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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Both Jedi Interceptors hovered out of the covered hangar, following the standard operating procedures of the ship—with the help of your astromech droids and BD-1 for Cal only—your ship’s speed warmed up as the landing gears folded in and you’re starting to feel the altitude.

A medley of starfighters and gunships of different make followed at your flank. As all of the ships poured out of the hangar and hovered above the treelines, the two Jedi enhanced their ships’ communications so that it reaches both the command on the ground and the Mantis.

“Wings are now out of the nest,” a scout from the watchtower reports, he repeated the words twice until his voice came through to the command center on the ground.

“All wings report in,” a commander from the ground radioed through all communications.

“Interceptors, standing by.” you and Cal reported.

“Guns, standing by.”

“Aqua Squadron, standing by.”

“Maroon Squadron, standing by.”

The leaders of the Aqua and Maroon Squadrons commanded all of the pilots to report in their call signs—each squadron had eight pilots. The ships were not uniform, but they have the streaks painted across the exteriors of their fighter ships to distinguish them from the other.

R-12 beeped anxiously at you as its scanners picked up the signatures of the incoming TIE Fighters.

“Yeah, I see them, buddy. Good job,” you affirmed.

“Interceptor Two, what’s the current status?”

“Picking up seven signatures, they’ve cut through the atmosphere,” you reported coolly while keeping calm breaths. “TIE Fighters.”

The speeds of the Jedi Interceptors are picking up, the distance between those TIE Fighters is gradually shrinking, and the two of your prepared yourself to attack.

“Stay close, [y/n],”

“I’m gonna have a hard time doing that!” you chuckled.

The TIE Fighters were the first to open fire, all the ships scrambled from their line of fire, causing the TIEs to disperse and chase after their targets—each one has caught an Interceptor in their fronts, both of you were trying to shake it.

In the first few minutes, fighters from the Aqua Squadron have been shot down but the Maroon Squadron backed up the numbers. From the ground, the operators are working real-time as the skirmish occurs in the air.

“Cal and [y/n]?”

“Interceptors One and Two are still online!”

Cere released a sigh that has been choking her since the ships have been deployed. She spotted the twin blips glowing white against the transparent screen, behind those twin blips were the other ships in their designated colors; one by one, each mark vanished from the screen faster than the red ones flying on the other side of the screen.

“Come on, you two…” Cere mumbled under her breath.

The TIE Fighter persisted in tailing you and shooting you until you’re in its range. Glancing only for a second on your radar, you knew you had to think fast.

“[y/n], that TIE is still on your tail!” Cal pointed out.

“I know, I’m trying to shake him. He’s slippery too!”

Cal’s Interceptor and the TIE chasing him flew in your view at your windshield, a lightbulb flickered bright as the sun in your head.

“Cal, I have an idea!”

“Hoo boy, here she comes!” he remarked jokingly. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

“Cover me and I’ll cover you!”

He immediately understood your idea and continued darting through the skies. You gently pushed the steering wheel forward.

“R-12, can you crank up the attack speed!”

“Bee-woop!”

“Attaboy!”

The droid accelerated your Interceptor’s speed to level three. You and Cal’s Interceptors with the TIE Fighters behind you made a swerving bee-line in the sky. The targeting device activated, a white-lined grid glowed over the red screen and the icon of the TIE Fighter registers on the screen.

The enemy’s icon finally settled in the center circle and without a moment’s hesitation, your thumbs crunched the trigger, blue twin lasers shot out of your ship’s guns and damaged the TIE’s wing; you let out another shot and decimated the second wing until it bursts into flames while spinning out of control.

“Alright, my turn, sweetie!”

Cal did a somersault with his Interceptor and placed himself right behind your pursuant. He manually boosted the Interceptor’s attack speed until he was within shooting range. He rested his thumbs over the trigger.

“Watch this, BD!”

“Woooo!”

Ion cannons sputtered out of the barrels and Cal hit a bullseye straight into the TIE Figher’s cockpit. The excited redhead celebrated from the cockpit of his ship and he didn’t realize that his headset in linked in communicating with yours. His celebratory howling busted your right eardrum that you flinched and your ship quaked when you lost a split-second’s worth of control.

“Show-off!” you exclaimed while massaging the crevices of your ear.

“Oh sorry, too loud?”

“No worries, but I’m not gonna let you one-up me, honey!”

“Oh, it’s on!”

The Interceptors flew back into the heart of the skirmish and helped out the other pilots with persistent TIE Fighters on their tails. You and Cal split up to cover the pilots—especially the gunships.

