Star Wars Character Cafe - The Hidden Master Chapter 1

Title: "Smugglers of the Outer Rim III: The Hidden Master"
Author: John E. Martin mrcalabash@aol.com
Characters: Maxx Murtel, Lo Price, TC-23J, Trouble (Crew of the Wild Nerf)
                    Commander Basil Marrelt (Rebel Commander)
                    Durgon the Hutt
                    Trix & Marshal Thonas (Maxx's friends on Tapan)
                    Tre' la (Maxx & Trix's daughter)
                    Commander Victor Tekel (Maxx's half brother)
                    Commander Varden Krusche (Jedi Hunter)
                    Captain Nathaniel Price (Lo's Father)
Era: From slightly before "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" to slightly after
Category: Drama/Adventure/Romance
Summary:   After two years of raiding Imperial shipping with the Rebellion, Maxx seeks out a Jedi Master to complete his training and is forced to face powerful enemies.
Disclaimer: I am not making any profit from this story. The Star Wars universe and non original characters, like the Emperor do not belong to me.

THE HIDDEN MASTER

CHAPTER 1

“Fighting to restore democracy to the galaxy, one convoy at a time.”

Maxx sighed as he stared out the Wild Nerf’s segmented canopy and waited for his prey to arrive. It had been a long time since he had bothered to voice his reservations about his work with Bantha and Mynock squadrons. When he had initially asked Platt O’ Keefe about working for the Rebellion, Maxx had no idea what that work might be like. It just didn’t occur to him that it would seem so much like piracy. Maxx had heard all of the arguments. Hitting Imperial supply convoys was a way to hurt the Empire while providing the Rebellion with desperately needed munitions. These raids were forcing the Empire to divert resources from searching for the Rebels in order to protect their convoys. TC-23J had even pointed out that they were making a handsome profit trading the things that the Rebellion didn’t need. Still, the most comforting thought that Maxx could come up with was that no pirate would be crazy enough to hit an Imperial convoy. The Empire may not have gone to the trouble of using Star Destroyers to guard their convoys, but the Nebulon-B escort frigates, with their twelve turbolaser batteries and their two squadrons of TIE fighters were more than enough to make any sensible pirate seek out easier prey.

Maxx shrugged his shoulders, glanced to the right and saw Lo leaning forward, brimming with anticipation. It was almost worth staying with Marrelt and his little band of misfits for her benefit alone. Lo enjoyed riding shotgun during raids and the Mynocks’ ancient Z-95 Headhunters had provided Lo with quite a few opportunities to do a little reengineering. It also didn’t heart that many of their trading missions managed to take the Nerf away from the unit’s remote base to a few populated worlds where Lo could indulge in a little clubbing while Maxx and TC-23J wheeled and dealed.

Lo had once suggested that if Maxx was so unhappy with the arrangement, he could apply for a transfer to the fleet or the Rebellion’s main base. Maxx’s reply that such a request would never get by Commander Marrelt seemed to satisfy her. Commander Marrelt might have been a little too Imperial to appreciate someone like Maxx, but that didn’t mean that he was willing to give up the extra firepower that Maxx’s Wild Nerf added to Bantha and Mynock squadrons. The real reason that Maxx stayed with Marrelt’s unit was a little harder to explain.

Whenever Maxx had seriously considered applying for a transfer, he was filled with a deep sense of foreboding, as if his actions were leading him to the brink of disaster. He had spoken to TC-23J and Yodale, the Jedi Master from his mother’s holocron and both suggested that he take these feelings seriously. Master Yodale suggested that these feelings might be warnings from the Force that he faced great peril if he moved on to greater things. Maxx was tempted to laugh it off, wasn’t a smuggler with an Imperial death mark who raided military convoys for the Rebellion already in great peril? Still, he knew better than to make light of the words of a Jedi Master. In the end, it seemed to be the wisest thing to stay where he was, at least for the moment.

Maxx’s reverie was suddenly disrupted by a mild disturbance in the force. Maxx hit the intercom.

“Trouble,” he whispered, “prepare to fire up the reactors on my mark.”

He smiled as the old R5 keened a soft affirmative. One of the keys to the unit’s success was the Wild Nerf’s bizarre ability to “play dead.” Once Maxx had placed the Nerf where he wanted her, he charged the guns and the batteries, shut down the power cores and switched off all nonessential circuits. When the Imperial frigates jumped to this beacon, the Nerf would register as nothing more than a piece of debris, at least until he fired those first shots. It was a dangerous game, one of these days the Imperials would catch on and change their tactics. Until that time, Maxx and his associates had a rebellion to support.

Maxx was mildly surprised when the Nebulon-B escort frigate materialized in the distance. “Only one?” He silently wondered as he noticed that the ship’s position gave them an excellent chance of hitting the frigate’s soft spots. He slowly rotated the Nerf until the guns had a good bead on the frigate’s deflector shield generator. He then squeezed the trigger, sending a pair of ion bolts towards the unsuspecting ship.

