Aurora Force ~ Departures

Indy perched on the edge of Tag’s bunk as she watched her friend pack.  “How come you’re leaving so soon?”

Tag laughed.  “Soon?  I’ve been here a while, Indy.  I’m gonna need a vacation from this vacation.”

“Make Del take you somewhere nice.”

“Neither of us have the time,” Tag sighed.  She reached out and squeezed Indy’s shoulder.  “You knew why I was here.  I had a job to do, and now it’s done.”

Indy winced.  She was still sore, despite bacta therapy and several days’ rest.  In a lot of ways, the aches and pains were worse than the original injuries ever had been.  The part that was in the worst shape was her heart-she still couldn’t accept the fact that Mike was dead.

Tag zipped up her rough sack.  “I don’t have to leave until morning.  You want to go have a drink?  I’m buying.”

Indy sighed.  “Why not?  Maybe it’ll take my mind off Mike.”  She rose slowly.  Tag put her arm around her blood-sister’s shoulders and they walked to the officer’s club.  Mynok and Kenta were sitting at a round table in the center of the room with five chairs.  Both of them were nursing mostly full drinks.  Indy and Tag slid into the third and fourth chairs.  Tag ordered two tumblers of Whyren’s Reserve for herself and Indy.

“So, Captain Rendar,” Mynok said mock-seriously, “what are you going to do with yourself now?”

Tag laughed as a young non-com brought over their drinks.  “Go home and relax.  Dealing with Wolf is nothing compared to this mess.”

The non-com hovered near the empty chair at the table-the chair that should have been Mike’s.  But Mike is dead, so it remains empty....  Indy thought.

“Is this seat taken?”  the non-com finally asked.

“Yes!”  Indy snapped.  “That’s Mike’s chair-“  She broke off abruptly, tossed back half her drink, and put her head down on the table.  Silent sobs shook her.

Tag put her arm around her blood-sister’s shoulders, offering a little comfort, although she knew it would be hollow.

“Where’d that boyfriend of yours go?”  Kenta asked Tag, tactfully changing the subject somewhat.

Indy lifted her head from the table and glumly supplied the answer for Tag.  “He left yesterday.  Something about friends needing to see him.”

“Oh, so that was his excuse,” Tag grinned.  “He’s probably redecorating my office or something.  Silly, silly man.”  She lifted her tumbler.  “A toast.  To Aurora Force, may you shine as a bright beacon for all to see and follow.”

The others lifted their glasses in the toast, then drank.

“I have one,” Kenta remarked.  “To our dear Friend, Lieutenant Bullian, Mike, may his soul be one with the Force and rest with the other true heroes of the New Republic.”

They toasted Mike silently, tears shining in most of their eyes.

Suddenly, from behind them, a voice came.  “I heard my name.  You guys are talking about me, aren’t you?”  Jaws dropped around the table as Mike slid into the unoccupied chair.  Reminders of his ordeal at the hands of a man he had considered his friend were still there, in his face, in his movements, bacta, despite its reputation, did not heal all wounds.  He smiled at the sight of Kenta, Mynok, and especially at Indy’s astonished expressions.  He winked at Tag, silently thanking her for the set-up.

Tag just grinned.

Mike ordered a Sullustan Gin and finally said, “You can stop gaping now.”

“I-I thought you were dead......”  Indy asked, still shocked and shaken.

Mike grinned.  “Almost was, but I came back.”  He leaned close to Indy and allowed his lips to brush her cheek.  “I love you, you know.”

“I know,” she whispered.  Tears were streaming down her cheeks.  “I love you.....”

Mynok and Kenta laughed at him, overjoyed to see him alive, swiftly getting over their shock.  “Only you would pull something like this to see a woman, Mike,” Mynok joked.

Mike grinned, leaning back in his chair.  “Even you have to admit, Mynok, that Indy is far more than just a woman.”  His eyes twinkled as he looked toward the young woman in the chair next to him.

Indy smiled, and Mike smiled back.

Tag crossed her arms and said to Mynok, “Now my work is truly done.”  She stood up and produced several high-denomination credits from her pocket.  “All drinks tonight are on me!”  She shook her head and laughed for no apparent reason.

The others couldn’t help themselves.  They started laughing, too.

*     *     *     *     *

The next morning, Tag stopped into Torin’s office.  “I came to say good-bye, General.”

Torin leaned forward in his chair.  “Leaving so soon, Captain?”

Tag grinned.  “Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately.  I’ve caused enough trouble for you and your unit.”

Torin cocked an eyebrow.  “Trouble?  You caused trouble?”

Tag laughed.  “You know what I mean.  As a peace offering, I’m willing to supply you and Aurora Force with liquor from all parts of the galaxy.”

“Can I have that in writing?”

“Way ahead of you.”  Tag set a datacard on his desk.  “It’s all there.  I suspect, though, that I may have to visit you every so often, just to make sure my old friends aren’t getting into too much trouble.”

Torin shrugged.  “Just as long as you get them out of it, Captain, it’s all right with me.”  He paused.  “I was wondering, why did you let the unit go on thinking that Lieutenant Bullian was dead when you knew he wasn’t?”

“Mike is my friend.  He asked that I not allow his survival to be known.  He felt it would be easier in the end.”  Tag shrugged.  “You have to admit,  the look on your face was classic, General.  I’m glad I had the holocam.”

He smiled.   “Good-bye, Captain.”

Tag smiled back.  “Good-bye, General, and thank you for your hospitality.”

“Any time, Captain.”

Tag saluted him, and Torin rose and saluted back briefly.  When he sank back into his chair, Tag spun on her heel and marched out.

Mike and Indy were in the hangar to see Tag off.  Mike’s arm was around Indy’s shoulders.  Tag smiled.  “You two take care of each other, you hear?”

“You take care of yourself,” Mike fired back.  “And quit getting us into trouble.”

“Hey, you didn’t have to come,” Tag remarked.  She glanced at Indy.  “Can you handle this guy?”

Indy grinned.  “Was Uncle Mickie slightly nuts?”

Tag hugged her.  “I’ll keep in touch.”

“Any advice for us, O savior of the universe?”  Mike asked, half-jokingly.

“Look alive,” Tag answered him, her expression completely deadpan, “and you’ll stay that way.”  She climbed up into her X-Wing, and within a few moments, was gone.

Mike squeezed Indy’s shoulder.  “She’s a good friend.”

Indy grinned.  “You have no idea.”

The pair turned together, and headed off, for where, they didn’t know.  What they did know was it would be together.

The Wedding

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

After seeing Tag off, Indy and Mike went to Raven’s Medbay that, at the moment, was unoccupied, just as Mike had planned.  Mike walked over to the desk and withdrew from the drawer an ornately carved Yeel wood box, depicting the fall of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Naga Sadow.  He presented the box to Indy, kneeling and saying the words “Orn dos tlu ussta mrimm d’ssisnss?”

“What does that mean?” She asked, though she suspected what the answer would be.  Mike opened the box, revealing an ancient, at least 5000 year old, early design lightsaber.

“Will you marry me?  I know i should have a ring for this, but the lightsaber means a lot to me, it belonged to my ancestor who fought in the great Sith war.  I want you to have it”  Indy sighed, overwhelmed by the suddenness of this...

Indy stared at Mike.  “You know that I won’t accept the saber for reasons of my own, but I will accept the intentions.”  She smiled and kissed him warmly.  This is all so sudden, but it feels so right.....  “Yes, I will.  You realize, though, you should have done this when Tag was here.  Now she’s gonna fly all the way back here to kill us both.”  There were joyful tears shining in her eyes.

Mike cupped her face in his hand, wiping away her tears with his thumb.  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Raven Conall (RavnConall@aol.com)

Ravon walked into the Command Center of the Interdictor and sat down, his admiral uniform weighed down w/ the service pins and the medals. He put he rested his head on his hand like you’d expect an Admiral to do and said “Helm, take us back to our fleet. I’m sure their waiting for our arrival. And they do will be amazed at my return.” then helm turned to bearing 114.24 and engaged the hyperdrive.

~4 days later~

The Black Sky emerged from Hyperspace upon a fleet of 2 star destroyers and one super star destroyer. Ravon smiled, “Thank god they lived this long.” he murmured. Then Ravon said “Comm, transmit our codes and ask for status reports. Also, Report that their Admiral has returned.” The communications man on duty did as told and then reported on the ships “The Super Star Destroyer Orsirus II said they are green, full fighter compliment, no damage. The Imperial Star Destroyer Isolidar said they are also green, full fighter compliment, and no damage. The Imperial Star Destroyer II Cougar said they are also green, full fighter compliment, and no damage, sir.” Ravon smiled, and responded “Good, I’m sure they’re all happy to see their Admiral is safe and finally home?” The comm officer nodded “Yes they do, sir.” The Black sky approached the SSD and docked with it, Ravon left the bridge and boarded the SSD, moving up to it’s bridge and said “Lay in a course to the nearest Imperial Base. The Black Sky needs some repairs and needs more fighters.” The Navigation’s officer did as told. But just before they entered hyperspace they received a message from what was left of the Imperial High Command. Raven retreated to his room and read the message. He had been promoted to Grand Admiral, for being the most experienced Admiral still with the Imperials. Ravon smiled. It was all going according to plan.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

“I’ll see you later, Indy.  i have a few things to take care of.”  Mike kissed her before he turned to leave.

“I’ll miss you.”  Indy replied, following Mike out the door, turning the other way.

“I’ll miss you too, I love you.”  Mike turned around toward her, then walked towards the Imladris Officer’s Club to pick up two glasses and a bottle of Ol’sek, a potent liqueur from his home planet.  From there he headed towards Torin’s office, a bounce in his step, despite his many injuries.  Upon arriving he activated the door  chime.

“Come on in.” Torin yelled from inside and Mike entered.  “Mike, nice to see you’re feeling better.”

“Congrats on the promotion.”  Mike set down the glasses and poured the Ol’sek into them. “I don’t have much time to stay and chat, but i need to ask you a favor.”

“Name it,” Torin said, and he downed the contents of his glass.  “Anything within reason.” Mike smiled.

“Indy and I, we’re getting married, i want you to perform the ceremony.”  Mike said, smiling the whole time.

“Congratulations, sure I’ll do it.”  Torin said, shaking Mike’s hand.

“Thanks, I’ve got a few more things I need to take care of, so, see you later.”  Mike quickly downed the Ol’sek and left the office, heading down to the hangar.  Mike reached the hangar and went over to Mynok’s x-wing, intending to tweak it’s performance just as he promised.  Within a few short hours he finished, the X now able to achieve speeds of 130 mglt on an even recharge, not to mention stronger shields and a quicker shield and laser recharge.

From the hangar Mike went to his quarters to pick up the new R-11 he promised Mynok, (he had one for Kenta too) and took it over to Mynok’s quarters.  Finding them unoccupied he left Blipp 2 there for Mynok to transfer his own R2’s programming into.  Mike went back to his quarters to wash up, he was expected in the mess hall for dinner in a few minutes.

Orian (EricFlameG@aol.com)

He had been lingering in the docking bay which he arrived at from rescuing Mike, arms folded over his chest. So much happened in those few days. Lantare, his accusing, Tag showing up and setting him free. And now she was leaving? Those muddy depths watched her closely as she prepared to board her ship. As she disappeared into the ship, he curiously wondered if he would ever see her again.

But why did he care? Orian was a bit confused about her still. How she managed enough power to get him out of jail was a mystery to him.  He never did get to talk to her and truly find out who she was. Odd.

Time goes on. From the docking bay he marched to begin wondering down corridors and through random rooms, contemplating.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

            Indy had taken over one of the kitchens and was now cheerfully baking as she had when she was a younger woman.  She felt that she owed the rest of Aurora Force something, after the massive mess that had just been taken care of, so she had taken some of the Corellian Whisky that Tag had left with her as well as some other little "surprises" that her blood-sister had left and was now baking several ryshcate and some cookies as well.  She was turning toward a countertop with a cookie sheet of hot cookies in her hands when Mynok bounced in, scaring her.  "Ack!"  she nearly dropped the cookie sheet and burned her hand in the attempt to get it over to the counter without dropping it.  "Ouch.  Mynok, what do you want?"  She asked as she went to stick her hand under some cold water.

            "Is it true?"  He asked.

            "Is *what* true?"

            "That Mike asked you to marry him."

            "Oh, that."  Indy gingerly wiped her hand on a towel.  "Yes, it's true."

            "Why didn't you tell anyone?"  Mynok demanded.

            She grinned.  "He only asked me an hour and a half ago, Mynok."

            "Still...." Mynok said sullenly.  "You should have told someone."

            Mike entered the kitchen, walking up behind Indy and putting his arms around her shoulders.  "I told Torin.  I would have told you, too, Mynok, but you weren't in your quarters."

            Mynok frowned heavily.  "Does Tag know, Indy?"

            "I was waiting until I knew I could catch her personally.  That won't be until tomorrow."

            "Good.  I'm going to go put a call through right now...."

            "Aw, Mynok, don't be mean," Indy whined, extracting herself from Mike's embrace.  "Want a cookie?"

            Mynok considered his options.  "Fine."  He took one of the semi-cool cookies from the sheet and popped it into his mouth.  "Yummy."

            "I'm glad.  Both of you shoo, now, so I can finish these in time for dinner."

            "You've only got ten minutes."

            Indy grinned and put another tray of cookies in the oven.  "That's enough time for one more batch.  Go on.  I'll meet you in the mess, unless you want to help me carry all of these cookies and then some."

            The pair of men left, and Indy laughed.  She then turned to packing up the cookies and the ryshcate.  That was for dessert.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Later, in the mess, as most of Aurora Force was finishing their meals, Indy disappeared into the kitchen and came out with three dark brown sweetcakes-the ryshcate she'd made that afternoon.  Each one was huge.  She set them on the table that the unit was congregated around.  "I thought that we all had reason to celebrate, so this afternoon, I made these for all of us.  The tradition, for those of you who don't know, is to break off a piece and say why we're having this."  She picked up one of the cakes.  "We share this ryshcate the way we share our celebration of life, love, happiness, and memory."  She broke the ryshcate into pieces as she spoke.

            Some of the others exchanged looks as Indy passed out the ryshcate.  When she was finished, Mike caught her by the waist.  He cleared his throat.  "Indy and I have an announcement to make," he said.  "Earlier today, I asked Indy if she would do me the honor of becoming my wife."  He looked toward Indy and smiled at her.  Indy smiled back.  Mike again addressed the unit.  "She accepted."

            Kenta was the first to start clapping.  Mynok soon joined him, followed by Torin, Orian, Morcant, Baron, and the rest.

            Indy flushed and Mike kissed her.

            "Congratulations," Orian called to them from farther down the table.

            Indy grinned.  "Thanks, Orian."

            "Excuse me," a voice suddenly piped from the doorway of the mess.  "Is there an Indiana Bridger here?"

            Indy looked toward the door, her brow furrowing.  Mike let go of her as she approached the speaker, a young man, barely out of the Academy, it seemed.  "I'm Indiana Bridger."

            "Come with me, ma'am."

            Her brow furrowing even more heavily, Indy followed the young man to some of the empty barracks.  The young man motioned toward a sealed door.  "In there, ma'am."

            "What's this about?"  Indy asked.

            The young man shrugged.  "I just follow orders, ma'am."  He spun on his heel and left.

            Indy opened the door.  On the bunk opposite her was a man with flame-red hair, slenderly built, with deep blue eyes sunken deep into his sockets.  He slumped on the bunk, almost tired and pained.  He looked up at Indy and his eyes seemed to brighten slightly.  There was a green-yellow bruise across his cheek, and a scar at his hairline.

            For a moment, they just stared at each other.

            The man spoke, his voice quiet.  "Is it really you, Indy?"

            Indy's heart froze.  The voice was nearly identical to that of her father. It was not her father that she saw before her, but the only person who possessed her mother's looks and her father's voice.  A name escaped her lips.  "Slate?"

            Slate Bridger eased to his feet and moved to embrace his sister.  "It really is you."

            Indy hugged him, then held him at arms' length.  "Slate, I....where have you been?"

            Slate drew a deep breath.  "Coruscant.  I was leader of a cell there, until...."  he looked down.

            "Slate, what's wrong?"

            "Nothing," he snapped, shaking his head quickly.  "Nothing's wrong."  He looked back up at Indy, then frowned.  "What happened to you?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "That bruise......"  He pointed to the fading bruise on Indy's arm, visible because of the tank top she wore.  That was the reminder the blaster bolt had left her-a fading bruise on the muscle, reddened skin on top, a scar that would likely linger for the rest of her life.

            Indy looked back at him, her expression deadpan.  "It's nothing that I want to talk about."

            "You were fighting, weren't you?"

            "It's war," Indy responded.  She hugged him again.  "Gosh, it's so good to see you.  I wasn't sure if you were alive or dead, Slate."

            He smiled faintly.  "I'm here now, little sister.  How're Mom and Dad?"

            Indy looked away.

            "How long?"  Slate asked.

            "A few months," Indy answered, almost distantly.  "Nylan's missing, still.  He joined the Rebellion but disappeared two years ago, according to Tag.  She's got her own unit-a battlegroup, at that."

            Slate sank down on the bunk.  "I should've come sooner.  I found out that you joined up while I was still on Coruscant.  Then things started happening, and...."

            Indy smiled gently.  "Be glad you didn't come sooner.  Things have been busy."

            The door behind Indy slid open, admitting Mike.  "I was beginning to get worried," Mike began, putting his hands on her shoulders.  His gaze fell on Slate.  "Who is he?"

            "Lieutenant Mike Bullian, this is Slate Bridger, my older brother.  Slate, this is Mike.  He's my fiancé."

            Slate's brow furrowed.  "How much have I missed?"

            Indy shook her head, a slight smile on her face.  "A lot, Slate, a lot."

            "I'll say," Mike remarked.  He glanced at Indy.  "There's still ryshcate left, and you haven't had any yet."

            Indy glanced at her brother.  "Want some ryshcate, Slate?"

            Her brother slowly smiled.  "I'd love some."  He rose from the bunk and the trio left the barrack, heading back to the mess, where someone had just broken out some Alderaanian wine and the songs were about to begin.

            “Hey, Shouldn’t there be a bunch of Ewoks hanging around here.”  Mike yelled out, already throwing himself into the celebration, he needed it anyway.

            “Yub Yub Lieutenant”  Mynok replied jovially.  Mike picked up a guitar and strummed a few notes to reacclimatize himself to the instrument.  He played an upbeat tune that was quite popular in dancehalls a few years back, a few of the other auroras there with instruments picked up the tune.  Mike set down the guitar, content with the fact that the fun had started.  He went over to Indy and extended his hand.

            “May I have this dance?”  Indy took his hand and they moved to the clear area between tables.  A few of the other auroras took the cue and started dancing themselves, soon, the whole unit had forgotten all the trials and tribulations of the past few weeks and, for a change, just enjoyed themselves.

Baron (BaronCoop1@aol.com)

            Marriages always make me happy. I have no clue why, but they do. I just hope that this one will stay together. I'm sure it will, but as a former Coruscant Police Force officer, (Shout out to Section 9555!) I have seen too many cases where love turns into hatred. I'm sure that won't happen in this case. Positive of it.

            I was just getting around to the mess hall again, after getting my deck of sabacc cards, when the door opened in front of me. Indy, Mike and that new guy she brought (brother, I think she said) came walking out. I was interested in this new guy, as Indy seemed rather protective of him. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him earlier, as I was dancing, and sipping (yes, sipping) the wine. I decided that this was my chance to congratulate the engaged, and walked up to them. The red haired man turned his head my way, and he looked my direction with a forced-cheerfulness on his face. Until he saw me.

            His eyes scanned across my face exactly like he looked at everyone else, but then he jerked his head around for a double-take. His eyes locked with mine, and a fire came into them as his face distorted into ...... something. Fear? Anger? Loathing? Rage? I couldn't tell. I could tell he didn't like me. I was extremely surprised.

