Private Laminations

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

"We're fine! We're not hurt! We're siamese twins! We have to stay together!"

"Siamese twins, eh? Well the academy did warn us that this job wouldn't be boring." He joked over the racket. He had, of course, been briefed before this assignment, but it was his experience that a little levity kept troops a little more sharp in an engagement, "I'm glad you guys are ok. Now fireteam! Sitrep! Shield status!"

"Six!" Yelled the Mon Calamari female

"Four!" Yelled the trandoshan

"Zero!" Barked the male Mon Calamari, shaking his head.

The two wookies lifted fingers instead of speaking, five and nine respectively.

"Nine?!?" Sergeant Roz'yrn yelled incredulously, "are you even trying to fight the enemy?"

The wookie that had held up nine fingers turned to roar a retort back at the marine sergeant, but then a blaster bolt slammed his right shoulder and his shields flared up again. The protective field settled back down and the wookie held up six fingers with an attitude that said, "are you happy now?"

Sergeant Roz'yrn grinned and returned his attention to @Willow and Ivy

The battering ram burst through the door. Gloved hands grasped the edge of the hole and pulled back on it, bending the wood until it snapped, creating an even larger hole. Shouts were heard in the hallway mere seconds before the barrels of blaster rifles poked through and began opening fire on the marines.

"We need to go straight up! It's the only way!"

Blaster bolts were coming in from both directions now, and the shields of the two marines that were blocking the lane between the twins and the door started to flair up with hits. The female Mon Calamari and the Trandoshan returned fire to throw off the intruders' aim. Sergeant Roz'yrn quickly threw on his helmet and picked up his blaster. He then pulled a weird looking harness from a pouch, looked at it, looked to the twins, looked back at the jumbled up harness and shook his head. He then threw it over the balcony railing, into the clouds below, "that thing looked stupid anyways. We don't have time for that crap. Wookies! Grab the girls and let's jet up to the roof like they said!"

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Sergeant Roz'ryn was funny. Willow and Ivy liked him a lot. The Wookies were pretty great too. The whole team seemed to have been working together for a time, given how their banter was going. It was rather enjoyable.

But now wasn't the time. Now they needed to escape the firefight and later, the planet!

First thing was first though. Sergeant Roz'ryn brought along a harness that was quite questionable. Maybe their swing would be a better choice.

But Sergeant Roz'ryn had other ideas...

The Wookies.

The twins grabbed hold of the large Wookie arms that wrapped around them as they were grabbed from behind. To say that they were nervous was an understatement. They had never flown before. Ivy closed her eyes as they took to the air, while Willow watched the whole thing. "The roof! The roof! Then run to the middle and go straight up from there! We'll be out of range!" It was an odd feeling to being carried around, making the twins feel akin to a Hutt being carried by slaves....How ironic..

Meanwhile in the twin's room, the guards had enlarged the hole in the door big enough to get through, pushing aside the small couch that the twins had used to block them. Their blaster rifles continued to shoot at the group, although this time their aim wasn't so blind...

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

The twins grabbed hold of the large Wookie arms that wrapped around them as they were grabbed from behind. To say that they were nervous was an understatement. They had never flown before. Ivy closed her eyes as they took to the air, while Willow watched the whole thing. "The roof! The roof! Then run to the middle and go straight up from there! We'll be out of range!"

The wookie that carried the twins woofed a dry retort at Willow's insistence as they climbed altitude from the balcony up. Blaster bolts from the adjacent skyhook chased them as they rose, but they were less accurate as the group was moving quickly. Some shots did graze the marines, however, but they were less effective than when the marines weren't moving.

"I don't think we - ow! - have enough - ow! ow! - fuel to get to the - ow, kriff! - city below!" The male Mon Calamari interjected with gritted teeth while blaster bolts barely grazed his shieldless armor.

The wookie that was not carrying @Willow and Ivy barked irritation at the Mon Cal.

"Yes, I do in-fact understand sarcasm, Bacceercha. I'm just trying to - OW! KRIFF-OFF!"

Sergeant Roz'yrn was ahead of the group and yelled back over his shoulder, "are you gonna gripe all day again, Narkeem?" There was an amused, antagonizing edge in his tone.

"Sergeant, respectfully, please feel free to eat my - OW! BORK-ME SIDEWAYS!"

Shots continued to chase the marines as they climbed and Narkeem continued to yelp every time a bolt nicked his armour. But the shots did get less and less accurate as they rose away from the source. Eventually, the rounded the edge of the roof and settled down easily. All the marines were mostly fine except for a few burn marks on their armour, but by now their shields were all gone. Narkeem's armour, however was covered all over in smouldering craters that seeped smoke. He did not look very happy.

