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Chapter Seven
The Galactic Alliance, as they now called themselves, had had no trouble occupying the relatively uninhabited planet of Basulen. Their new base was located in a cave system, virtually unnoticeable except to an extremely well trained eye. The current goal of the Alliance was to stay hidden and recoup their losses until they were strong enough to pose a threat to any Vong attacks aimed at Kashyyk or Hapes. Thus, the Star Destroyers, Mon Cal cruisers, and other large ships orbited one of the planet's five moons where a small auxiliary base was also established. No ships were allowed to leave the system without express permission from Wedge, and much sensor equipment was in place to monitor the surrounding systems.
Jaina walked down the corridor reserved for the Twin Suns to her quarters. Punching the access codes in the keypad, the door slid open with a hiss and Jaina entered her room. Seeing the blinking light on her comm console, she flicked a switch and sat back to view her messages. The first one was from Wedge.
"Jaina," he began, "Now that we've been on base for a few days, it's time to start recruiting. I know this is your first command and you're unfamiliar with these procedures, so I want Jag to help you. Come by my office and get the lists of potential pilots." He paused, then continued. "By the way, I have a message from Han and Leia. It seems as though they're finished setting up the Intel cells on Mon Calamari, and they're headed in this direction." He grinned. "Better tell Jag to move his things out of your room."
"Haha, very funny," Jaina muttered as Wedge's image disappeared. She hurriedly brought up the next message. Sure enough, it was from her mother.
"Jaina, dear, your father and I have finished our job here." Leia Organa Solo, former Senator and Chief of State, had aged visibly since the death of her youngest son. Jaina winced at the sight of the gray hair mingling with the once pure brown of her mother's head. "We got a message from Wedge notifying us of the recent events, and we're headed to Basulen now." Her face took on a troubled look. "Honey, be careful out there. Your father-" she broke off, smiling wryly. "Well, lets just say that once we get there your father wants to put you in a glass cage and carry you around. Needless to say, that won't be happening. But please, do be careful." She smiled softly. "We'll be there soon."
Her image disappeared, and Jaina reached out involuntarily as if to keep her there. Much as she hated to admit it, she missed her mother. She missed the days when she was young and she believed her parents could do anything, when life was simple enough to have mommy kiss her troubles away and make them all better. She smiled bitterly. Half the time Mom wasn't there when we needed her, she thought. She had no idea how much I yearned for her, how much I needed her. And she was never there. If I ever have kids-- Her thoughts broke off abruptly.
She was sitting on a sandy beach, her belly rounded with pregnancy. Down by the water, two small children were playing, splashing each other and laughing. Without even looking at them, Jaina knew, without a doubt, that they both had the chestnut brown hair of their mother and the emerald eyes of their father. "Mommy! Mommy!" they shrieked, running up to her.
"Don't upset Mommy now," came a deep voice behind her. "Let's go bury Daddy in the sand."
The children ran off, squealing. Jaina turned to face her husband.
"Jag?" Jaina started from her reverie. His face was inches from her own, his eyes worried. "How did you get in here?"
"Uncle Wedge and I were both worried when you didn't respond to your comlink." Jag tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you all right?" he murmured softly.
Jaina smiled at him. "Never better." She pulled his face down for a kiss, reveling in the certainty that she had seen a vision of their future, hers and Jag's. ************************ Jaina and Jag walked into Wedge's office and snapped to attention. Wedge turned from his contemplation of the wall. "At ease, Colonel, Lieutenant," he said, waving at two seats in front of his desk.
Jaina and Jag relaxed and sat down. Wedge handed them a data pad. "Here are some of the prospective pilots. Most are fresh out of an abbreviated flying course, but there are a few veterans as well. Your job is to interview them and stick them in some sims, then decide whether or not you want them in your squadron. Keep in mind, though, that many of them won't survive the first mission."
At his words, Jaina blanched. "Then it'll be my job to make sure they do."
Wedge nodded. "Train them hard, Lieutenant. I only want you flying against the Vong when you think they're absolutely ready. We're at a point in the war now when we can afford to take some time to train new pilots better than we have in the past few years. I'm hoping that since we broke away from the crumbling New Republic the Vong won't know where we are until we want them to. This goes back to the whole psychological warfare thing. After you finish recruiting, I want you to meet with Sharr and Piggy." He paused. "Any questions? No? Dismissed."
Jaina and Jag got up to go. When they reached the door, Wedge called after them, "Oh, one more thing. Try and keep the kissing to a reasonable level. We wouldn't want to scare prospective pilots away, now, would we?" He grinned as he saw Jag's neck turn red. Amazing. I finally embarrassed Jag Fel. Who would have thought it possible? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hope you liked.