            His hand jerked down towards his hip, searching for something. A blaster? He glanced down, shocked to find that he wasn't wearing a gun. Reflexively, I raised my hands in surrender. I was not about to fight this man. But he had different ideas. He charged me, and tackled me from the middle. I was soon on the floor, and trying to recover from his vicious assault to my head, and body. Confusion made each hit hurt worse. Finally, a screaming Indy, and strong Mike managed to pull him off of me.

            "YOU!" he yelled, as Indy and Mike held him by the arms. This was very disturbing. I had seen this man from afar a short time ago, and would have pegged him as mild-mannered, or even timid. But now, he plainly wanted to kill me.

            "Me?" I managed to choke out, from my crushed larynx while lying on the floor. "What did I do?"

            "You don't even remember?! You ruined my life, you monster!" I have been called many things in my life before, but none with the vehemence that this man directed towards me.

            "Let me jog your memory, Imp! Construction Droid 554? Ring a bell?" The confusion evidently still showed on my face, as I stood up. This new guy realized he was being restrained, and looked pleadingly at his captors. "This man is an Imperial Agent! Let me go! He's the one that shot me! Grab him!"

            I shot someone around Construction Droid 554? I don't remem ..... Oh my God. I did.

            I put my hand to my head, as the realization came to me. I was suddenly slammed against the wall again. Indy stood there with her fist raised to hit me in the face. "Is that true, Stephen?" she asked, fire in her eyes too. I could see the family resemblance.

            "I ..." Oh no. This crew does not know my real history. They think I'm simply a commando from Coruscant. The NRI sent me here as an undercover agent. I can't let them know my true identity. I had to think fast. "Indy, let me talk to you privately."

            "NO!" screamed her brother. "You won't kill her too! I won't let you!" Mike was able to hold my accuser, but barely. Indy looked into my eyes, and lowered her fist.

            "Fine. Five minutes. If I find out that this is true, then you are dead." She said.

            "Indy, don't! Don't go! He'll kill you too!" His voice trailed off as we marched down the hall to her quarters. The door slid shut behind us, and she glared at me, over the barrel of a blaster.

            "Talk. You better have a damn good explanation."

            I sighed. "I don't." I heard the blaster charge up, and added quickly, "But I can explain!" She said nothing, so I continued. "I am not the man you think I am." Straightening my shoulders, I went on. "Lt. Stephen Baron, New Republic Intelligence. I was sent on this ship to watch the captain, and assure that no internal mutiny ever could occur. I am undercover here, so if you release this information, you can be tried in court for treason." I was bluffing that last part, but she couldn't know that. I sighed again. This was harder than I thought. Why couldn't she say something? Anything!

            "I joined the New Republic after serving ten years on the Coruscant Police Force.  During my service, my unit was called upon several times to assist the local stormtrooper garrison in rounding up gangs, and rebel cells. One of these assignments called for us to ambush a rebel attempt to destroy a Construction Droid. We succeeded, and killed every single insurgent. I thought so, at least. During the fight, I did shoot your brother. I was aiming to kill him, and thought I shot him in the face. Obviously I missed. I can assure you that I was simply following orders, and did not intend to harm anyone close to you, or even myself."

            I stopped, waiting to see what her reaction would be. She simply growled at me. "That's your excuse? 'I didn't mean to?'" Her finger tightened on the trigger. "That just doesn't cut it."

            "Oh come on, Indy! That's war and you know it!" Her gaze turned slightly away, and I decided to push my advantage. "The next time you kill some Imperial stormtrooper, do you really think that you're only hurting him? That somehow, this particular person has no family or friends to mourn him? Every soldier that goes out there to battle does it knowing full well the consequences. That is their decision. Your brother knew he could die that day. Did that stop him? No. I have great respect for the man right now. I don't even know his name, but I know it took guts to stand up to the Empire in those early days. Hell, I thought I was doing the right thing keeping the government in order, until one day I realized that the government I was upholding was not just, or fair. I can only say I'm sorry. If you're going to judge me by my actions before I joined the rebellion, the shoot me now, because I have killed too many people. But if you're going to judge me for who I am, then know I am telling the truth."

            Indy looked away, and dropped the blaster. "Slate. His name is Slate."

            "Slate. I should stay out of his way for a while. Please don't endanger this crew by revealing my true mission." She nodded, and began crying as I slowly got up, and walked to the door. Mike came in and, with a quick glance at me, went to comfort his fiancee. I walked back to my quarters. I was going to need more wine, and no. I'm not going to be sipping.

Mynok (Mynok9985@aol.com)

Mynok hurried to the mess after receiving one of Indy's or as he liked to call her when she baked Betty Crocker's cookies. As he went into the mess he saw a party of the greatest proportions he had ever seen while with the New Republic. Mike always knew how to throw a good party. He saw Mike and Indy dancing. He was happy for them they seemed to be right for each other. He decided to have some Sullustan gin which he never should have decided to. After half of the bottle he got up on the table and started chanting the famous Ewok words "Yub yub yub yub yub yub yub yub." hey he was just having a good time. But he wished he could dance right now.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

            Indy reached for a spool of thread, not looking at the table that had dozens upon dozens of things haphazardly strewn across it.  Her hand fell onto a datacard labeled "Orian."  Attached to it was a hand-written note scrawled in Tag's hand.

*Indy, since I KNOW you weren't paying any attention to me when I handed this to you, I need you to give this to Orian.  It's very important that he knows what is in this datafile.  I don't care if you look at it first-It's just a bio on me and a copy of the Operation: Aldera's Ashes report overview as found in NRI databases.  A lot of that stuff, you found out whether by accident or my telling.  He needs to see it, because I'm SURE he's all confused-call it Jedi insight if you must-and I don't want to have to deal with that when I come back-and that WILL happen.  CU soon, Tag.*

            Indy set aside her mother's wedding dress, which she had been altering to fit herself, and rose from her chair, picking up the datacard.  She took the note off and slid the datacard into a reader.

NRI DATABASE

QUERY --->  Rendar, Tag

*************THIS INFORMATION IS HIGHLY CLASSIFIED***************

Name:   Tag Erin Antilles Rendar AKA "Amber Dare"

Age (as of 2 years after ROJ):   18 standard years

Hair:    Brown with auburn highlights

Eyes:    Left eye indigo, right eye green

Height: 5'3.7"

Weight:            140lbs.

Profession:            Former Rogue Squadron pilot, NRI operative, soldier/pilot, Jedi Knight

Proficiencies:            Combat flying-Incom T-65 X-Wing space superiority fighter, Koyensayer Y-Wing Bomber/Defender, Dodonna/Blissex A-Wing starfighter, TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, Lambda-class shuttle, Corellian Corvette, misc. other classes of vessel

            Weapons-BlasTech DL-44 Heavy blaster pistol, SoroSuub S1BR, Zone Control Viper Grenade Launcher,  Merr-Sonn Anti-Riot Tangle Gun 7, most kinds of explosives and charges, lightsaber

Special Skills:            Slicing, Intrusions, Communications, Combat flying, Non-combat flying, Search and Rescue, Intelligence, commando operations, Force-usage, advanced first aid

Family (inc. Blood-family):            Corsem Eric Rendar-Father (deceased)

            Mera Aryn Antilles Rendar-Mother (deceased)

            Jagged Antilles-Uncle (deceased)

            Zena Antilles-Aunt (deceased)

            Wedge Antilles-cousin (currently serving with Rogue Squadron)

            Mirax Antilles-third cousin (no occupation)

            Syal Antilles Fel (Wynssa Starflare Fel)-cousin (unknown)

            Soontir Fel-cousin in law (unknown)

            Davil Bridger-blood family (deceased)

            Renegade Kaslin Bridger-blood family (deceased)

            Slate Bridger-blood family (currently between assignments in the NR Military)

            Indiana "Indy" Bridger-blood family (currently serving with the Rebel Squadrons)

            Mickie Bridger-blood family (deceased)

            Nadia Bridger-blood family (missing, believed deceased)

            Nylan Bridger-blood family (missing, believed deceased)

            Karinlyyn "Arin" Bridger-blood family (missing, believed deceased)

            Valin "Hal" (Halcyon) Horn-blood family (deceased)

            Corran Horn-blood family (unknown)

Homeworld:            Corellia

Age at enlistment:            12 standard years

History:

                        Tag Rendar was born to Corsem and Mera Rendar, both Corellian Security Force officers and Jedi, in Coronet City, Corellia.  She was raised knowing her heritage as the daughter of Jedi-Jedi trained by Master Nejaa Halcyon.  It was generally expected that the young Rendar would eventually also join the ranks of CorSec when she came of age.  This was not to be.  Corsem and Mera Rendar were killed in the line of duty, the exact circumstances are unknown.  This left Rendar an orphan at the age of nine.  She moved in with a member of her blood family, Jedi pseudo-Master Mickie Bridger, and was trained as a Jedi.

                        Rendar left Corellia after the death of her "Master" with her master's son, Nylan Bridger.  They joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic at Yavin.  Rendar was the youngest recruit the Alliance had ever taken in at the age of twelve.  She was later commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to Rogue Squadron after showing natural talent as a starfighter pilot.  Rendar's relationship with her commanding officer, Commander Luke Skywalker, was one of friendship and camaraderie when it came to the Alliance and New Republic Military, but when it came to being Jedi, Rendar certainly did not approve of many of Skywalker's methods.  However, this young Jedi never took on students, despite Skywalker's constant invitations to help him train the Force-adepts he found.

                        Rendar was with Intelligence from the start.  While her career in Rogue Squadron often took precedence, that changed after an injury on Hoth caused her to be grounded from flying for quite some time.  Intelligence began to utilize her unique skills more and more often, and she was soon assigned to lead many operations.  She was partnered Astrid Burns after Hoth and they continue to serve together to this day.

                        At the age of sixteen, shortly after the Battle of Endor, Rendar was called upon to form a new battlegroup.  She founded the Echo Raiders Battlegroup, consisting of a small battlefleet, a starfighter wing, a medical unit, commando group, and a special operations unit.  Although the Echo Raiders occupy most of her time, she is sometimes called upon to "fix" Intelligence messes and to take charge of deep cover operations-many of them unknown to all but the highest ranking officers within New Republic Intelligence.

                        Rendar currently ranks as a Captain and divides her time between Intelligence demands and the Echo Raiders Battlegroup.

********************All other information is unavailable*********************

NRI DATABASE

QUERY --->  Operation:  Aldera's Ashes

QUERY --->  Twilight Colony

*************THIS INFORMATION IS HIGHLY CLASSIFIED***************

Mission Report Overview

Mission Report ~ Operation: Aldera's Ashes

Mission Location ~ Twilight Colony

Report Author ~ Lieutenant Tag Erin Antilles Rendar

Mission Status1 ~ Complete

Mission Status2 ~ Successful

            Operation: Aldera's Ashes was a complete success.  The work done there would have greatly helped the Alliance if we were not forced to destroy it.  Alas, those were our orders, and so it was done.  Twilight Colony was destroyed, as per orders.

            In the case of Shada Jess Roon Arcona, AKA "Sarah," Agent Burns and her medical team along with myself were able to repair much of the damage to her body, aside from certain wounds that will not be gone into here.  She was revived without much difficulty and Agent Burns and I are confident that it can be done again.

            The case of Lieutenant Daniel Ishad was slightly more complicated.  It was hard to piece his mind together again, but we were eventually successful, in some fashion, although he will never be a combat starfighter pilot again.  I recommend him for the EMR corps; it is my belief that he would make a good med runner pilot.

            All things went according to what we planned; the colony was destroyed with minimal Alliance casualties, aside from those lost in minor skirmishes, including but not limited to Kildare Jade and his Gamma team, as well as Lieutenant Jannie Tilfar and Doug Chandler.  I was, as planned, the last one off the asteroid, and I hung off in the system, speaking with Commander Luke Skywalker (Rogue Squadron) as I observed the destruction.  I observed a Force-strong pilot, whom, as standing orders dictate, I reported to Commander Skywalker.

            The small convoy entered the system at the planned interval, and I rendezvoused with them.  I reported in to Commander Skywalker, then headed out to Arrowhead base to begin making ready for the Endor prep strikes.

Filed by Lt. Tag E. A. Rendar, 889844732 standard timeparts

            Indy pulled the datacard out of the reader.  There was a letter after the two files, but Indy didn't think she needed to read it.  She shuddered slightly, realizing how much she hadn't known about Tag.  She left her barrack and walked to Orian's.  He wasn't there, so she left it on his desk, then returned to her altering, shaken.

     Indy had been looking for Slate for hours when she finally found him in an empty barrack, his face in his hands.  His shoulders shook silently.  "Slate?"

     He looked up.  "I'm sorry, Indy."

     "For what?"

     Slate wiped tears from his face as Indy came and sat on the bunk next to him, putting her arms around her older brother.  "For my....outburst....in the mess last night.  I should've have done that.  But his face...."  He squeezed his eyes shut.  "He killed my friends, Indy.  Almost got me, too."

     Indy's face was deadpan.  "I saved his life."

     "What?"  Shock rode freely on Slate's face.

     "I saved his life," Indy repeated softly.  "On Lantare."  She drew a deep breath.  "He watched over me while everyone else was gone...."  She shook her head.  "Baron--he's not a bad man, Slate."

     Slate swallowed hard.  "But....he killed those people....."

     "People die," Indy said softly.  "It's war.  As unfortunate as it may be, things like this happen."

     "Why?"  Slate asked, almost bitterly.

     Indy didn't answer him.  She had no answer to that question.

     Brother and sister sat together for a long, long time.

Torin Qel-Droma (Codyman@aol.com)

NEWSBRIEF:  THE CRISIS ON LANTARE CONTINUES

     The Imperial Fleet emerged from hyperspace to quite a surprise this morning at 6:00 AM CST, as they found the bulk of the Rebel Squadrons Fleet waiting for them.  The battle began shortly after, with the RS squadrons of scorpion wing, spearheading the assault.  The wing, among the dozen others involved in the operation, struck quickly against the Emperor's Hammer imperial fleet, inflicting major damage on several of the Imperial Star Destroyers.  Still, as we speak, the battle rages on, each side trading blows regularly, then falling back to regroup and strike again.  Fortunately, the people of Lantare have been spared.  The battle is occurring far enough from the planet as to effect them very little.  The planet has send out its garrison squadrons and ships to assist the New Republic force back the Empire, not wanting to see the Empire occupy them once again.

     Torin "The Codyman" Qel-Droma looked at his cards, smiling.  He had one of the worst hands he had ever seen.  Still, he threw in some more cred chips.  "I'll raise it 500 creds."  Troy looked grim, and threw his cards down on the table. 

     "Damn you Cody, I ain't wasting any more of my paycheck on you.  I am most definitely out of this one."  Cody smiled and took a puff from his cigar.  "So Jewl, you still in?"  She nodded her head and smiled back, throwing in more creds. 

     "Course I am bro, I'll probably end up stealing all this cash from you sooner or later anyway."  Torin shook his head and grinned a bit, taking a large swig of Corellian whiskey.

     "No way Jewl, I am not financing any more of your silly escapades.  If you want to join the Galaxy Wrestling Federation, you're gonna have to front your own cash for that.  I lost too much money investing in your last idea…" He thought for a moment.  "…Oh yeah, that Gundark theme park on Irabela IV.  Come to Irabela where you too can pull the ears of a Gundark.  Yeah, that was a great idea.  You know how many feeders we lost?  Then there was that little kid.  Know one ever told the tourists that if you failed to pull the Gundark's ears off that he would probably turn right around and rip your head off.  You know how long I had to lay low after that incident?"  Jewl smiled.

     "Ah, come on bro…I know I can be a wrestling superstar."  Cody just waved his hand and turned to Galadriel.  She threw down her cards and spoke before he even could open his mouth.

     "I'm out Torin."

     "OK, and lastly, Morcant.  You in or out bud?" 

     "Out."  Torin laughed a bit, and brought his stare down on Jewl.

     "Well then, back to me of course.  I raise the stakes 1000 creds.  Sis, since you are the only one left, it's up to you."  Jewl frowned, and threw her cards down, pulling out a cigarette.

     "You always win."  Torin finished off his Corellian whiskey.

     "And now ladies and gents, you will behold, most likely the worst hand of cards you have ever seen.  Might I also add to that, the word winning, as in "the worst hand of cards you have ever see that won a game."  With that, I take your money gladly.  Thank you very much for playing.  Shall we start again?"  As he spoke, an officer approached him, clad in uniform. 

    "Sir, the first shuttle of rookies is now landing."  Cody looked at his Sabacc buddies and back at the officer.

     "Well folks, looks like I'm out of this round.  But thanks for the cash."  Throwing the creds back down on the table.  "Drinks are once again on me."  He turned to the officer.  "OK, back to you.  So you want me to great these rooks?"  The officer looked a bit confused.

     "Well sir, it is protocol.  Shall I fetch your dress uniform?"  Cody looked down at himself.  Wearing some khaki drawstring cargo pants, a wifebeater tee, and a Corellia Bloodstripes Hyperball team hat, he was hardly looking ready to meet new recruits.

     "Nah, I'll great them like this."

     1st Lieutenant Dack Mauldeer stepped down from the shuttle, on to the Imladris's hangar bay.  It was fairly quiet in the hangar, and the only person that was present to welcome them aboard was some dirty mechanic in a wifebeater tee.  "Hello, where might I find the commanding officer on board?"  The mechanic laughed a bit.

     "Yeah, I dunno stuff like that, sorry."  With that, the mechanic walked by Dack and shook hands with another man debarking the shuttle.  They spoke to each other as if they had known on another.  Dack figured that the mechanic had probably served with the other at one time or another.  The mechanic was very talkative, reflecting on old times.

      "What's up Aaron, haven't flown with you since that one Minos Skirmish a while back.  He spoke to Aaron "Ace" Clark, a pilot with Twilight Squadron, also joining Aurora Force for the first time.  Didn't see you at that Rza/Twilight practice melee though.  Dack thought to himself…

     "This mechanic musta been Rza Squad's mechanic or something."  …But Aaron quickly proved him wrong. 

     "So Torin, how'd they ever give you command of a whole ship?"  Dack's jaw dropped.  That was the general!  Torin patted the other pilot on the back.  

     "Don't really know Ace, must screwed up somewhere.  Rza's in the thick of things and I'm here playing cards with buds."  He shrugged his shoulders and lied a bit.  "Yeah, we haven't seen much action round here yet."  He turned to all the new recruits.  "Welcome aboard."

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

            Indy was in the officer's club, a cup of caf at her elbow, looking through a list of wines that Tag could possibly get for her, several designs of bridesmaid's dresses, and flower arrangements that could be gotten to the *Imladris* at a moment's notice.  *Whoever thought it would be this much work to plan a wedding?*  She took a sip of her caf.  Mike had the easier job.  Since it was a military wedding, it was a given that the men would all be in uniform, and Mike had already picked his groomsmen and best man.  Indy supposed that she didn't really need to have her bridesmaids in dresses, but she had always wanted at least a semi-formal wedding, like the one her parents had.  She'd already altered her mother's dress, which she was glad was done.  Her fingers were sore from pricking herself with the sewing needle.

            The officer's club was quiet-it was still early, but Indy really didn't want to stay in her barrack and be accused of hiding.  Aside from worrying about the plans for her wedding, Indy worried about Slate, and Raven.  *I shouldn't worry about Raven, he's more than capable of taking care of himself.*  Mike had already planned to have Raven as his best man, if his mission was completed on-time.  She wasn't sure if anyone else knew-if they did, they'd probably think Mike was crazy, after what Raven had done to him.  Slate was an entirely different story, though.  He had changed immensely in the years that he and Indy had been separated.  After the incident with Baron in the mess, Indy was almost scared to leave him alone, scared of what he might do.  She just hoped that Slate wouldn't take to wearing a blaster again, as he apparently had before, given his immediate reaction to seeing Baron.  Then she'd *really* be afraid of leaving her brother alone.

