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This fic was originally posted on theforce.net, where I go by the screenname of SaberBlade. If you recognize this, don't worry, it isn't plagiarized; I'm simply reposting it here also.
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General Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and the characters belong to their respective authors. Anything you don't recognize is mine; please respect my muse. I don't intend any infringement with this fic; it was created because I have an abiding love for Star Wars and a wish to share my interpretation of it with the world.
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Details:
Name: Miracle
Time Frame: Post-NJO
Pairing: Kyp Durron and Jaina Solo
Summary: A crash landing leaves Jaina lucky to be alive, but she can't remember the last ten years of her life. What will this mean for her and the man she was to marry?
Rating: PG to PG-13.
Post: Chapter 8 of ?
Story Status: Work in Progress.
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As always, reviews are appreciated.
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The expression on Jaina's face as she approached her X-wing was more than enough to make up for her incessant questions on where he was taking her.
"This is mine?" she asked, eyes glowing with awe.
Kyp reached a hand up and trailed it along the sleek belly of the snubfighter. "This is yours," he confirmed.
Jaina gave a small, quickly muffled shriek of joy, and darted ahead of him. She seemed intent on discovering every last scratch and nick on her ship; she exclaimed over scorch marks and dents, touched the wires hanging out of the landing struts, and seemed incredulous at the amount of kills painted on the side.
Kyp drank in her happiness, enjoying her obvious delight. Part of him was storing this up, pessimistically certain that it would be the last time he could make her eyes light up with joy. But most of him was simply enjoying the outing. Around Jaina, it was hard to brood. Her presence kept him firmly rooted in the present, where she was. Only when she was absent did Kyp return to his habitual distance from the world.
And she was all too present now, practically bubbling over as she circled her ship. "Mine," she whispered again, grin stretching wide. She turned back to him. "Can I fly today?"
He grinned back at her. "I cleared it with Control," he informed her.
Jaina laughed before she could help it and flung herself into his arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she chanted, wrapping her arms around him in a brief and tight hug. She pulled away. "Will you fly out with me so I don't get lost?"
Kyp reluctantly stepped away from her, and pointed. "That's mine," he said, and had the satisfaction of seeing her jaw drop.
She studied his ship for a long minute, then asked, "A Sekotan fighter? Like what Jacen was talking about?"
"Yeah," Kyp said, and moved towards the ship, Jaina hurrying beside him. "She's called Stubborn."
Jaina laughed again and came to a stop before the Sekotan ship. "Let me guess– you named her."
Kyp's lips twisted into a wry smile. "I think it was a mutual decision referring to both of us."
"I don't doubt it," she murmured, and hesitantly placed her hand against Stubborn's glowing green skin. Stubborn recognized her and the skin seemed to shift under Jaina's hand, a fitful shudder that had Jaina gasping and pulling her hand back.
"No, wait," Kyp said, and put his own hand on Stubborn's side. "Give her a minute to say hello."
With his hand touching Stubborn, the weak telepathic link between pilot and ship flared to life. Stubborn wasn't quite a voice in the Force, but her emotions were clear. Welcome, friendship, recognition, questions– "Try again, Jaina."
Jaina's smaller hand reached up once more and gently pressed against the ship. Stubborn considered for a moment, then recognition came and the welcome. Not that Jaina could feel it; she hadn't bonded with Stubborn, and Stubborn wasn't her ship. But over the years, the two had come in contact often enough for Stubborn to recognize her.
Jaina laughed. "She's soft."
Kyp stroked the ship and finally released her. "We'll follow you out," he told Jaina. He jerked his head toward her X-wing. "Let's see how much your body still remembers."
-
Jaina settled into the cockpit a bit uneasily. She'd crashed this same X-wing a week ago, losing ten years along the way. It was a miracle that the techs had managed to get it into flying condition, but as she had climbed the access ladder, the tech lowering her astromech droid had assured her that it was spaceworthy again.
"Just don't try another landing like that last one, Commander," he'd said cheerfully, tentacles waving at her.
She wished she could remember his name. "Don't worry, I won't," she muttered, and his tentacles had gone into fits and spasms she thought meant he was laughing.
"Give Durron a good chase," he'd called over his shoulder, wheeling the ladder back. "You let him catch you awful fast last time."
So they'd done this before. That at least explained why none of the military personnel in the hanger had given them a second glance.
She pulled her hair back and stuffed her helmet on. "Well, here goes nothing," she sighed, reaching for the controls.