A twinkle lit Sergeant Roz'yrn's eye, and he shot a look at the twins, looking for a laugh, "you know your armour is coming out of your pay, right corporal?"

"Oh give it a rest," Narkeem replied flatly.

Roz'yrn grinned, then spoke to the twins, "alright, we're here, but there isn't anywhere to go from here? You said go up, but I don't see anything?"

The clock was ticking…

 

[Willow & Ivy]

The banter continued to amuse Willow, which in turn began to put Ivy at a little more ease. Being back on a solid surface after the Wookies put them down was very much welcomed.

Willow looked to Roz'yrn with an almost all-knowing smile. It was almost as though she was reading him a bedtime story and letting him experience it at the same time. "The Steel Angels are our salvation. Call for the Lady Shii-Cho. Let her know that we are ready. She need not land but to hover. You all can do the rest." They had enough fuel. And by going up they would be out of range. Plus there was no way that blaster bolts could cut through a ship's hull. At least, not to their knowledge.

The twins interlocked their fingers together, their eyes looking straight up as the fireworks explosions lit up the sky in brilliant flashes of colour. It was a celebration, a party to signify their departure from this hot and dry planet. And to signify their emergeance from a life of slavery to one if freedom.

And they couldn't be happier.

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

“That’s your plan?” The marine sergeant gaped in disbelief. The context which the girl spoke made it pretty clear what they were thinking, “an aerial recovery by a light cruiser?” He looked a little lost for words by that point. Then, a moment later, his eyes lit up, “oh well. It’s probably not the craziest thing I’ve done. But let’s see if we can get a drop ship instead...”

He tapped the side of his helmet, “See-el, zero-two, this is Bad Dog lead, come in! See-el, zero-two, this is Bad Dog lead, do you read? Over.”

Through the helmet, the soft sound of a warbling voice could be heard, albeit, it was unintelligible for anyone outside the helmet.

“Yes, we need a pickup. We are positioned on top of the sky palace and we are being pursued. El-zee is gonna be hot, I repeat, el-zee is gonna be hot.”

The helmet began to make more warbling noises.

“Ok, well that’s weird, the ‘package’ totally predicted that…”

Warble.

“Oh nothing. Just get here!” Sergeant Roz’yrn shook his head.

More warbling.

“Kriff! Bad Dog lead out!” He released the button on his helmet, “alright team, Shii-Cho control just told me we got incoming! Bacceercha, grab the girls! Get in the air! Now!”

“But sir, we don’t have much fuel left! We should wait until the pickup actually gets here!” Said Narkeem.

Roz’yrn shook his head, all of the levity gone from his voice, “the palace security called in a gunship. We don’t want to be anywhere near a backdrop like the one we’re standing on. And it should be here in…”

As if on queue, a severely modified version of a Dornean Gunship rose from the depths of the city to meet them at the top of the sky palace. Guns had yet to fire, but it was coming in fast as it rose to meet them, sparkling lights from the fireworks gleamed off its metal hull.

Bacceercha grabbed the twins rapidly and lit up his Jetpack into the air. The five remaining marines followed suit. Light ION bolts chased them upwards, lancing around the formation of tiny figures. The Gunship was configured for patrol and pursuit of fast starships, but the weapons targeting struggled to hone in on targets as small as the marines. If they had stayed on the roof, however, the heavy weapons fire would have detonated massive ION bursts on the surfaces around themthat would have incapacitated the entire group quickly. In the air, the Gunship would need to make a direct hit.

The six flying targets bobbed and weaved in the air to make themselves harder to hit. It was working, but there was one problem…

“Alright team. Sitrep. Fuel levels?” Sergeant Roz’yrn ordered.

“Oh-niner.”

“One-one.”

“Oh seven.”

The two wookie marines announced even bleaker percentages in exhausted roars. Clearly, being the heaviest causes them to consume the most fuel. Especially Bacceercha, who was carrying Willow & Ivy .

“Where’s that pickup?!” Yelled Roz’yrn.

Suddenly, two brilliant green bolts slammed into the aft section of the Dornean Gunship. The first burst the light shields that protected the vessel, the second shattered the engines. The Gunship suddenly stopped firing and began to spin uncontrollably. Being that it still maintained repulsorlifts, it wouldn’t crash into the city, but the loss of ION thrusters threw off navigation and control. The ship simply tumbled away harmlessly.