“Now!” Maxx barked into the intercom as he watched the ion bolts pierce the frigate’s shields and hit the shield generator square in the middle. He didn’t even bother to watch the shields flicker off before firing the laser canon blasts that would destroy the shield generators for good. The Nerf’s power cores were now wide awake, so Maxx slid the throttle forward and was rewarded by the sensation of being shoved back into his seat. He fired two concussion missiles and threw the ship into a spiral as he used the force to guide the missiles into the frigate’s bridge. As the Nerf streaked under the frigate, he pulled up and fired four missiles at the frigate’s landing bays.

The second set of explosions was the signal for the Bantha’s Lair and Mynock’s Nest, the unit’s ancient bulk transports to open their forward doors and start launching fighters. It didn’t take the Banthas’ old Y-Wing assault fighters long to destroy the Nebulon-B. Now all they had to do was wait for the freighters to roll in.

Even before the first bulk freighter rolled in, Maxx sensed that something wasn’t right. He watched the freighters fall out of hyperspace one by one and waited silently for the trouble to come in. A chill went through Maxx as he saw the wedge shaped cruiser with four globes protruding from the top and bottom surfaces of the hull. “It’s a trap!” He barked over the squadron’s com frequency as he accelerated the Nerf towards the Intrepid, as the cruiser showed up on the Nerf’s holographic display.

An Interdictor Cruiser was definitely bad news. The cruiser’s heavy firepower and two squadrons of TIE fighters were bad enough, but those globes on the hull housed gravity well projectors which would make it impossible for the rebels to flee to hyperspace. The unit would be trapped until either the Interdictor’s captain switched off the gravity wells, or they killed the cruiser and that was easier said than done.

“Captain!” TC-23J said urgently over the intercom, “the Intrepid has powered up its gravity wells, nobody’s going anywhere for the time being.”

Maxx used the force to survey the scene. None of the unit’s ships from the fighters to the two bulk freighters had managed to escape into hyperspace. That meant that Maxx had the Wild Nerf, Bantha Squadron’s twelve Y-Wing fighters, Mynock Squadron’s twelve Z-95 Headhunters and two well equipped but poorly armed bulk freighters to put up against the Interdictor Cruiser and twenty four TIE fighters. At least he would if any of the unit’s ships that could be convinced to follow him.

“Heavies one and two!” He barked into the com. “Jam all frequencies! I don’t want that Interdictor calling in any more help! The rest of you, follow me!”

Suddenly the com went dead. Maxx closed his eyes and sensed that six of the Banthas’ Y-Wings and all twelve of the Mynocks were trying to join up with him. Maxx eased the throttle back so that the fighters could close the gap. He focused on the Interdictor and noted that all twenty four TIEs were loitering between him and the cruiser. He smiled grimly, at least the Imps knew where the battle would be fought. He could only wonder what Marrelt and his cronies were thinking. The TIEs suddenly raced at the Nerf and her companions. Maxx waited until the TIEs were barely in range and snapped off a few shots, which were rewarded with two explosions. After the second TIE exploded, Maxx saw six proton torpedoes fly overhead. Soon there were only sixteen TIEs to worry about.

As the TIEs raced past the Nerf, the Mynocks broke off to engage them. Maxx pressed his lips together. The Mynock’s smaller Z-95 Headhunters, a direct predecessor of the Rebellions X-Wings, stood a much better chance against the TIEs than the clumsier Y-Wings. Besides, Maxx was going to need the heavier assault fighters if he wanted to knock out that Interdictor.

It wasn’t long before Maxx sensed that he was almost within the range of the Intrepid’s guns. He quickly threw the Nerf into a weave of up and down and side to side swerves and hoped that the Banthas would take the hint. As soon as the fighters were in the ship’s weapon’s range, the Intreped’s guns erupted into what its captain was certain would be a withering barrage. Maxx and the Banthas were more than a little familiar with Imperial gunnery tactics and had little trouble weaving around the Interdictor’s shots. As the Nerf and her companions weaved Maxx noted that the Cruiser was slowly rolling so that she was presenting the heavily armed upper surface to her attackers. Suddenly Maxx fired a spread of six concussion missiles towards the ship’s bridge. As the missiles and a few proton torpedoes fired by the Banthas, impacted on the ship’s shields, Maxx fired the Nerf’s ion canons. He wasn’t sure why he fired on the areas he did, it was a matter of following a vague intuition as Master Yodale had taught him. Maxx was almost as surprised as anyone when the Intrepid’s guns stopped firing. He relaxed and improved his connection to the force and fired a second spread of torpedoes. As those missiles caused the Interdictor’s shields to fluctuate, Maxx fired the ion canons at the base of the cruiser’s bridge support.

“Yes!” Maxx shouted as he felt the Intrepid’s shields die. As the Nerf raced past the Intrepid’s bridge, the Y-Wings broke off to begin their strafing runs on the bridge and other soft spots. As the bridge exploded, Maxx rolled the Nerf upside down and pulled up so that his bow was pointed at the Interdictor’s stern, the aft shields were down and the sublight engines presented an irresistible target. Maxx fired six missiles at the center engine and pulled up. Fortunately, all of the Banthas had been paying attention and managed to race clear of the cruiser as its back half exploded.

