- - -
Another fifteen losses (and two wins) for Quinn against Skywalker, and Viper and Rogue Squadron's commanders decided to call it a day. It wasn't just due to nearing bingo fuel, though that was a part of it.
General Dodonna had insisted that the squadrons form up.
"May I ask why, sir?" Luke asked. Quinn had been a little too hesitant to question the orders. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
Dodonna just chuckled.
"Because you don't want to miss this... All right... Here they come."
Just outside the perimeter established by the Alderaan Civil Defense Fleet and Uvena Prime's Golan defense platforms... A C90 corvette dropped out of hyperspace. It cruised along, quickly moving towards the planet.
Another appeared, and another, and another. DP-20 Corellian Gunships, and dozens of other vessels ranging from light freighters to armed couriers jumped in next, a swarm of them expanding outward like gnasps protecting their nest. Then, Nebulon-B frigates dropped out of hyperspace, their awkward forms somehow graceful against the black of space.
After them, Pelta-class frigates emerged. Quasar-class escort carriers. Old Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers, alongside Recusant-class destroyers, Munificent-class frigates and other ships from the old CIS Navy joined them. A Providence-class dreadnought, old and worn, flew alongside aging Acclamator-class warships and a brightly painted Venator. Dozens of other capital ships, in various states of repair, jumped in-A huge mix of warships from across the galaxy.
Even these parted though, making space. Quinn held his breath, waiting.
Then... Came huge, sleek starships. Not as huge as Star Destroyers, but definitely in the same tonnage. They resembled crafted organic creatures, like gigantic sea beasts now prowling the stars. These vessels... Quinn had seen them before...
"Mon Calamari cruisers," he murmured.
For the first time since he'd dropped his rank badge... The stirrings of hope burned in Quinn.
The hope for true victory.
"Rogue Squadron, Viper Squadron, you are cleared to come aboard Home One," a flight controller announced, "Lieutenant Quinn? Admiral Ackbar has requested that you, Viceroy Elana, and Princess Leia join him aboard as soon as possible."
"Confirmed, Home One," Quinn answered, heart beating hard in his ears, "we're enroute."
"And I'd just like to say?" And here, Quinn could definitely hear the smile in the female's voice, "welcome to the Rebellion, gentlemen."
"It's good to be here," Quinn replied, fighting the stupid grin threatening to break out on his face.
- - -
The Mon Calamari starship was very humid. But Quinn was not bothered by this. He strode to the locker room, stowing his gear, and changing into a thoughtfully provided uniform. Luke did the same next to him, grinning widely.
"Geez, summoned to see the Admiral right off the bat," Luke said, "that's either really good or really bad."
"More than likely, he simply wants to know the status of our fleet," Quinn said, "I am, for all intents and purposes, the military advisor to the Viceroy and the Princess."
"That's true," Luke said with a nod, "just hoping it goes all right for you, huh?"
Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a reason it shouldn't?" He asked. "Did I... Miss something?"
Luke shook his head.
"You really gotta lighten up, Quinn," he said, chuckling, "you're already getting nicknamed 'Cold Quinn'."
"That is a terrible nickname," Quinn sniffed, "there were far better ones for me back at the Imperial Academy."
"Oh?" Luke grinned, tilting his head innocently, "mind sharing them?"
"I..." Quinn shook his head. "No thank you."
"I just want to know," Luke whined. Quinn resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"I must see to the meeting, and you should debrief your pilots," Quinn said, shaking a stern finger at him.
"All right, Mom, I'll go do that," Luke said, "but seriously-Good luck."
"Hmph. To us all, I suppose," Quinn muttered, as he headed off to the wardroom.
He gave his squadron a very quick debriefing, told them to see the deck officer for room assignments, and headed up to the command levels. The vessel was very well appointed-There was a hydroponics garden with a waterfall and pools of water underneath a wide window reinforced by forcefields. A curious feature in a warship... But then Quinn realized that these had been converted into warships from civilian vessels.
The realization made him a bit sad, but grim necessity overrode that.
He found the door to the meeting room, the location of which the deck officer had forwarded to him. He checked his chrono, then entered.
Admiral Ackbar was sitting in a chair behind a desk. The office was rather simply appointed, just old, waterproof flimsies and some holos on the shelves. An old energy trident hung over his viewport.
The admiral himself looked like a strong being gone slightly to seed thanks to years of inactivity-But his large eyes were shrewd as he calmly looked Quinn over. He stood at attention.
"Lieutenant Marcus Quinn, reporting as ordered, sir," he stated, crisp and clean.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Ackbar stated in his gruff voice, rising to his feet, "take a seat. This isn't an interrogation. We're just waiting on your sovereign and your viceroy. I want this to be relaxed... For the most part."
"Aye sir," Quinn said, relaxing to the parade rest position with his hands behind his back, before he took a seat in one of the slightly beat up chairs opposite Ackbar's desk. Ackbar's whiskers shook a bit, a sign the Mon Calamari was a bit bemused.
"I've looked over your service record from the Imperial data mining we've been doing," Ackbar said, "you're the son of Admiral Tiber Quinn, aren't you?"
