A/N: It was requested of me before, so am giving the warning... this warning has to do with the mental process of realizing someone is an actual person and coffee spillage. Everyone warned? Not drinking coffee or anything else hot while reading? Okay, then. Enjoy. :)

A little earlier...

"I hate to play devil's advocate here, but... what about the Vong?" Melinda glanced around the group and sighed at the blank looks they were directing her way. "They're people too, even if they are trying to take over the universe and uproot a culture."

"Mel has a point," Susan spoke up, startling everyone. "Not saying I totally agree, but she does have a point."

"You've been living on Planet Bob too long, Mel," Amy said, teasing her a little. "And it's the same thing as what you'd do if the Drej attacked."

"Make it rain?" Melinda smirked as Amy rolled her eyes. "And we don't have to destroy them. We can just send Ranko and Peter in and they can give the Vong diabetic poisoning by being insufferably cute."

"Mel, if I'd wanted to do that, Rose and Travis would be here."

"Just a thought."

"Uh-huh."

"What about the Darksaber? We could steal it."

Ranko stared at Dawn for a very long moment, then turned to Susan. "That incident happen yet?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Susan turned to Luke, who was sitting in on the meeting. "Any incidents with Hutts lately?"

"No... why?"

"Callista?"

"Who?"

"The Eye of Palpatine?"

Luke shook his head. "Never heard of it... Why?"

"The Sun Crusher?"

"Yes."

"Is it destroyed?"

"Yes. Why are you asking about all this?"

"Trying to understand your time line is all."

"Now I'm confused. Time line?"

"It's quite simple, Mr. Skywalker. We need to know what there is handy, and if the Death Star prototype and the Sun Crusher have been destroyed, and the Darksaber hasn't been created yet, that leaves us very little to work with besides ourselves."

"We didn't see much when we were at Hoth," Dawn spoke up. "But then, we weren't looking for it... Wait. You haven't messed with The Eye?" The blank expression was answer enough. "Would that work, Ranko?"

"Only if we could reprogram it, and-"

"I could try," Susan interrupted with a slight smile. "How hard could it be? Instead of going after Jedi, it'd go after Vong."

"That's... actually not bad." Ranko glanced at Luke. "Exar Kun?"

"Last year... How do you know all this?"

"Pop culture class," Dawn told him. "Well, Ranko and Peter are fans, but the rest of us had it as an elective."

Luke blinked. "What?"

Ranko took pity on him. "It's why I wanted your autograph earlier."

"Oh."

"We don't actually have to reprogram The Eye," Peter said, bring the subject back to where it needed to be. "All we'd need to do is lure them with it."

"And for that, we need to be able to move it," Chris pointed out.

"True." Peter looked at Susan. "You're sure you could do it?"

"Well, no, but it's worth a try isn't it? At the very least, I'd trip something, at the most, we destroy it, problem solved. Kill two birds with one stone."

"And Callista?" Ranko asked, curious.

"She'd probably help."

"Right..."

"Who is Callista?" Luke wondered.

The question was met with utter silence before Melinda turned to him and shook her head. "Before your time."

"And yet you are talking about her like I should know who she is."

"Another time, another place, yeah, you probably would have." Melinda shrugged. "But that's neither here nor there."

Luke stood up, glanced around, shook his head, and left the room.

"Needed more tact, didn't we?" Elsie asked.

"Some," Melinda answered. She glanced at Ranko. "Next time, hmmm?"

Ranko nodded. "If there is one... Sue?"

"Yeah?"

"We are not doing that. No way." Ranko looked around at her team, then looked at Savage. "You remember the war, right?"

"Probably more than you do. Why?" Savage took in what Ranko was implying and started shaking her head. "No."

"Why not? It worked, didn't it?"

"Just because it worked on a total of five occasions, doesn't mean it was a good idea. Not only was it dangerous as a sand tiger in heat, but we also were nearly killed every time."