The Galactic Alliance, as they now called themselves, had had no trouble occupying the relatively uninhabited planet of Basulen. Their new base was located in a cave system, virtually unnoticeable except to an extremely well trained eye. The current goal of the Alliance was to stay hidden and recoup their losses until they were strong enough to pose a threat to any Vong attacks aimed at Kashyyk or Hapes. Thus, the Star Destroyers, Mon Cal cruisers, and other large ships orbited one of the planet's five moons where a small auxiliary base was also established. No ships were allowed to leave the system without express permission from Wedge, and much sensor equipment was in place to monitor the surrounding systems.
Jaina walked down the corridor reserved for the Twin Suns to her quarters. Punching the access codes in the keypad, the door slid open with a hiss and Jaina entered her room. Seeing the blinking light on her comm console, she flicked a switch and sat back to view her messages. The first one was from Wedge.
"Jaina," he began, "Now that we've been on base for a few days, it's time to start recruiting. I know this is your first command and you're unfamiliar with these procedures, so I want Jag to help you. Come by my office and get the lists of potential pilots." He paused, then continued. "By the way, I have a message from Han and Leia. It seems as though they're finished setting up the Intel cells on Mon Calamari, and they're headed in this direction." He grinned. "Better tell Jag to move his things out of your room."
"Haha, very funny," Jaina muttered as Wedge's image disappeared. She hurriedly brought up the next message. Sure enough, it was from her mother.
"Jaina, dear, your father and I have finished our job here." Leia Organa Solo, former Senator and Chief of State, had aged visibly since the death of her youngest son. Jaina winced at the sight of the gray hair mingling with the once pure brown of her mother's head. "We got a message from Wedge notifying us of the recent events, and we're headed to Basulen now." Her face took on a troubled look. "Honey, be careful out there. Your father-" she broke off, smiling wryly. "Well, lets just say that once we get there your father wants to put you in a glass cage and carry you around. Needless to say, that won't be happening. But please, do be careful." She smiled softly. "We'll be there soon."
Her image disappeared, and Jaina reached out involuntarily as if to keep her there. Much as she hated to admit it, she missed her mother. She missed the days when she was young and she believed her parents could do anything, when life was simple enough to have mommy kiss her troubles away and make them all better. She smiled bitterly. Half the time Mom wasn't there when we needed her, she thought. She had no idea how much I yearned for her, how much I needed her. And she was never there. If I ever have kids-- Her thoughts broke off abruptly.
She was sitting on a sandy beach, her belly rounded with pregnancy. Down by the water, two small children were playing, splashing each other and laughing. Without even looking at them, Jaina knew, without a doubt, that they both had the chestnut brown hair of their mother and the emerald eyes of their father. "Mommy! Mommy!" they shrieked, running up to her.
"Don't upset Mommy now," came a deep voice behind her. "Let's go bury Daddy in the sand."
The children ran off, squealing. Jaina turned to face her husband.
"Jag?" Jaina started from her reverie. His face was inches from her own, his eyes worried. "How did you get in here?"
"Uncle Wedge and I were both worried when you didn't respond to your comlink." Jag tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you all right?" he murmured softly.
Jaina smiled at him. "Never better." She pulled his face down for a kiss, reveling in the certainty that she had seen a vision of their future, hers and Jag's. ************************ Jaina and Jag walked into Wedge's office and snapped to attention. Wedge turned from his contemplation of the wall. "At ease, Colonel, Lieutenant," he said, waving at two seats in front of his desk.
Jaina and Jag relaxed and sat down. Wedge handed them a data pad. "Here are some of the prospective pilots. Most are fresh out of an abbreviated flying course, but there are a few veterans as well. Your job is to interview them and stick them in some sims, then decide whether or not you want them in your squadron. Keep in mind, though, that many of them won't survive the first mission."
At his words, Jaina blanched. "Then it'll be my job to make sure they do."
Wedge nodded. "Train them hard, Lieutenant. I only want you flying against the Vong when you think they're absolutely ready. We're at a point in the war now when we can afford to take some time to train new pilots better than we have in the past few years. I'm hoping that since we broke away from the crumbling New Republic the Vong won't know where we are until we want them to. This goes back to the whole psychological warfare thing. After you finish recruiting, I want you to meet with Sharr and Piggy." He paused. "Any questions? No? Dismissed."
Jaina and Jag got up to go. When they reached the door, Wedge called after them, "Oh, one more thing. Try and keep the kissing to a reasonable level. We wouldn't want to scare prospective pilots away, now, would we?" He grinned as he saw Jag's neck turn red. Amazing. I finally embarrassed Jag Fel. Who would have thought it possible? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hope you liked.