***
Jag woke up an hour later, and careful not to disturb Jaina, he unwrapped his arms from around her,placing a kiss on her forehead and let her sleep some more. He crept through the shuttle to the cockpit and returned to his seat in the pilot's chair. As he shifted around, he was aware of someone studying him-Kyp.
"Good morning." Kyp said.
Jag let a small smile play across his lips. "It's afternoon."
"Well," Kyp said, raising an eyebrow, "A wise old friend told me morning is whenever you wake up, and I tend to believe him."
"Who said that?" asked Jag, not looking up from the terminal in front of him.
"Han Solo."
"Oh."
Before Jag could comment any further, another person crept into the cockpit. Jag turned, half expecting it to be Jaina, so he was considerably surprised to find Wes Janson sitting in the copilot's chair. "Hello, Colonel," Wes whispered. "Are we there yet?"
Jag rolled his pale green eyes. "Is he always like this?"
"Yes," said a new voice-Face, "He always has been, always will be. We're almost certain that it's caused by a mental disability, but, unfortunately for us, the medics haven't found a cure for this." Face sighed, "The one thing bacta can't fix."
***
Jaina leaned over Jag's shoulder studying the map of the planet-or is it a moon? She wondered- on the terminal. Jag pointed to a spot on the map. "This is the only spot the scanners picked up that had anything close to civilization. If Shawnkyr managed to get planetside, that would be the logical choice for her. It's on the far side, and it should be dark when we land, a plus because you won't be able to see us, but a negative as well, since we aren't familiar with the terrain. Looks like there's a canyon to the south of the settlement or base, and it seems to run northeast, towards the base, as well as a small mountain chain running parallel to it, with a narrow plain between the two. I think we could land in the canyon, if you wish."
Jaina nodded, considering. "Well, people, opinions?" she asked.
Face frowned. "We don't know how deep the canyon is, or how hard it is to get out of, so it might be best to not land there. But, on the other hand, it might make it harder for scanners to pick up the shuttle."
Kyp spoke up. "If we're going to land, I'd find a spot in the canyon. We pull out our camouflage covers, and you won't be able to see the shuttle."
Jaina nodded. "To the canyon it is, then. What's our ETA?"
Jag pressed his lips together. "10 minutes."
"Gotcha." Jaina slipped out the cockpit, to the main part of the shuttle, where the rest of the team was prepping. "Listen up, people. We'll be planet side in ten minutes, I want us ready to go in five. Kell, you've got the demolitions pack, Face, you'll be carrying an extra demolitions pack, in case we have to split up, which I think we will. Corran, you and Sharr have comm equipment, and Kyp's our local medic, so for anyone who gets a boo-boo, see him. It looks like the terrain will be desert scrub-ish, so wear the desert-camo-cloak-poncho-things. Standard-issue blasters and power packs for everyone, and I think that's it. Any questions?"
Wes raised his hand, waving it like an excited student. "Ooh, ooh! I have a question, Teacher! Pick me, pick me!"
Jaina shot him a pointed look. "Anybody else with a question?"
"Me, me! I have a question, call on me!" Wes exclaimed.
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Yes, Janson?"
"Who's carrying food?"
Jaina sighed. "Piggy's offered to take rations, though I doubt we'll be needing them. This should be a fairly short in-and-out recovery mission."
Wes smiled. "Ok."
Sensing a pair of eyes watching her, Jaina whirled to see Jag, leaning in the doorway and smiling at her. She shot him a questioning look, and he waved off, shaking his head. Jaina turned again, and started assembling her equipment; she clipped her lightsaber to its customary place on her belt, slid in a blaster and strapped a mini holdout blaster to her left forearm. She also attached a vibroblade sheath to her other arm, before slipping on a camouflage poncho-like cloak over everything. She turned to watch the rest of her crew as they finished preparing; Kell was sliding the large, bulky pack of explosives onto his shoulders, and Corran just finished securing his pack. Everyone else looked ready to go, and Jaina narrowed her eyes.
"On second thought," she announced, "We're splitting up, just in case. Face, you're Team One Leader, and you'll get Sharr, Piggy, and Kyp; I'm Team Two Leader, and I get the rest of you stragglers, Corran, Jag, Wes and Kell."
"Oh, goodie! I'm with the Goddess, I'm with the Goddess," Wes started to sing.
"Except for Wes. You're on your own." She changed.
Wes looked at her crestfallen. "That's not fair."
