Thanks to all my reviewers, Sabé, (sorry about the accent, Word does it
automatically and I don't know how to undo it!) Chuwi, jedismuggler and GJ
for reviewing my last chapter, and thanks for reading my story! Here's the
next part! :D
***
Wedge rubbed his eyes wearily. "Sithspit, Jag. Don't do this."
Iella came into his office, a questioning look on her face. "What's he doing?"
"They're aborting the mission." Wedge said.
"What?" Iella gasped, "They can't do that!"
"Well, they are," Wedge said. "Jaina's gotten something through the Force from Jacen, and now both of them are going to go find him."
Iella's face paled. "Wedge, that will get them both captured!"
"I know."
"What are you going to do about it?" she asked. "And don't say nothing, Wedge Antilles, because this is the daughter of two of your closest friends, and she's also niece of one of your oldest friends, and he's the son of your sister, and you will not just sit there and let them walk off to their deaths."
Wedge looked amazingly weary and old just then. "Iella, there is nothing I can do. I tried to order him, he won't listen. Jaina outranks me, he says. I tried to reason with him, and I tried threatening him, but he's determined to stay with Jaina."
"Well, why won't you help them?" she asked.
"It's not that simple. I'm betting they will be out of reach by now, until something goes wrong. I don't even know where I'm going if I were to find out a way to help them!"
Iella studied his expression for a moment, before reaching into a pocket of her robe. She pulled out a comlink , and set the frequency, calling into the comlink, "Loran, are you there?"
She waited a moment, and tried again. "Loran. Wake up. That's an order."
A moment later, a groggy voice answered her. "Face here. What can I do for you at this ungodly hour of the night?"
"Face, General Antilles need to speak with you. Can you be down here in 10 minutes?"
"I'll be there in 5. Loran out."
Iella smiled at Wedge. "See that wasn't so hard now, was it?" She dialed a different frequency on her comlink. "Good morning, Tahiri, wake up."
The Jedi girl's voice came back almost instantly, and Wedge suspected she was having trouble sleeping again. "Tahiri here. What do you need, Iella?"
"General Antilles needs to speak with you. Can you be here in 5 minutes?"
"Sure, no problem. I'll be there. Tahiri out."
Iella shot Wedge a toothy grin. "Good night, love."
"Hey, now, wait just a minute, Iella. That's all great and fine, you got em these people, but what am I supposed to say?"
Iella raised an eyebrow. "You really do need that cup of caf, don't you? Tahiri speaks Vong fluently. If you're going to send anyone to help Jag and Jaina, she'd be the one; Face and his Wraiths are the engineers for anything used to infiltrate the Vong. I'm sure you can get a few ooglith masquers and tizowyrms to send to Jag and Jaina, and I bet Kyp will go too, so you might want to ask for a couple extra. Now, I trust you can take it from here?"
Wedge smiled sheepishly. "I really do need that caf. G'night."
Iella stepped over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't stay up too late." She winked at him, and left his office.
Wedge dropped back down into his chair, feeling old. He shook his head sadly. They're doing it to me again.Antilles, you shouldn't say it, but you are getting too old for this type of stuff. His argument with Jag left him exhausted- Now I'm really looking forward to Syal and Myri's teenage years - he'd never really argued with the young man- My nephew - before.
He fumbled for his comlink. "Squeaky?"
"Yes, General Antilles?" answered the droid.
"Can you get me a large pot of caf, please?" he asked.
"Most certainly, General."
"Thanks," His office door chimed as he reclipped his comlink to his belt, and he called, "Come in."
The pretty, blond Tahiri Veila stepped through the door, her feet customarily bare, and her green eyes sparkling, something Wedge hadn't seen since before Anakin had died. "You wanted to see me, General?"
Wedge smiled. "I did, and if you would, please, take a seat; we're waiting on another person to arrive. Oh, and one other thing- no formalities here; I'm just Wedge. This is a strictly off the record meeting. Whatever we talk about here doesn't leave the office."
Tahiri nodded. "No problem, Wedge."
A moment later, the door chimed sounded again, and Garik 'Face' Loran stuck his head in the doorway. "You called for me?"
Wedge nodded. "Come in, Face. Take a seat. First off, I'd like to thank both of you, I really appreciate you coming down here this early."
