X-WING

　"Well, now we know why the Imperial attack on the summit was so feeble," said Hamo, bursting into my cabin unannounced.
　Looking up from the holo novel I was enjoying, I asked, "What do you mean!"
　"Look, kid: Didn't you wonder why the Empire would send a Star Destroyer after the meeting and then launch some bunny pilots at us? It was just a diversion!"
　"Diversion? For what? Cut to the dogfight, Hamo."
　"They got the Sullustan leader. While we were out there meeting with the delegation, stormtroopers kidnapped the Sullustan leader."
　I was dumbfounded, and I think it showed.
　"So what are you waiting for, rookie!" said Hamo. "Let's go!"
　"Hey," I called as I followed him out the door. "Where are we going? And who are you calling a rookie!"

　OP 10: Rescue Sullustan Leader

　File Name: ack-hard
　Mission Briefing
　The Empire has kidnapped the Sullustan leader, and you must rescue him in order to secure Sullust as an ally of the Rebellion. You will drop out of hyperspace about three clicks behind a formation of five Imperial shuttles, escorted by a half-dozen TIE fighters. They are on their way to the Star Destroyer Invincible, 22 clicks distant. With your Y-wing, you must identify and disable the shuttle with the Sullustan leader. You are accompanied by a pair of X-wings.
　Farlander's After-Action Report
　Well, I'm not sure why I got to fly the Y-wing while Hamo got an X-wing. Maybe it had something to do with my success when I rescued the prisoners. Whatever the reason, I had the task of identifying and disabling the shuttle with the Sullustan leader in it.
　I began my standard start sequence, but dropped throttle to two-thirds and switched to lasers. A quick survey of the CMD showed that TIE fighter group Alpha was about to turn and attack me, and I let them, taking out one in a head-on pass. Then I switched to torpedoes, as the remaining T/Fs continued past me, and fired one torpedo at each shuttle - not to destroy them, of course, only to weaken their shields.
　Now I noticed that some shuttles turned to fight back; clearly not the ones with the prisoner. I reselected my lasers and took them out. The one remaining shuttle was the one I had to disable, and it was still on course for the Invincible.
　So that I wouldn't lose it, I targeted it in the CMD and assigned it to a memory location, using the Wotan Weave as I closed in because the remaining TIEs from group Gamma were on my tail. Some TIE Interceptors from group Beta seemed to want to join in as well, but I couldn't take time to fight them yet. I had to disable the shuttle before it got too close to the Invincible.
　After switching to ion cannons and checking that they were on dual-fire, I disabled the shuttle as soon as I was in range, then switched back to lasers.
　The Alliance shuttle Rescue 1 jumped in when the shuttle was disabled. Now I had to protect both shuttles until the mission was complete and the Sullustan leader had escaped into hyperspace.
　I brought up Rescue 1 in the CMD and assigned it to the next memory location. At the same time, I checked the computer and noticed a new TIE Interceptor group, Delta. I targeted Delta 1 and assigned it to a memory location, and then I turned my attention to the TIEs nearest the shuttle. I concentrated on T/I Beta group as my highest priority, determined to eliminate them before T/I Delta came into range.
　Next, I brought up Delta 1 in the CMD, and switched to torpedoes - I had three left - and fired as soon as I could lock on, one for each Interceptor. They avoided engaging me, going instead toward Rescue 1, so I was able to get good shots.
　If I had missed with any of the torpedoes, I would have had to redirect all my shield power to the engines, and set the cannon recharge rate to one step above normal, in order to catch up with them and still be able to keep firing.
　As soon as these Interceptors were destroyed, the Invincible launched more of them. I turned toward the next wave, reset the shield recharge rate to normal, and began transferring cannon power to the shields until the shields were fully charged again. This time I had to engage the new wave of T/I Delta with lasers. Again, I redirected all shield energy to my engines in order to keep up with them.
　The good news was that as I eliminated this group, Rescue 1 had also gotten the job done. I received the Mission Complete message after the shuttle had jumped to hyperspace. With the shuttle gone, the Interceptors homed in on me, and I decided to stick around and shoot them up, even though the mission was over.
　Debriefing (Win Conditions)
　SHU Kappa 5 must be boarded, and SHU Rescue 1 must survive.
　Mission Note: As you cycle through the target list, the last shuttle of the five is the one with the Sullustan leader. Stay back about 1.5 clicks from the group, and fire off two torpedoes at each of the other four shuttles. They won't turn to engage you unless you get within one click, so you can eliminate them without having to dogfight. You will still have a tough time with the TIE Interceptors, of course, but try to stay between the Rescue shuttle and the Invincible, and follow the procedure just given for dealing with the second wave of T/I Delta.

