Title: Changing Course
Chapter: Chapter Nine
Author: bactaqueen
Author's e-mail:
Category: New Jedi Order, Alternate Universe
Keywords: Kyp Durron, Jaina Solo, NJO
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: New Jedi Order up to Rebel Stand
Summary: Jaina Solo had a tough road back from the Dark Side after the death of her brother. In the process, according to canon, she earned Colonel Fel. But what if she hadn't? What if Kyp Durron was her redemption?
Disclaimer: "Star Wars" copyright George Lucas. Characters copyright respective owners. No profit is being made and no infringement is intended. Characters and situations inspired by the Enemy Lines duology, written by Aaron Allston, and in some cases, the situations have been modified for the purposes of this story. Again, here, no profit is being made and no infringement is intended.

Changing Course: Chapter Nine

General Wedge Antilles looked up as his office's inner door slid open to admit Colonel Tycho Celchu. It was late, and his secretary hadn't announced anyone. Then again, most staff members and officers were off-duty. Technically, Wedge was even off-duty-according to the schedule. According to war, off-duty was a novel idea.

Tycho held in one hand a black datapad. In the other, he had two mugs of caf. He set the caf down on Wedge's desk. "I dismissed the corporal," he said. "It's past his bedtime."

"It's past my bedtime," Wedge mumbled. He pulled one of the mugs toward him and rubbed a hand over his face. He nodded at Tycho's datapad. "Are those the reports?"

Tycho hit a button on his datapad. "That's everything," he said. Wedge glanced down to see green text scrolling across his own screen. "Lowbacca even downloaded the freighter's recordings," Tycho added.

"Has the freighter been through decontam?"

The colonel took a seat in one of the spindly metal chairs Wedge had for guests, and nodded. He sipped his caf before answered. "It's being cleaned now."

"Lucky that he and Jaina were so prudent," Wedge remarked. He frowned at the report currently displayed on his screen. The commander's official mission report. "How is she?"

"I don't know," Tycho said honestly. "I haven't seen her. She set the Twins down, canceled the rest of today's practices, and disappeared." He gestured at Wedge's datapad. "She filed that from a public port in the pilots' lounge."

"What about the rest of them?" Wedge wanted to know.

"Disturbed, of course. But the Jedi are veterans, so they're going to be okay."

Wedge pushed back from his desk and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm disturbed, Tycho. What have we gotten ourselves into? Even the Empire wasn't this bad. Ejecting hostages to burn up in a planet's atmosphere..."

Tycho said nothing, merely nodded silent agreement.

"You were listening to her comm traffic," Wedge continued. "You heard her. She was desperate to save those people. I talked to Luke, and he says she's coming back from her slide. He thinks. Jaina's not really talking to him, as I understand it. Or her parents."

"She's talking to Lowbacca and Kyp," Tycho supplied.

Wedge nodded thoughtfully. "But what do you think?"

Tycho took his time answering. Wedge watched his friend's face. A slight frown creased his forehead and turned down the edges of his noble mouth. "I trust her. She's been through a lot, but who hasn't? She's made some mistakes, but she's paying for them. I'd be worried how far she'd go to amend them, though."

"What?"

"She was desperate to save those people today. She was ordering Kyp and Zekk to use the Force, having Lowie use the tractor beam, calling for help. She barely remembered the comm protocols. As far as she went on Hapes, to get that information about the gravity signatures, how far is she willing to go to save others? How much is she willing to pay?"

"You're talking about acceptable losses."

Tycho nodded. "If she's going to lead, Wedge, she has to determine what she's willing to lose to win."

"And who she's willing to lose." Wedge sighed. "I never did well accepting losses," he pointed out.

Tycho's smile was wry. "I know."

"But you're worried about extremes."

"Yes."

"And we can't very well ask her, can we?"

Tycho hesitated. "We could, but it would have to wait."

"We don't have much time." Wedge frowned. "What about Lowbacca?"

The blond man shook his head slowly. "I asked him about it. He said he wasn't sure. She's talking to him, but not as much as she's talking to-"

"Kyp Durron." Wedge said the name flatly. "He's got her."

"Lowie says he's helping her."

Wedge's response was quick and not repeatable.

Tycho's smile came back. "That about sums it up. But he knows about her, Wedge. Lowbacca claims Kyp brought her back. Apparently, she's even accepted his offer to train her."

"What about Mara?"

Tycho's shoulders came up in a shrug. "The whole thing seems pretty complicated to me, but then, I never pretended to understand the Jedi. Back on point, I think that if we want to know what's going on with Jaina and if we should bring her into the circle, Kyp could give us the best evaluation."

Wedge grumbled, "I don't like it."

"You think I do?"

"No more than I do. All right. We'll talk to him in a day or so. After Jaina's had some time to cool down. After they all have."

