Abiona opened her eyes slowly, her head pounding from the after-effects of the stimshot. She stretched, testing out her shoulder. It felt a bit sore, but other than that it was as good as new. A medical technician came in and looked at her shoulder. He cleared her for duty and left.

"Well, doesn't look like I'll ever get a day off," she thought.

Abiona got up and changed into her uniform. She ran a hand through her hair and put on her hat. With a bit of trepidation, she went to the Admiral's office for her debriefing.

She saluted. "Reporting as ordered, sir!" She hoped that the shame she felt didn't show on her face. Piett nodded to the chair and she sat down. His silent reception did nothing but feed Abiona's growing fear.

"What went wrong?"

Abiona stared at his desk. "I just...I was really taken in by the beauty of the ship. I was looking in the log files to see if it was space worthy, and I got jumped. Some guy named Antilles." Looking up, she saw no reproach in his gaze. Fear crept across her face. "Will I lose my commission because of this, sir?"

"You're too good of an officer to dismiss. The mission was off the record. Only two people outside of this office know about it, and they would never think of revealing it."

Abiona relaxed a bit. "Thank you, sir." For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a smile cross his face.

"Dismissed."

Abiona saluted and left his office, feeling as though something more than a debriefing had happened. She decided to the let the feeling pass and marched to the hangar to report for patrols.

*****

After a month of heavy fighting, a time of relative peace settled on the fleet. With the Rebellion chased out of Hoth, the fleet moved back into the Core. Everyone was looking forward to some well-deserved shore leave.

Abiona held a 48-hour pass in her hand. "Two whole days of leave," she thought. She tossed some civvies and a few weapons into her bag and set out. "I get to stay in a hotel, and I don't have to wear a uniform for two days," she thought. She boarded a shuttle with many other happy looking officers. The shuttle took them to the surface of Corellia. Abi walked to her hotel and checked in. The clerk slid her key across the counter with an envelope. She arched an eyebrow as she picked up the key and envelope.

She shouldered her bag and went to her room. She unlocked the door and looked around. "This place is bigger than my quarters. That's just depressing," she thought. She took off her tunic and sat down on the bed. Abiona gave in to her curiosity and opened the envelope. Inside, she found a ticket and a note.

"You mentioned how much you wanted to see this play," the note read. "I'll pick you up at 7:30. Andries."

She looked at the ticket. "Front Line Rules", 8:00 p.m., Dress Circle, Seat A14. "Good seats," she thought. "Of course, this date doesn't have to be a secret like the others." She looked at the clothes in her bag. "Looks like I'll need to find something appropriate to wear." She looked at her chrono. "And I've only got four hours." She stood and changed into her civvies. She put her ID, money, and key in her pocket and left the room. After getting directions from the hotel clerk, she walked to the shopping district.

The shopping district crowd was sparse. Abiona perused dresses at shop after shop. After trying on more dresses than she could count, she found the perfect dress. It was a simple black sheath dress that came just above the knee. She bought the dress before she could change her mind, and found a pair of high-heeled black boots to wear with it. Two shops later she found a purse that she liked. She checked her chrono. "Two hours. I still need to eat and get makeup or a makeover or something." Abi grabbed a quick lunch at a cafe then went to a salon to get her hair and makeup done. She hurried back to the hotel and changed. She looked in the mirror and was amazed. She had forgotten what she looked like in civilian clothes. "But I still can't get away from that military look," she thought with a smile. She unlocked the door, then realized that she had forgotten her purse. She went back over to the bedside table to get her things, but in her haste, she dropped a couple credit chips and her ticket on the floor. She knelt down to get her things, and there was a knock at the door.

"It's open," Abiona yelled over her shoulder as she gathered her things. She turned to get up and Piett offered her his hand. She took it and he helped her up.

"Such a beautiful woman shouldn't be kneeling on the floor."

Abiona blushed. "I'll try to be less clumsy in the future." She shouldered her purse, and they walked to the theatre.

*****

For a two-hour play, "Front Line Rules" had certainly kept Abiona's interest. She had seen an exquisite albeit dark play, and with Piett's arm around her, there was little more she could wish for.

"That was phenomenal," Abiona said. "The sets, the lighting, everything just came together so well."

"It had a rather dark message, though. I'm rather surprised that it's doing so well."

Abiona shrugged. "Yeah, I didn't expect him to commit suicide, but it does have a powerful social commentary. I think it was based on a true story. At any rate, I'm rather surprised that the Politburo let it through."

"The manager must have the right connections."

"More like the right size pocket book," she said with a slight sneer. "It's the first piece I've seen that's critical of the Army." She paused, trying to find a more pleasant topic. "So, what are you going to do on the rest of your leave?"

