Escape from Kessel

     The engines chugged and sputtered as Dia cycled the starter repeatedly. The Corellian beside her, Bren, was staring at the control panel, almost like a droid would. Within a moment his hands were flying over the buttons and sensors as if he had flown this ship his entire life.
"Corellians" she muttered and continued to cycle the starter. There was a loud bang and the engine sputtered to life; whining in protest at having to work. She scanned the sensors quickly and reset the scope - nothing. She knew that it was likely the atmosphere of the asteroid throwing off her scans but she secretly hoped that they had caught the Imperials in a golden moment where their Quick Response Fighters were out on a patrol.

     The Dirty Kick hummed to life and the controls came alive in her hands. For a moment she was going to seize control from the co-pilots ships, after all it was her ship, which she had stolen but that didn't make it any less hers; but after hearing how skilled Bren was at flying and seeing him handle the repulsor cart outside, she surrendered to his skill.
"You have control," she said passively. The expression was common amongst seasoned military pilots and wasn't surprised when Bren unconsciously responded, "I have control," back as his hands grasped the controls. The Dirty Kick lurched forward and surprisingly, with an element of grace, began their rapid ascent from Kessel.

     Movement from behind her caught her attention. Dia looked behind and saw Malcolm and Sora moving up into the cockpit. Although they no longer wore the grey jumpsuits, the garb of prisoners of Kessel, the grime and sweat on their face seemed to contrast intensely with their clean clothes. She looked down at her hands and was surprised to see them caked in just as much dirt and grime as her compatriots. It would take a good few hours in a refresher to feel clean again. Those were juvenile concerns now though. They had to escape before she could begin to worry about getting clean.

     The ship shook and rocked as they began to break through the atmosphere. The light from the view screen was almost blinding but Bren instinctively thumbed the dimmers before she could. In a few seconds they broke free of the asteroids atmosphere and it became eerily quiet. They floated, for what seemed like an eternity, weightless in space. She didn't even see Bren hammer the throttle forward and was shocked when she was thrown back into her seat. Shaking herself out of her stupor she reset the scanner and scope. Her heart dropped when a series of signatures dotted the screen - Imperials.
"I am picking up two Squadrons of TIE Fighters incoming," she said looking back to Sora and Malcolm. "Either get on the guns or make yourselves useful. We're not out of this yet". She was thrown again into her restraints as Bren performed a relatively complex manoeuvre to dodge some slow-moving debris. She glared at the Corellian who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Don't get cocky," she grumbled. The console chimed as more signatures were picked up on the scanners. Another chime from the console signalled they were being hailed. She reached for the buttons and opened the channel.
"Dirty Kick, this is Blue Leader. We are inbound to you from the dark side of the planet and will be in formation with you shortly. Stay on course and we will get you out of here." The voice was heavily distorted but she could make out the distinctive female voice of Talan Prower. Smiling she shot off an acknowledgement to the Alliance fighters. Virai had really sent the best for this one. Prower was by far one of the best pilots in the Alliance, second only to Skywalker and Antilles.

     She peered out of the view screen as an X-Wing drifted into view. The black and orange paint job on it marked it as Prower's personal T70 Incom X-Wing. It wagged its S-Foils in greeting. She reset her scanners and counted eleven other friendlies, now flying in formation with the Dirty Kick. Hopefully it was enough to get them out of here.
"You guys better be worth it," she thought, staring at Bren and then flicked the deflector shields on to double-bow.