“Keep those TIEs out of the gunships! Guns pack a punch but they’re not built for easy maneuvering!” you barked through the shared-line communications.

“Copy that, Interceptor Two!” the Aqua Seven pilot responded to your call, speaking on behalf of everyone.

All of the smaller and nimbler fighters drew the fire of the TIEs, away from the big gunships that also served as transports for the soldiers; the slippery ones were the ones you pursued, hanging tight in your seat as you maneuver your ship in spins—something that was once a luxury for you when the moment in opportune—and reducing those TIEs into shrapnel with your shooting.

“Nice shooting,” Cal complimented.

“Thanks!” you beamed in a high-pitch, almost too-effeminate tone.

An urgent transmission from the ground cut off your fun, private banter, “I’m picking up some signatures… THEY’RE HUGE!!”

“That can never be good,” you muttered, the playful smile in your face dissolving.

R-12’s scanners have picked up the said signatures as well and reflected them on your radar. Before you even had the time to glance at your screen, they emerged like the undead out of their graves—AT-ATs rising up, rearing their hunched metal backs and heads, and breaking down the trees that stood in their way as they erected themselves.

“Okay, now that is overkill!” you exclaimed at the sight of the pair of AT-ATs.

“Interceptors, I’m picking up another signature—but it’s in the air!”

“Can’t catch a damn break, can we?”

A TIE Assault Shuttle comes to you in full speed and pulls a barrage against you! You barely dodged the hail of blasts it sent your way; only affording a second, you peered at the window at your side while maneuvering your Interceptor—the AT-ATs surely aren’t taking their time, their walking pace doubled from their usual, keeping their sights set on the rebel base after the trees.

Big radar signatures and SHE is going towards it? Great. Cal thought to himself as soon as he saw you zooming past at the corner of his windshield.

“I’ll cover you,” the firm tone in his voice indicated that he doesn’t want to hear a counterargument.

You orbited the walkers and then caught sight of the TIE Assault Shuttle, you only have seconds to come up with a plan; in the blink of an eye, the craziest idea borne from that little disadvantage popped into your head.

“[y/n], you’ve been quiet now. What are you thinking?”

There was a nervous tone in Cal’s voice as he continued to fly by your side while observing the enemy lines. The ground base can also hear everyone’s transmission in designated receivers, and most of them had their ears on you and Cal’s; they detected that unusual silence in your end, they all blankly stared at the holograph that relays your transmissions—anticipating to hear your voice. Cere’s eyes wandered across the flat surface of the illuminated holotable—she stopped observing the other friendlies’ blips, she focused at that one quadrant of the radar with you and Cal’s blips circling the AT-ATs’ signatures.

“What’s happened to her? She’s not down, is she?” one of the head operators blurted.

“No, she’s not—she’s still there,” Cere answered, even if the question wasn’t for her to answer.

You ignored Cal’s question and tightened your grip around your steering wheel. Your fingers dexterously danced across your dashboard.

“She’s prepping her droid… but for what?” the operator relayed.

“R-12, remember when you said you’ll have my back?”

“[y/n]!?” Cal prolonged the syllable in your name as he called you again for your attention.

“Well, you gotta have my back now, R-12!”

“Be-bee… BEEEE?!!?”

Cal saw your starfighter’s cockpit dome opening up in the middle of flight. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. He still can’t comprehend what plan is running in your mind—and why, of all things, this kind of plan—and how are you going to execute it.

“[Y/N]!!!” he screamed, he didn’t think that you’d hear him with just his bare voice. The microphone of his headset was so overwhelmed by the volume that feedback crackled through your headset—nevertheless, you ignored his voice and for good reason.

Feel… don’t think. You chanted in your mind as you prepared yourself to execute your plan alone.

“R-12, override now!”

“BEEEEE!!!!”

You released your grip from the steering wheel, the Interceptor was now in full control of R-12, and you ejected yourself out of the cockpit, surfing on the wing as your starfighter did a fly-by near the larger TIE. You timed the moment of your jump across with a pinpoint precision that you basically have no backup plan if you don’t make it.

The Jedi Interceptor’s wingspan did little in bridging you to the top of the TIE Assault Shuttle. You kept your feet planted on the wing and then sprang off towards the large enemy ship. You didn’t realize the gap in between was great and you’re afraid that you might have miscalculated yourself.

Chapter Text

The jump was lucky—partially.

