Cadet Captured

12. Pilots

From where I'm working on repairing a starfighter for our use, I see Krell yelling at Captain Rex again. After, Rex comes over to tell us the new orders. We are to move out in twelve hours to aid in taking the capital city.

"Great, another suicide mission," Jesse mutters. "The capital is too well-armed."

"Why does it seem like he has it out for the clones?" Kix asks, placing a wrench in my outstretched hand.

"I think you're all overreacting," Dogma says. "Obviously, General Krell knows what he's doing. Do you really think he doesn't care if he loses men?"

"I'm not saying that," Jesse clarifies, "but I do think his desire for victory has blinded him to the fact that there are lives at stake. I've never seen a general with these kinds of casualties."

"He's out of control," Fives joins in. "He is not acting like the other Jedi. He has no respect for us."

"Listen," Captain Rex calls. "I don't agree with him either, but I don't have a better plan."

"Well, what about using these starfighters to destroy the supply ship?" I ask, poking my head out from underneath the hull.

"Our fleet has been trying," Captain Rex says. "The Umbarans have it as protected as the capital."

"But we've got their access codes and their own hardware," Fives insists.

"You were able to crack it?" Rex asks hopefully.

"I was able to crack it," I correct. "Once you understand the basics of how the starfighter works, it's pretty simple from there."

"We can sneak right past their blockade," Fives continues. "Get where our ships can't. If we take out that supply ship, then we cut off arms to the capital."

Captain Rex says he must run the plan by the general. It's as we're settling into our bunks that he returns.

"The assault on the capital," he sighs, "will continue as planned."

"So that's it?" Jesse asks, incredulous. "We just march into those missiles?"

"Oh, there's another option," Fives comments. "We go ahead with our plan and suffer the consequences."

"You would be court-martialed," Rex tells him. "If it were up to me and we had the time and the training, I would say do it. But it's out of my hands. And the truth is, you are no pilots."

"Come on," Jesse cries. "If Hardcase can fly one of these things, we all can."

"Yeah, he wasn't really flying," I put in. "More like avoiding crashing."

"We'll be blasted out of the sky before we get anywhere," Hardcase retorts.

"Not if we're in their fighters," Fives presses. "No one's gonna be shooting at us."

Then, the doors open and Jesse warns us of Dogma's presence, not very subtly.

"Uh, what's going on?" Dogma asks.

Leadhead, as dull as he can be, opens his mouth to explain. I quickly and quietly slap a hand over his mouth and shake my head at him. Dogma doesn't seem to notice.

Rex and Fives leave the bunks and I sigh. "Might as well get some sleep while we can, boys."

That is, until Fives comes back in. "So who wants to be a pilot?" he asks.

Jesse, Hardcase, Kix, and I join. I hate going against Captain Rex, but I don't want to sit by and watch Krell lead more men to their deaths.

Hardcase is the first to try to pilot, staying inside the hanger. He quickly loses control and begins crashing into things.