Project Boussh: For Those In Peril
by Durandir

It was simply so very big.

Worry was building at the back of Becki's mind as she made her way 
down the Gaia's ramp into the rather enormous docking bay of what was 
proving to be a more enormous than she'd ever expected ship. 
Unsettling images of needles in haystacks kept drifting into her 
thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to remain positive. And it 
didn't help that the inhabitants of this haystack would be all too 
glad to eat her friends and her alive...

The ramp, as she stepped from it onto the flooring of the Admonitor 
itself, began to rise with a slight hissing sound, distracting her 
for a moment from her thoughts. She looked around and saw Mike 
suddenly standing nearby, offering her a thumbs-up accompanied by his 
usual lopsided grin. She grinned in reply and then turned to follow 
the rest of the team she'd been assigned for this battle.

But it was still simply so very big. She wasn't sure how they'd ever 
find their people aboard this ship. She was beginning to be unsure if 
they'd ever even find their way back out of it. "But I promised," she 
whispered resolutely to herself. "I have to make it back; I 
promised..."

She paused, halfway to the door where her team waited, and looked 
back the way their shuttle had come, out the docking bay's mouth into 
the blackness of space. For a moment, she could imagine that it was 
something like the mouth of the cavern-hangar in Mendellia. And of 
course the Admonitor was something like the High Palace, just a maze 
of hallways with her friends and allies waiting to be rescued 
somewhere in the midst of it. Only, of course, the docking bay was so 
much bigger than the hangar cave. And the ship itself, compared to 
the Palace... Well, it was pointless letting her thoughts go that way 
again. She stared out to space for a moment, but from this angle she 
couldn't see much of the battle, just the occasional faraway star 
watching the events in Terran space with something that looked 
suspiciously like nonchalance. She saw no other ships, none of the 
snubfighters she knew had to be out there even now, keeping the 
Admonitor and its own fighters occupied while the rest of the 
Bousshers were infiltrating the great ship. Probably they were trying 
to draw the enemy fighters away, keeping them as far as possible from 
the docking bays, from the Boussh commando teams there. Still, though 
she knew it might be in vain, she had to hope for a glimpse of one 
certain TIE Avenger now flying under the Mendellian flag...

"As if I'd even know it if I did see it, if I could see it, from this 
distance," she chided herself. It was enough to know he was out 
there, somewhere, leading his countrymen against the monster that had 
now swallowed her and her team. David against the Giant. (Which 
brought to mind, naturally, images of talking vegetables and giant 
pickles. And speaking of pickles, it was a very fine pickle they were 
in, indeed, with so many, many levels and hallways and those they 
sought might be anywhere and enemies would be everywhere, sought or 
unsought, and her blaster would stop some but might not stop them all 
and her piccolo would stop others but certainly not all...) So the 
worry built in her mind and ate at her, as her team waited at the 
door for her to join them so they could begin this insane assault 
upon a foe so much stronger, so much swifter, a ship that dwarfed the 
High Palace and a genius (even if only the clone of a genius) for its 
commander...

*The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.* The 
words leapt to her mind in an instant, from wherever they'd lain 
dormant, and she blinked, remembering a moment, trying to place them. 
Sounded like something out of the Poets, or maybe Isaiah, but 
anything more specific eluded her at present. But no matter. "Not to 
the swift nor the strong," she smiled. "Well, then, I suppose *we* 
have a chance. So. Strong and courageous, not afraid, not 
dismayed..." And with that, she turned and ran to join the others at 
the door.

~

Under any other circumstances, it would have been an awe-inspiring 
sight.

Well, that wasn't strictly true: even in the present circumstances, 
Thayer couldn't help feeling a bit awed as the Admonitor quickly grew 
from a mere speck among the stars to a behemoth that filled all his 
view. It was just that (under the present circumstances) awe made up 
a rather minor part of his emotions.

Something akin to glee made up the majority. A smile, both predatory 
and childlike, tugged at the corners of his mouth as he activated his 
ship's comm. "Grace One to Graces, Finches, and Peas. That large ship 
you see before us is the last reminder in this solar system of Eugor 
Atner's evil. It has fallen to us to eliminate it."

The cheers of his countrymen came in reply, along with a snort of 
restrained laughter that he recognized as Reth's. "Strafing runs on 
the Admonitor's guns and engines," Thayer continued. "Don't stop to 
play with the enemy fighters; most of them are better trained and 
better defended than any of us, so leave them for the Reds. Finches, 
take the starboard; Peas, to port; Graces, we're straight down the 
middle, and follow my lead."

