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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3257276" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 427: ChoicesRulae Nok looked at the four others in a much smaller briefing room aboard one of the Golan Defense Stations that orbited Coruscant. That was all that was left of the Zephyrs. Five pilots. Most of the other squadrons were in the same situation, but it was harder to deal with when it was them. When it was their friends.    He glanced down at the datapad sitting on the podium in front of him before looking back up to the four others. To be honest, he was unsure of what to say to them. It was sitting in front of him on the datapad, but after everything else that had hit the kids in the last couple of days, Rulae found it difficult to break the next bit of news to them.    And so, Rulae was relieved when the red-haired human woman, Adria Harken asked, “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not quite sure why you wanted to see us. We just got the debriefing report an hour ago.”    Resisting the urge to show any emotion to that, the Duros commander simply shook his head and said, “I know its late and you’re all tired but...I just received our orders from Command.”    Not once had he received orders and brought all of them together. Worried looks appeared all around, and it was the Cest Uu’vel, a tan-furred Bothan, who very wearily spoke up, “Should we start packing up, sir?”    That was a hard question to answer, mainly due to the fact that he wasn’t too far off of the truth. Rulae looked to Cest and managed to shake his head again, “The squadron isn’t being disbanded, if that’s what you’re worried about. Lieutenant. However, the fleet is going to be off of the front lines for at least another three months while the ships can be repaired and those that were lost replaced.”    “What about the Admiral?” Rea asked, sitting in the seat farthest from the podium where he stood and with a completely unreadable expression on her blue-skinned face. She had just asked a question about something she shouldn’t have known about, but then again, Rulae remembered what it was like to track down every bit of information one could to figure out what was going on.    Upon their arrival at Coruscant, the Admiral had left for Fleet Command’s headquarters for what was likely to be a very long debriefing. Whether he would retain his command afterwards was something Rulae worried about, as running off to the edge of the galaxy, and losing so many in the process of defending a previously unknown species, had not exactly been in his orders.     After a short exhale, Rulae looked to the Twi’lek girl, “I know nothing more than you do about that,” he then scanned the others a moment and adopted the formal tone again, “The reason I wanted to get all of you together was to let you know of our situation. Zephyr Squadron will stay with the Araddon and her fleet, and so we will also be off of the front lines for the next few months. This will give us time to get new pilots and fighters to replace what we’ve lost and be ready for when we get back into the fight. I want us all together once the replacements are ready so that we can train and be ready together, as a full squadron and not just a group of random pilots.  But getting new pilots is going to take at least a standard month...”    He trailed off a moment and sighed, not liking what he had to say next, but knowing it was necessary. The pause was long enough that it made the rest of the pilots even more uneasy. Seeing this, Rulae quickly continued, “It leaves the four of you with three choices, all of which have gone through Starfighter Command and have been approved. If you wish to assist in the selection process, I am open to it. You are all experienced enough now to know what we need in new recruits. You’ve seen what happens to those that aren’t ready. You may also take a month of leave. Obviously, in a time with a war like we have, this is unusual...but Command says that we’ve been through enough combat and experiences that you have earned it,” he paused for a short moment and then, after glancing down at the last option on the datapad, decided he had to say it whether he liked it or not, “Finally, if you wish, you may apply for a transfer to another squadron. Obviously, I would not like to see any of you leave, but it is your choice. If you feel the need to stay in the fight now, you can do that...only not as a Zephyr.”    When he’d finished, Rulae noted that the four pilots were looking at him with expressions he just plain couldn’t read. He decided to blame it on the fact that all of them were different species, and while he was getting better at reading humans, Adria was one of the difficult ones. And so, Rulae simply watched them, noting that none of them looked to each other, only seemingly watching him as they went over this new information in their heads.    “Sir,” that was the Mon Calamari, Obrack Loro, “I would like to believe that I speak for all of us when I say that we are Zephyrs until the day we die.”    A furry hand came down on Loro’s shoulder, and Cest nodded to the Mon Calamari, “You speak for me.”    “And me,” Adria said from off to the side, a hint of a smile on her somewhat sharp features.    Behind them all, Rea leaned forward, “You do speak for all of us, Loro.”    A smile did find its way onto Rulae’s small mouth, and the Duros cut in, “That is very good to hear. And it also leaves the two of you with two choices...and I will leave you to make them on your own time. Now, this has been short, but please, go get some rest.”    He managed a salute to dismiss them, and they all returned it before standing up and starting out of the room. Rulae did his usual thing and stood at the podium trying to look busy while they all left. And, as always, one stayed behind to catch him in the ruse. Out of the corner of his vision, Rulae could see it was Rea who was waiting on him to acknowledge her. When he looked up to her, Rulae didn’t need any words to do that.    Seeing that she had his attention, Rea decided to get straight to the point, “If you don’t need me around, sir, I’ll be taking that month of leave.”    “I thought you would,” Rulae admitted, finally picking up his datapad and dropping it casually into his jacket pocket, “And if you leave early enough, you can your X-Wing without anyone trying to grab it for maintenance that you should be able to do yourself.”    That got a surprised look on her face. However, it slowly formed into a grin, and she nodded, “Thank you, sir.”    The Twi’lek saluted him a second time and then was gone. As Rulae waited a few moments, so that he would still look like he was busier than he currently was to the others, he admitted to himself that he had just done something he shouldn’t have. Technically, that X-Wing was the New Republic’s property, and definitely not meant for running across dangerous portions of space on what would be classified as personal business. But...    Rulae smiled to himself and shook his head.    But this was for Jyren...and, not only did Rulae have a soft spot for his old friend, but he had given his word. Actually, no, he hadn’t given his word. Jyren hadn’t given him the chance to. Perhaps that was what had been bothering him so much. That bastard ran off and did something stupid, then didn’t even give his friend the chance to say anything to him. It wasn’t like so many others that had died and he hadn’t had a chance to say anything to...there was a chance that time, though. And yet...    Reason slipped in as it always did for him, and Rulae pushed the thoughts aside. What was done, was done. And so, he would simply move on. Which meant that his next destination was filled with a few hundred datafilms covered with profiles for potential replacements.</blockquote>

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