            Indy sighed again.  There were too many things to worry about.  She almost couldn't wait to get back out in the field again-in the field, she had no time to worry.

Dack Mauldeer (Xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack Mauldeer hit the buttons to unlock the door to his quarters. The door lifted up quickly, and he walked inside.

            It had been a month after he had requested Lt. Colonel Horn Jr. that he also serve time in Aurora Force, a division of the RS he had heard well of. He set his bag on the small bed and sat down in the chair at the provided desk. He unzipped his bag and searched through for his portable interface computer. After finding it, he pulled it out of the duffel bag, and set it on the desk. He was about to pull out his other things, but instead, slumped down in his seat.

            It had been bothering him, that confrontation with his brother. He decided, though, not to dwell on it, but to focus on what was coming in his life. He had vowed that things would be better.

            He switched on the computer, tapping in commands to see information on Aurora. he read up on what had happened before he had come. Lantare. He had heard stories of the system itself, but never the planet. It intrigued him, and he began to read on...

Gerald Caridian (Overeader@aol.com)

            Major Gerald T. Caridian stepped out of the shuttle and onto his new home. He took a look around the docking bay, and say Lt. Mauldeer departing from the other shuttle. He had served as Mauldeer's XO in Phoenix Squadron, and knew his abilities as a pilot. He felt happy to be serving with him.

            Gerald picked his bags back up, and moved toward the other shuttle. As he got there, he caught one of the new recruits in mid-sentence.

            "So Torin, how'd they ever give you command of a whole ship?", he said

            Gerald watched as Dack's jaw dropped. He'd have to hear this one later.

     "Don't really know Ace, must screwed up somewhere.  Rza's in the thick of things and I'm here playing cards with buds." The man shrugged, "Yeah, we haven't seen much action round here yet."

            Now that's a lie. Gerald thought as he heard the man speak. He had heard of the crisis troubling the fleet of late

            The man, whom Gerald now noted as wearing a mechanics outfit despite his obvious rank, welcomed the new recruits. After the welcome, he gave quick instructions about how to find our quarters and get settled in. After his orders, the crowd of recruits began to disperse.

            Dack Mauldeer approached the general, stammering a bit at first.

            "I-I-I-I apologies General. I had n-n-n-no idea that-"

            "That's OK." The General soothed. "Just make sure you don't make that mistake in combat."

            "Yes, Sir." Dack said. He gave a salute then shuffled off.

            Gerald approached the general, put his bags down and saluted.

            "Major Gerald Caridian, sir."

            "Major Caridian...you are the Executive officer of Phoenix Squadron, are you not?"

            "That is me, Sir."

            "A fine squadron you have their, Major."

            "We have a lot of fine pilots, Sir. And I believe your own Mike Bullian is one of them."

            "Oh yes, I do believe he has said a word or two about you and Phoenix Squadron."

            Gerald let the smile escape his lips, "Good words or bad words, Sir."

            "I don't think 'good' is a strong enough word, Major."

            Gerald, now full smile, picked his bags back up. "It was a pleasure meeting you, General."

            "And you too Major"

            Gerald gave a salute and started to walk away.

            "And, Major?"

            Gerald turned around, "Yes, General?"

            "You are coming to the wedding, correct?"

            "Wedding, Sir?"

            "Yes, Lt. Bullian’s wedding."

            Gerald frowned, "He never told us he was engaged."

            The general laughed aloud at this, "Well, I think that is a thing best explained by him. Thanks for the talk, Major. And welcome aboard once more."

            "My pleasure, General, and thanks for receiving me."

            Gerald opened the door to his new living quarters, and gently set his bags down. He unpacked his clothing, and folded it neatly into the small drawers beneath his bunk. He then wondered who he was sharing his quarters with, and decided to look it up later. He shifted through another bag and brought out his lightsaber. He held it tight in his hands, seeing the scrawl that was one there.

            If I ever become that way again, then may the Force strike me down in mercy.

            He set the lightsaber on his desk. After changing into a fresh jumpsuit, he exited his quarters, heading for the nearest lounge.

Jorun Jax (JorunJax@aol.com)

     Cadet Jorun Jax sat in the bar, sipping his Tatooine Sunrise.  He had just joined the crew of the Imladris and was enjoying the atmosphere so far.  He hadn't really met anyone yet, but he liked the whole system.  Everything was casual.  Soldiers played cards, sat back and drank, and it looked as if they were all fairly good friends.  This was a good thing in combat.  Friends, people you could rely on to cover your back, more than just a random soldier you did not know well.  These people functioned as a team.  He wondered where this new assignment would take him next.  It was an interesting assignment in the least.  In the past he had been little more than a solider, but now he was on a vessel, exploring the Minos Cluster, and finding out more about it.  He had heard a few stories about the unit's last mission, only briefly, as it was little talked about, but he had high hopes for the future.  He was determined to help Aurora Force reach the history books.  He sipped his drink once again and looked out at the other members, as they went about their routine.

Raven Conall (RavnConall@aol.com)

            Ravon looked around on the Bridge of the SSD and stretched his collar. "This collar is a little tight." he thought. Then he sighed as he remembered one thing and gave up on another. He remembered that the Newbies were coming on, raven mentally rolled his eyes at that, and that this collar was not going to loosen up no matter how hard he tugged at it, unless he tore it off. He gave up and let his Imperial Grand Admiral Uniform be. He looked around as the stars slowed down and became small lines, then finally became dots. He waited for the helm to state their position. "We are just outside of Minos cluster. The nearest Imperial Base is planet side, which is 20 klicks away, their is a shipyard 15 clicks away, sir." said the helmsman. Ravon nodded and said "Send the Black Sky to the Shipyard, and bring us to the garrison. We'll ferry our.... Dark Troopers... To the Interdictor. Then we shall wait for the 4 squadrons of phantoms to land on the Interdictor, and replace 5 of our 20 squadrons with the phantoms also. Oh yes, and make sure that we pick up a legion of Dark Troopers as well, and replace their losses with our ships... Except the ones we're giving to the Interdictor, of course. And try to get it all done within this week. I want us in top running condition." The Helmsman and Comm turned back to their station and began their work assigned by the Grand Admiral.

Leif Nalpak (Thinkap@eisa.net.eu)

Ho, Imladris!” Leif Nalpak called out over his comm system “This is Lieutenant Leif Nalpak, I’ve been sent over to join Aurora Force.” He looked out his A-Wing cockpit at the Imladris.  “Nice ship you have there,” he added “Not quite as nice as some I’ve seen, but if the carbon scoring was cleaned off..”

“Lieutenant Nalpak,” Leif didn’t recognize the voice that addressed him,

but

suspected that he soon would.

“Yes?” he replied cautiously.

“Please skip the decorating lecture and just get in here.” “Understood sir,” Leif said, immediately serious once more.  He’d never quite forget his Imperial discipline, even in an environment where his quirks were accepted.

He pushed the A-Wing up to full speed and maneuvered into the hangar of the Imladris.

“So, why did you apply to be transferred here, Lieutenant?”  Torin asked Leif.

Leif looked vaguely discomforted at his new CO’s choice of clothing, if not surprised.  A late arrival, Leif had had the advantage of speaking to the other new members of Aurora Force first.

“Well, I heard that it was fun here, sir, and that I was less likely to have to fly a badly damaged X-Wing in a mission.” “What?”

“Long story,” Leif shrugged “Let’s just say that I earned fifty-one kills with a scrambled cockpit electronics and an obscured viewscreen.  Failed the mission though.”

Torin laughed “They said you had an ego problem.”

“It’s true!” Leif exclaimed.

“Hmph.  Anyway, you shouldn’t have any problem making friends around here..

Welcome aboard”

“Thank you,” Leif rose.

“Thank you what?” Torin asked.

Leif looked at his CO’s choice of clothing pointedly “Thank you.  Is there anything else?”

Torin sighed “Just get out, Lieutenant, and have a drink.”

“Will do.”

Leif made it around the corner before he collapsed laughing.

“Oh, and Lieutenant?” Torin’s voice was clearly audible, even from

around the

corner.

“Yes, sir?” Leif called back.

“That’s GENERAL QEL-DROMA SIR to you!” “I hear you, General sir.  But it’s hard to salute a man wearing a Hyperball cap.  Can I get my orange juice now?”

Leif heard footsteps coming down the corridor, and fled.  Accidentally causing the PBF’s highest officers to come to him in the Bar and Grill for a report was one thing, but even Leif Nalpak knew when not to push his luck.  The discipline here wasn’t what he remembered from his Imperial service, but it DID exist.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike walked into the officers' club and his jaw dropped, sitting alone at a table in the corner was his Phoenix Squad XO, Major Gerald Caridian.  Mike went over, thinking at least a greeting was in order.

            "Major, you're looking well."  Mike said in a friendly manner to the man that he had always looked up to.

            "Lieutenant, I heard quite a bit about you."  Gerald said, a wide smile on his face.

            "Like what?"  mike asked with one eyebrow raised.

            "I heard you did some major damage on Lantare, then got yourself captured, and now you're engaged.  Why didn't you tell us?"

            Mike replied with just the slightest tinge of hesitation.  "Well, I figured the squad would be pretty busy right now.  I did however ask someone to bring along my dress uniform."

            "I got it, it's hanging up in my quarters, at least now I know what you need it for.  Congratulations!"  Gerald smiled and patted Mike on the back.  "I was coming anyway, I’m one of your new recruits."

            "Thanks, i guess I'll have to show you around and introduce you to some of the more interesting Auroras."  Mike returned Gerald's smile and turned around to pick up the bottle of Ol'sek he'd come for.

            "Dack's here too, you know"  Gerald said as Mike walked toward the bar.

            Mike turned back and replied.  "we'll have to get together sometime and reminisce about the old days in Phoenix."  Mike smiled and grabbed the bottle he'd come for.  "See you later Gerald"

            "See you Mike"  Gerald replied as Mike left the officer's club

Baron (BaronCoop1@aol.com)

            I awoke the morning after the party, and decided to quit drinking. Again. After downing roughly a bottle of painkillers, I got a bright idea. I went to my drawer, and shuffled around in it, looking for something. I found it, and got up to leave. I thought about bringing my blaster, but decided against it. Hopefully I wouldn't need it.

            I walked down the hall and had to gather my composure before knocking on the plain white door.

            "Come on in." A female's voice called from within. Female? I looked at the room number, and decided I did indeed have the right room. Inside, Indy was sitting with her brother. His head was down, but he raised it to see who entered the room. He instantly changed, and once again became seething. Indy looked up too, and held tighter to her brother. "Please Stephen. Just go away." She almost pleaded.

            Slate looked like he was still raging inside, but managed to control himself, at least so he didn't immediately attack me. This was good. Maybe he was just shocked last night. Whatever the cause, I was going to use it to my advantage.

            "Um, actually Indy, I came here to talk to Slate." Neither said anything, but soon, Indy let go of her brother, and got up.

            "If you need me, I'll be outside." She left, looking around, obviously trying to see what could be used as a weapon in here while she was gone. Finding nothing, the door closed behind her.

            "I have nothing to say to you. You would be dead right now, if you hadn't fooled my sister into thinking you were a good man." The fire had not left his eyes, and the vehemence from the previous night still lay there.

            "I came here to apologize."

            "For what?" He spat. "Following orders? My sister may buy that excuse, but I don't. You ruined my life, and took everything I held close. Now you want my sister."

            I turned my head down, and stared at the floor for a moment. What WAS I doing here? I should probably just give this man as much space as I can. But I can't run away from this like that.            I put a small box on his bed, next to him, and backed away.

            Without looking away, he slowly took it, and opened it up. Inside was a shiny golden cross. A Special Services Cross. It was given only to heroes in the Coruscant Police Force.

            "What is it?" He growled.

            "That is the medal I received for killing your friends." I told him bluntly. He dropped it like it was molten. "They gave that to me when I killed five people threatening that operation. I want you to have it."

            "For what?" He snarled. "So I know just how good a shot you are? Congratulations. Or is it so I can always remember the pain you have caused me? So I will always know that one man destroyed my entire life in the course of ten minutes? Is that it?" The bitterness in his voice was evident.

            "No. I want you to have this for irony." The hatred was still on his face, but a twinge of confusion showed up as well. "I got this medal for defending my planet, my job, my government, and my honor. My superiors thought they were honoring me when they pinned it on my uniform. But now I know that it is a constant reminder of the pain that the Empire has caused people all over the Galaxy. It is actually a medal honoring your friends. Those five friends of yours will not come back. They knew that was a possibility when they left the building that day. If they had known that they would die, do you think they would have stopped? I know the answer without knowing the people. They would have done it anyway. They knew the price would be high, but the end result would be worth it. Freedom from oppression, justice restored, and liberty for all once again. They were heroes. If I had to do it over, I would have done everything differently. Everything." I finished, and waited for him to say something.

            We remained silent for three minutes, and thought the hatred was in his eyes, the edge had been taken off. I backed up quietly, under his watchful eyes, and opened the door. Indy jumped from where she was, slightly startled. I looked into her eyes, nodded, and walked down the hall. She walked back into the room. I knew my job here was finished, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe Slate had a point. Once again, I had to fight my conscience down, and not dwell on the past. Too much, anyway.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

            "Look, there's one of those newbies that Torin warned us about."  Mynok pointed to a dark-haired young man at the bar, who was sitting alone and nursing a drink.

            Mike's brow furrowed slightly.  From the back, it was hard to tell who he was, but the rookie seemed familiar.

            "Let's torture him," Mynok suggested.

            "Is *that* how you all have your fun?"  Slate asked, looking up from his elba water.

            Mynok just shrugged.

            "He looks lonely," Indy said, remembering how terrible it had felt to be new and not know anyone.  *Hard to believe that a little more than a month ago, that would have been me.*  She got up and walked over to the bar.  She stood next to the young man.

            He looked up, then back at his drink.

            "Hi," Indy tried.

            "Hi," the young man replied.

            "What's your name?"  Indy asked.

            "What's yours?"  The young man countered.

            Indy grinned.  "Gonna play hard-ball with me now, are you?"  She laughed.  "All right then.  I'm Second Lieutenant Indiana Bridger, Aurora Force.  Everyone calls me Indy, though."

            "I'm Dack Mauldeer."

            Indy nodded.  "I thought you were new.  Look, you want to join some of us?  You seem kinda lonely sitting here."

            "What if I like being lonely?"

            Indy looked at the ceiling.  "How about I don't give you a choice?"

            Dack gave a resigned sigh and slid off his stool.  He walked with Indy over to the round table in the center of the room where Kenta, Mynok, Slate, and Mike sat, with Indy's empty chair between Slate and Mike.  "Pull up a chair," Indy said.  "That's Kenta, the space rat-er, Mynok, my brother Slate, and my fiancé Mike."

            Dack blinked in surprise.  He knew some of them.  He pulled up a chair and sat down with them.  He immediately stared at Mike.  "You're getting married, Mike?"

            Mike smiled and put his arm around Indy as she sat down.  "Can you blame me?"

            The others laughed.  One down, who knows how many to go?

Mynok (Mynok9985@aol.com)

Mynok had just finished his drink with all his squad mates and was walking down the hall to his quarters when he heard a faint shuffle. He looked into the darkened corner but could see nothing. He was near his room so he summoned his R11 Blipp.

"Blipp take a life scan reading of that corner and tell me if there any life forms in it."

" Bleep bleep blip beep."

"OK, I'll check it out."

He walked over to the corner and began to investigate with his hands. Just as he reached the back of the corner a large furry being pounced at his head. he heard whatever it was screaming "Yub Yub Yub Yub Yub Yub." and suddenly he knew exactly what it was. It was a small brown and gray Ewok. He pulled the scared creature of his head and tried to communicate with it . He finally got it to calm down and took it into his quarters. There as Mynok went to sleep the young Ewok made it self a bed. He thought to him self " I wonder if Cody will let me keep him." He seems pretty smart. And with that thought he and the young Ewok fell asleep.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

  Indy jerked the X-Wing into a tight loop after the TIE.  "Come on, come on," she muttered softly.  She squeezed the trigger, sending laserfire splashing across the TIE.  It exploded.  She moved on to the next target.

   The R2 unit behind her squealed.  "What?!  A torp?  Where....?"

   It was too late.  The torpedo slammed home, and the X-Wing disintegrated into so much flaming debris......

----------------------------------------------------------------------

   Indy took off her helmet as the sim pod opened.  "Almost had it that time."

   "You're getting better," Mike told her.

   Indy sighed.  "Not good enough.  I'm glad Tag sent these sims, though."

   Mike helped her out of the pod.  "Come on, let's go eat, huh?  Line'll still be short if we hurry."

   Indy grinned.  "OK."

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike left Indy later that night and retreated to his little workshop that he had set up in a small, unused storage bay.  He withdrew a medium sized chunk of silver from his pocket and reached out toward it with the force, beginning to shape it.  He worked like this for hours upon hours eventually shaping the silver into an elaborately filigreed necklace piece.  He then withdrew nine perfect teardrop shaped sapphires of varying shades of blue.  He attached them to the bottom of the necklace piece in order, ranging from darkest blue in the center to lightest on the ends.  he then withdrew from another pocket an extremely large uncut ruby.  He set to work, shaping the ruby into a faceted heart and taking some of his own spiritual energy and imbued the scarlet gem with it, giving it a fiery internal glow.  He affixed the ruby to the center of the necklace piece and attached it to the chain that he had purchased through the Holonet Shopping Network.  He left the workshop and made his way toward the mess, knowing instinctively that he had worked through the night and it was almost time for breakfast.  He waited in the mess for Indy to show up, luckily she was the first.

            "Indy, remember how you said you have everything but something new?"  Mike pulled the necklacepiece from inside his shirt and handed it carefully to Indy.  Her jaw dropped at the exquisite beauty of the piece, she was completely speechless.  She quickly gathered Mike in a loving embrace and they sat down together and waited for breakfast to be served.

Dack Mauldeer (Xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack Mauldeer left his quarters to find something to do, while spotting Major Caridian in the hall.

            "Good day, Lt.," Caridian greeted Mauldeer.

            "Same to you, Major. Nice to see someone I know here."

            Caridian nodded and smiled. "Scuttlebutt around is that the XO's of this division are still planning on what our next moves are. I would suggest, if you don't want any overly dangerous missions, to display yourself as a great officer, as you have somewhat done in Phoenix."

            Dack nodded, but then stared at Caridian. "Well, what have I got to live for? No family, no real ties to anyone I know. If I were shot down today, no one would care."

            Caridian frowned. "Now I'm worried, Dack. You keep thinking that way, and you'll be sitting idly while a TIE shoots you down."

            Dack's throat went dry. "Y-yes sir."

            Dack then walked down the hallway, towards the rec room. As he entered, he found a small table of pilots playing Sabacc. He had loved the game, but decided not to join in until knowing more about the pilots here. He said nothing and sat down at the bar, ordering some Corellian Ale, reminding himself to be careful not to drink too much...

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

            The officer's club was crowded that night.  Indy-not Baron-was the one propping up the bar that night, bored as hell.  She watched the other Auroras in the bar, but her eyes kept falling on Torin, who was-yet again-playing sabacc.  Ever since she had first met him, there had been something familiar about him.  Suddenly, it hit her.  The eyes, the face....of course.  How could she have missed it?

            She looked down toward the bar and closed her eyes.

            Four adolescents ran around the streets laughing.  "Torin's it!"

            The tousled-haired Torin frowns heavily for a moment, before taking off after Nylan.  "Not for long!"

            Nylan Bridger ducked around the older boy.  "Not on your life, Torin!"

            Eventually, Torin managed to catch Indy, who immediately set after Tag.