Beeps and whirs behind her startled her, and she glanced at her screen.
WHY DO I HAVE MY DOUBTS THAT THIS WILL BE NOTHING?
Jaina frowned. "What?"
MY EXPERIENCE WITH YOU AND MASTER DURRON HAS INDICATED THAT THIS FLIGHT WILL NOT QUALIFY AS "NOTHING". There was an emphatic bleep to punctuate the droid's opinion. BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU, "NOTHING" DOES NOT EXIST.
Confused, Jaina stared at the small blue screen, even as her hands automatically began prepping the X-wing for flight. "In other words, this is going to be an interesting flight."
THAT'S ONE WAY TO PUT IT.
"Goddess?" Kyp's voice was strong even through the comm. "What's taking you so long?"
She toggled her comm on even as she realized she'd completed the start-up cycle. "My droid is disagreeing with me."
He swore. "Oh yeah, I forgot. That's Zero-One. He's got issues."
There was a rude blat from the astromech. MERELY BECAUSE I INSULT HIM.
"You insult him? Why?"
BECAUSE IT'S EASY. AND SO FEW OTHERS DARE TO. Zero-One hummed. I, INCIDENTALLY, AM AWARE YOUR MEMORY WAS ERASED. I PREFER TO TREAT YOU AS IF IT WERE NOT.
"And you're my astromech?" Jaina watched the flight crew direct her off of the ground and toward the hanger exit; she flipped on her repulsorlifts and began to maneuver past other grounded fighters.
TECHNICALLY I AM THE PROPERTY OF MASTER DURRON. HOWEVER, AS HE HAS NO NEED FOR A DROID WITH THAT LIVING MONSTROSITY HE CALLS A SHIP, I OFFERED MY SERVICES TO YOU SOME YEARS AGO, AND YOU ACCEPTED.
The hanger opened yawned before her; Jaina switched her repulsorlifts off and heard the hum of sublight engines as she prepared for open air. "And he just let me steal you?"
HE DID NOT HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE. BESIDES, HE SAID HE WAS HAPPY TO BE RID OF ME, EVEN IF HE WAS RELUCTANT TO BURDEN YOU WITH ME. Another indignant beep told Jaina Zero-One's opinion of that statement. I AM GLAD YOU SURVIVED THE LANDING, GODDESS. I WOULD NOT WANT TO HAVE TO BREAK IN A NEW PILOT AGAIN.
The X-wing roared out into the open air, and Jaina executed a hard turn and angled the nose of the fighter straight up before punching in the sublight engines to their full power. She couldn't keep the smile from her face. "I think we get along pretty well, don't we, Zero-One?"
WE DO.
Joy bubbled through her veins. "Then let's see how fast we can lose Master Durron."
AN EXCELLENT IDEA.
The atmosphere quickly faded and turned into black space; Jaina pulled a barrel roll for the sheer fun of it. She had always loved flying. Now it seemed to come even easier– she was relying on instincts, on remembered actions that her body recalled and her mind didn't.
"You're going to get lost, Goddess," Kyp's voice said in her ear.
She laughed. "Not today, I'm not. Come on, Two, catch me if you can."
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Kyp was the first back into the hanger, and he was waiting for her when she pressed her cockpit open. She didn't wait for the tech to wheel a ladder over for her; she bounded out of her seat, down the front of the X-wing's nose, and dropped to the ground in front of him. She was exuberant, riding high from the thrill of their chase, and it seemed as though she had never lost her memory. Just like every other time they had flown out together, she moved willingly into his embrace.
He picked her up and spun her for a dizzying second. She laughed, and as he set her feet back on the ground, she rocked up on her tiptoes and lightly kissed his cheek. "I almost got away," she teased.
She had gotten away, and she just didn't know it yet. The pleasure of the afternoon began to pale as Kyp recalled what was to happen the next morning. "Almost?" he scoffed, incredulous. He hooked his arm around her shoulders and shortened his step so she could keep up with him as they left the hanger. "You're delusional."
She laughed again; Kyp cherished the sound. He had made her laugh. "You just don't want to admit that I almost won."
"I have no problem admitting that you almost won," he said, looking down at her. "Since I in fact did win."
She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."
"So you've often said." His grin spread. "But you love me anyway. Or–" he amended hastily, mentally cursing for forgetting she was not the same Jaina that he had bantered with like this before, "– you used to, at least."