Jaina shot him a toothy grin. "Anyways, Kyp, I need you to split your med- pac with Jag, I know he's never been a field medic, but, it'll have to work. Piggy, split the rations pack with me." She instructed, and smiled satisfied as Kyp shucked his pack, and quickly sifted through it.
As she was slipping on her pack, she stated, "Everyone else, maintain little comm use. I don't want our comm signals giving us away. And remember your call signals. Everyone got it?"
"You bet, Goddess." Said Face, designated Poster Boy. Kell was Explosion Boy, Wes was Shut Up You; rather, that was what Jaina preferred to call him, Wes had chosen Ewok. Corran was CorSec, Sharr was Psycho since he was the resident psychological warfare expert; Piggy was Piggy, Kyp was Master due to the fact her was a Jedi Master, Jag was Imperial Boy, and Jaina was Goddess. She smiled. Perfect.
As the shuttle manuevered down the canyon, Jaina twisted around again. "And, people?"
Everyone turned to face her.
"Be careful. I don't want to go pick up pieces of you just because you were careless."
The shuttle shuddered almost imperceptibly as Jag set it down on a rocky ledge, and the boarding ramp descended. "Explosion Boy?" Jaina asked.
"On it, Goddess. Going up or down?" he asked, appearing by her side. She squinted in the darkness. "Up."
In the dim moonlight, Jaina could make out the sharp nod of acknowledgement from Kell. "Righto." She watched him reach for his comlink. "Explosion Boy away."
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and she was able to observe as the Wraith secured a harness and a rope around himself, and began to climb up the sheer rock face of the canyon. Jaina sensed Jag come up behind her, and she smiled. It was only about 90 feet up to the rim, and she was surprised to see Kell almost at the top. She didn't even realize Face had started, and she could barely make out his figure, climbing from handhold to handhold. The rest of the team had finished covering the shuttle, it was now hopefully safe and secure.
"Your turn," Jag whispered in her ear, gently pushing her towards the rope.
"Oh, joy. I am so excited."
"Don't worry. I'll catch you if you fall." Jag whispered as she secured her harness around the rope. Jaina glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling, and he quickly kissed her.
"Get going. You're holding up the line." He said softly.
"Aye-aye, Imperial Boy." She thumbed her comlink on. "Goddess is away." She whispered softly, and a flurry of comm clicks acknowledged her. Jaina took a deep, calming breath, and pulled herself up along the rocks, her fingers searching for stable handholds. The climb was not as hard as she expected, the stony canyon walls filled with deep pits and holes, the perfect handholds. The two moons cast a dim light along the canyon wall, making every mark stand out, accented with shadows.
"Ewok Man is up, up and away." Wes's voice announced. She raised a hand, searching for another handhold, when a different, large hand found hers and held it, tugging her up the last few feet to the top. She quickly unhooked her harness from the rope, and offered a smile of thanks to Kell, who'd been the one to pull her up.
"Imperial Boy is off." Jag whispered across her comlink frequency.
She double clicked the comm in acknowledgement. She dusted off her cloak, and pulled a pair of macrobinoculars hanging from the side of her pack to her eyes. She scanned the distance, looking around the surface. It appears they were on a plain, with small, low, gnarled trees and brush and scrub all around, and a small mountain chain running parallel to the canyon in the distance. No major obstacles, really. She noted. That's good.
"Psycho away." Sharr's voice. Jaina clicked her comlink again, still scanning the planet. She focused her binoculars on an odd looking settlement in the distance. She continued to dial the zoom up until she could identify the cluster of buildings for sure, then nodded and snapped her binoculars back in place. She walked back over to where Jag, Kell, Wes and Face were waiting.
"Piggy is away." was the whispered announcement over her comlink, and it was soon followed by "CorSec is off."
It wasn't much more than twenty minutes and the whole team was above the canyon. Jaina motioned everyone together. "Ok, everyone, settlement's to the north. I'm guessing between 10 and 15 kilometers away. We split up now, Team One goes east, along the canyon rim and Team Two takes the west, across the plain. Remember, restrict comm use, call if you need back up or find anything. May the Force be with you."
They nodded, and the two teams split up, Team One following the rim towards the settlement, and Team Two hustling across the plain, heading for the mountain chain. Jaina figured it would provide more cover in case the group that had gotten Shawnkyr discovered them.
