Recreational Area

Reading Room

POV: Joan d'Arc (II)

By Dario Pozo

Pictures also by Dario Pozo

[Onboard White Squadron's Frigate]

Foxfire left the medical facilities and headed to the bridge. She noticed that somebody was following her and turned her head to see who it was.

"Wait a minute, Foxfire." Vyper said. "The High Command is not the only reason to abandon this area. Remember that we have a Corvette and a Gunboat disabled not far from here, and sooner or later they will be found by another Imperial patrol. If we are still here when that happens we'll be in serious trouble again..."

"I was thinking about it too." Foxfire replied, stopping in her strides. "I'm really tempted to go there in a B-Wing and finish them off."

"That's what Imperials would do. Those ships are defenceless, but they are an inconvenience because they can reveal our presence, so we just kill them. That has a name, and it's murder. I left the Imperial Navy because of things like that." Vyper couldn't hide how uncomfortable he felt, and this surprised Foxfire. The ex-Imperial pilot didn't use to show his feelings so clearly. The guy is sincerely concerned, Foxfire thought. Vyper never talks too much about his past, but he must have seen a couple of really bad things when he was with the Imperials. He is right. I suppose there is a line we should never cross, or we wouldn't be that different from the square-heads... 

"Don't worry, I was not serious. You know me, don't you? I would be unable to do something like that." She adopted her best smile and gave Vyper a little slap on the back and started walking again. Vyper nodded visibly relaxed and followed her.

"We have no troops to make prisoners of them." She continued. "And I don't want to call High Command because they would force us to return. I know that Sherry was trying to find a way to save the colonists, but I can't imagine how we can do that. We are terribly short of time. Not to mention that everything we do is disobeying direct orders."

"A problem every time." Vyper said. "Let's make a short hyperspace jump to a safer location for a while so we can do some brainstorming."

"All right, I'll give the orders for it. I'll warn Iceman and Zeppelin they must link their computers to the Frigate's for the jump. And about the brainstorming, the only thing that came to my mind when I thought of this was that the ship we are flying is still technically an Imperial Frigate..."

"It sounds like a plan." Vyper grinned. "I'll go to see how Granite and Moose are getting along with those torpedoes."

What remained of the destroyed shuttle had been removed at last from the Frigate's main bay entrance. Now the pile of junk had been placed beside a wall, and a technician was inspecting it, looking for usable components. Not far from there two pilots were almost totally covered by the dismantled parts of torpedo launchers from a B-Wing and two TIE-Bombers, at least three Imperial torpedoes and a lot of unidentified pieces. They were deciding noisily who was guilty for the last failed experiment. That had almost caused one of the torpedoes to explode inside the bay. But they were still working while shouting at each other, and nobody tried to interrupt them. Cybercat was observing how two technicians and a droid were trying to make the more necessary repairs to her B-Wing. They didn't even know where to begin. The Rebel pilot felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked back to find Shadow.

"Are you ok?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, I suppose so. I've analysed the computer's records. Sherry was shot down while she was trying to save me from an Imperial fighter."

"That doesn't matter. Don't feel as if it was your fault."

"I can't avoid thinking that it could be me connected to all those tubes and that Sherry is just taking my place."

Shadow knew that the conversation couldn't lead anywhere positive, so she tried to change the subject.

"How are Granite and Moose getting along with the torpedoes?"

"The torpedoes? Ah, yes, it seems they are going to kill each other, but I think it's only a way of keeping the concentration and avoid being disturbed."

"I hope they know what they are doing..." Shadow said. They saw how Vyper approached the two pilots and asked something. They replied to him rudely and continued working, ignoring his presence. He shrugged and went out again.

"Do you think Michael will be angry with us? Captain Lewis "Moose" Gregory asked.

"Nah! He is always a bit serious, that's all. Give me that welder, now this is going to work."

"That's exactly the same that you said last time..." Moose pointed out.

"Do you want to start again?" Granite said with a fierce glance and a metallic device ready to be launched at his comrade. The device was a calibration sensor for the torpedoes that Moose had managed to construct after many hours of hard work.

"If you break that you are going to eat this one!" The bar shaped piece that Moose was holding up was even bigger.

"Hey, isn't that an Imperial support for standard concussion missiles?"

Moose looked at the component and smiled.

"It uses the same subjection mechanism as the torpedo launchers, but it's smaller." He said. "If we could use it in combination with parts of the B- Wing launcher hardware..."

"... We could obtain a hybrid launcher that would work with the Imperial proton torpedoes..." Granite continued.

"... And we could forget the Imperial torpedo launchers that are giving us so many problems to adapt..."

"You got it! I knew there was something inside that head of yours!" Granite said.

"Do you see them?" Cybercat asked. "Now they are laughing like lunatics."

"Let's get out of here before they can do a new test." Shadow replied.

Flight Officer Diana "Joker" Agar had spent some time watching the different monitors connected to Shok'wave's body, but after some time she decided that the medical droid was also doing that task. She decided to ignore the droid's indications about how Shok'wave was unable to hear anything and she started to talk to her. Maybe the droid was wrong, and she desperately needed to feel that she was doing something to help her friend.

"I will start when I was two years old." She commenced. "I could begin sooner but there is nothing interesting. Well, the day of my second birthday I noticed that nobody was watching me, so I decided to investigate what the food processor buttons were for..."

