AN: Sorry its taken so long, for some reason I haven't been able to submit lately. This chapter and the next begin the climax of this whole story. Hopefully the next chapter will be up tomorrow, and there will be more following it. In fact, I'm also planning a sequel to this. Once again, thanks to Master of the Boot, still my only reviewer, for his great reviews.

Chapter 9

Jaina Solo pulled her helmet off as she exited the cockpit of the X-Wing fighter, allowing her hair to flow freely. She was met with cheers from the crew on the flight deck of the Empress Ael, as were each member of her squadron, as well as the other squadron. Nahrahl stood at attention near her fighter, as did Commander Donatra and the MACOs.

"Well done Commander Solo!" Nahrahl said. Of course, the other squadrons had also done well, but she had distinguished herself in battle, defeating not only the 181st pilot and holding the TIEs off of the tankers, but also escorting and covering the Empress as it went to aid the flagship. "I'm recommending you for an Alliance Medal of Honor upon our return to Alliance space."

"Th-thank you Khre'Riov!" Jaina stuttered. And with good reason! The Alliance Medal of Honor was an honor invented only a short time ago to honor the most elite of the Alliance officers and civilians. Thus far, only the members of Shark squadron had received the honor, and most of them posthumously!

"Congratulations Jaina," Fi Skirata said with a proud fatherly gleam in his eyes, no doubt the same look her father would give her when he learned of this honor.

"You earned it Sabre!" Trapper exclaimed from behind Fi.

"As for the rest of you," Nahrahl said, addressing the other pilots, "I'm giving you all a blanket promotion to everybody under the rank of Commander, and for those of you who are Commanders, you will be honored upon our return!"

This announcement was met with cheers from all concerned. Nahrahl allowed them to continue for a moment, and then quieted them with a raise of her hand.

"However, this day is not yet over! In two hours, we will drop out of hyperspace, and we will no doubt be met by as strong a force as we just faced, and most likely the same enemies we left behind us as well!"

This announcement was met with silence and confusion. Only the MACOs and Senior Officers, namely Nahrahl and Donatra, had been aware of the full details of Operation Dust.

"Now that we are no longer in danger of sabotage, Admiral Solo has given me permission to tell you our true mission: We go to take from the Empire it's newest war machine, an Ultra-class Star Destroyer!"

This news was met with stress of astonishment at first, but it soon turned into a cheer of hopefulness.

"This task will not be an easy one, but it is well worth the risk- and our ship has been chosen as the center of the entire operation," Nahrahl continued. "Our mission is to take place in the Hoth system, where, in order to draw out the protectors of the unfinished destroyer, the entire fleet, excluding the tankers and a few minor support craft, will feign sabotage and/or damage to their drive systems. We anticipate a heavy assault from the enemy, in fact, we are counting on it. I'm sure many of you are curious as to what are in the unmarked storage containers in our cargo bays. Well, let your curiosity be satisfied: The crates contain many of the key parts of a Scimitar warbird identical to our ship.

"During the battle, there will be much confusion- and friendly fire casualties are inevitable, especially when we have been 'sabotaged.' During this battle, one of the turbolasers aboard the flagship, set to a reduced setting, will score a direct hit to our unshielded bridge. This shot, if it were on full power, would vaporize the Empress. Therefore, after the blow strikes us, we will explosively release our cargo, which will appear to be debris. Simultaneously, we will cloak, and move out of the battle, and into the asteroid field, leaving most of you, our fighter craft, behind."

The crew listened with growing apprehension, yet this apprehension was permeated by a feeling of pride that they, the best crew in the Romulan Republic, had been chosen to carry out such a hazardous mission.

"As for our guests, Alpha and Beta squads of the MACO Special Operations Division, they will carry out the next phase of our mission. This mission, as I'm sure you all can guess, is vital to the security of not only our republic, but of the entire Alliance! Good luck to us all, and may the force of this galaxy be with us!"

The entire hanger bay erupted in a booming cheer.

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An hour later, having taken a shower and meditating for a while, Jaina stepped into the mess hall wearing her MACO uniform once more. The rest of her squad as well as Beta squad sat around the largest table sharing a light meal. And sitting across the table from where she now stood, looking straight at her was Ed Carrol.

When he saw her, he stood up and approached her.

"Jaina, I want to apologize for the way I acted before the mission."

"I'm sorry?" Jaina replied angrily. "You want to apologize for being a jerk? Is that what you want to apologize for?"

"Well, yes."

"No thank you!" she replied loudly, not realizing, or caring, that the other MACOs had noticed their conversation and were now watching them. "If you'll excuse me, I have to prepare for the mission!" She turned and ran away from the mess hall.

Ed stood there watching her leave. Jag Fell approached him.

"Well, I suppose you won," Ed said sadly. "She's all yours."

"Are you insane?" Jag replied. "Go after her!"

"But I thought…"

"He's right, kid," Fi said, standing on the other side of Ed.

"It's clear she loves you, not me," Jag said as Tex silently exited the mess hall following Jaina. "I'm a big enough man to admit that."

"That girl's the closest thing to a daughter I've got," Fi said. "And if anyone's going to be with her, I'm glad it's you and not some random fighter jock, no offense to Jag here."

"None taken, sir."

"And I'm sure her actual father would agree with me if he were here that you need to get your shebs out there and stop her!"

Ed was shocked. Here were the two people with the most reason to keep him and Jaina apart trying to put them together.

"I- uh, thanks!" Ed said, and he headed out the door.

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Jaina stormed down the corridor, unsure of where she was going. She had no idea why she had reacted so… violently. In fact, she had acted even worse than he had!

As she walked, she sensed someone running behind her, trying to catch up. She whirled, expecting to find Ed, and prepared to ball him out again, and was thus surprised when he was not the one behind her.

"Tex!" she exclaimed, startled. "I hope he didn't send you after me, 'cause I am not going back there!"

"Ed's still standin' in the mess hall like a deer caught in the headlights," Tex replied.

"A what?" Jaina replied, not recognizing his colloquialism.

"Forget about it," Tex said. "Forgive me, but don't you think you over-reacted a bit there?"

Jaina looked downwards, ashamedly realizing he was right.

"Maybe," she admitted, but then looked up at Tex, her eyes regaining some of her anger. "But so did he!"

Tex shook his head.

"I know, Ed told me what happened," he said.

"Oh, just great! Now he's telling…" she began, but was cut off by Tex.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he said indignantly. "How could you? You never bothered to ask about his past, did you?"

"Well I…"

"Quiet!" Tex barked. "No matter how bad a life you've had, I guarantee you he's had it worse!"

"I sincerely doubt that!" Jaina replied, remembering the pain she had felt over Jacen's betrayal and Chewie's death. But then Tex told her about Ed's past, about the massacre of his entire family… including his fiancé. And then, suddenly, her anger was gone as she realized why he hadn't wanted her to go on the mission.

"I am such an idiot!" she said, regretting how she had spoken to him.

"No, I'm the idiot," came a voice from behind them. It was Ed, and he had heard most of their conversation.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "I didn't realize…"

She was cut off as Ed kissed her.

"Looks like my work here is done," Tex said, returning to the mess hall with a wide grin.