But Jaina's good spirits weren't diminished. "I think I might have remembered doing that before," she said. "It seemed so familiar. Maybe that muscle memory Tekli was talking about. But I can fly, Kyp! I'm really a decent pilot."
"Above decent," he agreed. "And you remembered something beyond muscle memory, Goddess."
Her brown eyes brightened and she tilted her head to look up at him. "Really? What?"
"You called me Two." She frowned, clearly confused, and he explained, "When we flew in Twin Suns together, I was Twin Suns Two. You remembered that much."
She made a face. "Useless," she decided.
"What?"
"Everything I remember is completely useless," she said, and she wasn't smiling any longer. "I remember little things that don't really matter. I never remember anything important."
"I might have a bit of a solution to that," Kyp said, and stopped. They were standing just outside the hanger, at the top of the wide flight of steps that led down to the street. "I talked with Jag Fel last night and explained what happened. I figured you'd want to talk to him, so I asked if he'd come up and talk to you."
Jaina pulled away and looked at him. She searched his face, her own face drawn and concerned. "Thank you," she said at last. "I do have some questions for him."
"I thought you did," Kyp said, aching. He was going to lose her. "He'll be here tomorrow morning. I can bring you down again, if you'd like." He hoped she'd refuse; he didn't think he'd want to be present to see her when she realized she didn't belong with him.
"No," she said, and her voice and eyes had gone someplace far away. "I think I need to talk to him by myself."
He had expected that, and still his heart plummeted at her words. So he told her what time Jag planned on arriving, and what part of the bay he'd be assigned to, as they continued on their way home. Jaina had grown pensive, withdrawn, the closer they drew to her parents' building.
"I'll leave you here," Kyp said at last, just outside the building.
She at last snapped back to reality. "Oh no you don't," she growled, and took his hand. She pulled him into the building and dragged him into the lift with her. "The last two times I've had to pound on the door because you always leave without entering the doorcode," she informed him. "And since I keep forgetting to ask what the code is, you're not leaving til you open the damn door."
He'd forgotten and shook his head. "You really should learn the code," he said, and recited the string of numbers.
She stared at him. "Right. There's no way I can remember that right off." The lift opened and she tugged him out into the hallway. She stopped at the door and crossed her arms. "Please?"
He punched in the code; the light flashed green and the door cycled open. Before he could stop her, Jaina darted inside. "Wait here," she said. In less than a minute, she was back. "This is yours. You forgot it yesterday."
It was his cape; Kyp swung it over his shoulders and tied it in place. "Thanks." He looked down at her and hesitated. She stood in the doorjamb, somehow very small and fragile.
But he had made a promise to himself, and he fully intended to keep it. He reached out with one hand to touch her cheek, and bent his head. To his surprise, her eyes weren't surprised, nor did she back away. She stepped toward him and tilted her head to meet him, resting a small hand on his chest for balance as she stretched up on her toes.
Her lips were as soft and warm as he'd remembered, but hesitant. Kyp took care to be gentle, savoring the taste of her, the way her mouth felt pressed against him. When he carefully raised his head and stepped back from her, her rosy lips parted on a sigh.
"Goodbye, Goddess," Kyp said simply.
"See you later," she whispered. He turned away.
No, he thought, entering the lift, it was goodbye.
-
Jaina stepped back into the living room and pressed the door closed with a trembling hand. She turned around, leaned back against the door, and raised the same slightly shaking hand to her mouth.
Threepio clanked into the room. "Oh, Mistress Jaina, I thought that I heard you come in. I've begun preparing supper, and I thought that perhaps..."
Her habit of tuning Threepio out was longstanding and inherited from her father. She put it to good use now as her fingertips lightly traced her lips.
He could still make her happy; flying with him today had proved it.
And if that was a taste of his kisses, then he hadn't lied when he said she had never complained about them. Coherent thought was hard enough– she didn't think she had enough mental energy to form a full sentence, much less a complaint.
Jaina pushed herself away from the wall in a daze.
"Mistress Jaina? I say, Mistress Jaina, are you all right?"
She moved past him toward her room. "I'm fine, Threepio."
"Oh, I'm so relieved. You look a bit flushed. Perhaps if you were to lie down before your parents return home you would..."
Her bedroom door shut in his face. Taken a bit aback, Threepio stared at the shut door. "She gets more like Captain Solo every day," he declared. "Imagine that, Mistress Jaina ignoring me! Why, I'm speechless."
