It was so cold it hurt when he tried to take a deep breath...
They'd just arrived and he already hated it!
Who names a world Hoth, and then it turns out to be a kriffin' ice ball?
Tycho Celchu was roaming around their newly assigned quarters in Echo Base, taking his stuff out the bag.
Pilots never travelled with much, mainly due to the possibility of things getting lost. So, all they had, usually fitted a small bag that they could store in the small compartment on their X-Wings rear.
The Alderaanian didn't have many possessions anyway! Just a bunch of holocards with music, holobooks and the holopics from home; One set of civilian clothes, that he never wore anyway, and a statuette depicting the Aldera Angel, that used to at the gates of his home city!
It was a beautiful thing, made from Alderaanian pure marble! He always wrapped it in the middle of his civvies, so it would be safe.
He opened the footlocker at the end of his bunk, and store his items in it. He held the statuette in his hands, turning it to see all the small details. The recoiled wings, and the details of the feathers; the tunic that gave an impression of motion, with its delicate flow masterly carved; the stern but still soft expression of its face, with the hair flowing freely around the shoulders; The arms in front of its chest, with delicate hands gripping the Great Alderaanian Sword Of Justice!
His parents had given the statuette when he left for Prefsbelt IV. It was considered a good luck charm, besides being a work of art...
He felt an unexpected bump and, unable to keep his balance, he slipped forward.
It wasn't enough to make him fall, however, to his horror, the Angel statuette was now on the floor...
...shattered...
Tycho felt like his heart had just stopped momentarily.
It was the only thing he still possessed that had come from his parents hands...
He kneeled, completely distraught, on the floor. He started picking up the pieces of the Angel, but it was hopeless.
He turned to the figure standing behind him. He seemed as horrified as him, and he'd been apologizing ever since.
"I'm so sorry Tycho... I really am..." Dash Rendar felt awful. He'd seen the kid carrying that thing around, and he knew he'd brought that from his homeworld.
Tycho didn't even have the strength to speak at that moment. Anything he could say, would come out with too much anger. And Dash hadn't done it on purpose! It was his fault, for not being more careful and handle the statuette correctly...
"What did you do this time?" Hobbie's sarcastic voice came from the door.
Tycho turned to see the newcomers. Hobbie was leaning on door frame, with Wedge shaking his head at Dash. Wes was in the middle of them, looking at all the mess.
"I made the kid drop his Alderaanian Angel." Dash explained, sounding dismayed. "It's broken..."
Wes stepped inside, making way between the other two pilots.
"Daydreaming about girls again, Dash?" Janson snorted. In a swift movement, he kneeled by Tycho's side. "Let me see that." He reached his hands towards the Alderaanian's, picking up the pieces of the Angel. "It's not so bad! It broke evenly, and none of the pieces got pulverized. That's a positive!"
"Come on, Wes!" Tycho complained. "How's that supposed to help?"
"Patience my friend!" He winked at Tycho, storing all the broken pieces in one of his insulated jacket's pockets. Ruffling the blond man's hair, he simply got up without another word and left the quarters.
"And that was...?" Hobbie questioned.
"He's your wingman!" Wedge reminded him. "Since you're the poor bastard who has to put with him all the time, you should have a better insight into his thinking process!"
"I can't keep up with his random personality, Wedge!" The Raltiirian offered him a sideways gaze, turning his eyes to Tycho. "You?"
"You're asking me?" The Alderaanian rose his eyebrows, as confused as the rest of them. "Do I look like a psychotherapist to you?"
"No! But since you like paying attention to him," Wedge mocked him. "Maybe you'd pick up on his quirks!"
"I haven't..." Tycho blushed at the Corellian's insinuation. Then he straightened himself up, putting on an air of dignity. "I have absolutely no idea of what you mean with that! Now, if you'll excuse me..." He closed his footlocker, and making his way between them, he left his assigned quarters, mumbling to himself.
The three pilots, stuck their heads through the door, to follow the Alderaanian's way. When he was out of sight, Dash collapsed into his own bunk laughing loudly, while Hobbie stared at Wedge with a dirty look and shaking his head at his friend.
"What?" Wedge asked.
"Way to go Mr. Obvious!" Hobbie scolded him. "He wasn't supposed to know we've already noticed he has a massive crush on Wes!"
"Hobbs! Everyone knows! Wes is the only blind mynock around here..." Dash told them. "You should sit down with the kid, and have a nice talk with him. He all know Wes has his aim fixed on women. Tycho's your friend since the Academy! He's going to end up suffering for no good reason..."
"Whoa there!" Hobbie pointed at Dash. "Aren't you making this into more of drama than what it is?"
"Yeah!" Wedge added. "What's up with that? Hobbs here is the one who's supposed to dramatic, not you!"
Hobbie turned to Wedge, glaring at his friend.