            "Nylan!  Tag!"  Mickie Bridger shouted.  "Indy!  Come on, it's going to get dark soon."

            "Tomorrow Torin?"  Twelve year old Indy remarked cheerfully.

            Torin shrugged.  "Don't know.  Maybe.  Bye."  The teenager turned and disappeared into the shadows.

            "He's fun," Tag remarked.

            "You bet he is," Nylan agreed.  He looked at his cousin.  "Indy, Uncle Davil and Aunt Reny are gonna worry.  You should go."

            Indy sighed.  "You're right.  Bye, Nylan, bye, Tag."  She hugged them both, then hurried over and gave her uncle a quick hug and kiss before heading home.

            When Indy opened her eyes, there were silent tears rolling down her cheeks.  That had been the day before her life was shattered-the day before Alderaan died, the day Mickie had died, the day Tag and Nylan walked out of her life.  *How could I not have realized it....?*  She wiped her eyes, and looked up.  She polished off her drink, and set out in search of her brother or Mike, whoever she ran into first.

Raven Conall (RavnConall@aol.com)

            A note was dropped off at Mike's door along with a package. Mike opened the letter and it read: "Sorry Mike.. I can't make it to the Bachelor party, but business is business. Instead I gave you a little surprise.. Thus the box. ~Raven Conall" Mike picked up the box and set the card on top of it and walked back in his room and set it all on the table. he set the card off to the side and opened the box and inside there was a 5 sets of Sabaac cards, a box labeled "Automated Dealer" with a button on top, 6 bottles of the finest wine from a Expensive Wine Dealer on Coruscant, and a key for a Private Bay in the Hanger.

            Mike walked out into the Hanger and over to the Private Bay, inside was around 100 cases of Corellian Ale, 100 Cases of some sort of Fancy Wine, and 200 Cases of bear. Along with a couple of chess sets, and some holo emitters with some quite interesting labels.

QuornLee (liam@knighthead.freeserve.co.uk)

QuornLee struggled with the flight stick in his battered X-wing as it started to shudder after the entry into normal space. The Nav CPU identified a ship on the sensor screen as the Imladris. "Good", he thought, "I’ve made it". Quorn plotted an approach vector to the Mon Calamari Cruiser.

"RS Imladris, this 1st Lt. QuornLee requesting clearance"

"Affirmative 1st Lt., you have landing clearance for the main hanger"

At last he could relax. As he lent back into his seat he thought about the close run in he had just had with the EH. The Minos battle had ended in victory for the RS but some pilots, such as himself, had not been so fortunate. His reminiscence was broken by his R2 unit Swatchi. The little droid was squealing at him like a Gamorrean on lumni-spice. The X-Wing was loosing power. Quorn diverted all the remaining power into the engines and the fighter lurched forward in the direction of the hanger. He fought fiercely for control as the hanger grew bigger. Suddenly the cockpit was silent, the familiar hum of power was no longer omnipresent. The X-Wing was dead and it was hurtling towards the hanger bay. He could imagine the look of pure terror on the faces of the mechanics.

"uh-oh" Quorn said, "Bacta time!"

Aaron “Ace” Clark (Aeclark@aol.com)

     Clark calmly gathered his gear and disembarked from the shuttle.  Upon reaching the deck he was soon confronted by an obnoxious techie.  "Hey there Ace!" he blurted out in a high pitched squeaky voice.  "I didn't see you at the Rza/Twilight skirmish!"   Clark, exhausted from his trip just looked at the techie, smiled, and pointed to his Dragon Squadron patch on the left side of his fading red flight suit. Clark brought out his datapad and punched a few keys. 

     "Ahh, my bunk.  I wonder who my bunk mate will be."  Clark questioned as he reached his bunk.  Clark slid his security key into the slot a few times before the door opened.  "It feels good not to have that friggin' R5 following me around." Clark said.  No sooner was it said, Dumbass, his R5 came rolling in. Clark looked at his R5 and just gave a sigh of submission.  Clark threw his duffel bag in the corner and hoped on the top bunk.  "Dumbass", Clark started, "Wake me up if anyone needs anything."  And with that Clark went to sleep.

Dack Mauldeer (Xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack Mauldeer had known they were playing him as a rookie.

            He could tell, by the held back smirks, the crazy stares. He had had this experience in Phoenix when first entering, but he didn't deserve it now. He wasn't a D@%$ rookie. He'd had flying experience, for longer than he could remember.

            With his brother... with T-16 Skyhoppers, on Talay. Even while trying to refuse, his mind wrenched him back to those playful days...

            "You ready, bro?" Javith Mauldeer's voice rang through the comm.

            "Ready as I'll ever be."

            The two Skyhoppers had been beside each other, on the entrance to the long, rocky, treacherous canyon.

            "Aren't you worried that Dad might find out about this?" Dack asked over the comm.

            Dack could see Javith's thrusters charging up, and, quickly, punched the throttle.

            With a huge gust of wind, the two Skyhoppers flew off into the canyon, its grayness blurring anyone's vision.

            But then, Dack heard a huge explosion that rocked him in his seat. To his right, he saw a yellow stream of smoke go by, and several black metal things landing.

            Dack smirked with bitterness, then took another sip of his water, and continued playing. He would win the Sabacc game.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike wandered around the Imladris after breakfast for a while, a little excited about his bachelor party coming that night, looking for a few of the guys to make sure they knew about it, they were all invited of course.  Mike turned the corner and bumped in to someone he didn't recognize at first, Deadmeet.

            "Deadmeet, you are coming to my bachelor party tonight, aren’t you?"  Mike asked, a friendly smile on his face

            "Of course, you didn't think I'd miss it."  Mike patted him on the back and went looking fore more troub... i mean people

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

    Slate looked again at the orders he'd been issued.

*....You are to remain with Aurora Force for an indefinite period of time until a more suitable position can be found for you.....*

    Slate closed his eyes.  "Why?" he murmured softly.  He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a hologram of himself and another young woman.  Tears gathered in his eyes as he stared at the woman's face.  "Oh, Karri, I miss you so much....."  Karrialy Darjinn was still alive, and he still loved her.  She was an intelligence agent on Coruscant--she had helped the few remaining members of his cell get off-world with him.  He had met Karrialy shortly after his arrival on Coruscant, and their love had blossomed after four years of friendship.  He missed her terribly, but didn't dare contact her--that could blow her cover entirely.

    Slate set the holo on one of the desks in the barrack.  It looked like he would be staying a while, so he continued to unpack.

    How could High Command do this to him?  They had placed him in the same unit as the man that had very nearly cost Slate his life......

    "Slate?  Slate, can you hear me?  Come on, buddy, don't bail on us now....."

    It was Kurt's voice.  Kurt Daskin, his best friend.  Slate couldn't move.  He could barely breathe.  "What.....?"  he croaked.  At least, that's what he meant to say.  The word came out as a moan.

    "Is he still with us?"  Karri asked.

    "For the moment," Kurt snapped.  "Unless we can treat him, though, he's not going to make it."

    Karri's face loomed over him, and she kissed him gently.  "Stay with us, Slate....."

    Slate moaned and closed his eyes.  The pain was unbearable.  He knew he'd been hit--probably more than once.  He had been the last of his team to fall.  The face of the man who had killed his friends was burned into his memory.

    Then and there, he silently vowed he would have his revenge.

    Slate's eyes burned at the memory.  Yes, he had vowed revenge.  He couldn't hurt Indy, though, and that's what killing Lieutenant Stephen Baron would do.

    He rubbed his face.  Were they all right?  Was he the one who was wrong?

    *No,* he told himself.  *I will still take my vengeance.  Somehow.......*

Gerald Caridian (OVEREADER@aol.com)

            "I'm here to stop you."

            "Stop me? You? HA! A pitiful being like you cannot match my power!"

            "Maybe not, but if I fail, others will come along, and eventually, your evil will be stopped."

            The cloaked figure merely laughed and withdrew his lightsaber.

            His enemy withdrew his weapon, and with a swing, they clashed. The man could not stand up to the dark figure. It laughed evilly and played with it's prey.  Finally, he overpowered the man, knocking his lightsaber from his grasp and with a dark laugh, swung for his opponents neck.

            Gerald awoke with a start, sweat pouring down his body. He realized that he was shaking all over, and grabbed a post on his bunk to steady himself.

            He hated these dreams. He had no need to see them again and again. Rummaging through his luggage, he found his lightsaber, and withdrew it. He got up, dressed into a fresh jumpsuit, and headed for the gym....

Troy Nexus (troynexus@hotmail.com)

   After loosing a few games of sabacc Troy stood from his seat at

the gaming table with Torin, Jewl, and the rest before he lost

anymore money.  He had always been a good sabacc player, just not

the best and especially not today.  He'd been busy with alotta things

and hadn't gotten really to know much of the crew.  Taking his drink

with him, he left the bar and started walking down the corridors of

the Imladris.  It was a nice ship, durable against whatever battles

it was gonna run in against in the Minos Cluster. 

   Making his way the hanger bay, Troy watched as the ships came in. 

He'd spent some time flying but wasn't some ace pilot like he'd heard

from the pilots of the crew.  Gazing at his drink and stirring it in

the cup, Troy watched ships come and go.  The busy docking bay

reminded him of his childhood on a exploring outpost that was started

to explore the outer territories of space.  It had been started by

the Alderaanian government to make peaceful contact with races not

yet discovered.  His family had been the founders, being Alderaanian

and had run the outpost with the other few families that'd been there

also.  Troy would spend his childhood running around the docking bay

checking on deliveries.  The busy docking bay always amazed him as a

child.  It had been a nice childhood.  And it would have stayed that

way if the Imperials wouldn't have taken over the outpost even when

Troy's parents invited them to stay.  Back then the Imperials were

just starting their quest to take over the galaxy. 

   Troy's parents who resisted the Imperial takeover, were imprisoned

and sent off to mining prison, while Troy and some of the younger

inhabitants of the outpost were sent off to the Imperial Academy. 

There he learned to be Imperial till the fleet he was with got taken

over by Rebels.  Those had been some exciting days.  Now here he was,

an XO of a ship of some of the best of the best soldiers he'd ever

seen.  And even a wedding was going to start in a few days. 

   As Troy leaned against a few crates, some light reflected into his

eye.  It had been small and had come through the magnetic field in

space.  As the small light got bigger, red lights flashed and a siren

blared somewhere from above.  From the com officer speaking in the

overhead speaker, it was a Rebellion ship that was about to come

tearing through the field into the docking bay due to malfunctions. 

   The x-wing did it's best to slow down but wasn't able to stop as

it entered the artificial gravity on the other side of the field.  It

hit the metal floor and started skidding along the floor.  Some small

flames had started flying out of it's engines.  Grabbing a fire

extinguisher canister, Troy ran over to the ship and threw the

canister onto the ship, blowing the canister open and the grayish

cloud engulfed the flames and drained out the air for a moment to

extinguish the flames. 

   As Troy made his way alongside the x-wing's cockpit, a familiar

face was on the other side.  Grabbing the metal rod from his side

strap, Troy flipped on the dagger size lightsaber and cut off the

hatch.  Out of the hatch came his friend and fellow Echo Commando

QuornLee.  "It's nice to see a familiar face!" said Quorn with a

smile as he tried to pull himself out.  "A grand entrance? Welcome to

the Imladris!  Thanks for gracing our ship with your presence.. I know

the hanger monkeys around here won't be sleeping well for a while. 

Really gave them the scare." said Troy giving Quorn a hand out of the

ship. 

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

Mike walked up to the door of the officers club, on the door was a note:  Closed for private party.  Mike went in and immediately someone handed him a Sullustan Gin.  Mike downed it in one swallow as he appraised the room, about half the guys were there.  A sabacc game was going on at one table, that new automatic dealer was being useful.  There was a live band playing and Mike called out to the leader,

            "Figrin, You're early!"  Figrin D'an the famous jizz-wailer played a musical flourish in response.  Mike looked over to the bar and saw his soon to be brother-in-law Slate sitting there nursing a drink and generally not enjoying himself.

            "Slate"  Mike said quietly enough to be heard by all, but understood by only Slate.  Slate turned at the sound of Mike's voice.  "I know you're a bit messed up, emotionally, but could you try to let it go for tonight and have some fun."  Slate just smiled, somewhat comforted by Mike's concern.

            "I can see why Indy likes you."  Slate said to Mike.  "You're a good man."  Slate patted Mike on the back and turned back to his drink.  Mike turned toward the sabacc table to see who was playing.  Kenta was there and swearing a blue streak, obviously losing, Torin was playing well, but his pile of credit chips was smaller than usual, he'd probably had a run of bad luck a few minutes ago.  Just as Mike noticed this Kenta and Torin folded, leaving Dack, Gerald, and Deadmeet still in the game.  Dack raised the pot a bit and Gerald folded, Deadmeet just matched him, raised him and moved on, it went like this, with Mike watching, for a few minutes.  Finally they were both in for everything.  Dack revealed his cards, the Idiot's Array, Deadmeet swore and went to get another drink.  Mike went up to the stage where Figrin D'an and the Modal nodes were playing and borrowed Doikk's Fizzz (Dorenian Beshniquel if you want the proper name)  He played a song he'd heard them play once when they had a concert on Kuat when he was 13, and he played it flawlessly (not bad for a guy who'd never played a Fizzz in his life)  During the song he noticed Mynok come in, with an Ewok, an Ewok?  Wait a minute, there wasn't an Ewok here before.  Maybe that one Sullustan Gin was too much, nah, there really was an Ewok there, besides, when Mike was drunk he usually saw little blue elephants, at least when he was drunk on Orto.  Mike grabbed another drink after he finished the song. and went to find out exactly why Mynok had an Ewok.  A few more auroras walked in, that was most of them now, except Baron, Where was he?  Anyway, back to Mynok and the Ewok.  Mike walked up to Mynok.

            "People usually don't bring a date to a bachelor party."

            "Mike" Mynok turned from the bar "This is Podoroo, a new recruit."

            "Dalbo fuuta Podoroo, ley curbo gunda"  Mike said to Podoroo, which is generally translated as "Hi Podoroo,  Nice to meet you"

            "Thanks, same to you" Podoroo replied, in Basic "Who do I have to club over the head to get a drink here!"  He yelled out, Mynok handed him a Rodian lager, making him noticeably happier.  By this time Mike had finished his Gin and felt like having something else.  he jumped behind the bar and made himself a Triple Flameout, and a Tatooine Sunrise chaser, he intended to be somewhat, how shall we say, inebriated before the night was done.  Baron walked in and Mike went over to him.

            "I was wondering when you were going to get here.  Slate's over there at the bar, you might want to avoid him."  Mike handed him a non-alcoholic ale from Kalarba.

Kenta Jelnor (OCSGAME1@aol.com)

            Hahaha, these rookies are falling right into my traps. It's an old story of mine. I'm a really good card shark. I start out acting like I'm doing bad. I lose a few hands. I act angry. But I'm letting the pot get nice and fat. And then I come back. Way back. By the end of the night, I'm several credits richer, and I have a new blaster, comm unit, and sensor pack. But hey, this is a wedding! It... wouldn't be right to take advantage of the guests. So I'll just donate the winnings to Mike and Indy as wedding presents. Yeah, that’s good. And afterwards, I'll take them to the rec hall, bring a bottle of Corellian Whiskey, and teach these rookies 'Blackjack'...

Quorn Lee (liam@knighthead.freeserve.co.uk)

"A grand entrance? Welcome to the Imladris! Thanks for gracing our ship with

your presence.. I know the hanger monkeys around here won't be sleeping well

for a while. Really gave them the scare."

Troy said as he helped Quorn out of the cockpit.  Quorn staggered onto the

deck, leaning against Troy for support.  After removing his helmet he

stepped back and took a look at the damage to his X-Wing.  The back end was

a charred black mess of twisted metal.

“Damn” he said to Troy, “My R2 unit is in there somewhere”

All of a sudden hanger mechanics converged on the X-Wing like mynocks to a

power line.

“Yeah! Talk about a class landing or what!”

All the mechanics turned and looked at Quorn, they didn’t look particularly

pleased.  Quorn looked back at them with a smug smile.  He walked back to

the cockpit and retrieved his gear.

“Nice landing, almost as good as the crash you made during that sabotage

mission at Fondor ” Troy offered sarcastically

“C’mon, that was an executive tactical decision, those squints would have

seriously hampered our escape!”

“What squints!” Troy grinned at Quorn, a sentiment he returned

 “Anyway you think that one was nice, you should have seen the one I did a

few months ago at Twilight HQ.  Ralph didn’t talk to me for a month after

that”

“Ralph?” asked Troy

“The chief mechanic” Quorn replied “You think you can send me in the right

direction of the CO’s office, possibly with a slight detour to the bar,

looks like I’m in trouble, might as well enjoy the peace while it lasts”

As the pair started to walk to the hanger exit, Quorn looked back at his

ship once more, he hoped that Swatchi would be all right after the crash, his

last R2 unit had not been so fortunate.

Dack Mauldeer (Xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack had won a few hands, but he decided to fall out before the next one. He liked Sabacc, but not that much.

            He looked over at Friggin Dan, or whatever his name was. Dack had never necessarily liked music.

            He ordered a glass of water and sat down, sipping it shortly. Mike Bradley sat down on the seat opposite him.

            "So, how's Aurora compared to Phoenix?" Mike offered an assuring smile.

            "Wait until we fly a mission, and ask me again, Mike." Dack smiled bleakly. "besides, you shouldn't be worried about me. Be worried about yourself. With a wife, and kids, it'll be hard to fly anymore."

            Mike was silent.

            "And consider yourself lucky," Dack pointed a finger, "most relationships don't work out in this universe..." Dack's eyes wandered for a moment, as thought he was hiding something. Then, he blinked, and focused back on Mike. "The best of luck to you."

Gerald Caridian (OVEREADER@aol.com)

            Gerald folded again.

            Better safe than sorry. I just got here, and losing all my money isn't what I consider a step off on the right foot.

            Dack laid down the idiots array in front of...what did they call him? Oh yes, Deadmeat. This was Gerald's last hand, he excused himself from the table, and went to the bar, where a man sitting alone. He decided quickly that this man did NOT want to be bothered, so he merely sat down and ordered an ale. After receiving his drink, he scanned the area. There was the group that he had just left, and then there was Mike with another person...and an Ewok?

            Gerald looked at his drink, and quickly set it back down at the bar, walking away from it. He sat at a table alone with his thoughts. Too many thoughts...about the past.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

     Indy shook her head at Commander Tag Rendar as the other woman climbed down from her X-Wing.  "I can't believe you came in that."

     Tag grinned.  "What else would I fly, Indy?  Did you think I'd try to land the Star Destroyer in here?"  The Jedi NRI agent levitated her R2 unit, Fielder, from its socket, then popped open the cargo hatch of the starfighter.  She pulled out a duffel bag and a long plastic bag.  She shouldered the former and kicked the cargo hatch shut as she spoke.  "Astrid's bringing the champagne in the shuttle tomorrow, probably.  I managed to get the whole unit dress uniforms--my unit, that is.  If Torin decides he needs some, I might be able to get them by the wedding, if there aren't any snags.  I dug up something for Slate, too.  I just hope it fits."  She smiled.  "I hear Mikey's having a bachelor party."

     Indy nodded.  "He is.  I told him he couldn't get *too* drunk, though--he's got to make sure Slate doesn't try to kill Baron again."

     "What sort of problem could Slate possibly have with Stephen?"  Tag asked.

     "He was part of the op that wiped out most of Slate's cell.  Almost killed Slate, then, too."

     Slate wandered into the hangar then, spotted Indy, and walked over.  He was dressed in khaki pants and a dark blue shirt.  "I swear, that bastard's following me around...I *still* think he's out to finish the job....."

     Tag dropped her gear and floored her blood-brother.

     On the floor, Slate sat up partway, rubbing his jaw and blinking.  "Wha?  Who?"