"Try to relax for the first time in a few years. You?"

"The same. I have wonderful plans for sleeping late," she said unlocking her hotel room.

She leaned in the doorway of her room. "I had a really great time tonight. I'd forgotten what it was like to be a civilian."

"You needed the shore leave. I thought you were going to have a nervous breakdown," he said jokingly.

"Well, there has to be more to life than work," she said with a mischievous look.

Piett arched an eyebrow at her. She pulled him into a kiss, letting the door close behind them.

*****

Strapped into her TIE Avenger, Abiona pulled the craft out of its spin and leveled her sights at the

X-Wing that had been on her six. She shunted laser power into her shields, but they were barely at ten percent. The fighter shook as a laser blast hit it. Abiona pulled on the yoke, but the fighter was unresponsive. She checked the computer. The display told her it would be another thirty seconds before flight control was restored. She hit the control panel in frustration. The missile lock warning wailed in her ear. She stared helplessly at the missile screaming for her fighter.

With a small gasp, she jerked awake. As her heart slowed to normal, she looked around. "Good, still in the Admiral's suite on the Executor," she thought. She snuggled up to Piett. "I'm almost surprised that we haven't been caught after three months," she thought sleepily.

"Are you all right?" Piett whispered.

"Just a nightmare, nothing to worry about," she whispered. He pulled her closer and she drifted back to sleep.

*****

Avenger Squadron stood in the docking bay. Abiona felt like a cadet during her first inspection. Glancing down the line of pilots, she counted nine.

She nudged Wade, trying to be inconspicuous. "We seem to be missing the CO and XO," she whispered.

"Didn't you hear? They got transferred," Wade whispered back.

"Transferred? To where?"

Before Wade could reply, she heard the calls of 'Admiral on deck', and everyone snapped to attention.

"As most of you have heard, Avenger Squadron's Commander and Executive Officer have been transferred." Piett began to walk down the line of pilots and stopped in front of Abiona. "Lieutenant Commander Reed, you will be promoted to the rank of Commander and given command of Avenger Squadron."

Abiona saluted. "Thank you, sir!"

Piett moved to Wade. "Lieutenant Marek, you will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and will serve as Avenger Squadron's Executive Officer."

Wade saluted in turn. "Thank you, sir!"

Piett motioned them to follow, and the three of them moved out of the earshot of the other pilots. Abiona frowned slightly when she heard quite murmurs of dissent from the rest of the squadron. She glanced over at Wade and he shrugged. Piett did not lose his serious demeanor.

"These appointments are directly from Lord Vader."

Abiona glanced over her shoulder at the disgruntled looking pilots. "You might want to tell them that. Right now, they assume this promotion is some sort of..." she cleared her throat. "Favor."

"Lord Vader gave me specific orders not to inform anyone other than the two of you."

"And neither one of us can say anything without risking our careers," said Wade with a sigh.

"Right, then. I guess I might as well try to win some of them over." She nodded at Piett. "Admiral." She marched back to the squadron and Wade followed her lead. She looked down the line of pilots. "I know none of you are happy with this decision. If you wish to transfer, I understand completely. However, I would remind you that this is the Imperial Navy's elite squadron. You're all here because you are the best pilots in the Navy. Just keep that in mind. Dismissed."

As the other pilots filed out, Wade gave her an incredulous look. "And you were worried because...?"

She smiled slightly. "It's only the beginning of the battle. And we've got more important things to do than speculate. Like finding two new pilots for the squadron."

Wade grinned at her. "Let's go, Commander."

Abiona rolled her eyes, and they went to find two new hotshot pilots.

*****

Two months later, the pilots of Avenger Squadron again stood at attention, this time on Coruscant, to receive recognition from the Emperor himself. Abiona could feel her heart pounding and wanted nothing more than to change out of her dress uniform.

"Starch. I hate starch," Abiona thought. She let the Emperor's speech drift past her. All she and her squadronmates had to do was stand at attention for a while, and eventually the Emperor would present the medals. Everything went according to plan, and when the Emperor reached her, she bowed respectfully as the rest of her squadron had done. As he placed the medal around her neck, she felt coldness unlike anything she had ever experienced and had to suppress a shudder. They marched off and went back to their temporary planet side quarters.

"Thank goodness that's over," Wade said to her on the way back.

"Yeah...did you have a strange feeling...a cold chill?" Abiona asked.

"No, not that I remember. It was probably just your nerves getting to you."

