Silence (Bette)

[Tannis V'larr]

As Bette steered them for their flightmates, Tannis continued salvaging the systems the EMP had overloaded -- targeting control, active scanners, communications, computer guidance. Surely it was plain bad luck that the freighter captain had an EMP generator at all. Such a device would blind his allies just as easily as his enemies. It was fortunate that Bette's first torpedo had already hulled the transport so she couldn't escape.

"The EMP aside, I think the attack went as well as we could have hoped," Tannis mused. "Even if we cannot recover the freighter's flight recorder, I believe we have gathered more than sufficient data to consider this mission a successful test. My congratulations."

It may have seemed an impertinent thing to say to his superior, though Tannis was one of a handful of official "experts" evaluating the Wraiths' performance under Shadow Squadron's care. But there was also gratitude in his voice, if you knew what to listen for. Bette's skill had allowed the Shadowhunter to give a very good account of herself.

[Bette Davis]

Bette smiled in response, but Tannis couldn't see her face. "Of course, an EMP would have disabled any fighter, not just the Wraith. I don't think that simply because an ion blast will fry your electricals makes a ship a failure." That line of reasoning made her wonder what an ion blast would do to the Wraith, and decided she didn't want to find out. There was a lot of sensitive equipment strapped to her butt, and the thought of it overloading was ...uncomfortable.

The saftey of the dust cloud loomed ahead, but there was a flicker on the sensors. A red light started to blink silently. "Uh oh." Bette gritted her teeth. "I've got something big dropping out of hyperspace right on top of us!"

A smallish capital ship ripped its way into real space off their port bow, and Shooter veered away from it, punching up the sublights as high as they'd go. "Get me an emergency jump programmed!"

[Tannis V'larr]

Tannis sprung into action. "Plotting... hyperdrive power is still not available! We need to take evasive... Oh, gods..."

The Sikarran half-breed rarely emited anything resembling an oath, but what his sensor readouts were telling him chilled even his copper-based blood.

The comm. crackled to life. "...repeat, can anyone hear me? This is the Corellian starliner Mercury Swan requesting assistance from any imperial or allied vessel... Attacked by pirates, forced into an emergency jump. We've got wounded on board..."

"Bogey is a DY-1500 commercial civilian transport," Tannis reported. "Passenger compliment of two hundred fifty. Their navigational systems and deflectors are badly damaged. Reactors near critical. Numerous life signs aboard, Commander."

[Bette Davis]

Bette's mouth set in a firm line even as Shadowhunter continued to streak away from the wounded vessel. "We can't hear them, because we don't exist, Lieutenant. Get me the hyperdrive back if you can."

They could make a small emergency jump out of the system and then jump back to the Termagant, the Mercury Swan would be none the wiser. Grisham could collect the rest of Bravo flight on his way out if they never showed. She couldn't risk trying to communicate with the Defenders waiting on them, not with the starliner behind them in prime position to pick up any comm chatter.

[Tannis V'larr]

Tannis stared at the sensor readings he'd learned to read so well. In his mind's eye he could see the ruined starliner slowly spinning, a helpless hulk like the freighter they'd just decimated, leaking a volatile combination of fuel and oxygen.

"Is anyone there? We've got children aboard, for gods' sakes..."

The Sikarran halfbreed hesitated -- one hand over the emergency beacon, one over the navigational controls.

[Bette Davis]

Bette roughly clicked off the comm, silencing the distress call. "Snap out of it, Lieutenant! If we get seen out here, you'll wish it was only your career that would be over." The concealing dust formation that hid the rest of Bravo flight was still several minutes away at full sublight.

If the Mercury Swan still had sensors - and they did, according to the readout she was getting - then the hotter they burned the easier it would be to see them. And if they were spotted....

"Tannis!" Bette twisted around to try to get her eyes on him. She couldn't. "I'm sure you'd rather we left those kids here than making me fly over there and vape them. If we get back to the Termagant we can alert the brass and a rescue team can be sent out."

It was far more likely that those at the top would simply come back and destroy the Swan. The Wraith was too top secret to risk anyone leaking news about it to the general public. She softened her tone, "The faster we get out of here, the better it'll be for these folks."

