Calling Home
Zetta
Summary: A call home and a follow up kiss. J/J. During Rebel Dream.
Disclaimer: I'm making no profit, just having fun. Characters belong to Lucas and his peoples.
Additional Notes: Probably improbable to have anyone making a call that long distance in the middle of a war and in this particular location, but call it artistic license. Or ignoring the facts. Whichever you prefer. Also, not certain on if Jag brought a squadron along or just Shawnkyr- during Dark Journey and the Rebel Duo, it seems that it's just the two and the recruits he picked up from Hapes, but during the Force Heretic Trio it seems like there are more who are actually Chiss. I went with more than just he and Shawnkyr and avoided specifics.

Borleias Occupation, Day 39.

He entered the room, a little uneasy, and cast a long look around before shutting the door behind him. It was empty except for him, and all the lights were out except for the low light the transmitter emitted.

He set the codes up to transmit and waited with a wary eye on the door.

It wasn't that he was worried he would be caught and punished- he was an allied Colonel, and was welcome to use the equipment as long as it was cleared through the proper channels- it was just that he didn't want anyone to know.

Not the Rebels, and not his squadron.

Calling home was expected of most beings. It was not expected of Jagged Fel, and if anyone knew he did call home, they would know he was human.

And Jag, raised among the Chiss, raised to be Chiss, did not want that.

After a long stretch, during which he went over some of the statistics Shawnkyr had provided him with about the Vanguards, the connection was finally put through.

The woman who answered was blonde, beautiful, and gasped with surprise when she saw him.

Jagged Fel gave the woman a small smirk and sat back in the chair, turning off the datapad and setting it aside. "Hello, mother."

"Jagged," Syal Antilles-Fel said with a smile. "You should have told us you were going to call. Let me go catch your father before he leaves."

She quickly left the screen and Jag waited a few moments before his father appeared and nodded in greeting. "Son. I take this to mean that you still aren't reporting through the official channels."

"I'm still gathering data," Jag answered easily, knowing his father would understand.

Soontir nodded. "Very well."

Jag's mother nudged her husband over, and, taking that as a sign, his two remaining siblings crowded in behind them, apparently summoned along with his father. "How are you? Are you safe? Do you have everything you need?"

"Have you been in lots of battles?" Wyn asked excitedly.

His brother was no less interested. "How's the fighting? Are they as tough as they say?"

Amused, Jag answered, summing up the experiences without mentioning some of the things that would have left his mother worrying, like the close call he'd had only a few hours before, or left her plotting, like his encounter with Jaina Solo a short while after that.

"How many times have you made ace?" Wyn asked. "Are the rebels any good?"

"A few times, but I'm not sure how many," Jag lied. He knew exactly how many craft he'd shot down, and he could name the battles he'd shot them down in too. But his father wanted them to learn that it was duty to their people that mattered, not duty to oneself. "There are a few pilots who are decent, but none of them are as good as I am."

His parents looked amused by his confidence, while his siblings exchanged looks that said they were amused too- but for a completely different reason. "Because Jag is the best pilot ever, you forgot," Cem said.

"Except for father," Jag agreed easily.

Through the holonet connection, he met his father's eyes and they exchanged amused looks. Jag knew very well that he was an excellent pilot. His siblings found it difficult to believe that he, their brother, was anything but their brother, and even if they had seen the statistics that proved how good he was, he would still be nothing more than their brother.

"Be serious," Wyn said. "I want to know how good I have to be before I can go head to head with them."

"They fly well, but they do not have the same level of training that our pilots do," Jag said. "There are only a few people who have presented a major challenge to me, and one is our uncle, the other is Darklighter."

"Two people?" Wyn said, disappointed.

"At least one more," Jag allowed, thinking of the woman he'd been kissing a few minutes before he'd come to the communications room. "But Uncle Wedge and Colonel Darklighter are the only ones who've shot me down."

"How is there rest of the squadron flying?" Soontir asked.

"Shawnkyr is ready for a squadron of her own," Jag said. "She is doing well as lead now. Three flight is still sluggish, but two is doing well."