"What are you talking about?" Miranda asked, puzzled. "And which war?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Moira muttered.

"Which one do you think?" Savage retorted, then pointed at Ranko. "She was eight!"

"Very funny, Savage. You were fourteen, if I recall correctly."

"Oh, that war." Miranda turned to Peter. "Did we miss out on a lot?"

"Only in the sense that you missed Ranko acting like an eight year old and Allan babysitting her with John Wayne movies. Otherwise, no." Ranko punched him playfully on the arm. "Ow!"

"When we get home you're helping me with my thesis, Mr Smarty Pants."

Susan rolled her eyes at them. "Can we not do this? Explain the plan, already."

"Well, it was like this..."

Now...

"That bad?"

"Well... sort of." Luke shrugged helplessly. "They seem to know a lot about recent events, or stuff that hasn't happened yet. It's weird."

They were interrupted by Ranko entering the lounge with an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that. We're having a hard time adjusting to your presence. It's one thing to know about you from media, it's entirely another to meet you in person. It won't happen again, Master Skywalker."

"Call me Luke."

"Only if you're sure. It's a familiarity that we've been trained not to use."

"Trained?"

"Military thing and you out-rank us, even if we are all older than you."

"Oh. Yes, I'm sure."

"I didn't formally introduce myself earlier." Ranko held out her hand. "Captain Ranko Matire-Johnson, United Earth Space Navy."

Luke shook her hand warily. "A pleasure, I'm sure."

"That said... we have a plan, but need some advice." She glanced at Mara with a slight smile. "From both of you."

"Why?" Mara asked.

"You have experiance that we don't and this is your galaxy, not ours. Seems only fitting that you have a hand in the plan."

Luke and Mara glanced at eachother, and Mara nodded. "All right. Lead the way."

~*~*~*~

"I remember this plan," Elsie said as Ranko led Luke and Mara into the make-shift war room and motioned for them to sit down. "I didn't like it then, either. Everyone was in therapy for weeks afterward."

"Except you," Savage pointed out.

"I got therapy after I came out of the stupid trance, Savage. Not my fault that I ended up in one."

"So... we should revise the plan so you're part of the distraction?" Amy wondered.

Elsie rolled her eyes. "No. I ended up in the trance because it was a mission requirement."

The assorted Wave Rangers all looked at Chris, who nodded. "That's true. It was required. Don't remember why, though."

"There needed to be a cone of frequency silence for the element of surprise. In order to maintain it, the three of us had to meditate. I ended up so deeply entrenched in the trance that I stayed there a while." At the memory, Elsie made a face and shook her head. "Is that going to be needed this time around, Ranko?"

"No. This is a standard bash, sneak, boom. And even if we did need it, there would be no trances. Lot's of distraction this time around, though."

"But no cars to smash and bash," Allison pointed out. "Mom loved that part."

"I'm lost here," Luke said slowly as he and Mara sat down next to Moira. "Your mother smashed a what and she fell into a... trance?"

Allison laughed. "My mother was good at providing distractions, Master Skywalker. You'd call what she smashed a land speeder, only with wheels... as for why, well you had to be there to understand."

"And I used to not have very good control on my senses," Elsie put in.

"This is true," Ariel said with a smile. "You wouldn't believe the amount of times that she'd bring a ghost to dinner with her."

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"No, and you're still a ghost magnet."

"So is Dawn."

"Don't bring me into this, Elsie. I'm not the one who had the incident at the beach."

"I was five! I think I can be given a little leeway!"

"And-"

"Ahem!" Ranko interrupted. "Battle plan, remember? You two can pick on Elsie later. And Dawn? You're not exactly innocent, either, so stop it." She leveled a glare at the offenders, then tried to smile reassuringly at Luke and Mara. "I assure you we are sane. Promise."

"Reminds me a little of Rogue Squadron, actually," Luke said with a shrug. "Kind of."

Moira watched as Dark Star hopped up into Mara's lap and settled in. "I've been meaning to ask this, but where did you find a Spukamas?"

