather had actually gone bald at 18! Well, Chip was 20, and thankfully that hadn't happened to him. He got his face from his dad, but thankfully hadn't gotten the same personality.
His dad. Humph. A spineless little weasel, and a lawyer to boot. Chip hadn't even spoken to his dad for two or three years, not since their falling-out, and he intended to keep it that way. No, Chip tried to be as honest of a gentleman as he could. Granted, things didn't always go the way he wanted them to, but you couldn't control everything. Humph. He certainly wished he could've controlled what happened on that shuttle&

*    *    *    *    *    *

      "Rob..."
      Midnight, the full moon shining down on them, the night's cool breeze rustling through the tree leaves.
      "Please don't go..."
      He didn't want to leave, not ever. He squeezed her tight the smell of her perfume filling his senses.
      "I have to go, after what they did..."
      "Please?  Stay with me?"

*    *    *    *    *    *

      A kick jolted Chippy awake. Lonewolf, his CO, was standing over him with an amused look on his face. Chip wondered where he was, the sweet smell of her hair still sharp in his mind. Cold steel. The floor? Why was he there?
      "Yes, sir. Sorry sir." Chippy snapped to attention. Lonewolf returned the salute, the amusement still sparkling in his eyes. "Crewman Robert 'Chipmunk Man' Henderson, reporting for duty, sir."
      "I only need the callsign, son," Lonewolf replied. "Welcome to Aegis. I'm a little short on pilots right now, so if you can pass a simulator test, I'll put you straight into active duty. I know it's unorthodox, but we just received an assignment and I'm gonna need all the pilots I can get."
      "Yes, sir. When would you like me to take the test?"
      "Oh, whenever, but preferably before we deploy. Make sure you see Sk8guy, if you pass, he's your flight leader. I'll leave the testing and judging up to him for now," Lonewolf said casually. 
      An odd thought came to Chippy, something about his meeting with JMac had really unnerved him, but he just couldn't think of what it was. "Sir, do you know JMac, the head of the naval academy? There was something about my meeting with him that struck me as really creepy..."
      Lonewolf got a you-don't-want-to-know kind of look. "Son, don't ask. JMac has a thing about Corellians. And that's all you need to know."