"You're probably right. I see ya later," she said going into her quarters. She took off her uniform jacket and tossed it on the bed. The freedom from the stiffer than usual collar was wonderful. Unbuttoning the top couple of buttons on her shirt, she checked to see if she had any messages, but no one had called. Just as she took out one of her cufflinks, the door chime sounded. "Just a second," she said. Taking out her other cufflink, she pushed the door button with her elbow. She looked up to see Piett standing just outside her door.

"Admiral, come right in, sir," Abiona said, moving aside. She locked the door behind him and set her cufflinks down on the bedside table.

"You don't have to be formal with me, Abi," Piett said.

She shrugged. "I figured I'd put on a front, just in case someone was listening. But," she said hanging up her uniform jacket, "COMPNOR probably has every centimeter of Coruscant bugged, so it doesn't really matter."

Piett raised his eyebrows. "You're more cynical than usual."

"Just the side effect of being in command of pilots that don't-and won't trust or respect me." She thought about mentioning the cold chill she felt during the ceremony but decided against it. Dejectedly, she sat down on the bed, put her elbows on her knees, and cupped her chin in her hands. "It's just so frustrating."

He sat next to her and put his arm around her. "You knew how it would be when you joined the Navy. And you weren't forced to accept the promotion."

"Not accept an appointment from Lord Vader?" she asked with a scoff. "That would bring me a surer and swifter death than any mission the Navy could throw at me." She sat up. "Besides, it's a matter of honor. I wouldn't turn down a promotion that I knew I had earned."

"Honor comes with a price."

"Oh, not that speech again," she said as she stood.

Piett pulled her back down into a kiss that silenced any other protest her mind could create.

Chapter Five

Abiona pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She tried to stay calm and looked back up at the ensign's holo.

"Look. It's all quite simple. I need you to put me in contact with someone who orders new fighter craft for squadrons aboard the Executor."

"I'm sorry, sir. You need to speak with fighter comm-"

"No!" she yelled, cutting him off mid-word. "I just spoke to them and they told me to contact the quartermaster's office." She frowned. "This is the quartermaster's office, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir, it is, but I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Well perhaps you could get one of your superiors to help me?"

"I'm sorry, sir. They're all engaged at the moment."

Abiona let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll come down later to sort things out." She shut down the comm before the ensign could annoy her further. "Bloody bureaucracy," she muttered. Her door chimed. "Come." She hoped whoever was bothering her had a good reason.

Wade took a good look at Abiona as he walked into her office. "You look like you're ready to kill someone. Bad day?"

"I don't think bad sufficiently describes it. I've been trying to get a squadron of new fighters, but so far, I'm just getting the usual run around."

"Well, did you speak with fighter command?"

"Yes, and they sent me to the quartermaster, who promptly sent me back to fighter command."

"Ah. I see."

"It's just frustrating! I'm not sure why no one'll give me a straight answer. I probably don't have enough rank to throw around and frighten people."

"Look, I'll go down there and yell at them for you."

"I appreciate it."

"No problem, that's what XOs are for," Wade said with a smile.

"I think I'll go take a walk. De-stress a bit."

"You look like you could use it."

"If only you knew."

*****

Abiona gazed out the viewport, searching for Coruscant. It was the closest place she could call home. She only truly missed being planet side when she was under a great deal of stress. At least on a planet she could get more than 17 kilometers from anyone or anything. The problem with the fighters had been the final blow, and she couldn't run away from it. Since Avenger Squadron's recognition on Coruscant, the squadron's performance level had dropped significantly. Abiona knew they were underestimating the enemy and making mistakes, but only a tough battle could change the pilots' attitudes. If the squadron's performance didn't improve soon, her superiors would start asking questions and her career would be on the line.

She pulled herself out of her brooding and began to march back to her office. About halfway back, a black-uniformed Intelligence officer started walking beside her. Although intrigued, Abiona said nothing.

"Commander Reed?" he asked in a low voice.

Abiona nodded in reply.

"I just wanted to inform you that many people are watching your career with great interest." He slipped something into her palm and walked away.

"Well that was weird," she thought. She punched the lock code for her office and sat down at her desk. The officer had given her what appeared to be a data chip, accessible using your average datapad. Twirling it in her fingers, she contemplated the man's message. "I wonder who exactly is watching my career," she thought. She plugged the chip into the datapad, and a list appeared on the display. Arching an eyebrow, the import of the list struck her. Twelve new TIE Defenders had been ordered for her squadron. Wade certainly didn't have the power to get Defenders for the squadron. "What is going on?" she wondered.

Just as she leaned back in her chair to contemplate her situation, Wade came back. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Any luck?"

"Nah, they just kept sending me back and forth between fighter command and the quartermaster."