[On the other side]

When all the fighters had left the hangar, the Cruiser that had brought them there departed. The small ships didn't have hyperspace capabilities. That was reserved for the big vessels, because the hyperspace motivators were too big to be mounted on a fighter. The same occurred with the shield generators, so they were unprotected against lasers and missiles. But even with such limitations the Xatafi MF21 "Singer" was one of the best fighters ever constructed, solid, agile and well armed.

The squadron had been launched far from the objective, trying to avoid the Cruiser's jump from being detected by the Bretalians. There was no concrete plan, just to attack some of the ships that were orbiting Alderaan and cause as much damage as possible. Every ship carried a space bomb, a not very precise weapon, but which launched close to the objective could cause a lot of damage on a capital ship. Joan's instruments couldn't detect the enemy ships yet, so she tried to use the Force to feel them, just as she used to do with the little insects back in Gerillia.

The river of thoughts flooded her, almost making her lose control of her fighter. At first she felt her squadron's pilots. They were trying to control their nerves and their fear, but they seriously believed they could win this battle. They trusted Joan blindly. She felt comforted by this and projected her senses outward, until her mind touched the Bretalians' minds. She tried to separate the origin of the different flows of thoughts that she felt invading her conscience, and after some time she thought that she would be able to distinguish a ship's crew from another. She worked on that, trying to catch the general mood onboard every ship. Most of the Bretalians were overcome by boredom and expectation, some of them seemed to be eager for the beginning of the possible battle, but the more extended feeling was that of overconfidence. They didn't expect to be attacked...

But Joan received infinitely more than she wanted. She perceived good feelings in the Bretalians too. There were people onboard those ships who loved other people, people who were married, who had children. There where illusions, projects for the future, great desires of living. Joan felt that she was going to be unable of shooting against those ships, against those people. A tear rolled down her cheek under the black glasses when she imagined them dying at her hands.

Suddenly, like a background noise she felt something bigger behind. It was Alderaan's inhabitants. She felt the anguish, the fear, the desolation. Now she knew why the Jedi were so reticent to fight. Finally it was a decision between two life forms, and most of the time good people had to die. Joan removed her glasses and wiped away the tears. She closed her eyes. The people from Alderaan were not guilty, they were about to be invaded, to become slaves of the Bretalians, and she couldn't sit still while that happened. She made her decision. When she left her parents and her home she felt her heart had broken. Now she felt how the fragments were breaking again as she pushed the intercom button.

"This is Miracle Leader. Be ready for combat."

While the answers from the pilots came in, Joan could perceive how their feelings were now even stronger. Her panel beeped and she saw that they were detecting the first of the Bretalian Battle Cruisers. She had been told that eight of the space bombs they carried would be enough to destroy one of those Cruisers. That meant a maximum of three. She selected the closest ones and input them into the computer's memory.

"The plan is simple: We are going to attack those three ships." She said. "Miracle Nine to Sixteen will launch their bombs against the one to port. Miracle Seventeen to Twenty Four will take the one to starboard, and the rest of us will shoot against the one to bow."

"This is Miracle Nine, boss. What about the enemy fighters?"

"They aren't expecting us, so we'll be close to the capital ships before they can react. Engage the fighters only when you have launched those bombs."

"Roger, Miracle Leader."

No more questions, no more doubts. She was only seventeen years old and there were twenty three adult men ready to die following her orders. Joan threw her fear far away. She felt the Force with her and thought that age didn't matter at all. She concentrated her mind on the three Bretalian Cruisers.

She knew that it would be very hard to force somebody to act or think against their will. To force hundreds of people would be impossible. But she could reinforce something that was already there. The Bretalians overconfidence.

Confidence. That's nice. Be confident, there is nothing to fear, there is no reason to look at the monitors, you are powerful, nobody would attack somebody as powerful as you are...

The distance was decreasing rapidly. They had undoubtedly been detected by the Battle Cruiser's sensors. But their operators were not watching them.

Don't worry, there is no danger. The screens are as empty as the last time you took a look...

A Bretalian looking through any of the multiple external windows would see twenty-four bright points growing in front of them. But nobody noticed.

There is nothing out there. Nothing to fear...

The alarms sounded aboard the Battle Cruisers, but their crews were too slow in reacting. They couldn't believe they were being attacked. Joan made a last effort.

Nothing to fear, nothing to fear...

Miracle Squadron was almost in range to launch the bombs when the defences came to life. Joan had to concentrate on piloting her fighter and had to interrupt her overpowering of the Bretalians' minds. Sweat covered her face under the mask and glasses but she had managed to get the Squadron to where they were without being shot at once.

Joan selected the bomb launcher and directed the Singer against the Cruiser, spinning to avoid the laser blasts. When the sight turned red and the computer beeped indicating the optimal distance she pushed the trigger and pulled the stick back furiously. The fighter trembled with the force of the nearby explosions. One by one, each bomb reached its target. Two fighters were destroyed just after launching their bombs, but when the rest of the Squadron moved away from their objectives the three big ships were covered with dozens of chained explosions. These pilots were undoubtedly the best ones in the Fleet. None of them had missed their target.

"I just can't believe it!" Miracle Four said. "They didn't shoot until we were almost breathing down their necks!"

