The air onboard the Pride of Olminar was thick with nervous energy, excitement, and dread too tenacious for the atmospheric scrubbers to cleanse. Even the droids seemed anxious, moving as they were with more than the usual deliberation instilled by their verbobrains' heuristic algorithms. The crew had been through enough operations to know their routines, but this raid was one of their riskiest, and everyone knew it.

Technician Fourth Class Reiko Hudson was one of the last to enter the armory. She'd been with the crew a little less than a year, and her combat training felt very, very far away. Try as she might, she couldn't keep her hands from shaking as she struggled to put on her assault armor.

"Here, let me help, Rei," offered Sera Rendix. She'd joined Razorclaw at just about the same time as Reiko, and they'd both gone through basic together, before their six months of advanced training sent them to separate campuses at Arclight.

"Thanks, Sera," Rei sighed. "Why aren't you nervous?"

"I'm plenty nervous, Rei-sha, I just hide it better than you. Plus, I'm Ballista. This is what we've trained for." The commando finished fitting Reiko's armor then suited up herself, adjusting the composite armor plates on her arms and legs. Her short, fiery red hair shown in the sharp light flooding the armory.

Sera checked her blaster rifle out of the locker, a Filvian Victory Arms G9R with the enhanced combat package— standard issue for Ballista commandos. She shoved a magazine into the well behind the handgrip, then put six more in the pouches on the front of her combat harness. She snapped a magazine of micro grenades into the housing under the barrel and tucked another quartet of five-round cylinders in pouches on her belt. The tall special forces soldier grabbed an assortment of hand grenades — ion poppers, concussion, and thermal detonators. Over her shoulder she said, "You sticking with your pistol?"

"I don't know. What should I take?" Reiko walked over to the arms locker, biting her lip.

"I'd go with a carbine, at least. If we meet up with stormtroopers you'll be glad for the extra punch."

"Okay." Reiko pressed her thumb on the lock plate. She heard the sound of machinery moving before the locker door opened. A compact PP40c blaster pistol and a G9 carbine hung at the back of the small compartment, along with an assortment of ammunition magazines and grenades. She took the carbine from the rack, pressed the button to extend the stock a few stops, then raised it to her shoulder to check the length.

"Looking good, Rei-sha, Sera remarked, walking up behind her. She took a magazine from the rack, put it in Rei's hand, then helped her insert it. "Slide it in just like that, then give it a pat on the bottom to make sure it's seated." She tapped Rei on her backside, a naughty grin on her face and a playful look in her green eyes.

Rei flushed, but Sera was giving her more instructions. "Next is your CCH." She helped Reiko to put on the combat harness and fastened the buckles over her chest, then slid the blaster pistol into the holster on the front. "Load up with mags," Sera advised while she attached some grenades to Hudson's belt.

When Rei finished packing the pouches, Sera took her hands. She drew Rei's right hand down to her hip. "Two concussion grenades." She repeated with the left. "One smoke, one droid popper." She slid both of Rei's hands around to the small of her back. Two thermal detonators at your back. Got it?"

Rei nodded.

"Good. Repeat it back to me."

"Concussion grenades on the right, smoke and EMP on the left, detonators behind."

"That's my girl," Sera smiled at the shorter engineering tech. "Grab your helmet, and don't forget your bag of gizmos. Gonna go check in with Javelin leader before we board. Remember, we're on Arbalest. I'm saving you a seat!" she called as she flew out the door, her boots pounding on the deck plates as she double-timed it toward the hangar deck.

Beside her, Taz was getting kitted up. Reiko thought he looked a little nervous too. "Are you scared, Officer Oktos?"

"Mmm," shrugged the medtech. Instead of a full set of assault armor, he was sliding semi-rigid caronite plates into his combat utility vest. "Not scared exactly, but I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to this." He grinned at her as he fastened the vest, swung his medic bag across his body, and then his carbine. He slipped his PP40c into its cross-draw holster. "Nothing to worry about, though. Tess — Warrant Officer Daro will get us where we're going in one piece, and the Ballista commandos will secure the area before we take a step out of the sloop." He thumbed toward the doorway. "Stick close to your friend; she looks like she knows what she's doing. Remember your callsign?"

"Support-Six. Yes sir."

"Good." He tapped his chest. "Medic-Two. Look for me if you need any holes patched up." He put on a confident grin. "Let's get down to the hangar, Hudson-aktuu."

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"There they are sir!" exclaimed Barou as the Imperial convoy streaked into realspace.

Joniah keyed the ship's intercom. "The Imperial convoy has just emerged from hyperspace. Combat stations, all hands." The alert klaxon sounded.