Tahiri waved the comment off. "It's no problem."
Face took on an air of haughtiness, and sniffed, "This had better be worth my beauty rest."
Tahiri rolled her eyes. "You're just as bad as Kell."
Face grinned at her. "I'm just as bad as Kell? No, I like to think I'm worse, Auntie Tahiri."
Wedge cleared his throat, stopping the conversation.
Tahiri looked sheepish and apologetic. "Sorry, Gen, er, Wedge."
Wedge shot her a smile. "Ok, guys, this is the thing: none of this stuff leaves my office. You two weren't in my office, holding a secret meeting late at night."
Face and Tahiri both nodded.
"Alright," Wedge continued, " I need your help, both of you. Jag and Jaina have decided to abort their current mission on Corellia, to pursue a hunch about Jacen Solo."
Tahiri gasped. "Was that who that was?"
Wedge shot her a curious glance. "Who what was?"
Tahiri blushed. "Like an hour ago, maybe more, some Jedi broadcast an amazing amount of anguish and torture and agony across the Force. It was terrible; I couldn't get back to sleep, I just cried for a while. That's why I was awake when Iella called. It was beyond shocking, really."
Wedge nodded understandingly. Now what Jag said makes more sense. Maybe I can hold off their departure till Jaina becomes more.rational? I've heard she shares a special bond with Jacen, so maybe she received so much more misery, then, and she can't stand to think that's what is being done to her brother. "Well, they're going toff to save him. And they don't have enough resources, I'm certain, to get in and out alive. And if the Vong-"
"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri corrected automatically.
"The Yuuzhan Vong get Jaina." Wedge let his voice trail off.
Face nodded. "We understand. The Wraiths have several ooglith masquers; Tahiri's used them before, and so have I. You can use them."
Wedge smiled. "Thank you, Face."
Tahiri's eyes were narrowed. "I speak Yuuzhan Vong fluently, is that why you asked me to come down here?"
Wedge nodded. "If you don't want to go, you don't have to. I understand completely, and have tizowyrms aplenty, I just figured it would probably be better to have someone who knows the language go."
Tahiri shook her head. "Wedge, me going is not a problem. I am in. The Yuuzhan Vong killed Anakin, and I won't let them do the same to his brother and sister. He saved my life before, countless times, and I owe him my life, but he's not here now. Saving his brother and protecting his sister is the least I can do."
Wedge saw the hurt in her emerald eyes, but he also saw a new determination and strength that had been missing since Anakin's death. He narrowed his brandy eyes, thinking. "Well, guys, now that I have you two committed to helping the Goddess and my nephew, I'm willing to hear suggestions on how exactly to do it."
Squeaky, the protocol droid cobbled together from gold and silver parts, entered Wedge's office bearing a tray of caf, some cups and a few sugary pastries.
"Thanks, Squeak." Wedge said, accepting the tray. "You two want caf?"
Tahiri wrinkled her nose, but Face nodded. "I'll take some."
Tahiri instead reached for a pastry, and Face and Wedge sipped steaming cups of caf. "I'll contact Jaina," she offered, "I'll let her know we found out and we want to help them. I'll get her to come to a rendezvous point, and from there, we'll get Jacen."
Face nodded. "That would work, and that way, we know no one else, more specifically Peace Brigade, can intercept the coordinates. Can we compile a team, because 4 people, two of them Jedi, will not be enough to anywhere near Solo."
Wedge nodded. "Who are you thinking?"
Tahiri and Face exchanged glances. "Kell Tainer." Face said.
"No," Tahiri shook her head adamantly. "I've had just about as much of 'Auntie Tahiri' that I can take."
"But, Auntie Tahiri, he's our demolitions expert. We'll need him." Face reasoned.
"He's right, Tahiri. Take him."
She sighed. "Fine. But, if he irritates me, can I space him?"
"Anyway," Face said, "Back to the list. You writing this down, Wedge?"
Wedge nodded, waving a datapad in their direction,
"We want more Jedi, as well. Corran Horn, and Mara Jade. If we can convince her, that is."
"Sharr and Piggy, as well." Tahiri said, "They've had the most experience with the Yuuzhan Vong, after me."
Wedge nodded again. "Go on,"
The two fell silent, lost deep in thought, with Wedge waiting expectantly.
