"Please tell me this ship has something fancy to keep us from getting shot out of the air," Caida said, gripping the control panel with one hand to keep from being flung forward.

They had entered the airspace of the pirate's base, and had already come up against heavy resistance from the pirates in the form of both fighters and antiaircraft guns.

"Where did they get equipment like this, anyway? AA guns should be in warzones, not in the middle of some force-forsaken, backwater-"

"Caida," Kadira cut in, glancing over at her former partner using the wraparound view in her HUD. "If you don't mind, could you try to return fire to some of those fighters instead of yelling at them? I don't think insults will keep them off our tail."

Caida muttered grudging agreement, sliding over to take the controls of one of the Vanguard's many turrets. Kadira saw her flinch as the Vanguard bucked slightly, reacting to an especially harsh barrage from the AA guns below.

"Still, you would think a ship as advanced as this would have something to keep us from getting hit," Caida muttered.

"It does. It's called a pilot, and it doesn't help to distract her," Kadira managed, spinning the Vanguard about in an especially violent turn. She was beginning to regret not taking Laniff as her gunner, as at least he could shoot in silence. Kadira had forgotten how Caida tended to shoot and insult with equal vehemence.

::Come in squad leader, this is blue leader.::

"Go ahead, blue leader," Kadira answered, activating her helmet's comm with a few blinks.

::Enjoying yourself, ad'ika? Looks like you're having an interesting time up there,:: Iam replied, sounding remarkably calm. Kadira grimaced and forced the Vanguard into a steep climb to avoid a particularly ambitious fighter. Caida blasted the ship into dust as a warning to any of the other fighters that might have considered taking the Vanguard on by themselves.

"It would help to have those AA guns out of the picture, buir. We're getting hit pretty hard up here, and those fighters are adventure enough. They're getting brave enough to try to take the Vanguard individually, and that level of stupidity makes me nervous. People usually start kamikaze runs next."

::Working on it. Laniff is deciding which explosives would be best to use.::

"Tell him to hurry it up, then," Caida shouted.

::Tsk, tsk, can't rush quality,:: Laniff's voice came over the comm. ::Kad'ika, try to make a run on the western-most AA. I need a distraction to get the explosives close enough to do any damage.::

"You want us to fly straight at one of those things?" Caida asked, incredulous.

"Jett, you getting this?" Kadira asked over the comm, ignoring Caida's look of disbelief.

::Loud and clear. I'll make the run with you, keep those fighters off your back,:: Jett confirmed, his ship exiting formation as he extracted himself from a dogfight to fall in line with the Vanguard.

Kadira jerked the controls upward, sending the Vanguard into a spiral and firing to clear a path. Most of the fighters in the vicinity spun out of the way as quickly as their pilots were able to, none of them quite willing to take on a pilot of Kadira's quality, especially with Jett behind her providing cover. Those that didn't move in time spiraled to the ground in flames, caught in the fire of both the Vanguard and Jett's more maneuverable fighter.

"…We're going to die," Caida said finally, her voice matter-of-fact. "This is a suicide run."

"Oh come on," Kadira admonished. "Don't tell me you honestly wanted to live forever."

Laniff glanced up at the sky as the Vanguard screeched by, followed closely by Jett's one-man fighter. He grinned and glanced to Iam, who gave him a brisk nod.

"Keep those guns from shooting me out of the snow, vod," Laniff spoke into his comm, wincing as Caida responded with a few choice words. "I wasn't actually talking to you, Caida," he said dryly, glancing down to check the explosives once more. "And if you keep using language like that, I'll have Kad'ika patch you out of the comm."

::Try it, flyboy,:: Caida replied sharply.

::Knock it off you two, you're both pretty. Now can we make this run or not?:: Kadira cut in.

Laniff grunted an affirmative, noticing that Jett was wisely keeping out of the conversation. "On my mark… Three, two, one, and go!"

Laniff sprinted for the AA turrets, seeing Iam doing the same out of the corner of his eye. The Vanguard spiraled overhead, drawing the turret's fire as Jett kept the smaller fighters around from taking advantage of the extra firepower of the AA guns. Laniff flinched as he slid on his knees to the base of one of the turrets, hearing a massive explosion overhead. He glanced up, breathing a sigh of relief that the Vanguard was still intact. Kadira was staying just within range of the turrets, keeping their gunners too busy to notice the two Mandalorians rigging the turrets to blow.