And then they were upon the enemy, slipping past the fighter screen, 
merrily dodging the Admonitor's fire and replying with their own, as 
behind them the X-wings and TIEs of Red Flight broke off to engage 
the enemy fighters.

All things considered, this was a much better way to commence his 
reign than any of the statecraft and diplomacy that undoubtedly 
awaited his return from battle. Sitting in a cockpit, flying combat 
at last, two battles in as many days, leading his countrymen now 
rather than flying against them--Thayer's world, turned so abruptly 
upside-down with his father's murder years ago, was beginning to 
right itself.

~

Tede led the way, because he'd been here before. It was, Becki had to 
admit, rather helpful having a human replica droid on your side who'd 
spent time in the employ (or the ruse of an employ) of both your 
chief enemies. His knowledge of the Palace had helped them win 
against Eugor Atner. Now his knowledge of the Admonitor would be 
their first asset in the battle here.

Of course, it wasn't really all that much, his knowledge of the 
Admonitor. He'd been here before as Atner's liaison with the Imperial 
ship, but only on a few brief occasions, and then usually he was 
escorted all too quickly between the hangar and Thrawn's chambers, 
leaving little occasion for him to learn the ship's secrets. But he 
was at least familiar with the basic layout of such a ship, which was 
infinitely more than she was. So Tede, wearing once again the 
Imperial officer's uniform in which she'd first seen him, led the way.

Becki came next. Counting on the marksmanship of the rest of her 
team, she had not her blaster but her piccolo at the ready, just in 
case they should encounter enemies more susceptible to that weapon 
than to the other. All the same, her right hand hovered anxiously 
near the holstered firearm. Just in case.

In the middle was Corran, blaster in one hand, lightsaber in the 
other, ready to be switched on in a moment if needed. His skill with 
the Force was his reason for being here, with the rescue team, rather 
than out in an X-wing, and Becki knew that even now he'd be touching 
the Force, seeking out the presences of their friends in it. He'd met 
each of them, at least briefly--Brad and Pol in New Hampshire, Plourr 
and Dorset back in the New Republic--and so he ought to know their 
presences if he felt them. At least that was the theory.

Whistler, who was (as Tede had told her) enthusiastic about being the 
only astromech on the rescue team, followed his master, and Fenya and 
Fir brought up the rear, alert for any sign of pursuit. And thus it 
was Fir's voice that reached her, not yet two minutes away from the 
hangar, saying "Someone's coming."

She glanced back and saw nothing, but Fir's senses were to be trusted-
-she remembered how he'd heard or seen Atner's stormtrooper 
transports coming to secure the Resistance's caverns long before any 
of the other defenders could. "Tede?" Becki whispered, turning back 
to their guide.

"This way," Tede nodded, and with that he ducked into a side 
passageway. The rest of the team hurried to follow him. In moments 
they could hear the approaching footsteps--steps that were, by the 
time they neared their hiding place, growing rather loud. Becki 
peeked around the corner and saw that it was a squad of 
stormtroopers, blaster rifles at the ready, no doubt hurrying 
somewhere in response to the alarms that had been sounding ever since 
the Boussh teams landed in the Admonitor's docking bays. At least it 
might be hoped that they were simply responding to some general 
alarm, not pursuing Rescue Team One specifically. Becki ducked back 
into the hallway and started to motion to her team to keep out of 
sight--

"Wait a minute," she whispered; there were two ways to look at this 
situation, and she'd been considering only one. Inconvenience...or 
opportunity. She quickly whispered a plan to the others. Tede nodded 
and moved toward the main hall. The rest of them shrank back into the 
shadows and waited.

Within seconds they heard Tede's voice, commanding and just the right 
degree of disdainful: "You there," he called to the stormtroopers as 
he drew near them. Becki fought the urge to peek around the corner 
again; by now the troopers would be near enough that the motion would 
not escape their notice.

All the same, she fervently wished she could see how it was going. 
Snatches of voices drifted back to where they waited: Tede's, still 
strong and forceful, alternating with the quieter replies of one of 
the stormtroopers, mechanical-sounding through his helmet. Tede was 
saying something about why weren't they at their post and didn't they 
know what the alarms meant and other things that she couldn't quite 
hear. The stormtrooper, in turn, sounded confused, cautious, but as 
yet he did not sound suspicious. Then Tede reached the purpose of 
this little drama she'd given him to play: She heard his voice 
saying "...prisoners...the General...rebel collaborators...escaped 
this morning..."

