Private Cold and Creepy

[Zane Cameron]

"Alright, you ready?" Zane had leveled his X-wing and finished the calculations for the Hyperspace Jump into enemy territory. Hoth on its own was already an inhospitable planet and one he had hoped to avoid. Now, it also fell under Sith Order territory, so there was an immense risk when approaching the icy surface. For that reason, the Alliance needed a good reason to even consider sending people there. It came in the form of a distress call — sent on a secured Alliance channel, so it wouldn't be intercepted.

But who was out there?

His first instinct was a spy or other intelligence units who were tasked to look into Sith activity. But researchers were another option, or even Jedi who were on some off-record mission deep behind enemy lines.

"When we drop from Hyperspace, keep only minimal engine power up. No shields or weapons, otherwise they might detect us." He looked over his shoulder, out of the canopy of his ship to see Naomi Carolina alongside him in her own fighter. It was unusual for a Revenant Squadron rookie to fly with another squadron, especially on a mission this dangerous, but he wasn't complaining.

This was far more exciting than flying patrols along Alliance borders.

"Let's go."

Naomi Carolina ​

 

[Naomi Carolina]

When Revenant squadron put out the call someone from Misfits to join them, Naomi was somewhat surprised. She knew there was a bit of a rivalry between the two Galactic Alliance squads. A friendly one. Misfit didn't have access to the resources Revenant did but in Naomi's mind that only made things a bit more interesting.

And thanks to Wedge's offer, her squad had access to lots of practice ships. If they needed them. This time she was in her own x-wing, bright splatters of hot-pinks, blues, and greens decorated her baby. And the classic circled M for Misfits.

With her coordinates locked in, the teen looked out the tinted canopy at her borrowed wingmate. "All set. Let's see how pretty you can fly." There was a small transport vessel behind them. They'd stop a jump away - still in Alliance Space. They'd be waiting for her and Zane's call depending on what she and Zane found planetside. If they needed to transport anyone else off Hoth.

And as the stars outside their cockpit turned from pinpricks to elongated lines, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous.

"You ever faced a space wizard before?" She found herself triple checking to make sure everything was ready to be powered down as soon as they exited hyperspace.

 

[Zane Cameron]

With a smirk from her enthusiasm, Zane pulled his fighter into Hyperspace and watched the stars zip by. This first jump was not directly into enemy territory yet, but he was already feeling a tad on edge. This was his first mission as part of Revenant Squadron where he'd knowingly be going into dangerous stretches of space.

And with a wingman he hadn't flown with before.

But their superiors had trusted them with the task, so he put his faith in their judgment. Both squadrons had great pilots and if they did everything right, they could make it back without having to fire a single shot.

"No, but I've worked with the good kind," Zane replied over comms. "Whatever stories you've heard, they're probably true and they can do a lot more than you think." He was really hoping not to encounter any Sith. Their intel suggested that wouldn't be the case, or else they'd have likely also assigned a Jedi to join them.

But there was always a possibility.

"I'm more concerned about the weather on Hoth. On an ordinary day, it's dangerous and inhospitable, but we also run the risk of being there during a storm."

Naomi Carolina ​

 

[Naomi Carolina]

She'd never worked with a jedi before. There had been one in her town on Barkesh. An older woman who liked to gamble.

"Well I heard they like virgin sacrifices," a smirk at her own comment and one he'd probably hear in her voice. It was clear she didn't believe that rumor. Grits tooted behind her. Naomi shook her head and bit lightly on her lower lip. It was not appropriate to share what her pebbledrone had said.

"Yeah, the weather. Is it too late to tell you I don't do cold? Where I come from it barely gets below freezing." Thank god for the suits they'd been outfitted with. It's not like the suits would take all the discomfort away but it would keep them from instantly freezing. At least for a few hours.

"Alrighty, hotshot. Exiting the first jump now and prepping coordinates for the second." Her fingers began punching in coordinates on her nav computer. This is where they'd leave the transport behind and ready on stand-by. The next time they exited hyperspace they'd be in Hoth space.

And enemy territory.

 

[Zane Cameron]

"Is that so?" Zane asked teasingly, a grin spreading across his lips. "How did you hear that rumor?" He shook his head at the thought, still grinning as they moved through Hyperspace. Hoth was quite far away from Alliance borders, and with one other Jump point in between, this was going to be a decently long trip for the two of them.

His legs felt sore at the thought.

"Nah, don't worry. I'm not a fan of the cold either, but our suits should keep us warm. If we hit a storm though, we'll have to find shelter and make a fire." He had the tools for it with him, just in case. Also bedrolls to retain body heat and anything else they might have to use if they were to get stuck there.

He really hoped they could avoid that.

A moment later, the two dropped from Hyperspace and briefly exchanged signals with the other ship. It would wait for them, as they finally made the jump towards their true destination.

"So, you done this before?" Zane asked after a moment. "Go deep into enemy territory?"

Naomi Carolina ​

 

[Naomi Carolina]

"How did you hear that rumor?"

A small snort through the shared comm. "Trust me, you don't wanna know." One last glance out the viewport at the transport vessel on standby before she punched in the next coordinates. It would be a long jump. Lots of chit-chat time with this Revenant Squadron pilot.

Not a bad thing to get more familiar with them so they could sync up their mission styles.

Her back pressed lightly against the seat as her x-wing made the next lurch into hyperspace, following right with her wingmate. "Not on purpose," came her response. "My home was hit a few years ago. My family and I had to escape. Me and two of my younger brothers made it out."

The rest went unspoken on who hadn't made it. How many Alliance folks had the same background story? Family or other loved ones lost in what seemed like a senseless and never-ending war in the verse.

"How 'bout you, Blondie? Got jitters in your stomach?"

Naomi definitely did.

 

[Zane Cameron]

"Trust me, you don't wanna know."

Zane smirked and left it there, at least for now. Maybe a story to bring back up, drunk at a bar somewhere after they completed this mission together. A mission that had no guarantee of success, and failure could easily mean they'd both end up dead. It was the risk of their jobs, but going behind enemy lines added a factor that made him a little more on edge than usual. Not enough to shatter his abundance of confidence, but enough to make him think twice about his decisions.

From what she told him, she understood that risk just as well. She had lost people close to her behind enemy lines, so he doubted that she'd taking unnecessary risks.

"Would you believe me if I said I don't?" Zane grinned and looked out the viewport. He could see her inside the cockpit of her own X-wing, but it was hard to gauge her exact reaction.

"It's good to feel these things. Keeps you sharp and stops you from doing something stupid. We only get one shot here, and every little mistake can mean that we don't make it back home." He sounded calm, but he was definitely a little nervous.

"But we got this, eh? Together."

Naomi Carolina ​

 

[Naomi Carolina]

A roll of hazel eyes at his comment but the corners of her lips twitched upward. She shifted in her seat, getting a stretch in her legs to keep them from cramping up. It was nice to hear his honesty. Even the feelings that made us feel uncomfortable had a purpose. They weren't things to be fought, pushed down, or ignored. Things usually went better if they were embraced.

"Yeah Cameron. We got this. Together." Her pebbledrone beeped and booped in her headset.

"No, I'd never leave you out, Grits." A shake of her red-haired head.

A glance out of her canopy toward his ship as if to reassure herself. Taking a deep breath, she refocused. This would be the farthest she'd ever been from Alliance space. "So Cameron. How'd you end up with the Alliance and the Revenant Squadron?" Naomi was curious. She knew it was the most elite squadron the Alliance had.