Maxx smiled as he examined the results of their handiwork. The Intrepid was gone and her TIEs were dead, but most of the unit’s fighters had survived. To make things better, the Banthas had managed to snag a few bulk freighters so this raid was going to pay after all. Not bad for having fallen into a trap.

***

Commander Basil Marrelt shook his head as he stared at the picture of Callie that he had just drawn. When he looked at her face, he knew that he had done the right thing in joining the Rebellion, its just that there were so many times that he found himself lost in space when it came to dealing with the less disciplined culture that the Rebels seemed to encourage. His conscience may have bothered him frequently when he served the Emperor but at least Commander Marrelt understood what he should do with an insubordinate sithspit like Maxx. As it was, he was tempted to build a brig on the hollowed out asteroid that the unit called home just so he had a place to throw that sithing smuggler the next time he had one of his hair brained ideas. The problem was that he needed Maxx more than that irritating freebooter needed him. Now that the Empire was starting to catch onto his tactics, Maxx’s Wild Nerf and his crazy tactics had saved his unit from disaster on several occasions. The thing was, every time the Wild Nerf averted some near disaster, her captain unconsciously managed to undermine the unit’s chain of command a little bit more. In the two years that Maxx had been flying with the Banthas and Mynocks, he had become a hero of sorts and many of the younger pilots were starting to look up to him. Commander Marrelt cursed as he heard the door chime ring. As useful as this Maxx may have been, there were times when Commander Marrelt wished he had never allowed that irresponsible freebooter to set foot on his unit’s base.

***

Maxx took a deep breath and did his best to have an agreeable disposition as he prepared to enter Marrelt’s office. As concerned as he was by the Commander’s inability to adjust to changing situations and as tired as he was at being the target of Marrelt’s wrath every time he did what need to be done, Maxx was painfully aware that arguing with Commander Marrelt did not serve any useful purpose. He tried to be mindful of Master Yodale’s suggestion that, “…from a certain point of view…”, his actions could be considered insubordination. He also tried to be mindful of the things that the two of them really needed to talk about.

***

“You wanted to see me sir?” Maxx asked respectfully after performing his best imitation of a military salute.

“You took your sweet time coming here,” Commander Marrelt growled. “Is the legendary Captain Maxx too busy to see his commanding officer?”

“No sir,” Maxx relied as he struggled to remain pleasant. “Lo and I were busy running a diagnostic on the Nerf when the droid visited my ship with your summons.”

Commander Marrelt scowled at the mention of Lo’s name. He forbade any romantic or sexual relationship between the men and women of his unit. Having to ignore the fact that Maxx was carrying on with his first mate grated on his nerves.

“Were the two of you busy checking out your ship or each other?”

Maxx took a deep breath and let it out before answering. As much as he hated Marrelt’s constant innuendoes, he would much rather deal with them than admit that he was really using an ancient artifact to consult with the spirit of a deceased Jedi master.

“Kindly remember that we will have to raise ship tomorrow morning for a trading run, that we prefer to keep the Wild Nerf in top condition and that we do not have the luxury of a ground crew to look after her,” Maxx replied crisply as he struggled to keep the edge out of his voice.

Commander Marrelt grimaced, if Maxx wanted to play THAT game.

“It is my understanding that your first mate is a starship engineer and that the two of you have what you consider to be a very capable astromech, the two of them should be able to take care of the Wild Nerf without your help,” he replied sharply. “In any case, you should give a summons by your alliance commander a higher priority than fine tuning your precious cargo ship. You WILL accord me the proper respect if you wish to continue serving with us.”

Maxx listened thoughtfully. It would have been easy to ignore that last dig as part of the tit per tat that he and the Commander had been going through during the past two years. Still, when he relaxed and let go of his defensiveness, he could sense that it might be best to finally get down to the heart of the matter.

“With all due respect sir, my highly tuned freighter was all that stood between us and disaster today.”

Commander Marrelt stared blankly at Maxx. The two of them had been dancing around the reasons behind Maxx’s occasional insubordinations for the better part of two years. A part of him wanted to ground Maxx for suggesting that he may be unfit for command. Still, another part could see some truth in the smuggler’s words.

“What, exactly are you trying to say?” He found himself asking.

Maxx took a deep breath and let it out, this was it.

“I’m afraid that you may be a little too by the book for your own good, for the good of everybody in this unit,” he answered. “The problem is that wars have a way of rewriting the books. The Empire is finally starting to understand that we can take out their escort frigates, and they are beginning to experiment with new ways to protect their convoys. I’d be shocked if every convoy we attack doesn’t pack a nasty surprise of some sort. Look, I don’t like taking matters into my own hands like this but we couldn’t afford to wait until you figured out how to deal with that Interdictor Cruiser.”

Commander Marrelt frowned.

“Did it occur to you that I may have had a plan to deal with that cruiser?”

Maxx arched an eyebrow.

“Did you?” He asked.

Commander Marrelt narrowed his eyes.

“I was thinking,” he said.

Maxx sighed.

“But what would have happened if that Interdictor had called in a Star Destroyer while you were thinking?”

Commander Marrelt slowly shook his head.