"Don't get relaxed, here come the reinforcements!" Miracle Two warned. Lieutenant Trillian put his fighter closer to Joan's.

"We'll have to fight to return home!" Joan said. "Engage those fighters now!"

The Bretalians were now reacting to the attack. Some capital ships were moving to cover the position of the three destroyed Cruisers, while dozens of fighters were racing to attack the intruders. The first wave was already there.

Joan jinked to evade the frontal fire and targeted one of the nearest ships. She didn't stay to watch how it exploded and manoeuvred to put her fighter on the tail of a fresh enemy. A new explosion and she forced her Singer into a narrow loop, avoiding the laser shots from a third Bretalian. The pilot couldn't understand how he had missed. One instant he had the Republic's fighter centred in his sights, and suddenly it wasn't there any more. He looked astonished at how his own threat display was blinking, but then he couldn't see anything.

"You must show me that trick, Boss!" Trillian exclaimed impressed.

Joan was too concentrated to reply. She and her Singer were like an only entity. She was using the Force to feel the ship's reactions before the sensors could detect them. The Force was the only instrument she needed. The young woman perceived the enemy fighters around her and knew where they were without using her displays. The confusion was growing among the Bretalian pilots trying to shoot her down.

But there were more and more enemy fighters arriving, and the remainder of Miracle's pilots didn't have the help of the Force. Miracle Seven had only enough time for a short cry before disappearing in a cloud of fragments. Miracle Fifteen collided with a Bretalian fighter and exploded. Miracle Five was asking for help with three Bretalians on its tail. Joan launched her Singer in an interception course.

"Five, break left now!" Joan ordered. The frightened pilot obeyed and his three pursuers mirrored his manoeuvre, offering a clean target to Joan. She managed to shoot down two of them, but the remaining one was about to do the same with Miracle Five. Joan reduced her speed and forced her ship into a tight turn to follow the Bretalian. She pushed the throttle up again and took aim. She felt other Bretalian fighters coming almost in front of her, but if she evaded them Miracle Five would be condemned. Joan kept her trajectory and shot without pause against the Bretalian until the fighter began to disintegrate. She manoeuvred briskly to avoid the incoming threat, but it was late. Her fighter received four impacts before she was able to get out of the line of fire. Her main display exploded and she felt the fragments hitting her in the chest. She couldn't avoid shouting.

"Hang on, Joan, I'm coming!" Lieutenant Trillian's voice sounded in her ears. She used the Force to control the pain and searched for the enemy fighter with her senses.

"Don't worry, Two, I'm fine!" She said. The blood was soaking her flight suit but she didn't notice it. She pushed the trigger one more time and the Bretalian fighter was hit right on the engines. Joan saw how the enemy ship spun out of control and ceased firing. She didn't want to kill anybody more unless it was completely necessary.

"I'm receiving new contacts!" Miracle Twenty said. "They are coming from the planet!

The Alderaanians had observed the attack and had decided to act. The void created by the three destroyed Cruisers was used by them to leave the planet and join the attack with all the combat ships they still had available. The first Bretalian Cruiser arriving to the area received direct fire from two patrol ships and at least five fighters. Some of the Miracle's pilots cheered over the intercom. But that wouldn't be the last surprise...

Admiral Rickermoon had felt something unexplainable when Joan had spoken onboard the Harmony. He didn't know it, but he also had a small affinity to the Force. He would have been unable to explain why, but he firmly believed in Joan. The veteran Admiral had ordered the main force's attack on the Bretalian Fleet ten minutes after Miracle Squadron's. If they had managed to break the blockade and to disperse the Bretalian ships, the Republic Fleet would have a good chance of winning, even without the Corellian reinforcements. He didn't want to hear any advice from the rest of the staff and gave the orders to launch up to the last ship in the Fleet against the Bretalians surrounding Alderaan. He had promised to order a retreat if they found that Joan's Squadron had failed, but if that was the case everybody was aware that there would be many casualties before they could make the jump into hyperspace again. When the Harmony entered normal space he carefully studied the first data provided by the sensors. Admiral Rickermoon grinned.

"Sir, we have multiple contacts!" His adjutant informed. "There are Alderaanian ships fighting side by side with Miracle Squadron... One of the Bretalian Cruisers is heavily damaged and is attempting to retreat. There are only two capital ships left in the sector, but we have new indications of at least twenty more arriving!"

"Joan has done it." Admiral Rickermoon said excited. "To all ships, attack the Bretalian capital ships entering the sector. Don't try to save ammunition and shoot every torpedo or missile you have in your bays!"

Joan felt Admiral Rickermoon's presence and she knew that help had arrived. They were going to win the battle.

"Keep the Bretalian fighters busy away from our Cruisers!" She ordered.

"Yyyyyaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuh...!" She didn't bother to find out who the owner of that voice was. Joan grinned and launched her crippled Singer after two Bretalian fighters.

The first wave of torpedoes from the Republic's ships fell like a fiery storm on the unaware Bretalians. They outnumbered the Republic two to one, but this was the first time since the beginning of hostilities that they had fought against a capable enemy. They were overwhelmed by the surprise in seeing how several of their powerful Cruisers were bursting into flames. One of the Captains gave in to panic and gave the order to flee. When his Cruiser made the jump into hyperspace it was a sign to take a rest. The Admiral commanding the Bretalian Fleet had died onboard one of the first ships attacked by Miracle Squadron, and after some minutes all the ships that were still able to do so jumped into hyperspace, abandoning the fight. The remaining ships' crews were made prisoners, including most of the fighter pilots.