It’s not every day pilots see a Jedi girl climbing up the front face of a TIE Assault Shuttle.

“That kid’s crazy!” one of the pilots exclaimed.

“Should we shake her off?!” the co-pilot suggested.

It was too late for them to try out that plan, because you’ve already kicked the entry hatch open and jumped in.

“Hello there!” you beamed.

From behind, you sensed a Scout Trooper and his commander lunge at you with their batons but you easily deflected both of their weapons.

“Oh, she’s a bold one!” the scout trooper blurted.

You repaid that comment with a smug smile and quickly got rid of the troopers. The pilots couldn’t take their eyes off of the Jedi, alternating their attention between the controls and you. They knew they were next when the two scouts troopers fell dead on the floor of the ship. One of them resumed control over the ship, it was the one who proposed to swerve the ship when you were still outside—and he put his plan to work.

Both pilots hung tight on their seats while you pawed the air in search for something to hold on to. You hugged the wall for support as they continued swerving the ship.

From the rebels’ point of view, they saw the large TIE hovering and swerving in place. They could only imagine what’s happening inside that ship.

“Look at TIE, it looks like it’s out of control!” Aqua Five pointed out.

“But we didn’t hit it!” Maroon Eight replied.

“No, that’s [y/n]!” Cal cut in, shepherding your Interceptor into the skirmish and letting R-12 take on the guns while you’re away. “Try not to get roasted, R-12!”

“Beeee-woop!”

“Yeah, she’s insane,” Cal repeated, agreeing with your own droid’s comment. “Good thing she’s not hearing that!”

“[y/n] is… driving that TIE?!” the operator exclaimed, absolutely flabbergasted at the stunt you pulled. “The droid’s controlling her ship! That kid’s crazy!”

While the AT-ATs are still out of range, the rebels still have a fighting chance in protecting the base. Cal continued taking on the reins of command.

“Guns, see if two of you can take down the AT-ATs!” the ground command radioed and Cal overheard.

“No, their armor is impregnable! Their weak spots are too narrow for our guns!” Cal cuts in.

“Well, what do you suggest, Interceptor One?”

“Tow cables!” Cal cried in epiphany. “Maroon Three, follow my lead!”

“Copy that, Interceptor One!”

The ship tailed Cal. They sank on the fine line between the tree canopies and the legs of the iron giants. The young Jedi connected his communication to his companion.

“Maroon Three, you copy?”

“Loud and clear, Interceptor!”

Cal instructed the fighter to fly low enough in the same level as the AT-ATs’ knees before releasing their tow cables.

“Three passes should be enough! Don’t worry about their fire, the heads can’t look down that low!”

Meanwhile, back in the TIE shuttle, the ship continued to swerve and the nausea frustrated you. When the pilot opened fire, you evaded that single shot that cost the pilots their lives—you’re standing behind the auxiliary power grid and that blast met a different mark.

The auxiliary power was now cooked and is sputtering sparks all over. You finished off the pilots as soon as the swerving ceased when the one who opened fire realized his grave mistake. You took over the pilot’s seat and made quick work of converting its frequency to open range.

“That TIE shuttle’s trying to transmit something,” Cere spotted the soundwave register in the screen from the base.

“This is [y/n] of Interceptor Two, I have hacked the TIE shuttle’s communications. The auxiliary power has been damaged, integrity is at 60% but is going down fast!”

“Get out of there, [y/n], or you’ll go down with it!”

You heeded Cere’s warning, but you weren’t able to reply—your attention was immediately stolen by the thundering thud of the metal giant stumbling to the forest floor, followed by the loud twang of a snapped tow cable around the second AT-AT’s legs. You steered the TIE shuttle to face the last AT-AT standing, the transmitter beeped to your end.

It was Cal, “[y/n], what are you doing this time?”

“Relax, I got it covered!”

“I hope it does because from the looks of it—no, it doesn’t!”

“Just tell R-12 that I’ll be hitching a ride in a bit!”

You found the lever for the auto-pilot and cranked the gear to the highest speed, you stepped back, aligning to the entry hatch above your head as the TIE shuttle rams towards the AT-AT. The TIE was now mere inches away from the walker—that was your cue to escape through the same way you came in—and you’re already sprinting away from the TIE and onto the walker—which was more stable ground.

“There she is, R-12! On the walker’s back, hurry!”

“Beeee!”

The droid steered the Interceptor to your exact location while retracting the glass dome cover of the cockpit, he was close but the surface you’re standing on was beginning to incline and you had to stand on fours to keep yourself stable.