Wedge was waiting behind his desk, fingers in a steeple. Tycho again occupied one of the two visitors' chairs, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee. Again, he had caf. Wedge didn't. Neither man spoke as they awaited the arrival of the third.

The corporal's voice buzzed over the comm. "Master Durron is here to see you, General."

Wedge depressed the button that would transmit his voice. "Send him in."

"Yes, sir."

The door slid aside. Kyp strode in, black cape surging billowing dramatically. Wedge resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Kyp came to a halt halfway between the door and the desk and folded his arms in a semblance of serenity. Wedge was not Force sensitive, but he didn't need the Force to get a read on Kyp. The younger man had an air of smug arrogance about him, and there was something in his stance or in his face that hinted at power kept in check.

"You wanted to see me, General?" There was respect in Kyp's voice, and the words were appropriate. Wedge didn't trust it.

"Have a seat, Durron. I want to talk to you."

As ordered, Kyp folded into the only unoccupied chair. Tycho's gaze never wavered, and Wedge knew that his second was looking for something that would betray Kyp's thoughts. The Jedi relaxed back into the seat and gave a bland smile.

"What about?"

The smile didn't look real on his face, Wedge decided. "Jaina."

Kyp's eyebrows went up. "The Goddess, you mean," he corrected.

Wedge shook his head. "No. I mean Jaina. The Jedi. The person. Look, this isn't any more pleasant for me than it is for you, but I have some decisions to make and you're the only person who can give me the information I need."

After a silence where Kyp looked thoughtful, he asked, "What do you need to know?"

Caught off guard, Wedge blinked. "That's it? You'll just answer my questions?"

Kyp's shoulders came up in a shrug. "If it's about Jaina, I'll do what I can."

Wedge eyed Kyp more closely. The younger man looked tired, weary. He realized that the Twins had spent a lot of time practicing. He'd also seen the holo of the confrontation between Kyp and Jaina from a few days before, in the observation room. This Kyp looked different from the one at Sernpidal. Older, maybe. Wiser. Wedge wasn't sure what to think about it. "How is she?" he began.

"Fine. A little tired. She seems to be pretty happy with the command, though."

"We're talking about the other stuff," Tycho put in.

Kyp turned his dark eyes on the blond colonel. "The Jedi stuff?"

"Is she back from the Dark Side?" Wedge clarified.

Kyp seemed to consider. "Mostly," he said slowly.

"Mostly?" Wedge frowned.

"The Dark Side is kind of... complicated," Kyp added wryly.

Tycho snorted. "Really."

Kyp leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Look, you're asking the wrong question. Jaina's never going to be back completely. I won't. Luke won't. The question is whether she wants to be and how determined she is to make up for what she did."

"Well?" Wedge lifted one brow.

"She wants to be back," Kyp said certainly. "She wants to make up. And when Jaina makes up her mind, she will succeed."

Wedge glanced at Tycho, then back at Kyp. "How much is she willing to lose to win?"

As Kyp leaned back, darkness clouded his sharp features. "Everything," he said quietly.

"I don't understand."

"She seems to have accepted that she won't survive the war, so in that sense, she's willing to lose all she has. She's no longer willing to sacrifice innocent lives, but she will accept losses of those who know what they're doing. She's not willing to lose anyone who can contribute more than she can, but..." Kyp's eyes held a kind of pain Wedge didn't understand. "She'll accept a suicide mission-she'll order a suicide mission-if it would mean victory."

"She told you this?" Tycho sounded skeptical.

"Some of it. The rest she's decided and isn't going to tell me. Yet."

Wedge asked, "How do you know you're right?"

Then he understood the pain in Kyp's eyes. The younger man leveled his gaze. "Because I decided the same things. Jaina's not going to make all the same mistakes I did-I won't let her. But there are some that I can't do anything about, no matter how much they hurt."

'Her or you?' Wedge wanted to ask. He didn't. Instead, "Would you trust her with your life?"

"I'd trust her with my last heartbeat."

Wedge and Tycho shared a look. "What would she do with it?"

Kyp's smile was wry; this one suited his face much better. "She'd probably use it to power the blaster that would fire the final shot into the Supreme Overlord's heart."

"Would you trust her with a child's life?"

"Ben's? Syal's?" Kyp shook his head. "Jaina would protect them."

"Thank you, Durron."

The door closed behind Kyp. Tycho turned to Wedge.

"What do you think, Boss?"

"I think Durron's changed. And I think we ought to talk to Jaina."

He had known Jaina Solo since she'd been little more than a heartbeat in her mother's womb. He'd watched her grow up, much like an uncle would. He'd been notified when she'd made it into Rogue Squadron and he'd sent his best wishes. He'd kept an eye on her kill numbers. When the New Republic had considered the Jedi a liability and Jaina was put on indefinite leave, he'd argued with brass and finally had a private talk with Gavin.