"Why don't you take Wes, too?" Wedge asked.
"Wedge, just how stupid do you think we are?" asked Face.
"He's got the skills you need. And he's the comic relief when situations are tight and tense." Argued Wedge.
Tahiri studied Wedge's face. "He nearly drove Jaina nuts when they went to rescue Shawnkyr."
"True," Wedge admitted, "But, you forget, I had to put up with him, and I turned out just fine, a stronger leader who could deal with psychotic fighter jocks. It'll help her."
"You just want him our of your hair." Tahiri stated, smirking.
"Alright, alright. Shoot. We'll take him, Wedge. Happy?" Face cut in.
Wedge grinned. "Very."
Tahiri glared green daggers at Face. "You just had to say that, didn't you?"
Face gulped audibly, and shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "Can we change our minds?"
Wedge laughed. "Nope. Too late, you're stuck with him."
"It is not wise to anger a Jedi, Loran," Tahiri hissed, "And you are very close to doing just that. Speaking of Jedi, we need more than 5. We need tot talk to Master Skywalker and see how many he can spare. But, for now, put on the list of invites Zekk, Lowbacca, Ganner Rhysode and Alema Rar.
"I think 14 is going to be enough, though I doubt you can ever have more than enough when dealing with the Yuuzhan Vong." Face said.
"I think Kyp Durron will be included in the mix, as well, which rounds out the group to 15." Wedge said, not looking up from his datapad. "When can you have everyone assembled and ready?"
Face hesitated. "We could be organized by 09:00, I think. If everyone's here, that is."
Tahiri nodded. "That sounds about right."
Wedge offered them a cold smile, running a hand through his fine, brown speckled gray hair. "Good. I want you ready to go by 06:00, instead of 09:00."
Face narrowed his eyes. "We'll try."
"Do or do not. There is no try." Tahiri murmured absently, in a dead on Yoda impression.
Wedge handed them a datacard. "These are the comlink frequencies that you can use to get a hold of everyone on the list."
"Thanks," Face said, taking the card, and fishing out his comlink. He raked his eyes over the list, and started dialing up the different frequencies."
"Don't contact any of the Jedi, Face." Tahiri said. "I've got that part covered."
***
um more sooner or later! Read and review! Thanks! :D
***
Wedge rubbed his eyes wearily. "Sithspit, Jag. Don't do this."
Iella came into his office, a questioning look on her face. "What's he doing?"
"They're aborting the mission." Wedge said.
"What?" Iella gasped, "They can't do that!"
"Well, they are," Wedge said. "Jaina's gotten something through the Force from Jacen, and now both of them are going to go find him."
Iella's face paled. "Wedge, that will get them both captured!"
"I know."
"What are you going to do about it?" she asked. "And don't say nothing, Wedge Antilles, because this is the daughter of two of your closest friends, and she's also niece of one of your oldest friends, and he's the son of your sister, and you will not just sit there and let them walk off to their deaths."
Wedge looked amazingly weary and old just then. "Iella, there is nothing I can do. I tried to order him, he won't listen. Jaina outranks me, he says. I tried to reason with him, and I tried threatening him, but he's determined to stay with Jaina."
"Well, why won't you help them?" she asked.
"It's not that simple. I'm betting they will be out of reach by now, until something goes wrong. I don't even know where I'm going if I were to find out a way to help them!"
Iella studied his expression for a moment, before reaching into a pocket of her robe. She pulled out a comlink , and set the frequency, calling into the comlink, "Loran, are you there?"
She waited a moment, and tried again. "Loran. Wake up. That's an order."
A moment later, a groggy voice answered her. "Face here. What can I do for you at this ungodly hour of the night?"
"Face, General Antilles need to speak with you. Can you be down here in 10 minutes?"
"I'll be there in 5. Loran out."
Iella smiled at Wedge. "See that wasn't so hard now, was it?" She dialed a different frequency on her comlink. "Good morning, Tahiri, wake up."
The Jedi girl's voice came back almost instantly, and Wedge suspected she was having trouble sleeping again. "Tahiri here. What do you need, Iella?"
"General Antilles needs to speak with you. Can you be here in 5 minutes?"
"Sure, no problem. I'll be there. Tahiri out."
Iella shot Wedge a toothy grin. "Good night, love."