***
Once again, thanks for all the reviews! Glad to know you guys are enjoying it! :D
Jag woke up an hour later, and careful not to disturb Jaina, he unwrapped his arms from around her,placing a kiss on her forehead and let her sleep some more. He crept through the shuttle to the cockpit and returned to his seat in the pilot's chair. As he shifted around, he was aware of someone studying him-Kyp.
"Good morning." Kyp said.
Jag let a small smile play across his lips. "It's afternoon."
"Well," Kyp said, raising an eyebrow, "A wise old friend told me morning is whenever you wake up, and I tend to believe him."
"Who said that?" asked Jag, not looking up from the terminal in front of him.
"Han Solo."
"Oh."
Before Jag could comment any further, another person crept into the cockpit. Jag turned, half expecting it to be Jaina, so he was considerably surprised to find Wes Janson sitting in the copilot's chair. "Hello, Colonel," Wes whispered. "Are we there yet?"
Jag rolled his pale green eyes. "Is he always like this?"
"Yes," said a new voice-Face, "He always has been, always will be. We're almost certain that it's caused by a mental disability, but, unfortunately for us, the medics haven't found a cure for this." Face sighed, "The one thing bacta can't fix."
***
Jaina leaned over Jag's shoulder studying the map of the planet-or is it a moon? She wondered- on the terminal. Jag pointed to a spot on the map. "This is the only spot the scanners picked up that had anything close to civilization. If Shawnkyr managed to get planetside, that would be the logical choice for her. It's on the far side, and it should be dark when we land, a plus because you won't be able to see us, but a negative as well, since we aren't familiar with the terrain. Looks like there's a canyon to the south of the settlement or base, and it seems to run northeast, towards the base, as well as a small mountain chain running parallel to it, with a narrow plain between the two. I think we could land in the canyon, if you wish."
Jaina nodded, considering. "Well, people, opinions?" she asked.
Face frowned. "We don't know how deep the canyon is, or how hard it is to get out of, so it might be best to not land there. But, on the other hand, it might make it harder for scanners to pick up the shuttle."
Kyp spoke up. "If we're going to land, I'd find a spot in the canyon. We pull out our camouflage covers, and you won't be able to see the shuttle."
Jaina nodded. "To the canyon it is, then. What's our ETA?"
Jag pressed his lips together. "10 minutes."
"Gotcha." Jaina slipped out the cockpit, to the main part of the shuttle, where the rest of the team was prepping. "Listen up, people. We'll be planet side in ten minutes, I want us ready to go in five. Kell, you've got the demolitions pack, Face, you'll be carrying an extra demolitions pack, in case we have to split up, which I think we will. Corran, you and Sharr have comm equipment, and Kyp's our local medic, so for anyone who gets a boo-boo, see him. It looks like the terrain will be desert scrub-ish, so wear the desert-camo-cloak-poncho-things. Standard-issue blasters and power packs for everyone, and I think that's it. Any questions?"
Wes raised his hand, waving it like an excited student. "Ooh, ooh! I have a question, Teacher! Pick me, pick me!"
Jaina shot him a pointed look. "Anybody else with a question?"
"Me, me! I have a question, call on me!" Wes exclaimed.
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Yes, Janson?"
"Who's carrying food?"
Jaina sighed. "Piggy's offered to take rations, though I doubt we'll be needing them. This should be a fairly short in-and-out recovery mission."
Wes smiled. "Ok."
Sensing a pair of eyes watching her, Jaina whirled to see Jag, leaning in the doorway and smiling at her. She shot him a questioning look, and he waved off, shaking his head. Jaina turned again, and started assembling her equipment; she clipped her lightsaber to its customary place on her belt, slid in a blaster and strapped a mini holdout blaster to her left forearm. She also attached a vibroblade sheath to her other arm, before slipping on a camouflage poncho-like cloak over everything. She turned to watch the rest of her crew as they finished preparing; Kell was sliding the large, bulky pack of explosives onto his shoulders, and Corran just finished securing his pack. Everyone else looked ready to go, and Jaina narrowed her eyes.
"On second thought," she announced, "We're splitting up, just in case. Face, you're Team One Leader, and you'll get Sharr, Piggy, and Kyp; I'm Team Two Leader, and I get the rest of you stragglers, Corran, Jag, Wes and Kell."
"Oh, goodie! I'm with the Goddess, I'm with the Goddess," Wes started to sing.
"Except for Wes. You're on your own." She changed.
Wes looked at her crestfallen. "That's not fair."
