The insistent beeping of the alarm clock pulled Abiona out of a wonderful dream. She slammed her hand down on the clock and dragged herself off to the 'fresher. The shower managed to wake her up, but it did little for her mood. Abiona looked herself over in the mirror before going on duty. Her eyes hesitated on her rank badge.

"Twenty-six and I'm still just a lieutenant. Maybe I should've listened to my parents. They did tell me I wouldn't get anywhere in the Navy," she thought.

She sighed and headed down to the officers' mess to grab a quick breakfast before her patrol. A glance at her chrono confirmed that she had overslept and would be late if she finished breakfast. Abiona hurried down to the hangar and got into her gear. The patrols were mind numbingly boring. She climbed into the cockpit of her Interceptor and waited to be launched. The patrol was going routinely, but suddenly three blips showed up on her sensors.

"Lead, Five. I've got three points about 11 klicks out"

"Copy Five. Two Flight and Three Flight, go and investigate."

Abiona and her wingman flew toward the three X-Wings. She saw Two Flight coming up on her left side.

"Rebel fighters, you have entered Imperial space. Surrender at once or be destroyed."

Dead silence was the reply over the comm. She gave the order to attack the fighters. Strangely enough, the Rebels did not put up a tough fight. Somehow Abiona could not imagine that the Rebellion would send such rookies into the field, but they were short on personnel.

"Five here. Did anyone else find that strange?"

"Six. They didn't put up much of a fight. It seems suspicious, if you ask me."

She heard a muttered curse just as her commander's voice broke in over the comm. "Lead here. We've got an alphabet soup of fighters coming in mark 3.68. Looks like there're three or four cap ships, too. Break off into flights and engage the bombers. Watch your six, we've got 3 minutes until reinforcements can launch."

Abiona and her wingman broke off and targeted two of the Y-Wings. She wished that she had a half-load of missiles. The Y-Wings were easy enough to destroy, but the A-Wings and X-Wings were within targeting range of the fighters now.

"Lead, Five. We've knocked out the wishbones but the sharps are getting hard to shake. I've got one on my six and I can't shake him!"

"Just try to hang on for a few more seconds, Five."

She jinked around in the X-Wing's sights until she saw it explode in her HUD. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Lead." The Rebel fighters seemed endless, even with the help of a few gunboats. "Well, I can paint a quite a few more kills on my fighter," she thought. She vaped an A-Wing on her wingman's tail, when she saw the two X-Wings on her commander's six. She broke off and targeted one of the X-Wings. It was an easy kill.

"One sharp down, one to go."

She shot at the X-Wing to get the pilots attention and draw him away from her CO. Unfortunately, she had underestimated the pilot. Abiona jinked and weaved to no avail. The missile lock alarm was blaring in her cockpit and she wished she could do something about it. The alarm became a long tone and her HUD targeted the missile launched at her. She gritted her teeth and turned to face the missile. Abiona forced herself to focus and fired her lasers at the missile. It exploded in a brilliant red-orange cloud. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Nice shooting, Five."

"Thank you, sir."

Suddenly, a missile slammed into her wingman's fighter. She watched in horror, as it became a ball of ionized gas. For a split second she was stunned. Then she yelled a battle cry and threw herself into the thick of the dogfights.

*****

Abiona pulled herself out of the Interceptor's cockpit. She took off her helmet and ran a hand back through her hair. She walked dejectedly to the locker room. She showered and changed into her uniform. She leaned against the lockers and thought out-loud.

"Why am I so torn up about this. Cian and I were never close friends. We were just wingmen."

She left the locker room and her commander came up to her.

"Lieutenant Reed."

"Sir?"

"I don't hold you responsible for what happened out there. There were too many fighters to keep track of."

"That's reassuring, sir."

"I wish I didn't have to tell you this." He glanced at the deck, then looked directly into her eyes. "Because of this incident and your past record, the admiral wants to see you. Personally."

Disclaimer: Right, I don't own anything except Abiona and Wade. Ask if you want to use them. George, please don't sue. I need money for my graduation trip to Europe.
Thanks to: Star Wars Technical Commentaries for the rank system (it's enough to make your head hurt), Ryan for finding the ship names, XvT game for the simulator mission
A/N: This chapter went off on about three tangents before I settled on this one. I'm having to invent how Piett acts because he's a secondary character in the movies. Hopefully I can continue to update regularly. Once I get to Spring Break, my life should settle down a bit and I should be able to update more.
Chapter Two: Climbing the Ladder

Abiona boarded the shuttle with great reluctance. She felt the slight jolt as the shuttle took off for the Executor. "Well, at least I don't have to face Lord Vader," she mused. However, facing the admiral would not be any easier. Abiona had never met Admiral Piett, and she was not sure on his attitude toward women in the Navy. If he were anything like her previous commanders, she would be busted down to target drone before she could blink.