“I don’t know…I really don’t. What I do know is that this is a military unit and every time you pull some clever stunt you undermine the discipline that we need to survive. You may know what you’re doing but we can’t have every pilot in this unit think that they can pull a Maxx and commandeer a squadron just because they have some hair brained scheme they think might work.”

Maxx nodded thoughtfully but said nothing.

“What am I going to do with you Maxx?”

Maxx peered deeply into Commander Marrelt’s eyes, this was it.

“Find a way to use me,” he said.

The Commander’s eyes narrowed.

“I thought I was using you,” he said.

Maxx shook his head.

“You have used my skills as a pilot and a trader, but I have other talents you may find handy. Smuggling has taught me to adapt quickly and improvise when faced with unpleasant surprises. I have also learned to plan around unexpected problems. If you could find a way to incorporate me into the command structure of this unit, I could improve the planning of our raids and I would have an official way to step in without undermining the unit’s chain of command.”

Commander Marrelt shook his head as he listened, did the smuggler actually say what he thought he had heard?

“How can you plan for the unexpected?” He asked.

Maxx smiled.

“You start by expecting it,” he replied. “When I was an active smuggler, I used to spend a lot of time considering the type of threats I may encounter on any given run. I used to study my star charts to see where Imperials, pirates and other hostiles might hide. I also did my best to know about my cargos, the people I was dealing with and other issues and considered the possible problems they could pose. I then pondered the things that might go wrong and how I might deal with them. I looked for potential hiding spots and considered what I might do before hand to increase my options if I ran into trouble.”

Commander Marrelt frowned thoughtfully. He didn’t like the idea of incorporating a civilian into his unit’s command structure but he was painfully aware that the Empire was beginning to adjust to his tactics. It wasn’t that long ago that Imperial convoys weren’t even escorted, now they were starting to have Interdictor Cruisers shadow convoys. As he sat there, the Commander wondered how long it was going to be before the Empire assigned Star Destroyers to convoy duty.

It wouldn’t hurt to have Maxx sitting in on his planning sessions. He might not like the smuggler’s ideas but they would be worth listening to none the less. He was more resistant to the idea of giving Maxx the authority to take command of Bantha and Mynock squadrons. That went against everything he had learned in the Imperial Academy. Still, that academy was training him to serve in a navy that had resources that the Rebellion could only dream about. He would have to give this a lot of thought.

“I need some time to think about this,” he said, “return to your ship and try to stay out of trouble for a few days.”

Maxx nodded and they exchanged salutes before he left.

***

“You’re in an awfully good mood,” Lo said as Maxx greeted her in the ship’s lounge.

“The meeting with Marrelt went much better than I had any reason to expect,” Maxx said with a smile.

“Then Marrelt the Merciless didn’t chew you out for saving his skin?” Lo asked sardonically.

Maxx shruged.

“Oh, he tried,” Maxx replied, “still, I was able to get my point across about the need for new tactics and that’s a start. Oh, and please don’t use that nickname again. I know that his Imperial ways get under your skin, but I’d rather we didn’t ruffle his feathers any more than we have to.”

Lo grimaced.

“Does that mean that we’re going to start sleeping in separate beds?”

Maxx chuckled.

“Not unless you really want to,” he replied. “As far as I’m concerned, our being together is absolutely necessary. Though, I think it might be wise if we didn’t show too much affection outside the ship.”

Lo’s mouth opened in mock surprise.

“It sounds like the two of you had a real love fest out there,” she said in amusement.

Maxx smiled.

“Not necessarily,” he replied, “but he actually listened to me for a change and that’s a switch. I suspect that he agreed with what I had to say more than he was willing to admit, he’s just a little too Imperial to be comfortable with the way I do things.”

Lo moved towards Maxx as she listened.

“I’m just happy to see you in a good mood for a change.”

Maxx leaned foreword and kissed the tip of Lo’s nose.

“By the way, how’s the ship?” He asked.

Lo smiled.

“We got off light,” she answered, “I’ve already fixed the damage to the shield generators so we’ll be ready for tomorrow’s run.”

Maxx pulled Lo close and gave her a passionate kiss. As they continued to kiss, he slipped his hand under her shirt and caressed the small of her back. When they finished kissing, Lo smiled at him.

“I think we should continue this conversation in our cabin,” she said.

Maxx smiled back at her.

“Lead on,” he replied.

***

“How in the Emperor’s name can one smuggler and a small band of Rebel misfits manage to pull THAT off?” Captain Nathanial Price wondered to himself as he read the latest report from Lieutenant Tekel. He had been hunting this small band of Rebels for the past year and while their antics were often surprising, even he would have never expected this. The Imperial Navy had recently started assigning Interdictor Cruisers to shadow military convoys in the hope of putting an end to the Rebel attacks on those convoys once and for all. Fourteen hours ago, the Cruiser Intrepid had managed to surprise a Rebel raiding party in the act, only to be destroyed before the ship’s captain was able to call in for reinforcements. As he read the preliminary report that Lieutenant Tekel had sent, Captain Price wondered how foolish this Captain Williams had to be to allow his ship to be destroyed by two squadrons of outdated fighters and a jumped up light freighter.

