The Seduction of Wes Janson

Wes Janson has his own undercover mission during the New Republic's push to re-take Coruscant – a mission that will test his skills, his wit, his loyalty, his sobriety. How far is he willing to go to defeat the Empire once and for all? Wes Janson, Winter, X-Wing, Rogue Squadron.

(Set during the novels X-Wing: Rogue Squadron and X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble by Michael A. Stackpole.)

Rated T for language, sexual situations and descriptions of drug usage.

6ABY

Chapter 1

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Janson, you have been officially court martialed. Finally." General Cracken leaned over his regulation-issued desk in the recently assembled modular office structure that served as the New Republic Intelligence's current base of operations. His dignified bearing and placid expression gave no indication that he intended his statement to be humorous. In fact, it gave no indication at all.

Check the eyes, the erstwhile Lieutenant Wes Janson - ace X-Wing pilot, seminal member of Rogue Squadron, veteran of the Battles of Hoth, Endor and countless others, friend of the powerful Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, hero of the New Republic, and self-proclaimed all-around good guy – thought nervously. The eyes always give away the true feelings. But try as he might, Wes couldn't determine whether General Cracken's eyes were being tightly constrained in their sockets lest they roll backwards with mocking hysteria or were just bored and eager to move on to something more interesting than one slightly used and disposable cross-wing jockey.

"Um, thank you, sir?" Wes tried. "Do I get a say in this?"

"No." The curt answer came from the coldly beautiful crystal-white haired woman that stood to the left of General Cracken's desk. The elegant grace with which she carried herself complemented the formality in her tone, giving her the air of consummate professionalism that Wes remembered. "I arranged this personally. I assure you, it is precisely aligned with your unique profile."

Wes tilted his head and pursed his lips. Whenever Winter arranged something personally, there was very little that anyone could do or needed to do. In the couple years he had known her, he had never seen her do anything less than perfect - including, regretfully, having an unfortunate immunity to his wit and sagacity. What the hell, he decided. This could only add to his carefully cultivated aura of danger and mystique. Chicks liked that. "Very well, my uniquely felonious ears are all yours."

Winter waited for General Cracken's assenting nod before continuing with the mission brief. "You are West Jasso, former Commander in the Eiattu Planetary Defense Corps."

"Eiattu?" Wes queried in a surprised tone. "And why former?"

Winter cocked her head sideways and gave him a longsuffering look that said she wouldn't be suffering his interruptions much longer. "May I continue?"

Wes smiled charmingly and showed his palms in a gesture of submission to her prim reprimand. It had been awhile since he had worked directly with Winter and he had forgotten how…serious she could get.

"We picked Eiattu because you are already familiar with its land and its people. We do not have time for an in-depth ramp up to this assignment. Empress Isplourrdacartha was more than happy to provide corroborating documentation for her former Rogue Squadron mate."

"I bet she was, especially the court martial part." Wes grimaced at the hearty peal of Plourr's mocking laughter he could hear clearly in his ear. When this was over, he would have to give his old squadron mate a visit and take full advantage of her royal hospitality. Complete and utter advantage. It was the least she could do since he was providing her such amusing entertainment. But then again, it would be just like Plourr to arrest West Jasso on the spot and entertain herself with his incarceration, feigning ignorance of anyone named Wes Janson. Hmm, it might take some work, but he would figure out a way to do it.

Winter continued as if he hadn't spoken. "You were in command of an elite squadron of Z-95 Headhunters. Your unit excelled above all others on the planet. Unfortunately, you were court-martialed and dishonorably discharged six months ago when it was discovered that you had been using illegal substances to enhance your physical and mental capacities."

"Spice?" Wes couldn't refrain from barking. "I'm a glit-biter?"

"The pressure got to you and you cracked." Winter droned. "It was very tragic. Currently you are an independent shuttle cab operator on Coruscant ferrying passengers to and from orbital cruisers. You barely eke out a living, spending what little credit you do get on the best booze, spice and pleasure entertainment that the undercity has to offer."

"Doesn't sound so bad," Wes started to grin but quickly squelched it when he saw the grim look in Winter's eye.

