ITOD Home > RS Tour 3 (XWA Retro Tour) > RS 308a: Pirate Rampage (IBG 108)

-= Aboard the ISD Redemption, Lieutenant Colonel Mieter's room; 0755 =-

Adam was sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning forward and resting his head on his hands. He watched in a half-sleeping state as the tiny cleaning droid rolled back and forth on a carpet he brought from home. The droid was whistling and beeping discretely, and to Adam it seemed as if it was humming a song. He really liked cleaning droids, they showed so many human emotions despite their simple design and old age. There were times, Adam thought, when droids seemed more human than humans themselves, humanoids included.

He looked to his right, and stared out of the only window in the small room. Outside, a war was going on. It was unseen at the moment, but he knew all sorts of lifeforms are dying exactly this moment. It didn't matter what did they die for... the fallen Empire, the New Republic, or just for their own interests and beliefs, they ceased to exist. And what Adam really hoped, was that the Task Force Republic Shield won't cease to exist anytime soon.

Everyone in the Fleet tried to remain positive, but something has changed. In this sector, the remnants of the Empire seemed stronger than they were when the Empire was in it's full glory. Pirates, smugglers, and the like were joining their ranks, using guerilla hit-and-fade tactics against the New Republic. Of course, the so-called Rebel Squadrons would have been able to handle it, if it wasn't dangerously low on both supplies and manpower. The Republic needed it's forces near more important sectors and systems, to make sure that the technological and economical advancements aren't disturbed by enemy activity. The Republic needed time to recover from the long-lasting war, and to do that, it needed both security and stability. Thus the remote fleets became somewhat ignored.
What happened to the Rebel Squadrons was that they had to reduce the upkeeping and maintenance costs to be able to stay effective. The High Command decided that the best way to do this, is to disband the various starfighter corps and groups, and put them under the direct command of the Fleet Commander. The squadron commanding positions were untouched, but wings and fleets ceased to exist, forcing members of the Task Force to either leave and look for another high-ranking position in the core systems, or move to different ships, taking less-popular positions. To top all this off, new recruits were rarely seen in the fleet, so every cadet and junior officer who got transferred here had to fight for their lives within days of their arrival. A good part of them were still in a training squadron when they had to sit in real cockpits instead of simulators. Some of them did exceptionally good, some of them died instantly.

Adam thought that they reached the darkest days in the history of the Task Force. But despite all that, he remained positive. He tried to ignore all the negative thoughts, but there were days like this, when he just couldn't help not to think about it. Two of his junior officers got transferred to the inner systems, while his XO went missing during a fight with pirates.
Adam tried to help in the Academy, too, partly because he knew all the trainees will need as much training and advice as they can get, partly because he wanted to be near to Commander Djo. He knew he almost lost her two times before, and he didn't want to risk a third time. In the end, General Lightwind didn't take Ray back to the McGrath, because with the disbanding of the Patriot Starfighter Group, all the capital ships stayed in neighbouring sectors, allowing the head of the Academy to be aboard the MC80 within an hour when needed.

Adam stood up and stretched. After getting his uniform on, and brushed himself up, he looked at his datapad and left the joint.

-= Aboard the ISD Redemption, Hangar Deck B; 0842 =-

- Good morning, Sir, what's poppin' today? - Adam saluted the tall man in front of him.
- Sir?! Listen, Colonel, you say this again and you'll get kicked! - laughed Lieutenant Colonel Brig Dolaree, the former leader of the Red Dragons, who recently got back to the Task Force from a long and unknown assignment. Some said he just took an extended vacation, while others claimed to know that he was responsible for the rescue of over two hundred POWs on the planet Ord vaxal. No matter what, his return made Mieter unbelievably happy, because the squadron was in dire need of new members, let alone seasoned veterans.
However, it still felt weird to him to look at Brig as one of his pilots, instead of his CO. A few years back, when Dolaree was the leader of Red Dragon Squadron, Adam was his Executive Officer. That was Adam's very first commanding position, and he was very proud of it. When Brig left, Mieter was a Lieutenant Commander, and he became the new CO of RDS. And now, being in the same rank as his former mentor, was a strange feeling indeed.
- Well, you know what they say: "Old habits never die" - smiled Adam as he stopped saluting, and shook hands with Brig. - So, what's going on around here?
Dolaree looked around the hangar, and raised his shoulders.
- The usual stuff, really. The boys fixed two more X-Wings and an A-Wing completely, they are ready to fly. We still have one Y-Wing to patch up, but it will be done in a few days - Brig started walking and Adam followed him. - By the way, I heard you have a new recruit...
- Yeah, Lieutenant StormChaser. She's a real good pilot. If she would have time, she could be one of our best.
Dolaree raised his eyebrows.
- "Would have time"? Are you planning on sending her out already?
Mieter shook his head.
- I'm not sending her anywhere, I'm only her instructor. Others most certainly will, though.
- Yeah... - Brig sighed. - Things aren't the same anymore, right?
- Don't worry, they will be. We just have to be patient, and try to stay alive.
As soon as he said this, the alarm went off, covering the hangar and all who was in there in bright red light. Both senior officers' datapads started beeping, so they quickly looked at them.
- Well, it looks like we have stuff to do, Brig! - Mieter had to yell to be able to heard by the other officer. - Get the squad ready, I will be in the briefing room in ten minutes!
- Where are you going?
- I have to inform Ray and the trainees, we will need everyone we can get! - with this, Adam ran to the nearest exist and vanished from the sight of Lieutenant Colonel Dolaree. The senior officer just shook his head, and checked his datapad again while mumbling under his nose.
- This will be an interesting day indeed...