“You’re scaring me,” Rose interrupted.
Paige stopped abruptly. She gave Rose another half smile.
“Don’t be scared. We’re still alive and we’re still together. And we’re doing what we can,” Paige said, resuming her ordinary precombat calm. “Let’s hope our last run goes as smoothly as yesterday’s did.”
This time Belle was the maneuverable StarFortress, the empty one carrying no weighty shells. While Hammer headed toward the Firestone Islands in Atterra Bravo’s nighttime orbit, Belle flew out of the asteroid maze and into Atterra Bravo’s daylight ahead of the other bombers as a decoy. Behind Hammer, Mare came in for a drop elsewhere in the Firestones.
Rose and Casca both came to stand behind Paige as she lowered Hammer close to the ground in the utter darkness near the Big Settlement on Firestone Island.
They’d had no way of contacting the Atterrans ahead of time to let them know what was going on. And they hadn’t planned Casca’s return in advance, which meant that the Big Settlement wasn’t expecting them. There was no place to dock the top-heavy ship on the pumice beach, so Finch told Paige to set the engines to hover; they’d have to tether the ship a little above the ground and climb out through the bomb bay access hatch.
There wasn’t a single light visible, no more than there’d been on any of Hammer’s previous trips to Atterra Bravo. The landscape seemed so desolate and defeated that, as the StarFortress set down and Paige lowered the power, Rose felt a kind of dread rising in her. What if this really had all been for nothing? What if everyone on the island was already dead? What if they were delivering Casca Panzoro home to a lifeless and deserted planet with no water?
In the bomb bay below, Nix opened the outer hatch and threw out the self-fixing tethering cables. Paige and Finch guided Casca down the bomb bay ladder.
“You’re going to have to rally some bodies to help unload these racks,” Nix told Casca. “Or else we’ll have to take off again and jettison them for your people to collect later. We can’t do it ourselves.”
“We’ll wake the Big Settlement,” Casca said. “We’re used to working in the dark.”
She emerged from the hatch and swung down onto the windy, chemical-scented porous stone beach. Nix, Rose, and Paige climbed out behind her.
The air around them suddenly whistled with the flight of dozens of small missiles, invisible in the darkness, that hissed and sizzled as they struck the tethering cables and the foot of the heavy bomber. Rose remembered the solar crossbow she’d seen the old man aiming at her, and at Paige and Reeve, when they’d first arrived in the Big Settlement.
“Don’t shoot!” Casca yelled. “Stop—it’s Casca Panzoro!”
Rose felt a searing jolt of electricity crackling across her arm, just for a second. One of the charged arrows had glanced off her flight suit. When she looked down, a patch of her singed sleeve glowed with tiny orange sparks—the only light she could see on the dark surface of Atterra Bravo.
Paige grabbed Rose’s arm with both hands, smothering the sparks as quickly as they’d ignited.
Paige and Casca yelled into the dark together. “Bravo Rising! We’re the airlift! Don’t shoot!”
“Don’t shoot!” echoed a young man’s voice from the darkness of the pumice beach, in such firm tones of command that the whistling and thudding stopped instantly.
“Are you hurt?” Paige asked frantically, with one arm around Rose as if she was trying to support her while she ran the other hand up and down Rose’s arm checking for damage.
“I don’t think so,” Rose answered. “The bolt just grazed the outside of my flight suit. I wasn’t going to be wearing it to an embassy dinner anyway. It’s okay, Paige!”
Rose couldn’t remember her sister being this upset since they’d left Otomok.
“I felt the shock, but I can’t feel a hole in my sleeve,” Rose said. “I’m not hurt!”
Dark figures came forward in the starlight. Voices babbled apologies.
“We can’t tell the ships apart in the dark. The First Order has been circling the planet, too—”
“And then there was the explosion yesterday—”
“Explosion?” Someone spoke over the top of the other speaker. “That wasn’t an explosion. That was some kind of solar flare—”
The Atterrans of the Firestone Islands were just as ferociously on edge as everyone else who’d felt the strange shock waves reverberating through the galaxy the day before.