Jaina shot him a toothy grin. "Anyways, Kyp, I need you to split your med- pac with Jag, I know he's never been a field medic, but, it'll have to work. Piggy, split the rations pack with me." She instructed, and smiled satisfied as Kyp shucked his pack, and quickly sifted through it.
As she was slipping on her pack, she stated, "Everyone else, maintain little comm use. I don't want our comm signals giving us away. And remember your call signals. Everyone got it?"
"You bet, Goddess." Said Face, designated Poster Boy. Kell was Explosion Boy, Wes was Shut Up You; rather, that was what Jaina preferred to call him, Wes had chosen Ewok. Corran was CorSec, Sharr was Psycho since he was the resident psychological warfare expert; Piggy was Piggy, Kyp was Master due to the fact her was a Jedi Master, Jag was Imperial Boy, and Jaina was Goddess. She smiled. Perfect.
As the shuttle manuevered down the canyon, Jaina twisted around again. "And, people?"
Everyone turned to face her.
"Be careful. I don't want to go pick up pieces of you just because you were careless."
The shuttle shuddered almost imperceptibly as Jag set it down on a rocky ledge, and the boarding ramp descended. "Explosion Boy?" Jaina asked.
"On it, Goddess. Going up or down?" he asked, appearing by her side. She squinted in the darkness. "Up."
In the dim moonlight, Jaina could make out the sharp nod of acknowledgement from Kell. "Righto." She watched him reach for his comlink. "Explosion Boy away."
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and she was able to observe as the Wraith secured a harness and a rope around himself, and began to climb up the sheer rock face of the canyon. Jaina sensed Jag come up behind her, and she smiled. It was only about 90 feet up to the rim, and she was surprised to see Kell almost at the top. She didn't even realize Face had started, and she could barely make out his figure, climbing from handhold to handhold. The rest of the team had finished covering the shuttle, it was now hopefully safe and secure.
"Your turn," Jag whispered in her ear, gently pushing her towards the rope.
"Oh, joy. I am so excited."
"Don't worry. I'll catch you if you fall." Jag whispered as she secured her harness around the rope. Jaina glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling, and he quickly kissed her.
"Get going. You're holding up the line." He said softly.
"Aye-aye, Imperial Boy." She thumbed her comlink on. "Goddess is away." She whispered softly, and a flurry of comm clicks acknowledged her. Jaina took a deep, calming breath, and pulled herself up along the rocks, her fingers searching for stable handholds. The climb was not as hard as she expected, the stony canyon walls filled with deep pits and holes, the perfect handholds. The two moons cast a dim light along the canyon wall, making every mark stand out, accented with shadows.
"Ewok Man is up, up and away." Wes's voice announced. She raised a hand, searching for another handhold, when a different, large hand found hers and held it, tugging her up the last few feet to the top. She quickly unhooked her harness from the rope, and offered a smile of thanks to Kell, who'd been the one to pull her up.
"Imperial Boy is off." Jag whispered across her comlink frequency.
She double clicked the comm in acknowledgement. She dusted off her cloak, and pulled a pair of macrobinoculars hanging from the side of her pack to her eyes. She scanned the distance, looking around the surface. It appears they were on a plain, with small, low, gnarled trees and brush and scrub all around, and a small mountain chain running parallel to the canyon in the distance. No major obstacles, really. She noted. That's good.
"Psycho away." Sharr's voice. Jaina clicked her comlink again, still scanning the planet. She focused her binoculars on an odd looking settlement in the distance. She continued to dial the zoom up until she could identify the cluster of buildings for sure, then nodded and snapped her binoculars back in place. She walked back over to where Jag, Kell, Wes and Face were waiting.
"Piggy is away." was the whispered announcement over her comlink, and it was soon followed by "CorSec is off."
It wasn't much more than twenty minutes and the whole team was above the canyon. Jaina motioned everyone together. "Ok, everyone, settlement's to the north. I'm guessing between 10 and 15 kilometers away. We split up now, Team One goes east, along the canyon rim and Team Two takes the west, across the plain. Remember, restrict comm use, call if you need back up or find anything. May the Force be with you."
They nodded, and the two teams split up, Team One following the rim towards the settlement, and Team Two hustling across the plain, heading for the mountain chain. Jaina figured it would provide more cover in case the group that had gotten Shawnkyr discovered them.
***
Once again, thanks for all the reviews! Glad to know you guys are enjoying it! :D