"ECM full-spectrum, Miss Jaruknik. Jam their comms too. Let's make sure they don't see us or send a distress call."

"Yessir," growled the imbish, her three-fingered forelimbs flitting across the panel that controlled Olminar's defensive countermeasures.

"Launch the Wraiths while we're at it," ordered colonel Rexler. "Give them some sensor ghosts to chase." He turned to the tactical officer. "What are we looking at, Shooter?"

Daxarnok glanced up from her tactical scope. "Imperial gunboats, YE-Fours, escorting two Action-class transports and an Arquitens cruiser, sir. Her transponder says she's the Retort."

"Your target is the cruiser, Captain." Rexler switched channels. "Razor Squadron, four YE-Fours and two Action series bulk freighters. Disable the gunboats if you can, destroy them otherwise." He received an acknowledgment from the hangar deck as the fighters began launching.

"Helm, get us to missile range on that cruiser."

"Aye, sir," replied Lily, increasing thrust on the ship's bank of powerful ion engines. The Olminar leaped forward, closing the distance with the Imperial convoy. The enemy cruiser, leading the formation, turned toward them.

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"Weps, I want plasma torpedoes on the enemy cruiser. Axial ion cannon when we're in range. Dorsal turrets will support Razor Squadron. Ventral turrets at your discretion. She'd make a great prize if we can keep her intact, so try not to blow her to pieces."

Rexler received acknowledgments from Dax and the weapons officers. He turned to his XO, who was manning the Olminar's ion railgun turret. "Emergency jump's been entered in the navcomp?"

"Yessir."

"Very well. Target those freighters' reactors. I don't want them jumping on us."

"Will do, sir."

"Forward shields to maximum," Avery ordered as their torpedoes streaked toward the oncoming Retort.

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Strapped into her safety harness on the Arbalest, Reiko jumped nervously as the first turbolaser exchanges erupted between the Pride of Olminar and the Imperial cruiser. The ship shook under repeated impacts to her shields and charged hull plates. The shuttle's intercom played a stream of calls from all over the Rebel vessel — damage reports, gunnery crews getting their ranges, deflector shield recycle rates, and remaining power. Captain Daxarnok kept up a steady cadence of commands. In human terms her voice was a strong contralto, but with that characteristic growl that Filvians had. It was especially noticeable when they spoke Basic. Reiko found it comforting, despite the vibrations and explosions jolting through the hull of the sloop.

Hudson felt very exposed, attached as they were to the Olminar's underside. She wondered what would happen if their little boarding ship got hit by a big turbolaser bolt from the Imperial cruiser. Probably something like scraping w'lorta hound crap off her shoe, but a lot messier. The notion made her blanch, and she regretted thinking it up.

Tess Daro's voice came over their helmet comms, cutting off the other sounds. "Okay people, we're up. Detaching in three... two… one… GO!"

Arbalest shivered and Reiko was pushed into her seat for an instant before the inertial dampers kicked in. The ship made a zig-zag course full of sudden speed and directional changes in all three axes. Rei yelped at the violent jerking of the ship and the buffeting it was taking from nearby explosions. "Sera-sha!" she yelped, clamping her hand down over Sera's and holding on for dear life.

"It's normal, Rei-sha. Nothing to worry about." She smiled at the young tech, though the expression was hidden behind her helmet. The other commandos were whooping, shouting, and cajoling each other, having the time of their lives. The whole thing made Reiko wonder what brand of insanity infected the Ballista troops.

Officer Daro's voice sounded over the speakers. "Less than a minute to contact, troopers. We're boarding an Arquitens cruiser. Her lateral firing arcs are poor so I'm shooting for a forced connection to one of the side docking rings. You'll have to blast your way in. Ride might get rough."

"Rougher than this?" cried Reiko and swallowed hard against the rising bile.

Major Naveen stood at the front of Arbalest's hold, the ventral docking hatch at her feet, apparently oblivious to the shaking and jerking of the sloop. "Alright, you heard the lady. Javelin-One, prep charges to blow the hatch. All troops, weapons check. Support and medical, wait for the all-clear, and try not to shoot anybody who isn't an Imperial."

In Arbalest's cockpit, Tess and her copilot D'nen Dagmudnok were working hard at not getting everyone on their ship killed. Daro was jinking the craft so hard the dampers couldn't keep up, and she hoped everyone in the back was clamped into their seats. She tilted her head to the starboard quarter. "Dagger— TIEs!"