Hammer’s crew couldn’t give them any more of an explanation than what they were inventing on their own. Finch, emerging behind the rest of them, didn’t even try. He just skipped straight to what they had in common. “Are the drops getting through?” he asked.
A slight, youthful figure stepped forward in the dark and answered firmly in a clear voice, “Thank you, thank you! Yes. We’ve picked up all three of them. The reason we’re out on foot tonight is because we were hoping to get to the final drop before dawn.”
“Is that Reeve?” cried Paige and Casca together.
Suddenly, the district representative and her pilot grandson were locked in a desperate embrace, while Paige clung to Rose.
After Casca had let go of Reeve, he whirled spontaneously and threw his arms around both Paige and Rose at the same time. Then he stepped back, trying to see them clearly, but the night was too dark for any of them to see much more than shadows.
“I’d have stopped people from shooting at you sooner if we’d been able to see your ship,” Reeve exclaimed. “I’d know that heavy bomber anywhere!”
“Was that you telling them to stop?” Rose asked. There had been no sign of fear in that command. “Wow, getting into action sure has changed you—you’re the head of Bravo Rising now!”
“Well, I’m glad Ms. Casca’s here to take over,” Reeve said. “I don’t like the responsibility! But it’s good to know I can do it if I have to. It wasn’t just getting into action that helped. It’s knowing that people trust me. And also…” He hesitated.
“A dash of hope?” suggested Paige.
“I thought Rose would think it was corny if I said that.”
“It is corny.” Rose laughed. “But probably true.”
“Thank you for giving me hope,” said Reeve. “For giving us hope.”
Finch cleared his throat and rapped his blaster against the tethering cable that held down the StarFortress. The sound rang clearly over everybody’s voices and the never-ending sound of the acidic surf at the edge of the beach.
“I think we need to pull this meeting together,” Finch announced. “We can’t stay long. How’s your night vision, folks? We’re going to have to unload this crate in the dark.”
He climbed back up through the hatch behind Nix to help the bombardier open the bomb bay doors and release the supply canisters for unloading. Then he called back out to Paige.
“Get up there in the cockpit and get ready to boost the power. I want this ship off the ground the second the bomb bay doors are shut again.” He drew a long, suspicious breath. “I don’t like the way this place smells.”
“Come on up with me, Rose,” Paige said. “And Reeve: keep up the good work.”
They clasped and squeezed each other’s hands in the dark, exchanging good-byes with Reeve and Casca.
The power baffler chirped a friendly greeting at Rose as she climbed up onto the flight deck.
“Little monster, you’re the best,” she told it fondly. Hammer had made the trip from Refnu to Atterra five times, in addition to the first trip from D’Qar, and the power baffler had only failed her once. Rose was proud of it.
Paige set the power. Rose felt the low hum through her feet in the dark.
“Hey, Hammer, how’s it going?” came the voice of Bolide’s pilot through the general comm system. “All’s well up here. We just made our drop and we’re heading out to relieve Dancer. Belle last reported in just before it jumped to lightspeed, and Mare and Treasure are on their way through the asteroid belt. You’re the last.�
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“Any action?”
“Just one patrol of TIEs. They didn’t stick around, either. I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t like it, but this is our last hop, so I’m not going to worry about it.”
“Don’t wait for us. If it’s that quiet, we’ll make our own way out of here,” Paige told them. “Be careful of the minefields. See you back on Refnu!”
“Stay safe,” Bolide’s pilot called in farewell, and checked out.
Rose gave a snort. “He’s too embarrassed to say, ‘May the Force be with you.’ He doesn’t believe in it.”
Paige shook her head.
“Not everybody does.”
She turned to Rose. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Sure I’m sure!”