Pride blossomed in Quinn's chest.
"Yes sir," Marcus said, "he fought in the Clone Wars. I looked up to him. He was killed by a Separatist gunship ramming the bridge of his Venator in the last few days of the war."
Ackbar nodded, a hint of sympathy in his hard gaze.
"He defended Dac against a number of incursions during that war," he said, "I only met him once, face to face. But he was a good man."
"Thank you sir," Quinn said.
"Your uncle, on the other hand, is a concern," Ackbar went on, "Claud Quinn. An Admiral in the Imperial Navy."
Quinn frowned deeply.
"Sir," he said, calmly and evenly, "if you have concerns about where my loyalties lie-"
"If I had those," Ackbar interrupted, his voice far gruffer, "I wouldn't have let you into my office. We've got plenty of Imperials who saw they were on the wrong side, and joined us. I was rescued by former Imperials, from slavery to Grand Moff Tarkin. No Quinn, what I'm asking is... Do you have family the Empire can try to hurt? To use against you? Because we've authorized operations to help defections before. Recover family members, move them someplace safe."
Quinn bit back a sneer. It wasn't easy, given his memories.
"No sir," Quinn stated, "my uncle does not require any such services. I believe he is quite content where he is."
Ackbar nodded slowly.
"I understand," he said.
"As for the rest of my family?" Quinn shrugged. "If any of them survived... They will hopefully wish to join us without any word from me. But I am aware of the risks involved. I will not be compromised, sir."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Ackbar stated. The doors opened, and Ackbar and Quinn both rose as Elana walked in.
"Lady Viceroy, a pleasure to meet you," Ackbar said. He looked over Elana's shoulder. "Is the Princess delayed?"
"Princess Leia has... Other things to attend to," Elana said, "she sends her regrets, and asked me to act in her stead."
Ackbar stared at her for a moment, then nodded. He gestured to the chair next to Quinn's, and she took it gladly. He sat back in his chair, and activated his holoprojector. An image of the fleet in orbit around Uvena Prime appeared, and he smiled.
"To think.. We once started with nothing more than a few freighters and corvettes," he chuckled. "It's taken a lot of hard work to get us to this point, and it'll take even more to get where we need to be in order to win this war."
"Yes sir," Quinn said reflexively. Ackbar brought up a map of the galaxy, and brought up a few small info cards of a few various planets.
"In the last few years, the Rebellion has managed to liberate, and most importantly, hold, a number of systems across the galaxy," Ackbar stated, "which have been providing desperately needed supplies to our operations. Dac is one of them. While it is not completely free of Imperial influence, they have had to withdrawal so many forces from the area due to uprisings that we can act with effective impunity-That's where Home One came from."
Ackbar pointed to another system on the Outer Rim.
"Another is Lothal, which was liberated a few months ago. It's mostly an agrarian world, but what little industry it has, has become invaluable to us."
"Yes, that's the world where Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet was lost, with the Grand Admiral himself," Quinn mused, "it is for that reason, among other uprisings across the galaxy, that the Imperial Navy has not been willing or able to retake it."
"The more the Alliance can destabilize the Empire, the more secure our supply chain becomes," Ackbar explained, "we can't win this war with brute force. But the more support we gain, the stronger we become, and the more strategic victories we can win, even if we lose on a tactical level."
"But this fleet is huge," Elana protested, "don't you have the firepower to go on the offensive?"
It hit Quinn with perfect clarity.
"We always... I mean, the Imperial Navy always underestimated just how large a fleet the Alliance had," Quinn said, staring at Ackbar with new respect, "because a single fleet, no matter how large, could still be defeated. But preserving the fleet as a symbol is far more important than as a military asset, isn't it?"
"Oh," Elana nodded, "because as long as the fleet is intact, striking back against the Empire... The Empire is not invincible!"
Ackbar smiled, and nodded.
"Very good, both of you," he said, "that has been our strategy. And it's going to stay that way for a while... But it can't remain that way forever. We can break up the Empire, weaken it with this strategy, but we're going to need to hold ground to actually defeat it. Your liberation of Uvena Prime has given us the start, perhaps, to actually holding planets."
Ackbar brought up two more holo images: One of a Golan Defense Platform, and another of an Orbital Fabrication Facility.
"Uvena Prime is an important logistics hub for the Outer Rim, but at the moment, the Empire cannot retake it with all the other brushfires they have to put out," Ackbar explained, "most importantly? This planet can produce Golan Defense Platforms, and Orbital factories. A self-sustaining production system."
"If you have an orbital factory, you can built another one," Elana surmised, "those can build one more each, then you have four. Then eight, and so on. And the Golan Defense Platforms can be built to protect them."
"As well as the planets they are in orbit of," Ackbar added, "if Uvena Prime can produce enough such facilities for us, we can deploy them to freed or mostly freed worlds. They can manufacture their own defenses. This would allow us to hold them from anything short of an all out Imperial attack, and free up our starships for offensive strikes. We still don't have the numbers... But being able to hold these planets will let us build ourselves up to the point we can get those."