     Tag rolled her eyes.  "You know damn well who it is.  As for why I just decked you--what the hell made you think that I *wouldn't* want to know that you weren't dead?"

     The fire in Tag's mismatched eyes was what tipped Slate off that his first assumption about her identity had been correct--it certainly was Taggie.  "Uh....."

     Tag picked up her gear and glanced at Indy.  "Same quarters as before?"

     "That's what Torin said," Indy answered.

     Tag nodded.  "Good.  I'll meet you in the mess in an hour, OK?"

     Indy nodded.  "OK."

     Tag headed off.

     Indy stared at Slate, who pointed after Tag.  "That was Taggie, right?"

     Indy grinned.  "That was Taggie.  She hasn't changed a bit, has she?"

     Slate grinned.

     Indy sliced into the Imperial HoloNet expertly and logged a message encrypted in a code she knew only Raven would be able to crack.  She hoped he'd get it.  She *did* want him to be at wedding, and she was sure Mike did, too.

Deadmeet (Bubbakidd@aol.com)

            His brain was about to implode. Deadmeet push the papers aside and went into meditation. It always helped him when he was working on R&D stuff, at least it was about to pay off. Deadmeet just had a few bumps to tinker out before his microtechnology was ready. Mike said he could have a nanobot ready in an hour but Deadmeet said, "You concentrate on your wedding pal, no need to do anything with this now, I’m still working the bugs out." Raven would be pleased when he gets back though, to see we made a new toy. Deadmeet's headache was gone so he headed to the officers club.

            Not many people were there Torin was at the Sabacc table sipping a Corellian Whiskey ."Don't you look lonely," Deadmeet said, "Care for a game?" he replied. In response Deadmeet pulled up a chair and sat down. Deadmeet called the bar droid and ordered a Corellian whiskey, when it came Deadmeet said, "Good stuff." "Yea," he replied, "Just don't get to drunk, I want to play a competent opponent," Deadmeet said, "Yes sir," with a hint of sarcasm. After 30 minutes of trading a few creds back and forth Deadmeet called the game," Enough, unless one of us has some more drinks this is gonna go on forever." Torin shrugged. Deadmeet shook his hand on the good game and walked back to his room and activated his laser orb, "Been a while since i practiced with you hasn't it?" After a while Deadmeet got bored and lay down to rest. I wonder what the wedding will be like, he thought.

Mynok Davis (Mynok9985@aol.com)

Mynok was sitting around watching the sabacc feud going on. As he did this he looked over at Podoroo. He had been here for three days and he had learned in that period of time that Podoroo could speak basic. Now the little Ewok was dancing to the tune of one of the jizz wailers. Mynok laughed at his funny dances. Mynok had already had to much to drink. He was starting to think about the wedding and how happy Mike and Indy were with each other. He had Astrid and by god he had feelings for her. He wondered if he would ever settle down. When he was young he had wondered if he would ever settle down. Well he now drank to his future and to Mike.

Troy Nexus (troynexus@hotmail.com)

   "The Bar's this way Quorn!" said Troy with a sly smile and his

eyebrow lifted directing Quorn to the Hanger Exit.  "So where is

everyone?" said Quorn examining the ship's hanger bay structure.  It

was a big ship, and looked ready for battle.  "Well we got a wedding

between Indy and Mike.. Most of the troops are in the bar celebrating

along with the Imladris's CO.  Care for a stop by the Bar?" said Troy

as they walked down the corridor towards the sound of band music

being played down the hall.  "What's the rebels without a bar?" said

Quorn with a smile as he entered the bar's door.  "Welcome to the

Aurora Force Quorn.  It seems the parties already started without

us." said Troy just before a beer bottle flew by their heads and

shattered against the wall.  "

Torin Qel-Droma (Codyman@aol.com)

    Torin looked his cards over.  He had a smuggler's array in his hands and not much was gonna beat that.  Dack laughed a bit, throwing in more of his cred chips.  "Torin, you've been out of the game for hours here, time to just throw in the towel and let me carry the day."  Torin shrugged a bit and threw more chips into the pile. 

     "You're probably right, but hey, I'm a stubborn Corellian, and I find it hard to give up, specially with Corellian rules in play.  I can't be losing with the home rules now, can I?"  Dack took a sip of his drink.

     "Well, you are.  I'll raise it 1000 credits."

     "You're pretty confident there"  Torin looked around.  Dack had forced most of the others away from the game by now, only Torin lingered at the table.

     "Well hey, I am schooling you."  Torin looked at his cards.  He had this hand won, no doubt, but better to keep Dack riding high.

     "You're right Dack, I fold.  Let's do this a few more times, I think I'm feeling lucky."  Torin took a bottle of Corellian Whiskey to his lips and downed a few long swigs.

     An hour later, Torin stood up and made his way over to the bar.  Dack still sat at the table, head in his hands.  Torin took a seat.  "Hit me with some more Corellian Whiskey man."  The bar droid presented Torin with a shot glass and a bottle.  Mike walked over to see how Torin was doing.  "Hey Cody, what's going on?  Why's Dack so down?"  Dack lifted his head up at the mention of his name and shook it angrily, letting it slip down into his hands once again. 

     "I just showed him how Corellians play."  Mike laughed.

     "So you enjoying the party any?"  Torin nodded a bit, taking a shot of his new bottle of whiskey.

     "Yeah, it's great.  Always love a party."

     "So Cody, what the next mission gonna be like?  A tough one?"  Torin grinned a bit.

     "You trying to pry secrets outta me?  I can't tell you that yet.  It's a surprise."

     "Ah, come on, just give me some kind of hint."  Torin cocked a half smile grin and shook his head laughing a bit.

     "Well, think about it for a second.  You're in the military on a tour of duty.  So you can't exactly go on a honeymoon after your marriage, right?  Well, maybe I'll help bring the honeymoon to you.  Dunno, we'll just have to see."  Mike looked perplexed.

     "What?"

     "You'll see"

     A few hours later, most of the Aurora Force members had either left to pass out in their beds, or passed out in the officer's club.  Torin sat at the bar, looking out the window, viewing the stars and galaxies as they swirled outside.  A voice from behind caught his attention.

     "Beautiful, ain't it."  Torin, not turning around, still staring out the window threw in a quick retort.

     "Yeah, I guess you could say that about me, but I prefer to be called something other than him…. That and the word handsome appeals to me more than beautiful.  So mysterious beer goddess Tag Rendar, what brings you back to the Imladris?"

     "Well first off Qel-Droma, I was talking about the view, and second, Indy and Mike's wedding of course."  Torin laughed.

     "The view is quite nice…not as good looking as myself of course, but quite stunning."  He smiled and took a shot of his umpteenth bottle of Corellian Whiskey of the night.

     "You're still a cocky one, aren't you."  Tag took a seat next to Torin.

     "Always…So what brings you to this bachelor party?" 

     "Well Qel-Droma, looks like this "bachelor party" is pretty over.  Bigger question is, why are you still lingering about?"

     "Don't know, just thinking."  Tag laughed and snagged a bottle of whiskey for herself, without the bar droid noticing.

     "And you call me mysterious, Torin?"  Torin looked down into his empty bottle.

     "All these people round here from my past just had me thinking about it all.  Kinda has me down a bit.  If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get some sleep."  He stood up and began walking away.

     "Fine, just walk away…"  Torin turned as if to start to say something, but decided against it and just kept walking.

     He woke up in the middle of the night, startled out of his sleep by another dream.  His dreams always haunted him, and would continue to do so for the rest of his life.  He wouldn't be able to sleep again tonight.  It was late, but he decided to go to the recreation center on the ship and swim some laps in the Imladris pool to relieve stress.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

     Astrid Burns tried very hard to ignore Windy Fing.  "Windy, stop or else I'll shoot you."

     "I can fly!  Let me fly, Astrid!"

     "Absolutely not.  That last landing you managed nearly killed Tag.  I don't want that to happen with this cargo."  She toggled her comm on.  "Del, Shada, you read?"

     "Loud and clear, Captain," Shada Jess Roon Arcona replied.

     "Good.  We're on final approach to the *Imladris* now.  Prepare for docking."

     "Astrid....."  Windy whined.

     Astrid had her blaster in her hand and aimed it at Windy.  "Stop now, or else I'll pull the goddamn trigger."

     Indy was helping Tag with her X-Wing when the Lambda-class shuttle and two A-Wings entered the hangar.  "There's Del," Tag remarked cheerfully, vaulting from her cockpit.

     The tall and very cute male pilot--Del Sinowa--embraced Tag as Astrid and Shada disembarked from their craft.  Tag frowned at Astrid, Del's arm around her shoulders.  "Where's Windy, Astrid?"

     "On the deck of the shuttle," Astrid said cheerfully.  "Where's the bar?"

     Tag laughed.

     A grin tugged at the corners of Indy's lips.  "Is this was your unit's always like?"

     "Most of the time," Tag grinned back.  "Come on, drinks are on the Beer Goddess."  She led the way to the officer's club.

     Del looked at Indy.  "Beer Goddess?"

     "Long story."

Morcant (morcant@planetvenus.swinternet.co.uk)

Morcant had been at the party for a while now and was starting to get

impatient. He was drinking and having a laugh. Threw away some money at

the Sabaac tables and a bit more arm wrestling (even though he didn't have

a chance against some of the commandos). The time was getting late though.

Where were they?

Just then the doors at one end opened. Two ladies walked in uniform,

one bearing the badge of colonel and the other captain.

"Is Captain Mike Bullian here?" asks the colonel loudly. The room stops

as she says this, a few faces turn to look at Mike sitting at a table. On

a few other faces there are some slight grins.

"Over here," says Mike waving a hand somewhat drunkenly.

The two walk over to him and the captain shouts, "On your feet!"

Mike instinctively jumps to his feet immediately at attention, "What's

this about? Its my party."

"We're with new republic intelligence, I'm going to have to ask you to

come with us," says the colonel, pulling a blaster out of a holster.

"Cody, you've gotta be able to do something, its my party!" pleads Mike.

Cody with a poker face says, "You've got to co-operate with them, Mike"

Mike slumps slightly and prepares to follow the two. As he does so he

takes a closer look at them. They look official at a glance but as he

looks closer he sees that the cut of the uniform is not right. The badges

are not quite right and he is fairly sure that proper uniforms aren't

meant to be quite that alluring.

"Hang on a minute," says Mike, "What's going on here?"

"He's resisting," says captain as she moves round behind him. As mike

turns to keep his eye on her the other starts to unbutton her uniform. AS

mike turns back he see the girl undressing and twigs.

"No, no, no, no... Indy will kill me if she finds out!"

"Yeah, that's what I heard," smiles Morcant from the bar, "But look at it

this way, its the last chance before you're tied to one person. Enjoy it."

The two ladies are still doing their striptease and the partygoers gather

around to watch the strip and Mike's growing embarrassment. The band

meanwhile are playing slow music to accompany the act.

Baron (Baroncoop1@aol.com)

            The stars looked great. No, I haven't had much to drink. Just a few non-alcoholic beers, and yes, they taste just as bad out here. But for some reason the stars just seem to call me. I try to pick out my home planet, but it's far too confusing. God, that Tag is something else.

            I can't decide if I like her or hate her. True, she brought a LOT of beer, but she had to bring it just as I'm trying to quit? It's worse than torture! Bah, never mind. I like her. How can I not? I get the feeling she'll kill me if I don't. I look out at the stars for just a moment more, and make a decision.

            I head downstairs to the simulator room. I'm going to practice my flying. This scares the crap out of me for a couple of reasons. When I was just staring out with the rebels, I wanted more than anything to be a hotshot pilot. I mean, all the most famous Rebels were the best pilots! Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, even Chewbacca! I didn't have too much experience, but I could manage most craft. The High Command tried to put me on the ground, where I was more needed, but I persuaded them to let me fly. This was selfish, and led to me killing another man.

            I was on my third assignment (routine patrol), when a Star Destroyer popped into the system! I nearly had to change my flightsuit! Our measly planetary forces were no match, and we all knew it. Wave after wave of TIE fighters streamed out of it, but I found my nerve. I knew what I was doing. Arrogant bastard.

            I told my wing to cover me, and I put my power to thrust, and headed for the steady river of TIE's. My shields were at full power, and nothing they could throw at me could bring them down! God, if only I knew.

            My wing stayed with me as a good wingman will, and I flew in at the TIE's firing single shots the whole time. Sure, I managed to clip a few fighters, and my wing actually shot two down, but it was no solace. I saw a bright explosion behind me, and, looking back, saw my wing was expanding in a flaming cloud of debris. One look at my shields made me realize that they were almost down too. I had severely underestimated the power of a wolf-pack of TIE's and I fled as fast as I could. Of course, the enemy put a lot of lasers into my flank as I left, and they almost hit my fuel cells, but I pulled an emergency hyperdrive, and microjumped out of there. I promised myself to stay on the ground, and never allow myself to get into that predicament ever again. My wingman, and best friend had just died from my arrogance, and I couldn't let that happen again.

            Over the years, my piloting skills had atrophied, and I did not miss them. But now I might need them for my next mission. Others were depending on my abilities again, and I was determined not to let them down. I got off the turbolift, and stepped into the simulator room with a heavy sigh.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike looks at the strippers.  "They're good." he thinks, having watched a lot of those specific types of holovids as a teen.  Mike squirms a bit to put on a show of unease, but deep down he's indifferent knowing that he doesn't feel anything but friendship for these women.  Mike's first feeling about a person he meets is friendship, whether they turn out to be an enemy in the end isn't to be decided on first meeting.  Surprising the little jewels of wisdom you get when you're drunk and there are naked women nearby.

            After the two women were done with their show, which Mike enjoyed for the mere fact that they were attractive and good at what they do, although in his mind they couldn't hold a candle to Indy, he went to the bar and got them a drink.  Mike handed them their drinks and went to the stage where Figrin and the guys were just finishing up a set.  He picked up a guitar and started to play a song he heard a lot when he was younger.  He started to sing

            "Do you have the time, to listen to me whine, about nothing and everything all at once.  I am one of those, melodramatic fools, neurotic to the bone no doubt about it..."  it continued like this for a few minutes before he changed songs.  "Load up on guns and bring your friends, it's fun to lose and to pretend.  She's over-bored and self-assures, oh no i know a dirty word."  the band picked up on the melody, singing backup.  "Hello, hello, hello, hel-lo.  Hello, hello, hello, hel-lo."  Mike took up the chorus "With the lights out, it's less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us. i feel stupid, and contagious, here we are now, entertain us."  The song went on (yes it is really a song for those who recognize it only a little, Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit, i was bored, so sue me, wait a minute, i take that back, don't sue me)  halfway through the song a drunk Mynok started heckling, even going so far as to shoot at him, no worry, Mike just absorbed the blaster bolts.  Mynok came at Mike with his fists and Mike kicked each of his ill-planned attacks away, never stopping the music once.  Podoroo finally stopped the commotion by clubbing Mynok over the head, rendering him unconscious.  Mike thought "that's gonna hurt when he wakes up" and he finished the song.

            Mike went to the bar and grabbed himself a bottle of Whyren's Reserve.  He drank it and sat down to get in on a game of Sabacc.  It just wasn't gonna happen, Mike passed out, his head coming to rest on the table.  The others just kept playing the game, Kenta was now cleaning up.

            Mike woke up the next morning, his head resting on a huge pile of credit chips.

            "How the hell did I get these?" He wondered, through the haze of a huge hangover, Mike usually knew how to prevent a hangover, even without the force, just drink a lot of water, but Mike didn't drink a lot of water, he had a hangover.  Mike reached within himself with the force and triggered the physical systems which would end the hangover.  He then noticed a note laying beside the credits:

Mike,

            These are my winnings from last night, consider them a wedding present.  i took a few out to cover the bar tab, we went a bit over what liquor raven sent so we dipped into the Imladris stash.  Anyway, have fun with the hangover.

                        Kenta

            Mike put away the note and gathered up the credit chips and went off to his quarters to set them in the chest where he kept items that had special meaning.  Mike set off to the mess, he was redecorating it for the wedding today...

Quorn Lee (liam@knighthead.freeserve.co.uk)

Several hours had passed, Quorn and Troy sat at a table in the bar reminiscing over old times. He first met Troy when he was instructing at the academy and then later as a fellow commando in Echo Company. They had some near misses together and both had seen a bacta tank from the inside one too many times for their own liking. Once again Troy had saved his life, he felt indebted to him, sure there had been similar vice-versa situations but not as many. Quorn shook himself back into the world of the living. Troy had passed out on the table in front of him.

"Troiiii" Quorn spat

"Tro-oi!"

Quorn stood up; he started to fall backwards but just managed to catch hold of the table. He walked slowly over to the bar; several pilots were scattered around, some in pools of their own vomit. He asked the bartender for a glass of water. There was a news program on the holonet but he didn’t really hear any of it, he just noticed the time was early in the morning. He staggered back to the table with the water.

"Wakeeyy Wakeeiiii" he said pouring the water over Troy. Troy spluttered and looked up to face his attacker.

"Heeyssssa Quoooorn, aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!"

"Yessh I aiiiiiiightt, you aiiiiight?"

"I’m aiiiight, you aiiiight?"

"I aiiiiiiightt, you aiiiiight?"

"I’m aiiiight, you aiiiight?"

Ten minutes later Quorn helped Troy to his feet. As the two staggered towards the door with the same co-ordination of a Bantha’s mating dance, Quorn heard laughter originating from pilots at the bar. Eventually they reached the door and amazingly got through it.

Two hours later, utilizing good teamwork, the pair made it to the vicinity of the crew quarters. Quorn saw someone walking towards them with a towel around their neck.

"Damn" he thought as he felt Troy’s grip loosen, "This was not the right time for Troy to fall down in the middle of the hallway".

As the mystery figure approached, Quorn couldn’t quite place the face.

"Aiiiight Torin" Troy shouted from the floor...........

Dack Mauldeer (xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack stood from the table, and walked over to Torin with a bit of a smirk.

            "What's so funny?" Torin's eyebrow raised.

            "Well, it doesn't really matter to me how many times I win or lose with Sabacc."

            "How so?"

            "Well, having a tortured childhood due to an Imperial experiment with increased technological soldiers has it's rewards."

            Torin was still confused.

            "I get monthly payments from New Talay." Dack threw up his hands, "hey, I'm not trying to show off, just the truth. I'm not mentioning any numbers."

            Torin laughed. "OK, whatever you wanna do, Dack."

            Mike then walked over to Dack, who had realized that everyone had heard his comment about Talay.

            "What was that all about?"

            Dack's face remained expressionless, as it was most of the time. "You know that my father was killed by a Imperials, and my mother was slaughtered by Imperial slugs... what I never told... what I never wanted to tell anyone.. is that my father was killed by a Darktrooper."

            Then Dack, with a frown on his face, exited the party. He had had enough fun for the night.

            He had never been able to shake the feeling that it was his fault they had died. He had been 17 when his father died, and he could have done something, Blast it! He entered his quarters, and fell into his bunk, sleeping as he hit the pillow.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike arrived at the mess, the name really applied, for this place really was a mess.  Mike looked around first, considering what he might do.  He first set about moving all the tables out of there, luckily there was a convenient storage area nearby.  He looked around the place again, this time figuring out how to fit all the guests that were coming.  He went to another storage area and with a repulsorcart brought along about a hundred identical cushioned plasteel stackable chairs and set them in neat rows facing away from the door where Indy would come from on Sunday.  He went to the same storage bay and this time brought forth a prefabricated dais, obviously this room had been designed for an alternate purpose just like this.  He assembled the dais quickly and then set about the decorations.  Silken banners in all the colors of the spectrum soon adorned the walls, tastefully blended into each other of course.  then he placed the synthetic flowers in their places, perfectly arranged to draw attention toward the center of the dais where he and Indy would be during the ceremony.  He sat for a moment, smiling as he fantasized about how it would all turn out.  He realized again at the moment just how much he loved her, which was more than he thought possible from a human heart.