"I would expect nothing less of Shawnkyr and your squadron."

Jag nodded slightly in response.

"How is my brother?" his mother asked, almost tentatively.

Jag smiled. "He is well. His wife and daughters were found and are on Borleis with us."

Syal smiled wistfully. "I would love to see some holos of them."

Jag gave his mother a long look, understanding that she was too uncertain of how her brother would react to ask herself. That, he thought, was another situation that needed to be resolved. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, darling," Syal said. "What are his girls like?"

"I've only met them in passing," Jag said. "They arrived only shortly after Twin Suns was assigned heavy duties."

"I'm still waiting on the briefing that explains why Twin Suns was more important than your own squadron," his father said, referring to his decision to hand command of the Vanguards over to Shawnkyr.

Jag rubbed his eyes and thought for a few long moments. Given the extreme measures already taken on Jaina's behalf, it wouldn't do for news of her pretense to escape via something as simple as a a call home. "It's complicated," he said in the Chiss language, an added barrier to easy understanding by anyone who might eavesdrop. "I can't explain it all because of security." His family, while they didn't understand the details, knew that well enough. Jag thought for a few moments. "The very abbreviated story is that Twin Suns Leader is a Yuuzhan Vong Goddess, and I decided it would be a good idea to get involved."

Wyn, Cem, and his mother looked confused. Soontir was frowning and had a better idea of what was going on. "Twin Suns Leader is Jaina Solo," his father said. Jag didn't let his expression change, but he nodded slightly. His father's gaze grew faintly amused before he hid it. "You were distracted by something when you left on your mission. Have you sorted it out?" There was a look on his father's face that said he knew something more was going on.

Jag frowned too for a moment, then understood when he recalled his reaction to the news of Coruscant's fall. He'd immediately inquired about Jaina Solo. His father had found a way to bring her up without saying her name or giving anything away. He nodded once, a little warily. "I'm in the process of working on the details now."

Soontir appeared amused, while his family was still confused. Wyn opened her mouth to ask, but Jag sat forward. "As always, sir, your discretion would be appreciated. Both with this topic and the rest." The rest being his report to the Chiss. A report to his father was an entirely separate issue. Jag didn't care that his mother knew about Jaina or about what he was doing with the rebels, but his brother and sister were both too young to understand the necessary secrecy, and too willing to irritate him to deserve to know. There was little doubt that they would find out eventually, but things were too sensitive at the moment to risk anything.

"Of course," Soontir said, in Basic again.

The timer went off, indicating it was nearing the end of the call time permitted. Jag glanced down and then back up. "I have to go," he said.

His family was disappointed, but understood. "Clear skies, son," said his father.

"Save a spot in the squadron for me, Jag," Wyn said.

Cem waved. "Good luck."

"Keep safe, Jagged," said his mother. "We love you and miss you."

"I love you too," Jag said. "I'll talk to you soon."

He switched off the controls and sat back in the chair for a moment.

His timing was excellent.

The door to the communications room opened and two young men entered.

They both gave him respectful nods as he left, but Jag could feel them staring after him.

He ignored it and walked towards the lounge.

The call home, the kiss, the discussion with Wedge, and his near death experience had him too keyed up to even consider sleeping.

He had reports to do, and a sim to plan.

He made his way down to the lounge, not expecting to find anyone there.

To his surprise, the woman who'd occupied his thoughts from almost the moment he'd heard her voice was in the lounge with two of the Blackmoon pilots.

Jaina was seated alone at one of the tables, and the two Blackmoon pilots were seated together, speaking quietly. They all looked up when he came in. Jaina's eyes widened slightly before she quickly recovered and nodded in greeting for the benefit of the other two pilots. He returned the nod and went over to fix himself a cup of caf, trying hard not to look back over at her.

It became even harder to resist when the two Blackmoon pilots, apparently unwilling to share a room with both the Goddess and the stuck up Imperial, exited.