“I can’t believe you made it through this whole mission without getting blown up, and then some kid with a blowgun on a planet that can’t even produce its own water tries to shoot your arm off.” Paige’s voice shook a little.
“Come on, Paige, it didn’t even damage my elegant eveningwear! And it’s not like you to make a fuss—”
“I wouldn’t if it had happened to me. But it happened to you. And I’m supposed to take care of you.”
Rose was silent for a minute. They sat in the dark, waiting for the people working below them to finish unloading the ship.
Then Rose said to her sister, “You know who’s been the bravest person involved in this whole operation?”
Paige didn’t answer. Rose wondered if her sister guessed what she was going to say.
“I thought Reeve was pretty brave when he came with us on that first reconnaissance trip,” Rose said, “flying across the Outer Rim all by himself with strangers.”
“You didn’t even want to fly with him because he was so scared of everything!”
Rose laughed. “He was scared. It didn’t stop him, though. He did what he had to do anyway. He helped us escape that First Order patrol ship. He probably saved our lives by grabbing up that water bottle that I dropped. And then he decided to stay on Atterra Bravo when we left.”
Paige laughed. “But? I always know when there’s going to be a ‘but.’”
“But Casca Panzoro is a million times braver. She had to let Reeve go.”
“Yes,” Paige agreed softly. “Yes, she is….”
It was Rose’s turn to laugh. “But?”
“Going on separate missions was brave of them,” Paige said. “But it was really nice seeing them get back together again.”
Of all the people who could have been waiting to meet the bomber crews when they struggled out of their Refnu weathersuits in the debriefing room after their last hop to Atterra, Rose did not expect Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo of the Resistance cruiser Ninka.
That night the look in her eyes was wintry. She didn’t greet anyone aloud as they filed past her into the room, but Rose could see that she was watching and noting each crew member individually, assessing their enthusiasm and their exhaustion. In Rose’s case, the singed sleeve got a nod. When everyone was gathered together and Fossil stood waiting at the front of the room, Holdo strode to meet her and addressed the Cobalt and Crimson Squadrons.
“Thank you for”—Holdo paused, looking around the room, catching individual eyes—“for everything you’ve done this week.”
She looked at Fossil. “Thank you, Commander.”
Fossil nodded, blinking her enormous eyes. Holdo turned back to the gathered StarFortress crews.
“I’ve heard from Fossil all that’s happened,” she said. “And I want to give you time to rest, to recover from wounds, to address your grief. I want to hear every individual report and impression. But I can’t do any of that. We’ve no time for it. You’re aware of the stellar shock of two days ago?”
They all nodded silently.
“It was a First Order attack on Hosnian Prime. It was an attack that destroyed the Hosnian star system.” She paused again, to let that sink in. “It destroyed the entire system.”
It was almost too enormous to comprehend.
And yet, nothing short of the destruction of an entire star system could explain the disturbance to the galaxy that they’d all witnessed.
Someone raised a hand and ventured, “How—?”
“The astonishing weapon they constructed has already been destroyed, as well,” Holdo said grimly. “It happened today. You, like me and my ship, were too far away to lend your aid. In any case, before the First Order could draw down the starpower to use their weapon a second time, the Resistance met them and stopped them. But the result of their attack on Hosnian Prime, and of our Resistance retaliation, is that we are now openly at war with the First Order.”
Rose heard quiet gasps around the room.
Paige reached for her hand and squeezed. Rose glanced at her sister. Paige’s face was drained, but her expression was calm as always.
And, as always, Rose could guess what she was thinking.
It was a relief to have this out in the open—to know that their fight would be in daylight now. That Atterra’s fight would be supported. That anyone who had escaped from Otomok would be believed.
But it was a bitter satisfaction.
“You’ve served the Resistance loyally on this mission. You’ve seen your comrades die. You must move on to the next battle without regret,” Holdo said. “Don’t spend time dwelling on the past. Look forward now. Dedicate yourselves to creating the best possible future.”