::Keep it close, Kad'ika,:: Iam instructed. ::We don't want them noticing us-::

::Shab,:: Kadira interrupted, causing Laniff to glance up. He saw the Vanguard pull up sharply, spinning in a separate direction from Jett's fighter.

"What's going on, vod?" Laniff asked, his voice clipped. He continued working on the explosives, using his HUD to continuously check on the Vanguard's status.

::More fighters incoming. Lots more,:: Jett explained when Kadira didn't answer. ::Too many for the smugglers to hold, and I think they've figured out that Kad'ika and I are leading this thing.::

"Get out of here. You need more room to maneuver," Laniff instructed.

::And let you become turret fodder? No thanks. We'll make do,:: Kadira responded. ::Jett, think we can manage a two man assault? We can use the AA fire for cover. They'll have to avoid it just as much as we will.::

::Affirmative,:: Jett responded. ::It'll take some fancy flying, but I think we can handle it.::

::You two get out of here,:: Iam cut in, his voice strained. ::I doubt these pirates will worry about catching their own in their fire. Even the Vanguard can get taken out by an Antiaircraft turret… Do you hear me? That's an order.::

::Sorry buir you're breaking up, I didn't catch that:: Kadira responded calmly.

"Like haran he is," Laniff snapped, slamming the explosives against the base of the AA turret with more vehemence than was probably needed. "Get out of there, Kad."

::Not going to happen. Finish up your explosives, you two. The sooner you take out those turrets, the easier our job up here will be.::

Laniff cursed as the comm went dead.

"He's going to be so mad when we're out of this," Caida said, glancing over to Kadira's armored form. It was such a foreign sight to her, seeing the T-visored helmet instead of her former partner's face, as well as the scratched green and gold armor.

"He'll yell and fuss, but he'll get over it," Kadira responded cheerfully, tipping her head in Caida's direction. "You ready to take on some extra fighters?"

Caida nodded, turning her attention back to the turret sights. "Tell me what I need to do."

"Point and shoot," Kadira responded. "I'll keep us out of the AA fire, and take out as many ships as I can in the meantime. Your job is to keep them from getting too confident. We have about thirty seconds before they're in range. Jett, don't try to take on their formation head on. Let the Vanguard take the brunt of it, we can stand a lot more than your fighter can."

::I'll catch any stragglers,:: Jett's confirmation came over the comm.

"Oya, vod," Kadira said simply, taking the Vanguard higher to get what advantage she could over the fighters coming in.

Caida swallowed hard, hearing Jett's return of the phrase, but not quite able to do it herself. She had always handled life or death situations differently than Kadira, and had always envied her partner's easy recklessness. She adjusted her grip on the controls nervously, licking her lips.

Kadira glanced at Caida briefly, noticing her friend's nervousness. Caida had her eyes fixed on the sights of the Vanguard's turret, her jaw set with determination. Kadira smiled and looked back to the controls. Caida was at her best when she was like this, though she wasn't much fun to be around.

::Here we go,::Jett warned, bringing his ship up and over the top of the Vanguard in order to use the larger ship as a shield from the AA guns.

Kadira had just enough time to take a deep breath before the fighters were upon them. They were in a strict formation, not breaking even as Caida, Kadira, and Jett all opened fire on them. Some of the more unfortunate ships were sent spiraling from the sky, trailing smoke and flames. A few were hit by the AA turrets, allowing Jett and Kadira to take full advantage of their superior height in the sky.

"Keep an eye on those sensors if you can," Kadira instructed Caida, nodding to a set of lights on the Vanguard's control panel. "They're hooked up to my HUD, but I'd like extra warning if a missile heads our way."

Caida nodded confirmation, and Kadira looked back to the fighters. They had made a tight turn and were now headed back for a second sweep.

"Let's show these aruetii something new," she muttered, forcing the Vanguard to head straight at the formation. She could feel the Vanguard respond to her commands instantly, leaving her grateful for the amount of credits that had been poured into the ship. At the moment, every last one was worth it.

Kadira gritted her teeth as the fighters swarmed past her, forced to break formation or risk an impact with the Vanguard's sleek surface. She slammed the controls to the side at the last minute, hearing Caida's curse of surprise as the bottom of the Vanguard sheared off the top of one of the fighters. The resulting explosion jerked the Vanguard up and to the side, forcing the other fighters to scatter further as Caida and Kadira both opened fire at the same moment, using the surprise of Kadira's maneuver to their advantage. Six fighters crashed into the planet surface at nearly the same moment, one of them striking a distant antiaircraft turret and sending up a massive ball of flame and smoke into the air.