Rising from the depths of the city, a much larger, more battered ship rose to meet them. Her hull was still cratered and burned, but she charged ahead with unwavering resolve towards the flying group. The magnetic containment field that covered the entrance to the Shii-Cho’s forward hangar access dissolved and runway lights activated within. She kept coming, approaching like a giant sea monster that was about to swallow a swarm of microbiotic critters.

Suddenly, Bacceercha’s Jetpack sputtered. The trio jolted as the jetpack began to fail in the air. Bacceercha tried to fly towards the hangar as the cruiser got closer, but it was losing too much power.

There was a moment where the wookie marine seemed to tense up. Then relax.

Bacceercha roared apologetically at the twins before he shifted his hold on them. He grabbed Willow’s free hand and let the rest of their combined form drop. Then, with an agonized roar, and a final feat of strength, he swung them around in a full circle, and then hurtled them at the gaping maw of the Shii-Cho’s hangar bay just before his Jetpack popped and quit.

As the two girls soared into the mighty warship, Bacceercha watched them from below while he fell uncontrollably to the city below. He dared not announce his situation to the rest of the marines, however. If he did, they might try to save him, but none of them had enough fuel to survive the effort. He attempted to content himself with the knowledge that he had served the corps to the best of his ability…

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy knew that Roz'yrn would come around to their idea. Even if he had his own way of going about it. The names of different classes of ships and what they looked like were unknown to the twins. But once they were free, they planned to do some research. Surely such information would become available to them? Grand Shepherd Burtch didn't seem the type to restrict them from anything like Broka and the other warlords had done.

The conversations between the marines were tough for the twins to follow. They didn't understand the lingo. Plus trying to hear overtop of the fireworks going off was a bit difficult.

The sight of the gunship didn't help matters either. Willow and Ivy could feel the morale dip slightly as it appeared. Bacceercha took hold of them, and the roof seemed to fall away from them as they flew. Their hopes were raised for a brief moment until the questioning of fuel supplies took over. Even to the twins, the numbers sounded grim, although they had no idea of what the ideal level was supposed to be.

A sputter and a kick. That was the start of what would be one of the scariest moments of their lives. Bacceercha let them go, causing them to dangle by one of Willow's hands. Never had they ever been in such a position to feel their own combined weight. Both pairs of eyes were wide and trained on the Wookie's face. And in that instant they knew what he planned to do...

He spun them and flung them. Willow and Ivy flailed their arms and legs as they flew into the hanger bay, screaming along the way. Their bodies hit the floor with a thud, bouncing and rolling until their momentum finally died, leaving them in a tangled heap.

Bucceercha fell. Willow and Ivy could see it happening as if in slow motion through their mind's eyes. Or rather, they followed the intricate webs in the Force and saw one of a different colour move to intercept the great Wookie...

And that specific web was none other than Treyfa!

Despite all better judgement, she had strapped on her beloved jetpack and joined in the fray, at first planning on only providing the team some extra cover. That is until she saw the twins being thrown heroically inside the Shii-Cho while their rescuer's jetpack failed and he began to fall.

Treyfa changed course and dove right after him, gaining on him quickly before grabbing onto a furry arm. "Hold onto me!!" As Bacceercha wrapped his arms around her, Treyfa changed their direction and headed straight towards the hanger with the others. Whether Burtch got after her for it or not, she didn't care. Whether the Wookie wanted to die with honour or not, she didn't care. More than likely her new friends Willow and Ivy would have wanted him to be saved. And so she did just that.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Both Burtch and Treyfa seemed pleased as the Gunship spun away harmlessly. The Gunship was not an asset the Silver Jedi Concord, according to databases, and the damage it had taken was minimal. Anything excessive would have caused a diplomatic incident, but this could be easily reasoned, if it ever even came up.

As they closed in on the formation of tiny individuals, Burtch turned to Treyfa and said, “I’m heading down to the hangar bay to greet our guests. Make sure the medical teams are there waiting, just in case.”

Treyfa replied with a stark “yes sir,” and Burtch left for the turbo lift. Oddly, when the turbo lift door was fully closed, he thought he could hear running footsteps just outside the lift. Strange?