            Mike finished by hanging the Aurora Force banner behind the dais, in the center where it would be behind the happy couple, seemingly framing them throughout the whole ceremony.  He headed to the officers' mess, where AF was having their meals until after the wedding.  He was hungry after all this work, so he stepped into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich, there were still two hours until dinner and this would hold him over until then.  Sandwich in hand he went to the unused hangar where the reception would be to check up on the decoration, which he had planned and talked a few friends into doing.

            "How's it coming Spacerat?"  Mynok turned at the sound of the nickname that Mike had given him.

            "Not bad, considering the killer hangovers we have, except Baron there."  Mynok indicated the only man in the hangar that wasn't seeming to work through a lot of pain.  "He's supervising."

            "How long until you're finished."  Mike asked, though he could tell by looking around.

            "Not long, all we have to do is hang the extra lights."  Mynok replied, turning back to his work.  Mike left to go see what Indy was up to...

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

      Sweat poured off Indy's face as she worked with the staff against a dummy.  The ancient *lyn'mi* martial arts she'd learned as a young teen had always been helpful when the need arose for her to work out her aggressions and frustrations.  She had plenty to be frustrated about, too--her brother, her unit, planning a wedding.....She whacked the dummy again.

      "Gee, Indy, is something wrong?"

      Indy straightened from her combat crouch at the sight of Tag entering the workout room, dressed in a Hoth-vintage jumpsuit which namepatch still read 'Lt T Rendar'.  "No," she sighed.

      "It's been a long time since I saw anyone work with a staff, much less in the *lyn'mi* style."  Tag found another battered wooden rod in an equipment locker and checked the heft and balance as she turned back toward Indy.  "Let's spar.  It's been so long since I had the chance to do that....."

      Indy shook her head.  "Tag, no, we'll beat each other black and blue!"

      Tag grinned.  "Nothing is Jedi can't fix.  Come on."

      "Fine," Indy sighed, stepping toward one of the large, square mats.  "No using the Force, though.  It's not fair."

      "I only use the Force when it's necessary," Tag remarked.  "You know the problems I have."  She brandished the staff.  "*En garde*, Indy."

      The staff battle began.  Indy realized how rusty Tag really was, noticing how much the other woman wielded the staff like a sword more than what it was.

      A crowd soon gathered, watching the blood-sisters in their match.  Both were having so much fun, they didn't realize the hoots and cheering of their audience, or the time.

      Tag finally relented after Indy managed to knock Tag's staff away.  The NRI agent was laughing merrily.  "Good match, Indy!"

      Indy helped Tag to her feet.  "Thanks for suggesting it."

      The pair shook hands, then hugged each other, and headed to the showers.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike waited at the exit from the women's showers for Indy and Tag to finish.  A few short minutes later they both came out, talking to each other about trivial matters like best friends do, at least in peacetime.  Mike grabbed Indy's arm as she passed and spun her around into his arms.  He leaned his head forward until their lips met, and clung... tongues darting a soft duel... then tightened, mouth to mouth, bodies melting together.  After what seemed like hours of this, at least to Mike, he leaned back and spoke.

            "You're good with a staff."  Indy just smiled and thanked him for the compliment as they left the gym.  Tag had left while Mike and Indy were enjoying themselves.  They headed toward the bar where Quorn Lee sat silently drinking.  they sat at a table and ordered their drinks, which were brought to them quickly and they drank, content to stare into each other's eyes.  After a short time of this they got up and started to mix in with the other patrons.  Shortly, after a characteristically humorous comment from Indy, Quorn threatened her.  Mike drew his dragon carved lightsaber, activating the red-orange blade (which comes from the dragon's mouth BTW) and advanced on Quorn.  Indy grabbed his arm.

            "Don't." she said to mike as he turned toward her, a pleading look in her eyes.

            "I was just going to give him a close shave, a really close shave"  Mike replied, somewhat jovially.  Quorn made good on his threat, which was to smack Indy upside the head with a metal bowl from the bar.  Indy caught the bowl and reversed the swing, with the bowl ending up on Quorn's head.  Mike lashed out with his still active lightsaber and did just as he intended, shaving Quorn's hair closely around the edge of the bowl, never once touching the skin.  As Luke Skywalker once said "The lightsaber could be used as a shaver, if you're good with it."  Mike had just proven the statement.  Angry at this humiliation, Quorn lashed out at Indy with a vibroknife, slicing through her jugular.  Indy reflexively kicked him and Mike threw him against the wall.  Mike turned to Indy and used the force to seal the wound, she had lost a lot of blood though and she fell unconscious.  Mike just held her as some of the other patrons went after Quorn.  He surprisingly held them off somewhat well.  Mike saw that Indy was okay for the moment, so he made her comfortable.  Rage red lightning flashed in his eyes as he turned his attention to his fiancee's attacker.

            "You're fucked now Quorn."  Mike said as he raised his right hand.  lightning flashed once again in his eyes before it launched from his fingers, slamming into Quorn, knocking cleanly off his feet.  Seeing that he was down for a while, Mike turned his attention once again to Indy, who was lying on the floor, Mike's jacket rolled up under her head as a pillow, she had lost a lot of blood.  Mike reached into his ever-present medkit and pulled out a direct blood transfusion tube, poking it first into an artery in his wrist, then into a vein in Indy's.  He turned the valve so that the blood could flow freely between them, replacing some of Indy's lacking life giving fluid.  The blood levels quickly stabilized and Mike withdrew the tube, Indy still needed more blood, but he could not give it at the moment, he lacked the proper equipment and blood supply.  Indy now started to drift between consciousness and sleep, a good sign.  mike kissed her on the forehead and looked toward Quorn, who had stood up and was moving once again toward them.

            "You're way too protective of her." Quorn said mockingly, to which Deadmeet replied.

            "You need some sense beat into you, Mike's marrying her on Sunday"  Quorn looked over at Deadmeet, not noticing the lightning return to Mike's eyes.  Mike threw Quorn up against the wall with the force, denting it deeply (a hard thing to do on these Cal Cruisers). Standing, he approached Quorn, who had himself gotten up.  Mike Kicked out, slamming Quorn's head against the wall, again.  Quorn stood up again and Mike punched him in the stomach 4 times, right, left, right, left, uppercut to the chin that sent Quorn flying once again into the wall.  Quorn again stood up, Mike swiveled on the ball of his left foot, bringing the right up to connect with Quorn's cheek, spinning him completely around.  Mike used the momentum from the spin to throw a left hand punch to Quorn's nose, mike felt the bones crack.  Quorn stood up again (stubborn bastard isn't he) and Mike simply kicked him full force in the throat.  Quorn was once again propelled into the wall, only this time was not getting up.  Mike dropped on him and started beating him to an even bloodier pulp, propelled by sheer rage.  Deadmeet and Baron thought to pull him off but were thrown back by Mike when they approached.  Mike stood from beating Quorn, who was surprisingly still breathing.  Mike walked away from the blood covered heap he dropped to his knees, holding hid head and sobbing.

            "What have I done?"  He turned back to Indy, who was still unconscious.  He picked her up and carried her out, to her quarters.  He laid her on the bunk, her face showing a look of peace and her dark silky hair spread across the pillow.  He undressed her (hey, we are engaged after all) and covered her with her blanket.  He tended to her internal wounds with the force (cell damage from Anoxia).  he kissed her on the forehead and lingered there for a moment, breathing in her sweetness, before dropping to the floor beside the bunk, leaning up against it.  He soon fell asleep himself and was plagued by dreams of what he'd done, terrified by the fact that he could've killed a person who was his squadmate, using the Dark Side. (the Sedith philosophy is that specific powers and teachings of the force are not evil, it's how you use them).  He stirred and looked at Indy.  He noticed just how beautiful she was and how much he loved her.  he was calmed and comforted by this and he fell back into a deep, and mercifully dreamless, sleep.

Raven Conall (RavnConall@aol.com)

            Ravon was walking around the SSD, well actually running, just to see how fast they could salute him as he ran by, but it was getting boring, that's when he ran into the launch bay to see the Dark Troopers arrive. Ravon rubbed his hands together, well well.... He went to the first one and said "Who is the best fighter of your Clan?" The dark trooper pointed to the one with several red stripes on his silver armor. Ravon made a gesture with his hand resembling a 'Bring it on' motion. The Dark Trooper came forward to Ravon and stopped, he was a good 3 feet taller. Ravon walked to the gym area and turned to see the Dark trooper right behind him. Ravon picked up a staff, his favorite weapon, and said "I have brought you here for training.. You beat me, you get promoted to Colonel, you lose, and well.... We'll talk about that later.. But anyway.. Let's get on with this." Ravon smiled evilly and lowered his head so he watched the Dark trooper at a slant as his eyes flashed with silver lightening. The Dark trooper attacked first with his hand, Ravon used the staff to parry and jab at the Troopers abdomen. The Trooper (DT) side stepped and picked his front leg up and round kicked. Ravon crouched and swung at the back of the one leg the DT was standing on. The DT jumped on his one leg and brought down an ax kick on Ravon. Ravon rolled his back to the DT and jabbed backwards at the armpit of the DT. The DT rotated, set his leg down and deflected it with an inner-forearm block. Ravon swung around to the right side to hit the DT on the side. The DT jumped over the staff and kicked at Ravon's head. Ravon rolled forward and jumped to his feet, turning. The DT charged at Ravon and slid to take out Ravon's legs. Ravon flipped forward over the DT and crouched as he landed, coming around with his staff at the DT's head a 1-2-3 attack from each side. The DT fell to his back to avoid the blows, his mistake. Ravon jumped onto the DT and shoved the staff below the DT's head, at his windpipe. Ravon smiled at him "You move, you die... But nice fight Commander." Ravon front flipped off him and landed, turning on his heals. He was standing at an at-ease type stance, except his right arm was twisted around the staff, with the staff end touching the ground and the other resting at his side. He smiled at the DT jumped up to his feet and started walking out the room. The DT seemed almost as if he were sulking in that uniform of his. That's when he went to the punching bag and started his warm ups in 'Hita-coora-tai' something he learned a long time ago, on a planet far far away. But hey, that's another story entirely. Ravon finished his warm up three hours later as the stuffing started coming out of the bag. Then he started on his forms, White belt through 10th degree Black Belt. By the time he finished his last form he hand a few people watching the graceful, yet very deadly forms. Ravon looked around and found the type of person he was looking for. The type that looked like he was saying 'I could do that!' Ravon told him to come here with a hand motion and handed him another staff that was lying near-by from Ravon's forms. Ravon said "OK, now fight me. I give you 2 minutes before your staff is 5 feet away and I'm siting on your back, my staff pointed at the back of your head." The guys smiled and said "I am Lt. Tutove, and I accept your challenge, sir." The Lt. took the staff and immediately attacked, Ravon almost laughed as he hit the Lt.’s hands and knocked the staff away, about 10 feet. The Lt. dove for the staff and Ravon jumped on his back in mid-air. The Lt. hit the ground, Ravon on his back and his staff at the back of his head. The staff was exactly 5 feet away. Ravon smiled and said "Wow, that was my fastest one yet. Thanks Lt.. I'll remember to recommend you for the 'Screwed with his Commanding officer award'." The Lt. tried to move and couldn't. Ravon jumped off the Lt.’s back and started on his forms again, this time, each move taking around a minute. This dragging out how long it will take, and the accuracy he performs the moves.

Baron (BaronCoop1@aol.com)

TO:                 General Cracken, Commanding Officer: New Republic Intelligence

FROM:      Lt. Stephen Baron

SUBJECT: MISSION REPORT

            My mission on this ship was to help the captain of this vessel in tactical situations, while maintaining a close friendship with the crew. This latter was to enable me to infiltrate and destroy any attempts to mutiny on board this ship. This was to be a long mission in an unknown territory, so this option was seen as a possible choice. I was also to prevent any attempt to capture this ship by top-secret methods not worth revealing in this document, just in case it is intercepted.

            This is my monthly report, and I have a lot to report. Aside from the official things you know, like the success of the Lantare mission, and the marriage of two crewmates, this report will provide a more in depth view of the crew as a whole. When I first came here, all my attempts at forced friendship failed miserably. It was only after situations involving life and death where trust seemed to form. This trust is returned, and I have concluded that this ship will not suffer from any type of insubordination. The only thing in my opinion that could strike a mutiny would be the sudden withdrawal of this ship's alcohol supply, which the crew seems to be particularly attached to. This is not to say that they drink before or during missions. This is strictly forbidden, and the general consensus is that it is a necessary rule.

            My original fears of being included in a group with several Jedi have proven true. Several of them have already uncovered my true identity, and it seems only a matter of time before one of them releases this information. That being said, there has been a personal incident involving the brother of one of my crewmates, Indy Bridger. It seems he was involved in an early Rebellion attempt to destroy a Construction Droid in my district as a Coruscant Police Officer in my pre-New Republic days. I killed his friends, and almost killed him. He seems to remember me, and now has a personal vendetta against me. This seems to compromise my mission, as my official background does not include my service to the Empire.

            That being said, I believe my mission is a failure. Half of the crew knows my mission, and the other half does not seem to like or dislike me. I respectfully request a full transfer from this unit, and a replacement sent immediately. The mission provided is necessary, but I am not the man for the job. This replacement should be partially trained in the Force so as to effectively block any attempts to read his mission.

TO:          2nd Lt. Stephen Baron

FROM:     General Cracken

SUBJECT: TRANSFER

            Permission denied. You were sent to the Imladris to infiltrate and find facts from the inside. If this mission is compromised by your personal involvement with a fellow crew member, I suggest you resolve that conflict immediately. We have spent too much time training you, and placing you aboard that ship. We do not have the time nor the ability to transfer you and get another agent inside with the confidence of that crew. A slightly force-trained agent will fare no better than you. The Jedi aboard are far too powerful to be fooled by almost any mind tricks.

            This is also why you aboard that ship. We have been following a certain group of people who have recently made public their hatred towards the Jedi of the Old Republic, and wish to bring ruin to the Jedi of the New. We believe one of these men, or women, or aliens, has infiltrated Aurora Force, and it is up to you to stop them. We have purposefully placed some of the more force-sensitive members aboard, but the most powerful seem to have volunteered. This causes some alarm among the High Command, having virtually every potential Jedi in one place, so you must stay. We originally planned this mission as bait for the terrorists, but it has taken on quite a bit of public support. You should know that your reports circulate the Command, and even the Council. You are our only agent aboard this highly unstable cruiser, and we cannot afford to lose you. Tag Rendar is also an agent, but she has too many personal ties to the crew, what with being a blood-sister, and now a blood-sister-in-law. There is no telling who the infiltrator is, but it is possible he/she/it has managed to find a way to avoid the mind-probes that are probably frequent in this group.

            Your request for transfer is denied, and you are to remain in this group until recalled. Continue your mission, but be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Report regularly.

Deadmeet (Bubbakidd@aol.com)

            QuornLee was totally out of it by the time they got him to the infirmary, he was babbling like a drunken sailor!  Mike really hit him hard, but anybody that messes with Indy should know better.

            But Deadmeet needed a break, it's not everyday you see one of your friends beating the shit out of another. Besides he had another project to work on for the moment. Mike said he wanted to help but Deadmeet told him to enjoy his honeymoon and then come help. Only a few people knew what it was and were it would be built, mike, Ravon, Torin and perhaps some of the others knew but that was it. So, after the wedding Deadmeet would leave for a while but hopefully would be back before the next big mission.

            Deadmeet walked through the halls and told Torin and mike goodbye for now and that he would be back. He didn't need to and couldn't tell Ravon because he was away and he's the one that want's it done so fast! After a few drinks from the bar Deadmeet made his way to his little ship and departed.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

     The mess was pretty quiet.  Indy was absent, Tag noted, and Mike looked like he'd been through the wringer.  The teenage Jedi and NRI agent could sense a sort of lingering darkness around him, and wondered what had happened.  She slid into a seat across from Baron.  "I hear you requested a transfer out of this unit."

    He stared at her.  "How--?"

    She waved a dismissive hand.  "Never mind that.  Have you seen Indy?  I wanted to see if she'd spar with me again."

    "Didn't you hear?  Quorn tried to kill her last night.  Mike barely saved her.  I'd lay odds she's still in quarters."

    Slate had been walking by when Baron said this and his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull.  His tray clattered to the ground and he was off like a shot.

    "Uh-oh," Baron said.  "Quorn is a dead man."

    Tag nodded slowly.  "I believe you're right."  She glanced over to where Mike sat, picking at his meal.  "I'm going to go see Indy."

    "Let her sleep, Tag," Mike called from the next table over.

    Tag looked down at her tray.  *Well, I guess I can eat first....*

    As the door to her quarters hissed open, Indy buried her face deeper in her pillow.  She didn't want to get up.  She was too comfortable where she was.

    The door shut, and for a few moments, there was silence.  Indy finally lifted her head, staring at Tag, who stood in front of the door.

    "I heard what happened," Tag said quietly, walking over and sitting next to Indy on the bunk.  "That nerf-brained psychopath.....who the hell did he think he was?!"

    Indy eased herself into a sitting position, hugging her knees to her chest, her blanket over her shoulders.  "I really can't remember what happened," she admitted.

    "You don't want to know," Tag told her.  "At least, I seriously doubt you do.  Mike told me everything, although I almost had to pry it out of him."  She shook her head.  "You should've seen Slate....I swear, he's so pissed off he's flying in ten directions at once.  Del's got him in the training room, trying to get him to vent."

    Indy massaged her temples.  She couldn't remember anything between the time she had left Tag's company to go to the bar with Mike and waking up in her bunk not twenty minutes before Tag's arrival.  "I could really go for some caf."

    Tag smiled.  "Get dressed, and I'll walk you to the mess."

    Indy nodded, smiling gratefully.  "Good.  I'm not sure I could get there on my own."  With that she rose, dressed, and walked with Tag to the mess to get some caf and hopefully return to the land of the living.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            The shuttle eased itself into the docking bay without the help of the tractor beams and set itself down perfectly in it's spot on the hangar floor.  The ramp opened and out walked a short man, about 5'1", with flame red hair.

            "Nice to see you again Reeg, I’m glad you made it."  Mike said as his the man walked down the ramp.

            "What, and miss my brother's wedding, no way in hell."  Regis replied.  "The rest of the squad is in the shuttle getting their gear together."  The other members of Dragon Squad, the squadron that Mike formed and formerly commanded, came down the ramp just as Regis had said that.  A lanky man with sandy blond hair waved over as he cleared the shuttle, he was followed by a portly man with spiky blond hair and a pair of men who couldn't have been anything but brothers with the resemblance they had.  Following the brothers was a pair of older men, one with thinning gray hair and the other with a more salt and pepper type, more pepper than salt, though he was the oldest in the unit, they were both computer guys and it showed in their mannerisms.  Last in line was a tall man with light brown hair and a medical bag, the squad's doctor.

            "I suppose the first place you want to go is to your quarters, then to the bar.  Okay, follow me."  Mike led them to their quarters so they could drop off their belongings and head to the bar.

Raven Conall (RavnConall@aol.com)

Ravon switched his uniform back to his RS Brigadier General Uniform. Then he looked at the name again 'Loretta Lees' "hmmm.. Let's see here.." Ravon mumbled. He reached out with the force to Kuat to lock onto Mike's Grandma. He used the DNA structure of Mike as a template for Loretta as he looked her up. He slowly started cutting down the numbers till there was two, then he went for looks. One locked on in his mind as Loretta. He started to levitate his legs crossed and he teleported himself to Her house, at the front door. Outside his door on the SSD it had a sign saying "If you enter w/o direct permission at the door from the Grand Admiral, you will be shot 6 times, tortured unmercifully, and then maybe killed.. if you survive that long." So Ravon knew no one was going in there. He looked at the Front door and took a deep breath.