Captain Price smiled grimly as he pondered the report. These Rebels may have been lucky, but that luck wouldn’t last forever. Lieutenant Tekel had been coordinating a systematic search of all possible spots where these Rebel pirates may have been hiding and if he was fortunate enough to be the one to find them, he’d put an end to their little adventures.

Captain Price turned away from his monitor and sighed. It looked like he could very well be putting an end to his only daughter as well. Lo had always been something of a problem child, but she was so bright and full of promise. He had hoped that by exposing Lo to some of Corellia’s best minds, his wayward daughter would straighten up and make something of her life. He used to dream that one day he would command a fleet of Star Destroyers that his daughter had designed. Instead that little tramp had walked away from the only respectable job she had ever held so that she could leave Corellia and carry on with a bunch of smugglers and pirates.

Captain Price’s face clouded over as his mind drifted to the latest scoundrel to lay hands on his daughter. According to Lieutenant Tekel, this Maxx was a career criminal, who had a reputation for soiling himself with Twi’leks and other subhumans. Captain Price’s heart ached when he thought of his daughter carrying on with such a man. Why couldn’t Lo have found a decent husband like Lieutenant Tekel. Captain Price shook his head and sighed. There must be a deep seated flaw in woman’s hearts that caused them to be attracted to such scoundrels. In any case, Lo was old enough to make her own decisions. If she chose to soil herself with this smuggler, there was no reason why she shouldn’t die with him as well.

***

Maxx sighed contentedly as he traced Lo’s ribs with his fingertips. It amazed him to think about how well things had gone with Commander Marrelt. The past two years with the Rebels had been so frustrating that it often seemed like the only good times were the ones that he had spent alone with Lo.

Even his Jedi training was starting to frustrate him. Maxx’s studies with Yodale, the Jedi master from his mother’s holocron was enticing and yet he was beginning to feel that he had reached the limits of what a holocron could teach him. Maxx had spoken to TC-23J about this while Lo was away from the ship and she suggested that it might be time for Maxx to seek out the Jedi master that his mother had told him about. There was a part of Maxx that wanted to do that more than anything and yet. Every time he had spoken to Lo about this, she started acting strange. She would vow to accept Maxx’s decision but would argue forcefully that the Banthas and Mynocks needed him. As much as he could see the truth in her words, Maxx sensed that the real issue was that Lo didn’t want him to leave. Every time they talked about this, the Force suggested that Lo felt threatened.

Maxx couldn’t blame Lo for that. The past two years had been very good for her. She was cheerful for much of the time and he couldn’t remember the last time she was drunk. Commander Marrelt may not have accepted the idea of “Maxx’s woman”, fooling around with the Banthas’ Y-Wings, but the Lieutenant Ryden Mynocks were more than happy to have Lo work her magic on their Headhunters. After a little tweaking, Lo had managed to improve the performance of the ancient needle nosed fighters to the point where most of the Mynocks wouldn’t have traded them for X-Wings even if they were given that option. Beyond that, Lo appreciated the opportunity to visit civilized worlds and indulge in a few of her favorite activities during the Nerf’s trading missions. That would all change if Maxx sought out this Jedi master of his. It was Maxx’s understanding that this master was hiding out on an uncharted world with no nearby civilizations. What would an active woman like Lo do while Maxx was finishing his Jedi training? It seemed that Maxx had a choice of either dropping his lover off at a reasonably civilized world to wait for him and risk her finding someone else, or worse and taking Lo along and having her spend her days waiting on the Nerf feeling angry and resentful. Either choice didn’t bode well for their relationship.

As Maxx lay there pondering his dilemma, he thought he felt something angry and malicious approach. He didn’t know what it was, only that it seemed worse than Commander Marrelt’s frequent irritation with his independent ways. This seemed to be a powerful deep seated hatred like something he would have expected from Vicky, only it couldn’t be him. Maxx was certain that he would have recognized his half brother’s presence if he had felt it. Maxx took a deep breath, let it out and slowly opened himself up to the Force. As he sensed the hatred, he realized that it came from someone that he didn’t recognize. Then he suddenly saw an image of Lo, only it wasn’t quite the Lo that he knew. She was younger, possibly a teenager, and her blond hair was all the way down past her shoulder blades. Then he was aware of everything that was around this person and he knew.

Maxx reached out, picked up his comlink and switched it to TC-23J’s frequency.

“Jay?”

“Yes sir?” The droid answered.

“We have a very dangerous situation on our hands. Please visit with the watch officer and tell him that our com system seems to have picked up a few unusual transmissions on a passive scan. Ask him to run an active scan of the area. That should get things moving.”

“Of course sir,” the droid replied, “but dare I ask what you’ve picked up?”

Maxx smiled grimly.

“Lets just say that it’s very big,” he replied sardonically.

“Oh dear me,” TC-23J replied as she switched off the comlink.

As he looked down at Lo, Maxx saw that she was eyeing him sleepily.

“Do I want to know?” She asked.

Maxx sighed.

“You’d better,” he replied, “your father’s here and he’s brought a Star Destroyer.”