"And this is why sometimes, I'm glad to help Wes pranking you..." He scoffed. "But like I was saying... It's just a crush. I'm sure it will pass!"
"It better pass!" Wedge grumbled. "None of us wants to be in the though position of having to deal with their friendship falling apart!"
"I wonder what Wes is planning to do with that kriffin broken statuette?" Hobbie pondered.
Wedge shrugged and Dash held his hands up, shaking his head.
"He might try to glue it back together. Who knows what goes through that madman's head?" Wedge told them.
The three of them left, locking the door behind them and left for the southern corridor, where they were suppose to help in the still going constructions.
"What exactly do ya want me to do with this?" Alwyn Geebsan, one of the maintenance crewman asked Wes. Like Janson, he was of medium height, and had the same tanned complexion and dark hair. His eyes however were black, where Wes' were golden-brown! "Ya couldn't have glued it yerself?"
"Come on, Al!" He patted his homeworlder on the back. "If I glue it, it won't last long anyway... I was thinking you could dip it in that polysteel you guys use to fix small inner viewport cracks! That thing is stronger than any glue I could use! Listen, I can use Instaglue to put it back together, and then you could treat it with with a layer of polysteel!"
"What's in it for me?" Alwyn questioned him.
"The comforting thought that you did a favour for a fellow Taanabian?" Wes asked.
"Yeah... No!" He smirked. "We do it like that. Next time yer aunt sends ya a care pack from back home, I want some of yer mom's Illum cookies."
"Done!" Wes shook the other man's hand
"Alright, give me that thing..." Alwyn muttered, taking the broken pieces from Wes' hands. "It'll be done by dinner time. Ya come pick up then!"
"Thanks Al! And send my regards to Bina and Jez!"
"I will. See if ya can find some time to visit an' old friend, will ya? Jez's been asking for ya..."
"Yeah... I will!" Wes replied, smiling at his friend. "And thanks again."
Tycho's humour hadn't improved over the day. He was sitting between Dash and Luke, poking around at his food.
"I know this...whatever it is...isn't that tasty," Luke turned to him. "But you do need to eat. Listen, Janson over there told you not to worry about your statuette." He pointed at Wes. "And I know he can't be trusted in a lot of things, especially if you see him carry a bucket of paint, or anything that slightly resembles an explosive, but he's actually quite able to keep a promise!"
"Aww, thanks for the vote of confidence Luke!" Wes batted his eyelashes at Skywalker, which earned him a piece of what vaguely resembled a vegetable, being thrown at him.
"Tell me something, Wes..." Luke stared straight into the Taanabian's eyes. "Can you even recall where you dropped your common sense?"
"Must have been the same place he lost the working part of his brain." Hobbie added.
"Hey!" Wes whined. "Wedge!"
"What?" The Corellian turned to Wes. "What have I got to do with this?"
Wes signalled Wedge to lean closer, so no one else from the other tables would hear them.
"Your boyfriend and my so-called best friend are making fun of me!" He complained.
"Yes, they are Wes!" Wedge confirmed. "And all of their sentences are well structured and grammatically correct. What else do you want me to do?"
Wes glared at his friend, but kept any remarks he might have, silent.
All the while, Tycho was laughing at their banter...
Wes exchanged a knowing look with the other pilots. They'd succeeded in taking Tycho's mind out of it again!
"Anyway..." Wes spoke. "I have somewhere to be, and you kiddo," He pointed at Tycho. "Are coming with me!"
"Me?" He gaped at the Taanabian. "What have I done?"
Wes squinted at him. "Alright, funny guy... let's go."
The Rogues got up and putting their trays away, Wes, followed closely by Tycho, left for the maintenance bay.
"So cute..." Dash mocked, elbowing Wedge. "Just like a puppy!"
"Will you stop!" Wedge admonished the other pilot. "I've seen the way you behave around pretty girls, so there's really nothing to mock Tycho for, is there?"
Dash gave him a sideways look, putting his hands on his pockets, and nodding at his friends in the direction of the makeshift RecRoom.
"Let's see if we can find Han." He told them. "Maybe this time he can teach you how to play, without becoming utterly broke!"
Wedge threw him a dirty look, while the other pilots sniggered at him. He turned an indignant expression at Luke, that shrugged with a lopsided grin.
"He's right, love…" The Tatooinian whispered at his ear. "You do allow Han to bankrupt you."
"It's not my fault!"
"Well, you're the one who keeps agreeing to play Sabacc with him." Luke added.
"So much for Corellian luck!" Wedge mumbled.
"Your talents lie elsewhere."
"Luke!"
Skywalker chuckled at his boyfriend. "I actually meant as a pilot! Not my fault if you had your mind on other activities! Though it still applies…"
"Get a room, you two!" Hobbie chided them playfully.