"This is Miracle Leader. Let's return to the Harmony." Joan ordered. She felt how her strength was abandoning her with the blood she was losing, but she needed to say something more. "I'm very proud of all of you."

There were many replies saying that it had been a honour to fly at her side. Everybody cheered, and some of the pilots even made a barrel roll to celebrate the victory.

Fifteen fighters from Miracle Squadron returned to Harmony's hangar. At least two more pilots had been able to eject from their ships before being destroyed. Sergeant Santer ran toward Joan's ship and had the ladder ready when the fighter touched the floor. He climbed to the cockpit and opened the canopy using the external mechanism.

"Hello, Tobb..." Was all she was able to say before losing consciousness. Horrified, Santer noticed the blood covering Joan's flight suit.

"I need a doctor here right now, Joan is wounded!" He shouted.

When she opened her eyes again in Harmony's medical facilities, the first face she could distinguish was Santer's. Beside him were Admiral Rickermoon and Senator Carless. Lieutenant Trillian, Miracle Two, was there too.

"Hello, Tobb." She said again. But this time she could smile too.

"Hello, Joan." He took her hand. "Don't worry, your wound was not too severe, but you have lost a lot of blood."

"And this young man has your same blood type." Admiral Rickermoon added. "He wouldn't allow the doctors to give you synthetic blood."

"Thank you, Tobb." She smiled again. "Now I owe you my life."

"You are welcome, Joan!" Santer became embarrassed when he noticed he was still calling her Joan in the presence of Admiral Rickermoon and Senator Carless.

"Eeeer, I mean Commander..."

Joan laughed and tightened her grip on Santer's hand.

"I said that you could call me Joan." She noticed the quick glance from Santer to Admiral Rickermoon.

"Am I wrong, Admiral? Can he call me Joan?"

"Of course he can. When you are both alone." He smiled. The old soldier had noticed the way they looked at each other. "He is right about the rank. As of today you are Commander d'Arc."

"And there is more. You are going to receive the Republic's Medal of Honour for your actions today, Commander d'Arc." Senator Carless announced.

Joan didn't know what to say. She was still too tired to think about the consequences of her victory. Senator Carless noticed her fatigue.

"Well, gentlemen. It's time we leave Commander d'Arc to get some more rest."

"All the guys are waiting for you, Boss." Trillian added as he headed to the door. "And don't forget that you must teach me that trick!"

"I'll try to remember what I did." She said smiling.

Tobb Santer was the last one to leave.

"I'll be back." He said kissing her on the cheek.

For a few minutes Joan stopped being the incredible warrior who had just commanded a fighter squadron with the help of the Force to become only a seventeen years old girl who was feeling love for the very first time. She fell back to sleep with a smile on her lips.

The ceremony took place in Alderaan's Senate Palace. The place was full of people, not only Senators, but people who had arrived from the whole planet to see Alderaan's Jedi, as Joan was starting to be known. The young woman was awed as she looked at the immense sea of people. She entered with Admiral Rickermoon through a secondary entrance, unnoticed by the public. Senator Carless was there to receive them. A beautiful black haired woman was with him. She glanced at Joan intensely.

"Nice to meet you, Joan!" Senator Carless said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you too, Senator." The unknown woman didn't take her eyes off Joan. She was holding the Senator's arm.

"I would like you to meet my fiancee, Sorelnei." Senator Carless said with a proud grin.

"It's a honour to meet Alderaan's Jedi." Sorelnei said offering her hand to Joan.

"The honour is mine, Sorelnei." Joan said holding the woman's hand. "But I'm not really a Jedi." Joan added with humility.

"Well, that is what everybody calls you. Even Septim."

Joan understood that Septim was Senator Carless' name. Before she could reply, the orator's voice announced that Joan d'Arc was about to appear on the lecturing platform, and the people which filled the Senator's Palace began to shout her name.

"Don't make them wait, Joan." Admiral Rickermoon said.

Senator Carless put the medal on Joan's chest to the sound of deafening applause.

"Let's go, Joan." Senator Carless shouted so he could be heard by Joan. "You must say something to them!"

She took a step forward and looked at the multitude. When they noticed Joan was about to speak everybody became silent. She breathed in deeply before starting.

"People of Alderaan..." Her first words incited a new ovation. Joan waited until it faded away and continued. "I can't express how honoured I am for all you are giving me. I must say that Alderaan is free today thanks to the efforts of many people who gave their lives to defend the things they believed in, the equality of all the worlds in Universe and their right to live in peace and freedom. I am accepting this medal because they can not be here to take it themselves." The sweetness in Joan's voice had captivated the audience. Some people were crying, and everybody was completely enthralled by her words. "But although we have won in Alderaan, there are other worlds who have fallen under Bretalians' tyranny. We can't rest until all of them recover the freedom they have been stolen. I will fight until that day comes!"

The applause was incredible. Everybody was again shouting Joan's name. She rose her hands asking for silence. She had thought a lot about what she was about to say.

"But we'll need somebody to lead us through this enterprise, somebody who has gained all our respect and confidence." Joan glanced at Senator Carless and reached her hand out towards him. "Senator Carless, will you be that man?"

Senator Carless was stunned. He had been in Command of the Fleet only because of the circumstances, he didn't want either the power or the responsibility. But again he couldn't deny looking into those eyes. Joan knew that she was forcing him to do something he was not prepared for, but there was no other opportunity. He had been the only Senator that had reacted to the Bretalian aggression, maybe because of his youth, and Joan couldn't allow him to retreat now. Senator Carless' name was now the one coming out of those thousands of mouths. He took Joan's hand and directed his attention to the multitude.

"Yes, I'll be that man if the Republic commends me to that mission." The ovation was now thundering, as Senator Carless embraced Joan. There was only one person who was not applauding as she looked at the embrace. Sorelnei, Senator Carless' fiancée.

[Onboard White Squadron's Frigate]

Vyper had discovered that it would be impossible to talk with Granite and Moose while they were working. Vyper had met Granite in Red Squadron and knew that the eccentric pilot had an impressive knowledge of weapons. If somebody was able to adapt the Imperial torpedoes to the B-Wing's launchers that person was Granite. And it seemed that Moose was an expert in starfighter's electronic devices, so Vyper thought that there was as good a chance as any that the two pilots working together could reach their goal. A lot of shouts from behind him made him stop and look what was happening. A glance was enough to see that Granite and Moose had discovered something. Vyper grinned and continued his way towards the secondary hangar.

He was thinking about what he had been told by Foxfire. This ship is still an Imperial Frigate she had said. Maybe we could use one or two more Imperial things. He arrived at the hangar door and entered. He turned the lights on. There was not enough personnel to manage all the Frigate's facilities, and although this hangar had probably been examined when they captured the ship, nobody was working here now.

"Ahaha..." Vyper said.

Four TIE Interceptors were parked there. This hangar didn't have a catapult like the main one, so the fighters had to make free take-offs if needed. Vyper went to the rear side of the nearest fighter and opened the access hatch. He entered into the cockpit and sat before the controls. He turned the computer on and launched the auto-check procedures. He looked at the hangar through the panelled canopy as a rush of memories came to his mind. He had spent many hours in similar cockpits when he flew for the Imperial Navy. The TIE Interceptor was not as good as the TIE Advanced, specially because of the lack of shields and hyperspace capability, but it was still a fantastic ship, and he had had a lot of fun flying in them. He remembered the old times, the old friends, his expectation when he boarded an Imperial Frigate for the first time, honestly convinced that the Empire had brought peace to the Galaxy. But with time he had discovered the price of such a peace: slavery. He had witnessed slaughters in the Emperor's name. He had killed in his name too. Every night, when he went to bed, he wondered if some of those deaths could have been avoided, if he could had acted in a different manner. The loss of the woman he loved had made the situation unbearable for him, desiring his own death and even looking for it in suicidal engagements. In his heart he blamed the Empire for all that pain, and his feelings of guilt became even worse every time he realized that he was discharging his hate and his frustration against the wrong enemy. He finally defected from the Imperial Navy when those thoughts made it impossible for him to live in peace with his conscience. This was a story he had not shared with none of his new comrades, one that he struggled to forget. Now the Empire was about to cause a new slaughter of innocents, and Vyper had decided to do his best to avoid it. If they managed to find a way, of course.

He abandoned his memories when the computer beeped announcing the check was complete. The TIE Interceptor was armed and ready to fly.

Vyper inspected the remaining ships one by one obtaining the same results. He thought about the situation. One Imperial Frigate and four Imperial fighters. Maybe the equation had a solution after all. He used the closest communications console to call the bridge.

"Foxfire, this is Vyper. I've got something for you."

She heard Vyper's information with great interest. Shadow had been on the bridge just a minute ago, and she had said that Granite and Moose seemed to be about to solve the torpedoes' problem. Foxfire ordered a jump to a new position further away from the disabled Imperial ships. While she observed the manoeuvre she thought about their new options. Some hours ago the rescue of those colonists was impossible. Now it was almost impossible. But she had managed to do many "almost impossible" things in the past. That "almost" could be all they needed. If only Shok'wave would come out of her comma...

[On the other side]

Shok'wave witnessed an entire year in Joan's life through a tornado of images, sensations and feelings. Combat after fierce combat the Republic's Fleet had managed to push the Bretalians a good portion of the way back towards their home planets, recovering the freedom for almost all the systems that had been invaded by them. Senator Carless had commanded the Republic's politics and Admiral Rickermoon the military mechanism. On the battlefield, Miracle Squadron was always the first to fight, and every pilot in the Fleet dreamed of joining Joan's Squadron and flying beside her. After the battle at Alderaan her Singer had never been hit again. The stories about Alderaan's Jedi sped through the Galaxy, bringing hope to all the planets still under Bretalian domination. She insisted every time she was questioned that she was not a Jedi, but that was always taken as a sign of humility, increasing the admiration amongst the people who had the chance to talk with her. The Jedi Knights were still out of the war, rejecting the requests for help from both sides.

The only moments when Joan could be her true self were the ones spent with Tobb Santer, those rare intervals between one battle and the next, when they could be in private, pretending there was no war and that they were only a young couple enjoying life, not wondering about the next day or the next hour. During those instants they forgot their pains and fears, the long hours when Tobb had to wait for the return of Miracle Squadron, praying for Joan to return untouched one more time, those minutes after the combat, when Joan used the Force to feel the Harmony before her instruments could, fearing that the ship could have been attacked when she was not there to defend it...

When they were together Commander d'Arc and Sergeant Santer were like a mirage, they were just Tobb and Joan, a man and a woman who loved each other, the oldest tale in the Universe, but the newest one for them.

It was night in Harmony's time. They were in Tobb's room, laid down on his bed, with the lights on the dimmest position, illuminating them enough to see each other's faces but hiding the room's details, allowing them to keep the illusion of being in some different place, far from the ship, far from the war. Joan liked to see how Tobb looked at her from head to foot, making her feel desired, like the beautiful woman in her eighteens that she was when she showed him what uniforms, flight suits, helmets and masks hid to the rest of crew. Joan could see the love in Tobb's eyes and that filled her heart with joy and peace. But that night she was scared. She had a frightening sensation that made her feel cold. Tobb embraced her and noticed she was trembling.

"What's up, Joan?" He asked worried. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Joan felt a desire to cry. She was unable to explain what was happening inside her. "I feel as if this is the last time we are going to be together."

"Don't be silly." He said, but a cold fear touched his heart too. He had learnt to trust Joan's intuitions. He was unable to understand how the Force worked, but he had no doubts about Joan's powers.

"It's probably nothing at all." She said trying to smile. "This is the part of the Force that I understand the least. Sometimes I perceive images or sensations about things that have not happened yet, but I can't distinguish between visions of the future and my own fears and desires."

"But what are you feeling this time?"

"Something dark." She replied after a while. "Or somebody. I don't know. I feel like..., like if somebody very evil was pronouncing my name, I can't express it better with words."

Tobb said nothing. He started to caress her hair, trying to give her some comfort. That gesture made Joan remember her father, and she finally let a tear escape. Tobb didn't know what to do. He would have given everything he had to help her. It was a torture to see his Joan crying and him feeling so impotent. He gently took Joan's tear with a finger and kissed her where the tear had been. Joan smiled and thanked Tobb with her glance.

"I try to use the Force to see clearer into the future, but I can't." She continued. "I think of you and me and try to see what our destiny is, but I can't..."

"People usually have to live with that uncertainty, and they can still be happy."

"I know. But people usually are not constantly being consulted over what to do to save the Galaxy. Sometimes I see the things perfectly. We must attack here or there and then the Bretalians won't be able to defend their positions. But other times I am like the rest of people, I have no answers, but there is always somebody who thinks I do. I didn't ask for this responsibility, Tobb. Sometimes I need my own answers too, like now, but nobody can give me any, and all my power becomes useless."

"You are doing pretty well, Joan. We are winning now, and you are the reason for our victories. You have always known what to do, I don't care if it's the Force or your female intuition." Joan had to smile when he said that. "When you are there showing the path everybody follows you without hesitation, with absolute faith. Me too."

Joan smiled again. "Things are going to be more difficult now. The Bretalians are proposing a truce and Senator Carless is tempted to accept. I can't convince him that it's a trick, a trap to catch us unawares. They think they can still beat us, and they are using everything they can to do so, even lying and the offers of peace. Senator Carless has been abandoning his duties more and more lately. Sometimes I think that it's Sorelnei who puts the words in his mouth. Most of the times I try to talk with him I only get to talk with that woman, and I'm not sure if she is giving him my messages. I don't trust her too much."

"Maybe she is just jealous of you." Tobb said. "Sometimes I'm jealous of everybody who is less than a kilometre from you."

Now Joan laughed freely.

"I love you so much that I always fear losing you." Joan said grinning. She pinched Tobb's arm and he cried out as if he was being killed, making her laugh even more.

"Thanks, Tobb. I'm fine now."

Tobb didn't reply. He noticed that Joan was making an effort to ignore her bad predictions, and he decided to do the same. He kissed her tenderly and soon they abandoned themselves to passion. That night they made desperate love.

Joan entered the hangar and walked towards her fighter. It was going to be a "hit and run" mission for six fighters. A Bretalian convoy had been detected near the Remisse system, and Miracle Squadron had received orders to identify the ships, cause as much damage as possible and get out of there before Bretalian reinforcements could arrive. She expected to find her wingman, Lieutenant Trillian, waiting for her last instructions beside her ship, as he always did, but she found an unknown pilot instead.

"Hello. Where is Lieutenant Trillian, please?"

"He has fallen sick today, ma'am. I've been ordered to take his place." The pilot said.

"I hope it's nothing serious..."

"Not at all, ma'am, surely something he had for dinner, but Captain Lamorny saw him vomiting and said that it's better to be safe than sorry."

"He is right." Joan said. Captain Lamorny was Wildcat Squadron's Executive Officer. Wildcat shared the Harmony's hangars with Miracle and Kallen Squadrons.

"Are you from Wildcat, Lieutenant...?"

"Smeigger, ma'am. Yes, I'm usually Wildcat Five, but it will be an honour to be in Miracle today and be your wingman." The pilot replied with enthusiasm. Joan saw Captain Lamorny not far from there. He waved his hand, signalled to Smeigger and indicated her with a gesture that the young Lieutenant was a good pilot.