As the shuttle set down in the Executor's landing bay, Abiona took a deep breath and straightened her cap and tunic. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. "Calm down," she told herself. "If you act confident and controlled, you have a better chance of not getting demoted." She exited the shuttle and an ensign met her.

"Admiral Piett will see you directly," the ensign said.

"Thank you, Ensign," she said as she followed him to the Admiral Piett's office.

The ensign led Abiona through a labyrinth of corridors and turbolifts. She made a valiant attempt to keep her bearings, but she gave up on the second turbolift ride.

"Go right in, and good luck," the ensign said and left her standing outside the door.

She took a deep breath and went into Admiral Piett's office. She snapped to attention and saluted sharply. "Reporting as ordered, sir!"

Setting down a datapad, he returned her salute. "Have a seat, Lieutenant Reed." She sat down but could not get her nerves to calm. Piett skimmed over a few lines on the datapad and then looked Abiona over, as though her features alone could tell something of her soul. Abiona found his look disconcerting but did her best to show no emotion on her face.

"I've been reading your service record, Lieutenant," Piett said. "Your rank seems to change depending on the week?"

Abiona looked a bit chagrined. "Well, sir, some of my squadronmates do call me 'yo-yo'. In my own defense, I think I'm a good pilot. With my previous commanders' feelings on women in the Navy...well...let me put it this way. I never had a chance with some of them, sir."

"That is unfortunate. Your mission record is exemplary," Piett said.

"Until today," Abiona thought.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Permission granted."

"Thank you, sir. Frankly, sir, I work my ass off for my squadron." She began to pace around the office. "I fly my best every time I get in the cockpit of my fighter. If you ignore the temporary demotions, I've been a lieutenant for six years." She punctuated this by tapping her rank badge. "It makes me wonder why I ever went to the Academy. I've given eight years of my life to the Navy, and it hasn't given anything back to me. All because I'm a woman. Sir." She sat down.

Piett's eyes showed a flash of sympathy, then amusement. "I'm glad that you keep yourself under control while you're on duty." She smiled slightly and then met his gaze. "Now, as to your rank. I think you're command material. I'm promoting you to Lieutenant Commander, and I will be transferring you to the Executor to serve in Avenger Squadron."

"Sir, I really think you should reconsid-" Abiona stopped her plea suddenly. "You're promoting me?"

"Yes. You've a week of leave to get settled here and tie up any loose ends. If you wish, you may notify your family of your transfer."

"You're assuming that my family cares, sir."

Piett decided to ask about that comment another day. "Report to me once you're settled. Dismissed."

Abiona saluted and left Piett's office.

*****

After getting lost at least three times, Abiona made it back to the landing bay where the shuttle had landed. She fetched her pilot from the break room and boarded the shuttle. She leaned back in her seat and sighed happily.

"Promoted," she thought. "And transferred to the Executor. Everyone knows that the Executor is one's ticket to success."

Abiona felt the slight jolt of the shuttle's landing and exited. She headed to her commander's office to tell him the news. She walked in the door to his office and saluted.

"Sir, I've just been promoted, and I'm being transferred," said Abiona.

"I know. I just got off the HoloNet. Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander. You'll be hard to replace," her commander said.

"Well, sir, my transfer will leave the squadron with an even number. At least everyone will have a wingman."

"True. Well, good luck and good flying." He shook her hand.

"Thank you, sir. And good luck to you, too."

*****

Abiona walked slowly back to her quarters, trying to memorize the Thunderflare "Not that the Executor will be much different. Except I'll probably get lost all the time," she though with a chuckle.

She punched in the lock code and the door to her quarters slid open. She looked around her quarters. Only then did she realize how few possessions she had. Aside from standard issue items, she had almost nothing. There was a picture of her friend Iain and herself right after graduation. A twinge of sadness passed through her when she studied the picture. Iain had been killed on his first assignment out of the Academy. "Once the war is over, then I'll have time to mourn all those I've lost," she thought. She packed up all of her clothes and the picture. The only thing left was her good long sword and her practice sword. Iain's parents had given them to her as a graduation present. "They really were wonderful people," she thought. "I wish I had told them." She packed the swords and hefted her bag up on her shoulder.

