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The fitness center onboard the Chimaera was busy when Jaina entered. Twin Suns had just returned to the Chimaera an hour ago. They had been assigned to escort duty for all of the major arriving guests. Jaina had seen representatives from the Smuggler's Alliance, the Mon Calamarians, the Corellians and a wide variety of other species come into the system, and that was just during Twin Suns' shift. She had ground her teeth in frustration almost the entire time. Any halfway competent trainee squadron could have done just as well. No other squadron- Galactic Alliance or Imperial- had the experience and unique blend of necessary skills to pull off the mission that her squadron had been involved in.
She stalked coldly through the training area, barely acknowledging the greetings or the harsh angry whispers that came her was as she moved towards the small knots of people gathered in the sparring area. A small part of her mind registered the exhaustion that she was feeling. She couldn't remember the last time that she had actually slept for more than a few stolen hours in a cramped cockpit. The night before she hadn't slept- as she had known that she wouldn't- even before Miat had returned to their shared quarters.
She had remained frozen and silent in the unlit room, waiting for Miat to speak to say anything, to curse at her, start a brawl, or to simply kick her out. Instead the other woman did nothing, she ignored Jaina. It was as if she didn't even exist. Her emotions through the Force told an entirely different story, however. It was a tumultuous mixture of anger, grief and steely resolve that was painfully present in the Force even with Jaina's shields fully in place. It was also more than she could take. Without a word, she rose from her bunk and left, pulling on her flight suit as she headed towards the door. The least she could do was leave Miat in peace without the constant reminder of her presence.
She had wandered down to the docking bay where her x-wing was being kept, and done some routine maintenance work and then made her way up to the small cramped office that she had been given for her use. It had been the early hours of the morning before she had managed to drift into an uncomfortable sleep at her desk. Still Jaina was restless. She needed a distraction, to hone the skills that were being dulled by the mind numbing work of escort duty. Surely she could find someone to spar with her, here. Maybe she could find someone who could exhaust her to the point that she could fall into a deep dreamless sleep, unaware even of Miat's presence. It wasn't likely.
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Kyp Durron eased through the quickly forming crowds until he was close enough to the center of the crowd to se the current occupants of the sparring match. Jaina and a Noghri. It was more or less where he had expected to find Jaina on her off duty hours. He was worried about her. He had, in fact, been worried about her for quite some time. Kyp wanted to talk her, but first he had to convince her to actually be in the same room with him. They had gone their separate ways after their argument on Shelter, and now, five years later, they had yet to speak beyond the necessary courtesies. That didn't mean that he hadn't kept an eye on what was happening to Jaina, but it was impossible to get close to her. It was rumored that she rarely even spoke to her family.
Kyp had eventually reformed his Dozen, but this time it was a squadron that willingly flew under the authority of the Jedi Council. His squadron was just one of the several very high profile squadrons that had been recalled for this assignment. He, like most of the other squadron leaders, was chafing under the idiocy of the politicians. Unlike the others, however, he wasn't entirely upset about the event itself. If it succeeded, it could unite the galaxy in one of the most pivotal alliances in years and change the balance of power in the galaxy- militarily at least- in a way that hadn't occurred since the battle of Endor and the massive defeat that signaled the beginning of the end of the Empire.
Kyp shot a glance at the woman standing next to him, noticing her for the first time. He didn't do a double take, it would have been un-Jedi Masterly, but he was surprised to see her there. Esmen Tracell was one of the Twin Suns' pilots that had accompanied he, Fel and Jaina as they had escorted Mara and Callista to Shelter.
Shifting his stance slightly in the crowd, so that he moved fractionally closer to her, Kyp asked quietly, "How's she doing?" Kyp suspected that he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear what Esmen had to say. If she had been with Jaina's squadron for that long, she had to have developed some sense of her commanding officer.
"She's on her third opponent right now," she said with more than a hint of respect. Kyp noticed the way that the veteran pilot had expertly deflected his question. She had known what he was asking and she had purposefully evaded his question. It was nice to see the woman's loyalty to Jaina, but Kyp wanted the true answer to his question.
