31

Heblon grumbled about the fuss being made over his shoulder. The medics had wanted to dunk him in bacta, but he'd flat out refused. He knew that the wound wasn't severe and as soon as the bleeding was stopped, it would heal just fine.

Ajene Tuvora sat three beds over from Heblon with her back to him, a fraction closer to the bacta tank in the middle of the room than he was. A technician applied fresh bacta bandages to the burn on her leg, and she winced as pressure was applied to the area.

She looked over as Wedge was let down into the tank with only a small splash. A man with a round, youthful face and a tangle of brown hair stood beside her, his attention split between her and Wedge.

As soon as the medics had found out that Heblon was a physician, he had been questioned in more detail about Wedge's condition. They had taken his information and used it to treat him before preparing him for his dip in the bacta tank.

Just as Wedge was lowered into the tank, a group of pilots entered the room, accompanied by the two Wraiths and the Captain of the ship that had pulled them off the planet. The man with the major gave her hand a squeeze, then moved to join the group, while the dark-haired female Captain moved over to stand with Ajene. The two women spoke together in hushed tones.

One of the pilots, the only one dressed in a green flightsuit instead of the orange the rest wore, left the group and approached the dark-haired woman. Heblon took a closer look at the young pilot. He couldn't help but feel there was something about him that seemed...familiar.

As he searched his memory for the man, their eyes met. Heblon thought he saw recognition pass through the other man's eyes as well, and he was sure that somehow, somewhere, they had already met.

Standing amongst several members of Rogue Squadron, Corran shuddered. Memories flooded into his mind as he looked into the bacta tank. Since he had joined the squadron, he had spent more time floating in bacta than he cared to remember. He turned away and headed back towards Ajene and his wife.

Corran came up behind Mirax, slipping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. As the two women conversed quietly, he glanced around the room. It was only then that he noticed the older man over Ajene's shoulder.

"I know him," he said aloud, more to himself than anyone else.

Ajene looked at him. "Know who?"

"That man over there." Corran replied, nodding in the older man's direction. Faint recognition seemed to pass through the man's blue eyes as he made eye contact with him.

Ajene twisted around to look, then turned back to face Corran and Mirax. "I think his name's Heblon. He's the Imperial who helped on the planet and took care of Wedge while he was a prisoner."

Corran pulled away from Mirax, and she turned to look at him. "What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"That's him. That's the man I felt in my vision."

"Go and talk to him," Mirax said. But Corran just gave a sharp shake his head.

Before Mirax could say anything more, Heblon hopped off the bed he was sitting on and approached the three of them. He glanced at Corran briefly then placed a hand on Ajene's shoulder.

"How are you doing, Major?"

Ajene looked over at the ex-Imperial, then at the bacta tank. "I'll feel much better when he gets out of that tank."

Heblon nodded then turned to Corran and his wife. He extended his hand to Mirax. "Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome. Thank you for caring for Wedge." She released his hand and pointed to herself, then Corran. "I'm Mirax Terrik Horn, and this is my husband, Corran Horn of Rogue Squadron."

Heblon had been midway through offering his hand to Corran when he hesitated at the mention of his name. He managed to mostly cover his surprise and shook Corran's hand.

Corran smiled weakly at him. "I think, in a way, we've already met."

Heblon's eyes narrowed as he seemed to look through Corran instead of at him. "Wedge was right. You were with him last night."

"Sort of."

Heblon paused, as he seemed to struggle with his thoughts. "You touched my mind as well."

Corran made a face and ran a hand through his hair. "You could say that, I suppose, although I don't really understand what happened myself—I don't have that much control over my power. But when I felt Wedge die, you were the only other person I could sense. In desperation I latched onto you and looked at him through your eyes."

"And gave me one hell of a headache," Heblon said, smiling for the first time.

"Me, too," Mirax added, slipping her hand into Corran's.

"Sorry about that. I'll have to refine my technique, I guess." Corran gave his wife's hand a squeeze then fixed a green-eyed gaze on Heblon. "What I do know is that you saved Wedge's life, and for that we're all indebted to you."

"I followed my conscience, no more," he said, bowing his head slightly.

Before Corran could respond, one of the medics began to make a commotion about all of the people in the room. "You can't all be in here. If you don't need medical treatment, please leave. We will keep you all updated on General Antilles' condition."

There were protests throughout the room, but the technicians slowly herded everyone out of the medical bay, leaving Heblon and Ajene to stare into the tank where Wedge floated and bobbed.

The hologram of Admiral Ackbar wavered and crackled because of the great distance it had to travel to reach Tycho on the Paladin as it circled Arramsetti III. "Colonel Celchu, my congratulations on your victory today. How is the General?"