A shuttle had been arranged for her and it was waiting in the landing bay. She said a silent goodbye to her fighter and the Thunderflare as the shuttle took off. Abiona felt a strange finality in her situation as the shuttle landed in the Executor's landing bay. She managed to find someone who could point her to her quarters and headed off.

"I only got lost once," she though to herself as she coded her lock and went into her quarters. After a good look at her quarters, she decided they were a bit bigger than her quarters on the Thunderflare but not by much. She lay down on the bed and scanned down a few lines on the datapad in her hand. Her orders stated that she should report in to her squadron commander as soon as possible. Abiona knew she had a week to get settled, but reporting in should not wait.

She headed down to her commanding officer's office to report in. Commander Jkara greeted her warmly, and explained her duties within the squadron. Abiona was replacing a pilot that had been promoted. He told her to head down to the simulator on the double to train with her new wingman.

When she arrived at the simulator, her wingman was already there.

"Lieutenant Wade Marek," he said, shaking her hand.

"Lieutenant Commander Abiona Reed. You're from Corellia, aren't you?" she said.

"Yeah, has my reputation gotten out or something?" he asked with a grin.

Abiona allowed herself a smile. "I've heard that you're a real troublemaker." She became serious. "But I don't know your reputation as a pilot."

"The best."

"Let's see."

They both got into the sim Interceptors and put their helmets on. The mission was simple enough. Protect the new TIE Advanced shipment until it could reach the Star Destroyer. Two-thirds of the fighters had to reach the ship.

"Right, this seems simple enough. Let's hit the ships with missiles first, then take out the rest," Abiona said.

"Let's do it."

Wade lured two X-Wings out and Abiona hit each of them with a missile. Wade finished them off with lasers. The mission was going routinely, until Rebel reinforcements showed up.

Abiona cursed. "I've got two-no three sharps on me. And we've got wishbones targeting the TIE Advanced."

"Enough of the TIEs have made it to the Destroyer."

She jinked her craft and dove sharply. "Then they'll target the Destroyer. And two of us can't save it."

They fought off the fighters on their tails and could only watch helplessly as the Destroyer was pounded with missiles and torpedoes. Abiona saw the ship explode as the lights in the sim came up. Abiona took off her helmet and climbed out of the sim.

"We were so close," Wade said.

"If we'd have had reinforcements, we could have done it," Abiona said.

"You two did better than most," Commander Jkara said.

Abiona and Wade snapped to attention. "Sir!"

"As you were. I'm happy to see that you work well together."

"Thank you, sir."

"Be in the briefing room at 0800 tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

*****

Abiona went back to her quarters. She unpacked her gear and changed into exercise clothing. She grabbed her swords and checked the map on her datapad once more before heading to the physical training area.

She managed to get there with little trouble. She did some basic stretching and a little weight training, then headed into a training ring. She unsheathed her good sword and began the kata she had learned so many years ago. She became lost in the fluid dance of her training, until a voice interrupted her.

"An interesting hobby," said Piett as she spun gracefully to face him. "I learned how to fence when I was younger, but I never knew anyone who was familiar with other types of swordplay."

"A friend of mine at the Academy taught me a few years ago."

"May I?" he asked, motioning to her second sword.

"Of course," she said and handed him the sword.

He tested the balance and feel of the sword, then turned to face her. Abiona found this a bit disconcerting. Why would her commanding officer, the commanding officer, want to spar with her? She parried a slash and tried to base her attacks on the pattern that Piett followed. With the amount of dodging she had to do, it did not appear that he fought with a pattern.

"Abiona?" he asked.

"What," she said through gritted teeth as she tried to land a kick.

He dodged the kick. "What happened between you and your parents?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She made this clear with a vicious slash.

Piett blocked the slash and kicked one of her legs out from under her. She landed flat on her back and the sword clattered away from her hand. She felt the blade at her throat.

"Well met." She felt the blade move away and accepted his hand up. She made a move to get her sword, but he pulled her back.

"Tell me."

Abiona closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.

"You really want to know? All right." She looked him in the eye. "My father went down with his ship when I was about thirteen. My mother always wanted me to marry well. When I went to the academy, she disowned me. I don't have a family anymore." She yanked her arm away and grabbed her sword. She stormed off to her quarters to take shower and get some sleep.