            Ravon walked up to the front door and knocked, a blank letter in his hand. Loretta walked up and looked through the peep hole and said "Who are you?" Ravon smiled and said "Telegram for Mrs. Loretta Lees." Loretta thought about it then opened up the door. Ravon smiled and said "Your little grandson is getting married.. Your invited to it." Ravon handed her the blank letter and when she opened it he put his hand on her shoulder and teleported them both to the Imladris.

            Mike's grandma looked around and was shocked and managed to say "How'd we get here???" Ravon smiled at her and said "It's hard to explain. I'll show you your quarters, then Mike's quarters if that's Okay with you Mrs. Lees." Loretta nodded a little shakily and said "O..Okay... But no more funny stuff." Ravon laughed lightly and started off down the hallway to Room #9482 on level 3. It had a nice window view and was the nearest to the escape pods. The Nicest room, and one of the safest seeing as if you were to look right and left outside the window, you'd see two automated quad-laser turrets. Ravon opened the door for Mrs. Lees and let her settle in for a second, then he showed her Mike's room, and since she wanted to go in. The door was locked. So Ravon tapped the one code only 5 people on board knew. The XO, CO, the Captain, and the Captain's XO, and him. The door opened.

Baron (BaronCoop1@aol.com)

            Dammit! Was there nothing that could be kept secret in this unit? I hadn't sent my report but a mere hour and a half ago, and Tag was already confronting me about it. How did she get it? It went straight to General Cracken! It was a direct feed! I was now reading General Cracken's terse refusal, and I felt a slight bit relieved.

            Its not that I didn't want to stay, its just that I felt my mission in this unit was a failure without possibility of recovery. Now I know the real reason I was sent here, and it has nothing to do with why I thought I was. It feels better not having to worry about the little things like that.

            Maybe I can use this lack of secrecy to my advantage? Sure, I'm positive I can find a way. It's gonna take a little effort, but I think I can manage. My mind flits back to the fight the other day. I can't seem to decide whether I should go to Mike and Indy's wedding, Mike or Slate's court martial trial (and I'm convinced one of them will kill Quorn), or Quorn's funeral. They all seem to coincide within a week. Assuming of course, that someone else doesn't decide to kill the hothead themselves.  But that's not my business. Or maybe it is. The more I think about it, the madder I get. Indy is a squadmate. Her life depends on me, and my life depends on her. I'm not going to be the one to let her down.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike looked up from the woman sitting across from him (yes it is Indy), they had been having breakfast, one that mike had cooked.  The door opened and a shorter elderly woman walked in.  Mike stood abruptly, ran the three steps to the door and caught her up in an excited hug.

            "Grandma it's so good to see you!"  Mike said excitedly, he hadn't seen his grandmother in eight years, since then he'd grown a foot and gained eighty pounds more muscle so she barely recognized him.

            "Michael Patrick Bullian you put me down this instant before you crack my bones"  She said as mike put her down  "You've grown, a lot, I barely recognized you"  Mike blinked, suddenly remembering Indy, who had been watching the excited reunion patiently, she knew what it was like to be reunited with family unseen for so long.

            "Grandma, this is my fiancee Indy.  Indy, this is my grandma." Mike said, going through the gestures of a standard introduction.  Both Loretta and Indy smiled, genuine smiles from the happiness of the moment.

            "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Lees, Mike's told me all about you."  Indy said, taking the initiative.

            "Please, call me grandma, I soon will be after all." she replied  "Besides, Mike's friends always did."  Mike turned to Raven while Indy and Grandma were meeting.

            "Thanks Raven, thanks a lot."  Raven just smiled and walked out the door.  "Hey Grandma, you'll never guess who else is here.."  Grandma turned to look at Mike

            "He isn't..." she replied, turning toward the door.

            "Let's go see him, he's at the bar right now."  Mike took his grandma's arm and led her toward the visitors' lounge (there were quite a few bars on this ship, the Visitors' Lounge, the Officers' Club, and the Watering Hole)  They walked slowly into the lounge.  Regis looked up from the table that the rest of Dragon Squad was at.

            "Grandma!"  He stood and started to run towards her, just as Mike had done before, but Grandma held up a hand and he slowed down.  That's not to say that the hug he gave her was any less excited than Mike's, she wasn't lifted into the air like Mike did because Regis wasn't exactly as tall as Mike.

            "Here's another surprise for you Indy."  Mike said, stepping back to stand beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders.  "This is Regis Miller, my half brother."  Indy turned her head to Mike and started to say something, but Mike interrupted.  " I didn't tell you before because he asked me not to, he wanted to be here when I did."  Mike turned to Regis, who had just let grandma go.  "Reeg, get your sorry ass over here."  Mike yelled at him, a smile spread across his face. "Reeg, this is Indy." Mike said to his brother.

            "Ah, enchantee mademoiselle."  he said as he bowed deeply and kissed her hand.  "Mike really is a lucky guy."  He said, smiling as he usually was.

            "Why didn't you do that when we met?"  Indy asked, mock-seriously

            "Because when we met we were just finished shooting at stormtroopers and i was laying on the floor with a leg blown off."  he replied in the same tone.  "Besides, when I use that meeting, i do it better, in 32 languages."

            "Did you forget to tell me something?" Both Regis and Grandma said almost simultaneously.

            "Oh yeah, I got my leg blown off by stormtroopers on the first Aurora Force op, then Raven, the guy that brought you here Grandma, he regenerated my leg and shortly later I was captured and tortured by the Imperials.  It's a long story, maybe I'll tell you sometime, but now, I'm going to go finish breakfast and go work out at the gym.  You two can catch up on recent events for now, and Grandma, don't try to drink him under the table, remember what happened last time."

            "Okay Mike, have fun."  Grandma replied as she waved for a drink.  Mike and Indy left, smiling.

            "And I thought I had an interesting family."  Indy said as the door shut behind them.

            "You do, mine's just plain weird."  The laughed as they headed off toward Mike's quarters to finish breakfast.

Raven Conall (RavnConall@aol.com)

Raven was walking around onboard the ship Imladris, he carried his metal staff around just in case, his main lightsaber linked to his belt at his side. But his staff was more useful, and could absorb the blaster bolts. Raven used it almost as if he had a limp, to help him walk around the ship. He knew where he had to go now. He started walking towards the artificial gravity chamber. When he reached it he started turning up the gravity to 30 times normal gravity and started working out, using his staff as most his punches, but putting it into the wall for pull-ups and special curl-ups where he put his legs over the bar and pulled his head up like a normal curl-up. He didn't stop for hours, just sitting in the chamber working out, push-ups, etc. He kept the gravity the same, though he'd make increase it in time.

Carlos DeLong (BodoBaasJM@aol.com)

Carlos was still a bit pale and haggard from all that he had been through in the past month.  His two weeks of bacta bath and recuperation had helped to heal him most of the way, but he still felt the effects of the massive beatings he had taken in the Imperial POW base.  At least that Solokov character was rotting in some jail, being pumped for information with decidedly more humane tactics than what he had used on Carlos.  The emotional turmoil that the information about Torin had caused hadn't helped his recovery any.  Fleetingly Carlos toyed with the idea of confronting Torin with the information.  Then his brain caught up with him and nixed the idea.  What would be the point?

He brought the Peregrine's Claw out of hyperspace and angled in toward the Imladris.

"DeLong to Imladris, requesting permission to land, over."

"Permission granted, Lieutenant," said the traffic control person, "Welcome home."

"Thanks, Imladris, its good to be back."  The Claw shook as the landing control systems took over.  "What all did I miss?"

"I'll upload you a document with the latest scuttlebutt, Carlos."

"Thanks Janice," said Carlos, finally remembering the name of the controller that he was talking too.  "I'll owe ya one."

"Buy me a drink sometime and we'll be even."  Janice said.  Carlos could hear the mischievous grin over the comlink.  He started to chuckle.

"I'll do that, Janice.  Just let me heal a bit more here."

"Roger that, Carlos."  The comlink clicked off, and Carlos settled back to read the document.  It was very interesting reading, and some off it made being beat up by some Imperial gorilla actually look like a cake walk.

The mission went okay, but Raven was still with the Imperials.  Mike got out OK, though it was feared for a while that he was dead.  He proposed to Indy, and the two were planning to get married.

Carlos was glad about that last one.  Not knowing who his family was had caused Carlos a lot of pain over the last three years.  With the first seventeen years of his life inaccessible, he had taken it upon himself to build new memories, and a new family.  He had left one family, the Krayt commandos on Salasia IVb, to return to his second family, the Aurora Force.  And when the family is happy, he is happy.

Indy's brother, Slate had come to the Imladris.  And had tried to kill Baron.  Baron had explained to Indy exactly why Slate had tried to rearrange his windpipe, but that secret was being kept under lock and key.  Carlos scanned through the next few paragraphs.....bachelor party.....big mess......janitorial staff not happy.....ships supply of anti-hangover drugs almost depleted....what the?  A fight?  One of the new recruits tried to kill Indy!?  Seems that one of the newbies got a bit to inebriated and started to crudely insult Indy.  Mike and Indy took offense.  The new guy took offense at that.  He cut Indy's throat.  Mike, Morcant, and Mynok beat the drunken newbie into a bloody pulp.  Good for Mike.  Bad for the newbie.  Who is still stuck in a bacta tank, regenerating his bones and the many internal organs that were damaged.  Carlos knew how that felt.  He also knew why he made it a point never to touch alcohol.

The Claw touched down in the hangar bay of the Imladris, and Carlos walked off to find his quarters, change clothes, and go to the bar for some nice, cold ice water and to try and meet the newbies.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

    Slate lay on his bunk, staring at his new roommate, Jorun Jax.  He could easily tell the young man was a cadet--it was all in his eyes, in his stance.  The young man thought he was invincible.  *So did I, once,* Slate thought wistfully.  *Then I went to Coruscant.....*  He fought to banish thoughts of his experiences from his mind.  Thoughts like those led to violent thoughts about killing Stephen Baron, and that meant hurting his sister, and that meant that she had to deal with more pain......*STOP STOP STOP STOP!!  Slate Bridger, you can't do this anymore!  No more thoughts about killing anyone but the enemy.*

     Another, less rational part of his mind answered him.  *Stephen Baron IS the enemy.....*

     Slate let out a howl of rage, startling Jorun.

     "Are you all right, sir?"  For some reason, the young cadet always called Slate 'sir.'

     "Don't call me sir," Slate sighed.  "And yes, I suppose I'm all right.  Conflicting thoughts and emotions.....it happens to men like me."

     Jorun nodded.  "I see."

     Slate sighed.  "No, Jorun, you don't see."  *But I can't explain, either.....*

Dack Mauldeer (Xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack tapped the buttons on the interface pad on the wall, and watched the training room door open. He walked inside, and looked around.

            The room was quite plain, actually. Bare, too. He looked at an interface panel nearby. The reading was on normal gravity level. he walked over to it and pressed the button to up the gravity to ten times a planet's normal gravity.

            He had trained like this on barren worlds, capable only of supporting life if the most savage kind. Those worlds had had about twenty times Talay's gravity. It helped to train in extended gravity, because the weight helped to further the body system to grow and regenerate faster.

            He felt his clothes drop a bit from the increased weight. The magnetic chamber had been a good thing. Without a sound, Dack forced himself to hover over the ground. The chamber was big enough to allow some extra energy training.

            He let his hands fall back, allowing blue energy to surround both of them. He placed both of his hands together, letting the wrists touch. Then, out came a huge blue burst of energy that hit the forward wall and then dissipated. The burst had drifted downwards for a few seconds before hitting the wall, though, because energy with such volume was bound to be pulled down in the gravity environment.

            He stopped his hovering power, and walked back over to the interface panel, tapping away.

            The holographic projectors in the chamber lit up, and formed a holographic man, simply in dark green colors, looking a lot like a dummy. He walked over to it, and punched it in the face. Dack felt the crack of the holo-bones (?) against his fist, and he smiled. He then began to rapidly punch it over and over, and then fell back, and blasted it with blue energy. He sighed, and continued on with his training...

Morcant (morcant@planetvenus.swinternet.co.uk)

Morcant felt lost. He didn't like sitting around doing nothing for this

long. He wasn't here for the socializing or the drinking. That wasn't to

say he didn't enjoy it or take part as much as anybody else. Its just

that he wanted to get out there and fight against the imperials. There

was meant to be a new mission coming up soon but they were waiting for

after the wedding. He thought that generally they didn't arrange

missions around people but did the missions as they were needed but this

wasn't an average task force and Cody was most definitely not the

average commanding officer.

Morcant's mind then flicked onto the subject of the wedding. He knew

what he should wear but he didn't know if he was going to. That was from

his past life that he had lost with the rest of Alderaan. If he could be

sure that nobody recognized what it was then he would wear it. To him it

would show that Indy and Mike meant something to him. They wouldn't

realize the meaning but he would and that feeling would subtly pervade

in his attitudes and they would get the impression.

The crew all meant a lot to him. Some more than others but all of them

meant something. Mike and Indy reminded him of how he might have been.

Mike seemed to be somebody with the freedom to do what he wanted and to

marry Indy. Morcant did not have that freedom. He couldn't afford to do

some things. They would get in the way of his mission. He had sworn to

avenge their deaths. More than that it was the one thing that kept him

going. If he lost this task then he had no more reason to live. A wife

would be like a millstone holding him back. A lever to be used against

him and somebody interfering with his mission. It might work for others

but not for him.

Morcant wandered to the Light of Dawn, from a small compartment which he

unlocked with a code known only to him he withdrew a box. He shut and

locked the compartment again and headed back to his quarters with the

box. He sat on his bed and opened the box and for a long while he sat

and looked at the contents. As he continued to look and think about the

meaning behind it tears formed in his eyes.

His mind wandered back to that time. He was younger then, nearly sixteen

years old. A typical teenager as well, always argumentative and wanting

to do his own thing. The trouble was he wasn't allowed to be a typical

teenager. His parents made sure he knew this, as did his tutors. His

sister was always perfect. Almost an embodiment of manners and good

behavior. But he wanted to have fun and escape the constricting and

suffocating life that he had been born into.

His last memory of his parents came from the day of Alderaan's

destruction. Garon, one of the families employees, had found that he had

left home for 7 hours the night before. His parents had questioned him

on it…

"Where were you last night?" asked his mother.

"I was in bed asleep," he had replied, not sure yet what his parents

knew.

"Garon told us that you were out again. For about seven hours he

reckoned. Where were you this time? Out trying to get yourself killed

again?" his father demanded.

"I was out with my friends. It was Non's birthday and we went out.

What's wrong with that?" he had said defensively. He had known the

trouble he was going to be in.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? Have you forgotten that you spent a week in

bacta only a month ago after you went out with your friends? I know that

you deny you were with your friends but how else did you manage it? We

have told you that you aren't meant to see these friends any more and

you blatantly disregard our instructions. We are suspending all your

privileges including your right to use family vehicles and money."

"Fine. I don't care." He had said, his last words to his parents. He had

told them that he didn't care what they did or didn't do. He had almost

gone as far as to wish in his minds that they weren't his parents. He

had gone upstairs and seen his sister. She had been listening to the

exchange and was waiting for him to get upstairs.

"Morcy, why do you keep doing this? You know how much it…"

"Shut up, Karla. I really don't care what you think about it all. Don't

you ever want to have some fun and get out? No, I suppose not. Your idea

of fun is to get made up and dressed up and go to a dinner with some of

the most boring people from the planet or occasionally they get boring

people from other planets. Your idea of a happy future is to marry one

of these boring people so that you can go to more boring dinners and

have a boring life. Well, hopefully your lack of personality will do you

well in this. Now go away and don't talk to me again please." This had

been said as Morcant went to the door to his rooms. The last had been

said from his doorway shortly before sealing it shut. This was the last

he had said to his sister. He had seen the last of his family by then.

He needed some time to himself so he had gone out the window and made

his way to where his own starfighter was parked. The Z-95 was not yet

secured by his parents punishment. He found that flying relaxed him.

He'd fly for an hour or two and then go home and be more calm with his

family.

That was the plan. It was whilst he was out that the empire had

destroyed his home, his family and his friends. He had been home since

but it wasn't the same. The asteroid field was a necropolis. Millions

claimed it as their last resting place. He had heard that other

Alderaanians had asked for their remains to be returned there. Alderaan

had another memory though. One that Morcant preferred to think of. It

was that Alderaan marked the beginning of the destruction of the empire.

Luke Skywalker had started the empire's death and then with his friends

he had destroyed the second death star with the emperor himself on it.

As he thought about this for the first time in a while he realized

something that he hadn't before. Luke was almost family to him. A brief

smile cut through his tears at that thought. Not that he would ever meet

Luke or any of the other heroes of the rebellion. Luke, Leia, Han Solo.

There was possibilities in the future that their paths would cross but

it was something that he would rather avoid.

He pushed these thoughts away from him as he wiped the tears away from

his eyes. The contents of the box were something he had made up as a

reminder to him and in memory of his family. It was clothing. It was

what he had always hated to wear but in the time since he had realized

with bitterness that he should have done. His family were trying to do

what was good and right and fight the empire's tyranny. But he had

shunned that for pleasure and fun instead. He had the clothes so that he

would be able to one day proudly wear them. That day wasn't yet though.

He would wear them to honor many people. But he would then return them

to their hiding place and not see them again for some time.

He had no dress uniform but this was just as suitable for a wedding. He

had worn similar things before but not these particular clothes. These

had been specially made, and for a high price, after Alderaan.

Morcant tried them on for the first time. They fit him well and bought

back poignant memories of his family. The outfit was dark blue with thin

red stripes running down the arms and legs. Gold and black thread had

been used to decorate the outfit and a small design was on the left

breast. The design was a simple one and was the only change to the

outfit. The image was of a stylized starburst printed over a

mythological beast. A creature from legends of his home.

He took the outfit off again and packed it neatly away. He would put it

back on for the wedding.

Indy Bridger (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

   Indy adjusted her uniform again and sighed.  She stared at her reflection in the mirror.  She was getting ready for the rehearsal of her wedding.  Her reflection stared back at her, with the short dark hair, the deep green eyes, the unlined face.  She adjusted her collar again before pinning her rank pins on her lapels.  She left her quarters, and walked slowly to the mess hall.  She was nervous--damned nervous.  She knew she loved Mike, but that didn't seem to help things.  Maybe it was the precariousness of their situation--life as soldiers of the Rebel Squadrons was far from safe.  She had to smile at herself.  *Neither was a life as a cop, but dad did it anyway.*

   Mike was already there when she reached the mess.  There were a few others, too--Mynok, Raven, Tag, Astrid, Slate and several more.  Mike embraced her warmly.  "You as excited as I am?" he asked softly.

   Indy smiled and kissed him on the cheek.  "You know it.  Where's Torin?"

   Mike shrugged.  "Damned if I know.  We're just going to have to wait on him, aren't we?"

   Indy nodded.  "I guess so."  She drew a deep breath.  "I love you," she sighed.

   "I love you, too."  They settled down to wait for Torin and the rest of the bridal party, as well as family and friends.

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike a looked up from his chair in the mess, which had become a chapel, toward the door at the perfect moment to see Torin walk in.

            "Sorry I was late, got swamped." He was impeccably dressed in a perfect dress uniform.  Mike stood up and shook his hand in greeting, he was dressed in the same dress uniform as all the others though he seemed to sparkle, perhaps it was the mood.

            "I understand the feeling."  Mike replied, referring to his duties as the commander of Legend Wing.  They all took their positions and ran through the ceremony.  No mishaps whatsoever occurred, though it didn't make Mike and Indy any less worried about the real ceremony tomorrow.  they ran through it again, just in case and all proceeded to the Officers' Mess, where the dinner was being held.  The meal was cooked earlier, by Mike.  An assortment of stir fried nerf cubes with rice, potatoes covered in an herb cheese sauce, a medium sized bird of some sort baked in a tangy Corellian sauce, four bottles of Alderaanian wine from the year of the destruction, a good year.  Raven stood and raised his glass.