The turbolift went down briefly and then opened up to a hallway. He turned left, walked past the machine shop, rounded the corner right, then through another door to the large “T” shaped hangar bay that spanned the entire front half of the ship. The hangar was large, but mostly consisted of a massive lane-space that ran between rows of transports and fighters. There were amidships hangar entrances on the port and starboard sides that met in the middle at a “T” junction. The junction then ran forwards between the rows of fighters, transports and ammo bunkers towards the bow hangar access. Overhead was an intricate “crane-and-rail” system that could catch, move, and launch many fighters at once. Burtch loved the hangar on his ship…

There were many critics of the Makashi Class Light Cruisers that claimed that the layout of their hangar bays wasted way too much space because of the wide empty lane down the middle. But the trade-off was severely reduced bottlenecking while keeping the access points smaller in a gunfight. There was also benefits to having the extra space in downtime when a fighter needed to be moved to an open space for intensive repairs or refits. Also, it made for a very nice long landing strip when it was needed…

Which is the purpose it served today. Teams of medical staff were already assembled on the landing deck near the forward access with hoards of equipment. Burtch marched towards them, ignoring the crew that stood to salute him. Suddenly, the mag-field that covered the forward access dissolved and a roaring wind buffeted everyone on the strip, including Burtch. Burtch didn’t turn to look behind him, but he assumed that the access points that ran amidships were also opened up to allow the wind to flow right through the ship. It made sense, since the ship was travelling pretty fast and the standing atmosphere in the hangar might slam into the marines as the flew in. Better to generate airflow in advance…

Suddenly, Willow & Ivy soared into the hangar, flailing wildly. They crashed into the deck, and Burtch was reminded of some horrifying emergency landings he had seen throughout his career. The girls tumbled and rolled to an eventual stop and Burtch cringed inwardly. He began running towards them on instinct while the deck officer called for the medical team. It was likely that they were injured…

As he ran, five more figures roared in fast, using their jetpacks to decelerate as quickly as possible so that they didn’t crash land like the twins did. Burtch was furious! Why were they coming in safely on jetpacks while the twins were just thrown in here? Someone would answer for this!

He reached them, and crouched low, with his heart pounding, “are you two alright? What the hell happened to you?”

Then a moment later, one more form flew into the hangar bay. Burtch looked to see Captain Treyfa with her special jetpack, carrying a much larger marine. They both set down on the deck and Burtch felt rage well within him. He stood to yell at her for leaving the bridge when he stopped himself.

It occurred to him that Treyfa had just saved the giant wookie marine from certain death, and everything fell into place in his mind. This rescue mission would have cost them a member of the marines if not for Treyfa’s actions. She had been prepared for this too, keeping her jetpack stored near the bridge airlock. The running that Burtch had heard outside the turbolift earlier must’ve been her running to it when she had seen that the marines might not make it. She may be guilty of dereliction of duty as a captain, but even he had to admit that he was relieved that no one had died on this mission. It was good for morale too, as everyone on the bridge looked at her with admiration.

Treyfa looked at Burtch with an antagonistic twinkle in her eye. Burtch just grinned and shook his head…

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Almost stunned, Willow and Ivy just lay on the deck of the hanger, their breaths coming in short gasps. They didn't try to move, yet already they knew that they had injuries. Scrapes, bumps, bruises and a dislocated shoulder tallied up their injuries.

Yet despite all of that, they were smiling.

"We made it..."

"We're here..."

Grand Shepherd Burtch 's worry was hopefully calmed by their smiles, pained as they were. "We'll be alright very soon. Our bodies should heal well."

"Our heroes deserve a proper feast. Can they have one? They've saved us. Such a feat should be honoured." Ivy looked towards Treyfa, mouthing the words 'thank you' and gesturing with her chin towards Bacceercha. If it weren't for her, the Wookie would have been dead.

The twins winced and grimaced as they were put onto a large stretcher by the medical team. Despite it being Willow that had the dislocated shoulder, their connection caused Ivy to feel the pain as well. "Yes and hopefully we could attend as well?"

"We must thank them, as well as the Lady Shii-Cho. Their rewards will come soon."

Willow's eyes turned to those of Burtch, holding his gaze in her own. "And yours will too."

Their destinies were entwined. There was no escaping it now. The twins gaining their freedom heralded a new path for all of them. And they couldn't be more pleased.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Grand Shepherd Burtch Grand Shepherd Burtch 's worry was hopefully calmed by their smiles, pained as they were. "We'll be alright very soon. Our bodies should heal well."

"Good." Burtch drew a deep sigh. They looked pretty beat up, but the smiles did tell him that they weren't critical. Medical teams were already closing in on the girls and the marines. A particularly well-scored Mon Calamari male marine seemed to be complaining more than the rest…

"Our heroes deserve a proper feast. Can they have one? They've saved us. Such a feat should be honoured."

