Operation Darkness: The Five Minute Warning by Majick I awoke in the Red Home's pilot chair, and not for the first time. Over the years I'd been living in Mendellia, I'd often slept here. My theoretical quarters is just down the hall from the Ladies in Waiting, and those girls are always looking for a gentlemanly gentleman to unblock their drains or something. But this had been the first time I'd slept here thinking I was about to die. Now, I know, that sounds really gloomy. And it is. But I had to face facts. Brad and myself had escaped Lunar Base because he'd used his bass-ackwards Force powers to rip apart a Yuuzhan Vong scout craft. Before that, we'd barely dented the ship, and that had only been a small craft. It was likely that reinforcements were coming, that Brad wouldn't be able to pull out his mojo on all of them, and that the Red Home would be at the spearhead of the defence forces. At least I'd talked Noreh into taking the sole TIE Defender for herself. It had been a long, tortuous argument, but I was damned if she was going into battle with anything less than the maximum protection. As Grace Lead since the run up to Thayer and Becki's wedding, she had every right to the best ship on the island. I stretched as I checked the pirated sensor feeds from the satellites and the Hubble II. Still nothing. Brad (Sci?) had worked with Sharon and Vickie to get the orbital scanners locked in on wavelengths that could pick up on Vong craft. I couldn't imagine how pissed NASA and the other owners were right now. It had been more than twenty hours since the computers had been locked out using GFFA hyper encryption. Since the world wasn't giving us what we needed, we'd decided to take it. What the hell. If our theories were correct, by the end of the day we'd be heroes or dead. Nothing seemed to matter much anymore. I brought the pilot's chair upright, and ran through a pre-flight checklist, for practise. Everything was running as close to perfect as we could make it. Part of me was itching to take the transport up, and look for myself. But I knew there was no point in inviting trouble in. It'd likely show up on its own soon enough. I walked down through the ship, feeling its standby hum through the soles of my feet. Exiting through the main hull door, I saw Becki standing by the magcon field, lost in thought as she looked out at the wall of water beyond. I stepped up behind her, and placed my hands upon her shoulders. "Hey wing," I said. "It's all going to die," she replied, her arms wrapped tight around herself. "If the Vong win, they'll wipe this planet clean of us. Of everything." "They won't," I said. "Some things they will leave. If they win. Which they won't," I added, almost as an afterthought. I felt Becki sag slightly under my hands, and she turned to face me. Her face was pale, dark circles below her eyes. "How can you be sure?" she asked. Inwardly, I sighed. I couldn't, and she knew that as well as I did. But: "Your husband's leading us. Isn't that enough? If that doesn't inspire you, then Sci's helping out, and Josh, Brad and myself are all lending our experience. As soon as Vickie gets out of the medbay, she'll help. We'll win. No other option seems feasible." *** "We're going to be slaughtered," Brad said, hopelessly. "There's no other real possibility." "I wish you were wrong," Josh muttered. he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to rid himself of the stiffness that comes from hours of stillness, staring at a screen. The two friends, aided by Sci, stared hopelessly at the display. Even a low estimate of the forces the Vong would bring into the system would be enough to overpower the minimal defences they could muster. "Is there any reply from Coruscant?" Josh asked. Behind him, the door slid open, and Becki, Thayer and Mike walked in. Becki shook her head as she caught the end of the question. "Nothing," she said. "We don't expect anything, either. It's just us." "You should get some sleep," Josh said, looking with concern at his friend. "You won't be any use if you pass out later." "Who can sleep?" she replied, slumping into a chair. "It's all or nothing, and I can't sleep with that on my mind." "Josh is right, my love," Thayer said, kneeling beside her. He took her hand in his, and stared into her eyes. "We all must be rested. The Vong could arrive at any time." "All the more reason to be awake," she said, stubbornly. Brad interrupted the discussion. "Here's the latest we have," he said, swivelling the screen to face the newcomers. "Our best guess is that they'll bring approximately four Victory Star Destroyer analogues into the system, as well as a host of skips and some smaller ships. That seems to be their preference for less developed worlds like ours." "And what are our chances?" Mike asked. "Our estimates suggest... we'll be lucky to last thirty minutes," Brad said his voice strained. *** It had to have been the hardest thing Thayer had ever done. The squadrons were gathered together, and he had to tell them he was sending them off to die. He stood on a gantry, staring down at the pilots and their rows of ships. Behind him were the members of Terra Group, ready to help him. Although the Vong had not yet arrived in system, hyperwave sensors planted sporadically on the way to the GFFA suggested that a force was on its way. Thayer looked down on the faces of men and women he knew and had great pride in. He wondered how many, if any, would be alive to see him after the battle that was about to be joined. "My friends," he began. "Today, you are not my subordinates. Today, you are not my colleagues, my soldiers. Today, you are not my arm, holding the sword to defend our isle. Today, you defend our planet. You defend me. You defend," he paused as his voce caught slightly. "You defend my son. "There is an evil, preparing to attack our world. They are called the Yuuzhan Vong. They are aliens who rely on living creatures as we rely on machinery. They think us unclean, and will raze this whole planet. "This sounds, I know, like the worst kind of propaganda, but it is true. You few are the hope of a world. Its only hope. "I cannot lie to you. The Yuuzhan Vong are a terrible foe, unlike anything we have faced before. They are strong, and powerful, and they destroyed the Terra Group Lunar Base. In all likelihood, many of you will not survive this fight. They are an incredibly powerful foe, and have taken worlds far better defended than our own. "But they fight not for life, as they claim. And surely that is their weakness. They fight for their false gods. They do not feel pity, they do not understand peace. It is our duty to fight them, to give our all. And our colleagues from Terra Group will be leading the attack. That includes your Queen, my wife, the mother of my son and heir. "Today, my friends, you do not fight for honour, or glory, or adulation. You fight for life. There can be no nobler cause, and you are the ones who have been chosen as the protectors of life. "I wish you every success, every strength. You fight for everyone on this planet. I know you will not let them down."