*    *    *    *    *    *


 
-----------------------
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur


FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

*    *    *    *    *    *

      Chippy awoke to loud, blaring sounds, and someone's foot kicking him repeatedly. As the fog in his head began to clear, it dawned on him that the foot belonged to a hysterical Til'c, and that the sound was the alarm claxon.
      "Chippy, you worthless piece o' crap, git yo' butt up o' we's gonna get blasted! Come on, Chippy! Hurry up or I's gonna leave you!'
      And then Chippy realized what was happening: Aegis squadron was under attack!  The pair bolted to the hangar and began powering up their TIE's. As they pulled out of the hangar with Sk8 leading, they formed up behind him and waited for orders.
      "Chipmunk, Til'c, on my wing. Let's rack up some kills."
      The small flight of Imperials took off after a pair of X-wings that had just launched from a New Republic star destroyer. The pair suddenly split, trying to divide Chippy's flight and get behind them. Chip broke to starboard and followed one. He twisted and turned, rocked and rolled, trying to get a lock on the rebel. Suddenly, the X-wing pulled straight up tried to double back, but flew directly into Chip's sights.
      "You're mine, sucker!"
      Green lasers streaked towards the X-wing, overloading its shields and frying an engine. It tried to swerve, but exposed its cockpit in the process. Two lasers shattered the canopy and blasted the pilot to smithereens.
      "Yaaaaaaahooo!! I got him! Hey Sk8, I got him!"
      "Get back on my wing, now!" came the angry reply.
      "Yes sir! Sorry, sir!" As Chipmunk moved back into formation, Til'c came onto the comlink.
      "Ha, ha! Thought you'd jest head off wherever you's wanted, eh? Now you's got yoself in a whole load a trouble, don't ya?" he laughed.
      "You better watch it, Til'c, or I'll send you wherever I want!" Chippy watched as Sk8 reduced the second X-wing's shields to zero and disabled most of its maneuvering capabilities. The thing was little more than a target now, and Chippy wanted to finish it off before Til'c could. "Bet you twenty credits I can nab that thing before you can."
      "Now you's gettin' cocky. If I's you, I'd let da boss man have it."
      "Ha, you're just chicken. Pacock!" Chippy made a quick dart to the side to get Sk8 out of his sights, then fired a burst of lasers that contacted the X-wing's R-2 unit and power plant. The entire rear erupted, and Sk8 nearly slammed into the wreckage.
      "Holy! Nice going Chippy, but next time don't steal my kills.  I really don't like that," called Sk8, sounding very annoyed.
      "Thanks sir, and sorry. I couldn't help it, I had an open shot, so I took it."
      "It's okay, at least the ship's gone, one less rebel to worry about in the galaxy. I can see your improvement, good job there," Sk8 replied.
      "Well, I have been hitting the simulators a lot lately, I guess they're helping," Chippy said, pressing a button so Til'c could hear the conversation. 
      "I think so too, but right now it's time to take down that VSD.  Switch to missiles and form up on my wing, we're going in.
      "Kiss ass!" Til'c snarled.
      The tiny flight throttled up and pulled a 180-degree reversal, then waited to move into missile range. A million thoughts were running through Chip's mind. A direct attack on a star destroyer?! Was Sk8guy insane?! They'd be vaporized! He thought about refusing the order, but decided he would rather die bravely than be executed. What would Sarah think if he were court-martialed for cowardice? All Chippy really wanted was to make her proud...
      He did his best to put that thought aside. Right now he had to concentrate on not getting fried. As Sk8, Til'c, and he gained missile lock, they fired their payloads and switched to lasers. Chippy noticed that each weapon affected his ship's flight differently: when missiles were fired the TIE Advanced vibrated slightly, compared to the heavy rumbling of a proton torpedo launch. And lasers were like holding onto a jackhammer, the entire cockpit rattling from the recoil.
      They split up in order to attract less attention from the turret gunners. They were among the first fighters to attack the VSD, so most of its fire was concentrated on them.  Chippy zigzagged, trying to knock out some of the turrets without getting plastered in the process. Lasers were everywhere, leaving bright, red streaks in his vision.  It was as if he had stared at a neon light for too long.
      His thoughts raced. What if he died? Would he become a ghost, free to wander and haunt whomever he wished? Or would he be bound to that spot, stuck there forever?  Maybe his spirit would go to some afterlife paradise, or perhaps just cease to exist. And then there was Sarah...
      Sarah?  Are you out there?  I still miss you, Sarah...
      "Don't worry, Chipmunk. If anything happens, I'll let her know," Sk8 said.
      Sk8? Chippy didn't think he had said anything out loud. Had he imagined it?  No, he had heard it too clearly for it to have been imagined. He had been told that Sk8 possessed some sort of power, what was it called? The Force? But Chippy didn't believe in that kind of nonsense.
      Sith spit, he had to concentrate or he'd get plastered! He was pulling away from the star destroyer, setting up for another run with his lasers, when his senses were filled with a red explosion. Alarms screamed at him, his TIE fell out of control, and so Chippy did what seemed the most logical thing: he panicked.
      "Sk8, I've lost flight control!  SKKK888!!!"

