EPISODE I - THIRTY: DOWN AND OUT OF HERE!

Trickster Squadron continued to buzz every visible section of the compound if it looked like it might serve as an exit. A few occasional military personnel would wander out to the landing fields to discover there were no ships left to fly. The route under the train's suspension track, leading back to K'owan City looked like a river of Aporothi flowing out to the seaside as the workers retreated to safety. 

Dom Browhar swung his X-Wing back toward the multipurpose field he'd run across a few days earlier. The weather was far fairer than it was the first time he laid eyes on it. Crossing it in the darkness and the rain felt like it took forever. He made a quick and easy pass across it in his ship and saw nothing. He traveled outward from the area and circled back to it, but from a different angle. 

Just as Dom was about to commit his ship to move onto the next area, he saw spotted some movement next to one of the storage bunkers. He put his fighter into a barrel roll. Down below, a figure jumped and flailed its arms to get the pilot's attention. Dom slowed down his X-Wing a touch to get a better look. He wasn't one hundred percent certain, but he thought it might be Almeida. Coming from the building was a First Order officer, also waving his arms as he ran. It confused him for a moment, but he remembered Dex had stolen an officer's uniform back at the environmental control hub. 

Browhar rocked the wings of the fighter to acknowledge that he saw them. "Attention all Tricks--I have eyes on Almeida and Balagon."

"What about the old folks?" asked Pal.

"I don't see them," he responded with a trace of worry. "It's possible they got out with the rest of the workers just so they could blend in."

Paloame felt that concern herself. "Yeah... possible scenario, I guess."

Jai cut into the conversation because he knew they needed to get their fellow fliers off of the tarmac as quickly as they could. "I'm positioned closest to K'owan City, so I'm gonna let Sil know we're ready for her."

"Copy that, Five," Dom acknowledged. "Lady One-Arm and I will keep our eyes on the cargo. I need the rest of you to make sure we don't have any incoming bandits so Narvo can get the Kaadu in and out as quickly as she can."

Several minutes had passed without any communications between the pilots until Niono Barg announced to the rest of the squadron, "I have a tri-wing shuttle lifting off near one of the northern structures. It might be the one that came down with us, but I'm not sure--I can't ever tell these things apart." Just then, he witnessed the ground opening up near the area where the shuttle originated. "Whoa!" he shouted.

"What's going on by you, Four?" demanded Browhar.

"You know that large disc-ish thing that we were taking shots at?"

"Yeah?"

"That whole thing and some of the other stuff around it is falling into this really massive hole," Barg replied in awe of what he'd just witnessed.

"That must've been the epicenter of their energy extraction unit!" cheered Feege.

Dom didn't feel like losing any of his pilots today. "Feege, get away from that hole and all pilots stay away from it--we don't know how it's going to react! What's that shuttle doing, Barg?"

"Just leaving," he said anticlimactically. "It's just heading up--probably heading back up to that fancy new Destroyer we ran into in orbit."

Paloame laughed. "I think that Star Destroyer almost ran into us!"

"If you want to get technical about it, Lam," Feege snickered.

A burst of static preceded Silara Narvo's familiar voice. She yelped, "Good afternoon, Trickster Squadron! I was wondering what was taking you guys so long. Worry no more because the cavalry's here. If you wouldn't mind guiding me in, I'll pick up the precious cargo and we'll be out of here!"

Pal, feeling a little guilty about doubting Silara's intentions, was the first to step up to escort her down for the rescue. Browhar flanked Sil's starboard as they descended upon the duracrete field below.

"Hey, guys--there's a lot of burning stuff below us. Did you leave anything intact?"

Paloame Lam was clearly in a good mood. She giggled again. "Some of that burning stuff is because of Dex and Adria. We can't be held accountable for torching everything on this planet!"

"Fair enough," Sil conceded. "I'm touching down now. ZP-QA, lower the boarding ramp so we can get your people and get out of here."

The Blue Kaadu gently set down near the bunker where the two Resistance pilots were taking cover. They ran past a flaming cargo container and some power conduits that were throwing sparks across the ground. 

ZP-QA squealed an "all clear" to Silara once Dex and Adria boarded the craft.

Sil turned back to the droid and asked, "are there only two? What about Irie and Etler?"

Dex rushed up to the cockpit and shook his head bluntly. Sil's heart sank. She brought the Ansons into all of this and felt responsible for their untimely ending. Dex donned a headset and situated himself in the co-pilot's chair. "I know what you're thinking, Sil, but it was their choice and they did well." 

Silara knew that he was right, but it still didn't make her feel better about it. She'd been running this whole secret intelligence game for a while and this was the first time she'd had any reservations about involving anyone who hadn't been trained or at least somewhat committed to the cause.

Balagon flipped a couple switches on the console, activating his personal comm system. He looked at Narvo and nodded. "Alright, get us out of here!"

The Kaadu rose into the smoke-filled sky, flanked by the two X-wings. Silara directed the pilots to proceed ahead and depart Aporoth airspace, but Dom insisted that he should provide cover until the shuttle achieved a successful jump into hyperspace. She removed her headset and undid her seat harness. Turning to Dex she said, "I need you to take me back to K'owan City. There's some cleanup work I need to do there for General Organa. I need to make sure the whole First Order facility is shut down--not that I have any doubts about it, but we need to ensure Aporoth is back in the hands of its own government."

"I get that," Dex conceded. "Just let me know where we need to get you."

"Drop me on the beach. That'll allow you a clear and quick departure."

"That works for me. When you get back there, send Adria up. Thanks for your help, Sil. We couldn't have done this without you."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," she said with a laugh. "Good luck and may the Force be with you, commander."

"Zip, I'm getting in the pilot's seat," he informed his astromech. "I need you to fly the ship for a second while I'm settling in."