Abiona put her pajamas on and ran a hand back through her damp hair. She thought she heard a tapping at her door. Frowning, she went to investigate. When she opened her door, she found her practice sword propped in the doorjamb with a note on it.

"Abiona," the note read. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I should've known better than to ask, especially with the recent death of your wingman. If you want to talk, come see me. Andries."

"So that's his first name," Abiona thought. She changed into civilian clothes and went to see Andries with a smile on her face.

Chapter Three: Job Descriptions Are Misleading

Abiona reached Piett's door and walked past it. She kept walking until she reached a viewport. As she gazed out at the stars, a voice in her mind said, "Wuss."

"I'm not a wuss," she thought.

"Oh, don't try to deny it," the voice said.

"Now look. My job requires that I go blasting through space with only a bit of durasteel between me and death."

"So, you can face death on a regular basis, but you can't face your own feelings about someone."

Abiona sighed and leaned against the viewport. She couldn't dispute the fact that she refused to accept her emotions. It was only a year or two ago that she had first met Piett. Admittedly, it was only during an inspection of new officers. That had been enough, though. She shook herself out of her reverie. Turning to go to her quarters, she ran into Piett.

"Hey, watch it oh, I-I'm sorry, sir," Abiona said.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. As a matter of fact, I was going to look for you. Are you free tomo--" A klaxon interrupted him.

"The war never waits," she said. "Finish that thought as soon as I get back." She ran off to the fighter bay.

*****

Once strapped into her fighter, Abiona felt the adrenaline rush of battle. There had not been time for a briefing. They had been instructed to destroy all enemy fighters.

The fighters launched and flew directly into the chaos of enemy fighters and turbolaser fire.

"Six, on me. Let's vape some Rebels," Abiona said over the comm. "Got it, Five," said Wade.

They broke off and headed for a pair of Y-Wings that were targeting the Thunderflare. Abiona linked her laser cannons and aligned the Y-Wing in her sight. Within moments, the Y-Wing was nothing but space dust.

"He's history." Wade dispatched the other Y-Wing without effort. Their dogfights had taken them away from the main arena, and they flew back to the heavy fighting. An X-Wing came within an arm's length of Wade's fighter. The squadron markings were clear.

"Five, did you get a good look at that sharp?"

"No, Six. Why?"

"Well, unless I'm wrong, and I hope I am, it had Rogue Squadron markings on it."

"I hope you're wrong, too, Six. Otherwise, our odds just got a lot worse. Avenger Lead, did you copy that last transmission?" Abiona targeted the X-Wing that had just flown past.

"I did, Five. I notified command. That's all we can do other that shoot them down."

"Yes, sir."

*****

The atmosphere on the bridge was as tense as the battle outside. The sensor officer tried to look calm as Piett approached him.

"Lieutenant, report."

"The Rebel capital ships aren't holding up to the torpedoes and ship to ship fire. Some of the fighters are proving, um, more challenging, sir."

Piett nodded. "Avenger Squadron will take care of them." He walked to the viewport. Although this Rebel force had been small, the presence of Rogue Squadron assured him of one thing. The Rebels had planned this attack, but they had underestimated the Imperial forces. The Empire needed to launch an all out offensive, but far be it from the Emperor to listen to a military opinion. He finally focused on the battle raging outside. "Intensify the starboard batteries. I want that cruiser destroyed."

*****

"Damn it, Wade! If you don't get this sharp off of me, you're not gonna have a wingman!" Abiona pulled up sharply. The missile lock alarm beeped incessantly. Her hull integrity was down to 68 percent. Another shot from the X-Wing shook her fighter. "Wade, my hull's 31 percent! I've gotta turn back."

A missile hit the X-Wing. It was heavily damaged and made a run for hyperspace. "Now that he's not on your tail, we can both go back. My hull is at 78 percent, and it looks like things are calming down," Wade said over the comm.

The two Interceptors flew back to the Executor at full throttle. Once in the landing bay, Abiona and Wade dragged themselves out of their fighters. They both looked ragged. Walking to the debriefing room, Abiona chuckled.

"Ya know, Wade, I think I'm gonna change professions. Find some nice, quiet job."

"You wouldn't know what to do with yourself." "True," she said walking in the door. "But I'd live longer."

They sat at the table and answered the standard debriefing questions. Curiously enough, no one asked about Rogue Squadron. Abiona decided not to worry about it and left when she was dismissed.