*    *    *    *    *    *

 
-----------------------
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur


FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

Chapter 2

      Time was passing by with amazing speed. Chip had been in Viper for a while now. What, nearly a year? Something like that. There hadn't been too much going on, just one major battle with pirates. The pesky pirates had raided so hard, they had even forced the Imperial Center Store to close due to lack of merchandise. Finally, the High Command had decided to really stick it to the pirates. The freighter Morpheus was converted to mobile hangar and given a full outfit of TIE Interceptors, fighter of choice for Viper squadron. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
      Viper was going to fly around in the Morpheus disguised as a normal freighter. Boy, what a surprise the pirates would get when the TIE's appeared, right? Wrong. Two pirate-controlled star destroyers had shown up, along with all the trimmings. Viper bit off way more than it could chew, and had had to be rescued by a makeshift Imperial Center convoy. The supposedly elite Viper was still trying to live down the embarrassment.
      Yes, that had been a mess. Hopefully this next battle would be prettier. A decent portion of the Rebel's fleet was stationed at some obscure planet called Ugron, and the Vast Empire Navy had brought in both offensive and defensive fleets to deal with the problem. The Rebels had a few big capital ships, a handful of smaller cruisers, and three hyperspace interdictor craft. Not to mention the usual contingent of starfighters.
      Oh boy, this could get ugly. If anything big went wrong, those interdictors were going to hold them here. No retreat. In fact, that prospect had so disturbed the boys up in command that Admiral K3R had just ordered the offensive squadrons to take the interdictors out.
      Chip didn't really know the offensive pilots well. Viper and Aegis had both been part of the defensive fleet, so there hadn't been much time to meet them. He had bumped into a pair of Venom pilots in the lounge once. They tried to have drinks together, but it hadn't gone well. Of course Chip hadn't wanted any Corellian Ale; he preferred to stick to his precious SunDrop. That hadn't sat well with the Venom boys; they just wanted to get drunk. Piss drunk. And fast.
      While the Board of Inquiry had cleared him, Chip still felt a little guilty about pulling the trigger. Crude and cruel or not, they had been his comrades, and he had not wanted to shoot them. They just hadn't left him much of a choice. Well, that was why Chip carried a blaster.
      He snapped his head to the left. Dang, another X-wing off his port solar panel. Yanking on the stick, he brought the TIE Interceptor in behind the rebel craft. He liked Interceptors. Quick, maneuverable, great handling, and a nice rate of fire. The only problem with them was that they were easy enough to kill, if you could hit them. No shields, and a light hull. And sometimes those four points sweeping forward out of the solar panels screwed up his view. The points were like knives at the corner of the panels, each tipped with a laser cannon. He liked to leave them on single fire; it meant a higher rate of fire. They almost formed a stream, one firing immediately after another, as the cannon bolts came screaming towards their targets.
      Hmm, this rebel was good. He darted around well, made it hard to target his little butt. Chip flipped around some, made a show of trying to follow the guy. He knew he wasn't going to get him, but somebody else would.
      "Til'c, you ready?"
      "Man, I's been ready. Wha's kept ya so long?"
      "Never mind. Let's kill him in three... two..."
      They never had their chance. A TIE fighter that had taken one too many hits spiraled out of control and whirled straight into the X-wing's nose cone. There was a quick explosion, sending solar panels, S-foils, and other spare parts every which way. Chip pulled up, out of the debris, and paused a moment. There were lasers everywhere. TIE fighters, X-wings, and Y-wings were dog fighting. And there were certainly lots of them. The capitol ships were duking it out, the big turret guns firing what can only be described as massive broadsides. At the moment, the VEN was holding its own. Two Republic interdictors were out, along with a swath of smaller cruisers. Some Corellian corvettes had taken big hits, and the ones that could still move were trying to back off, out of danger. Kaph squadron, armed with sluggish TIE bombers, as trying to see that those damaged craft didn't make it back to safety.
      The bombers were weird little things to behold. Okay, so they weren't all that little, but they were still odd. Chip thought that the things looked like two star fighters strapped together, with one of the cockpits transformed into a missile bay. Slow, bulky, and unmaneuverable, Chippy thanked God that he didn't have to fly one of those deathtraps. But they were essential to any successful battle plan that dealt with enemy capitol ships, and so they were sent out into the fray, death traps or not.
      As he gazed at the scene before him, Chipmunk noticed a glowing near the planet's atmosphere. It almost looked like a ship heading for the planet. And one heck of an ugly ship, too. The comm system began chattering, several people talking at once. Through the confusion, Chip discerned a few key words.
      "Sithspawn, no time. My weapons are shot, engines are down. I'm coming in for a hard splashdown on planet. Send my coordinates to Japheth." Chip cursed. It sounded like Admiral Daishi, the High Command guy piloting some missile boat called the TIE Horror. Which, as one can easily figure out, was not a very good thing to lose.
      Not only was the Horror a very expensive piece of equipment, but Daishi was a member of the Naval High Command, making him a very valuable person. If Daishi were captured alive, well, bad things would happen.
      And so the defensive squadrons were dispatched very quickly indeed. Warmaker, not only Chip's flight and squadron leader but wing commander as well, gave his orders in the usual strained tone. "We've got a problem on our hands. Sensors are showing that Admiral Daishi went down in an area that has been showing a lot of enemy troop movement. We cannot let him be interrogated, he knows too much. We're going to land on site with Kaph, Viper and Polaris are going to give us close air support. The others will have to hold without us for a while. No time for a big plan, so we'll make it up as we go. May the Force be with you."

 
-----------------------
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur in "First Knight."


FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

      Chip let a burst of cannon fire arc just in front of the lead Rebel, the Y-wing flying directly into the path of two cannon bolts. The energy was dissipated by the Rebel's shields, but it had the desired effect. Both Y-wings broke off their flight path and retreated, causing Shazam to shout for joy.
      "Good job, Shaz. Alright, let's go help out the guys." What Chippy didn't realize was that the pair of Rebels had retreated, circled around, and fallen in behind Shazam and himself. Red bolts came at the two Imperials from the rear, taking them by surprise. Chip's fighter was rocked by an explosion, and warning lights went off all over the cockpit. Damn it, not two TIE's in one day! At this rate, he'd be demoted! "Mayday, mayday, I am so going down!"
      Shazam jerked to port to avoid the explosion surrounding the back of Chip's TIE. Cutting a hard left, he  tried to get behind the pair of Rebels. While he managed to tail one of them, the other began to take pot shots at him, effectively putting the kid between a rock and a hard place. But at least the fire had been drawn away from Chip's flying can of Swiss cheese.
      Chip's Interceptor had gone into a tailspin straight for the planet. Frantically trying to regain control, he ordered the computer to run a full diagnostic and damage report.

