Raeth was an ocean of green and blue with pinpricks of gold and silver from high orbit. The gold-white light of the distant supergiant star bathed the planet in light, making it seem as a jewel in the void. It had been three months since leaving Taris, the Triumphant having completed a short tour of the mid rim before returning to the capital with its escort fleet. Val stood behind Korta on the bridge as the Knight spoke with the Triumphant's Captain, Neza Derrosk. She was calmly explaining to the Knight that some of her Crewman had come down with sickness after the final stop on Kuat.
Korta waved her concerns away, "They caught some jumper bug carousing on leave." he said without the slightest regard. Val shared a knowing smile with Kavos, jumper bugs were a well known euphemism for a certain category of diseases contracted in questionable locales, with questionable partners. He looked reflexively to Chiko, but she was below, training with another of the Knights. Her absence was discomforting to Val, but after their previous encounter he knew she needed time. Resisting the urge to seek her out was difficult, but necessary. If they were going to make it through their apprenticeship, they would need to face certain things apart.
He turned his attention back to the conversation. "-dless I am sending the affected crewmen down first under quarantine." The Captain said, "I will not be known as the idiot that lost her ship because she didn't take an unknown pathogen seriously."
Korta looked ready to burst with rage. "Damn it Neza I've got an appointment with a dear friend that I cannot-" the Captain held up a hand. "Master Tibrenn-" she interjected, addressing Korta, "-I will ensure that your shuttle departs at the earliest possible slot, but I must see to the ship's crew before other considerations." Her eyes narrowed at the man, "If you wish to overrule me, I will follow the order under duress."
The threat was implicit, if Korta invoked his authority and the sickness turned out to be something more dangerous than it seemed all blame would fall squarely on his shoulders, not her own. Korta turned to Val and smiled, "Always listen to a good officer my boy, even ones so insufferably deliberate as Captain Derrosk." He said making a rude gesture as he did. Derrosk was unfazed, turning her attention back to the command displays.
Korta took a few steps away from her toward the exit, "Come on boys, let's not bother the Captain further." He was already nearly out of the bridge by the time Val and Kavos caught up to him. Val was confused about something, "Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why is the Captain only sending down a single shuttle at a time?" Val asked. Korta didn't break stride as he responded. "All Navy ships are restricted in this way when attempting to enter Raeth." He explained. "There have been attempts to seize power by certain ambitious officers in the past. This measure limits the possible subterfuge by restricting how many personnel can be unloaded in one lift."
Val understood, but did not like the implications suggested. "The Emperor is that wary of his own?" Val asked. Korta laughed, "The Emperor had no part in that particular measure." He turned, giving Val a serious look, "The Imperial Knights implemented it in the best interest of the Imperial seat." This was shocking to Val, Korta had just tacitly admitted that the Order of Knights could overrule the Imperial seat if they deemed it necessary.
He didn't respond, looking to Kavos for his take. His companion didn't seem affected by the revelation and so Val wondered if he was the only person aboard who hadn't grasped that fundamental truth before. The thought was not comforting and immediately changed how he viewed his chosen profession. They weren't just peacekeepers, they were peacemakers and the difference therein was disturbing. Korta made directly for the officer's mess, which was accessible to Knights and Nobles at all hours. Val had tried to avoid imposing himself upon the staff, as he knew that some of his peers were not as sensible.
There were a few off-duty low and mid-grade officers milling about, as well as a solitary Knight that Val recognized immediately. Aslin Malo huddled into the corner of the corner booth farthest from the serving area, nursing a glass of some pungent concoction native to his world. A crown of horns sprouted from his golden scalp and a smile developed as Korta moved toward him. Malo, as Val had learned a few days after his seclusion ended, was one of the better sparring partners he and Chiko had faced. He was also a former student of Korta.
"You'll keel over any second now old man, I can sense it." Malo said, closing his eyes and holding out a hand, taking on a mocking fortune-tellers warble. Korta moved past him, rolling his eyes, to the serving droid. "Well I'd better drink while I can then." The older man said, typing his order into the datapad. The droid bobbed affirmatively, then it's arms spun on its cylindrical torso and selected the necessary components. "Especially in such dreadful company." He said, turning toward Malo.