She spun the datapad around. "Take a look at this."

Wade's eyes scanned the text. He looked up at Abiona. "You got the fighters from them?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly?"

She walked around to the front of her desk and sat on the corner. "On my way back here, this Intel officer came up to me. He said people were watching my career with great interest and handed me this chip." She waved the datapad for emphasis. "That's all I know."

"Strange. Very strange."

Abiona turned around and punched a few buttons on her desk. A rotating holo of the new fighter with running specs popped up. "I wonder if there are any sims loaded for this fighter."

"I'm not sure, but we'd better find out soon. Those fighters should be ready in about a month."

She checked her chrono. "Well, we won't be finding out right now." She tapped her chrono. "Time for our patrols. Go ahead, I'll catch up."

Wade nodded and hurried off to his fighter. Abiona tapped a few buttons and the holo fighter faded. After a moment's consideration, she punched in a text message telling the Admiral that she would be in to see him after her patrol. She sent the message and jogged down to her fighter.

*****

Abiona ran a hand through slightly damp hair and decided it didn't matter how her hair looked. Putting on her hat, she left the locker room and headed directly for the Admiral's office. Upon arriving, she saluted and handed him the datapad.

"Do you know anything about this?"

"Fighter command deals with this sort of thing."

"Would you know anything if I told you an Intel agent gave me that data chip in the corridor?"

"No, but I could start searching."

"Great. Fabulous." She started to leave.

"Abi? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine. Just a little stressed," she said and walked out the door. She headed down to the simulator area and began checking for Defender sims. After sifting through around 300 sims, Abiona found nothing and cursed under her breath. "Looks like a couple hours of program adapting before I've got anything to train my pilots with. Might as well get started," she thought. She settled in at the computer terminal and started transferring TIE Defender specs to the old sims.

After an hour or so of testing, Abiona felt fatigue pulling at her. Yawning, she decided to go back to her quarters and catch a few hours of sleep. By all accounts, she was off duty now. She dragged herself back to her quarters. Tossing her hat on the desk, she sat on the bed. Taking off her uniform jacket, she vaguely wondered if she had any messages. She moved her uniform jacket to the end of the bed and lay down. "I'll just close my eyes for a minute," she thought. Within moments, she was sound asleep.

Abiona unwillingly awoke at the sound of her door chime. Hoping whoever it was would go away, she closed her eyes again, only to hear another ring. "Just a second," she yelled, rubbing her eyes. Running a hand through her hair, she looked at the chrono. "Only two hours of sleep. Better than nothing," she thought. She smoothed her clothes out and answered the door.

"Come on in, Wade." She motioned for him to sit down. "Have you taken a look at the sims I rigged up?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Actually, I was going to ask you to show me the basics before we have to run any squadron wide sims." He gave her a concerned look. "If you're feeling up to it, that is."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well."

"Look, if something's wrong, you know you can tell me."

She managed a bit of a smile. "It's nothing, really, just a few bad dreams."

"You never seemed the type to have nightmares."

"I haven't had any since I was a cadet, until now."

"Well, you should pay attention to them. They say dreams can foretell events."

"I certainly hope these don't foretell anything. If I'm not the one getting killed, someone I care about is getting killed. Makes me hate going to sleep."

"C'mon. Let's go run a sim. That should keep you awake."

*****

After two sim runs, Abiona decided she should report in to the Admiral. He had seemed concerned earlier, and she thought that she should go and allay his fears. After a long hike from the sim area to his office, she hit the chime button.

"Come," was the reply to the chime.

Abiona saluted as the door closed behind her. Piett looked up, slightly surprised and motioned to chair. "I just got finished running a Defender sim." She sat down. "Any word on who my mysterious benefactor is?"

Piett shook his head. "I've found files that might have the information, but the security clearance is even higher than mine. That can mean either Lord Vader or Intel is behind it."

"That'll make me rest easy," she said, stifling a yawn.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, just tired."

He got up and sat in the chair next to her. Abiona noticed that he was looking at her eyes, and she knew that she couldn't hide the fact that they were bloodshot.

"When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

"It's been at least two weeks."

"You've got to get some sleep."

"No, I'll be fine. Besides, I've got to work on getting more sims for the Defenders."

Piett took her arm and led her toward his quarters. "No, you're going to go to bed. You can't keep working on little or no sleep."

"But-"

He kissed her. "No arguments. Get some sleep."

"Yes, sir," she said with a bit of a smirk. After he left, she took off her uniform and folded it neatly on the desk chair. Climbing into the comfortable bed, she closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep for the first time in weeks.