            "A toast, to tomorrow, may it be as perfect as the couple whose day it is."  at that a redness rose to Indy's cheeks as Mike smiled.  The friends gathered there raised their glasses, and drank to the perfection of tomorrow's events...

~ ~a few hours later~ ~

            "Goodnight my love" Mike said as the door to Indy's quarters closed.  He turned and walked to his quarters to get some sleep.  He entered and checked his ceremonial dress uniform, nothing wrong.  he checked on just about everything that he would need tomorrow, nothing wrong.  He activated his R-11 unit Hawk and checked on his personal files for something to do, he knew by then that he couldn't possibly get to sleep that night, too exciting.  He plugged in his datapad to Hawk's interface port and reviewed the remodeling log for his new quarters, the quarters he would share with his beautiful bride.  He teleported a few of his heavier belongings there when he finished the log, he had learned that little trick from Raven.  He turned back to his personal files and noticed something new about a project that Deadmeet had mentioned, something about a new capital ship that Deadmeet wanted Mike to help design and build.  Mike downloaded the necessary technical stats to his datapad and laid down in his bunk, looking at them, making a few changes here and there to the design to adjust for recent technological developments and simple design adjustments that he could make to have it working more efficiently.  he did this until the early hours of the morning.  He looked at the wall chrono and exclaimed.

            "Holy shit!"  He noticed that it was almost 0300 and he had a wedding starting in 9 hours.  "Hawk, wake me up at 0730 to start getting ready.  Saying this he lapsed into a meditation trance, knowing that he couldn't get to sleep by more conventional methods.  He went into a deep sleep aided by the force, getting more rest than normal sleep could ever give him...

Aaron Clark (AEClark@aol.com)

    Clark groggily awoke from his slumber.  Looking around he found neither his bunkmate, or his R5 were anywhere to be found.  Clark climbed out of his bunk, and exited the bunk area. 

    Walking down the large corridor, Clark continued to look around..  No one was in sight.  Clark, being hungry, walked into the mess hall.  It seemed that everyone was there, all dressed up and the like.  But what was it all for?  Clark just stood there, staring at the crowd.

Indy Bullian (IndyBridger@hotmail.com)

            It was early, but almost everyone aboard the cruiser *Imladris* was up.  Today was the big day for Mike and Indy, the day that some had been looking forward to, others dreading for some reason or another.  As guests from all levels of the New Republic and the Rebel Squadrons arrived aboard with Aurora Force supervising their seating and figuring out possible bunk assignments, Slate Bridger was supervising the flower delivery, and all of the bridesmaids plus the bride were crammed into Indy's quarters.

            As Indy toweled her hair dry from her quick shower, she grinned at Galadriel.  "Thank you so much for doing this on such short notice."

            The XO smiled.  "It's my pleasure, Indy.  I'm just glad I could help."

            Tag slipped back into the room with an armload of long, plastic-wrapped objects.  "OK, here they are."  She unveiled the bridesmaids dresses, blue and almost iridescent, strapless.

            "I am not wearing that," Astrid said flatly.

            "What?!"  Indy dropped her towel.  "Astrid, you can't be serious."

            "I am not wearing a dress," Astrid said.

            Indy looked helplessly at Tag, who shrugged nonchalantly.  "I'll make it an order, Astrid."

            "Stuff it, Tag."

            "I'll talk to her," Jewl piped.  She stood up from where she sat on the bunk and grabbed Astrid's arm.  "Come on.  You and I are going to have a little talk, now."  With that, she proceeded to drag Astrid out into the hallway.

        "It doesn't matter if you like it! All of us are wearing it," Jewl said as she pulled Astrid again.

        "But I never wear dresses! I hate them. And they look bad on me!" Astrid said. Jewl looked at Astrid in the blue dress and pulled her again.

        "You look fine!" Jewl said.

            Indy sighed.  "As if I really needed more things to go wrong."

            Tag grasped her blood-sister's shoulder.  "Everything'll be fine, Indy.  You'll see."

            "I hope you're right, Taggie."

            Tag smiled.  "When was the last time I was wrong?"  She picked up her dress and handed another to Galadriel.  "Let us get ourselves ready, and then we'll take care of you, OK?"

            Indy grinned.  "OK."

            Two hours later, it was nearing noon, and Jewl was just finishing Indy's make-up.  Astrid was sulking on one of the bunks, and Tag was carefully pinning Indy's veil in place.  There was a quiet knock on the door.  "Open up, it's Slate."

            Galadriel let Slate in.  Indy glanced at him and her jaw almost dropped.  Slate was dressed in a Endor-vintage dress uniform, with all the correct insignia and awards and such in the correct places--right down to the name-plate on his left breast.  It took Indy a moment to realize that the uniform that Slate was wearing had belonged to her cousin, Nylan, whom Tag had served with during that time.  As Tag stepped over to straighten Slate's uniform, Indy could tell that she wasn't seeing Slate in the uniform, she was seeing Nylan.  "You look very nice, Slate," Indy said.

            Slate flushed.  "Thanks, little sister.  You look like a million."  He handed her the bouquet.  "I thought I'd bring this down.  You should see the mess.  It's packed.  The whole New Republic turned out for this."  He offered his sister a brave smile.

            Indy smiled as Tag fastened the necklace that Mike had made for her around her neck.  She made eye contact with them all as she rose from the chair she'd been sitting in.  "Well, I guess this is it, huh?"

            They nodded.  Tag pressed her Jedi Credit into Indy's palm.  "You said you wanted it," she said quietly.

            Indy tucked the object into her bouquet.

            "They're ready to start, I think," Slate said quietly.  "Shall we?"  He offered his arm to his sister.

            Indy took his arm, and the six of them trooped out of Indy's quarters and down the hall to the mess.  The band was just striking up with the wedding march.  Galadriel was the first down the aisle, followed by Jewl, then Astrid.  Tag turned to Indy and gave her an encouraging smile and reached out and squeezed her hand before turning around and walking down the aisle herself.

            Slate patted Indy's hand, which rested on his arm.  "It's time," he smiled.

            Indy smiled back, and drew a deep breath.

            The entire congregation rose as Indy started down the aisle, escorted by her brother.  The High Council was there, near the front, as well as the full number of Legend Wing and most of the Echo Raiders, various members of the Patriot Battlefleet including Phoenix Squadron-Mike's flight unit-journalists from Redemption Fleet, and many others.  Most had brought dates or wives or husbands, such as Alex Foley and his wife Katrina and Del standing alone, his eyes not on Indy, but on Tag.  On the dais, Mynok seemed to be having the same problem, unable to keep his eyes off Astrid.

            Indy smiled wider.  All of this, just because two officers were getting married.

            The walk seemed entirely too long.  Mike was standing on the dais with his groomsmen and Torin.  All were smiling, but Mike the biggest of all.  As they reached the dais, Slate turned to his sister, lifted her veil, and kissed her on both cheeks.  Then, Indy stepped up onto the dais and took Mike's arm.

            "Dear comrades," Torin began.  "Today we are gathered here in the presence of the Force to witness the joining of two fine, fine officers."  He glanced at Indy and Slate.  "Who gives this woman to be wed?"

            "I do," Slate said, his voice strong.  There were tears in his eyes.

            Torin nodded to him, and Slate stepped back and sat down in one of the empty chairs in the front row.  Torin motioned to Indy and Mike to hold each others' hands.  Indy set her bouquet on the floor and took Mike's hands.  He gave her hands a slight squeeze before relaxing them.  "I will now lead the engaged in their vows," Torin announced.  "Captain Michael Bullian, do you take this woman to be your wife, to protect and love, to cherish and preserve, to hold and to remain with for the rest of your days?"

            Mike's eyes were sparkling as he stared at Indy.  "I do."

            Torin's gaze flicked to Indy.  "Second Lieutenant Indiana Bridger, do you take this man to be your husband, to protect and love, to cherish and preserve, to hold and to remain with for the rest of your days?"

            *That,* Indy thought, staring at Mike, *and so much more.*  "I do," she said quietly.

            "The rings, please?"

            Raven handed Mike a slender silver ring, and Tag handed a larger one to Indy.

            "Now, the covenant of the rings," Torin said.  "Michael, repeat after me.  I, Michael Bullian...."

            "I, Michael Bullian...."

            "Offer this ring...."

            "Offer this ring...."

            "As a sign of my undying devotion to the vows we have made."

            "As a sign of my undying devotion to the vows we have made."  With those words, Mike slid the ring onto Indy's finger.

            Torin moved on.  "Indiana, repeat after me.  I, Indiana Bridger....."

            Indy could feel the excitement building within her.  "I, Indiana Bridger....."

            "Offer this ring...."

            "Offer this ring...."

            "As a sign of my undying devotion to the vows we have made."

            "As a sign of my undying devotion to the vows we have made."  Indy slid the ring onto Mike's finger and then looked into his eyes.  She realized that she could lose herself in those eyes.

            "With the exchange of rings and vows, and the power vested in me by the New Republic and the Rebel Squadrons, I now pronounce you man and wife."  Torin smiled devilishly at Mike.  "Captain, you may kiss the bride."

            Mike stared at Indy, and she stared back.  Their lips drew closer, closer, closer, until......

            Souls merged with that kiss, as the pair shared the first of many embraces of their marriage, the first of many kisses.  Although it was against tradition, one lone man--some identified him as Sean Truax--stood up in the back of the mess, clapping.  Someone else joined him, then another, and another until the whole congregation was on their feet, clapping.

            Torin shouted over the din.  "It is my pleasure to present to you Captain and Mrs. Michael Bullian."

            That was when the cheers began, and the band struck up again as the pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen headed down the aisle.  Mike and Indy separated as the bridesmaids and groomsmen reappeared at the other end of the mess, having walked out and then returned with the ancient blades of the Corellian Military.  As Mike and Indy headed toward the exit, Tag shouted.  "Honor Guard, attention!"  A pause.  "Present arms!"  A pause.  "Sabers up!"  A pause.  "Blades to the wind."  As Mike and Indy passed under the up-thrust swords, each of the honor guard sheathed their weapons.  In keeping with tradition, Raven and Tag each got to smack the bride and groom respectively in the butt with their swords.

            The wedding was over.

            The celebration was about to begin.

            The reception hall was packed by the time Mike and Indy entered.  Almost as soon as they had even partially stepped through the doorway, the sound of knives on the edges of glasses filled the air.  Indy flushed as Mike looked at her and said softly, "You know what that means."  He bent toward her and kissed her warmly.  They walked to the long table at the front of the hangar and sat down.

            Slate immediately rose with Tag.  "Tag and I would like to make a toast," he said, glancing over at Mike and Indy.  He grinned mischievously.  "When we were little kids," he began, "all of us--meaning me, Tag, Indy, and a few others who unfortunately couldn't make it here today--used to discuss who would get married first, settle down, raise a family.  The funny part is, Indy swore she would never do any of those things."  Slate started laughing and couldn't stop.

            Tag picked up where he'd left off.  "Well, you can see why this is so funny," she said, "Because he she is, at eighteen years old, the first of all of us to get married and settle down.  The one person who said a million times, 'no way, not me' is now married to the one non-Corellian pilot who actually has an ego that can rival that of most Corellian fighter jocks, the quote-un-quote "Great One" included."

            Mike and Indy laughed, as did everyone else.

            "So," Tag finished, "a toast to Mike and Indy.  Have fun, you two."

            After taking a sip of their wine, the glass clinking started again somewhere off in the corner, so Mike and Indy again found themselves kissing, but that was fine, because it was allowed........

            Tag had picked out the music for the dance that Indy would share with her brother, and as Slate led her out onto the floor and the music struck up, there were already tears in her eyes.  "Indy, what's wrong?"  Slate asked her as they began to dance.

            There was a huge lump in Indy's throat.  "This was supposed to be Daddy's dance," she said quietly.  "If only there had been a few more months......"

            Quite suddenly, the music faded, and Indy and Slate stopped dancing.  A figure made of light was moving across the dance floor, dressed in the brown robes of a Jedi Knight, coming toward the brother and sister.  The figure had deep green eyes and brown hair, about 5'11" and was carrying an exact copy of the saber that Indy had given to Raven for safekeeping.  Indy gasped.  It was her father.

            The Force-shadow of Davil Bridger smiled.  "I am so proud of you, Indiana," he said.  He reached out to her, to embrace her.  Being a Force-shadow, though, the motion was almost hollow, because there was no contact.  It was the thought and emotion that counted.

            Tag signaled for the music to strike up again.  Although Davil was nothing more than a Force-shadow and could not truly touch his daughter, they shared the dance, as it should have been.  Tears shown in Indy's eyes as she danced with her father's ghost.  The one wish that she carried inside had been granted.  As the song ended, Indy whispered, "I love you, Daddy."

            Davil's Force-shadow smiled.  "I know, Indy.  I love you very much.  Remember, I am always watching you, and I am very proud to have you and your brother as my children.  Good-bye, I love you."  With those words, the figure vanished.  Everyone present had seen it and was left awed.

            Mike stepped onto the floor where his wife stood and put his arms around her.  She grasped his hands as they went around her shoulders, tears streaming down her cheeks, staring at the floor, at the place her father had just occupied.

            On the floor lay a single rose--Davil Bridger's favorite flower.

            For the moment, the dancing had stopped, and all of the unmarried women who were present had gathered on the dance floor.  Indy was standing on a chair, her bouquet in her hands.  "All right!  In accordance with Corellian tradition and that of my family line, I will be throwing this thing twice."  She motioned with the bouquet, then pointed to Mike, who held her garter.  "He will be throwing that garter twice."  She drew a deep breath and grinned.  "OK, here goes....."  She turned around, then glanced over her shoulder to see where Tag was.  She let the bouquet fly.

            There was a mad scramble to grab the bouquet, but Tag struggled out from under the dog-pile with the bouquet in her hands.  "Yeah!"

            Indy laughed and accepted the bouquet again as Tag stepped off to the edge of the dance floor to cuddle with Del.  Indy turned around and tossed the bouquet again.

            "Mine!!!!"  Someone screeched.

            It was about five minutes before Astrid came up with the bouquet, a huge, silly grin on her face.

            Indy hopped off the chair and walked over to Mike, smiling.  He caught her around the waist and kissed her before walking to the chair as all of the unmarried men filled the floor........

Mike Bullian (KngCaldor3@aol.com)

            Mike smiled as the time came to toss the garter.  Cheering accompanied his reaching and removal, he turned his back to the crowd and flung it backwards where all the single men scrambled over each other to catch it.  Del simply reached up and it landed in his hand.  Del walked over to Mike and handed the garter to him, reserving the right to put it back on Indy for the second guy that catches it.  Mike turned his back on the crowd and flung it again, Plop! right in Mynok's empty glass.  Mynok stood up and Mike patted him on the back.  Mynok put the garter back on Indy's leg, the tradition being the higher he goes the longer the marriage would be happy.  And high he did go, almost to the point that Mike would chop off his head for.  The crowd cheered once again as Indy stood up with Mike.  The band started to play a slow dance and they danced for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them wanting the moment to end.  Mike kissed her and Indy kissed him back, they held each other like this for what seemed an eternity, yet again neither of them wanted the moment to end, ever...

Dack Mauldeer (Xwing884@aol.com)

            Dack had put on his ceremonial suit from new Talay, a nice black color. He was now standing with his hands clasped together. He smiled as the couple were wed. He hadn't found the right woman yet, since Jen Ares. The girl was beautiful. Then, he forced himself to push back the memory of her leaving...

            He clapped his hands as they were wed. He was glad to see his friend from Phoenix finally settle down.

            Dack stood up, bring his glass up with him. "I'm not going to make a big, grand speech, don't worry. I just want to say good luck. I'm young, and haven't yet met the right girl for me. But, I'm glad one of my best friends has found his." He raised his glass even more. "A toast to the new couple, guys and gals, and a toast to Aurora's Future!"

            The others nodded, and they all drank.

Carlos DeLong (BodoBaasJM@aol.com)

Carlos DeLong, in full RSCD dress (he hadn't appropriated an Aurora Force uniform yet), watched as Indy danced with the soul of her father.  The emotion that seemed to be arcing throughout the room like an electric circuit was starting to bring tears to eyes.  He put his arm around Janice Osren, the young traffic controller who had accompanied him to the wedding (and to a few nights in the bar, though they were moving slowly), and held her close as she began to cry with joy.  His tears were of joy mixed with a hint of sadness.  He envied Indy and Slate for their memories.  Granted, some of those memories brought on great sadness, but he could not believe that sadness was worse than the pain of not knowing.  But he could not dwell on that.  He knew, deep down, that he would someday find the memories of his family.  The joy that felt at seeing two members of his new family united in holy matrimony, however, was stronger than his envy.  He could be happy for them.  As a more general dance started he grinned and led Janice in a waltz, which was one of those things he could remember but not how he had learned it or why.  But then he got caught up in the music and did something that came naturally to him.  He had fun.

The dance had ended, and the guests prepared to eat the cake and give Mike and Indy their warmest regards.  As was custom, Indy was going to cut the first slice from the cake.  She picked up the knife and was about to cut the slice from the three story cake, when she saw a note attached to the cake.

"Hey, there's a note here," said Indy, "'To my friends and comrades Mike and Indy:  Congratulations on your wedding.  I spent a while trying to figure out what to give the two of you as a wedding gift.  I finally realized that the best thing to do would be to please your palettes.  Therefore, I baked you this cake for the reception.  I'll probably owe the kitchen staff here on the Imladris about a week of KP duty, but it was worth it.  May your marriage be filled with happiness and good memories.  Your friend, Carlos DeLong.'  Thanks Carlos!"  Indy said.  She and Mike were rather touched by the gift.

"No problem, you two.  It was my pleasure."  Carlos was grinning from ear to ear.  Part of that was because the joy in the room was infectious.  Another part was the fact that he simply smiled a lot.  The third part that he was there with a woman that he was starting to fall in love with.  Somehow he new that Janice felt the same way.

Indy cut the first slice.  The Imladris’s stewards took over the job and eventually the cake was passed around to all of the guests.  Someone proposed a toast to the newlyweds.  The toasts moved down the tables until it was Carlos's turn.  He stood up and raised his glass of ice water.

"To Mike and Indy:  May they love as well as they fight, and may they fight as well as they love."

"I'll drink to that," said Mike.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(later that night)

After all the cake had been devoured and all the guests had left, Carlos and Janice had moved to the observation lounge to have another drink.  She shared his aversion to alcohol, so they both had ice water. 

"Why do we do it Carlos?" asked Janice, "Why do we constantly risk it all to fight the Empire?  We just saw a wedding.  We just saw two warriors achieve a kind of happiness that most of us don't."  Her questions were not due to cowardice.  Many times in her previous postings to other ships, Janice Osren had held her post when others fled.  She was just merely introspective at times like this, and a lonely observation deck, at midnight, with a good view of the galaxy, was a perfect place for introspection.

"Janice, that marriage we saw will probably work out.  Someday they may have kids.  The reason we fight, my dear," said Carlos, "is to make the galaxy safe for those future kids.  That’s why we put it on the line.  That’s why we're gonna win."

Maniac (Cptmaniac@yahoo.com)

When the time to toast came around to Maniac, most of

the usual ones had been done already.  But that was

OK, no one had used the one that he had in mind.

Raising his glass (filled with VERY sweet iced tea) he

spoke.  "Ladies and Gentlemen!  I propose a toast.....

to Silver Bullets!  Good Luck Mike and Indy!"

The room erupted with cheers, several scowls, and one

blushing newlywed couple.  Although Mike seemed to

have a twinkle in his eye, while Indy had a nervous

look in hers.

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