"So, do you want us to negotiate with the Shistavanen to do so?" Elana asked. Ackbar shook his head.
"No, no. You've done a good enough job of winning their goodwill, that Mon Mothma and the other civilian leaders in Alliance Command can get them to agree to that. I have no doubt they will join us. No, what I want is for your fleet to commit to defending them until they can defend themselves. We will provide as much logistical support as we can, as well as all our intelligence links, finances, you name it. But the bulk of the Alliance Fleet must continue to keep scaring the Empire, and stay mobile. Your fleet can join us when the time comes... But we need you here. You liberated them. You have the best relationship with them. Can you do it?"
Elana looked over at Quinn.
"Quinn? What do you think?"
Quinn hummed thoughtfully.
"The strategy, long term, can definitely work," Quinn said, "though, I do think in the shorter term, we can afford to go on the offensive in different ways."
"Oh? How so, Lieutenant?" Ackbar asked, a bit of a challenge in his voice. Quinn stood up to it.
"I agree, preserving the fleet is vital to the long term success of the rebellion," he said, "but continuing to strike the Empire is necessary, beyond raids and covert missions. My father spoke of his strategy: Defeat in detail."
Ackbar nodded.
"I'm aware of the concept," he said, "isolating smaller Imperial fleets and then overwhelming them with larger fleets or superior firepower?"
"Yes sir," Quinn said, "I believe that the use of the Golan Defense Platforms can aid us in such a strategy, as well..."
"Lure Imperial fleets into attacking defended worlds, while we use our fleets to trap and destroy them?" Elana guessed. Quinn nodded, and the Viceroy smiled.
"It's brutal... I love it, Quinn."
Quinn was just able to hide his blush.
"We'll see if we can make it work," Ackbar said, "but we're going to need the platforms in the first place... And we'll want a higher ranking officer to implement it."
Quinn frowned, but he saw the logic.
"I understand, sir," he said.
"Therefore," Elana said cheerfully, "with your permission, Admiral, I'd like to recommend Lieutenant Quinn for promotion to Captain. Any objections?"
Ackbar smiled, again holding back laughter judging by the shaking of his whiskers.
"None. Congratulations, Captain Quinn."
Quinn allowed himself a smile, and stood to offer a bow to both.
"I am honored, My Lady, Admiral."
They talked for a while longer, working out more details, before they left-Ackbar had other meetings and things to see to. But Quinn left with a confident smile on his face.
"Careful," Elana teased, "your reputation might suffer if they saw you looking happy."
Quinn returned to his usual neutral, hard expression.
"Sorry, My Lady," he apologized.
"It's all right," Elana chuckled, "but I like you saving your smiles only for me, you know?"
Quinn smiled again. Damnit... She got to him so easily...!
"So Captain," Elana said cheerfully, "what is our first order of-?"
Her comm beeped. Elana held up a finger.
"Hold that thought," she said, as she brought the holo up to her face, "yes River? ... River?"
River finally appeared, still in full mask and armor... But holding her side.
"Urgh... My Lady," River groaned, "I tried to stop them... I really did, but Verlaine stunned me and-"
"Wait, what?!" Elana gasped. She looked around, seeing a few Alliance personnel staring. She muted the holo, grabbed Quinn's arm, marched down the corridor, and pulled him into a maintenance closet. A lone astromech sat at a recharging station, as she unmuted her communicator.
"She stunned you?!"
"Yes, My Lady," River continued, "she and Princess Leia just flew off in a Y-Wing! They used the launch codes for a standard recon mission, but they're headed for-!"
"Naboo," Elana groaned.
"Naboo?!" Quinn asked in disbelief, "she's going all the way to Naboo?! Are they insane?!"
"Yes, and we're going to go after them," Elana stated.
"I will alert the flight deck-" Quinn began, but Elana held his hand and shook her head.
"No! Nonono! We're not alerting any one else! No more than we have to!" She hissed. She turned back to the holo.
"River? Have my shuttle prepped for launch. Get my swoop gear. Tell Earnhart to meet us in the Torhu's landing bay, now."
"At once, My Lady," River bowed, and vanished.
"But My Lady," Quinn emphasized, "should we not ask the Alliance to-?"
"They just asked us to defend a world for them, Quinn, and our princess just ran off on her own," Elana hissed, "what do you think they'll do if they find out our sovereign is off on a suicide mission they told her not to do?"
Quinn was silent... Then he nodded.
"Point very well taken, My Lady," he said.
"Good, come on," Elana said, "I'm gonna need a pilot. I'll ride in the back of your X-Wing over to the Torhu."
"Er, that will be quite a squeeze-"
"Then I'll sit in your lap!" Elana groaned, as she emerged from the closet, "I don't care!"
She glared at a few techs and droids staring at them.
"What are you looking at?!" She demanded, as she stormed down the corridor. Quinn emerged a moment later, clearing his throat.
"As you were," he ordered. The Alliance personnel obeyed... Though one tech shot him a thumbs up.
Quinn turned, chased after his lady, and focused very hard on keeping the blush off his face.
- - -