3 ABY - Allied Flight, in orbit around Anoat
Luke Skywalker pulled an Alliance-issued cap down low over his eyes as he walked through the Flight Academy, trying to remain inconspicuous. It was difficult, with his bounty poster in almost every civilised system which, much to Luke's chagrin, had seemed to double as an Alliance propaganda. Madine had made a point that his notoriety had almost doubled their piloting recruits since he had been outed to the galaxy as the man who destroyed the Death Star. Luke had even been asked to autograph the his reward poster on more than one occasion.
He soon found the room her was looking for, happily finding that the lights were already out and the class about to start, slipping into a seat at the back. At the front of the classroom was a holoprojection of X-Wing fighters and the words "Welcome New Recruits" in Aurebesh. In front of him two such cadets were talking in hushed tones, one checking her chrono and muttering that their instructor was late.
However at that very moment the door behind the holo slid open and Valara walked briskly into the room.
"I'm Commander Valara, and yes that's my first name," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "No, I don't have a last name. You may call me Commander or Ma'am, and I prefer the former." She gestured to the holoprojection behind her. "I am about to show you a very trite and useless film that is meant to make you feel very good about choosing to join the Rebellion and in particular the starfighter program. Try not to let it go to your head."
Luke smothered a smile with one hand, trying not to attract attention to himself. The two cadets in front of him shared a bemused look as the holofilm began to play - triumphant music, majestic shots of X-Wings in flight, and a voiceover reminding them all of the atrocities of the Empire and the recent victories of the Alliance. His attention to wandered to Valara, where the bottom of the projection played across her face. She seemed to be staring blankly but Luke knew she was watching the gathered cadets, her examination of them already begun. Luke ducked his head and hoped the rim of his cap was enough to conceal his face.
"Alright, enough of that shavit," Valara declared, shutting off the film in the middle of the final speech imploring the cadets to take up the cause. "Let's start with the basics," she continued, clicking her little remote to bring up an X-Wing on the holoprojection. "This is an X-Wing, so named for the shape of the S-foils when locked in attack position. You wouldn't think I'd have to explain that, but I've been doing this for some time and have heard every stupid question you can imagine." Valara leaned back on the console behind her, her stern countenance relaxing slightly.
"So don't be afraid to ask me to explain anything you don't understand - I've probably been asked something far more ridiculous and you don't want to be out there in the dark with your oxygen running out wishing you hadn't been afraid to look like an idiot in front of your friends. Trust me, I've spent years around pilots and have known plenty of idiots. I doubt any of you will crack the top ten."
There was a general twittering throughout the room, but Valara gave them a stern look. "I'm not trying to entertain you," she said, her voice slightly sharp. "I'm here to prepare you, and this is lesson number one. Don't show off in my class, no one is impressed, least of all me. I don't care how well you flew your father's speeder or how many points you got playing flight sims in some bar. In my eyes you all know exactly the same: nothing, and it's my job to make you into competent X-Wing pilots. So listen, ask questions and focus on your training as if your life depended on it, because one day it will."
The cadets in front of Luke gave each other looks that seemed half fear, half awe. The whole room was silent save for two male cadets in the front row who seemed to be sharing a private joke of some kind. Valara switched off the holoprojection and brought the lights back up, visibly bristling as she stood up and slowly walked towards the pair.
"You think this is funny?" she asked, looming above the formerly snickering cadet with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah," the cadet said, folding his arms and looking up at her definitely. "You can save the lecture for these saps, sweetheart. Just put me in an X-Wing, and I'll blow those Imps out of the sky." His companion laughed and slapped him on the back, but Valara glowered at them.
"Just like that, huh?" she asked, clearly steaming but the cadet was too stupid to notice.
"They might as well give me my medal now," the cadet grinned. "It will save time."
"If you're not ready and willing to die, alone, in the cold depths of space, then this isn't the place for you," she told them, her voice like steel. "Go join the communications sector, or become a deck officer, or a systems analyst - there's honour in those roles albeit little glory. But a pilot is not role you choose on a whim, because the propaganda made it look like oh so much fun."