"Hey, wait up! I'll buy you a drink," Wade yelled down the hall after her.

"Nah, I just wanna go back to my quarters, maybe read a book," Abiona said.

"Suit yourself."

As soon as Abiona arrived in her quarters, she took off her clothes and got in the shower. She let the hot water run down her back as she washed her hair. She rinsed the shampoo and soap off and got out of the shower. She dried herself off and put on her uniform. Looking at the chrono, she sighed. The battle and debriefing had taken longer than she expected. At 3 o'clock in the morning, there were two choices. She could go to bed just to get up in three hours or read until she had to go on duty. The adrenaline was still in her system, so she grabbed a technical book and settled in to read. Maybe that would solve both problems.

At the insistent beeping of the doorbell, Abiona opened her eyes squinted at her chrono. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. It was a half past five. She dragged herself to the door and opened it. As she prepared a typical caustic morning comment, she realized who was at the door.

"Good morning," said Abiona a bit flustered. "Come in."

"Good to see you're awake," Piett said.

"As awake as I ever am at this time in the morning," said Abiona sitting on the edge of the bed. "I've got a briefing at 0800 anyway, unless Commander Jkara suddenly became merciful."

"It has been cancelled. The Rebels that ambushed us were going to be the mission's target."

"Well, that doesn't hurt my feelings," said Abiona as she got up and put the book back. "I'm not too eager to get smoked by Rogue Squadron again. Having my hull hit 31 percent wasn't comforting." She leaned back against the wall. "But you didn't come here to talk about my piloting skills."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to get coffee, but"

"It's against protocol? Or is it that the coffee at this hour might be lethal? Or are you afraid I'd say no?" She paused, waiting for an answer. "Or yes..." she whispered.

"I'd hate to responsible for a death this early in the morning," he said with a bit of a smirk. "Actually, I didn't think you'd accept."

"Why wouldn't I? And anyway, I've been drinking coffee on Imperial Navy ships for eight years. I'm immune to it."

"After you, then."

They walked to the mess hall sharing typical small talk. The scattered few officers in the mess hardly noticed their presence. As they sat down, Piett locked eyes with Abiona.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, a bit tired maybe. Why do you ask?"

"Well, just the look in your eyes..."

She stared down at her coffee. "You've never looked in a pilot's eyes before. A lot of people think something's wrong." She looked back up. "My eyes have seen more in 26 years, than some people will see in a lifetime." She realized he hadn't stopped watching her. "But I'm just being depressing. Any suggestions on a new, less life threatening job?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd suggest a command position, but around here that isn't any less life threatening."

"True." She fussed with a ring that she probably wasn't supposed to be wearing. "Ah, I think I'll stick around. All I've got left to do is break through the gender line. That shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks, tops," she said with a grin. Her grin faded and she dropped her ring when she saw the clock. "Oh no! Commander Jkara told me about the briefing at 0600 and I completely forgot! He's gonna kill me!" She hurried off.

Piett shook his head and put her ring in his pocket.

*****

Abiona tried to slip into the briefing without anyone noticing. Wade arched an eyebrow at her as she sat down.

"Good of you to join us, Lieutenant Commander," Commander Jkara once she sat down.

"I'm sorry, sir. I had a meeting with the Admiral that ran late," Abiona said.

"Of course," he said skeptically. "As I was saying, Avenger Squadron has been chosen to fly the new TIE Advanced, or Avenger as most pilots call it." He pressed a button and a holographic display of the fighter appeared. "It has a more powerful drive system, however much of the extra power is used for the shield generator. It also has a hyperdrive capable of storing ten jump coordinates. You'll all be flying a few sims to get used to the systems and handling, then tomorrow we'll commence field testing. Sims start in three hours. Dimissed." The pilots filed out of the briefing room. "Reed, I'd like to speak with you."

Abiona turned to her commander. "Sir?"

He waited until the other pilots left. "Lieutenant Commander, why were you late?"

"I told you, sir. I had a meeting with the Admiral. It ran over. I got here as soon as I could, sir."

"I'll take your word for it this time, but one more slipup and I will bust your rank down faster than you can blink. I'm putting you on report this time, so be careful. I don't know how you got into my squadron, but I will not hesitate to get you out of my squadron. The last thing I need is a woman to get in the way of things."

"Yes, sir," said Abiona, keeping her face blank.