"I see them, Daredevil," acknowledged the imbish. She keyed the comm to the troops. "Two TIEs inbound, starboard quarter. Keep them off us." A second later Arbalest's dorsal laser turret began firing its twin crimson beams as a Ballista commando powered up the weapon from the gunnery station on the assault deck. Green blasts from the TIEs flashed by the cockpit windows, making the forward shields shimmer. The enemy fighters followed a second later, banking away for another run, chased by a rain of red laser bolts from the escorting A-wings. One of the TIEs turned to ionized plasma and vapor under a barrage of laser fire. A second later Razor-4 streaked past. The pilot, M'nor Mologlik gave Arbalest a wave before her RZ-1 exploded under fire from the cruiser.

"MOONLIGHT!" Tess shouted Razor-4's callsign, but the little interceptor was gone in an expanding cloud of glowing gas and debris. Enraged and cursing, she put Arbalest into a steep dive and came alongside the Retort's starboard spar. "Guns and missiles!" she spat.

D'nen, tears in her dark eyes, triggered a fusillade of alternating ion and turbolaser blasts at the cruiser's lateral laser battery that overwhelmed the ray and particle shielding. The gun emplacement exploded in an immense fireball, leaving a gaping wound in the side of the ship. Filled with fury and distress, D'nen hoped every one of the cruiser's crew was caught in that explosion.

Tess flew Arbalest right through the blast, buffeted by the concussion. She kept her shuttle below the lateral cannons' firing arc, then swept it sharply up and routed full thrust through the forward nozzles on the engine nacelles. The shuttle jerked to a stop just athwart the Retort's starboard docking hatch, jarring all aboard. "Nacelles at neutral. Docking clamps, Dagger," she ordered, reining in her anger.

"Docking clamps, aye," repeated the copilot with a furious sniff of her broad nostrils. She worked the controls, extending the boarding grapples. The expandable docking collar slid out of its housing and sealed against the Retort's hull with a loud thunk that reverberated through the assault craft.

On the assault deck, the docking indicator on the ventral hatch flickered from red to green just as the artificial gravity turned off. "Collar and clamps secure," came D'nen's voice over the comm, still shaking with rage. "We lost Moonlight — Razor-Four. Get in there and light up every one of those p'nemstot!" she snarled the crude Filvian epithet with a ferocity that raised eyebrows even among the hard-bitten commandos.

Standing nearest to the ventral hatch controls, Sera slapped the release button. Javelin-One hopped down into the space that separated the Arbalest and the Retort, attached two breaching charges, and retreated. Sera closed the hatch.

"BREACH BREACH BREACH!" shouted Javelin-One and pressed a control on his vambrace. A terrific noise and a jolt went through the armored boots of the Ballista troops stacked up between the benches that lined the assault deck.

Major Naveen was at the front, her rifle pointed down at the hatch. Beside her, the Filvian Javelin-One thumbed his G9R's fire control, chambering a micro grenade from the rotary magazine under the barrel. "Pop it, Javelin-Eight," Naveen said to Sera, who slammed her palm against the big button again. Naveen took half a second to verify the Retort's hatch had been blown, then she and Javelin-One fired their micro grenades. They waited a moment for the ordnance to explode before diving headfirst through the hatch. The rest of Dart and Javelin squads poured into the Retort to the sounds of blaster fire.

Reiko tapped her boot heels on the floor, her hands squeezed into anxious fists to stave off the flutters in her stomach. She, Taz, fellow engineering tech Rennegan Salmek, and sensor tech N'gax Boragog were the only ones left in the compartment. Taz and Sal were checking their equipment. Officer Boragog, one of the older Filvians on the Olminar's crew, raised his restraint harness with an anguished look on his long face.

"When I'm nervous I find it helpful to do something, Hudson-aktuu. Why don't you recheck your equipment while we wait?"

"Of course, sir, good idea." Reiko opened her tool pouch and began verifying the contents. She looked up at the Filvian. "Did you know her? Razor-Four's pilot?"

"Yes, I did, very well. Mologlik-aktuu was an accomplished pilot and an excellent musician. She will be mourned, and dearly missed."

"I — I'm very sorry, sir," was all Reiko could think to say.

She was interrupted by Major Naveen's voice in her ear. "We're taking fire but the docking area is secure," she informed them through a crackle of static. "Support team, get in here."

"Showtime," quipped Sal. The lanky engineer went down first, followed by Boragog. Rei stood, her magnetic boots clicking on the shuttle deck. She fastened her tool pouch to her harness with a shaking hand. Taz stood beside her and tilted his head toward the hatch. "Nothing to worry about, Miss Hudson. I'll be right behind you."

"Yes sir," she acknowledged with a tremorous voice.

"Don't forget the gravity change. Crawl on all fours when you go through the cruiser's hatch until you get used to local 'down'."

She nodded nervously again, hopped from the deck, and floated through the access hatch, Taz a beat behind.