"Very well, Lieutenant Smeigger." Joan said while she replied to Lamorny raising her hand and smiling. "You will be Miracle Two while Lieutenant Trillian is off duty."

"Thank you, ma'am!"

Joan smiled as Smeigger turned round and ran towards his fighter, but she became serious again as she seated herself in her Singer's cockpit. She didn't like this change too much, but the Squadron was going to be launched in five minutes, too little time to look for a wingman she knew.

"Is everything ok, Commander?" Tobb Santer climbed to the cockpit to help her as always.

"Hi, Tobb. Well, Trillian is sick and I have to fly with a pilot from Wildcat as wingman, but he will do perfectly, I'm sure."

"Yes, I saw Trillian as pale as a ghost running toward the bathroom barely ten minutes ago."

"Poor guy. I'll go and see him when we return. And now say good luck."

"Good luck, darling!"

"Please, Sergeant Santer, be serious or I'll have to arrest you." Joan said laughing as she adjusted her helmet.

"I can think of one or two places where I wouldn't mind being arrested. Your room, for example..." He replied as he helped Joan to put on the mask.

"It's an order then. I'll see you in my room, and don't try to run away or the punishment will be greater!" Joan's voice sounded through the mask.

Tobb descended laughing and retrieved the ladder. Joan closed the canopy and showed him her right thumb. She was the warrior again.

"May the Force be with you." Tobb said as the fighter took off and left the hangar. He couldn't get last night's conversation out of his mind.

Please, be careful... he thought.

The sensors detected the first Bretalian ships. Joan counted sixteen transports and two light patrol ships as escort. Not a great deal.

"This is Miracle Leader. Miracle Two and I will take care of the escorts. The rest of you identify and attack the transports. Shoot only against the engines, we don't need a massacre."

"Roger, Leader." The five answers came back one by one. Joan targeted one of the patrol ships and ordered Miracle Two to attack the other one. This was going to be an easy mission.

But something was wrong. She used the Force to feel the Bretalian crews' feelings and noticed a lot of tension. This was not strange, because they should have detected the six Republic fighters by now, but there was something unusual. There was more anxiety than fear, as if they were expecting this attack and were ready to defend themselves...

"Keep your eyes open." She said. "I think this is not exactly what it seems to be."

As if waiting for that sentence, every transport opened their bays and started to spit out fighters.

"It's a trap!" Joan cried out. "We are too close. If we turn back we'll be an easy target. Engage the fighters and may the Force be with you!

"Two, try not to loose my tail!" She didn't wait for the answer. She immediately directed her Singer against the closest Bretalian and opened fire. Her new wingman saw stunned how she evaded the laser bolts in an incredible dance of skill and destroyed two enemy fighters before reaching the first wave. Lieutenant Smeigger couldn't repeat those manoeuvres and he soon lost contact with Joan. He cursed in silence and concentrated in not getting himself killed.

Joan had no time to look back. She stretched her senses feeling every shot directed against her. The Singer spun every time a laser bolt was about to hit her. When an enemy fighter crossed her sight she shot without looking. Four of them were coming at her from the front shooting with all their fire power.

Joan pulled the stick back and pushed on the right pedal briskly. Her fighter barrelled through the enemy lasers without being hit. When she was barely a few feet from them she shot twice. One of the fighters lost control heavily damaged. His partners were forced to turn to avoid the collision. That gave Joan some seconds to manoeuvre and put her fighter after the Bretalian ships. She targeted one of them and shot before her computer was able to obtain a lock. The fighter exploded while his closest partner was already being attacked by the young woman. She broke away when her victim lost his engines and remained unable to fight.

But there were too many of them. She couldn't keep up that level of concentration forever. Sooner or later she would relax and then she would be dead. Even if she was able to evade the enemy fire eternally, her comrades couldn't hope to. A terrible cry on the intercom and a little void in the Force told her that Miracle Five had been shot down. Another friend lost, another wound in her heart. In a question of minutes the rest of the pilots would be killed too. She needed to cause a distraction, something that would give them a breather and a chance to escape. Joan saw how the transports were manoeuvring to move away from the battle. For some seconds their respective trajectories were going to cross.

"Two, where are you?" She asked. There was no answer. She had not perceived him being killed, but it was almost impossible to detect everything that was happening around her. She would have to do it on her own.

Joan launched her Singer spinning against the transport that was turning to her left at that moment. The ship should use its left thrusters to stop the turn and recover her movement forward. Joan centred the thrusters on the left side in her sight and shot without pause. Some of the shots directed against her by the Bretalian fighters trying to hunt her down hit the transport too. The explosion of the left engine made the Bretalian ship turn even faster in that direction, but without the thrusters that it had lost with the engine the ship would be unable to stop its rotation. The closest transport tried to avoid the collision but there was no time. The two ships collided the same moment Joan passed over them. There was a big explosion and most of the fighters pursuing Joan were caught in the expansive wave. Four of them exploded too, and three more resulted seriously damaged. None of them could follow Joan's Singer.  

Now the young woman was free of her hunters. The cries from the Bretalian pilots who had been caught in the transports' explosion had caused some distraction among their partners, just as Joan had intended.

