It's off to work we go...

Reading Room

The three ships exited the blue swirling tunnel of hyperspace and emerged into realspace just above the third moon of the planet Salliche III. They visibly decreased their velocity and turned to make their way to their docking co-ordinates, the two Transports following the Shuttle's lead. A few clicks away an Alliance Blockade Runner and a Freighter floated in space, docked together and protected by the watchful shadow of the Frigate circling nearby.

Shortly after their arrival, and as the small convoy made its way towards the ships, two A-Wings fell silently into formation alongside the Shuttle, escorting it and the two Transports to its rendezvous with the Corvette Post-Haste.

Zhom "Cheetah" Kh'Arli, Lynx Commando's Commander, looked out at the escorting fighters and grinned when he saw the markings on one of the A-Wings'. Its hull had a spider-web painted on it, and the logo on the tail clearly distinguished it as Wolfshead 9. He observed the other A-Wing to see if it too had been custom painted, but other than the logo which indicated it as being Wolfshead 4, it had no other distinctive features.

"Commander Kh'Arli," A young girl's face appeared from behind the door which lead to the Shuttle's cabin. "Wolfshead Squadron's CO has made radio contact, and would very much like to have a word with you." She opened the door further to indicate he should accompany her inside the Shuttle's cabin.

Zhom unbuckled himself from his seat and accepted her invitation in silence. Inside the cabin the young girl offered him a seat at one of the consoles from where he would be able to speak with Wolfshead's CO.

"Commander Kh'Arli." Came a lively female voice. "I am Wolfshead's Commanding Officer, Avery "Foxfire" Schroeder. Please let me be the first to welcome you to your new home."

"Thankyou Commander, but we have not yet arrived, so I'm afraid your welcome is a bit premature." He said. He already knew Wolfshead Squadron was commanded by a woman, so he wasn't surprised when he heard her voice.

"I was hoping you might have some time to come aboard the Wolf's Den long enough for us to have an informal meeting," Avery pursued. "So we might be able to get better acquainted."

Zhom looked at his watch. "We are on schedule, so I don't see why not." He said. "As long as it doesn't delay me and my men too much. We still have a lot of work to do on the Post-Haste."

"No need to worry Commander, it shall only be a few minutes at the most. Foxfire out." She cut the comm amid a few crackles of static, and Zhom realised she must also be out in space with the other pilots flying cover while Lynx arrived at their new home.

"I can tell the Bear and the Unicorn to dock with the Post-Haste while we go to the Wolf's Den." He trailed off with some unintelligible explanation which Zhom didn't listen to anyway.

"Very well." Was all he said as he disappeared and went back to the passenger's area.

Janicke, the Shuttle's navigator, raised her eyebrows as Kh'Arli left the cabin. "Nice going little brother," She said mockingly, "I guess you'll be at the top of the list for the next party he throws!"

"Naw. Don't be so harsh on yourself. From what I've heard he even treats his mother like that!" Janicke tried to console him.

"You actually mean a monster like that has a mother?!" Christian said. They both had a short laugh, easing somewhat the tension of the past weeks, during which they had been assigned to Lynx's training facilities, and had been transporting Kh'Arli and other important Alliance personnel back and forth between the secret base and Alliance Headquarters.

After the short respite Janicke got on the radio with the Bear and the Unicorn, Lynx Commando's two Space Ops Transports, and told them what the plan was. A few moments later the two ships peeled away from the Shuttle's rear and its escort and made their way to the New Republic Corvette which was just starting to undock from the Freighter. The Troubadour meanwhile continued its short trip to the Wolf's Den main hangar bay. Two X-Wings entered barely moments before the Shuttle did, obviously Wolfshead's CO and another command officer, and then it was the Troubadour's turn, gliding in softly and touching down with barely a bump.

Janicke put a hand on her brother's shoulder and smiled warmly at him. He returned it, acknowledging her silent praise at his piloting skills, and then the two got up to open the shuttle's ramp.

But Kh'Arli was already keying in the commands on the ramp's keypad, accustomed as he was to not have to wait for anyone to do these things for him. With a hiss and thump the Shuttle's ramp slowly began to descend, a swirl of steam forming at its base.

As Lynx Commando's Commander descended, he was followed by the rest of his men, eager to stretch their legs and see the interior of another ship other than the Shuttle's after their long flight. At the end of the ramp, helmet under arm, and orange flightsuit on, stood a woman and a tall man.

"Commander Kh'Arli, It's a pleasure." Avery said, stepping forward and extending a greeting hand as he reached the end of the ramp. "I'm Commander Avery Schroeder, and this is Captain Lewis Gregory, my Ops Officer."

Lewis stepped forward, and with a formal smile on his face greeted Zhom Kh'Arli. "Its a pleasure." He said as he shook the man's hand firmly.