***

“What the Sith!?” Commander Marrelt bellowed as he bolted out of bed at the sound of the warning claxon. He threw on his uniform and walked briskly across the hangar bay. Everywhere he looked, he saw techs prepping the unit’s starfighters for launch. When he asked a technician who had authorized the work, he was told that Maxx had suggested that they might want to be ready to launch soon. Commander Marrelt scowled, he thought that he was starting to get that sithspit under control.

As he neared the base’s com station, Commander Marrelt saw Maxx talking to the watch officer and Lieutenant Tasha Ryden of Mynock squadron. The smuggler had the same disheveled look as the other men and women. Apparently he was as surprised as anyone by whatever had come up.

“See here Maxx!” He bellowed, “I thought you had promised to behave!”

Maxx nodded.

“I did, but there’s an Imperial Star Destroyer sitting right outside the Asteroid field between us and our jump point. I wanted to get things moving so that we could be ready by the time you got here.”

Commander Marrelt turned to the watch officer.

“That true Simmons?” He asked.

Ensign Simmons looked up at him.

“Yes Sir!” He replied. “The Star Destroyer is loitering right in front of our jump point. A few TIEs have entered the asteroid field. I’m guessing that they’re on a scouting mission.”

Commander Marrelt accepted the cup that a droid handed him and took a sip of caf. If there was one thing that he really didn’t need was to be pounced twice in twenty standard hours. He looked at Maxx.

“Any suggestions?” He asked.

Maxx nodded.

“Our basic choice is fight or flight,” he replied. “We can take the Star Destroyer out and then evacuate at our leisure or we can leave the heavy stuff, pack the ground crew and enough equipment for a refueling depot into the Nerf and see how many of our fighters can slip past that Star Destroyer.”

Commander Marrelt’s jaw dropped. He had seen Maxx attempt many crazy things, but this?

“Did I just hear you suggest a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer!?”

Maxx nodded.

“You did,” he replied agreeably.

“Are you out of your sithing mind!?”

Maxx sighed, he had often wondered the same thing during the past two years.

“There are no good options,” he stated flatly, “but Lo, Trouble and I have run a few simulations and have come up with a rough plan of attack.”

He then switched on his datapad and used the hologram projector as he quickly explained how the attack would go. As Commander Marrelt watched the simulated attack it became obvious that Maxx had been planning this for some time, the presentation was too polished and showed the Mynocks at a full force of twelve fighters instead of their present number of eight. While he couldn’t help being impressed with the audacity and scope of the plan, Commander Marrelt was put off by the number of variables and risks it involved. It depended on the bulk of the Star Destroyer’s TIEs being so focused on taking out Maxx’s freighter that they didn’t notice the Mynock’s Headhunters hiding in the asteroid field, waiting to cut them to ribbons. Commander Marrelt shook his head.

“Too iffy,” he said, “if any thing goes wrong, we’re all dead. We’ll have to evacuate.

Maxx nodded and punched a few buttons on his datapad.

“I had Trouble compile a list of possible destinations and several suitable locations for possible refueling dumps for each destination. You might want to give the order to have the fighters equipped with external tanks.”

Marrelt nodded, half surprised that Maxx hadn’t given that order himself.

“Ensign Simmons!?”

“Yes Sir!”

“Have the auxiliary tanks installed on all fighters!”

“Yes sir!”

While the Ensign barked the orders into the com station, Commander Marrelt sipped his caf and studied the list on Maxx’s datapad.

“Did you just compile this list?” He asked.

“No sir,” Maxx answered. “I had Trouble compile it two years ago, he has been updating it every ten days or so.”

***

Lo could hardly contain her excitement as she waited for the Wild Nerf to receive clearance to lift off. She supposed that she should have been worried like everybody else, but she loved flying and she had a lot of faith in the Wild Nerf and her captain. Sitting in the Nerf’s cockpit reminded her of the thrill she used to feel when her governess used to take her to one of Corellia’s amusement parks and she had the opportunity to ride all the rides to her heart’s content. Those rides were wonderful, but they had nothing on the Wild Nerf when Maxx had a job to do. She was brimming with anticipation as she waited for them to receive the word.

***

Maxx sat calmly with his eyes closed. He had finished the breathing exercises that Master Yodale had taught him and was using the Force to asses the situation outside the hollowed out asteroid. He was sadly aware that many of their comrades would not survive their appointment with the Star Destroyer. He wished that it didn’t have to happen like this, but there was nothing he could do about that. He would have his hands more than full making sure that the technicians who were crammed into the Nerf’s cargo holds survived the trip, everything depended on that. Commander Marrelt’s orders were clear. As soon as the Nerf was clear of the hangar bay, he was to blast out of the asteroid field, fly to the jump point and hype to the rendezvous point so that the techs could set up their refueling depot. That refueling depot was the only way that the unit’s fighters would be able to make it to the Roche asteroid field where the insectoid Verpine could be expected to take them in. Maxx smiled grimly as he pondered the importance of his mission. As much as Commander Marrelt may have disliked the smuggler, he had trusted the critical part of the escape to Maxx and his ship. If they didn’t survive and set up the refueling dump, the fighters would be stuck in the middle of nowhere with few options if the Imperials found them. Everything depended on Maxx and he was ready.