"Yes and hopefully we could attend as well?"

Burtch nodded in total agreement, "I don't see a reason why not… I'll talk to Dorthea Dobson when we get to Damascus Station and see if she can't arrange for an appropriate venue for us to celebrate everything that has transpired here today. I do hope that you two will like it there." Burtch meant it. Damascus Station was hailed as something of a paradise, and it was something to be proud of, for sure.

"We must thank them, as well as the Lady Shii-Cho. Their rewards will come soon."

Willow's eyes turned to those of Burtch, holding his gaze in her own. "And yours will too."

He smiled. The way these girls talked was strange, for sure, but he was getting used to it already. It was quirky, but the intention always seemed benign and… refreshing. He was growing to like these two. He didn't want to hurt their feelings by turning them down, so he said, "Well, I think we're even now, you and me. But my marines certainly deserve commendations. Bacceercha, in particular. Treyfa… did well too." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "as for the ship, she… was… happy to do her duty." He really didn't know what to say to the whole "lady Shii-Cho" bit. He himself certainly felt connected to her, but these twins seemed to revere her in a way that went beyond what a warship typically represented. It made him curious, but he wasn't too sure that now was the time to explore this.

He decided to switch topics. He pulled out his Commlink and spoke, "helm, since Captain Treyfa is not on the bridge at this moment, I'm assuming the nav officer has the conn?"

"Uh, yes sir."

Burtch shot a short, annoyed look at Treyfa and then proceeded, "Whatever. How is the hyperdrive holding up?"

"Sir, the seals are holding and power is stable. We redirected repair teams from the work being done on gun sections one and four, so fire control is still out on those divisions, but the hyperdrive is back at full capacity and we still have gun directors for the other two sections."

"Good," Burtch responded, "get us out of here. Set a course for Damascus Station and we'll finish repairs there. Admiral Burtch out!"

Burtch stepped up beside Willow & Ivy and stared out the forward hangar access. He just stood there and watched the fireworks burst and the stars beyond them as the ship continued to climb.

 

[Willow & Ivy]

The twins looked to eachother and smiled a little at the prospect of where they were headed, and that they were being permitted by Grand Shepherd Burtch to have a celebration. It wasn't fun being in pain, however, and one of the medics injected them with a pain reliever.

Instantly they felt it's effects, almost akin to having a bit too much to drink. It made them giggle quietly in spite of themselves.

"She has much to teach us."

"And we can teach her. With help."

"Yes with help. We will learn her language like you."

Willow and Ivy remained quiet as Burtch spoke to the bridge through his commlink. It was an entirely different style of operations than they were used to while under Broka and the Warlords. There was an heirarchy still, but it seemed more....orderly, and not one that was set through fear.

There was much for them to learn, yet they knew that they'd meet the challenge well.

The fireworks were viewed by most that stood in the hanger as the Schii-Cho began it's ascent. It was almost fitting, and a celebration in it's own right.

Another crewmember came to join them; a young officer that seemed eager to please. He was human, thin with pale skin, bright eyes and seemed a tad bit nervous. But maybe that was because he carried with him a cup of Empire coffee in both hands, doing his very best not to spill a single drop. "I have your evening coffee for you, sir. Right on time and with not a second to spare." He glanced down to the twins for only a moment before redirecting his eyes to Burtch as he gingerly held out the cup to him. Hopefully it was okay for him to give the Grand Admiral his coffee here.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Autonomously, Burtch grabbed the coffee from the young man and dismissed him with an absent wave. He then hefted the steaming mug to his face and whiffed the bitter-rich aroma right into his nostrils. The smell seemed to warm his spine and cool his nerves. He was about to take a sip from the precious mug when his eyes were drawn to Willow & Ivy as they watched the stars.

He stopped himself from sipping and watched them as they watched the world beyond the hangar. The way their eyes dazzled at the spectacle mesmerized him on a level that he couldn’t quite grasp. A certain connection was forming between him and them and it puzzled him.

He previously had friends, family, and had even cared for brief lovers in the past. This was very different for him. It was akin to his bond that he felt for his ship, but flavoured with something else. The way they were… enamoured with his ship, his crew, and what they could all do stirred him on a… paternal level? The sheer fact that him, his ship, and his crew could mean so much to such innocent souls had a strange weight in his heart. He was in an awkward position where he cared for what they thought and felt. He didn’t know if he liked it or not, but he didn’t feel like it was a bad thing either.

Instead of drinking the coffee himself, he wordlessly handed it to them just before the stars around them dissolved into streaks…

THE END!​