Adraméssia "Starfall" Makésa

I checked my chrono, 14:30 hours by ship's time, I'd better suit up. I stood, the chair rolled back across the floor a little as I nudged it with the back of my legs. I had already battle checked my flight suit no more than an hour ago, but I was still in the lighter, sleeveless body-glove that we all wear under our gear. I walked across my quarters, they were small and cramped - but at least they were individual, and took my suit off of the hanger on the locker door. It felt cool to the touch as I slipped my legs in one at a time and pulled it up to my waist. I then thrust my arms into the sleeves, grabbed the collar and gave it a sharp tug to position it over my shoulders, then I secured the fabric sealer. The uniform fit snuggly, not too tight, but not as baggy as the male version. The life support system is molded into a formed chest plate that snaps to the suit at the shoulders and on the sides. I picked up the heavy flight helmet and held it up in front of me, looking into the black polarized lenses. The first time I looked into those lenses was in flight school...

As she tucks the helmet under her arm the scene shifts to show a slightly younger Adraméssia Makésa standing amongst a long line of other uniformed students. The instructor, a major, stood facing the line while his assistant passed flight helmets to the pilot trainees.

"I am Major Zzhoren L'hnnar," he said with a deep growl, "and you are about the sorriest group of Makthier larvae to ever stand on the flight deck of Raithal Academy. Still, you did manage to pass the entrance exam, so I suppose you aren't completely brainless. Jaina Tinovorsh outscored the rest of you and has been selected cadet squadron leader."

I clinched my fist slightly, she had only beaten me by two points. Friendly competition had never hurt anyone, but I still don't like to loose. I turned my head and smiled at her, she was about three cadets down.  Jaina was average height and build with dusty brown hair.  She looked at me with a broad smile, and I could tell she was quite pleased with herself.

"Eyes front!" the major barked. I whipped my head back around to face him and he grimaced. He was a real "hard-ass" but I could tell it was mostly to keep us on our toes. I still can't believe that I let Jaina beat me by two points. I should have never begged my parents to help her get into Raithal, otherwise she would probably be scrubbing the floors alongside her mother in my parent's summer home back on Corulag. They certainly wouldn't have objected to that. "You should not be friendly to her," my mother would say, "she's beneath you." She was right, of course, but it didn't help that Jaina lived in the servant quarters and that I'm less than a year older than her. We practically matured together as sort of step-sisters. She also was a hard worker and vicious competitor, exceeding the standards in everything she did. Of course, I was always better, staying slightly ahead of her all the time. Which is why I can't imagine her outscoring me, it must have been a temporary lapse of my mental facilities.

"Dismissed!" the major growled, when he finished his rant on how "piss-poor" we all were and how he was going to "stomp all over our asses" when, not if, we screwed up. I didn't pay much attention to his endless impertinence. A life of privilege as the only child of one of the most noble families on Corulag taught me that those who tirade loudly are using intimidation to compensate for their lack of intelligence.

I turned and began to greet the others in my trainee squadron, starting with Jaina. "Congratulations, cadet squadron commander," I smiled slightly. I still held my helmet under my left arm, but I stood at ease with my legs slightly apart and my right arm tucked behind my back.

"Congratulations yourself, flight leader," she smiled back. She held her helmet by grabbing it on its edge and both of her arms were dangling almost like lifeless appendages, her posture was always deplorable. I nodded in reply to her statement. I'm sure she was slighting me delicately, she had learned sarcasm from me, but she had not yet mastered it.

My smile broadened, "I do hope you are up to the task, you wouldn't want to humiliate yourself."

Her smile diminished slightly and then she laughed. I laughed too and then introduced myself to another female cadet that was nearby. I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and turned slightly to acquire a clearer line of sight. He was also wearing the trainee uniform and he still carried his flight helmet underneath his arm. He was tall and stood with his legs together in a rigid, lofty posture. His dark hair looked as if every strand had been laid in precise position individually. He was well defined, not burly or brawny, but lithe and agile. Even across the room, I could tell that his eyes were a dazzling blue. I approached him, quickly introducing myself to others as I went.

Finally I stepped up beside him, he was talking to another trainee and as he spoke I could tell that his social stature was superior to most everyone else in the room. His vocabulary was eloquent and he talked with a manner of sophistication. I faced another cadet, not wanting to seem to eager to speak with him and introduced myself, "Adraméssia Makésa, of Corulag. I will be Second Flight leader."