"You're getting grouchy in your old age." Malo said with a faux-injured slant. He looked toward Val, "Grouchy, yeah? That's a good description?" He asked Val. Val nodded, not expecting to be included, "You've got him." He replied.
Malo chuckled then gestures toward the other seats. "I hear you have a few hours to wait." Malo said, looking to Korta, a knowing smile spreading across his face. Korta shook his head, "No Malo, I'm too old and distinguished for the kind of day drinking you manage." Korta said, some professional disdain in his voice. The rules for Knights were slightly looser than their Navy counterparts, but their actions drew more scrutiny of a different kind.
"I manage pretty well, have a high tolerance but I'm not inviting you to drink old friend." He said, giving Val a dismissive nod. Val looked to Korta, whom nodded affirmatively, "Go review the historical lesson I've prepared, Kavos should be able to help." Val smiles at that, he'd already completed the task. "Yes Master." He said, giving Kavos a "let's get out of here" expression.
Malo must not have known about Val's gift. As he and Kavos left the mess headed toward the recreation sections below, Val listened closely for the fading voices of his Master and Malo. By the time he was unable to discern them from the background noise, Val had learned what he'd intended to discover. Zyllovan a world at the edge of the Empire was spiraling out of control and Malo wanted to know if the rumors he'd heard were true. "Is the Emperor considering an invasion?" Malo asked, some excitement at the prospect of conflict. Val didn't hear Korta's reply, the old man too cagey to allow him such an easy answer.
Kavos noticed Val's expression, "What is it?" He asked, concern apparent in his voice. Val wondered if sharing the information with him would get one or both of them in trouble. Something within told him that Kavos could be trusted. He looked at his friend seriously, "Have you ever been in a battle?" Val asked. Kavos was a year or two older than Val, if his career was on track.
"Not directly, no." Kavos answered frankly, "The Triumphant does not invite an attack." He added with a smile. Val shared his mirth, that was most certainly true for an Empire at peace, but if there was war the Triumphant would be at the forefront. "Well I think that may change if I heard what Malo said correctly." His implication overt without outright stating his observation. Kavos' reaction surprised Val, his smile seemed to widen, "Truly? Well brilliant then, a good war will certainly advance our respective standings." He said, seemingly imagining the victory parade.
Val suppressed an urge to correct him, knowing it would not convince him of the truth. "Yes, it most certainly will." Val said, his voice leaking with derision. Kavos gave him a curious look. Val shrugged, not knowing what to say at first. "Surely you agree it is the quickest way to advance." Kavos said, Val sensing his deepest desire. Kavos had great ambition and talent, but had yet to face the true cost that such would demand. He was not malevolent or selfish in his desire, simply pragmatic and Val could understand that longing, though he did not share his friend's zeal.
"I will do as the Emperor commands, as is my duty." Val said, giving a variation of a statement he'd seen his father use to great effect. Kavos rolled his eyes as he laughed, "A politician's son." He said. Val shrugged, "You asked a political question." Kavos nodded, "Yes I suppose I did." He looked away from Val, his mind pondering something Val did not pick up. "So... where will this war occur?" Kavos asked, his expression turning serious again.
"Zyllovan, I think he said." Val had never heard of the planet, assuming it to be a backwater. Kavos' expression told him immediately that this was not the case. "The resort world?" He asked incredulously, "My family visited a few times when I was very young." He said, confusion apparent on his face. "What in the galaxy would we invade a planet like Zyllovan for? There's nothing there but beautiful views and clear water." Kavos said, his voice distant, contemplating the strange circumstances.
"Maybe I misheard them." Val added, his own mind turning. "Or maybe it's a political problem of some kind." He continued, making an educated guess. They were at the turbolift now. Kavos stopped a few steps short, "I'm going to consult the ship archives, do you mind if I use your credentials?" Kavos asked bluntly. Val smirked, "Are you allowed to-?" Kavos cut him off with a wave of the hand, "You're right, better that you know nothing about it." Kavos confident smile gave Val an uneasy feeling. The ensign turned and strode away, headed for his stated destination.
Val had planned to stop by the rec-deck but felt that doing so alone would be pretty silly. He keyed the turbolift to return to his quarters. A few moments later the lift arrived headed but was headed toward the hangar section. Val realized he'd keyed in the wrong number as the door opened. He was about to apologize when he came face to face with Chiko, his words catching in his throat. "Sor- oh it's you." He said with some surprise. She gave him a puzzled look, then smiled. "Are you bored?" She asked, knowing he was.
"That really depends on your next question." He replied, getting a disturbing but jovial vibe from his fellow apprentice. "Kavos told me that we won't be heading planet side for at least four hours." She said, waving him aboard. He did so, standing next to her and facing the doorway as the lift began to move. "I can't stay on this blasted ship a moment longer." She said with notable mania. He felt very much the same, it had been far too long since he'd stood on solid ground.
"So what's the plan?" He asked with a playful smile, "Hijack a shuttle and blast our way to the surface?" He added in a mocking tone. She returned his tone as she responded, "That's a great plan actually." She began, exaggerating a contemplative look by putting her thumb and index finger to her chin. She dropped the act, "No, I wanted to get some flight time in." She said with an almost giddy tone. Val squinted, disbelieving, "Flight time? In what?" He asked. She tilted her head as if he were simple, "A Z-80 of course." She said, referring to the Imperial Standard Superiority StarFighter.
"I've never flown outside of a simulator." He stated with some dread. Val had not taken to flying during his short stint behind the controls of a simulated fighter craft, in fact the thought of getting behind the controls of the real thing made him slightly sick.
Chiko looked at him with a perplexed squint, then smirked. "Here I was thinking you weren't afraid of anything anymore." She said with the haughty air that had been absent during their isolation. She was infuriating in this state. Val grimaced, "Not afraid, just not entirely prepared, I hadn't intended to-" she interrupted him with a yawn. "Gods you are boring." She said. He couldn't help but to laugh, "Can't you be nice to me for just a minute?" He said jokingly. "I mean, here I am with a juicy secret and you won't let me-"
"Secret?" She asked. His smile widened, he had found the magic word. Given their previous involuntary exchange of information, secrets between them were currently in short supply. "What secret?" She pressed, Val could feel her pushing at the edges of his mind. He pushed back and she relented on that front. "Well you've got to be nice to me first." He said with an accusing look.
"Not a chance Val." She said, looking back toward the door. It opened a moment later, revealing a crowded hallway alive with activity. Chiko rushed forward and to his own surprise Val found himself following her. What was he doing? He most definitely did not want to do as she suggested, but he also very much did. Unable to reconcile his two minds it seemed that his body had chosen the latter.
It was a short walk to fighter control. The deck officer was an older man, a Major, his uniform covered in decorations from earlier in his career. From what Val saw, the former pilot had been quite something in those days. Chiko approached the officer who spared the two a dubious glance. "I'd like to get some flight time in." Chiko stated, more a declaration than a request. The deck officer smiled as he turned from the control panel.
His face bore a burn scar from right cheek bone to his jaw on the same side, attesting to the accolades Val had supposed of the man earlier. The Imperial Navy was quite good at handling such injuries, so any wound that left a scar like that would have been from a very high energy source. Val guessed that the man had been grazed by a blaster bolt that had penetrated his craft or something similar. He took special care to pay attention to the man as he spoke.
"I assume you're the old man's students." The deck officer said dismissively. "He told me to make my craft available to you." He narrowed his eyes at Chiko, "But if you try anything stupid with my ships I'll overrule him." The officer said seriously. "Now I need you to fill out these requisition forms." He said, grabbing two data pads from a rack to his right. "Just put your credentials in there, reason as 'Training'." Chiko snatched the first datapad, setting to it with a roll of her eyes. Val suppressed an urge to laugh as she grew more frustrated with the bureaucratic mire that was the Imperial Navy.
"I'll deploy a flight of bots for you to punch on." The officer said, returning to his control panel. "Keep your weapons on low yield, I want to keep as many of them intact as possible." He added, giving Chiko a disparaging look. A moment later Val watched as two Z-80I superiority starfighters were lowered from storage bays by grav-lift. The angular starfighter was a Kuat creation, functional and sleek, in its "I" or Interceptor configuration it sported a pair of homing torpedo pods.
The officer beckoned for them to follow, moving out of the shielded deck command post and pointing out the craft. "This is what I've got free at the moment, no astromechs available, so don't break anything or we'll have to come get you." He pulled up a datapad, "When you're finished up you can land in any bay, just tell them Major Fel will take care of it." He said with a smile. "Good hunting kids." He said before turning to walk away. A couple of support staff and maintenance droids moved in to do final checks on the craft. A pair of crewmen arrived and handed both Val and Chiko a flightsuit and helmet. The suits fit over their uniform and within moments both were squared away for flight.
