Soft laughter. A rougher but still feminine voice, like it was coated in gravel. Sharp inhale of a breath. Alarm claxons. Falling out of the bed both women scramble with great speed- underwear, pants, boots, shirt, jacket. Somewhere in her early thirties a young redhead with a wicked scar on her cheek passes over a belt, and receives one of her boots in turn. Chase groans, "Kriffin' timing of this I swear I-" beeping interrupts her as T7-B8 whirs into the room with valorous speed. Chirping wildly the semi-stunned Chase barely seems to recognize she's still dressing. Nor did she notice that the other pilot who was sharing her bunk raced out first ahead of her, shouting back something about how she's gonna get an earful about this again.
"Kriff a what?!" she shouts, looking to T7 astonished but shakes her head and commits herself rushing off after the other pilot.
---
"So, that was the start of it all.." she says over the intercom between ships. Off her left wing another Republic pilot kept to formation on a routine patrol around Alderaanian space.
"You hear how fast Coruscant fell?" returns the voice of a young male pilot, barely into his twenties by the sound of him. Probably walks around with only chin scruff and still hasn't figured out how to land the ladies. Not that Chase would have ever found out, but he was actually quite a hit among the men. She woulda been proud to know that.
"Yea, and I don't like to kriffing think of it.. how many engagements you have so far?"
"Just one, but barely," he sighs causing the intercom to static a little, "their ships aren't even manned, are they?"
"They don't fly like anyone I've ever seen. Not even the Empire throws away pilots quite like that. Tales from the ground say that their soldiers are all real intelligent droids and they're hard as kriff to kill. Not somethin' I'd want to catch myself with in the privy eh?" she says, chuckling darkly.
"Y-yea," he says, his voice cracking a little unsettled.
Time passes a little while without word from either of them. Calm silence in the free flying dead of empty space around Alderaan. Off in the distance there is the amassed fleet of the Republic efforts to fight against this overwhelming threat. In that same view rests the very planet of Alderaan, a planet she'd never really seen but it did look rather beautiful from up here.
"Hey kid," the silence breaks like a knife through butter.
"Yea?"
"You got a family back home, ma, dad?"
"Dad's a senator, he's.. I don't know. Mom was back on Coruscant," he says, voice shaking a little. "Hope she's still.."
"I'm sure she is kid. Hey, least you got them to fight for eh?" she says, chuckling a little over the mic. Chase's voice always did make everything sound a little too rough. "I was saved by the Jedi when I was young. Slavers. Parents were killed by the Empire.. I think," she sighs but pulls herself together. "Master Jedi I owe everything to is probably out there fightin' so I can't quite stop, eh? Love this stupid Republic bit too much, freedom and all that kriff, ey?" she laughs, and overrides the murmurs of discomfort coming over the line.
"Why.. are you telling me this?" he asks, his voice solid.
"Remember kid, when the kriff hits the fan you're a soldier first. You know what that means? That means you do your job. Your job is to win the fight against the enemy, got it? But you know what happens if we lose?"
"Do you really thi-"
"No, can't- not with me. Do you know what happens if we lose?" she repeats with insistence.
"No," he says, shakily but honestly.
"Your jobs over, and you go home. They call a retreat, I want you escorting the first ship out of here you read me?" she asks, tone steely.
"I don't-"
"You read me?"
"Yes, Colonel."
"Good. Now fly on back ahead and report us in, eh? Wanna get me something to eat and T7 here has earned himself a nice oil bath," she says, and T7-B8 whirs happily.
Watching the young pilot fly on ahead Chase leans her head back into her seat. Looking up to the big open space all around her, out here in the black always felt the most like home. Was kinda lucky then, wasn't it? She bet the folk who were from Alderaan were pretty stoked up for this fight with it being in their home. Nothing quite like fighting for home from home to keep the spirits steeled.
"You think that's why I always fly so hard Bait?" she asks. Whirring inquisitively her astromech responds with a light and almost cheerful tone. "Think ma probably gave birth to me on that old ship dad had us flying around in," she smirks, bringing a hand to her chest as she thinks. Remembering that traumatic day all those years ago felt sorta funny right now. "Guess we all get to die out here. Nothing like getting to die for home, eh?" she says, and gets a sadder whirring response but still as inquisitive. Reaching her hand upward toward the cockpit she lays it flat against the glass and presses until her hand rests flat.
"Welp," she drops her hand from the glass as her comm chatter starts going wild. Hands flipping switches with speed, "Kriff all that melodramatic nonsense. Hey, T7?" T7-B8 whirs questioningly. "Ready to have one last good fight against these kriffed up droids?" T7-B8 whirrs with his ever-beating heart of justice.
"Awesome," she says, chuckling wildly in their internal comms. Flipping one last switch...
"Attention all ships, this is Colonel Chase. We have contact and I need fighters on me. Want our squadrons harrying anything coming anywhere near our our larger ships. They got fighters that ain't even manned so I don't wanna see any of you throwin' your lives away for a tin can," she puts her hand over her mic, "Sorry T." T7-B8 whirrs indignantly.
"Remember, I wanna see soldiers out there today. No heroes. We ain't got time for all that. Keep close to your wingmate and stay alive," she cuts the comm. "Alright T. One last dance," she says, wearing a most dangerous grin.
T7-B8 beeps valiantly one final time.