      ETA to Atmospheric Reentry: 3 minutes
      Flight Control: 63% functional
      Estimated Repair Time: 2 minutes 15 seconds
      Electrical Systems: 27% functional
      Estimated Repair Time: N/A
      Engines: 85% functional
      Estimated Repair Time: 3 minutes 45 seconds

      Stang it all! Why did Chip have to be the designated target of the day? Even if no other Rebels came after him, there was little chance of getting back to the Atrus. With his engines damaged, the planet's gravity was going to pull him in. Oh, he wasn't going to crash (thank God for the guy who invented the auto repair system), but he was definitely going to have to join the atmospheric fight.
      He could see the Atrus, which had just about finished off the Rebel's flagship. The two monsters had gone head-to-head, like a pair of boxers moving in close. But the super star destroyer simply had more firepower. The Rebels had lost their shields, and now the hull was being blasted to pieces. The explosions reminded Chip of solar flares. The hull would cave in for an instant, then blast outward with a brilliant flash and a plume of flame. Until the armory was hit, which was chock full of proton torpedoes, concussion missiles, and heavy rockets. The old capital ship was ripped apart: it split down the long sides and burst at the seems.
      Alright, systems were coming back online. Flight control was almost completely restored, engine power increasing. Maybe he would be able to survive atmospheric entry after all. He flipped a few toggle switches with no response. Dang it, some of the electrical systems were down. They weren't anything important, but it did piss Chip off, and called into question everything else that he relied upon. "This just isn't my day..." He commed his commander, Warmaker. "Sir, I've managed to get a new TIE, but now this one's near fried as well. I have CRW Shazam, of Polaris, on my wing. Where do you want me, sir?"
      Static. Chip repeated the message, to no avail. He wasn't sure what was wrong, but could see a place where he was probably needed. The rescue party must have met major resistance, because the big, honking space guns aboard the Atrus had decided to blast the living snot out of something on the planet. Well, might as well head that way.
      Chip and Shazam drifted their way down to the planet, and Chip could se that it was mostly forested. Shaz was getting a little close to the trees, and it was starting to worry Chip that his wingman was completely green.
      "Let's not drift too low, we might get caught by fire from the surface. And don't fly so straight, you're going to make yourself a juicy target."
      "I heard that a thousand times at the Academy."
      "Well, apparently it didn't sink in, so you're going to hear it from me, too."
      Shazam didn't realize that he'd left his comm. Switch on, and started humming a song. It would have been fine; that is, if it hadn't been the sort of low-class jazz played on the streets at the bottom of Coruscant.
      "Shazam, shut up. We're searching for the Admiral, not starting a band." There really wasn't much to do, other than fly around and try to find Admiral Daishi's TIE Horror. It actually was a little boring, so boring that Shazam was obviously daydreaming. Chip sighed. The planet's two suns were setting. It really was a pretty sight.
      Dang, now Chip was daydreaming, too. Had to concentrate on the trees. Something up ahead was glinting in the sunlight, but the glare had obscured Chip's vision. It almost looked like a base. And were those...
      Turbolaser turrets, well protected by the base's duracrete walls, shattered the peacefulness. Darting away, Chippy realized that he and Shazam had made the extremely stupid mistake of flying directly over a Rebel barracks.
      "Holy crap! Shazam, pull up! We gotta get oughta here, now!" The battered TIE Interceptor yanked skyward as Chip scrambled to escape. He managed to pull a U-turn back to the tree line, out of site of the Rebel gunners. Shazam, however, had not been so lucky. Flying straight over the base, he caught multiple shots on his solar panels and underside. Thank God Polaris squadron had been given the old TIE Advanced fighters from Aegis squadron, as the small shields were the only thing that saved the young pilot's life.
      "Damn it Shazam, don't fly straight! You're gonna get yourself killed! They don't teach you that stuff at the Academy just to hear themselves talk! Circle around the base wide, out of view, and meet me on our original course. I want to continue that heading, I saw some burned trees up that way. Might be Admiral Daishi. You still have scanners? Mine are acting a little funky; I don't quite trust my electrical systems right now."

 
-----------------------
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur in "First Knight."

"People like you are the reason people like me take medication." -Cool T-shirt

FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

      "Yeah, yeah. Sure." Shazam seemed rather annoyed by the mention of the Naval Academy, but was sufficiently shaken by his near-death experience to accept the advice. A few blaster bolts zipped around the burned trees Chip had mentioned, so Admiral Daishi was almost definitely nearby.