"The Imps were pretty rough on him, Admiral. As far as I know, he's about to be dunked in a bacta tank. The medics said that it could be touch and go for the next few hours, but I'm confident that he'll pull through. Especially since the bacta he's being treated with is of Thyferran purity."

The Mon Calamari's head dipped, his eyelids sliding down to cover half of his large eyes. Tycho recognized the Mon Calamari sigh of relief. "Admiral, I contacted you to confirm that we've retrieved Wedge, but he may need more care than we can provide for him here. I'm not sure the planet is stable enough for us to take him down there or to let us leave orbit. And there is always the possibility that the Querulous could come back." He glanced at his hands, then back up at the Admiral. "Sir, we need to get Wedge to proper medical facilities but we find ourselves in a position where we can't leave the system. I'm wondering if we've bitten off more than we can chew this time."

There was a pause before Ackbar replied as the transmission was beamed the lightyears to Coruscant. "It would seem that you have a puzzle on your hands, Colonel, one which, fortunately, I may have an answer for." The Admiral's mouth opened wide in a grin. "As it turns out, there is a small fleet of about eight Mon Calamari and New Republic ships two hours out from Arramsetti III. They are on maneuvers in the Califon System, training for a future mission. Purely by coincidence, of course. I can have orders written up for them to be transferred to Arramsetti inside three hours. That would mean you would only have to hold the planet for five, possibly six hours before they come in to reinforce your fleet. At that point, both the Thyferran Home Defense ships and the Errant Venture will be free to leave the system and transport the General to better facilities."

Tycho looked at the Admiral in disbelief. His stomach churned as a realization dawned on him, one that he should have seen days before. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it? You knew that as soon as we took the planet, the New Republic would move in and take over. If we succeeded, you wanted to make this entire mission look like it was planned from the very beginning by the Council."

"I fear that keeping anything hidden from both you and General Antilles is like trying to hold back the tide—impossible and a waste of energy." The Admiral shook his head before continuing. "The Council knew that it would not be able to gather enough support to send a fleet out to a small system like Arramsetti, especially to topple one Moff who had not yet threatened to move outside of her system. But when Tchlinda abducted General Antilles, I managed to convince them to send you and the Rogues. The way they saw it, if you failed, they could have said that it was a non-sanctioned mission and that you were acting independently. They would not have been forced to take the blame for Rogue Squadron's failure. However, they can and will take credit for your success."

Tycho growled and ground his teeth, bunching the muscles of his jaw. The New Republic had made a habit of using him this way. Once upon a time they had asked him to volunteer to go on a covert operation to Imperial Center, where he was captured by the Empire and tortured. Once he managed to escape that nightmare, another had begun.

He had been held on what they later discovered was a Super Star Destroyer called Lusankya, a facility run by the late Ysanne Isard and known for turning people into walking time bombs. Even though they had failed to reprogram him, he hadn't been trusted from that time forward. Not long after the fall of Coruscant, he had been put on trial for the murder of Corran Horn as well as treason against the New Republic in order to pacify segments of the then fragile Republic. He was eventually cleared of the charges, in large part due to Corran's return from the grave, and escaped a death sentence.

Tycho had accepted the hardships placed on him then because he saw it as his duty to the New Republic, it was what he had signed up for. He had sworn an oath to be orders. But this time was different. Not only had the Council used him, but they had put Wedge, Rogue Squadron, and a number of their friends, in danger, with every intention of having them discredited and disowned should they have failed, and that he could not accept.

Anger began to rise in him, and he tried his best to not let it seep into his voice. But it didn't work. "Let me get this straight. You put Wedge's life in further danger, not to mention our own, by not sending sufficient ships to take a target that you wanted taken in the first place?" He paused, the conspiracy becoming clearer in his mind. "Wedge's ambush just moved up an already established timetable."

The commander of the New Republic Armed Forces nodded. "I am sorry that it had to be this way, Colonel, but I knew you could succeed without our help. I had complete faith in you and your pilots."

Tycho's hands balled into fists. He consciously opened them and lay them palm down on the top of the table at which he sat. He couldn't even bring himself to look up at the holo of his commanding officer.

"I can understand your frustration, Colonel. Now you know why your orders were so broad from the beginning. If you had managed to free Wedge without having to take the planet, then so much the better, but you did take the planet and, as always, you did an excellent job with limited resources. Rogue Squadron did what needed to be done."

Tycho's head shot up. "We did what had to be done and I lost a number of good people doing it! I'm not sure their families will be as pleased with the results as you are, Admiral."

"Casualties are unfortunately a part of war, Colonel."

"So are victims," Tycho snarled to himself. "We'll patrol the area until your 'fleet' gets here, Admiral. Celchu out!"

He slammed his fist down on the control that closed the channel and the hologram of Ackbar winked out, but not before Tycho saw a look of surprise settle on the Admiral's face.