"We already have one, thanks!" Luke reached his hand to smack Hobbie's head, but the Raltiirian dodged just in time. "But I really want a lum first. Besides, I need to talk to Han too."
"Problems?" Dash asked.
"Sure! 1,55 meters high, brown hair, brown eyes and a short fuse!" Luke rolled his eyes. "Last name Organa…"
"Ouch!" Wedge flinched.
"I heard Wes saying we should put together some type of surveillance system on those two." Hobbie told them, remembering something his wingmate had said earlier.
"A surveillance system?" Luke rose his eyebrows. Any idea coming from Wes, was bound to become a debacle…
"Yeah, you know? Keeping tabs on their whereabouts, and opening a comm channel to alert people when those two are at it again!"
"You speak like they're always fighting, or something." Luke made a face at him.
"I say it's sexual tension!" Hobbie declared.
"Really? You, or Wes?" Wedge scoffed at Hobbie, his arms across his chest.
"Well, I agree with him on this one!" Hobbie said.
Luke snorted at them, opening the door to the RecRoom. "Last time Wes had an idea, he wanted to lock them in the storage until they gave up and made out. Remind me again how that one ended…"
"We got two weeks of kitchen duty, and Wes got a personal dressing down by the Boss… and Leia!"
"I thought so…"
"Still…" Wedge rubbed his chin. "We can work on that surveillance system, and get something useful out of it!"
" I can't believe you're siding with them!" Luke stared at Wedge.
"I just think they would have solved their issues by now, if they didn't get interrupted all the time. And we all know Leia's problem here is that she's permanently unsure if Han will ever take off to pay his debt to Jabba…"
"Can't be easy to go around with a wanted mark on him, that's for sure…" Dash agreed. "Though he could have left anytime he wanted by now! He just can't admit that he finally found a place where he belongs. But sooner or later he'll have to make a definite decision about his future. And I'm positive he'll decide to stay!"
"Corellian instinct?" Hobbie asked him.
"No. But I was a smuggler too. Landed on Thila with a shipment, bound to stay just a couple of days. Offered myself to fill in a vacant spot on Rogue Flight, temporarily, and now… Here I am! Still!" He smiled at his friends. "He may be a smuggler and a pirate, but he's first and foremost a Corellian! And we are loyal to our families! And he can growl as much as he wants… he's found a family here, and he won't let go of it that easily!"
"Damn it, Dash!" Hobbie gaped at the red-haired pilot. "Are you going to start making sense and saying deep things like that, all the time now?"
"One of these days, I'm gonna pull out your prosthetic arm and beat you with it!" Dash bit out.
"Are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" Tycho asked Wes, keeping pace with his friend.
"The maintenance bay, can't you see that? Wes smirked at the Alderaanian.
"Because?"
"I asked a friend if he could fix the angel doll."
"Statuette!"
"Whatever…"
"Is that your favourite word?" Tycho gave him a lopsided grin.
"Actually my favourite word is in Old Taanabian and it translates into making others smile…" Wes turned a bright smile at him.
"How does it go?" Tycho asked him, clenching his hands inside his pockets. That kriffin' smile of his always worked on his nerves. And he was already having trouble concentrating due to wonderful scent coming from the Taanabian. He had to find out what kind of perfume Wes used…
"Deenairee." Wes told him, smiling more to himself than anything. He didn't have many chances to use the old language of his homeworld.
Tycho repeated the word in his mind. He liked the sound of it! Especially in Wes' tone of voice. It was amazing how much his voice changed each time he turned to Old Taanabian! His voice gained a deeper intonation to it, and the way the words seemed to roll of his tongue was almost… erotic!
Or maybe it was just because he was head over heels for the Taanabian!
That must have been why…
"Hey, Janson!" A gruff voice called out from the end of the bay. "You lookin' for Al?"
"Yeah, why?"
"He had to leave earlier. One of his kids got sick. Bina commed here and he left, but he told me he has your package with him."
"Thanks!" Wes waved at the man and turned to the exit on the side of the bay. "Let's go. I know where he and his family have been assigned. At least that means I'll get to see Jez!"
Tycho's breath caught in his throat. It was irrational on his part to feel this jealous about whoever that Jez was… but irrational or not, the feeling was there.
Schooling his features into a mask of impassiveness, Tycho followed Wes until they arrived at their destin.
"So, how do you know that Al?" He asked, trying to sound cool and collected.
"He's from Pandath." Wes explained. "He used to work as a janitor at the school I went to. Ten years ago he just disappeared, and when i arrived at Yavin IV there he was with his wife and kids!"
"Seems a bit excessive to bring his entire family and put them in risk."
"I thought so too, at the time. But he told me how he first got here, and he really had no other choice!" Wes pressed a button on the quarters' door and continued. "He shot an Imperial officer that was imposing himself on his wife, Bina. He ran away, and they picked up the kids at took the next transport out of Taanab, before anyone was the wiser… He left all he had behind."
