The Phantom Affair

[sw_npc]

The Pulsar Skate moves nimbly through the asteroid field, easily dodging the odd floating rock with Mirax at the controls. The blue surface of Mrlsst, swirled with white, looms large in the background, while the asteroids spin, slow and silent and dark

Comments

[fighting_mad]

* * * * *

Speeding through the Mrlssti capital city in the landspeeder, Wedge Antilles wasn't killed by his four pilots as he explained that the phantom ship wasn't real. It all made a twisted kind of sense: make the Empire believe that the ship is real, make the Empire try to construct the ship, make the Empire procure large numbers of Durindfire gems -- which could then be tracked to a building facility, which could be neutralized. Simple.

Until everything got uglier than a Hutt's behind, that is. Until Wedge got thrown in jail, the Empire sent stormtroopers after them, Dllr and Mirax went after datacards that don't exist -- and Wedge, Tycho, Plourr, Hobbie, and Wes found Elscol unconscious in a courtyard overlooking the spaceport.

The bench that Elscol Loro is sitting on is pretty, in front of a fountain as it is, with gardens blooming around the courtyard. The confused expressions of the four Rogues surrounding her are less pretty.

"Let me get this straight-- The Ghost Jedi," says Plourr, staring flatly at the woman sitting beside her, "was your husband?"

[sw_npc]

Elscol buries her head in her hands, her head still hurting from Groznik's whack to her head, and all the weird things she saw and just...thinking too much.

"I don't know," she sighs, knowing she sounds insane. "It had Throm's face..."

[sw_npc]

Noss Prisht interrupts the impromptu conference, drawing the pilots' startled attention as he comes running across the courtyard, blur-furred hands flailing wildly.

"Captain Antilles!" he's shouting. "Captain Antilles!"

[rogue_wraith]

Wedge stands from where he was crouched next to Elscol, steeling himself to deal with the nervous little official again.

Hopefully he won't be heading back to jail.

"What's happened, Noss Prisht?" No polite semi-diplomatic wording this time. He's getting tired of this planet.

Electrocution has that effect on his temper, yes.

[sw_npc]

"The lab exploded, Captain!" yelps the Mrlssti, throwing his distraught self into the middle of the knot of pilots. "Falken's lab!"

[fighting_mad]

"What?" Plourr yelps, rising out of her seat fast, her eyes wide. She sets her hand on Wedge's upper arm, and her voice quiets as she says, "Wedge, does that mean that Dllr is--"

She can't say finish her sentence.

[rogue_wraith]

Part of the job of leading a squadron is keeping people from panicking.

Even when you don't actually have any satisfying answers.

"I don't know, Plourr." He tells her, soberly, "But I'll do everything I can to find out." What he really means is 'Don't Panic'.

[sw_npc]

Noss Prisht, on the other hand, momentarily pauses in his personal panicking to cock his head to the side and stare up at the sky as an ear-splitting howl rends it.

"What is that sound?"

[i_love_kettch]

It's an awfully familiar sound, and even as Wes looks up, he shouts the answer.

"BOMBERS!"