"Pardon me," came the articulate voice from behind, "did you say Makésa of Corulag?"

I turned toward him, the muscles in my face contracting involuntarily, pulling my lips back into what I was always told was a flawless smile. "Yes, I did," I said, "and you are?"

"Kynnovan Lassiter, Third Flight Leader, also of Corulag. Are you the daughter of Volis Makésa?"

"I am," my smile broadened even more. The Lassiter's were another powerful family, with almost as much status as my own. "What a coincidence, two of Corulag's noble children in Raithal Academy. Why didn't you go to Corulag Academy?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Kynnovan replied. "My father insisted that I stay on Corulag, but I studied the results of the graduates of both academies and those that completed Raithal's Elite Starfighter Pilot Academy had a 10% higher survival rate in their first engagement and a 5% higher rate of graduates survived their entire combat career."

"Yes, I studied those same figures" I nodded. He had certainly done his homework. Intelligent, but I still outscored him on the entrance exam. "I also had to fight with my father to get transferred here. I have to be honest thought, the primary reason was to escape my parents. They wanted me behind a desk somewhere as an admiral's aide or at least on the bridge of a Star Destroyer... that just wasn't for me. Those behemoths are too ponderous for my tastes."

Kynnovan smiled, barely showing his perfect teeth.  "Yes, I have wanted to be behind the controls of one those nimble starfighters since I first watched war holos," he said, motioning to the fighters in their racks above us.

I looked up at them and took in a deep breath, the leather of my flight suit made a soft stretching sound as my chest swelled with pride.  "Ahhh," I sighed, "Look at them, birds-of-prey anxious for the hunt, ready to dance among the stars."

I glanced sidelong at him and noticed his eyes quickly flit down to take in my figure.  I shifted my weight and turned back to face him.  Our eyes met for an instant before his eyes shifts slightly to the right, Jaina approached from behind me.  She stepped up beside me and immediately blurted out her name, "I'm Jaina, you are?"

"Talking," I muttered caustically.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, taken aback.

I grinned, "No, we were just getting to know each other."

"Kynnovan," he smiled, seemingly unoffended by the intrusion.

"Kynnovan is also from Corulag, he is one of the Lassiter's," I remarked.

"The youngest," he replied.  "You are from Corulag as well, what family?"

"Tinovorsh," Jaina answered.

Kynnovan tipped his head slighly, "I don't believe I am familiar with that name."

"You wouldn't be," I interjected with a sly smile, "she's a commoner.  Her mother is our house-servant."

Jaina held her head high with ill-placed pride but remained silent.  I had reminded her of her place in the social structure.  Kynnovan remained cordial, "Acceptance into Raithal is no small feat for anyone.  Congratulations to you both."

"Thanks, Kynn, you too," Jaina said, then she turned and walked off toward the turbolift.  Ugh, she has already started to shorten his name.  She began calling me Adra when we were still children and I reluctantly became accustomed to it.  I suppose it was better than having her butcher the pronunciation.  It's A-dra-may-see-a Ma-kay-sa.

I tipped my head down ever so slightly in a noble gesture of respect, "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Kynnovan.  I look forward to flying with you."  With that, I turned on my heel and strode lightly toward the turbolifts, my flight boots barely making a sound on the cool metal deck.

We were allocated meager quarters, inadequate for the four cadets assigned to live in each.  Two sets of bunk racks were attached to opposing sides of the durasteel cube in which we were now confined.  The bag containing my clothes and personal items was laying on the bottom bunk on the left.  I found my name on the right-most of the four vertical lockers and opened it up.  I stowed my fight helmet on the top shelf and placed the few personal belongings on the bottom.  I hung my two non-duty sets of clothes up beside the standard uniform, jumpsuit, and the empty rack for my flight suit that were already hanging inside.

I shared my room with the other members of Second Flight.  Andros Zalzzabar, my wingman, a tall, burly, scruffy-looking man a few years my senior from Centerpoint had temporarily laid claim to the single refresher that we all shared.  Erech Hemmermann, of Bakura, a short, emaciated man, gaunt in almost skeletal proportions, seemed to be scarcely able to stand on his own; but he had somehow managed to pass the physical training and was now sitting on the top bunk in the rack opposite my own, his legs dangling over the edge.  Shadra Terolass, Hemmermann's wingman from Chazwa, a tallish robust brunette with a square jaw-line that gave her face an almost mannish appearance, stood between the lockers and the bunks changing out of her flight uniform.