“Come on, R-12!” you encouraged through the grit of your teeth.

“BEEEEE!! TRILL, WOOP!”

You propped yourself in a runner’s starting stance and sprang off before the TIE shuttle imploded and proceeded to take down the walker with it. Had you waited a second later, you wouldn’t have closed the distance of that leap of faith. You thudded on the hull of your Interceptor and crawled quickly to the cockpit.

“I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU, BUDDY!!” you whooped and regained full control of the starfighter.

The droid scolded you and at the same time cheered you on as you flew to the dogfight. The gunships were able to cover the starfighters from a safe distance away from the rest of the TIE Fighters.

“YOU ARE INSANE!!” Cal scolded you, bellowing through your radio. “That was probably stupidest thing you’ve done this month!”

“It’s not stupid if it works!!” you screeched back, the adrenaline levels are through the roof in your system as you steered your way back to the skirmish.

Cal can’t stay mad at you, after all, he actually agreed with you on that.

The two of you opened fire at the enemy lines until none of them have gotten close or have dealt critical damage against the base.

“People on the ground, how are you back there?” you call.

“We’re still here, don’t worry! A TIE Fighter got a shot on us but nothing critical!” Cere responded. “We’re taking care of the ground quite well from the Stormtroopers here!”

“Perfect, we’ll keep it up and I’ll be just in time for a scolding once this is all over!”

Your excitement has made you reckless and your joker side is showing. Oddly enough, your out-of-place-and-time enthusiasm and optimism were boosting the squad’s morale, while still keeping a serious tone when strategizing real-time in the middle of the crossfire.

“I’m being tailed!” one of the gunship pilots screeched through his transmitter.

At the top spot of your windshield, you saw a trio of TIE Fighters tailing the gunship with a cartoonish graffiti of a thermal detonator.

“I see you, Bomber! I’m coming to you!”

“Hurry! They’re just missing me by a hair strand!”

“R-12, are my proton torpedoes charged?”

“Weee-woop!”

“Good,” you flicked open a glass cover on the dashboard, revealing a second analog controller. “This is where the fun begins!”

You accelerated the ship until you got close enough to the cluster of TIEs ganging up on the rebel gunship.

“Bomber see if you can maneuver to a curve so you’re out of the line of fire, I’m sending some torpedoes on those vermin’s way!”

“Roger!”

The gunship did as you were told and when the friendly got far enough, your targeting monitor reflected the three TIEs on your screen and when they aligned in the grid, you threw all the pressure of your thumb on the second analog controller—two torpedoes jetted through the sky while you used the guns to take down the third.

“Thanks, Interceptor Two!”

“Don’t sweat it! We need every single one to win this thing!”

Every fighter in the sky and everyone in the ground heard you. Suddenly, your confidence and bravery infected everyone. The tables have turned for the Imps. The starfighters were the ones ganging up on the lone or pairs of TIE Fighters and are thinning the herd in a dramatic scale.

“We’re slowly gaining the upper hand!” the second-in-command to Captain Miccah reported as he pointed at the blips on the holograph; there were more white and blue blips than red.

“That’s good,” Cere rubbed her hands together, shaking off the tension. “They just need to keep pushing.”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, back in the command ship, the cadets were panicking while reporting the casualties on the ground to the Moff.

“Sir, they’ve overpowered the AT-ATs deployed there and even the TIE Echelon!”

“Impossible! They’re just ragtag starfighters, how can they overpower us!?” the Moff was livid as he was startled with how the odds did a 180 unexpectedly.

“W-Well, Sir, they had help… with the Jedi.”

“That can’t be! What’s two Jedi against a full assault unit!?”

The poor cadet stammered, unable to find a satisfactory answer, “I… I don’t know, Sir…”

“Sir, we don’t have any more troops to deploy! Should we retreat?” one of the tactical analysts reported from his station in the bridge.

The Moff was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The scouts back in the surface were closely watching the gray triangular figure in the sky, Cere ran to the base’s communication station and monitored the Star Destroyer’s movements.

“It’s… idling?”

“What?”

Cere’s eyebrows furrowed, “It’s just… there.”

“They’re probably preparing for their next move!”

“Base, this is scout Merl from Watchtower E reporting, that Star Destroyer doesn’t seem to be doing anything!”

“Hang on, I’ll see if I can crack their comms!” Cere strained her ear while tuning the knobs on the transmitters and receivers. She was able to pick up a transmission from one of the remaining TIE Fighters in the dogfight.

