Truth or Dare
by Valerie Vancollie
valeriev84 at hotmail dot com
Note: 1) This fic appeared in the Star Wars fanzine I Don't Care What You Smell" in May 2006.
2) While this fic has not appeared online before, it is not a new fic, it was written 2006 and so has my writing style from back then, not now.
3) This fic will be posted in parts, one for each Rogue & Han participating in the game. Each new chapter should come out quickly (I'm aiming for 1 a day) as the fic is already finished. Just be warned, as this was written as a single fic, some of the 'chapters' will be very short!
"Dack suggested the game," Luke reasoned. "He should start."
"Good idea," Wes agreed. "Truth or dare, Dack?"
"No fair," Dack complained, but sighed when he saw the looks on the others' faces. Taking a swig of his drink, he thought about it for a moment. "Dare."
"Yes!" Hobbie exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Now let's see, what can we make him do?"
"I know," Wes exclaimed after a few seconds of silence. "He can get back at Green Squadron for us."
"What do you mean?" Luke inquired, instantly curious.
One of the first things he'd learned upon becoming Commander Narra's second was that there was some competition among the various squads stationed at any base. Each Squadron would use any opportunity they could to take a jibe at the others. It also hadn't taken Luke long to learn that the members of his squad used his reputation as a way of getting at the others. His destruction of the Death Star was their badge of honor. Or 'our commander is the hero of the Battle of Yavin' as he'd once overheard Wes proudly boasting.
This had naturally added to his apprehension at being a commander as it had shown Luke that a lot of people were using his victory as a basis upon which to judge him and he didn't want to disappoint them. But his status aside, the competition went beyond mere boasting to practical jokes. Nothing serious or dangerous ever occurred as they knew that, competition or not, they were all on the same side of the war and depended on each other in a dogfight. The rivalry simply kept them on their toes and was a way to relieve the stress the constant fighting caused.
Only just last week Green Squadron had successfully gotten the Rogues by spray painting their flight suits and helmets a hot pink and writing feminine versions of their names across the back for all to see. Naturally by the time they had discovered this it had been too late for them to do anything about it as they had been due to take a flight around the system to make sure there were no Imperial scout vessels nearby. Luke's face flushed as he recalled the hooting and whistles they'd gotten as they had left the locker room and made their way towards their X-wings.
The paint had taken several hours of persistent scrubbing to get off and the droids in charge of the laundry had refused to give them a hand, saying that the suits had only just been cleaned. It had been during those hours that they had vowed to get revenge but they had been unable to come up with anything good enough at the time and had thus decided to wait. The other problem had been deciding who would carry out whatever they came up with because if the other squad learned his identity, they would take special care to get back at him in particular. With the paint incident, Luke was sure that it had been Georgiana who had come up with the idea, but he had no way to prove it. Although the way she still persisted in calling him 'Lucy' whenever she met him only added to his conviction.
"What's wrong?" Han asked as he chuckled, the image of the fluorescent Rogues still vivid in his mind. "Pink not your color?"
"Oh ha, ha," Wedge said dryly. "I'd like to see you parading around the base in a pink outfit."
"I think I'll pass on that."
"What's your idea?" Hobbie questioned as he looked at Wes.
"Well, there is a small heater standing seemingly abandoned at the end of the South passage."
"It's not like anyone can use it here," Dack commented nervously, knowing very well that once the game was over and the Greens had discovered whatever his squad member had in mind that they would 'mysteriously' learn that he had been the one to carry out the plot.
"Exactly!" Wes exclaimed. "Why can't we use it here? Because it will melt the ice and everything will get wet. So we get Dack here to install the unit in the Greens' lounge area with a timer so that the water will freeze over their things after the heat stops."
"That's great!" Zev said excitedly. "Chipping the ice off of everything should give them something to do for a while."
"They're going to kill me," Dack moaned as he dropped his head into his hands.
"That's why its a dare," Wedge stated before he took a swig of his drink. "Better do it now as they left on patrol duty only half an hour ago."
"The others aren't going to be too pleased about being left out of this," Luke commented, thinking of the absent Rogues.
"That's their problem," Han replied as he got to his feet. "Let's go."
"Go?" Wedge repeated. "We can't all go with Dack, it would be way too obvious."
"Your lounge area is right next to that of the Greens. We can stand partly inside the entrance of it while Dack does what he needs to."
"Good idea," Hobbie said, eager to watch as much of it as he could.
Luke quickly got to his feet and followed the others as they headed for the South passage. As they walked, he couldn't help but smile as Wedge and Zev occasionally nudged Dack when he slowed down or started to drift off towards the side of the group.
"This game was your idea," Han reminded him.
"I know. I've got to learn to keep my damn mouth shut."
"I'd like to see that happen," Zev teased him. "Besides, you'll have lots of fun after your turn is over."
"That's what I'm counting on."
"Here we are," Hobbie said as the corridor they were walking in spilled into the South passage. "Nobody's in sight."
With a final sigh, Dack marched over to the small heating unit on the floor and hoisted it up. Taking the lead, he led the others through the icy passages until they reached the hallway with the lounges. He stopped a few feet away from the door to the Greens' lounge and hoped that there would be no one inside it as then he'd be in big trouble. Gathering his courage, he moved forward and entered the room when the door slid open.
Dack quickly caught sight of the small power generator standing on the floor in the far corner behind one of three ratty couches that were scattered around. A few strides brought him there and he hooked up the heater before turning it on. Pulling off his glove, he checked to make sure that it was working before focusing his attention on the timer and setting it for three-quarters of an hour. He waited a few seconds to make sure everything was working well before he quickly left the room.
"Well?" Luke asked as Dack rejoined them.
"It's done."
"Good," Zev stated as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I can't wait to learn of their reaction."
"They'll probably try to convince the Blues to let them use their lounge until they get the ice off," Wes predicted. "The Blues should spread the word of what happened."
"And I'm sure you will too," Dack said sourly. "With my name firmly attached to the story."
"Why ever would I do that?"
"Let's get back to the Falcon," Han interjected, seeing a little unpleasantness coming.
"Yes," Dack agreed. "Time for you guys to have your turns."
Yes, I know these parts are short, but the overall story was only just over 10k, so the separate parts are correspondingly short.
Let me know what you think! Up next: Wes.