The door in front of them slid open, and Alwyn greeted them, invited both men in.
"'Tis yer friend?" He asked. "Got yer doll ready. Come on in."
"Solman said one of your kids got sick."
"Nothin' serious." The other man smiled at them. "Niann got an ear infection, that's all!"
"How old he's she now?" Wes inquired him.
"Nine already! They're getting big, ya know?" Alwyn patted Wes on his shoulder. "Hey Jez! Look who's here!" He called out.
Awesome! Tycho thought… He had to watch while some chick went all gooey on Wes…
" Uncle Wes!"
Surprise mixed with delirious relief ran through Tycho…
It was a small child!
She mustn't have been more than six. Maybe seven! Dark hair and eyes, like her father, and the tanned skin common on the Taanabian people. She ran to where Wes stood, and the pilot just grabbed her with a chuckle, holding her close.
"Hi there!" He kissed her noisily on her cheek, while the little girl laughed delighted. "Look at you! You've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you!"
"Who's he?" She whispered to Wes, pointing at Tycho.
"He's a good friend of mine! He flies on X-wings with me." Wes explained the little girl. "Tycho, this is Jez Geebsan. Jezzi, this is Tycho Celchu."
"Hi!" She said shyly, leaning on him and whispering something on his ear, before squirming her way to the floor.
Wes sniggered, shaking his head and gazing at Tycho.
"What?" The Alderaanian asked him. Had his jealousy been too obvious?
"She thinks you're cute!" He told him in a low voice.
Tycho chuckled, amused.
Alwyn walked towards a cabinet and opened one of the drawers, taking out a wrapped figure. He returned to the pilots' side handing the bundle to Tycho.
"I believe 'tis belongs to ya!"
Tycho unwrapped the statuette to find it perfectly mended! He couldn't even see the brake lines where the pieces had been glued. And it seemed to be coated in some hard, transparent material. Every detail of the Angel was unspoiled by it, and whatever it was it gave a certain sheen to the figurine.
"That's… perfect!" He stammered. "How did you fixed it?"
"Instaglue, Polysteel and thirty minutes in the oven to solidify it and blend with the marble!" Alwyn explained him. "Ye can even throw it at 'tis guy's head, and it won't break!" He pointed at Wes, giving him a sideways look.
"Thank you so much!" Tycho shook the other man's hand. "This has a big sentimental value to me…"
"Aye! Dunee here told me it was a gift from yer parents."
"Thanks again!"
"Yer welcome! Yer stayin' for dinner?"
"Not this time, Alwyn." Wes told him. "We already had dinner in the pilots' mess. If you wanna come by our RecRoom afterwards…"
"Nah… I'm stayin' in today. With Niann ill, Bina needs my help with rest of them!"
"Alright then. I'll see you around." Both pilots shook Alwyn's hand, heading for the door.
"Yer loosin' yer accent, Idum… startin' to sound like a coreworlder!"
"Not on yer life!" Wes pointed at him, making his old accent show more. The first time Tycho had met Wes, his accent was quite heavy. Being surrounded by a majority of coreworlders and rimworlders with softer accents, had started to change the way he spoke. But many were the times that his accents returned in full force! Usually when he was absolutely angry, absolutely happy… or absolutely drunk!
Tycho prefered to ear him speak in his native accent. But he couldn't just tell him that, could he?
They left Alwyn's quarters and took the corridor that would lead them to the RecRoom.
"What did that meant? What he called you?"
Wes chuckled at Tycho's curiosity.
"Dunee, means airhead. And Idum just means boy, but not on a mocking way. It's what you'll usually call to someone younger than you. There are other forms. But they are used either inside the family, or they're formally used."
"I see." He smiled at his friend. "Listen Wes, you didn't have to do this you know? It was Dash's mess to solve… well, it was my mess actually!"
"I know that! But did you know how to fix it permanently? No! I did, and I knew the right guy to do it! Simple as that!" Wes wrapped one of his arms around the Alderaanian's shoulders. "Besides, that's what friends are for, right?"
"You got that right!" Tycho smirked at him. "Let's go save Wedge from going broke at Han's hands, shall we?"
"And you can even hit Dash in the head with that!" Wes pointed at the statuette. "You heard Al… that thing's unbreakable now!"
"I had an idea…"
"Oh, no you don't!" Wes squinted at Tycho. "Your ideas tend to be worse than mine! If you want to prank Dash, you leave that to me and Hobbs! You can pitch in after we've planned it!"
"Alright, spoilsport…"
The thought came to Tycho, that even if he never stood a chance when it came to win Wes' heart, at least he had his sincere friendship.
And he knew that Wes would always be there when he needed him.