"The Noghri lasted the longest," she commented, before he could speak and Kyp noticed abruptly that the fight had ended- with the Noghri lying on the floor- while he had been preoccupied. "He actually got in a few blows. None of the others even stood a chance."
Both of them flinched as the Noghri limped away from the sparing ring. The Noghri were renowned throughout the galaxy for their fighting skills. If Jaina had beaten him that badly, then she was definitely not in a good mood.
Esmen stood in silence next to him for a few moments and then shot a cautious look at the Jedi Master. She didn't really know him, other than by reputation, but she remembered him vaguely from the brief period of time that they had both been in Twin Suns. The fact that the Jedi Master had very protective of Jaina- or at least as much as she would let him be- was well known.
"Will she be okay, sir? She's been pushing herself and the rest of the squadron harder than I've ever seen her push before."
Kyp gave her a piercing look, which Esmen barely managed not to flinch back from. He glanced away from her a moment later, focusing back on Jaina and then shook his head minutely, "No, she's fine.....for now, I think. She's just upset like all of the other squadron leaders because we were pulled from our missions." Kyp started to move away from Esmen. She had told him with her question, all that he needed to know for the moment. It had only reinforced the fact that he needed to talk to Jaina, if one of her pilot's was worried about her.
Esmen's next words stopped him immediately. "That's not it, Master Durron. With all due respect, the Great One's been like this for the past five years. Since Colonel Fel..."
Kyp spun back around, cutting her off in mid sentence. His glare alone was enough to silence her and when he spoke, his voice was low and warning. "Do you want to log a formal protest about the Goddess's behavior?"
Without hesitation, Esmen shook her head. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her today. She knew better than to ask stupid questions and besides she had no desire to report Jaina. She was one of the best squadron leaders that she had ever served under and Jaina did everything in her power to keep her pilots safe. In return the only things that Jaina demanded was her pilots' loyalty and that they perform to the best of their abilities.
"Then stay out of it," Kyp snapped. "It's not the place of a mere mortal to worry about the Goddess." His tone was sharp, but Esmen thought that there was something more behind it. She watched as Master Durron cut roughly through the crowd towards a couple that she though she recognized as Talon Karrde and Shada D'ukal. The Jedi master was right about one thing, though; it wasn't her responsibility to worry about Jaina. She just hoped that she didn't ever come to regret flying under Jaina Solo's command.
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Jaina watched the Noghri in front of her stagger back and followed up her last blow with a sharp kick to the stomach. It was a blow that never would have connected had he been in top form and she anyone but a Jedi. Even for a Jedi, a Noghri was a difficult opponent. She sketched a half-bow in the direction of the young warrior and turned away. He had been the most difficult opponent that she had faced that day, but he hadn't been as much of a challenge as she had hoped. Jaina wondered idly if there were any other Jedi on board the Chimaera. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to see if any other Galactic Alliance or all-Jedi squadrons were flying with the Chimaera.
A lightsaber duel, requiring far more of her concentration than sparring would be much better. She was turning away to walk over to where she had left her uniform jacket and the datacard that would contain all of the pertinent information about Chimaera's currently assigned squadrons when she felt a muffled surge of emotion through the Force. It was almost as if she were feeling it herself. She brushed away the thought distractedly, focused on her original intention, before it registered.
The surge of emotion that she had felt so intensely wasn't her own, it was her Partner's. If she had been speaking at the moment the word would have been a sneer. It also meant that Kyp had to be near by. It had been a long time since she had kept the bond between them open. A Force bond such as theirs wasn't something that was easily broken, but Jaina had become an expert at keeping him out. It was better for both of them in the long run. Dangerous was far too weak of a word to describe her job, and her life. The fewer emotional attachments and distractions that she had, the better. Still Kyp seemed upset and as a fellow squadron leader, she should probably go and see what the problem was. Besides if it pertained to the situation surrounding this mission, then she would need to deal with it eventually anyway.
Please push that lovely little button and leave me a review for this chapter, anything will do.