Maxx’s mind focused on the task at hand as the hangar doors opened and the Banthas’ Y-Wings lifted off and accelerated out the door. He sensed the TIEs race towards the asteroid as soon as they saw the Banthas escape. He watched the Mynocks’ Headhunters lift off and race out before he allowed the Nerf to lift off. As he retracted the landing gear, Maxx gently played with the controls and noted that the Nerf felt clumsier than he was used to. Maxx sighed. Smugglers usually don’t fly this close to their ships’ maximum gross weight. Suddenly the last Mynock was gone. Maxx adjusted his connection to the Force and quickly eased the throttle forward.

As the Nerf shot into the asteroid field, Maxx noted that she felt even clumsier than she seemed to be in the hangar bay. The Nerf may still have been a little more agile than a lightly loaded “stock” YT-1300, but the captains of most lightly modified light freighters didn’t fly through asteroid fields at full throttle or choose to play with TIE fighters and Star Destroyers. The extra weight would make it hard for the Nerf to outrun the Imperial TIEs and the external cargo packs mounted on the top of this ship blocked his view of the port side of the ship. Still, Maxx was willing to bet that he was the only pilot in this engagement that was able to feel the Force, and that made up for a lot.

The Force allowed Maxx to know exactly where all of the asteroids were and where they were going. This made weaving his clumsy cargo ship through the field almost easy. It reminded him of the days before this he was a smuggler when he used to race his swoop through the sewers and ventilation ducts on Tapan. The TIEs that were combing the asteroid field soon forgot about the Rebel fighters and chased after the Nerf. Maxx smiled grimly. Later, he would wonder if someone had figured out how much the unit’s escape depended on the Nerf or if it was just Captain Price’s desire to see him dead. Trouble shifted 75% of the shield energy aft, but Maxx wasn’t concerned. It would be hard for anyone to hit the Nerf while he was dodging asteroids. Occasionally Maxx sensed an explosion, suggesting that the TIEs were having problems of their own.

Suddenly the Nerf raced clear of the asteroid field. As he saw the Star Destroyer up ahead, Maxx felt the angry malice that had alerted him to the ship’s presence in the first place. He knew that orders were being given for the gunners to take out his small freighter at all costs. Maxx quickly threw the small freighter into a weave, tossing it up and down and side to side with the occasional spiral thrown in. The ship felt very clumsy and Maxx often banged the side stick and yaw pedals against the stops in order to make the most of his craft’s limited maneuverability. Occasionally Maxx sensed a turbolaser bolt headed straight towards the Nerf, forcing him to yank the stick or shove it forward to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, the TIEs seemed to be having less trouble with the incoming fire than they had with the asteroids. His gyrations may have made the Nerf anything but an easy target, but they were hitting her frequently enough to slowly nibble away at his aft shields. As she sat in the passenger seat, Lo wondered whether the shields would hold out until the Nerf reached the jump point. Trouble had shunted all the shield power aft, but at this rate, she didn’t think they would be able to hang in long enough.

Suddenly, Lo heard Commander Marrelt scream, “Fire!” over the com. She glanced at the cockpit’s holographic display and saw that four of the Banthas had slipped behind the TIEs. Suddenly they opened up a barrage of proton torpedoes and laser canon bolts that ripped the flock of TIEs to shreds before they could even think about turning to attack the newcomers. She said a quick “thanks” over the com as she watched the TIEs that had been guarding the Star Destroyer race towards the freighter.

The Nerf’s guns had already been charged and as soon as the TIEs were within range, Maxx snapped off a few quick shots and was rewarded with four explosions. Commander Marrelt ordered that Maxx should forget about the fancy shooting and worry about getting out of there in one piece. TC-23J quickly acknowledged the order while Maxx concentrated on weaving. It seemed that all of the turbolaser and ion canon fire from the Star Destroyer was focused on the Wild Nerf. Most of the Banthas and Mynocks managed to stay as far from the Nerf as they could get, but Commander Marrelt and his men stayed with the Nerf as the Star Destroyer’s remaining TIEs raced towards them. They used their remaining proton torpedoes to take out four more TIEs as they closed on the formation, then they turned to engage the fighters as they raced past the Nerf. Lo’s heart sank as she watched the Banthas fall beyond the Nerf’s scanning range. The Y-Wings were really more of an assault fighter and were better off at attacking capital ships than dog fighting. They would be outclassed even if they had to deal with only four TIE fighters. There was no way they could survive these odds.

As Maxx raced towards the Star Destroyer, he noted that Captain Price was loitering in front of their jump point with his ship presenting its side to the Nerf. This was a textbook maneuver that allowed the ship to present most of its heavy guns toward the escapees as they approached the ship and as they raced away from it. Suddenly, Maxx had a burst of inspiration and angled the Nerf so that she would pass the Star Destroyer’s stern. This would add some time to their flight, but it would either allow the Nerf to pass the larger ship’s lightly armed stern or force Captain Price to maneuver, reducing his ability to fire at the rebels who managed to pass him. Maxx banged the controls against the stops as he struggled to make the Nerf’s flight path as erratic as possible. He had managed to get this far, there was no way he was going to let them get him now. Maxx wished that Lo had equipped the ship with side firing missile launchers as they streaked past the Star Destroyer’s stern. Even then the Nerf was bucking up and down in an attempt to avoid the relatively light fire that the Star Destroyer could present to the small freighter. Finally, once the Nerf was at the jump point, Trouble engaged the ship’s hyperdrive. Maxx could feel the relief sweep through the passengers as TC-23J informed them that the Wild Nerf was safely in hyperspace.

