The Awakening

[Mike Mar]

2 ~ Jansen
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(My head hurts...)

(My eyes , I can't open them...)

(Hey! What the hell!!!)

(I'm under water... no... BACTA!!!)

(I need to open my eyes... come on... open god damnit...)

(OK , a last effort... here... Its' blurry , all white...I see a light... No , two lights... DROID EYES!!!)



(I hear a voice in my head!)

"Mister MAR , please stay calm. I am DR-802 , medical droid. You are in a Bacta tank. Now that you are awake I will begin the Alpha nine recovery program. Please remain calm for the duration of the process."



6 HOURS LATER...



"What happened to me?"

"You were shot down by friendly fire on your last mission."

"How long have I been in that tank?"

"5 months , 2 weeks , 3 days and 17 hours."

"God damnit!!! Who's the pig that shot me?"

"LC Steel."

"!!!"




2 HOURS LATER... (after I've stopped swearing at Steel)




"Droid , am I fit for battle?"

"Surprisingly , yes. My logic program does not understand how you recovered so fast."

"Let's say , Steel helped me.... To whom do I report now?"

"That would be LC Stark."

"So I assume we are on the Nemsy. Thank you , I will be on my way."

[Wedge]

5 ~ Jansen
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Imperial Star Destroyer Nemesis, Corridor 78J

When Captain Wedge had been transferred over from the Striker, he had continued certain traditional habits from his previous ship. One such habit had been a weekly walk down of the entire ship, a stimulating hike on a Victory class Star Destroyer. That same trek on an Imperial Star Destroyer was something more like a marathon, as Commander Laithlis was willing to attest as he followed his commanding officer through the mid-decks of the mighty vessel, taking notes on a datapad.

“Now that Lieutenant Commander Stark is settled I want you to start filling up the Gimel roster.” Wedge said, as he inspected an open maintenance hatch. The crewman standing next to it snapped a sharp salute, which wedge and Laithlis returned as they continued their walkabout. “I see he brought Lieutenant Tornado with him from Alpha to serve as his squad executive officer and two flight leader. But does he have anyone in mind to take command of three flight?”

Laithlis consulted his datapad “Yes sir. Commander Stark has already selected a replacement. In fact he’s already aboard, he’s just been in sickbay for the last few weeks recuperating from injuries sustained during his last engagement.”

“Ah, poor fellow. Remind me to drop by sickbay later and say hello.”

“Will do sir.”

“Oh, does this new guy have a name?”

“I believe his name is…” Laith scrolled through a few pages before finding the answer. “Ah here it is. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, it’s Lieutenant-.”

“-Mar! You are not permitted to leave the medical bay until your treatment is finished!” A mechanical voice exclaimed behind the two officers. Curious, they turned to see an approaching crewmember in a pilot’s jumpsuit being followed closely by a 2-1B droid. The crewmember was trying his best to ignore the droid, which only made the medical unit more frantic to get his attention. Spying the two senior officers, the new arrival approached and saluted.

Captain Wedge returned the salute. “At easy, Lieutenant Mar. Welcome aboard the Nemesis. I see you’ve already made a friend.” Wedge gestured to the 2-1B, which was hovering near Mar, but had the good programmed sense to keep quite while in the presence of the Captain and first officer.

Mar glanced over his shoulder, then back at the Captain with a grimace. “Uh, yes sir. Would you mind, sir…?”

“Of course not.” Wedge turned to the medical droid. “You’re dismissed”

“But sir! I cannot-“

“I said, DIS-missed!”

“Of course sir.” The droid abruptly turned and departed, to Mar’s obvious relief.

“Thank you Captain, I owe you one. That droid has been following me around for almost ten minutes now, and I had the feeling he was getting ready to sedate me just to get me back in a hospital gown.”
“Don’t mention it, go report in to Commander Stark and we’ll call it even. The briefing for our next mission should be any time now. We’re planning to go after a major Rebel staging area, to give the Rebs back a little of what the gave the Chimaera.”

“You can count on Gimel sir.”

“Glad to hear it. Now get out of here before that droid decides to come back. I’ve had to escape a time or two myself, you know. Of course it helps when you're the Captain, they only ignore me half of the time now.”