Part Ten
the next day...
"Hey, Mom." Jag stuck his head into the kitchen, keeping his body concealed in the darkened hall. "Just you?"
Syal glanced up from her mixing bowl and smiled warmly. "Just me and the ryshcate. And no, you can't have any yet."
He relaxed and hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder before stepping into the room. "That's fine. I'll wait."
She arched an eyebrow curiously. "So you were hoping it was just me?"
"I'm always happy to see you, Mom."
"You're home early." She studied her batter as she guided a spoon around the bowl.
"I had some things to take care of before we leave tomorrow."
"Things with Jaina?"
He slung the bag onto the kitchen table, taking care not to disturb the scattered mayhem of Jaina's lightsaber construction. He noted with satisfaction the box of beskar was opened and empty. "You could say that."
"Did you two have a fight?"
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was finding you asleep in the den this morning. Or perhaps it's been Jaina's unusually distracted demeanor all day."
He looked up quickly from surveying the contents of the bag. "She's been distracted?"
"Quite."
"Good." Grabbing a wrapped parcel in one hand and a small velvetin satchel in the other, he fought down a smile.
"Jagged Tiberion Fel, what has gotten into you?" his mother asked with a flick of her mixing spoon.
He ignored her stern gaze, offering a quick smile as he passed through the kitchen. "Distracted enough that she's left on a long run across the grounds?"
Syal canted her head. "Yes. Gratefully. After she beat on that poor beskar for most of the morning, I was about to become distracted myself with all the racket."
"Dinner is still at nineteen hundred?"
"It is."
He crossed to his mother and planted a kiss on her cheek. "See you then."
"You actually think turning on the Fel charm will be enough to keep you from having to tell me what you're up to?"
"I'd love to, but I'm afraid I can't. Top secret, you see. Need to know."
She eyed him warily.
"Trust me."
"This better be good." His mother held the spoon between them. In unison they both swiped a finger through the batter and popped it into their mouths.
Jag grinned as he swallowed the sweet concoction. "Oh, it will."
Leaving the kitchen, Jag hastily made his way to the hothouse. He hadn't asked permission to cut one of her precious flowers, but he knew his mother wouldn't begrudge him the gesture on Jaina's behalf. He went straight to the one he needed, and after that brief detour, Jag wove down through the lower levels, until he finally reached the auxiliary hangar that housed the Blue Flame.
Even a quick scan of the ship told him Jaina hadn't made any progress from their work earlier in the week. Just as he had anticipated. While his actions had Jaina obviously distracted, it was impossible for Jag to explain to his mother why they were necessary. But it had been.
Last night he had severely underestimated Jaina's progress. Years before he had been the one to push for marriage, and the resulting pressure had dissolved their relationship into an unrecognizable jumble of frustration and hurt feelings. In asking Jaina to accompany him to Bastion, he had only wanted to give them time together, to allow Jag the opportunity to court Jaina once more. No pressure, let things come as they may. At first he had thought her refusal meant she wasn't ready to spend that kind of time with him, that perhaps she still needed the shelter offered on the estate. Instantly he had counseled his eager heart for patience, reminded his brain that their relationship would have to be rebuilt slowly and carefully.
Then before he'd really understood what was happening, Jaina had scrambled down to her knees. The love in her eyes had begged him to realize the depths of her feelings, and Jag had recognized the desperation to connect. His father had been more right about Jaina than Jag could ever have believed, because beneath her trembling hands he had felt her need to take the next step. Despite his attempt to deflect her with levity and calm certitude, Jaina had been a trigger's pull away from proposing. And Jag wasn't ready for that.
Stuffing the velvetin pouch in his pocket, Jag walked over to the starboard engine. Carefully he placed the newly snipped bud on the rim of the engine's intake, then extricated the parcel tucked under his arm. He unwrapped the package and removed a shiny sphere from the box. Opening the device, he placed the flower inside and activated the containment field so the bud would be held upright. He triggered the sphere to close and began to ponder how exactly to place it so Jaina could spot it easily.
"Wondering where to go next with this monstrous rebuild?"
Jag practically jumped out of his skin at the sound of Jaina's voice. He glanced down at the sphere, noted the closing clip of her boots, and quickly stuffed it deep into the recesses of the intake. Then he stepped in front of the opening, blocking any potential sight line inside.
"My thoughts hadn't wandered that far yet."
Jaina ambled around the sweeping wing of the clawcraft. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against it casually. She wore a red form-fitting utility suit. Her hair frolicked out of the band that fixed it back from her face. That and the rosy hint to her complexion confirmed she had just returned from a particularly strenuous run. Definitely distracted.
"So what were you thinking, then?"
"Doing, actually." Jag strolled her way, keeping his body between Jaina and the engine intake. "I was looking for you."
"Ah. Guess I found you instead." She straightened, starting in the direction from which Jag had just come. "So you really have no thoughts on what we should do next?"
He reached out with an arm and balanced against the wing's strut, blocking her path. "More like, too many to count. Perhaps we can come back later, after dinner, and work up a priority list."
