X-WING

　When I heard that Mon Mothma was back on board, I hurried to contact Lynia. I caught up with her as she was coming out of a High Command meeting, along with General Madine, whom I had never met, Admiral Ackbar and Dodonna, among others.
　"It's good to see you," I told her.
　Her smile made me feel better than I had in weeks. She began to speak, and then stopped herself and looked at me as though seeing something new. Had I grown a wart on my nose or something?
　"How are you, Keyan!" she asked. "You look different..."
　I had no idea what she was talking about, but before I could respond, Mon Mothma came out of the meeting room, followed by a gold-colored protocol droid. It wasn't often one caught a glimpse of the Alliance head of state, and it was even less common for her to come over to chat, but that's what she did.
　"Lieutenant... Oh, make that Captain Farlander, it's good to see you again."
　She held out her hand. Rather timidly, I took it, not sure whether I should shake it, kiss it, or just sort of bow over it. OK. I had a hard time being comfortable with her. I was just an ordinary pilot, after all, and ordinary pilots didn't consort with galactic leaders. Besides, the last time I talked with her, she had told me a lot of stuff I didn't want to hear. Things about the Force... and destiny.
　"Ma'am," I managed, taking her hand and releasing it quickly.
　Now Mon Mothma studied me the way Lynia had done before. What was it? Maybe I was turning purple from eating too much porf.
　"You've grown up, captain," was what Mon Mothma concluded. I was grateful that I wasn't turning purple.
　"I guess so, ma'am. It's the war. You can't stay young for long. The young die young." I didn't really know what I was saying, but it sounded pretty good.
　"Have you done as I suggested!" Mon Mothma asked me.
　"I'm sorry. What was that!"
　"Have you found someone to instruct you in the Force!"
　"Ma'am, I've been instructed in all kinds of things, and I'm certainly becoming familiar with some force or other, but as to the Force..."
　She smiled, probably seeing right through me.
　"Keep your eyes open and your mind clear, captain. One day you'll meet someone strong in the Force, and you'll know it. Take it in. Absorb it as much as you can. Never waste your gifts. Take care, captain. And be good to Lynia. She's very special, too. And she likes you, you know."
　With that, Mon Mothma winked at me and walked away. I think I was so shocked to see the head of the entire Rebel Alliance - one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy - wink at me, that I was a little slow to notice that Lynia was standing there, turning a rather hot shade of crimson. So she wasn't unflappable after all, I thought. But then, look at me.
　Lynia and I managed to have some time together that night. We ate dinner in the executive dining room. They didn't call it a "mess" like the pilots did, and I could see why. The whole thing looked like something surface-side, not what we were used to on a starship. The tables were covered with fabric of some kind, soft yet apparently resistant to staining - as I found out when I spilled some Veronian wine. The plates were bright and clean and felt fragile and precious. Even the food was something that made me instantly forget about porf or mugruebe stew.
　I don't want to give the impression that the executive dining room was extravagant, and in all honesty the menu wasn't so different from ours. It was the preparation. You could tell that the food here was made in individual portions; not in big vats of 40 servings at a time, ladled onto metallic trays in an assembly line. All right, so rank had its privileges.
　"Mon Mothma seems quite interested in you, Keyan," said Lynia over a delicate bite of angel hair chintassa grass.
　"Don't worry, Lynia. She's not my type."
　She looked at me strangely at first, and then realized that I was joking and persisted.
　"No, really, Keyan. She's not fanciful. If she sees something, you should pay attention. What exactly did she tell you!"
　"Oh, nothing really. Something about the Force. It didn't make much sense to me."
　"Oh," she said. "I see."
　I got the feeling that she was sort of disappointed for some reason.
　Just to change the subject, I asked; "Lynia, just exactly what is it you do!"
　I had been wanting to know this for so long, but for some reason had always been reluctant to bring it up.
　"Oh, I just observe things for Mon Mothma," she said coyly.
　"What does that mean, 'observe things'!"
　"I have certain... abilities... with ideas. It's hard to explain. My ancestors were a little... different."
　"Different!" I persisted. "What do you mean!"
　I waited for her to go on, but she seemed to have said all she was planning to say for the moment. Her one answer had only created a hundred new questions, but I found myself suddenly shy about probing further. Perhaps someday she would tell me more - when she was ready.
　We ate in silence for a moment. Then, to break the tension, I asked; "What brings you and Mon Mothma to the Independence then!"
　She smiled, obviously happier to be on safe, impersonal ground again.
　"We're meeting with the High Command to set up an important operation. It has something to do with Imperial communications. I'm sure you'll learn more about it soon."
　"No doubt, I will. As my friend Hamo says, 'You plan it; we man it."
　She laughed and asked; "How is your friend Hamo!"
　"He's very well. He made commander, but he seems kind of uncomfortable with it. He hasn't told me exactly how he got his promotion."
　I got the distinct impression that she knew more about this than she was letting on. All she said was, "I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready."
　The rest of the evening passed pleasantly, and the next day Lynia was gone again with Mon Mothma.

　OP 5: Protect Captured Satellites

　File Name: max9
　Mission Briefing
　A freighter carrying important satellites is waiting for the cruiser Maximus. You have been assigned to protect the freighter until the cruiser arrives. You will hyper in alone in your A-wing, and the freighter win be directly in front of you. The Star Destroyer Intrepid is a little over 13 clicks away, and has launched a pair of TIE Bombers and a pair of TIE Interceptors.
　Farlander's After-Action Report
　I was under immediate attack from two TIE Interceptors (Alpha) and two TIE Bombers (Beta), so I had to begin evasive maneuvers the moment I dropped out of hyperspace, carrying out abbreviated start procedures as I evaded. They had me at four-to-one odds, and the TIE Bombers were launching missiles, which I did my best to outmaneuver.
　The Intrepid had already begun launching additional fighters, so the odds were going to get worse soon enough. I took out one of the Interceptors, came up behind one of the Bombers (controlling my speed), and sent a missile directly up its engine port.
　I handled the second Interceptor then, and finally the other Bomber. As soon as I had destroyed the second Bomber, a replacement wave was launched from the Star Destroyer. Meanwhile, the new fighters were coming into range. First came a single Interceptor from Delta Squadron, and, coming up behind him, another from Zeta.
　The Star Destroyer continued to launch TIEs in ones and twos. (Maybe they had some problem in the hangar bay?) Only once did one get by me. I quickly redirected all power to the engines and took off after him. I switched to missiles to take him out before he could do much harm. He did manage to make one attack run on the Phoenix before my missile caught him. Luckily, he wasn't a Bomber.
　Finally, the Intrepid stopped launching TIEs. Then, when the Maximus arrived with the freighter Ojai, the Star Destroyer simply departed. Could it be that the Intrepid is suffering an acute shortage of star fighters or pilots?
　C.O.'s Analysis
　"Good tactic, captain. Shooting each Bomber with a single missile at point-blank range gets rid of the threat immediately. With good dogfighting ability, you were able to overcome the odds."
　"But tell me, why didn't I have some backup!"
　"Yeah, Farlander. Good question. Get us some more pilots. Well, the truth is, we didn't anticipate a very heavy response on this mission, so we sent you alone. Go take a break, captain. You look a little tired."
　"I wonder why."
　Debriefing (Win Conditions)
　The FRT Ojai must dock with the FRT Phoenix, and then survive. You must wait until the CRS Maximus arrives.
　Mission Note: T/I Alpha and T/B Beta have two different start positions, designed to provide two levels of difficulty for this mission. In one, you have time to get your bearings; in the other, they are right on top of you.