The fitness center onboard the Chimaera was busy when Jaina entered. Twin Suns had just returned to the Chimaera an hour ago. They had been assigned to escort duty for all of the major arriving guests. Jaina had seen representatives from the Smuggler's Alliance, the Mon Calamarians, the Corellians and a wide variety of other species come into the system, and that was just during Twin Suns' shift. She had ground her teeth in frustration almost the entire time. Any halfway competent trainee squadron could have done just as well. No other squadron- Galactic Alliance or Imperial- had the experience and unique blend of necessary skills to pull off the mission that her squadron had been involved in.
She stalked coldly through the training area, barely acknowledging the greetings or the harsh angry whispers that came her was as she moved towards the small knots of people gathered in the sparring area. A small part of her mind registered the exhaustion that she was feeling. She couldn't remember the last time that she had actually slept for more than a few stolen hours in a cramped cockpit. The night before she hadn't slept- as she had known that she wouldn't- even before Miat had returned to their shared quarters.
She had remained frozen and silent in the unlit room, waiting for Miat to speak to say anything, to curse at her, start a brawl, or to simply kick her out. Instead the other woman did nothing, she ignored Jaina. It was as if she didn't even exist. Her emotions through the Force told an entirely different story, however. It was a tumultuous mixture of anger, grief and steely resolve that was painfully present in the Force even with Jaina's shields fully in place. It was also more than she could take. Without a word, she rose from her bunk and left, pulling on her flight suit as she headed towards the door. The least she could do was leave Miat in peace without the constant reminder of her presence.
She had wandered down to the docking bay where her x-wing was being kept, and done some routine maintenance work and then made her way up to the small cramped office that she had been given for her use. It had been the early hours of the morning before she had managed to drift into an uncomfortable sleep at her desk. Still Jaina was restless. She needed a distraction, to hone the skills that were being dulled by the mind numbing work of escort duty. Surely she could find someone to spar with her, here. Maybe she could find someone who could exhaust her to the point that she could fall into a deep dreamless sleep, unaware even of Miat's presence. It wasn't likely.
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Kyp Durron eased through the quickly forming crowds until he was close enough to the center of the crowd to se the current occupants of the sparring match. Jaina and a Noghri. It was more or less where he had expected to find Jaina on her off duty hours. He was worried about her. He had, in fact, been worried about her for quite some time. Kyp wanted to talk her, but first he had to convince her to actually be in the same room with him. They had gone their separate ways after their argument on Shelter, and now, five years later, they had yet to speak beyond the necessary courtesies. That didn't mean that he hadn't kept an eye on what was happening to Jaina, but it was impossible to get close to her. It was rumored that she rarely even spoke to her family.
Kyp had eventually reformed his Dozen, but this time it was a squadron that willingly flew under the authority of the Jedi Council. His squadron was just one of the several very high profile squadrons that had been recalled for this assignment. He, like most of the other squadron leaders, was chafing under the idiocy of the politicians. Unlike the others, however, he wasn't entirely upset about the event itself. If it succeeded, it could unite the galaxy in one of the most pivotal alliances in years and change the balance of power in the galaxy- militarily at least- in a way that hadn't occurred since the battle of Endor and the massive defeat that signaled the beginning of the end of the Empire.
Kyp shot a glance at the woman standing next to him, noticing her for the first time. He didn't do a double take, it would have been un-Jedi Masterly, but he was surprised to see her there. Esmen Tracell was one of the Twin Suns' pilots that had accompanied he, Fel and Jaina as they had escorted Mara and Callista to Shelter.
Shifting his stance slightly in the crowd, so that he moved fractionally closer to her, Kyp asked quietly, "How's she doing?" Kyp suspected that he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear what Esmen had to say. If she had been with Jaina's squadron for that long, she had to have developed some sense of her commanding officer.
"She's on her third opponent right now," she said with more than a hint of respect. Kyp noticed the way that the veteran pilot had expertly deflected his question. She had known what he was asking and she had purposefully evaded his question. It was nice to see the woman's loyalty to Jaina, but Kyp wanted the true answer to his question.
