"General Hux." The communications officer called from the command deck doorway. Hux turned, and the officer continued. "Our communications systems are down. Once they got the pilots they took out the consol, weapons are also down according to Officer Bleakley."
"They are going to return, and they've made sure that we couldn't defend ourselves. Begin preflight checks, bypass anything that is non critical, and get us off this planet." Hux ordered, and instead of moving, the officer stood in shock. "Is there a problem Captain Dur'rak?" Hux nearly growled, and the young man paled.
"Sir... none of us are pilots." The full realization of that sentence hit you, and your eyes met Hux's almost at the same moment as his mouth curled in a seer.
Hux climbed the ladder before him almost instantly, his arms basically throwing up him up the four feet to the sitting area. You followed behind him, your eyes scanning the area as he again climbed up into the command deck. The two engineers were huddled around the consol, trying to figure out what was salvageable enough to establish a connection with the flagship. From the look of the consol, and their faces, it wasn't promising. Hux examined the damage and the sneer hadn't left his face. You, on the other hand, made your way outside via the ramp, glancing around at the sky above you.
To your horror, four black spots appeared through the clouds, and suddenly the sound of X-wings had you running back up the ramp. "Sir! Resistance fighters! Four of them!" You yelled, and Hux turned to you in surprise before he looked out the visor of the ship, face falling into a serious frown.
"Fire up, and get those shields online!" He commanded before dropping down into the sitting area and pulling out his blaster. "(L/n), can you fly this?" Hux asked, as he looked out the ramp at the fast approaching ships.
You glanced at the complicated controls of the command shuttle, along with the second seat. This thing required two highly trained pilots. You were one, moderately trained Tie-Pilot. You took a breath and squared your shoulders. "Not alone sir." you replied honestly. He nodded.
"Then you won't be alone. Start the pre-flight tests. Ensure the shields are activated and get us in the air." You didn't have time to think about what he said before you responded with a yes general, and made your way to the cockpit, setting yourself in the seat and flicked the required controls to get the engines running. You leaned over the consol, stretching to reach the toggle for the shields, your finger had only just barely reached it, powering up the defenses before the first shot was fired from the X-wing fighters. The ship rocked with the barely protected blast, and you grit your teeth as sparks flew from the blasted controls and singed your skin through your uniform.
As you began the checks, a beeping drew your attention to the display to your left. "Shit!" You yelled, the warning for the intake valve almost mocking you from its position. You threw off the headset you had put on and jumped from the cockpit. Hux called your name from his position by the door with the others, all of them defending what little amount they could with their blasters, but in the interest of time, you ignored him, jumping down to the engine room hatch.
"Sorry Major." You mumbled, pushing the body away from you and off of the hatch, before you wrenched it open and slipped down into the cramped crawlspace. The heat from the room blasted you in the face and you covered your nose at the stench of Fathier dung. "Kriffing kids." You swore, as you instantly knew what it was that the children had thrown into the intake.
It was suddenly obvious that simply pulling something out of the intake was not going to cut it, and instead you would have to bypass the sensor long enough to get the ship in the air. Maintenance would have one hell of a time trying to clean that, quite literal, shit, out of the engine. When you made it to the control panel, your cold fingers turned the screws to release the covering, then sorted through the wires to find the one connected to the intake.
Chapter 3
Start from the beginning