The little droid scooted out of Silara's way as she walked past him. He plugged his scomp link into a socket to carry out his master's orders and locked his wheels in the event the ride got a little bumpy.

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Captain Tanga's shuttle arrived back at the Isolator, landing in the docking bay with the only operating doors. The Isolator's crews anticipated the captain's return and diligently worked to repair the damage done by the Resistance snub fighters. They were surprised at the efficiency in which the pilots managed to take out their systems but weren't certain if that information should be included in their reports to Tanga. 

The captain exited the craft and strode through the hangar, past work crews, and flight deck personnel. All of them kept to their tasks and didn't make eye contact with him. It was better to create the impression that this was just business as usual and that there was nothing to react to. Tanga's reputation as a sadistic disciplinarian was well-known among the ranks and there was no need for any of them to find out first-hand what methods he'd employ to punish any or all of them for whatever reason he felt they'd given him--or even if he just felt moved to do so. 

Walking deeper into the heart of the Star Destroyer, Tanga focused only on the conversation he intended on having with General Hux. But where to begin? How much of the story would he include... should he include?  One thing was certain: Benemer Strim was dead and Tanga could lay all the blame on him for the failure and destruction of the Aporoth facility. He continued to walk and thought to himself, and so it should be.

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If a quick and safe exit hadn't already been nearly impossible for the passengers and crew aboard the Blue Kaadu, the two fast approaching bogeys on its scopes intended on further complicating matters. ZP-QA howled a frustrated sounding stream of noise at anyone listening. Dex put the ship into a dive to allow his escort ships clearance to loop back towards the incoming TIE fighters.

"Suggestions? Anyone?" Dex shouted down to the hold. "Whatever we think we're gonna do to get Narvo on the ground, we're not going to have much time to do it."

Adria poked her head up and offered, "Escape pod?"

"Don't we only have just the one?" Balagon inquired.

"Two?"

Dex was getting annoyed. He had to overshoot the drop area by quite a stretch to avoid the fighters and to find a suitable solution to accommodate Silara's exit. "Are you asking me or telling me, Almeida?"

"I'm telling you we have two!"

Silara emerged to voice her disapproval of the idea. "I'd rather not take one of your pods and also if we jettison too high up, I might get shot down and if you do it too low, the force of the release could possibly kill me."

"Good points!" His words boomed through the cockpit. "How do you feel about a tuck and roll exit?"

"A tuck and roll exit? You want me to jump out of a fleeing shuttle?"

"Well, not at full speed!"

Narvo's expression soured as she processed the suggestion. "So...?"

"We'll skim the beach and slow the Kaadu. Adria will drop the loading ramp and you can roll off the end of it into the sand. Once you're safely out, she'll give me the 'all-clear' and I'll punch it."

She still didn't like the plan, but it was either that or risk getting them all blown out of the sky or off the beach and off the beach, while still risky, seemed to be the option with everyone's best interests in mind. She also didn't feel like accompanying them to wherever it was they were going next, even if that place was D'Qar and she could grab a little face time with General Organa. "Oh...," Silara said with her voice trailing off. "I guess that's fine."

"Okay, get into position. We're coming up on your stop, kid!"

Silara ran to the back of the ship and grabbed one of the ramp's hydraulic struts. She nodded a "ready" to Adria, who responded by disengaging the ramp's locking mechanism. A deep mechanical clank resonated through the chamber and was followed by a quiet hiss of the cabin's air pressure equalizing itself. Sil bent her knees and assumed a crouching position in preparation for departure. She still didn't like it but had to commit to the plan regardless of her misgivings about it.

"I see a good spot coming up," Dex apprised the two women in the hold. And then he saw something approaching in the distance. "You might want to grab onto something. It looks like Dom and Pal are pursuing a lone TIE that's heading our way. I'm gonna nose-dive to get out of their path and get Sil on the ground in one piece."

On the ground, thought Sil. I'll be pleased if I hit the ground and live!

The Kaadu plummeted fifty meters or so, causing each of the biologicals onboard to feel like their hearts had dropped into their stomachs. Zip, on the other hand, yipped as he struggled to keep his scomplink locked into its port.

Dex whooped, "whoa--that felt good!"

Adria and Silara looked at each other, shrugged and both shouted back an uncertain, "okay!"

"Adria," Dex directed. "Drop the ramp! Sil?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for everything and may the Force be with you."

Silara quietly smiled to herself and then to Adria, nodding a thank you to the tall woman at the controls before she gingerly stepped to the edge of the ramp.

The Blue Kaadu gently shook as Dex followed the topography of the beach, adjusting the altitude of the craft so Silara didn't have too far to fall. It was fortunate that the beaches near K'owan City were clear of tree trunks and other dead vegetation or other inorganic debris that washed up on the shore. He piloted the vehicle over a slight rise and indicated to the passengers that the best jump point was up ahead.

Silara Narvo steadied herself, winked at Adria and tucked herself into a ball. Just before making her own departure, she tossed her rucksack off the ramp. She plummeted a couple meters down to the soft, warm sand and ended her exit in a roll. Sil could see Adria Almeida watching her from inside the ship, so she waved to let her know that she landed unharmed. The Resistance pilot waved back and the loading ramp began to close.

Sil didn't know if she would work with them again, but she confessed to herself that she had fun. She'd enjoyed the looseness of the team and the witticisms that flew fast and frequently between them. They spoke her language and it felt organic to her. She began to miss them as the little cargo shuttle rose into the sky and disappeared from sight.

The young woman stood up. She brushed the sand off of her body and clothes and walked to retrieve her gear bag down along the way. There was still a lot to do and reports to complete for General Organa and then she was off to someplace else. Nowhere in particular, but somewhere.