***

“How in the Emperor’s name did he do that?”

Captain Price stared blankly out the view port at the spot where the Rebel freighter had disappeared. He had poured everything he had into taking out that Rebel pirate and his jumped up light freighter and yet, somehow, that ship had managed to dodge every shot and slip away while carrying external storage packs. To make matters worse, his orders to concentrate the attack on the freighter meant that most of the fighters had managed to escape unharmed. His men did manage to take out the four assault fighters that were protecting the freighter, but he had lost over half of his fighters in the process.

Captain price gritted his teeth as he considered how he was going to explain his failure to Admiral Arlen. He wasn’t looking forward to that conversation one bit.

***

Maxx sighed as he sat on top of the Nerf’s hull and pretended to wait. The unit had been ambushed twice by superior forces in less than twenty four standard hours and they had still managed to escape with two thirds of their forces intact. Surely that had to count as a victory of some sort and yet, Maxx didn’t feel victorious at all. Eight pilots had paid the price so that they continue to raid more convoys and continue to be picked off by an enemy that seemed to have the resources of the whole galaxy on their side. As he looked down on the technicians milling around the makeshift fueling depot, Maxx couldn’t help sensing the pointlessness of it all. Maybe Trix was right after all.

Maxx shook his head as he thought back to that time, two years ago, when he had told Trix and Marshal of his plans to join the Rebellion and aid their fight to restore democracy to the galaxy. She told him that he was a fool to take on the Empire. He may have been a great pilot with an exceptional ship, but the Emperor was powerful and ruthless. There was no way that a few good men would be able to succeed against such a foe. Maxx frowned as he contemplated the Twi’lek’s words. Maybe he would be wise to abandon these foolish Rebels and return to smuggling where the odds were better and the risks lower. He was pretty sure that Lo would agree to it. She might be disappointed a bit at first, but he was pretty certain that his lover could be kept happy as long as he threw in a little fancy flying and she could continue to find excuses to upgrade the Nerf. He didn’t worry about disappointing TC-23J. She was a droid and would have to accept his decisions whether she approved of them or not. Besides, she couldn’t say that Maxx hadn’t tried.

While he was sitting there thinking, Maxx felt Lo place a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw her bending down to gaze into his eyes. Her straight blond hair was cropped short and she was wearing the same baggy shirt and pants that she had purchased two years ago in order to minimize her chances of offending Commander Marrelt’s sensibilities.

“They’re not coming,” she said softly, not wanting the techs to hear.

Maxx nodded sadly.

“I of all beings know that,” he replied in a barely audible voice. “I felt their ships explode shortly after they turned to face that last wave of TIEs.”

Lo winced. At times like this, she suspected that Maxx’s Jedi “gift” could be more of a burden than anything else.

“Then why are we still here?” She asked puzzled, “the longer we wait, the more likely the Imps will find us.”

Maxx closed his eyes and used the Force to scan for threats.

“Not likely,” he replied quietly, “the Commander chose this spot well; I have yet to sense the remotest of threats. If I pick anything up, I’ll order the techs onboard and blast out of here before they get near enough to be a problem.”

Lo shrugged, she knew better than to doubt Maxx’s ability.

“Still,” she said, “it's an unnecessary risk. Why wait if you know they aren’t coming?”

Maxx gazed into Lo’s piercing blue eyes and smiled.

“I know they’re not coming and you know they’re not coming,” he answered softly as he gestured to the techs, “but they don’t know that. Commander Marrelt made a great sacrifice back there and I feel that waiting like this honors that sacrifice.”

Lo nodded sagely as she listened.

“I see,” she replied, “and are we going to remain with the others after we reach the Roche Asteroid field?”

Maxx slowly shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “I believe I’ve accomplished all I can for the Rebellion for now.”

Lo pressed her lips together and nodded sagely.

“Then you’re going to find this Jedi master of yours and complete your training?”

Maxx nodded.

“That is what I must do,” he replied. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to come.”

Lo pressed her lips together and shook her head.

“I want in,” she replied with quiet firmness.

“You sure?” Maxx asked, “it won’t be easy for you.”

Lo gazed deeply into Maxx’s eyes and stroked his cheek with her fingertips.

“I know,” she answered softly, “but then loving you never is.”

With that she stood up and returned to the hatch. Maxx just sat there wondering. He knew what he had intended to do, and seeking out his mother’s Jedi friend wasn’t it. Still, he knew that this was the right thing to do, and that it would be the right thing to do even if it cost him Lo. Maxx took a deep breath, let it out and searched the area for any Imperial presence, bounty hunters or any other threat. There would soon be a lot to do.