"This is Miracle Leader. Time to go!" She ordered. Three acknowledgements were received. She was the closest pilot to the transports, and that caused the Bretalian fighters who were trying to shoot down the three escaping Singers to be in front of her. She shot against several of them with deadly accuracy, not enough to destroy any, but enough to make many of them abandon the pursuit momentarily. Joan forced her ship's engines to the maximum and raced after her comrades. The Bretalians wouldn't be able to reach them before they reached Harmony's position, and then they would be safe. Joan sighed heavily. They were going to escape.

"Please, ma'am, don't leave me behind!" The cry was full of panic.

It's Lieutenant Smeigger! Joan thought. The young pilot had managed to survive, but he had been isolated from the rest of the group and now he would be trapped between a great number of Bretalian fighters. Joan couldn't leave him to die without trying to save him. She pulled back on the stick and made a 180º turn.

"Hold on, Two, I'm coming!"

She again crossed at high speed with the Bretalians trying to reach the escaping fighters. They probably thought that the Republic pilot was heading crazily towards their partners, so they ignored her and continued the pursuit of the other three ships. Joan searched for Smeigger's fighter. She saw him. Five Bretalians were after him. She was not going to arrive in time.

"I can't shake them!" Smeigger cried. "They are going to kill me, please, help me!"

"Don't let the panic blind you! Fly toward the transports!" Joan ordered. "Try to cover yourself among them!"

That was Smeigger's only chance. If he was skilled enough to manoeuvre through the transport formation without colliding, maybe he could avoid being hit. The young Lieutenant obeyed and turned in that direction. Two Bretalians followed him, but the other three broke to engage Joan. By then the Bretalian pilots trying to reach the tree escaping Republic fighters had realized they were not going to succeed, so they had turned back and were approaching quickly. Joan was sweating intensely and she was having difficulty breathing. The young woman was making an immense effort to keep in contact with the Force. She wished she had been trained by true Jedi, but she couldn't give up now. Lieutenant Smeigger's life depended on her.

Once again she had to use the Force to evade the intense fire. The three Bretalian pilots seemed to have learned that they couldn't shoot Joan down with a frontal attack. They manoeuvred to their sides trying to surround the Republic fighter. Joan noticed that they were trying to buy some time allowing more of their partners to arrive. She saw how Smeigger was reaching the transports' position. If she continued in that direction the three Bretalians would be on her tail. She hoped that the frightened pilot was able to stay alive some more minutes. Joan chose one of the enemy fighters and ignored the other two. The Bretalian pilot noticed that he had being targeted and started to jink trying to avoid being killed. The two remaining pilots launched their fighters after Joan. Suddenly she pulled the stick back and the throttled down at the same time. The Singer brusquely reduced her speed rising over the two Bretalians. When Joan throttled up again and recovered her previous trajectory she had the Bretalian fighters pretty much centred in her sight. The stunned pilots were shot down before they could wonder what had happened. When the remaining pilot was aware that he was alone he tried to flee and join the incoming forces. Joan allowed him to escape and raced after Miracle Two.

She saw him on the other side of the transport group. He was alone. It seemed he had been able to eliminate the two Bretalians and Joan thought that maybe there was a place for Lieutenant Smeigger in Miracle Squadron after all.

"Let's go, Two!" She said. "We can't return directly to the Harmony, that path is now full of Bretalians, but probably we'll have fuel enough for a roundabout course!"

"All right, Miracle Leader. I'll follow you. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Smeigger. Now put all the energy into the engines. We'll have to test how fast the Singers can fly."

There was no time to lose. Her sensors were detecting a lot of Bretalian fighters coming after them. And one Republic ship too.

"Who is that guy?" Joan wondered. The computer identified the ship as a Singer. One of her pilots seemed to have decided to turn back and help her. She smiled before noticing that the signal was not from Miracle's Squadron. That pilot was from Wildcat. She felt a strong sense of danger. Something was wrong.

"Wildcat pilot, this is Miracle Leader." She said using the standard Republic frequency. "Identify yourself."

"I'm Captain Lamorny, Wildcat Seven." The answer came.

Wildcat's Executive Officer. The same that had ordered Smeigger to substitute Lieutenant Trillian.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. The young woman tried to obtain some feelings through the Force, but she was terribly tired. She was fighting to not loose consciousness.

The Singer was approaching from aft-starboard. Joan felt the bad sensation increasing. Lamorny would have passed through a lot of Bretalian fighters to come from there. Her instincts were telling her that she should shoot against the newcomer, but her mind was trying to find a logical reason for his presence. The second of hesitation was fatal.

She received two direct impacts from Lamorny before being able to react and evade the fire. Then she felt two more hits on the rear side. Those had come from Smeigger. The engines died out and Joan knew then that she had been betrayed.

Her tiredness was stronger than wrath or sorrow. She closed her eyes and tried to rest some minutes while her defenceless Singer was being surrounded by Bretalian fighters. Smeigger and Lamorny were cheering and joking about her through the intercom, but she ignored them. Smeigger was also talking in Bretalian with some of the enemy pilots. Joan smiled sadly. She had managed to initially escape the trap, but Smeigger had improvised a magnificent performance of a terrified boy in danger. He had been very smart. If Joan had not been so exhausted she could have perceived the deceit. There was no point in thinking about it. One of the transports was moving toward her and opening its bay's doors. Joan took her light-sabre. She had never used it before. She looked at Master Jonderiis' sign and breathed deeply. There is a first time for everything. She thought.
 
 

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