      "Alright, it would seem that we've found the admiral, so we better contact Warmaker. There's a grassy clearing up ahead that looks okay for a landing zone, let's set down there."

      "It's not gonna be a soft one. Especially with that piece of Swiss cheese you're flying..."

    "Yeah, I know. Can't help it much; Daishi looks like he could use some help." They set down in the clearing, which was little more than a gap in the trees about thirty yards wide. Chip popped the hatch and removed his helmet and life-support gear. Sometimes he envied the Rebels: their fighters came equipped with life support so that they didn't have to bother with bulky flight suits. But that meant that if the ship's systems went down, so did the parts that kept you alive, so it did make some sense to separate the two.

      After noticeably reducing the amount of wires and tubes attached to his flight suit, Chip strapped on his utility belt and blaster, and grabbed his commlink. Shazam walked over, making similar preparations with his own gear. "You know anything about ground fighting?" Chip asked as he started heading for the trees.

      "Ha. Probably more than you. I had seven brothers and sisters, and my sisters were real witches..."

      Chip grinned. "Shaz, I'm not talking about ball-taps, here. Heh heh. You ever even fire that blaster of yours?" And that hit a nerve. Shazam immediately turned defensive, making Chip only grin some more.

      "Of course! I mean, why wouldn't I have? So, uh, yeah! How 'bout you?"

      "You might say I've been in a few fights. The debacle aboard the Morpheus comes to mind..."

      "The what?"

      "Nothing. Nasty little scrap with pirates that we had before you joined up."

      "Ah."

      There wasn't much time left, so they started running through the forest. After a few miles, Chippy realized that he was wheezing badly. Which was shameful, because during basic training he had been able to make the mile run in five and a half minutes. Humph. Must have been spending too much time in the flight simulator and not enough on his gravmill. Oh well.

      "Chip! Get down, someone's coming!" Whoever it was, they didn't seem to care much about the noise they were making. But the thick plants must have been muffling the sounds some, as Chip thought that the source was still ten yards away when Admiral Dasihi tripped over poor Shazam's face.

      "Admiral, sir! LCRW Chipmunk Man and CRW Shazam. Here to rescue you, sir."

      "Holy crap. Who'd I trip over?"

      "That'd be me. Damn, that hurt..." Poor Shaz. Now his face was turning puffy red. The Admiral's combat boots had really put a hurting on the kid.

      "Crewman, are you two the only friendly forces here?" It seemed odd to Daishi that naval pilots were being used for search parties. Wasn't this what the Army was paid for?

      "Yes, sir. We have our TIE's parked in a clearing in that direction, as that was the closest we could get to the crash site. With your permission, sir, I'd like to contact Warmaker and see if we can get a troop transport in here."

      "Good idea."

      Chip silently cursed himself. He wasn't that much older than Shazam, but the kid made him feel like he was middle-aged. Come on, he had to kick it into high gear. They weren't going to have room in their TIE's for Daishi, so they would just have to wait for the rescue team. Come to think of it, they probably shouldn't have left their TIE's unguarded...

      Working their way back to the parked fighters, Chip marveled at the situation. Despite all the awful stress, he had actually met an Admiral! That was pretty cool. If only he could tell Sarah... Ah yes, another interesting train of thought. Unfortunately, if he thought about her too much he'd lose what little concentration he had left. Stop thinking about her? Hah! Was that even possible? Oh well, he needed to concentrate on getting back to his Interceptor alive. Of course, that was provided that the Rebel patrols hadn't found and captured the TIE's. Bah, darn mistake to leave them alone. Oh well, the milk was on the floor. No use worrying himself to death over it. My, how the mind chatters away in situations like this...

      Concentrate! The trio worked their way through several more yards of dense brush, and nearly broke into the clearing with the parked fighters. But only nearly broke through, as they immediately spotted the Rebel patrol waiting for them.

      "Damn," breathed Daishi. "Crewman, those your TIE's?"

      "Yes, sir. Looks like we aren't leaving with ease. How's your head, sir? Looks like a mild concussion?" asked Chippy. He was fairly concerned, because not only did he have to worry about Daishi's health, but everything he did would be under an admiral's scrutiny. Which, of course, made for a very worrisome day.

      "Can't think, can't shoot. You figure something out. Just don't let me sleep..." Daishi plopped down on the ground.

