As expected, Intelligence had been wrong. Again. Nal Thor, the Rogues' newly minted leader, cursed in his native tongue and ignited his engines as the flight deck cleared. Outside, a multicolored array of lasers played across the stars as Galactic Alliance and Maw Irregular forces clashed above Ord Mantell.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Rebel Yell</span>had dropped out of hyperspace right in the thick of the fighting, intercepting a volley of turbolaser fire aimed at the rapidly disintegrating Mantell Station. Her shields, augmented by a newly refitted internal generator, glowed a bright teal as laser and ion bolts flashed against them.<br/><br/>"Leader to all Rogues," Thor barked into the squadron comm-net, "Complete flight checks as quickly as you can and pull out by wingpairs. Deuce, you ready?"<br/><br/>Ardus Blenner, the newest and least experienced X-Wing pilot on the team, called out in affirmative. "Four lit and ready to burn, Leader." Blenner was a bomber jock by nature. Though he'd made the cut to join the Rogues, his X-wing proficiency scores rated lowest of the squadron's twelve, which meant pairing up with the most proficient pilot on the squadron to compensate for that shortcoming.<br/><br/>"Acknowledged. Rogues One and Two launching," Thor said as he eased out on repulsorlifts. Almost immediately upon exiting into the void of space, a hostile TIE fighter flashed across his display. His crosshairs glowed green--a laser lock. On reflex, Thor pulled the trigger, vaping the TIE with a quad-linked blast. Display marked all clear near the cruiser's docking bay. Setting his S-foils to attack position, Thor pulled his craft into a tight turn to port, past<span style="font-style: italic">Rebel Yell's</span>nose, searching for targets. There. A pair of TIE Interceptors on the tail of a Dagger TIE. Its shields flared bright as green bolts grazed its side. Throttle to full, Thor sped towards the beset pilot.<br/><br/>"Deuce, you take the left, I'll hit the right."<br/><br/>Two clicks on his comm. Affirmative, in Rogue code.<br/><br/>"Dagger Seven, this is Rogue Leader. Pull in towards us. We've got your back."<br/><br/>No sound of assent, but immediately he saw the TIE bank hard to starboard on a course to intercept the two X-Wings. Its shields flared once more as its pursuers fired, but this time they failed. The Interceptor on the Rogues' left grazed Dagger Seven's twin-ion engine, causing it to emit a plume of unhealthy black smoke. It didn't get a chance to fire again.<br/><br/>Laser lock. Thor fired, his wingman following suit a split second later. Eight spears of scarlet collimated light surged forth and skewered their targets. Two more down. And dozens more to go.<br/><br/>"Dagger Seven, Rogue Leader. Pull into<span style="font-style: italic">Rebel Yell's</span>planetward docking bays. There should be TIE brackets and repair facilities somewhere along that flank."<br/><br/>"Many thanks, Rogue Leader," replied a breathless female voice. "When we get out of this alive, I'll buy you and your crew a drink."<br/><br/>"I'll hold you to it, Dagger Seven," Thor responded as he pulled his X-Wing into another tight turn, this time in the direction of Daala's capital ships. Engines at full power, the two Rogues lunged deeper into the fray, lasers cycling at maximum speed as the TIEs closed in like locusts to the field.