"Hey, now, wait just a minute, Iella. That's all great and fine, you got em these people, but what am I supposed to say?"
Iella raised an eyebrow. "You really do need that cup of caf, don't you? Tahiri speaks Vong fluently. If you're going to send anyone to help Jag and Jaina, she'd be the one; Face and his Wraiths are the engineers for anything used to infiltrate the Vong. I'm sure you can get a few ooglith masquers and tizowyrms to send to Jag and Jaina, and I bet Kyp will go too, so you might want to ask for a couple extra. Now, I trust you can take it from here?"
Wedge smiled sheepishly. "I really do need that caf. G'night."
Iella stepped over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't stay up too late." She winked at him, and left his office.
Wedge dropped back down into his chair, feeling old. He shook his head sadly. They're doing it to me again.Antilles, you shouldn't say it, but you are getting too old for this type of stuff. His argument with Jag left him exhausted- Now I'm really looking forward to Syal and Myri's teenage years - he'd never really argued with the young man- My nephew - before.
He fumbled for his comlink. "Squeaky?"
"Yes, General Antilles?" answered the droid.
"Can you get me a large pot of caf, please?" he asked.
"Most certainly, General."
"Thanks," His office door chimed as he reclipped his comlink to his belt, and he called, "Come in."
The pretty, blond Tahiri Veila stepped through the door, her feet customarily bare, and her green eyes sparkling, something Wedge hadn't seen since before Anakin had died. "You wanted to see me, General?"
Wedge smiled. "I did, and if you would, please, take a seat; we're waiting on another person to arrive. Oh, and one other thing- no formalities here; I'm just Wedge. This is a strictly off the record meeting. Whatever we talk about here doesn't leave the office."
Tahiri nodded. "No problem, Wedge."
A moment later, the door chimed sounded again, and Garik 'Face' Loran stuck his head in the doorway. "You called for me?"
Wedge nodded. "Come in, Face. Take a seat. First off, I'd like to thank both of you, I really appreciate you coming down here this early."
Tahiri waved the comment off. "It's no problem."
Face took on an air of haughtiness, and sniffed, "This had better be worth my beauty rest."
Tahiri rolled her eyes. "You're just as bad as Kell."
Face grinned at her. "I'm just as bad as Kell? No, I like to think I'm worse, Auntie Tahiri."
Wedge cleared his throat, stopping the conversation.
Tahiri looked sheepish and apologetic. "Sorry, Gen, er, Wedge."
Wedge shot her a smile. "Ok, guys, this is the thing: none of this stuff leaves my office. You two weren't in my office, holding a secret meeting late at night."
Face and Tahiri both nodded.
"Alright," Wedge continued, " I need your help, both of you. Jag and Jaina have decided to abort their current mission on Corellia, to pursue a hunch about Jacen Solo."
Tahiri gasped. "Was that who that was?"
Wedge shot her a curious glance. "Who what was?"
Tahiri blushed. "Like an hour ago, maybe more, some Jedi broadcast an amazing amount of anguish and torture and agony across the Force. It was terrible; I couldn't get back to sleep, I just cried for a while. That's why I was awake when Iella called. It was beyond shocking, really."
Wedge nodded understandingly. Now what Jag said makes more sense. Maybe I can hold off their departure till Jaina becomes more.rational? I've heard she shares a special bond with Jacen, so maybe she received so much more misery, then, and she can't stand to think that's what is being done to her brother. "Well, they're going toff to save him. And they don't have enough resources, I'm certain, to get in and out alive. And if the Vong-"
"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri corrected automatically.
"The Yuuzhan Vong get Jaina." Wedge let his voice trail off.
Face nodded. "We understand. The Wraiths have several ooglith masquers; Tahiri's used them before, and so have I. You can use them."
Wedge smiled. "Thank you, Face."
Tahiri's eyes were narrowed. "I speak Yuuzhan Vong fluently, is that why you asked me to come down here?"
Wedge nodded. "If you don't want to go, you don't have to. I understand completely, and have tizowyrms aplenty, I just figured it would probably be better to have someone who knows the language go."
Tahiri shook her head. "Wedge, me going is not a problem. I am in. The Yuuzhan Vong killed Anakin, and I won't let them do the same to his brother and sister. He saved my life before, countless times, and I owe him my life, but he's not here now. Saving his brother and protecting his sister is the least I can do."