She looked up and around at the collected cadets. "The truth is half of you sitting in this room will probably be dead in a year, because you will fly on the front lines and be tasked with the most dangerous missions. If you can accept those odds and have the skills, you just might make it through basic training. If not, I'm happy to arrange a transfer for you."
Her gaze returned to the troublemaker, eyes flashing dangerously as the cadet squirmed in his seat. "I've seen a hundred boys like you - cocksure and absolutely convinced in their own ability. Trust me, they're usually the first to die."
Luke had heard enough. "You make it sound so tempting, Commander."
There was a general murmuring around the room, wondering who would dare question Valara when she'd dealt so effectively with the last interruption. But Luke knew from her smile she had recognised his voice, and she looked up to where he sat.
"Well it seems we have a special guest," she indicated up to him, and Luke pulled of his cap to the gasps and delighted chatter of the class. "I'd wager the reason half of you are sitting in this room," she added as he rose and walked down to her past awed students. "Luke Skywalker himself."
"I thought I'd come check out the latest batch of recruits," Luke said with a grin as he stopped beside her. "With your permission, Commander."
Valara gestured that he should take the floor, and he was relieved to see that she was amused, not annoyed. Luke turned back to the class and rubbed his hands together as Valara resumed her place leaning against the console.
"She's right, you know," he said conversationally, throwing the troublesome cadet a reprimanding glance. "Being a pilot is dangerous, and I've lost more friends than I can count in battle. It's hard work, too, so you need to be prepared to study, to learn strategy, how to follow orders and be aware not only of your own life, but that of your droids and your wingmates." Luke looked around the room at the faces rapt with attention, seeing the same stars in their eyes he'd once had at the thought of flying his very own ship. "But it's worth it."
"Sir?" A timid-looking young woman in the front row raised her hand. "I mean, Commander Skywalker?"
"Yes?"
"Is it true you're a Jedi?" She glanced down to where his lightsaber hung, her eyes then darting with excitement back to his face. Luke looked over at Valara, whose mouth was a firm line, but she shrugged as if to say it wasn't her business.
"I hope to be one someday," he told the young woman, thinking back to his mission to Devaron, and the Jedi Temple he'd found there. He'd made a vow that he would return one day, and Luke was as resolute in that promise as the one he'd made to Obi-Wan to become a Jedi.
"My mother told me about the Jedi," the woman enthused. "She said that they could do the impossible with just a flick of their hand. Is that how you destroyed the Death Star, sir?"
"It helped," Luke conceded. "But you don't need the Force to accomplish what at first seems impossible - my teammates in Rogue Squadron don't have the Force, and I've seen every one of them do amazing things in an X-Wing. Or ask your Commander here how she once assaulted an Imperial Base and stole the Death Star plans," he gestured to Valara. "At the time everyone said it couldn't be done, but here she is, able to tell the tale, if you ask her nicely." He winked at her, which earned him a scowl in response. "Very nicely," he added.
"Sir?" A male Twi'lek raised his hand and Luke nodded to him. "How did it feel flying against the Death Star?"
"Terrifying," Luke told them, the mere memory enough to make his heart beat faster. "There's nothing that can prepare you for losing your squad mates up there. That's the thing about a pilot's life - you will lose friends, you'll have sleepless nights thinking about how your wingman died to save your life, and you won't know if you can handle it until it happens."
"So..what do you do, sir?" a wide-eyed female Rodian asked. "How do you cope?"
Luke sighed deeply, not wanting to discourage their enthusiasm. "You remind yourself what you're fighting for," he told the young woman. "You find happiness in the little things," he added, throwing Valara a smile. "And you have hope that one day it will all be worth it."
"Alright, alright," Valara waved her hand. "I think we've scared them sufficiently, Commander." She turned back to her class. "Now, who would like to see Luke Skywalker show us a thing or two in the simulator?"