Taking my datapad out of my flight suit pocket, I sat down on the bottom bunk, habitually crossing my right leg over my left at the knee and assuming the proper seated position of noble ladies.  I began to review the agenda for the week that lay ahead.  The schedule was fantastically accelerated, compared to other academies, considering the fact that we had previously qualified in the simulators before our admittance.  I smiled when I saw that in only three days we would actually take our first solo flight.

The preparatory lessons over the next two days were interesting enough to sustain my urge to leap into the cockpit. Major L'hnnar drilled us repeatedly on the basics of piloting as well as the generalities of the fighter itself. Throughout the preliminary training I began to doubt Jaina's entrance exam score, as she seemed oblivious to the questions that were being asked.

"Tinovorsh," the Major growled, "What accounts for most of the mass of the TIE/ln?"

Jaina thought for a second, "Sir, the ion engines, sir!"

The Major made a loud obnoxious buzzing noise with his mouth, "Wrong!"

I took a step forward, indicating my intention to answer the question. He shot me a look, "Makésa."

"Sir, the power system: generators, batteries, solar energy collectors and converters, account for most of the mass of the TIE/ln. Sir!"

"That'll do," he nodded.

I awoke early the next morning, anxious for my first flight. I took a shower and slipped into my body glove before waking the rest of my flight. I donned my flight suit and the four of us stepped out of our quarters and headed to the turbolift together. I turned and selected the hanger level and as the door cycled closed, I noticed Jaina and her flight coming out of their quarters, looking disheveled as if there was a call to scramble . I smiled at her, knowing that I would beat her to the hanger.

Upon arriving I was slightly disheartened to find another cadet already in the launch bay, however I immediately smiled when I discovered that it was Kynnovan. I stepped up beside him as my flight assembled into a line, "Good morning, Kynnovan."

"Good morning, Adraméssia, are you as eager as I am?" he smiled.

"Absolutely, I've been waiting patiently for the last three days." I paused and glanced over at Jaina and her flight as they emerged from the turbolift. "Where is the rest of your group?"

"They are putting their suits on as we speak, I decided not to wait for them," he grinned. It was a bit too selfish, I thought, but the arrival of Major L'hnnar interrupted me. I fell back into line with my flight group and stood rigidly at attention.

The major, now in his flight suit, inspected our formation and for the first time that I could think of I saw him smile. "I can almost taste your anticipation!" he said exuberantly. "We're going out one at a time, the rest of you can watch the monitor to see how poorly your fellow students do. The training fighter is not equipped with weapons because I personally don't think I trust a single one of you behind the yoke of 60,000 credits of Imperial hardware and I sure as hell don't trust you behind the yoke of one that's armed. I'll take flight leaders first, Tinovorsh, you're up."

The first step was too easy, and my only problem was waiting for the major to compete his maneuver. I yearned to try out the techniques, which we had already done dozens of times during the simulations. The fighter handled slightly different than the simulators, it was much more responsive, even the slightest movement of the controls caused the nimble craft to react. I noticed that many of the major's maneuvers included subtle jinks and side-slides and I incorporated those into my attempts to duplicate his actions. He must have noticed it because he began doing the maneuvers faster and adding more variations, but I continued to execute them as perfectly as possible.

"Alright, Hot Shot," came his growling voice over the comlink, "You did the easy stuff real well, now, fly the gates. Academy record in a TIE Fighter stands at zero point nine-eight minutes, but no first time cadet has beat one point seven-six minutes and most are over two minutes, lets see what you've got. Time begins when you pass the first gate."

I took a second to examine the course and then gently touched the throttle, smoothly accelerating to top speed the instant I reached the first gate. I made only a minor course correction to stay on my chosen flight path, weaving through the next two gates very easily. As I passed through the third gate I lightly manipulated the controls to bank and turn the fighter left while pulling up, then reversing the turn and slipped through the forth gate. I loved the feel of the fighter responding so fluidly to my motions and I smiled to myself within my dark helmet. I broke hard right and twisted the fighter down and back left, sliding right as I did, so as to pass through the gate almost sideways and line myself up perfectly with gate six. I reached gate six and pulled up hard doing a 180 degree loop and rolled over about three-quarters of the way through to go through gate seven and maintain the illusion that I was not upside-down relative to the course primary two-dimensional plane. I snapped left, turning down and rolling right, feeling the shock-couch and netting press against me as I pulled back up to go through gate eight which was sharply offset from the primary route. Leveling back out I passed gate nine and then performed a 360 degree loop, banking right slightly to clear gate ten and eleven and finally turning hard left and sliding right, to finish the course. It wasn't until then that I throttled back and allowed myself to look at the course time, "One point two-three minutes," I took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, a sigh of both relief that I had passed and frustration that I did not break the academy record.