"Dismissed!"

Abiona saluted and hurried out of the briefing room. Wade had waited for her and walked with her down the hall.

"That was one hell of a dressing down," Wade said.

"What an astounding observation, Wade."

"Look, don't take it so hard."

"Wade, he only sees me as a woman, not as a fighter pilot! I swear, I think I'll just quit and..."

"And do what?"

"Become a gardener! I don't know! All I know is I'm not getting anywhere as long as Jkara outranks me."

"Abiona, you've made it this far. This is the Executor. Don't give up yet."

She shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. Look, I think I'm gonna sleep a bit before the sim. I'll see you in three hours." Abiona walked off in the direction of her quarters.

Wade shook his head. "She's either going to get killed or have a nervous breakdown one of these days," he thought.

*****

After five hours of sleep in 24 hours and six hours of sims, Abiona felt dead. She looked over at Wade.

"What time is it?"

"1500 hours."

She stared up at the ceiling. "I don't think I've even been this tired. You?"

"Maybe when I pulled that all-nighter at the Academy. I don't know though."

Abiona stretched out on a bench in the break room. "I'm sleeping here until my brain functions fully again. If you really need me, wake me up." She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

She felt someone shaking her. "No, no more sims," she mumbled and rolled over.

"Abiona, you've got to get up."

She opened her eyes reluctantly. Wade was standing over her. "What's going on?" she asked, standing up.

"The Admiral wants to speak with both of us in ten minutes."

"Let's go then."

She straightened her uniform on the way to the Admiral's office. She and Wade snapped to attention just inside the door. Out of the corner of her eye, Abiona saw her commander.

"Reporting as ordered, sir!"

"Have a seat," Piett said.

Abiona sat down next to Wade, feeling rather confused. She tried to read Piett's face, but he kept his face blank.

"I'll get to the point immediately," Piett said. "Reed and your wingman Marek are being sent on an undercover mission. We have evidence that the Rebels are designing a new snubfighter. You will be dropped outside of the R and D base. Infiltrate the base and destroy the plans and any prototypes. Any questions?"

"Yes, sir. With all due respect, why are you choosing us?" Abiona asked.

"You're both competent." He looked at Abiona. "You'll blend in well because you're a woman." He looked at Wade. "You've got a Corellian accent. You'll both be able to get in and out seamlessly, and," he lowered his voice, "I trust you two more than Imperial Intelligence."

"Admiral, I cannot agree with your assessment. Surely there are SpecOps that can do the job," said Commander Jkara.

"I don't remember asking for your approval, Commander," Piett said.

"When do we leave?" asked Wade, trying to break the tension.

"Immediately. Report to the armory, and good luck."

Abiona and Wade saluted and left the room. They walked to the armory in silence. They arrived at the armory and Abiona started picking up what she thought was necessary.

"Make sure you get some of the demolition charges, Wade."

"Abiona? Are you as frightened about this mission as I am?" Wade asked as he picked up more weaponry.

Abiona hid a vibroblade in each boot. "Petrified." She put a blaster in a shoulder holster and put her jacket on. "Let's get down to the landing bay. The shuttle's probably waiting," she said, grabbing her pack.

They went to the landing bay and boarded the shuttle. On the ride, they determined a plan of attack.

"Look, if they've built any prototypes, just stick the demolition charges on them and run," Abiona said.

"We could just destroy the entire place with the charges," Wade said.

Abiona pointed at the plan of the base. "A two man team couldn't destroy that entire base. It's huge!" She indicated an entrance on the plans. "From the recon reports, this entrance should be the easiest to get into. I've got a lock breaker in my pack, but it's pretty loud. We should only use it if the codes we were given don't work. The lab we're looking for should be here." Abiona indicated another section on the plans.

"You're making this sound easy."

"Well, if everything goes as planned, it will be, but if something would happen to me, Wade, just leave me and get yourself out."

"The same goes for me," said Wade as the shuttle set down.

They jumped out and the shuttle sped off. They moved liked shadows up to the research and design complex. The outer defenses seemed too simple to break through. Abiona punched in the access code and the door slid open. She shrugged and went inside.

"Let me have a couple demolition charges, and we'll split up," Abiona whispered.

"I really think we should stick together," Wade whispered back.

"Look, this place is too big. One person is a lot less conspicuous than two."

Wade handed her two demolition charges. "All right, but be careful. It was easy to get in, but it probably won't be easy to get out."