She signaled to the rest of her team to have their blasters at ready, 
set on stun, in case the stormies weren't buying it. It was a bit of 
a gamble--though they knew, from what Wedge and Vickie had told them 
before the battle, that the prisoners had escaped and that not all of 
them had left the ship, there was no way of knowing how much these 
particular stormtroopers knew about the situation. There was no 
knowing whether what they knew would match up with the story Tede was 
now spinning. If it did, perhaps they'd be lucky enough to gain some 
sort of useful information from the stormie squad, something to make 
their search that much easier. But if not--

A sudden blue flash illuminated the hallway before their eyes. Becki 
motioned to her group: "That's our cue." And with that, they broke 
out into the main hallway, and within seconds the rest of the 
stormtrooper squad fell to the floor to join the two that Tede had 
stunned before their fellow troopers knew what was happening.

"Did you learn anything before..." Becki began, glancing around at 
the scattered troopers with a twinge of regret.

"No," Tede answered calmly. "I got the impression that they knew 
about the prisoners, but that my knowing was...unexpected. They 
hesitated; they seemed suspicious; I decided the ploy had outlived 
its usefulness."

"Right," she said absently. "Well, it was worth trying. Okay, let's 
drag the bodies into the other hall. If these fellows wouldn't be 
useful to us while they were awake, maybe they'll be of some use 
while they're sleeping..."

~

His ancestors had been pirates, lords of the sea, before they made 
Mendellia their home. Even in modern times Mendellia's navy was a 
force to be reckoned with--at least for a nation so small. But her 
air force was relatively new, untried, its strength unknown. Going 
into this battle, Thayer had been unsure what to expect from his 
pilots. 

In the past few minutes, he'd already happily revised his 
expectations twice; he began to suspect that his optimism would be a 
match for Reth's by the end of the battle. They had lost a Finch and 
two Peas already, but considering the odds they were facing, 
considering how inexperienced his pilots were and how ill-defended 
their TIE fighters, losses were inevitable. That they had lost so few 
to this point gave him cause to hope. His pilots were acquitting 
themselves admirably. They were not, of course, on the level of the 
Rogues and Wraiths with whom Thayer had flown yesterday--but they 
were on a level sufficiently high to have survived flying against 
those superior pilots.

And at the rate they were going, they just might survive flying 
against the Admonitor, as well.

"Fighters incoming, Grace One," Reth's voice broke into his 
thoughts. "Looks like our stings have begun to annoy the Addy; mother 
hen's called back some of her chicks."

"Thanks, Two," Thayer said, glancing over his TIE Avenger's 
displays. "How many incoming?"

"Two squadrons, sir. Interceptors. But there's five--no, six--Reds in 
pursuit."

"Good," Thayer said, "we'll need their help. Graces, on me; we'll go 
out to meet the new arrivals. Peas and Finches, continue strafing 
runs."

"Wait, sir," Reth said. "They seem...No. The squints aren't heading 
for us, One; they're heading for the docking bays."

Docking bays? Thayer frowned at that. Why would the Admonitor's 
defenders be returning to their nest when the battle had just begun?

Oh. No, of course, it wasn't *their* nest they were making for. 
Thayer keyed his comm: "Red Home, Gaia: enemy fighters are en route 
to your position. Graces en route too. See you there." And then he 
was speeding along above the surface of the Star Destroyer, near to 
her surface where he'd be a less tempting target for the Admonitor's 
weapons, with Reth and the other ten Graces tucked in behind him, 
only seconds away from the starboard edge of the great triangle, 
seconds away from turning to approach the ship's underside and the 
vast bays into which the Gaia and the Red Home had disappeared just 
minutes ago.

Gaia. Only a few more minutes ago, he'd stood at the foot of her ramp 
to bid farewell to his beloved, and though there'd been no time for 
anything but a most hasty kiss, the warmth of that kiss was with him 
still. If Becki was in danger now...

He had to smile at his own alarm. Of course she was in danger. So was 
he. By now, no doubt, her danger involved something other than the 
enemy Interceptors that were about to become his danger; but just in 
case, he'd be making sure that not one of those squints made it to 
the docking bay to endanger his love--or her ride home--any further. 
They'd met amidst danger, as she escaped his uncle's clutches; they'd 
first loved in the moment of breathing space between the danger of 
two battles; and now, as she faced foes he could only guess at within 
the enemy ship and he faced foes of his own without, danger was ever 
with them. Perhaps they would simply become accustomed to the danger; 
would grow old together watching each other's backs.

The smile on his face as his lasers intercepted the first of the 
enemy fighters had absolutely nothing to do with the ensuing 
dogfight.