　Lagrane was characteristically dour, even following missions that went exceptionally well. Oh, the occasional smirk would force itself onto his lips, like a brief distortion of time and space, but today his expression was especially linear, almost as though he were holding back emotions following some great tragedy. I wondered what could have gone wrong, and a hundred catastrophes burst forth, full-blown in my imagination. I sat and did not dare speak.
　I think that he held the moment as long as he could, and then, finally, he broke into a great smile, a very un-Lagrane sort of thing that frightened me almost more than the tragic look, and said;
　"Welcome back, Captain Farlander."
　He held in his hand a set of captain's epaulets, and proffered them to me.
　I took the patches from his hand and stared at them.
　"Thanks," I said.
　I couldn't really think of anything else. I wondered briefly what being a captain would do to me, and whether anything would change, but I was tired after the strain of the past few missions, and, making a few quick excuses, I made my way out of the debriefing room and into the corridor.
　Of course, my retreat into solitude was not to be. Hamo was there with a few friends: Jan-lo, Gart, and a surprise.
　"Hey, kid: Not bad," Hamo said, slapping me on the back and then standing back for a crisp salute, which prompted me to blush and pull his hand down. He pretended to struggle with me, throwing a few shadow punches that I blocked ineptly. I was amused, even touched, but my attention kept returning to the figure standing back just a little from the others. After a few more moments of joking and small talk, I excused myself and walked over to her.
　"Lynia."
　"Captain."
　She half smiled and her eyes twinkled with azure and aquamarine. Like gemstones, her eyes seemed to change color from different angles. I was in danger of becoming lost in them. I mentally shook myself awake.
　"I thought that I would never see you again."
　"I promised to come visit you, didn't I!"
　"But it's been..."
　"I've been gone," she interrupted. "With Mon Mothma. We just got back to the Independence today. But I've been hearing about you. It seems you've achieved your dream."
　"My dream!" I asked.
　"To be a starfighter pilot, and destroy Imperial ships."
　To be honest, the Keyan Farlander who had ridden up on the planetary shuttle from Agamar with this young woman seemed so long ago and so far away that it took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. I no longer dreamed of doing anything other than what I was doing. When I flew in a starfighter, I was more at home than anywhere else I had ever been - certainly more at home than I was standing before Lynia and realizing how happy I was to see her again.
　"I guess you're right. I..."
　"Keyan!" It was Hamo. "Are you coming? We're going to have a party!"
　"I - I'll be right behind you. I'm coming."
　"Well, come on, then," Hamo hollered. "And bring your friend."
　"Yeah," echoed Jan-lo. "Come on, Keyan. This is your party."
　"You go on," said Lynia. "I've got to get back anyway." She must have seen my disappointment, because she smiled and kissed me on the cheek.
　"I'll be back soon," she said.
　Then she turned and walked away, and I watched her until she rounded the corner at the end of the hall. I could hold my own against five-to-one odds in a starfighter; you would think that I'd have better defenses against one female with heavenly eyes.
　I saw Lynia on only two other occasions before she had to ship out with Mon Mothma again. We were rapidly becoming friends, but there was still a reserve. I knew that she liked me, kept tabs on me. But she would always make our meetings short and wouldn't let things get too personal between us. Not knowing whether I would ever see her again made the frustration even worse.
　But duty called, and we went out on sorties nearly every day. Some were uneventful scout missions or escort details where no enemies showed up. Then, every once in a while, a really significant mission would drop in our laps without warning.