She stared at his arm momentarily. Finally she cast her brown eyes up. "I think there might be more important things we need to hash out before you leave tomorrow."
"Of course." He stepped away from the wing and guided her around toward the corridor, which led back to the estate. "Seeing as we'll be apart for a while, I hurried home so I could be all yours this evening."
She stopped suddenly. "Listen, Jag. I didn't say this right last night and I need to get it right this time. I didn't say I couldn't go with you because I don't want to be with you. Especially considering what's going to be happening over the next couple of weeks. But I don't want to leave here until I'm completely healed physically. I had your mother contact the hospital today and set up all the remaining graft procedures. As soon as I've got those done, I'll take the first shuttle out of here, to wherever you are. I promise."
It had all come out in one breathless deluge, and there was only one way to respond. Jag bent down and placed his lips to Jaina's. She greedily returned the kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. Then abruptly she pulled away.
"Wait. You're not mad at me?"
"Not at all."
"But -"
"But nothing." He held Jaina at arm's length. "Can we forget about last night? I reacted poorly, and should be flogged accordingly. Or perhaps tickled would be more appropriate."
The charming Fel approach worked its magic. Jaina grinned one of those special lopsided grins that made Jag's heart race. "That could be arranged."
"Before dinner?" he offered, hoping she would take the bait and leave so he could finish his arrangements.
"I think I can squeeze you in, Councilor."
Jag spun Jaina around by the shoulders and shoved her toward the exit. "Off you go, then."
She dragged her feet to a stop. "Aren't you joining me?"
"Shortly. I just remembered I never keyed up the sequence in the cockpit computer board I installed the other night. If I don't do that now, you'll have a difficult time trying to interface the binary technology into the Chiss protocols. And I'd best just take care of this now before I forget again." He edged toward the cockpit ladder. "Remind me to show you that tonight."
"Okay," she said with a wave. He waited until the door swished closed behind her, then trotted over to the nearest cluster of tools. After locating a small hydrospanner, he clambered up the ladder and dropped into the open cockpit.
Scooting down in the pilot's seat, he felt like a contortionist in a traveling circus. He twisted his shoulders one way and his hips the other to get the right angle to apply the tool. A few grunts later, he had successfully released the hatch just above the foot rudder controls. He fished the velvetin pouch from his pocket and pressed it into the small opening. This was the safest place to hide his treasure he could imagine on short notice.
"Done yet?" asked a cheery voice from somewhere above him.
Jag snapped the hatch closed and straightened around in his seat. He tried not to act surprised when he found Jaina's deep brown eyes peering down at him.
"I didn't hear you climb up," he noted to her curious arch of an eyebrow.
In an unspoken answer, she drifted a half a meter closer. The cockpit shifted as her weight settled on the pilot's ladder.
Jaina traced her finger along his shoulder, then up his neck toward his ear. "I was thinking, wouldn't it just be easier for you to show me right now? That'll leave more free time later for -"
"It's, uh, not quite ready. Several of the connections came lose. I'll need to solder them again."
"Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"Because you look a bit flushed." Jaina extended her palm toward his brow.
"Upside down." He snatched her hand out of the air. "And a little steamed this didn't work quite as I planned."
"Even the best laid plans are bound to have a few hiccups," she chuckled.
"I prefer it when mine don't," he responded curtly, racking his brain for a way to get Jaina back on track. More precisely, out of the hangar.
"Why don't you show me what needs fixing." She started to shimmy down to get a closer look. "It'll go faster if we work on it together."
Jag pushed her back out of the cockpit. "Without the interface running, I can't engage the fans. We'll roast up here."
Hovering on the edge of the cockpit, she lazily traced the line of his scar through his hair. "In that case, we could just shed some clothes."
"Here? In my parents' hangar?"
"Come on. Isn't that every teenage pilot's fantasy? Being very naughty in the cockpit of their first fighter?"
"Did you?"
"What?"
"Misbehave in your fighter?"
The corner of Jaina's mouth curled up in a smile. "We only got as far as -"
"Uh uh." Jag waved his hands. "I don't want to hear about it."
"Then I'll show you." Jaina dove over the side of the cockpit. Her hands cupped his face and her lips stole his breath. For a few bounding heartbeats he didn't even remember this was about something else that had happened some other time. Long, long ago.
There was just Jaina and Jag.
She fell into his lap. Their bodies became intertwined. If it had been warm before, now Jag was quite hot. Except where his uniform shirt had been pushed open from the neck to his midsection, and Jaina's fingers traced shivers across his chest while she twisted in his lap to straddle him. In an instant he remembered, and shoved her back against the controls.
"Borleais," he gasped.
She batted him on the shoulder. "Obviously, you hair-brained monkey-lizard. What did you think? We're sharing part of your youth by fixing up your beloved Blue Flame, so I thought I'd take my own stroll down memory lane with the other first serious boyfriend, who apparently I never actually bothered to mention to you at any point previously?"
"Well, you are Jaina Solo."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Just that... you're, well, you."
