30

The hangar bay was awash in the sound of repulsorlifts as half of Rogue Squadron arrived only a minute after the Pulsar Skate. It was a tight squeeze for the six X-wings, but they entered in pairs, an impressive display of precision flying as they managed to land, wingtip to wingtip, around the Skate.

Tycho's and Corran's ships were the first to touch down, and Tycho was first out of his ship, recklessly vaulting to the deck and heading straight for the knot of medics and technicians surrounding Wedge. He managed to force his way through the swarm and caught sight of Wedge. His heart sank as he saw the pale, thin figure on the bed, covered in sensors and tubes.

He turned on the nearest medic. "How is he?" he asked, not really sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

The small medic looked up at Tycho, studying him closely in an attempt to figure out who he was. Once his gaze found his rank insignia, he decided to cooperate. "We're trying to stabilize his vital signs enough to be able to safely dunk him in bacta, and the next few hours will be critical. We'll keep you updated." The medic pushed by him, following the rest of his team as they headed for the hatch leading to the rest of the ship.

Tycho swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. His mind flashed back to his conversation with Wes, how they had spoken about how Wedge always managed to beat unimaginable odds.

He hoped that this time his friend's luck hadn't run out.

Corran reached Mirax and enfolded his wife in a hug. She clung to him as they followed in the wake of the medics. He saw some of the tightness in Tycho's face as their eyes met. In answer to his silent question, Tycho shrugged and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Corran closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer for their friend.

Ajene remained in the Skate's passenger lounge after everyone else had flooded out into the hangar.

Her body felt numb, and she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. She looked down at the deck where Wedge had been lying a few minutes before. A smear of blood had formed an outline of his back and she had to look away.

Without conscious thought she limped towards the hatch and down the ramp, stopping once she reached the deck. She watched as the collection of people surrounding Wedge moved towards the exit at the far side.

She saw Corran Horn reach his wife and hold her close to him. She also caught Tycho Celchu, after speaking with a medtech, glancing over at the two of them to give a slight shake of his head.

Five day's worth of stress and worry erupted from deep within Ajene, threatening to overwhelm her. As the tears began to well up in her eyes, she realized this was the first time she had allowed herself to cry, to feel, since Wedge had been taken from her.

She involuntarily dropped to her knees, her body racked with sobs. Her arms wrapped around her midsection again as the pent-up emotion poured from her.

A pair of booted feet appeared in front of her. Through a blur of tears she could see the orange knees of a flightsuit as a pilot knelt in front of her, then wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him, her face buried in his neck, finding comfort and warmth to combat the emotions that threatened to drown her. He silently held her close, rubbing his hand up and down her back as she wept.

After a few minutes, she began to pull away from him. She looked up at the pilot for the first time and was surprised as she looked into the face of Wes Janson. He gave her a look of encouragement, sympathy passing through his deep blue eyes. "He's going to be okay. I know it." He reached up with both hands and wiped at the last of the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs, hangar techs walking around the kneeling pair.

She sniffed and took a deep breath, feeling ashamed at her weakness, but thankful for Wes's comfort and encouragement. "I hope so."

As they knelt on the deck, knee to knee, he took her hands in his. "Come on. Everyone'll be heading for the medical bay. Wedge'll need you there. And if I don't make sure someone looks at that wound, Wedge will crawl out of the tank and kill me."

He gently pulled her to her feet and she let him support her arm and guide her out of the hangar.