"When you arrive, you will patronize an establishment called 'The Cave.' It is a popular holosim club on the edge of the Uscru Entertainment District frequented by brash young thrill seekers eager to test their skill and nerve in high risk activities - without any real chance of injury, of course."

Winter paused to look up at Wes, who thankfully was paying rapt attention. "Your mission is to make contact with a man known as 'Chant.' He is a mid-level information broker among the sublevels of Coruscant, relatively unremarkable except for the fact that he has exactly what we need."

"Which is?" Wes prompted.

General Cracken leaned in. "A map of Coruscant."

Wes's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. There were plenty of maps to be had for free on the holonet. The streets of Coruscant were no secret, though admittedly they did constantly change with the perpetual urban renewal of automated construction droids. And while the planetary databanks were more than capable of storing and transmitting the fluid regurgitations of cityscape, collating that information from the billions of data sources on the ecumenopolis was probably not high on the Empire's priority list. It probably got done when it got done.

"Chant is heavily involved in a particular branch of holosim activity that is reality based. It is very similar to your training simulators, actually. The holosims emulate swoop racing through the busiest corridors of Coruscant, pod racing in the canyons of Tatooine, solar sailing among the asteroids of Kwindu and many other similarly risky ventures." Winter's lip curled in a contemptuous sneer. "They even have a starfighter battle complete with TIEs and X-Wings, though the Empire requires all participants serve as Imperial fighters and only allow the computer to run the Rebel X-Wings."

Wes snorted. "Ok, again, that sounds like fun, but why do you need me? I have no special training for Intelligence work. Wouldn't it be better to use one of your operatives?"

"We need you, Lieutenant Janson." Winter gazed at him steadily. "Chant has refused to parlay with the New Republic unless they can prove to him that they stand a chance to defeat the Empire. To do that, he has issued a challenge. Our operative must defeat him in the holosims before he will hand over the map."

"Doesn't sound hard." Wes said without a shred of false modesty. "What's so special about this map?"

"As a corollary to his holosims, Chant maintains an almost real-time database of Coruscant topography. He has sources that feed him datastreams from every sector and every level reflecting what is scheduled to happen and what is actually happening. He compiles these sources and creates a holomap of the entire surface of Coruscant with precision detail and accuracy unrivaled by any government effort. And to top off the physical structural detail, he has spent considerable effort in maintaining a verified listing of residences, businesses and governmental facilities tied to each structure."

"The latter government facilities being the critical factor, I presume?" Wes perceptively asked.

"Suffice it to say it is very thorough and very current," General Cracken said. "I'm sure you understand that for operational security reasons I can't tell you exactly why we need that map, but it's important that you understand this map will be critical to the future of the New Republic."

This time Wes's eyes widened knowingly. There was only one reason why the New Republic would need a detailed and current map of Coruscant and as far as he was concerned, it was about bloody time. Re-taking Coruscant would mean the culmination of the last seven plus years of hard fighting, painful losses and tireless planning. So many people – so many friends – had died for precisely this goal. Jek Porkins, Zev Senesca, Ibtisam, Dllr Nep… so many, many more. "Understood, sir." Wes said, nodding his head with great satisfaction.

General Cracken returned his gaze solemnly. "This mission is a crucial building block for many missions to come. I know you don't normally do intelligence work and I appreciate your willingness to take this mission on." The seemingly placid general stood now and began pacing the length of the room. "From what I understand Chant is very good in the holosim. Do not underestimate him. Your experience as a Rogue Squadron pilot is what made me call on you but Winter will be there to assist you. She has seniority on this mission and is responsible for all operational decisions. Treat her as you would your commanding officer. I regret that we do not have more time to offer you some training, but if you follow Winter's lead and don't interfere with her job, you should be fine." He stopped to lean in toward Wes.

"Make no mistake, Lieutenant Janson. Mr. Chant has precisely what we need and he will give it to us. I want you to understand that obtaining that map is your highest priority. This mission is just as vital as any you ever flew for Rogue Squadron, if not more so."