She glared.
"And beautiful."
She still glared.
"And desired by practically every man galaxywide."
"You've been hanging around with the Moff Council too long, Jagged Fel." She leaned forward and feathered her lips along his jawline.
This was a hopeless battle - and a good commander always knew when to improvise. Jag released a little sigh, then gave in to his desire. They kissed and teased and tempted. Their hands were everywhere. It was primal passion, young and eager, like all those years ago on Borleias. He heard Jaina growl as he leaned forward and nipped her ear.
The growl was followed by a piercing shriek - but not from Jaina. The mechanical shrill snapped Jag back to reality. He slapped the emergency kill switch just behind her, where she lay braced against the control board.
"Oops," she said, blushing.
The engines ground to a halt, ending in an agonizing squeal of metal on the starboard side.
"Oh, that's not good," Jag said.
"Sounds like the -" Jaina rose up and slipped over the side of the ship. "- intake manifold." She sorted through the mess of tools left scattered across the floor at her feet. "Be right back."
"Ktah," he muttered. Jag was better equipped to handle an unexpected foe in the middle of a dogfight than the total disintegration of this carefully conceived plan before it ever really got started. He furrowed his brow and frantically pondered how he was going to rescue this one. Worst case, he decided, was that the sphere was mangled beyond recognition. He'd just scratch that part and go straight to the second part of his scheme, carefully hidden in the cockpit. But he'd be hard pressed to get Jaina back up there. So he needed to devise a new way to complete his plan.
"Got... hatch... ee." She was already into the engine compartment!
He stretched down to the small hatch in the control panel. In his haste, Jag kept missing the correct angle to wedge open the cover.
"Hey!" Jag straightened back up and peered down from the cockpit. Jaina stood with her legs apart, hands on her hips. "I think I see something stuck in the intake."
"Stuck?" He swallowed. "Really?"
"Really."
"She's a relic. It could be anything."
"You worked on the engines, right?" She wasn't asking a question, though.
"Yes," he agreed, then slid down in the crashcouch in an attempt to avoid the next oh-so-obvious Jaina question. And in the process banged his knee. He reflexively popped back up in the seat, stifling the urge to shout a few choice obscenities.
"Didn't you clear the compartment before you dogged the hatch?"
"That is standard protocol." This time he dove upside down, feet above him. He visualized the panel as his eyes adjusted and frantically pawed at the cover.
"...ag!" Jaina's muffled shout reverberated through the antiquated fighter.
"One second," he yelled back as he tugged the panel open.
"...ound... omthing."
Retrieving the pouch he had carefully planted only minutes before, Jag acknowledged silently that his plan was truly forked. Yet in a moment of profound clarity he suddenly recognized that it didn't matter. Her propensity to unleash mayhem was one of the reasons he always had gravitated toward Jaina like a planet to a sun.
This was just the way life was going to be. He inhaled once, deeply, before climbing out of the cockpit.
Surprisingly, Jaina was still dangling - or at least her legs were - out of the engine compartment.
"Jaina?"
"One second." She huffed. "Whatever it is, it's pretty stuck."
Her feet swirled one way, then the other. She grunted a couple times before pulling one leg completely inside the compartment to leverage her weight on the housing. With one final groan of exertion, she exclaimed, "Got it!"
Knowing her hands would be otherwise occupied, Jag reached in and tugged her out by the waist. Jaina didn't seem to notice as he settled her to the floor. She was entranced by the object in her hand.
"This is odd; it looks brand new. I hope..." Her expression changed instantly to the inscrutable mask of a Jedi in search of the truth.
"It's not dangerous," Jag reassured her.
She peered up at him. Her face was streaked with grease, and wisps of her hair sprouted every which way. Her dark eyes asked a question she didn't need to voice, and Jag knew he could imagine this moment no other way.
"It's a Salylic containment sphere. You open it like this." He flattened his palm face up, swirled it ninety degrees as if he were palming the sphere, and returned his hand to the position it started.
Jaina mimicked his movement, and the metallic surface phased into a transparent state. She eyed the contents, then turned her gaze back to Jag. "An Alderaanian orchid?"
He reached through the containment field and grasped the white flower's stem. "Not quite as lovely as you, but it definitely complements the picture."
"Jag! I'm covered in twenty-plus-year-old grime from -"
A finger from his free hand stifled the protest on her lips. At the same time, he tucked the orchid behind her ear. "You're perfect."
"A perfect pain in an Ewok's rear, maybe. Apparently I've well and truly detonated some grand scheme to fix yesterday's misunderstanding."
"Shhhh." Jag's finger pressed her lips into silence once more. "Not a plan to fix anything. You had the right idea. Unfortunately, the execution was outside my carefully considered operational parameters. So I had to create a diversion. An apparent misunderstanding turned out to be quite effective."
She blinked, obviously befuddled.
"It's really quite simple, my love. I was supposed to be the one -" Jag dropped to a knee. "- who initiated the status change protocols. What I'm asking, Jaina, is if you'll have me as your wingman - from here to eternity?"