      Chip turned to Shazam. "Listen, you watch the Admiral. Stay low, and don't let him sleep. I don't know why, but that's what you're supposed to do when someone gets a concussion. They shouldn't sleep. I have no idea what to do about this yet. I'm probably going to try to sneak around and take 'em from the other side, lead them away from you two. Don't get in the TIE's yet, they're perfect targets. Just wait for the rescue team."

      Shazam nodded his assent, and Chip snuck off into the brush, wishing that he'd had more ground combat training.

 
-----------------------
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur in "First Knight."

"People like you are the reason people like me take medication." -Cool T-shirt

FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

    Gotta love that little moment...  :>  I'll be sure to check up on this story from now on.  I couldn't read the last version of it because it was a bit long.  But.  So is this.  Oh well.  Looking good.
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*
My Real Bebop: (=A=)

Much appreciated. More is coming, too, in increments. Wait till you see the end! Only then is the true secret of Chip's despair revealed!
 
-----------------------
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur in "First Knight."

"People like you are the reason people like me take medication." -Cool T-shirt

FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

    This is where the shotgun became so popular...  <
 
-----------------------
*Flash Was Here...*
My Real Bebop: (=A=)

Chapter 3

      A groan, a moan, and Chippy sat up. Oh man, did this battle ever suck! What was that, the second TIE that he had wrecked today? The fourth? He couldn't quite remember. His solar panel had been blasted off, and then? Something about ejecting... Yes, there was the ejection seat, five yards away. But that meant that Chip had already unstrapped himself and crawled out. How long had he been here? Damn befuddled brain. Concussion? No, just incredible trauma. Nothing broken? Wow, no major injuries, let alone actually being alive.

      Shazam. Where? Oh, sitting against a stump. He must have ejected, too. Lucky that they had landed together. Burned wreckage a ways off. Seats had done there jobs, carried Chip and Shazam far enough from the doomed TIE's that the Rebels hadn't found them yet. Rebels. Damn the Rebels. They'd stolen Sarah from him. Rob remembered the goodbye in the grove of trees, her pleading with him not to go. "Please? Stay with me?"

      I have to go, after what they did..." Chip grabbed his pounding head. "NOOO!"

      Shazam stirred. "Wha? Chip?"

      Then there had been the day that they had met...

      His friend Brain's voice. "You check out that gal in the red dress? Pretty, ain't she?"

      What? Brian wasn't here... How? "To tell you the truth, I was looking at her friend, in the  green."

      Shazam was shaking him. How had Shazam gotten here? Chip had been back at that camp, with Brian and Sarah. "Chipmunk? Chipmunk! Someone's coming..." Shazam was right someone was coming. Was it the rescue team? Rebels? No, it was Sarah, inviting him to the dance. The Victorian ball hosted by the camp. But Chip had been in a forest?

      He thanked God that he was in Viper squadron, as that extra elite-squad-member pay had gone towards a pilot pack and some dandy weapons. It was dark out, must have been early night by now. He had heard something on the comm. Systems earlier about a team on the ground. Who was in charge? That was right, it was JMac. JMac, the former training officer from the Naval Academy. Chip gripped his commlink. "Commander JMac, are you there, sir? Commander, this is LCRW Chipmunk Man. Sir, someone is sneaking up on my position, is it you? I don't want to shoot any friendlies... Sir?" No answer.

      Damn, he had to see! "Shazam, get down. Now. I'm gonna light things up a little." Chip didn't have much in the way of flares, but he did have a pair of white phosphorous grenades. He, nicknamed "willy-peter" bombs, these suckers made a bright flash, and threw a burning white powder all over the target area. He waited for another twig to snap, closer this time, and chucked the grenade.

      A crash, a flash of white light, and three Rebels were covered in burning willy-peter powder. Screams cut the night as Chippy and Shazam hightailed it for a new hiding spot. Chip gripped his weapons so tightly that his fingers hurt. Let's see, what was left? One more willy-peter, two fragmentation grenades, a DH-11 blaster pistol, and Chip's very special close combat weapon. He had never used his 8-gauge shotgun against a living target, but it turned paper and cardboard targets into mush. God help any Rebel stupid enough to attack.

      They were running, twirling away from the under brush that tried to snag them. Twirling, just like Chip and Sarah had done at the dance. How he loved the Virginia Reel! It involved smaller groups than other Victorian reels, six couples in two lines, gentlemen facing ladies. Yes, that was right, forward and back twice, then the head gentleman and bottom lady...

      "Chip! Chip, we should stay here, in this ditch. We can use it as a hiding spot and a trench. Chip? You okay?" Yes, yes. Good spot to hide. Chip gave Shazam a pat on the pack and sat down. He was glad that Shazam was here, he found himself starting like the kid. Sort of reminded Chip of his buddy, Gearhart. Making sure that the shotgun was fully loaded, he warned Shazam to stay away from the gun's muzzle.

      "This thing doesn't look like much, but it'll turn you into a misshapen burger patty." He tried to concentrate on watching the darkness, but couldn't, his head was swimming and spinning too much. Spinning, just like Chip's favorite part of the dance...

      The step that defined a dance as a "reel" was Chippy's favorite, called chaining-down-the-line." You gave your left hand to a person in the line, did a left-hand-turn, then gave your partner a right-hand-turn, and followed with another left turn to the next person in the line. You continued with left to the line, right to partner until you had spun your way from the top of the line all the way to the bottom. Sometimes it became very confusing, with the Snowball Reel even named for the fact that it resembled a blizzard. Sarah's dress was a shiny, shimmering blue, and in the soft light of the ballroom almost seemed to give off it's own light. The dress was a Victorian hoop skirt, and over her shoulders was some sort of lace that draped down. She was wearing very thin gloves, made of small, white yarn loosely knitted together.

      He remembered how the ballroom had looked that November night: the lighting, the people, the band. The room was pretty big, though Chip had always been horrible at estimating sizes and couldn't really say exactly how big. The dance floor itself was probably about the size of his old high school gym, with a large area around the walls devoted to dozens of tables. It was a big room, but hadn't been big enough, as the place was absolutely packed. There really wasn't enough room, and the ladies were having a heck of a time with their big hoop skirts. The lighting had left something to be desired. It was a dull yellow, sort of like when three of the four light bulbs in your bedroom were burnt out. But it didn't really matter much, as Chip wasn't exactly paying attention to the rest of the room. And why should he, when he was busy waltzing with such a pretty girl?

      The dance master could have been better, he took way too long to explain the steps of the various dances. He would spend what seemed like twenty minutes to describe the moves before the dance would start. Not that the people were paying attention to the poor guy, anyway. It was annoying, really, that the people would ignore the dance master, then complain when they didn't understand the dances. But again, Chip had something else holding his attention. He'd never seen this dress before. Before she had always worn a sort of foresty-green. When Chip thought about it, her dress was almost the same color as the uniform on the approaching Rebels...

      A blaster bolt, a scream, and Chippy fired. He fired twice more, found another target, and fired again. Buckshot shredded the underbrush, and a handful of short shrieks pierced the night. Shazam scrambled over the edge of the trench, paused to examine the bodies, and jumped back in.

      "Good Lord, Chip! That's a helluva gun! You blew one guys head clean off, and... Well, maybe not clean off, there's little tendrils and mushy stuff hanging off, but maybe I didn't need to tell you that, err, well, anyway, he's dead. And the other one is, well, he's..."

      "Disgusting?" sighed Chip.

      "Yeah! It's sicker than you could ever imagine. Good Lord, that gun's a nasty little thing. Really makes a roar, two. Where'd you get it?"

      "I dunno. Imperial Center? I dunno. I just wanna sleep..."
Bright lights filled his vision. More figures. Who? Stormtroopers. The rescue team! "You men, follow us! This planet is going to be bombarded! We have to leave, now!" Hands pulling him up into a transport. But all Chip could think about was rest. He closed his eyes, and was back among the blue wool uniforms and swishing hoop skirts.

*    *    *    *    *    *


 
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstien

"There is a certain kind of peace that can be found only on the other side of war." -Sean Connery as King Arthur in "First Knight."

"People like you are the reason people like me take medication." -Cool T-shirt

FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

    I'd have to say, this was one of the better parts of your writing.  The detail of the dances and such were pretty good.  Especially the way they managed to confuse themselves in with the story.  Nicely done, keep up the good work.
 
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*Flash Was Here...*
My Real Bebop: (=A=)

    Or hamburger patties...  Well...  maybe...
 
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*Flash Was Here...*
My Real Bebop: (=A=)

*Does a dance to "Get out of Denver by Bob Segar*
 
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*Flash Was Here...*
My Real Bebop: (=A=)

******

      "My God," Chippy though to himself, "they're actually letting me fly again!" After being rescued by an assault transport, he had been huddled in the lounge of the Atrus, dejectedly sipping SunDrop, and waiting to be summoned for his inevitable demotion for wrecking so many TIE's. Instead, he had been stuffed in another TIE as quickly as the medical teams considered possible. The grease monkeys were outfitting every fighter available with concussion missiles, and Chip could guess why. Rebel fighters were probably everywhere, and the Admiral wanted to fix that.