“This is Admiral Plov, we have direct orders from Moff Loon to retreat! I repeat, we have direct orders from Moff Loon to retreat! Prepare for a jump to hyperspace to these coordinates once you’re off-planet!”

“They’re retreating,” Cere first muttered to herself, then she turned around to face everybody. “They’re retreating!”

The operators in the base relayed the exact message to everyone. Seconds before the transmission from the ground came through, all of the pilots—you and Cal included—saw that each TIE Fighter were retracting from the fight.

“We did it…” you gasped, and then your head jerked up. “We did it!”

“Come on down home, all of you!”

The communication station at the base was filled with the cacophony of cheers as all pilots flew back down and docked their ships into the hangar.

Technicians, engineers, tactical analysts, and communication operators—every single one of them—came flooding the hangar upon the arrival of the pilots. Applause, whistles, and cheering filled the landing pad. The pilots who have jumped out of their ships found themselves in the embraces of their comrades in the ground.

When you climbed out of your Interceptor, Cal comes at you with his arms stretched out wide.

“You little lunatic, get over here!” he laughed, pulling you in for a bear-hug and you received it laughing in celebration with him; he smothered kisses on every inch of your face. He pulled away, but kept his hands cupped around your face, “Where in the hell do you even pick up your ideas, babe?!”

“Oh come on, I know that turns you on anyway!” you playfully thumped his chest before he pulled you in again for a hug.

You and Cal get yourselves smothered with the rebels clapping your backs, giving an affirming shake on the shoulder, and a tussle of the hair for Cal. The technicians have detached your astromech droids using the magnetic crane and carefully settled the droids down on the floor.

“R-12, you’re amazing!” you cheered on your droid, kneeling to its level while patting its round top.

Cere pushed through the crowd and came towards the two of you. She hooked the both of you in the tightest hug either of you have never felt from her.

“Please tell that hug was my free pass from a scolding,” you joked.

Cere exploded in laughter and she tussled your hair as well, leaving your hair in a frizzy-looking mess. Merrin and Greez as well came out of the crowd and rejoined you.

“You are perhaps the craziest pilot I have ever met, [y/n],” Merrin commented in her blunt tone, but her façade betrays her when she couldn’t longer contain the joy she was bottling up. She threw herself to you and wrapped her arms around you.

“You two kids just make my blood pressure turn to an unhealthy level with your flying and stunts!”

“Think you can give [y/n] a spin on the Mantis’s wheel?” Cal kidded Greez.

“As long as she promises not to do the same thing she did with the bigger TIE Fighter!”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think she’ll do that…”

“Oh good,” Greez sighed, and flapped all four of his arms.

“Because she’s gonna have to come up with another stunt just for the Mantis.” Cal finished his sentence.

“Aww, gimme a break!”

“Just kidding, cap’n,”

“Are you really?”

Captain Miccah personally approached you and Cal, a warm smile flashed on her face, she brings her hands on each of your shoulders.

“I cannot thank you enough for your courage, you two,” she sighed. “Because of you, Andaro still has a fighting chance.”

“It’s the least we can do,” Cal shrugged.

“The least?” the captain chuckled in a mellow tone. “Oh no, your efforts are worthy of my deepest gratitude. So, thank you, Cal Kestis and [y/n].”

The captain disappeared into the crowd, cheering and affirming her pilots; Cal wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you in close to him.

“Well, this is gonna be one hell of a story soon,” he blurted.

You smiled, reading between the lines and slightly getting the idea, you buried your cheek to his chest—you feel his heartbeat still pumping really quickly.

“Yeah, sure is,” you agreed.

Night falls and Andaro is blanketed in an evening sky of deep indigo, the primary twin moons hung over the treetops, illuminating the celebration in their pale ivory light. Stars glittered across the sky as a large bonfire in the center of the base’s clearing flickered bright orange—the rebels played their instruments, others danced in pairs even if it was out of rhythm, and the crowd laughed as they cheered.

The Jedi couple was the life of the party, they were the ones who stoked the heat of the celebration, joining in with the people on their makeshift dancefloor, and the whole forest was just filled with laughter. Cal stole you away as the floor became more crowded, the two of you took a break and watched the celebration go on. He slipped his arms around your waist as he planted a kiss on your temple. Your eyes trailed between the starry sky and the celebration on the ground—simply enjoying either view, you snuggled close to Cal, savoring the hard-earned victory that you practically risked life and limb for.