Project Boussh: Home Team Advantage
by Majick

Elassar grinned from his spot in the command chair of the Red Home. You
could tell it was the command chair, because someone had taped a sign saying
'Command Chair' to the back of it.
"What do you think of the command chair, then?" he asked.
"It's very commanding," Dia said, sitting next to him in the identical
co-pilots chair. "Are we ready to go?"
"Ready and waiting, Lady Loran," Elassar grinned. Dia smiled. She
remembered, now, that Elassar had taken to calling her that since she and
Face had announced their engagement. She liked the sound of it, and it
always made her remember her sort of, almost, unofficial, official husband.
She grinned again. That was the trouble with dual cultures. Two weddings.
Her hand brushed against the datapad in the pocket of her jumpsuit, and she
fought the urge to play it now. Whatever Alison had wanted to say, it would
wait. She trusted her friend to know what was best for her, after all.

Mike locked the straps shut across his chest, and slumped into his seat.
Scattered around this part of the hold were the Noghri team he'd been
assigned to. He grinned at the thought of the havoc they'd unleash on board
the Admonitor.
He grinned at the Noghri opposite him, who was running through an equipment
check. The Noghri stared blankly at him for a second, then returned to his
task. Mike grinned again. Teaming with Elassar was fun, but it was nice to
have a platoon of straight men for him to play off.

Elassar watched the interior cam as the last of the Red Home's passengers
boarded. He activated the hold doors, and then spun his chair around. It was
something he'd been doing ever since getting on board the ship.
"Sharon, Kolot, if you can go to the port and starboard gunnery towers now,
please?"
"Aye, sir," the Terran replied.
"Yub yub, O Supreme Master of the Universe," the Ewok chirped. Elassar
grinned. He'd taught the furry little guy well.
He spun his chair around again. Signalling to Dia to monitor comms, he
activated the rear gunnery position, sweeping the quad laser around the
docking bay, targeting the occasional friendly fighter.
"Use it or lose it, Red Home," came a cheery voice over the comm.
"You want to try and take it, Captain?" Dia replied, her voice dropping
into a husky purr.
"Ah, that's a negative Home. Elassar, you make sure my wife comes back in
one piece, you hear?"
"If I can only manage two pieces, Captain, where would you like the split
to be?"
"If you can only manage two pieces, I suggest the split is between your
shoulder blades and your skull, 'Captain.'"
"Hey, that's right. I'm commanding this ship, so I'm the Captain! Wow, how
about that?"
"Captain Targon, would you care to lead the assault on the Admonitor? It
can be your first field command. . . "
"Thank you Red Five, but I'll leave that to those with a few more years
on them than me."
Then Sci's voice came over the comm. "Terra Lead to all units. Report ready
status."

Mike looked down at his comm unit. This was it. They were about to go into
final battle. He felt his hands shake as he flicked his comm on to report
"Mayhem Team standing by."
He looked around guiltily, and noticed for the first time who'd taken the
seat on his left.
"It's not easy, is it?" Kirney said, with a smile.
"Uh, no," Mike said. "How do you cope? Myn is out there, and you seem so
calm."
"Well, Myn knows I'll kill him if he doesn't come back to me," she said, he
eyes twinkling. "And I know he's the best."
"I thought Wedge was the best?"
"I'm Myn's wife. He's the best," she said, with a grin. "How will you be?"
"OK, I think," he replied. "I'm working with several very proficient
exponents of mayhem. . . "
"Not the usual description of Noghri, but I guess it works."
His expression clouded. "I just want it to be over and done with."
"No-one enjoys war," she said. He managed a faint smile at that.
"I'd gathered that."

In the cockpit, Elassar ticked off the teams as they answered. When all
were ready and accounted for, he switched his comm over to the mechanic's
frequency.
"Cubber?" he asked, cautiously.
"Yes?" the reply came back over a suspicious hissing sound.
"Is she going to hold together?"
The hissing seemed to reverse, as Cubber sucked air over his teeth.
"Providing you don't want it to go head to head with the Imps, you'll be
fine."
"You did hear what job we'd been given, didn't you?"
"Oh, yes, good point. Well, I'm not making any promises. But hey, you have
the best teams of mechanics in the galaxy."
"We appreciate all you can do," Elassar replied. He shut off the comm, and
slumped forward, banging his head on the pilots yoke.
"We're going to die," he murmured.

The comm popped, and Elassar's voice came over it.
"Everyone get strapped in. We're lifting off in one minute."
Mike grinned at Alison, sitting a few metres away. She ignored him, facing
past him, towards Kirney. The two women stared blankly at one another. Mike
suspected a whole deep and meaningful relationship there. He dismissed it.
They weren't on his team, they were adults, whatever was going on, was up to
them.
He felt the thrum of the engines as they came online. His chair tilted
gently, compensating for the lift of the craft, as it eased away from the
ground.

In the cockpit, Elassar looked around to see a grey and white astromech
droid plug itself into the ship's computer. His screen lit up.
I AM TONIN, he read. KIRNEY VOLUNTEERED ME TO HELP, AS SHE IS NOT FLYING.
"Ok, Tonin," Elassar replied. "You're on shield watch, ok? You know the
drill, I'm sure."
PROBABLY BETTER THAN YOU, LIEUTENANT TARGON
Elassar sighed. "If you're going to be insubordinate, Tonin, at least
remember that I'm Captain Targon for this mission."
VERY WELL, CAPTAIN. I SHALL REMEMBER THIS IN MY INSUBORDINATION.
Elassar banged his head on the yoke again, making the ship dip slightly.
"We're going to die..."