[Tannis V'larr]

Bette's was only one of the voices of reason cycling in Tannis's brain -- the pragmatic voice, the moral voice, the voice of duty -- all of them analyzing the situation from their respective angles, pursuing all forseeable eventualities. Most ended badly.

Two hundred fifty... Small compared to what other recent Imperial military projects had cost.

They wouldn't even be out here if not for the mission. The starliner would be at the mercy of the smugglers and Rebels.

Yet they were here. And that damned the Mercury Swan even more.

Eyes flickering between his two options, Tannis felt his hands move and act before his still-divided mind could intervene.

And his voice caught up shortly. "Hyperdrive is online. Coordinates plotted. We are ready to jump, Commander."

[Bette Davis]

She slapped the hyperdrive controls, the g-forces momentarily pressing the two pilots back into their seats. After a few moments they reverted back to realspace, and Tannis silently ran another system check while Bette scanned the area. Nothing. Thank the gods, if there were any.

The second jump back to the Termagant was plotted in more silence, and Shadowhunter eased back into hyperspace. Bette absently drummed her fingers on the console again. "Got anything planned for after the mission, V'larr?"

[Tannis V'larr]

Tannis was quiet for several moments, staring blankly into the cycling vortex before them.

"Compiling the mission data... correlating with the data from previous field tests... drafting my report... conducting simulations based on actual flight and performance models..."

[Bette Davis]

Obsessing over the Mercury Swan and busying myself with paperwork. Bette could read between the lines. At least, she thought she could. "I was thinking about hitting the officer's lounge and having a beer. Or five."

She offered the viewscreen in front of her a wry smile. "Nothing like a little celebratory drinking after a job well done."

[Tannis V'larr]

Tannis couldn't see the smile, but he could hear it in her voice. And he knew what she was trying to do.

"I appreciate the offer, Commander. But I'm afraid I don't drink."

[Bette Davis]

"So I've noticed." She frowned, "Why is that, exactly? Religious beliefs?"

Bette closed her eyes, leaning back in her seat. They had ten more minutes before the jump was over.

[Tannis V'larr]

"Biochemistry," Tannis replied. "Alcohol is toxic to my neurophysiology."

He resisted appending moreso than to humans'.

[Bette Davis]

"Oh." That sucked. For him, that is. Shooter gave up on small talk, and the duo traveled the rest of the way in silence.

The Wraith reverted to real space right on time, just beyond the Termagant. They were about twenty minutes ahead of schedule due to missing their rendevous with the rest of Alpha and Bravo group.

[Tannis V'larr]

A scant half-hour later, they had docked and disembarked. Bette dispatched an alert to command about the Swan -- from that point, it was someone else's responsibility.

Officially, anyway.

Grisham and the rest of the Shadows returned shortly afterward, and both Bette and Tannis endured some dubious glares and snide comments from the commander for having kicked it in early. And then they were turned loose. Some of the pilots were headed up to the officer's club to celebrate. Tannis, to no one's real surprise, opted out.

An hour later, he was sitting in his rack cross-checking the flight logs from both Wraiths, trying to determine why the cloak hadn't recovered from the freighter's EMP, when something came noisily through the barracks door.

[Bette Davis]

Bette tried to tiptoe into the barracks, but kicked someone's trunk as she came in the door and sent some hopefully non-destructable items crashing to the ground. Grabbing the bunk nearest her, she steadied herself, a bottle clutched in her free hand. She didn't have any glasses with her, but then she wasn't planning on sharing, so it didn't matter.

No one else was in their bunks yet, but tomorrow was a free day and most of the Shadows were going to burn the midnight oil. Midnight liquor, more like it. Well, except for V'larr. The Professor was in his rack surrounded by papers.

Lieutenant Commander Davis stumbled a little as she walked between the bunks towards the back of the room, where her rack was located. She'd already ingested enough alchohol for one night, and in a hurry too, but she had time for more, especially considering the news she'd recieved from Grisham about ten minutes ago. The Swan's reactor had gone critical before rescue crews could get to her, and the ship and all hands had been lost. Sitting on her bunk, she tipped the bottle up, looking at Tannis out of the corner of her eye.