Wedge saw the hurt in her emerald eyes, but he also saw a new determination and strength that had been missing since Anakin's death. He narrowed his brandy eyes, thinking. "Well, guys, now that I have you two committed to helping the Goddess and my nephew, I'm willing to hear suggestions on how exactly to do it."
Squeaky, the protocol droid cobbled together from gold and silver parts, entered Wedge's office bearing a tray of caf, some cups and a few sugary pastries.
"Thanks, Squeak." Wedge said, accepting the tray. "You two want caf?"
Tahiri wrinkled her nose, but Face nodded. "I'll take some."
Tahiri instead reached for a pastry, and Face and Wedge sipped steaming cups of caf. "I'll contact Jaina," she offered, "I'll let her know we found out and we want to help them. I'll get her to come to a rendezvous point, and from there, we'll get Jacen."
Face nodded. "That would work, and that way, we know no one else, more specifically Peace Brigade, can intercept the coordinates. Can we compile a team, because 4 people, two of them Jedi, will not be enough to anywhere near Solo."
Wedge nodded. "Who are you thinking?"
Tahiri and Face exchanged glances. "Kell Tainer." Face said.
"No," Tahiri shook her head adamantly. "I've had just about as much of 'Auntie Tahiri' that I can take."
"But, Auntie Tahiri, he's our demolitions expert. We'll need him." Face reasoned.
"He's right, Tahiri. Take him."
She sighed. "Fine. But, if he irritates me, can I space him?"
"Anyway," Face said, "Back to the list. You writing this down, Wedge?"
Wedge nodded, waving a datapad in their direction,
"We want more Jedi, as well. Corran Horn, and Mara Jade. If we can convince her, that is."
"Sharr and Piggy, as well." Tahiri said, "They've had the most experience with the Yuuzhan Vong, after me."
Wedge nodded again. "Go on,"
The two fell silent, lost deep in thought, with Wedge waiting expectantly.
"Why don't you take Wes, too?" Wedge asked.
"Wedge, just how stupid do you think we are?" asked Face.
"He's got the skills you need. And he's the comic relief when situations are tight and tense." Argued Wedge.
Tahiri studied Wedge's face. "He nearly drove Jaina nuts when they went to rescue Shawnkyr."
"True," Wedge admitted, "But, you forget, I had to put up with him, and I turned out just fine, a stronger leader who could deal with psychotic fighter jocks. It'll help her."
"You just want him our of your hair." Tahiri stated, smirking.
"Alright, alright. Shoot. We'll take him, Wedge. Happy?" Face cut in.
Wedge grinned. "Very."
Tahiri glared green daggers at Face. "You just had to say that, didn't you?"
Face gulped audibly, and shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "Can we change our minds?"
Wedge laughed. "Nope. Too late, you're stuck with him."
"It is not wise to anger a Jedi, Loran," Tahiri hissed, "And you are very close to doing just that. Speaking of Jedi, we need more than 5. We need tot talk to Master Skywalker and see how many he can spare. But, for now, put on the list of invites Zekk, Lowbacca, Ganner Rhysode and Alema Rar.
"I think 14 is going to be enough, though I doubt you can ever have more than enough when dealing with the Yuuzhan Vong." Face said.
"I think Kyp Durron will be included in the mix, as well, which rounds out the group to 15." Wedge said, not looking up from his datapad. "When can you have everyone assembled and ready?"
Face hesitated. "We could be organized by 09:00, I think. If everyone's here, that is."
Tahiri nodded. "That sounds about right."
Wedge offered them a cold smile, running a hand through his fine, brown speckled gray hair. "Good. I want you ready to go by 06:00, instead of 09:00."
Face narrowed his eyes. "We'll try."
"Do or do not. There is no try." Tahiri murmured absently, in a dead on Yoda impression.
Wedge handed them a datacard. "These are the comlink frequencies that you can use to get a hold of everyone on the list."
"Thanks," Face said, taking the card, and fishing out his comlink. He raked his eyes over the list, and started dialing up the different frequencies."
"Don't contact any of the Jedi, Face." Tahiri said. "I've got that part covered."
***
um more sooner or later! Read and review! Thanks! :D