Jaina and Kynnovan resigned the academy that same day, and I hadn't seen either of them since.  I was placed in charge of the squadron and we immediately outscored all previous squadrons in most areas.  I graduated Raithal and shipped off aboard the Victory-II Star Destroyer Death's Kiss, assigned to the core worlds.  Being particularly familiar with the TIE Advanced I was placed in a lower wingman position, but through attrition I soon became wingman for the squadron leader.  Although I was flitting around the prime worlds in defense of the shattering Empire, I never once set foot again on my beloved Corulag.  I heard that my mother had vanished, either dead or in hiding.  Kynnovan's treachery was not limited to himself, apparently it was a way of life for the venerable Lassiter family.  They had been using their wealth and power to hide rebel operatives on Corulag, shipping them in and out of the core worlds.  I learned that an Imperial Intelligence operation accomplished some sort of retribution in that they killed the head Lassiter's and several of Kynnovan's brothers in an assassination strike.  Despite our best efforts, Coruscant fell to the New Republic.  The Death's Kiss retreated to the outer rim where it joined Admiral Zsinj's forces, however I was transferred to another ship.  The Imperial-I Star Destroyer Gargoyle has been my home now for the last six months.

I walked out onto the gantry above the hanger deck and looked down through the grating my craft hanging beneath me.  The Xg-1 Starwing Assault Gunboats were quite unlike other Imperial starfighters, a blend of agility, robustness, and lethality.  Its five wings were folded upward in its rest position, appearing deceptively peaceful.  The doorway behind me cycles open and he walked in.  Perhaps it was fate or pure chance that brought us together.  He was not my type at all, over ten years my senior, a burly brute of a man.  And I was not his type either; "spoiled brat," he called me.  I looked around as he walked up next to me, the flight crew was busy with another ship and they were out of view.  I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.  He held me for half a second before pushing me away, "Damn it Starfall, you shouldn't do that in public.  They could bust us both down."  I could see his restrained smile, I knew him well.

"Oh, forgive me Major L'hnnar.  I promise I won't do it again," I pouted, then I winked at him.  The arrival of a few of our squadron mates broke up our playful moment. 

He shook his head, "Good luck."

I smiled, "Luck is not a factor."  I grabbed the handrail of the descending ladder and swung around it as I often did and slid down into the cockpit.

It took about twenty minutes in hyperspace to reach the target area from the position that the Gargoyle dropped us off.  A line of freighters laid about forty units away.  We banked and rolled one-by-one, altering our vector to intercept.  Resistance was light, sparse fire from shipboard laser cannons was easily avoided.  At the head of the column was a Corellian Corvette and it came about as we strafed the trailing freighters.  My threat detector lit up and I pushed the nose of my craft downward and twisting into a spiral to avoid the stabbing turbolaser fire that blazed by me.  "Starfall, Gorgon, Specter, you're with me," came Zzhoren's voice over the comm.  "We're going after that corvette.  The rest of you continue to engage the primary targets."

"Copy that, Hammer," I acknowledged, breaking left.  The flight separated to approach from slightly different vectors, but generally stayed in the corvette's right arc.  Specter opened fire with his laser cannons, harmlessly pelting the target's shields but drawing its attention slightly.  I cycled the combat information display until the target's dorsal turbolaser cannon was selected, then I loosed two torpedoes.  I saw the blue trail streak toward the target as I peeled away.  There was a small flash and a large slab of debris tumbled up and away from the target as the turbolaser was destroyed.

I came around just in time to see a second flash underneath the corvette followed by a crackle on the comm, "She's a toothless bitch now, target her shields."  I smiled and laughed to myself while I switched over to the target's shield subsection.  I came up behind Zzhoren and did a spiral roll right around him, then broke back and slammed two torpedoes into the corvette's deflector array.  Gorgon and Specter both flew over the hull of the ship, raining laser fire down onto her hull, sending showers of debris spraying upward.  They broke off and began to circle back for another run while Zzhoren and I concentrated on the engine section.  We slowed down, maximizing our time over the defenseless target.  Our laser cannons rended huge gashes in the engine section, causing the primary heat exchangers to fail.  We punched the throttle up just as we soared over the stern of the ship, banking away to clear the blast as the target shattered into thousands of pieces.

