"I came to ask for leave on Fabor III, sir." She stood stiffly at attention. Her face remained stony, but her eyes were fierce.

Zoom searched his memory for a moment. "Where you grew up, correct?"

"That's correct, sir."

Zoom shook his head. "Unless it's urgent, I'm afraid I can't. In a week the Regis will be moving out again, and I need everyone aboard her when she does."

"It is quite urgent, sir. Kiran'ah, my mother, recently joined the Alliance as a spy. She remained on Fabor III, as it is Imperial held. I learned from Intelligence that she was captured two days ago." Vape's eyes flashed.

"And you want to rescue her?" Zoom asked the obvious question.

"Yes, sir. She knows little of value to them, but they will think she is just holding out on them. I had a few run-ins with stormtroopers when I was younger; they will know she's my mother and that alone will be enough for them to...kill her," she said quietly.

"It will be very dangerous, Lieutenant, and I don't think the Alliance can spare people to help you...."

"I realize that, sir. I plan to do this on my own. Will you give me leave?"

Zoom sat back in his chair, a salvaged ejector seat, and sighed. She'll never pull it off herself. It's suicide! was his first thought. He corrected himself: No, that's not right. She's surprised me twice. The first time was when she was sent here and I thought 'Good grief, she's only a kid!', and the second time was when I learned she wasn't. Maybe she'll surprise me again. Finally, he said, "All right, I'll authorize it. Will two weeks be enough?"

"More than, sir, one is all I should need. Thank you, Commander." She rose to leave. Then, with a familiar humor: "I'm glad I didn't have to resign, sir."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "Good luck, Chelsey."

"Thank you, sir." She left.

Vape gently settled her A-wing down in a docking bay on Fabor III. Single-handedly springing her mother out of Imperial clutches was going to be difficult. She wished she had Redjed's lightsaber; it would have come in very handy. But her own blade and the other items she'd brought should be enough.

She grabbed a small duffle bag and climbed out of the cockpit. Her old home was not far from here, so she would stay there until she was prepared to take action. She needed to buy a few things and scope out the Imperial prison.

When she reached a small nightclub, which proclaimed itself to be Farlassk's, on the edge of town, she went in. It was hard to see in the dimness and the air smelled heavily of all manner of drinks. In the middle of the room a woman danced lithely on a colorfully lit stage.

Vape didn't much care for the place, but it had been the only place Kiran'ah had been able to get a job. She made her way to the bar where the owner and bartender, an overweight but kind lady named Marinshe Farlassk, poured a reddish-amber drink for a customer. Vape slipped around the bar and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey! Get out of here! No one's allowed behind this counter," Marinshe barked harshly, reaching under the counter, undoubtedly for a weapon.

"It's me, ma'am," Vape said as quietly as the noise would allow, "Chelsey Maxfield. You hired my mother as a dancer."

"Oh!" Marinshe's expression turned to one of worry. "You shouldn't be here."

"Don't worry, they aren't following me. They don't know I'm here yet," Vape assured her, referring to the Imperials. "I just want to go up to the room we rented from you."

"Okay, okay," Marinshe relented. "But don't stay too long."

Vape hurried up the stairs and quickly located the room. The lock code hadn't been changed and she let herself in.

The room was sparsely furnished but clean. A datapad lay on the bed. Vape picked it up and the screen lit up:

Dear one, I must write swiftly, for they have found me out. I haven't time to say much, except that I love you. Please do not do anything rash on my behalf. The Imperials will not give you any leniency for your age this time.

Must go,
Love,
Kiran'ah

Vape stared at it for a long time. So, her mother had known she would try to free her and all but begged her not to.

Finally, she stood up and brushed her tears away. She had made up her mind hours ago and nothing was going to stop her now.

It had been five days since Vape's departure. Zoom was glaring at some paperwork when the door buzzed to announce someone's presence. "Come in."

Vape's astromech droid, R2-2B, rolled in.

"Good morning, Tooby. What is it?"

Tooby let out a mournful noise and began to play a holo on the floor. A sense of foreboding came over Zoom as he watched Vape appear in miniature.

"I am wearing a device--" Vape's figure pulled up her sleeve to reveal a black band around her arm "--which will, or rather, has sent Tooby a signal when it fails to detect my heartbeat for a full hour. In that case, I will be either dead or captured. I told him to play this message for you and the others in the Red Squadron when he got the signal.

"I was hoping that you would never see this, but it would have been foolish not to be prepared. If my mother survives, which means my efforts were a success, Tooby has a message from me to give to her too. I would be very thankful if you could help him find her.

"I want to tell you, Commander, that your helpfulness and understanding are much appreciated. You make an excellent commanding officer.

"Thank you all for being such good friends and comrades. I enjoyed my time in this squadron immensely. And particular thanks to Yale, for being a great wingman and drawing that wonderful portrait of me, to Redjed, for all the fun we had practicing sword fighting, and to Jace, for being so nice.

"As great as it was, my time here has ended. Farewell, my friends." Vape's image flickered and was gone.

"So she's dead?" Zoom asked Major Faulkner minutes later. The Regis' intelligence officer had stayed with the ship during its time in the repair dock. He and Zoom were speaking over a secure hypercomm link.

"I'm afraid so, Commander. We happened to have another operative on the planet when it occurred. It appears that your pilot actually managed to escape the Imperial compound with another person, her mother we assume, and was fleeing when they got cornered.

"Our agent wasn't on the scene, but reported that after your pilot's blaster ran out of power, she drew her--" Faulkner checked a datapad. "--sword and tried to hold them off. When they finally seized her, she must have set off a thermal detonator. The blast destroyed her and the entire squad of stormtroopers. My condolences, sir."

Zoom nodded, mumbling thanks to the major before switching off. He rose from the chair and made his way slowly to the door of the sealed room. When he got there, he paused... then drew back his fist and punched the bulkhead, hard. Tears of pain sprang to his eyes, but the metal wall was unmoved.