"The Noghri lasted the longest," she commented, before he could speak and Kyp noticed abruptly that the fight had ended- with the Noghri lying on the floor- while he had been preoccupied. "He actually got in a few blows. None of the others even stood a chance."
Both of them flinched as the Noghri limped away from the sparing ring. The Noghri were renowned throughout the galaxy for their fighting skills. If Jaina had beaten him that badly, then she was definitely not in a good mood.
Esmen stood in silence next to him for a few moments and then shot a cautious look at the Jedi Master. She didn't really know him, other than by reputation, but she remembered him vaguely from the brief period of time that they had both been in Twin Suns. The fact that the Jedi Master had very protective of Jaina- or at least as much as she would let him be- was well known.
"Will she be okay, sir? She's been pushing herself and the rest of the squadron harder than I've ever seen her push before."
Kyp gave her a piercing look, which Esmen barely managed not to flinch back from. He glanced away from her a moment later, focusing back on Jaina and then shook his head minutely, "No, she's fine.....for now, I think. She's just upset like all of the other squadron leaders because we were pulled from our missions." Kyp started to move away from Esmen. She had told him with her question, all that he needed to know for the moment. It had only reinforced the fact that he needed to talk to Jaina, if one of her pilot's was worried about her.
Esmen's next words stopped him immediately. "That's not it, Master Durron. With all due respect, the Great One's been like this for the past five years. Since Colonel Fel..."
Kyp spun back around, cutting her off in mid sentence. His glare alone was enough to silence her and when he spoke, his voice was low and warning. "Do you want to log a formal protest about the Goddess's behavior?"
Without hesitation, Esmen shook her head. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her today. She knew better than to ask stupid questions and besides she had no desire to report Jaina. She was one of the best squadron leaders that she had ever served under and Jaina did everything in her power to keep her pilots safe. In return the only things that Jaina demanded was her pilots' loyalty and that they perform to the best of their abilities.
"Then stay out of it," Kyp snapped. "It's not the place of a mere mortal to worry about the Goddess." His tone was sharp, but Esmen thought that there was something more behind it. She watched as Master Durron cut roughly through the crowd towards a couple that she though she recognized as Talon Karrde and Shada D'ukal. The Jedi master was right about one thing, though; it wasn't her responsibility to worry about Jaina. She just hoped that she didn't ever come to regret flying under Jaina Solo's command.
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Jaina watched the Noghri in front of her stagger back and followed up her last blow with a sharp kick to the stomach. It was a blow that never would have connected had he been in top form and she anyone but a Jedi. Even for a Jedi, a Noghri was a difficult opponent. She sketched a half-bow in the direction of the young warrior and turned away. He had been the most difficult opponent that she had faced that day, but he hadn't been as much of a challenge as she had hoped. Jaina wondered idly if there were any other Jedi on board the Chimaera. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to see if any other Galactic Alliance or all-Jedi squadrons were flying with the Chimaera.
A lightsaber duel, requiring far more of her concentration than sparring would be much better. She was turning away to walk over to where she had left her uniform jacket and the datacard that would contain all of the pertinent information about Chimaera's currently assigned squadrons when she felt a muffled surge of emotion through the Force. It was almost as if she were feeling it herself. She brushed away the thought distractedly, focused on her original intention, before it registered.
The surge of emotion that she had felt so intensely wasn't her own, it was her Partner's. If she had been speaking at the moment the word would have been a sneer. It also meant that Kyp had to be near by. It had been a long time since she had kept the bond between them open. A Force bond such as theirs wasn't something that was easily broken, but Jaina had become an expert at keeping him out. It was better for both of them in the long run. Dangerous was far too weak of a word to describe her job, and her life. The fewer emotional attachments and distractions that she had, the better. Still Kyp seemed upset and as a fellow squadron leader, she should probably go and see what the problem was. Besides if it pertained to the situation surrounding this mission, then she would need to deal with it eventually anyway.
Please push that lovely little button and leave me a review for this chapter, anything will do.