Project Boussh: Bang, Bang Maxwell's Silver Hammer
by Vickie Boyd and Nick Coghlan

"No," she heard Dia scream.

"Stay put Two," Vickie said putting as much calm into her voice as she
could. "There are still TIEs that need to be taken out before we land."

"She has a point, Two," said Kirney. "He will be ok."

Dia growled in frustration and aimed at a TIE. It easily evaded her
fire.

Vickie sighed and looked for her next target as the ship began to
descend to the earth. A sudden flash blinded her momentarily. "What the
hell was that?" She looked out the viewport to see a completely slagged
X-Wing. "Oh sithspawn."

Chatter suddenly began to fill her head. She pressed the headphone
against her ear trying to discern what was going on. "Hey, what's
happening in there?"

Sharon answered her. "That was a turbolaser shot. Seems the _Admonitor_
is joining the party."

"Tell her to hang on," she heard Kirney shout. "I'm going to make an
emergency landing."

She paled and looked out the viewport once again. It was coming. She
could feel and hear it burning through the atmosphere. "Turn! Turn!
Turn!" She tried to yell for Kirney to maneuver the ship before the shot
hit. She failed.

The ship lurched as the blast punched through the engine. Another shot
came down and hit very close to the turret. Vickie felt the heat from
the melted metal through the bulkhead. The ship lurched again as it hit
the ground. The world suddenly went black.



Sharon slipped out the doorway as Koyi and Cubber came through with the
fire extinguishers. She didn't really know what to do to help. Walking
towards the hold, she decided to go check to see if Vickie was ok.

Behind her, the three engineers tried desperately to save their ship.
Kirney and Kolot posted guard beside the door.

She reached the hold after several turns away from blocked hallways. The
ship was in bad shape. She shook her head as she slipped out a rend in
the bulkhead. Out in the forest, she saw a group of troopers heading for
the ship.

Swearing to herself, she slipped into a shadow and moved around the
ship. When she got around to where the turret was, she climbed up the
side of the ship to look in. Vickie wasn't there. She hoped the Jedi had
escaped harm.

************
Looking around from her bird's-eye view, Sharon noticed Sci's ship in
the distance. The glow of the Lambda-class shuttle's drive was just
disappearing beneath the treeline. Turning her attention back to the
nearby troopers she noticed they had been reinforced by a cadre of the
mechanical soldiers. With these extra numbers, the approaching force
spread out to cover a wider arc, obviously intending to surround the Red
Home before the main body of troops moved into the ship. Realising she
wasn't going to be able to return to her post in the cockpit, Sharon
slithered rapidly down from her perch, and moved quickly into the cover
of the forest.

Looking back, she knew there was nothing she could do for the people
trapped on board the Red Home. Setting her jaw, she turned resolutely
towards the spot where she'd last seen Terra Lead's craft. She stepped
lightly from tree to tree, barely making a sound, eyes and ears alert.
The few Imperial troops she spotted in the distance failed to notice
her, perhaps because she wasn't armed. Finally, she made out the vague
shape of the shuttle through the trees. Unfortunately, off at an angle,
she spotted a shadowy figure trudging through the woods towards the same
location. Another glance, however, and she relaxed. The lightsabre in
the figure's hands, and his general demeanour, assured her that this was
no Imperial. She started forward again, still moving with a
preternatural, yet unconscious, stealth. She had almost reached the
figure, when he suddenly spun around, bringing the lightsabre handle up
to a guard position.

"Identify yourself!", he snapped.

She stopped, startled by his savage reaction. Her reflexes were up to
the task, however. "Sharon, Terra, uhh, Eight."

Mike paused, evaluating the figure before him. Lowering the lightsabre
to his side, he continued in a more conversational tone, "So you're the
mysterious Sharon, huh? You're pretty good, getting that close to me.
So, you here to catch a ride as well?"

Sharon nodded, as Mike turned back towards his destination. "Yeah. With
the Imperials swarming around the Red Home, I didn't have much choice."

It was Mike's turn to nod, as the duo resumed their interrupted journey
in companionable silence.