      As Chip waited for his own armament to be finished, he watched a very impatient Polaris crewman waiting to be loaded. The kid's insolence was amazing. "Yo wrench head, hurry the Hell up down there!" It didn't take long for wrenches to actually start flying at the pilot. Ha. The moron. You had to respect the people who took care of your fighter, and then they would take care of you.

      In any case, these missiles would make it easier to kill the Rebels. His mind drifting, Chippy thought about the little scrap with Rebels that he and Shazam had had on the surface. Good Lord it felt good, just knowing that he had gotten one of those freaks! Chip hadn't mutilated just any Rebel. No, it had been one from the list. That damned list pinned to his flight gear locker. When he had joined Imperial Navy, he hadn't expected to actually find any of the five men. But he had! He had fired his shotgun for more than just self defense. And he hadn't stopped at just one shot. The man had been dead from the first, but he'd poured three rounds into the freak. It was the tattoo that Chip had recognized. The odd tattoo on the Rebel's left cheek, a design that Sarah had described.

      She hadn't even wanted Chip to go. Had said that she didn't even care about the Rebel's, that what had happened didn't matter. But it had mattered to him! It really had mattered to her, but Chip didn't understand what she was trying to tell him. She had needed him there with her, not out trying to get revenge. But God, he couldn't just sit there, not after what had happened to her! And despite the statistical problems with finding five men in the entire galaxy, he'd managed to cross the first man off his list. Heh. Four more to go.

      The mechanic gave Chip's top hatch a pat. "You're all set, pal. Good luck out there."

      "Thanks, man. If that Polaris kid gives you any more trouble, just chuck a few more wrenches at him."

      "Ha! Will do..."

******

      Most of the New Republic fighters were X-wings, with a smattering of suicidal Z-95's. The Z-95's were quickly smacked apart by the missiles, and sent scrambling back to the hangars. The X-wings preformed better, as they had more maneuverability and could evade the missiles somewhat. And the Y-wings, while providing themselves as slow, easy targets, had heavy hulls and shields that helped them survive a single a missile hit. But Chip found that if he linked his warhead launchers, a pair of missiles could deliver the desired effect. Granted, he occasionally still had to close with his target and finish it with cannons when one missile missed, but that was easy enough with Y-wings.

      Chip ducked under a flight of TIE bombers, probably from Kaph squadron. He could see a lone TIE Advanced trying to dodge away from a trio of Y-wings. The odd thing was that the Y-wings were trying to disable the Advanced with ion cannons. Jeez, if the rebs captured the pilot, there was no telling what kinds of horrible forms of torture they would use. "This is Viper 1-4 to Polaris pilot. I'm coming to give you a hand with those Y-wings, just hang on a minute."

      "Chip? That you? Holy crap man, help! These guys are all over me!" That was Shazam's voice! Chip moved in behind the lead rebel. If he could drive off the leader, the other two might follow suit. Worst case scenario was probably having the leader break off, and the two wingmen staying on course. Then the leader would be free to swing around and catch Chip in the rear, while the other two could keep pounding Shazam. Chip needed to get lucky and drive them all off at once.

      Chip switched to his torpedoes. A pair straight into the middle ought to do the trick. His targeting reticule glowed yellow. Stang, no time! Chip had to do it now! He brought the nose of his Interceptor up, leading the targeting reticule just in front of the lead rebel. That should be just about the right distance...

      He fired. Two blue torpedoes lanced out, gliding towards the lead Y-wing. They were about twenty yards behind, closing to ten, five... The rebel fired one last burst of ion fire, just at the moment when the torpedoes slammed into the Y-wing's left engine. Only one torpedo actually hit, and the explosion of the first torpedo detonated the second in the empty space between the two engines. The blast blew both engines off the fuselage, splitting the NR craft like a wishbone. Chip almost chuckled at the sight of the cockpit spiraling past the other rebels. Served the stupid rebel right.

      But only one of the wingmen broke off. Chip had to follow suit, or the guy would have cut in behind and shot Chip as well. The remaining Y-wing fired another volley of ION's at Shazam. Why ION's? The bolts hit Shazam's wings, frying the electrical system and leaving the craft helpless. Crap! Well, at least he was disabled, and not dead. The same couldn't be said for Chip. Now the Y-wing who had broken off was trying to get a missile lock on Chip, while the second was sending cannon fire his way. Chip was so caught up in dodging that at first he didn't realize what was happening to Shazam.
 
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FL/PO2 Chipmunk Man/Kaph 3-1/Phoenix/mSSD Atrus/DEF/VEN/VE/(=A=)[LoC][MC:1]

Explorer Post 1863 photos - - Explorer Post 1863 Main Site - - Co. D 62nd PA Volunteer Infantry

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