::Please tell me you planned that,:: Jett's breathless voice came over the comm as the remaining fighters struggled to regroup.

"I planned the first bit," Kadira confirmed. "The second part was dumb luck. Everybody ok?"

"Fine," Caida said, letting out a breath and running one hand through her hair. "Force, I hate flying with you."

::All clear here,:: Jett confirmed. ::Let's finish these guys off this round.::

"Affirmative," Kadira agreed. "Laniff and Iam should be about done down below, and after that we can end these dogfights and focus on the base once those turrets are out of the way."

Laniff ducked as one of the turrets exploded, struck by a downed fighter.

"You'd think she could focus on the targets in the sky and leave some for us down here," Laniff complained, sprinting to the next antiaircraft position.

::She's always been an overachiever,:: Iam agreed dryly. ::This is my last one. You about finished?::

"Just as soon as I wire this in… and there we are. Ready for a light show?" Laniff asked, glancing in Iam's direction. The man finished patching his explosives into the last of the antiaircraft turrets, giving Laniff a thumbs-up. The two men sprinted back to the defensive line, ducking behind a snowbank for cover as Laniff looked to Iam for confirmation.

::Kad'ika, Jett, clear the sky above those turrets, let the fighters take the damage,:: Iam instructed.

::Sure thing buir,:: Kadira confirmed, and Laniff watched as the Vanguard lifted up and away from the firefight, leading the fighters in a spiral before peeling away and leaving them to patrol the skies above the antiaircraft guns. Jett's fighter took a moment longer before doing the same, and Laniff slammed his hand down on the detonator.

For a moment, Laniff was blinded by the flash of light that lit up the snowscape as his HUD struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness. As soon as his vision cleared, Iam signaled him and the two stood and made a dash for the pirate's base, which was now wide open with the antiaircraft turrets and other defenses knocked out by the explosion.

The Vanguard passed them overhead, firing at the few remaining defenses the base had, clearing a path for the ground assault. The smugglers' ships held off what was left of the pirates' fighters, keeping them from engaging the troops on the ground or returning to the base to defend it as foot soldiers.

Laniff grinned and pushed himself faster, reveling in the adrenaline rush of knowing victory was close.

It took less than an hour for the rest of the pirates' base to fall, leaving the smugglers and their new allies to check over their own ships and equipment, as well as bury their dead.

"Any lasting damage to the Vanguard?" Laniff asked, coming to peer up the ship's landing ramp curiously.

"Not that I've found," Kadira responded, ducking into view. "I'll have to work on the shields, get them repaired a little bit, but nothing the mechanics at MandalMotors can't handle. And the belly could use some work, after the impact it had with that fighter, but again, nothing major. She's made of stern stuff."

"Good thing, with you for a pilot," Caida muttered, coming down the ramp with an oily rag and an irritated expression.

Kadira simply rolled her eyes and let the woman go, shaking her head wryly. "Has Iam decided when we're heading back to Mandalore?" she asked, coming down the ramp to stand next to Laniff.

"Fairly soon, I'd imagine. He's talking with Sidra now, and Jett is apparently deciding what he's going to do."

"Be nice to him, Laniff. He's dealing with a lot," Kadira said gently.

"He kidnapped you," Laniff pointed out, frowning.

Kadira shrugged and ruffled his hair playfully, having to stand on the tips of her toes to do so. "And you shot me the first time we met, if you recall. If you get a second chance, so does he."

"You drew first, remember," Laniff pointed out, but he was unable to hide his smile. "I'll put up with him. But that's it."

"That's all I'm asking for."

"Iam will give him a hard time, though," Laniff pointed out. "After Jett has had a chance to recover."

Kadira shrugged again. "Jett deserves some rough times, too. Besides, Iam's my buir, I can't expect anything else."

Laniff glanced over Kadira's shoulder, eyebrows raised questioningly. Kadira turned, curious to see what had caught her friend's attention. Jett crossed the hangar towards them, looking tired and slightly resigned. When he reached them, he was silent for a moment, glancing between their faces as if trying to read their reaction ahead of time.

"…I'm coming to Mandalore," Jett said finally, running one hand through his dark hair. "I think it's time I go home."

A/N: This wraps up Book 4. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through the delays and frustrations, I hope to have the next one up and running smoothly very soon. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions!