X-WING

　For a few days things were quiet, as the technicians wiped the R2 units clean and checked all of them out. Hamo and I spent some time in the pilot's lounge talking about old times and playing Horansi, a particularly ruthless card game that was becoming popular among the Rebel pilots.
　Hamo had a badly sprained wrist from the incident with the R2, but he was in good enough spirits, even if he couldn't fly for a while.
　While we took our leisure, the High Command was busy, and Hamo and I were called into a private briefing with Commander S'man on our first shift, three days later.
　"Several of our phase goals have been accomplished," Commander S'man was telling us. "Now we are ready to proceed with the fifth of our stated goals - namely, to help the Sullustans resist Imperial oppression. It's time we give them a reason to join the Alliance.
　"We have discovered a secret operation that has been transporting important Sullustan prisoners from their home world to the Imperial capital; no doubt for interrogation, torture, and servitude. In four hours, we will launch a rescue operation as the prisoners are shuttled to a waiting Imperial Frigate. If successful, this mission should obtain widespread support for us on Sullust, and hopefully the Alliance will gain a powerful new ally in support of our cause."
　The commander looked down at us then, as though assessing our worth, before continuing.
　"We want to keep this mission quiet for now. There's a significant risk that, if we send in too many ships, the Imperials will kill the prisoners. We've decided that one pilot in a Y-wing should begin the rescue attempt, and we'll send in rescue transports after the shuttles carrying the prisoners have been disabled. It's a risky undertaking, and I tell you that I was opposed to it."
　The commander checked a wrist display and then looked down at me.
　"Failure could be disastrous. Remember that, Farlander. Be ready at 04:15," he said.
　"Me!" I asked, somewhat incredulously.
　S'man looked amused. "That's right: You. We've seen your ability to assess a situation, and then take the appropriate action under extreme pressure. This will be tougher than anything you've accomplished so far, but we think you're the right choice. And Blastwell!"
　"Sir!" Hamo replied.
　"You go over the mission plan with Farlander, and make sure that he knows everything you know. Check!"
　"Check," Hamo told him. "Come on, Keyan. And don't worry. It'll be fine."

　OP 8: Rescue Sullustan Tech Staff

　File Name: attack3
　Mission Briefing
　In an attempt to win the support of the Sullustans, you will lead an effort to rescue Sullustan prisoners held onboard Imperial transports.
　Farlander's After-Action Report
　I dropped out of hyperspace behind a large formation of a dozen transports, the nearest less than two clicks away and to my left. A pair of Nebulon-B Frigates, about 12.5 clicks away, launched two TIE fighters approximately 30 seconds after I arrived on the scene.
　A performed my normal mission-start sequence, and then checked the Inflight Map to see how the transports were deployed. Most of them were on the right side of an extended vic formation. I targeted the rearmost ship on the right, which put me in a good position to move up the line quickly, identifying each transport in turn. I set my speed down to about 40 as I worked my way through the formation.
　I switched to ion cannons, but held fire until I had finished my identification run. I figured that shooting at them now would just make them take evasive action, which would make my job more difficult. For now, they were just continuing on course without reacting to my presence, and I didn't want to do anything to change the situation.
　A flew through the entire formation, keeping my speed under control so that I wouldn't collide with one of the slow-moving transports. I came very close to each transport so that my Y-wing's weak sensors could ID the craft. When I located a transport with prisoners, I assigned it a memory location. I proceeded until I had checked all the transports, discovering that only two of them were carrying prisoners.
　When I was sure that I had found all the prisoners, I switched to torpedoes and fired one torpedo into the second prisoner transport to weaken its shields. After that, I switched to ions to disable it, which took only two supercharged dual-fire blasts.
　Immediately I called up the other prisoner transport from memory and looped back to give it the same treatment. I did my best to disable them close to each other to make it easier to offer protection while the rescue operation began. I located Rescue 1 and Rescue 2 in the CMD and assigned them to my two unused memory locations. I wanted to check their status quickly in case I missed any messages about them.
　Next, I called up the nearest TIE Interceptors, realizing that if they were still far enough away (at least six clicks), I could take out the Zeta group, which handled themselves like novice pilots. I kept watching the approach of T/I groups Alpha and Beta, though, knowing that TIE Interceptors were rarely flown by novices and that they represented a real threat.
　I finished off the Zeta TIEs quickly, but stayed near the transports as Alpha and Beta closed in. I used torpedoes to take out the leaders from a distance, and then engaged with my cannons to finish the wingmen. This tactic was pretty much the same one I had used previously with good results.
　I noticed that a new wave of T/Is was launched as I destroyed the first. After Alpha and Beta were destroyed, I waited until the rescue mission was complete and Rescue 1 and Rescue 2 made it into hyperspace. When the Mission Complete message flashed on, I hypered out as well.
　Debriefing (Win Conditions)
　TRN Lambda 4 and TRN Omicron 5 must be boarded by Rescue 1 and Rescue 2, which then must survive.
　Mission Note: Toward the beginning of this mission, the CMD dispLays two TIE fighters from group Zeta when queried, but they are Novices, so ignore them unless they become a problem. Also, notice that the briefing is misleading, because you do not have to destroy any of the transports.
　There are two groups of six transports, and the ones carrying the prisoners are always number 4 in the first group and number 5 in the second. At the start of the mission, you can cycle forward through the target list to the fourth transport, assign it to a memory location, then cycle forward seven more times and assign that one to a memory location. Go after this one first, and then carry on as just described.
　You can get a maximum score by killing the disabled transports, (after the prisoners have been rescued, of course) and all the other transports, as well. Then fire at least one blast at each Frigate to get them to launch additional TIE Interceptors for more target practice. There are 80 TIEs in all, and they are Top Aces.

　I arrived at the hangar on the Independence just as the rescued Sullustan prisoners were being escorted from the shuttles. With their wide eyes blinking in the bright light, they seemed momentarily disoriented, but quickly began chattering to themselves in high-pitched voices, looking around and pointing at various ships and other features in the hangar.
　Another Sullustan came up to the group. He was dressed in Rebel uniform, and I recognized him as a navigator aboard the Independence. The Rebel Sullustan greeted the newcomers in their language, and they fell silent as he gave some sort of speech. Then they all began talking at one time.
　I was turning toward the exit, on my way to report for debriefing, when I heard my name called in a sibilant, high voice.
　"Lieutenant Farlander? Sir!"
　I turned, and saw the Independence navigator facing me, his large, coal-black eyes unblinking and his oversized ears twitching slightly. Behind him stood the entire group of Sullustan prisoners, likewise favoring me with their disconcerting gazes. Once before, I had met the navigator, a very mild, kindly being whose name I never could figure out how to pronounce. But now I would have to do my best. I saluted.
　"Lieutenant Commander Chiithii'n," I answered.
　"Lieutenant, my friends from Sullust wish to thank you personally for your role in securing their rescue from the Empire. They want you to know that, if you should ever happen to visit our home planet, they will feast you on the choicest drutash grubs from the deepest caverns of Sullust, and bathe you in our most caustic green mud from the hot springs at Piringiisi."
　Unsure how to respond, I gave a half bow. They came up to me, touching my face with their delicate fingers and speaking very broken Basic. Finally, an officer from protocol came with a droid who spoke to them in their language. They all laughed and followed the officer after waving good-bye to me. I hurried to meet Commander Lagrane and complete my belated debriefing.
　For two weeks we flew routine missions while negotiations took place between the leaders of Sullust and the Rebel High Command. Finally, a summit meeting was arranged. Hamo was at last ready for action again, and we were assigned to fly Combat Space Patrol for the event.