And when Kyp Durron had used her at Sernpidal, Wedge could not have been more angry than if Jaina had been his own daughter.

Wedge reflected on that as he and Tycho waited for Jaina to arrive. He respected the girl-young woman-as a pilot and as a fighter. Now, she was even a leader. He saw in Jaina everything he'd seen in Leia over twenty-five years before. And with the benefits of age and hindsight, it was all he could do to let her make her own choices.

He chuckled.

Tycho shot him a curious look. "What?"

"Jaina," Wedge said. "I feel old."

Tycho nodded mournfully. "Me, too. Do you remember what it was like at her age?"

The general thought back. To those first few years running around as smuggler, and then his first few months with the Rebellion. He smiled. "Yes. I do. Those were fun times, weren't they?"

Tycho chuckled. "Miss your youth, Wedge?"

"Only every now and then."

The buzzer sounded, and the corporal announced the Goddess.

"Send her in, right away!" Wedge put an urgency he didn't feel into his voice, and he and Tycho stood up. They straightened their uniforms. After all, what were two heroes of the Rebellion and New Republic to a Yuuzhan Vong goddess?

The door slid open to reveal Jaina, looking less like a deity and more like a weary commander. Once the door closed, she snapped to attention.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Wedge hid a smile. "Have a seat, please, Jaina. This meeting isn't technically official."

Jaina's brandy-brown gaze slid from the general to the colonel. "Should I be going evasive?"

Tycho laughed. "You can trust us."

She nodded solemnly. "Oh. Absolutely." She moved carefully to the same chair Kyp had occupied earlier and managed to sit almost at attention. She eyed Wedge as he took his seat.

"How are you?" he asked, opting for frankness.

She tensed. He saw the stiffening of her spine and the sudden tightening around her eyes. "Fine, sir."

Wedge and Tycho shared a glance. "I'm not going to pry, Jaina. And this doesn't have anything to do with the Twins. Are you okay?"

"I will be. I'm working on it."

"With Kyp."

She pressed her lips into a thin line before answering, "Yes."

Wedge tried to read her. All he came up with was that Jaina didn't want to talk about her situation. The same report he was getting from everyone-Leia, Mara, Luke-and he doubted that she was even aware of the nonverbal signals she gave.

"Has he hurt you again?"

Jaina blinked, seemingly surprised. "Hurt me?"

"I'm not your father, Jaina, but I'm asking this for the same reasons Han would. Has he done anything I should know about?"

Jaina just stared at him. It occurred to Wedge that no one had actually asked her if Kyp had hurt her. Han didn't want to hear yes; Leia and Mara didn't, either, though they tried to ask; Luke thought Jaina and Kyp should work it out for themselves.

Slowly, she shook her head. "Not really. He's... changed since Sernpidal. He's not the same Kyp any more. He-we-" Jaina clamped her mouth shut. Wedge took that to mean she'd said more than she planned.

He gave her a gentle smile. "I believe you."

"You do?" There was genuine surprise in her voice, her eyes.

Wedge nodded. "Why shouldn't I? You've never knowingly lied to me before. Why would you start now? Maybe you don't want to talk about what's going on between you and Durron, fine. It's not really any of my business. It's not really anyone's business. It doesn't stop me or your family from worrying about you, but it should keep us from prying."

"I-Thank you, sir."

Wedge waved a hand. "Drop the 'sir' bit, Jaina. I'm Wedge. He's Tycho. Say hello to the pretty pilot, Tycho."

"Hello."

A puzzled smile flickered across Jaina's features as she turned to the blond man. "Hello."

"See?" Wedge beamed. "Friends. Now. What's the biggest problem the New Republic has?"

Jaina's expression was curious and thoughtful "The bureaucracy," she said. "The politicians who put their own interests ahead of those of the people they serve and who spend too much time discussing war in committee."

"Oh, she's good," Tycho said.

"Got it in one," Wedge agreed.

"Was that a test?" Jaina's gaze darted between the two officers.

"Sort of," Wedge admitted. "Why was the Rebellion successful?"

"Because you didn't have a choice."

Tycho and Wedge exchanged another look. "She's very good," Tycho said.

"Do you think she studied?"

"No. Solos don't study. Han never did."

Jaina shook her head as if to clear it. "Have I missed something?"

Wedge grinned at her. "Not yet. First, Iella can finally spare the Wraiths, and I've asked two of them to join Twin Suns. Now you have a full squadron. And two more problems. They've already moved their ships to the special operations docking bay, and I wouldn't bet against them already corrupting your chain of command. They've been known to do that."

"Problem solved," Jaina said with a wry smile. "We have no chain of command."

"I know. Lowbacca's got a meeting scheduled for you to meet them. You'll have to talk to him."

"Thank you."

"Second." Wedge leaned forward and extended his hand. "Welcome to the Insiders, Jaina. We have a lot to talk about."