Val's heart hammered incessantly as he climbed into his fighter and began running through final prep. Chiko was finished moments after descending into the seat, but Val took longer. She waited for him, to his surprise, though didn't make it easy on him. "Let's go already!" She said through their flightcomm, which was mercifully separate from the general comms being monitored by starfighter command. Val cursed himself for not putting his foot down, the sudden confrontation of his fears causing him to hyperventilate.
"I- I'm set." He said, sounding as calm as he could manage. Chiko laughed over the film, "Sure you are." She said, raising from the deck. "Follow me, we'll do a few laps of the ship to warm up." She commanded. Great. Val thought, Rookie pilot crashes into carrier ship on first flight. His mind said, imagining the worst possibility. Chiko seemed to pick up on that, "You'll be fine Val." She said in a calm tone. "We'll keep it slow until you get attuned to it." She added reassuringly, then turned to move out of the bay. Val grabbed the stick and throttled up, his craft slowly raising to follow her own.
She passed through the life support shielding, then accelerated in a right hand turn toward the front point of the Triumphant. Val pursued at his own pace, the nauseous feeling he'd experienced in the simulator now back and striking him in full force. He tried to slow his breathing, letting instincts guide him. As he exited the ship, pushing through the shield he turned his ship to chase Chiko. She was well ahead now, but moving slowly as she'd promised. Val accelerated to catch up to her, falling into form behind her somewhat shakily. "I really hate you right now." he said, not meaning it literally.
"It's a good skill to have, even if you don't like it." She said seriously. Val knew that was true, but the nausea didn't cease just because his mind knew it was important. "Just relax and let your eyes and instincts guide you, if you fly with your mind you'll get overwhelmed." She said, beginning to slowly accelerate as they approached the forefront of the ship. Val moved to follow, focusing on her ship and the Triumphant, it helped some. "Okay... okay I think I'm getting it." he said, the nausea beginning to fade. They made a sharp right at the front, heading toward the rear of the ship.
"Incoming!" Chiko said suddenly, "He's sending the bots at us." she added, turning away from the Triumphant abruptly. Val followed, checking his instruments for the incoming craft's vector. They were approaching from ahead and above. Val looked to the indicated direction, seeing the small mock-fighters approaching quickly. "We're going to split them, you go left I'll go right, make them chase our tails." She ordered. Val prepared himself for the maneuvers, "Got it." he said, perceiving her plan.
She broke right suddenly, Val going hard left immediately after. Bolts of energy zipped past his cockpit as the enemy began their attack run. He continued turning, searching for Chiko and her pursuing craft. She found him first, soaring past him with her blasters blazing. "Got one." she said as an enemy blinked off of Val's instruments. He took a few shots at one of the three craft pursuing her, but didn't score a hit. "You've got three on you." Val said as calmly as he could. "Two on you." she replied.
Val broke for the Triumphant, "I'm going to bring them up over the deck, when I-" she interrupted him, sensing his intent. "Got it." she said calmly. He punched forward at max speed, flying beneath the Triumphant. His craft was much faster than the training craft and they lagged behind. As he reached the other end of the ship, he pulled upward. A moment later his opponents followed, only to be met by Chiko, who scored hits on both of them, but only "destroyed" one. Val turned to take her pursuers head-on, scoring a "killing" hit on one. "I got one!" he said with a laugh.
"Great! Now hurry up and get the rest!" she said, taking on evasive rolls and jukes as the enemy sprayed fire at her. Val came around, accelerating toward the dogfight occurring. He could feel it now, the flux of instinct and the force. He surrendered to it, allowing himself to be a semi-observer to his own actions. The attack vector was perfect, coming in from a high angle with clear shots on both craft. He squeezed the trigger, spewing bolts of energy into both craft and watching them spiral off, "destroyed". He executed a decelerating loop, falling into form next to Chiko, "All down." he said with a gleeful laugh. He looked to her cockpit, she looked back, giving him a thumbs-up. "Good work." she said. "Want to go again?" Val smiled widely, "Let's go." he responded, the sickness and hesitation supplanted by the sheer thrill and freedom of flight.