Kh'Arli just nodded his head to each of them in turn and then took a step back as the rest of his unit presented itself to the pilots. Once all the introductions had been done with Avery indicated for Kh'Arli to accompany her as they took a short stroll around the not very active hangar. Lewis meanwhile tried to think of something interesting to talk about with the rest of the commandos, and having been in the Infantry himself before becoming a pilot he hoped this wouldn't be too difficult.

"I hope everything is going according to planned?" She asked after a short silence.

"Fortunately it is." Kh'Arli answered. "Although it's very hard for things to get done on time nowadays, with so many 'rules and regulations' to follow, it's a miracle the Empire hasn't overthrown our power through bureaucracy.

Avery looked up at the man to try and determine whether he was joking or whether he was serious. He was serious.

Avery was a bit taken aback by this statement, and was not going to say anything at first, having heard of Kh'Arli's rather brusque manners, but eventually couldn't refrain herself. "But you must understand a certain amount of order must be maintained if we're to remain in power and not let another 'Empire' do with the galaxy what it pleases; and more importantly not turn ourselves into what we have been fighting against for so long too." Avery felt very strongly about the New Republic, and it disturbed her to see a man such as Kh'Arli, who had played such an important role in getting here, and who would doubtless play an even bigger role maintaining it, disregard it as he was doing now.

Zhom stopped in his tracks and looked at Avery squarely. "I'm a warrior, ma'am, not a politician. If I have to wait for some bureaucrat to confirm my orders my men get killed, and if that happens more lives will follow. So you see, I don't have the time to wait until some old lifeless office worker has gone through the 'New Republic Rule Book' to tell me what I can do or do not. I have to act in the blink of an eye, because our enemies don't have rules, and that will be the determining factor between victory or defeat."

Avery understood what Zhom was trying to say. As a fighter pilot she had seen many Imperial barbarities, and realised that now they were on the run they would stop even less at causing more harm wherever they went. But an example had to be set, and the New Republic couldn't be expected to be taken seriously if they resorted to the same tactics the Empire had used before them. Still, she decided to drop the matter and pursue another one altogether. She knew that with time Kh'Arli would come to terms with the new era in which they lived, but only he could do that, and no matter of discussion from her part could convince him otherwise.

They resumed their short stroll, walking amongst the various fighters Wolfshead Squadron had at its disposal, and checking up on the various repairs being carried out on a few by the versatile Verpins and their Head Technician Mar Hanniuska.

"Since our collaboration is going to be rather tight at times I've thought it convenient our two crews got to know each other better." Avery continued. "To this end I was hoping some of your men could spend some time on the Wolf's Den, and in exchange some of us could also spend time on the Post-Haste."

Avery put her hands up in anticipation to the various protests he would surely come up with. "I know you're very busy at the moment with the finishing touches to your Corvette's refurbishment, so that is why I was hoping you would think this over more carefully, and we can discuss it after the major modification to your ship has taken place."

Zhom shook his head in disbelief. "It's not that I disagree with your idea entirely, it's more that the group I've assembled is hardly a first prize in the 'social' category. We had a hard time as it was dealing with each other while the Post-Haste was being repaired, and we knew even then that we were going to form a unit." He looked down at Avery and offered her what resembled a smile. "I would hate to think what they could come up with amongst your men. But I promise to give it a thought."

Avery smiled appreciatively. She realised he was trying to make an effort to not seem too abrupt, but she also knew he must be eager to get to his own ship and finally settle in. "Well," She said as they approached the Shuttle Troubadour and the six other Commandos standing below it. "I've taken enough of your time as it is."

Seeing Avery and Zhom walking towards them the Commandos began drifting back inside the Shuttle. Lewis raised a hand to bid them farewell but rapidly pulled it down again as he saw them leave without as much as a nod.

Reaching the ramp Kh'Arli turned to salute and say good-bye to the two pilots. "We'll be in contact." Was the last thing he said before disappearing inside the Troubadour.

Avery and Lewis moved away as the ramp went up, and then watched the Shuttle slowly leave the hangar, on its way to its new home.

"So, what's that grim face for?" Lewis asked Avery, seeing the dark look on her features.

"Oh, it's nothing." She smiled up at him reassuringly. "You know me! Miss paranoia!"

They both laughed as they went back to their fighters and headed back out to space. It was the first time all of Wolfshead Squadron had been forced to fly cover for a simple docking operation, but the stakes of this mission were much higher than on normal occasions. In theory Lynx posed no greater threat to the fleeing Imperials than any other commando unit, but in truth they were a force that when at its best was totally unbeatable.

As the Shuttle Troubadour reached and docked with the Corvette Post-Haste, Lynx Commando's new base of operations, and a valuable addition to the Frigate Wolf's Den firepower, the two Transports which had previously docked with it headed back to the Wolf's Den, where they would be temporarily posted until the Post-Haste underwent a major overhauling, adding to it two small hangars where the Transports would be permanently docked to.

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