Project Boussh: Interlude by Vickie Boyd Part 1 Vickie sat between Pash and the CO of Master Squadron. She felt quite intimidated by their presence. *These are two damn good A-Wing pilots.* She barely suppressed a giggle when she sensed Mike and Shalla running in late. Her attention turned towards Sci who began the briefing. She flinched when Sci spoke of Thrawn by his full name. Even now it still sent shudders down her spine. Wedge spoke of his theories that this Thrawn was a true clone. Sci went on to tell us of the task force the NR had sent to assist us. Then he surprised her to no end. "Your information about the droids Brad seems to have built lead me to believe that Brad isn't actually working against us. Since we're pressed for time, I'll just say that should you encounter him, do your best not to kill him." Her jaw fell open. Sci had just inadvertently admitted that she had been right all along. He noticed her, winked and gave her a slight smile. She closed her mouth and shook her head slightly. He continued. "As for Pol, he was working with us from the beginning, as an inside man. He's going to make it substantially easier for us to complete our missions." She frowned. "You act as if you know exactly what Pol's doing. He wouldn't tell me that much when we spoke." Pol had irritated her to no end aboard the _Admonitor_. Sci smiled widely. "I do know exactly what he's doing." That produced some surprise; most of the New Republic personnel were either shocked or confused, as well as several Terrans. Wedge and Tycho were nodding, as if they'd figured out Sci's plans. "Pol held the rank of Commander in the Imperial Ubiqtorate, Special Services, from prior engagements that I'm respecting his silence concerning. He's also, in the past, liased with New Republic Intelligence, Alpha Blue division. He and I met several times early in the mission. We decided that given his rank, he could report to the Admonitor as an advisor on the local situation. Once there, he would be able to provide effective assistance from inside the Imperial command structure. But I'm getting ahead of myself." She listened to his logic. Perhaps they were right, but Pol could have completely told her. It's not like she was going to tell anyone. Her brow furrowed as she felt something rub against her leg. She looked at Pash first, but saw that his attention was on Sci. Looking down, she saw Terra Groups mascot, the orange tabby Macavity, rubbing his body against her. She reached down and scratched his head. "Hey kitty. What are you doing here? Why aren't you with your human?" Macavity mewed and sat on his haunches, staring at her. They looked at each other for a few moments until she heard Sci begin mentioning the assignments. Looking back up, she listened for her name. "Vickie, you can take the Avenger you flew in..." She nodded with a smile on her face. *Good,* she thought. *Now I can learn a bit more about that ship.* She looked down to see Macavity still staring at her. "What?" He jumped up into her lap, purring. She looked at him curiously and began to pet him absently. He watched her while she turned her attention back to the briefing. When Sci called an end to the meeting, the orange tabby slipped from her lap and disappeared from the crowd. She barely noticed the movement. "So, are you excited," Pash asked her. She smiled. "This is my other dream come to life. Maybe I will become an ace out of this." She winked at her friend. The red haired pilot blushed and smiled. "Perhaps you will." Part 2 Vickie strode purposefully across the courtyard towards where the TIE-Avenger sat awaiting her arrival. She was dressed in a black flightsuit she had acquired from the barracks. It fit a little snug in the chest and was a bit long in the legs. She had rolled up the pant legs and pushed them down over the boots she had found to match. The boots were a bit wide, but she suffered them. She knew what her role was to be in the assault. Determination was set on her face. Thrawn and Erisi were going to pay for coming into this solar system. A green and white R2 unit rolled into her path. She was barely able to stop before falling over the droid. "Whistler! Watch where you're going." The droid whistled and beeped at her. "You need to talk to me? Why?" He beeped again, asking several questions. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she deciphered his noises. "What do you mean? My eyesight is perfect. Off with you. I need to get that TIE started." With that, she skirted the droid and jogged to the ship. Whistler watched after her. The little droid was agitated, but nobody would believe him if he told them why. Vickie looked at the TIE-Avenger. She remembered the gaming sessions at her house. This was just like the prototype her friend Joseph's character Aulduin, Kelly's Jedi Master, had captured. She conjured pictures of Aulduin in her mind, but not Joseph. Her face squirreled up as she tried again. Still nothing. That bugged her. Shaking her head, she popped the hatch and crawled into the ship. The acceleration couch adjusted itself to fit snuggly around her. She flipped several switches and began the start-up sequence. Looking out the viewport, she saw the other pilots going to their respective ships and getting ready. Her eyes settled on Whistler as he rolled towards Corran, then moved to an X-Wing nearby. Climbing into the ship was the newest member of Terra Group. They hadn't actually met, but he was in the pilot meeting. Something about him struck her as odd. She watched as he suddenly jumped as if he had been shocked. Josh Cochran climbed up into _HIS_ X-Wing. He was amazed that the ship looked exactly as he had imagined. He dropped down into the acceleration couch to sit and suddenly jumped up. "What the hell," he said after feeling the prick on his butt. Looking down into the seat, he saw his knife piercing a note to his seat. He pulled it out of the seat and curiously read the note. Flyboy, I believe this is yours. Since it's uncomfortable in my boot holster, I figured I would give it back so you can complete your outfit. Don't mind the stormie blood on it. -Sky He chuckled, looking at the blood on the blade. His eyes shut for a moment as he remembered the fight. Shuddering, he wiped it on his suit leg, slipped it into his boot and settled down into the cockpit. Vickie focused back on the inside of the Avenger. The cockpit seemed eerily quiet to her. Too quiet. She sensed something wrong about that, but had no idea what it could be. She flipped on the comm in hopes that there was some chatter going on to fill the void. A slight tingle in the Force made her look up. Not noticing anything out of place, she shook her head and concentrated on getting ready to fly.