It hardly seemed possible that Holdo could find some positive encouragement for them under the circumstances, but Rose clung to every word.
“General Leia Organa has initiated an evacuation of the D’Qar base,” Holdo finished. “There’s no doubt our security has been breached. We need you, the heavy bombers, to return with me and the Ninka. We need you armed and able to fight in defense of the evacuation. Who is ready and willing?”
Every arm in the room shot up. Paige and Rose, still holding tight to each other’s hands where they sat side by side among the assembled crew members, raised opposite arms.
Holdo was silent for a moment, moved.
Fossil nodded again and said, “We are at your command.”
“My cruiser can provide you with armament,” Holdo told the bomber crews. “We’ll help you load the bomb racks. Fossil tells me you have enough crew for two squadrons of four bombers. You’ll fly as the Cobalt Squadron and the Crimson Squadron as usual. We can provide a starfighter escort of twenty X- and A-wings. Kaiden, Zanyo, Vennie?”
Holdo turned to each as she spoke their names. “I’d like to put the three of you back in starfighters. The rest of you must redistribute your crews. Rose Tico?”
Rose found Vice-Admiral Holdo looking her directly in the eyes. “I’d like you to come on board the Ninka as part of our maintenance team. We’re desperately short of good technicians, and I’m afraid we’ve got a bitter fight ahead of us. I’m impressed with the work you’ve done this week; you’re quick and reliable and you’re good at taking orders, as well as at taking initiative. I need you on my ship.”
Paige squeezed Rose’s hand.
It was an encouraging squeeze. It said: Go on. Now’s your chance.
If Rose went with Holdo, she would have to fly without Paige for the first time.
We are now openly at war with the First Order, Holdo had said. I need you on my ship.
Rose thought of Reeve Panzoro, and the decision he’d made when Bravo Rising had told him how desperately they needed him to stay on Atterra Bravo. Rose remembered how easily she’d imagined Reeve’s thoughts: Ms. Casca’s the only one I have left. If I do this, I might never see her again.
She couldn’t help thinking the same thing now, about Paige.
But she also remembered Reeve’s words: She’d want me to do the job I was needed for. So would my father.
And how Paige had answered him: Well, then. There you go.
“We’ll reshuffle everybody after the evacuation,” Holdo promised, seeing Rose’s hesitati
on. “All right?”
Rose swallowed. Then, suddenly, she gave a sharp nod.
She let go of Paige’s hand.
She knew that now she was going to be able to navigate new uncharted stars alone.
“All right,” said Rose. “I’ll do it.”
The cruiser Ninka hovered overhead while work crews shuttled out for boarding. The Ninka was too large to dock at the wharf where the bombers were berthed, and Rose was scheduled for the shuttle after the next. For a few more minutes, though, she crowded up against her sister in the lower gun turret of the Cobalt bomber Hammer.
Outside, instead of the quiet blue of hyperspace, the Refnu docks were busy with people running back and forth, handing over rented weathersuits, finishing the refueling process, and loading bomb clips. Rose had just finished dismantling Hammer’s baffler and was checking to make sure that Paige’s cannons were working.
But it gave her an excuse to steal five minutes alone with her big sister.
“What made you decide to say yes?” Paige asked.
“I wanted a new flight suit,” Rose said.
Paige gave a little laugh, just as Rose had hoped she would. Then Rose tried to explain the truth.
“I kept thinking about Reeve Panzoro. Being brave. Taking responsibility. The outbreak of war. And then you squeezing my hand, encouraging me.” Rose fiddled with the Otomok medallion around her neck. “Lots of things.”
She felt suddenly anxious. “I thought you wanted me to,” she said. “I thought you were ready to let me take responsibility for myself.”
“I want you to be yourself,” said Paige. “But of course that means being my sister, too.”
Paige had her own Otomok medallion wrapped around the gunsight mount of the cannon, as she often did, but now she untied it and hung it back around her neck, the way Rose was wearing hers.
Cobalt Squadron Page 15