"She found me, really," Mara confided. "On a trading run to Corellia."

"Ah... she's pretty." Moira reached over and petted the feline, then smiled. "Also a bit protective, it seems."

"It was worse two months ago. She wouldn't let me out of her sight at all."

"And she was right, you know," Luke told her.

"Yes, I know." Mara looked up and saw all the smiles directed her way. "What?"

"Normalcy is a good and happy thing is all," Amy told her.

"Right... So, about this battle plan?"

Ranko nodded. She handed a data padd to Mara, who shared it with Luke. "We're calling this: Operation Worldships Go Boom..."

"Worldships go boom?" Luke asked, surprised at the op name. "Things are going to be exploding?"

"Well... yes."

"What's a worldship?" Mara asked, looking up from the datapadd.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Amy said smoothly. "A world that's a ship."

Mara turned to look at Amy with an expression of incredulity. "I got that part, thank you."

Ranko sighed. "AJ, stop being catty."

"But it's so easy." At the stern look being directed her way, Amy rolled her eyes. "Fine... Mara, a worldship would be a living headquarters for the Vong. The information we have from Elidar's computer system is that they have more than one of the things and are massing in Wild Space not far from here for a major push. We get them there, before they make a major push and make themselves known and cause lots and lots of damage, and the problem will be taken care of."

"Mostly," Allison muttered. "There will still be some mop-up to do."

"Yes, but that part is easy."

"Right."

"Oh, that explains some of this," Mara said, then looked at Amy. "Who or what is an Elidar?"

"Our home base," Amy explained. "Home, as it were."

Mara nodded slowly and glanced over the plans, noting that people were divided into two teams. "I'm going along."

"No you're not," Ranko said automatically. She motioned for most everyone to leave the make-shift war-room, and all but five, besides Moira, Luke, and Peter, did.

Mara glared at her. "Why not? I want to help."

"She has a point, Ranko," Peter said softly. "And what could it hurt?"

"If she's going," Luke spoke up. "Then so am I."

Ranko considered the two of them for a full minute before glancing at her husband, who nodded. "All right. Give me a reason besides the fact that you want to help and I'll consider it."

"I want to pay them back."

"No," Ranko said without hesitation.

"What? Why not?"

"This isn't about revenge."

Mara looked at her funny. "I'm sorry?"

"It's about saving lives, Ms. Jade. Going in bent on revenge will only get you and your team killed. Try again."

Mara hesitated, then met Ranko's gaze squarely, and answered from her heart. "I need to make it right. For me."

Ranko took that in a moment, then nodded. "All right."

"Huh?"

"That reason? That's what I was waiting for. No more, no less." Ranko glanced at Luke and noticed he was smiling slightly at Mara. "Though the two of you are going to be on separate teams for this."

"Why?"

"Different needs, different abilities. You cause havoc better than she does, and she sneaks around better that you."

Luke had to admit that she had a point there.

~*~*~*~*~

The Wave Rangers were busy sorting out their armory while Luke and Mara sat to one side and held one another.

"You know I love you, right?" Mara suddenly had to ask, not turning to look at him.

Luke slowly turned from watching Amy sharpen her twin katana and smiled down at her. "Yes, I know, Mara. I love you, too."

Mara turned her head and smiled back at him. "You're not worried, are you?"

"No." The certainty in his voice made her feel safe and she leaned into him.

"I'm glad."

Susan came over to them with two boxes and two sets of light-weight body armor. "These are for you two."

Luke frowned. "What's in the boxes?"

Susan handed the body armor to Mara and opened one of the boxes to show them. She held up a small, flat disc-shaped device. "This is a medical sensor patch…" Next was what appeared to be a tangle of wires. "…and this one goes on your ear like so…" and next after that, was a small device that appeared to be jewelry. "…and this one is a personal protective shield, for extra protection in the event of something huge."

"You want us to use all this?" Mara asked, her tone indicating that she wasn't exactly pleased.

Susan's eyes narrowed. "Yes, you get to use these things. It's required if you're coming… and don't argue with me on it, Ms. Jade. It didn't work for any of my children, it certainly won't work for you."

"Oh, I wasn't going to argue about it… It just seems unnecessary. We've gone on missions without stuff like this and been fine."

"Right… and Ranko won't let you go unless you use all of it, including the shields." Susan shrugged, then stood up. "Oh, and the body armor can fit over your jump suits."

Mara watched her go, then looked at Luke, who was picking through the other box. "Anything interesting in there?"

"Yes." He held up a pair of lightsabers for her to see. "These."

Mara frowned, set the armor down, and opened the other box. In it, she found two more lightsabers. "Why would there be two for one person?"

"Because one always needs a spare at the least opportune time," Amy told them from where she was still sharpening her katana blades. "And it never hurts to have two of something." She grinned at their expressions of disbelief.

"Oh," they said in unison.

"That… actually makes sense," Mara murmured. She fingered the lightsabers a moment before turning to look at Luke with an imploring expression. "Well, Master? Do you think I'm ready?"

Luke blinked in surprise, then nodded slowly. "Yes, student, I think you're ready."

"Really?" She leaned closer to him.

He leaned in with a smile. "Really."

The kiss they shared made Amy blush.

On Coruscant, as the Chief of State of the New Republic is getting ready for the day ahead, she can't help but feel uneasy.

For two days now, she's been getting subtle force-nudges and images in her minds eye of her brother and his fiancé. Yesterday, she was about ready to call out the troops based on nothing more than a feeling, and then… a feeling of relief flooded through her.

She wasn't certain what was going on out there, but she wasn't worried about her brother. He had Mara with him, and together they could face anything.

Still uneasy, but a little more at ease than she had been, Leia Organa Solo began her day.

~*~*~*~

Moira smirked as Luke and Mara stared and watched the Wave Rangers go through their noisy power-up. She knew how they felt, yes, but that didn't make it any less funny.

"What in the?" Luke asked, stunned as the light show wound down.

"That was why I stopped her from explaining earlier," Moira explained quietly. "Wasn't something to drop on two people who'd just recently been unconscious."

"That explains the body armor and the personal shields," Mara murmured. She frowned at Melinda as she removed her helmet. "Pink?"

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Yes. Pink… and formal functions are heck."

"At least we don't have color withdrawal, Mel," Ranko reminded her.

"Good point."

Mara picked Dark Star up off the floor and held her close for a moment, then handed her to Moira. "Be good for Moira, Dark Star."

Moira chuckled as Dark Star tried to get out of her arms with little success. "Just go before I lose my grip… and be safe out there."

Ranko nodded, and then they teleported out, Luke and Mara in tow.

Moira let go of Dark Star right as the feline began yowling. "They'll be back, girl."

Dark Star glared up at Moira once, and then wandered off, tail in the air.

Moira shook her head, then made her way to the monitor station in the control cabin. "At least I think they will…"

~*~*~*~*~

Red Wave planted a signal beacon in the ground beside a rock, then turned to Blue Wave. "You be careful."

"Same goes for you," Blue Wave told her shortly, then Blue Team teleported away, Mara in tow.

Red Wave turned around and tilted her head to one side. "And by careful for us, he means property damage."

"And not to get killed, either," Yellow Wave said with a snort.

"But mostly property damage," Copper Wave said as she pulled out her katana. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

Red Wave motioned for Luke to stay where he was while Orange Wave moved to peek around a corner.

Orange Wave looked, and then beckoned them forward. "Amy, would you be so kind as to announce our presence?"

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

For a moment, Luke could have sworn that he saw copper-colored flower petals floating in the air as nothing happened.

And then Copper Wave moved into the "road" and let loose with a volley of flame and pandemonium broke loose.

Luke had no time to even be surprised as they swung into action, Red Wave in the lead.