Luke laughed as every hand in the room shot up, leaving him unable to refuse.
Watching Luke in the flight simulator there was no doubt in Valara's mind that he was the best pilot she'd ever seen. He'd been in there for over an hour, beating sim after sim with apparent ease as the collection of cadets watched on in awe. His reaction times were incredible, almost as if he anticipated the enemy's movements and there was strange longing in Valara's mind, wondering what it would be like to see him fly up among real stars.
But it was foolish, she scolded herself, as unproductive and painful as thoughts about ever flying an X-WIng again herself. It only reminded Valara of what she'd lost. When she'd first joined the Rebellion her score in the simulator had been the highest ever - unbroken for years until a fifteen year old Wedge Antilles beat her by one point, and then Skywalker surpassed them both on Yavin.
When she'd recovered from her injuries after retrieving the Death Star plans she'd demanded that Alliance High Command let her try the simulator again, to prove that she could handle it. But she'd been far too slow, unable to focus and distinguish friendlies from the enemy - she'd shot down two of her simulated squad before they stopped the test. They'd offered her the position of Flight Master as a consolation and Valara accepted, despite how painful she knew it would be to send off new recruits to missions she would never be allowed to join.
Watching Luke was even worse - he was the man who had supplanted her so effectively that she really should hate him. It still made her wonder exactly why she didn't.
"Alright," Valara said eventually, checking her chrono and shutting down the simulator. "Everyone thank Commander Skywalker for the demonstration, and come back tomorrow ready to work hard."
She allowed her students a few minutes as Luke shook each of their hands and wished them luck. He had that genuine charm that made each of them feel important rather than simply faces in a crowd, as if he was truly interested in the stories they told him about how they'd come to the Rebellion. But then, Valara considered, he likely was.
Eventually the cadets all drifted away, and they were left alone, with Luke lounging casually against the bulk of the flight simulator. "It's good to see you again, Valara," he said softly. "Sorry I disrupted your lesson."
Valara laughed and folded her arms over her chest. "No you're not."
Luke shrugged and gave her a wry smile. "I like to meet the cadets - we were all starry-eyed recruits once."
Even her, Valara thought to herself, although not with the Rebellion. "Is Echo Base all set up?" she changed the subject and approached Luke.
"I'm on my way there now," Luke nodded, hooking one thumb through his belt loop and leaning back further against the simulator. "They've yet to activate the energy shield, but most of the fleet's settled there."
"Well I can't say I envy you," Valara said, since it had been decided Allied Flight would remained stationed at Anoat, a few systems away from Hoth. In the event the Empire found the base it made sense to keep the flight ship away from the main fleet. "I hope you've found someone to keep you warm since I can't be there," she teased.
"Nah," Luke elbowed her lightly. "Just Wedge."
"Oh really?" Valara turned towards him, raising one eyebrow. "Well, I had heard rumors..."
"Not like that," Luke laughed. "The Base is a bit crowded so we have to room together. It's taken some getting used to, though. He snores."
"I hate to tell you this, Skywalker, but so do you," Valara teased. "You're perfect for each other."
"Is that why you're always in such a rush to leave afterwards?" Luke asked, slightly more seriously.
"No," Valara shifted closer to him, hooking her hand in the crook of his arm and resting her head lightly against his shoulder as they leaned back on the flight simulator. "I just like to sleep alone. I never got the chance in the orphanage - they packed a hundred souls into a sleeping room and it was never quiet, even in the depths of night."
"You've never really known quiet until you've been to Tatooine," Luke said softly. "After dark my Uncle Owen would shut down the generator and then there would be nothing - the desert is silent as a grave at night."
"Sounds peaceful," Valara commented.
"You'd think so," Luke shrugged. "But it's an oppressive silence - almost too quiet to think."
Valara found it hard to imagine. She'd lived on Coruscant most of her life, the city with a constant heartbeat where silence was foreign and never fully achieved. It was difficult to picture a desert of sand and rock with not a soul for miles, although it seemed rather appealing.
"I'll have to go there one day," she said and squeezed his arm lightly. "You could even play tour guide."
But Luke stiffened at her words. "I'm never going back there," he said shortly, and Valara realised it was one of those subjects that was off-limits. They'd worked out a good system over the past few months, and if one of them trod into dangerous territory, they would quickly retreat and say no more about it.
"I finally beat your score," Valara said, slipping out of his arm and turning to face him fully. "In the simulator."
Luke laughed and ducked his head, his unease melting away instantly. "Congratulations."
"It was a hollow victory," she admitted, running her fingers over the hull of the simulator lightly and looking away. "I know the system now and all the tricks. There's no one better than me at this simulator, I know every inch of space and every enemy inside it. But put me in an actual ship? I wouldn't be able to keep up."
She didn't realise Luke had moved to embrace her until his arms were already around her, his hands stroking her back and his cheek pressed against her hair. Valara stiffened at first, and then let herself relax into him, having discovered in the past few months that there was little need to keep up her bravado around him like she did with everyone else. Of course, she couldn't tell him everything, but in the silence they seemed to comfort one another better than any heartfelt confession would.
He would speak sometimes, and she would listen, about his life growing up on the farm, about many nights going hungry during a scant harvest, about his missions and his hopes for the future. He never asked for her to say anything in return, although she could tell he hoped she would. Occasionally she would speak briefly about her life in the orphanage and her time in the Imperial Academy that followed, of the years she spent in the Rebellion before she met him. It was piecemeal information, carefully holding back that which she could not bear to speak. But it was the moments when they held each other in silence that she found the most pleasant - a brief port in the storm that raged around them.
"You know," he said softly as he stroked her hair. "It's a shame we never got to fly together." He pulled back slightly so he could look at her, and Valara saw the longing in his gaze. Gently, he touched his thumb to the side of her eye, stroking the soft skin which bore no evidence of the damage she'd once suffered. "One day, maybe," he added wistfully.
"Why not today?" she suggested, nodding to the simulator and trying to escape a conversation which had become slightly uncomfortable.
Luke laughed and took her hand, pulling her into the simulator eagerly - perhaps realising that he'd touched a sensitive nerve. The space was small, designed to replicate the close quarters of an X-Wing cockpit, but Luke slid back in the seat far enough to allow Valara to slip in behind him, pressing her back against his chest and his legs bracketing hers. She pulled the controls towards her, and for a moment Luke's hands covered hers before flittering down to rest on her thighs.
"Show me what you've got, Commander," he said, his mouth so close to her ear he had to speak in a whisper. Valara switched on the simulator and the screens around them lit up in a cloud of stars and blaster fire, throwing them into the midst of a battle. It was the hardest sim but Valara beat it easily, shooting down her enemies as soon as they appeared, ducking out of enemy fire like it was second nature and finishing the program without a hit against her.
"Child's play," she declared as the sim reloaded. She relinquished the controls to Luke and leaned back against his chest to give him room to grasp them. It was thrilling, to watch him fly, his instincts to well honed that a streak of envy rushed through her. It must be his Force abilities, she realised, that one subject which they never discussed. Luke must have figured out how much it unsettled her and so never brought it up, although Valara could see how important it was to him. He wore his father's lightsaber on his hip always, and sometimes she could see him staring intently at someone or something, and knew he was reaching out through the Force. One day, she might be able to talk about it, but there were still too many secrets locked in Valara's heart that she simply wasn't ready to share - and she didn't think he was ready to hear.
"Well done, Red Five," she said as the sim ended. "But not as good as me."
"Rogue Leader," he reminded her, his hands drifting down from the controls to grasp hers. "And you've had more practice."
"True," Valara conceded sadly. "But this is as close as I'm ever going to get to flying again, so I'll take it."
"You will fly again one day," he said softly, his hands squeezing hers. "I can feel it."
"Careful Luke," she warned him, although she did not move from his embrace. "A little hope is a dangerous thing."