Abiona nodded, and the two parted ways. She consulted her map frequently and moved stealthily towards the main development area. When she arrived, the prototype fighter was waiting. It was quite possibly the most beautiful machine she had seen in her lifetime. She made sure the area was deserted and went to the nearest computer terminal. As she was searching for the plans, a thought came to her.

"It would be a shame to destroy that fighter. If that prototype is space-worthy I could always fly it out of here," she thought. She began to search the journal entries to see if it was a flying prototype. She became absorbed in her reading, and she did not hear the footsteps approach her. She did, however, feel the blaster muzzle pressed against her ribs and her arm twisted behind her back.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" asked a male voice, presumably the owner of the blaster. He spun her around and arched an eyebrow. "A woman. Well, you couldn't be working for the Empire."

"Guess again," said Abiona, struggling against his grip. He looked vaguely familiar. Perhaps she had seen his picture on a wanted poster. She tried to push him out of the way, but he pinned her against the wall and put binders on her.

"Well, since I found you, I get to keep you. C'mon," he said as he dragged her to a shuttle. "I'll leave interrogation to the professionals." They boarded the shuttle. "Much as I would enjoy your company on this trip, I can't have you knowing our location." He set the blaster to stun and fired. "Sorry."

*****

Abiona squinted against the bright light. She groaned and rubbed her forehead. She had the worst headache in recent memory. As the cell door opened, she caught the end of a conversation.

"...nice work, Antilles. I'll take over from here."

When she saw the owner of the voice enter the cell, she sneered.

"Crix Madine. A shame that our roles aren't reversed," she said coldly.

"Lieutenant Commander Reed, you are of minimal importance to me," he said. "Just answer my questions and this will be quick and painless."

"I'm listening."

"First, how did you get in the building?"

"I used the door," she said cheekily. She did a mental check of the weapons she had hidden. They had not found one of the vibroblades in her boot, but that was about it. She tried to move it up towards the top of her boot while Madine drilled her with questions. Eventually, he gave up.

"Fine, be stubborn. You'll be the one who pays for it."

Abiona smiled at him as he left. "Well, they were stupid enough to take the binders off of me," she thought. She took her vibroblade and hid it in her sleeve. "All I have to do is jump the next guard that comes in here."

She lay in wait for her prey. The guard that came in with food made a fatal mistake. He turned his back on Abiona. In a flash, she pinned him against the wall with the blade to his throat. She slit his throat and took his blaster and keycard. She slipped the knife back in her boot.

"That'll teach you to search everywhere for weapons."

Abiona checked the blaster charge and saw it was full. She opened the cell door and checked to make sure she was safe. She slipped quietly into the hall and tried to figure out her location. The first thing she noticed was that the area she was in looked nothing like a detention area. She turned right and went down the hall, glancing around constantly. She found a computer terminal and gained access to a map. It looked as though the landing bay was a straight shot down the hall to her left. She tried to act inconspicuous as she walked down the hallway, but she did stick out of the usual Rebel crowd. Just as the landing bay came into sight, someone noticed her.

"Hey! You there! Halt!"

Abiona spun around and fired off two shots. She turned and sprinted off to the bay. She was within feet of a shuttlecraft when she heard a blaster fire. The searing pain in her right shoulder was indescribable as Abiona fell to the deck. Her adrenaline kicked in and she dragged herself into the shuttle and took off. She set a course for the last known location of the Executor and made the jump to hyperspace.

She managed to get her jacket off without further injury. She took a bacta patch from the medpac and put it on the blaster wound. She gave herself a stim-shot to prevent shock and crossed her fingers. She checked the hyperspace timer.

"Five hours, just five more hours," she said. "Don't fail me now, adrenaline."

The excruciating pain in her shoulder made the five hours pass slowly. She did anything and everything to stay alert. She paced the shuttle, sang songs, and talked to herself. She was nearing exhaustion when the shuttle exited into realspace.

A message came over the comm. "Unidentified shuttle. You have entered Imperial space. Identify yourself at once."

She hit the comm button. "This is Lieutenant Commander Reed. I need medical attention." There was a pause. She assumed they were checking her voice patterns.

"Welcome back, Commander. You're cleared for Bay 42."

Abiona closed the comm channel and let the tractor beam pull her into the bay. She got up with a groan and exited the shuttle slowly. She felt exhausted and leaned on the shuttle. The medical technician's face was the last thing she saw before everything went black.