We came around, switching targets back to the freighters.  Our squadron had done well, only six targets to go, but they were now scattered.  Two of them were making a run for it.  I flicked my sensors around in a routine sweep as we moved to intercept when something caught my eye.  I alerted the others, "Mu group, this is Starfall.  We have enemy bandits inbound.  Looks like two X-Wings."

"Roger that, Starfall.  We will intercept.  Gorgon and Specter, hot-foot-it over to those freighters that are furthest from the rest of the squadron.  Hammer out."

We snap-rolled and punched our throttle up to maximum.  I respected Zzhoren's bravado and I was confident in my own abilities, but I would rather have had better odds than even.  We had been informed that Rouge Squadron was operating in this sector and those pilots are first-rate.  I switched to laser cannons and targeted one of the enemy fighters.  I opened fire as soon as my reticle illuminated that I was in range, sliding my fighter sideways slightly to evade incoming laser fire.  Zzhoren broke right and both X-Wings turned to follow him, I angled down, turning left slightly passing under Zzhoren as he turned.  I broke hard right, bringing my weapons back to bear on the X-Wings, a perfect "under-split" maneuver.  I strafed the targets from behind with single-fire lasers.  The one on the right weaved slightly, green glowing off its shields as it broke formation.  The one on the left took the brunt of the attack.  It attempted to stay on target, following Zzhoren as he dodged left and right.  Lances of brilliant laser fire sliced through its aft quarter, punching holes into its starboard engines and lacerating its R2 unit.  It broke left, but fired a quad burst into Zzhoren's weakened shields.  His craft lurched right and I saw a large hunk of his left wing break away.  I turned toward him as I saw the lesser damaged X-Wing vectoring in for another attack.  I lead the target slightly and opened fire with my laser cannons, ripping it to shreds before it could fire.

Zzhoren's mangled gunboat entered my view as I turned left to find the last X-Wing.  My eyes widened as I saw the four torpedoes it had just let fly toward Zzhoren's ship.  I pushed the throttle up full, dashing through space with cannons blazing.  Three bright green tracers darted ahead of the first torpedo before the fourth intercepted and it blossomed into a fireball.  I walked the lasers back, catching the second and third torpedoes.  They exploded violently and I felt my craft shudder as moved into the path of the fourth missile.  I pressed the firing stud, but no familiar streaks of green leapt from my cannons.

"Damn!" I cursed, quickly switching to ion cannons.  I fired wildly, but the torpedo was already to close, it streaked past me even though I tried desperately to swing in front of it and take the hit.  I saw the flare of the explosion illuminate my wings with a reddish glow, but I couldn't let it end there.  I angled my craft toward the now fleeing X-Wing, flicking my comlink over to the general channel as I lined up my target in the reticle.  I spoke through clinched teeth, "You rebel scum, you will pay dearly for that mistake."  Blue ion bolts fell in torrents upon my foe, sending plumes of arcing energy across its fuselage.  It tilted down and its remaining two engines sputtered and faded.  I came up on it swiftly as it slowly drifted powerless and I slowed down, banking and circling left to come back around.  I glanced over, through my canopy and into the cockpit of the helpless fighter and saw through the open-face New Republic flight helmet the visage of my lover's assassin.  I muttered, unbelieving my own eyes, "Jaina?"

She looked startled in her tacky orange jumpsuit, "Adra?"

I slowed more, bringing my nose around and switching to proton torpedoes.  I stiffened in the shock couch, straining against the crash webbing.  I could feel my nostrils flaring in anger and my hands clutched the flight yoke so tightly that they instantly began to burn the sensation of constricted capillaries.  "Adraméssia," I corrected her.

She actually laughed, "Still to formal, Adra."

"I don't believe you are in the position to mock me, Jaina."  I said, faintly acknowledging the warbling tone of my missile lock indicator.

She was silent.  "Nothing to say?" I questioned her sarcastically.  "I'm surprised.  You usually had something unintelligent to blurt out."

"You were always the talkative one, I had to take what I could get," she said angrily.  "Me, I could never live up to YOUR standards.  Adraméssia's so smart, Adraméssia's so cute, Adraméssia's so talented.  I was always your inferior."