Abiona awoke, disoriented. She realized where she was, and the fear subsided. She glanced at the chrono and did a double-take. "I slept eight hours!" she thought. "But technically it was an order from the Admiral." She checked the chrono again. "At least I'm off duty right now." She dragged herself to the 'fresher and looked in the mirror. While sleep had erased the bloodshot look in her eyes, dark circles still remained under her eyes. She turned on the tap and splashed some water on her face. Drying her face off, she realized that there was a briefing in fifteen minutes for Avenger and Tau squadrons. Abiona hurried back into the room and got dressed. She scribbled a note to Piett telling him about the briefing and hurried down to the briefing room.

She arrived with barely a minute to spare and sat down next to Wade. Glancing around, she noticed one of her pilots was missing. "Great," she thought. "He'll probably be late and embarrass us all."

"I see Gareth is late," she whispered to Wade.

"As usual."

Abiona shook her head and sighed, and the briefing began. She noticed Gareth, her missing pilot slip in.

"Tau Squadron, you will be performing a heavy assault on the Rebel shipyard. Your gunboats will be armed with torpedoes. Destroy the gun emplacement perimeter first, and then attack the factory. Avenger Squadron will escort you and destroy any fighter resistance that you may encounter. Avenger Squadron, expect to see Z-95s and possibly X-Wings or A-Wings." Their Wing Commander looked around. "Any questions?" Silence followed. "Then get to your fighters."

As the pilots filed out of the briefing room, Abiona caught Gareth.

"If you're late one more time, you'll find yourself in the Outer Rim flying patrols for the rest of your career. Get me?"

"Yes, sir."

Abiona hoped that would straighten Gareth out and caught up with Wade. They walked in silence to their fighters. She couldn't help but feel that something terrible was going to happen on this mission. The nightmares had stopped, and that worried her more than anything else. Premonitions tended to stop when the event was about to happen. She shook herself out of it and strapped herself into her fighter and waited for launch.

*****

The gunboats picked off the gun emplacements with ease. Avenger Squadron had vaped the light starfighter defenses of the factory.

"Stay sharp. I suspect the Rebels have something hidden," Abiona said over the comm. She frowned at her sensor readings. The energy reading from the factory seemed like an anomaly. "Anybody else getting really weird readings from that FAC?"

"Three here. I'm getting some sort of energy spike."

"Four. Same here, Lead."

A sudden realization struck Abiona. "Shit," she whispered. "Everybody get the hell away from that FAC! It's gonna self-destruct!" she yelled into the comm. Her fighter rocketed away from the factory as she transferred laser power to the engines. Her HUD displayed the explosion, but she had cleared the blast area in time. A scream cut across the comm, confirming that not everyone had been as lucky as she. She glanced at her HUD and confirmed her fears. Gareth hadn't made it out of the blast radius.

Wade made her snap out of her stunned trance. "Commander?"

She shook herself. "Let's go home."

Pulling herself out of her fighter, Abiona felt the melancholy of the squadron immediately. No one spoke in the docking bay, and Abiona walked to her office. Wade walked beside her, saying nothing.

"Do you want me to-" he started to say outside her office door.

"No. I'll notify his family. If you could fill out the paperwork…"

"No problem." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and went to his office.

Abiona went into her office and sat down behind her desk. She felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach, but she knew that it was her duty to notify the family. Biting the inside of her cheek, she pulled up Gareth's file to find family contact information. Scanning down his file, she finally found information on his parents and began to read. Apparently, his father had started out as a comm officer but transferred planet side, to raise a family Abiona assumed, where he eventually became the head of the planet's fighter defenses.

Trying to stay calm and composed, she waited for the HoloNet transmission to go through. After a moment, a stern looking captain appeared, and Abiona saluted.

"Captain Siran?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Commander Abiona Reed, Avenger Squadron." Abiona took a deep breath and let it out. "Sir, I regret to inform you that your son, Ensign Gareth Siran was killed in the line of duty."

Disbelief, anger, and sadness flashed across Captain Siran's face before it reformed into a stern mask. "How did it happen?"

"Avenger Squadron was flying superiority on a mission to destroy a Rebel factory. The factory had been set as a trap and self-destructed. Your son didn't make it out of the blast radius in time. I'm sorry."

"I understand. Thank you for notifying me personally."

"I felt it was my duty." She saluted and cut the connection. Somehow the silent way that Captain Siran accepted his son's death was worse than hysterics. She could have tried to calm a hysterical father, but now she felt as if she could do nothing. The pain of losing a squadron member hit her and released the pain of so many other deaths. She put her head into her hands and felt the tears begin to run down her cheeks.

to be continued...