Once he'd taken the first drink he turned to face her. "Do you want something?" he offered, and then cursed himself because he probably sounded like a fool. He should have offered before, or not at all.

She shifted a little, glancing up from the datapad she'd been studying. "No, um, I'm good. Thanks."

He hadn't expected it to be even more awkward after they kissed than it had been before. But looking at her, he felt tongue tied and incapable of meeting her gaze, though he couldn't help but to stare at her for a few moments.

She wasn't looking at him either, and he was about to force himself to either fight of flee when she looked up, not quite meeting his eyes. "Do you want to sit?" she asked, gesturing towards the table around her.

He hoped his relief wasn't too obvious. At least she didn't despise him now.

Unless this was the polite way of breaking it to him.

The way she shifted as he walked over indicated that he should take the chair to her immediate left, and he obliged.

For a moment, their was a long silence as they both sorted out what needed to be said.

Then Jaina met his eyes full on. "Thank you," she said. "For earlier. With your uncle, and with..." Her cheeks grew a little pinker.

"I've never been thanked for kissing someone before," he said, and was as surprised by the response as she was.

But her lips curled. "That's not what I meant. But thank you for that, too." She set her hand on top of his.

They both looked at their hands for a moment and Jag found himself turning his hand to hold hers.

She didn't pull away, but seemed equally fascinated by their entwined hands.

"I'm really messed up right now," she said, her gaze not moving. "This is a really bad time for... this."

"There's never going to be a good time," he said.

She didn't seem to hear him. At least she didn't acknowledge hearing him. "I don't know who I am sometimes. And when I do know, I don't always like me."

"I like you," Jag said.

She didn't seem to hear him. "And there's Kyp. He's part of me, and I can't describe how, but I love him. I can't, and won't, give him up. No matter what the circumstances."

He nodded and she saw him. She started to pull her hand away to sit up and face him directly, but all it did was put her closer to him when he didn't let go of her hand. Again, she stared at their hands. "I've got a lot of issues, Jag. You might get dragged into things just because of my name. And that's without this whole Goddess thing. I'm not supposed to have friends, much less... something else. And the Vong have a bounty on my head. They wouldn't hesitate to use anyone who I... to use anyone to get me to go to them. I don't want you to get caught up in this."

She stopped.

He waited a moment. "Are you finished?"

"What?"

"Are you finished?"

She nodded, looking puzzled.

He leaned forward and kissed her again. Her lips were soft, and she responded instantly to him. It was like their earlier kiss, but better, without the hesitation, without the worry that she would shove him off her and despise her.

Her tension faded and she leaned a little more into the kiss, one hand drifting up to touch his cheek as he tugged on her lower lip.

When it was over, their eyes met again. He still had an arm around her waist, and she was half out of her seat, leaning into him. "We'll take it as it comes," he said. "That's all I'm asking you."

This time, she was the one to instigate the kiss.

She didn't know how much later it was when they were walking back to her room, not holding hands, but standing close. They stopped in front of her door, both knowing that they had to end the night as soon as she went in.

She was still in a state of shock from the way things had played out, and there was a strong sense of surreal to everything around them.

There were two more pilots in the hallway, watching them discretely and wondering what the pair were up to. Jaina punched in the code to her room before looking at him. She wished she could have found the words to say something.

Jag seemed so calm, like he had no trouble separating who he was with her in private, with who he was when others were around. Like he could ignore the kisses that had kept them up well past a decent hour, kept them in the lounge until they'd heard the droids come in and start preparing the morning meals. He looked perfectly neat, and anyone else who had come across them wouldn't have suspected a thing. By him, at least. "Good night, Goddess," he said with a crisp bow. "Did you still want to discuss the simulator results at breakfast?"

She almost smiled, because she'd never mentioned any such thing. "Of course," she said. "I'll expect to see you then. Good night Colonel."

He gave her an almost imperceptible smile, which she couldn't return because of the other two pilots, nodded a farewell and left her.

Jaina stepped inside and shut the door.

And grinned widely before she crawled into bed for one of the best night's of sleep she'd had since even before Mykyr.

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