Disclaimer: See all of the previous chapters
Author's note: CEDF= Chiss Expeditionary Defense Fleet or something like that. I found it in Rebel Dream or possibly one of the Force Heretic novels, I think. As for the Monday/Friday schedule, yes, I really will be trying to keep to that.
The surge of angry emotions in the Force was the first thing that had caught Jaina's attention and then she heard it- the unmistakable sounds of a fight. A lifetime of Jedi training or perhaps merely the Solo survival sense prompted her to step away from her dance partner, a four legged alien from a mid rim planet that she hadn't heard of before the evening. Jaina, however, would remember him and his race for quite some time after that evening. His homeworld was a large supplier of the munitions needed by Starfighter Command and Jaina was literally under orders to keep him happy. The downside of this was the fact that he had insisted on dancing and with two extra legs, he had always seemed to find a way to step on at least one of Jaina's feet at all times. The only reason she hadn't decked him yet, was that the Galactic Alliance truly did desperately need those munitions.
She couldn't have been happier to see the fight. It only took her a moment to pinpoint the location of it. What she saw surprised her and made her furious. Two pilots were literally coming to blows. Without hesitating, she stepped forward and inserted herself between them, pushing them apart without even bothering to call on the Force to do it. Jaina got her first good look at them a moment later, and felt her temper ratchet up a notch.
The angrier fighter who had tried to push back at her to get back to the other combatant was one of her newest recruits into Twin Suns. He was an excellent pilot, but he carried a chip on his shoulder the size of a Super Star Destroyer. His homeworld had been decimated under the rule of the Empire and crushed as it had just begun to thrive with the Vong invasion. Jaina had, had severe doubts about him, but had chosen him for the squadron anyway because of his piloting skills. She shoved him further back for good measure as she turned to face the other participant in the fight.
"Hutt slime," Jaina spat at no one in particular as she saw the young woman's CEDF uniform and the small patch on her upper arm the signified the squadron that she belonged to. The last thing that they needed was a conflict between the Galactic Alliance and the Chiss. She took a deep breath and then spat at both of them, "What in the nine Corellian Hells were you thinking? Pilots having a brawl at a diplomatic reception!"
Her pilot, Flight Officer Brantur, started to reply and she held up a hand sharply as several other pilots approached with Esmen among them. Jaina took her eyes off of the two pilots that she was dealing with and shot a glance at Esmen, snapping an order at her. "Go find Colonel Fel. Tell him that one of his pilots was involved in a fight."
"No, please," the woman spoke up for the first time, since Jaina had broken up the fight, "Please don't tell him."
Jaina almost smirked, "You should have thought about that before the fight," she glanced at the woman's rank insignia, "Lieutenant." She turned back to Brantur and waited. Unfortunately, she didn't have to wait long.
Jagged Fel's face was almost unreadable, barely showing a hint of emotion as he walked towards the group of pilots. He stopped in front of Jaina and shot a look at both of the pilots that were standing on either side of her. Jaina thought she had seen a flicker of emotion cross his face as he saw the other woman, but it was gone before she could be sure.
"Colonel Solo," he said formally, sketching a half bow at her as if they were total strangers.
She took her cue from him, "Colonel Fel," she crossed her arms over her chest and then started to gesture at the two pilots. Whatever she had been about to say left her mind a she finally met his eyes. For the first time in years, brown met green. Jaina almost flinched at the immediate connection that she felt between them. She blinked sharply and narrowed her eyes, dismissing the feelings as an echo of something that had once been, but no longer was, and finished the sentence that she had started, "One of your pilots and one of mine were fighting. I thought that you might want to be here when they explained the situation."
She didn't notice Jag's own reaction, not to her statement, but to what had happened. "Thank you, Colonel." His voice was calm and almost patronizingly polite as he asked, "Do you mind?"
She recognized the pretense of politeness, but she let it go for the moment. Jaina didn't want to drag this out any longer than necessary and besides the only thing worse than the two younger pilots fighting would be the two squadron leaders fighting. So with equal politeness, she nodded and said, "Of course."
He turned to the young Lieutenant with an expression that Jaina had both used and had, had used on her, frequently. It was that of a definitely displeased commanding officer. "What happened here, Lieutenant?"
Jaina sensed the young woman's flash of defiance as she faced her commanding officer. "Nothing.....sir. The Flight Officer, here, just had a mistaken opinion that I took the liberty of correcting."
"Mistaken opinion," Brantur demanded, "It is not a mistaken opinion that my homeworld was destroyed and that the entire population of the city where my parents lived as children were massacred by a squadron of TIE fighters led by her father. It is not a matter of opinion that all of my parents' families were slaughtered and that my father was so severely injured that not even bacta and prosthetics could let him walk again."
"That's enough, Flight Officer," Jaina snapped. She wasn't certain about the incident that Brantur was referring to, but letting the two officers get into their argument again wouldn't be helpful. She could tell that the Lieutenant was ready to continue the argument with Brantur again, in defense of her father. Keeping a carefully eye on the Flight Officer, she glanced over at the other woman. "Who was your father, Lieutenant? Was he in the Imperial Navy?" It was likely that he had been at one point, given her Chiss association, but if he wasn't it would be the simplest way to end this fight.
The young woman's surprise was obvious and she shot a quick questioning glance at Jag. "My father was Baron Soontir Fel, Ma'am," she responded.
Jaina blinked at the woman and looked searchingly at her features. She couldn't resist the instinct to send a quick confirming glance at Jag. It figured. The last thing that Jaina needed was another Fel around. Jaina resisted the urge to sigh, and tried to recapture some of her long departed Jedi calm.
The war between the Empire and the New Republic had been over for more than a decade and even then Baron Fel had been a part of neither government. "It's Goddess, or Great One, Lieutenant, not Ma'am." She turned towards Brantur before Lieutenant Fel could speak. "And Brantur, whatever the Lieutenant's father might or might not have done, it is irrelevant. It has nothing to do with her, and although I am sympathetic to your loss, you should have behaved more like an officer regardless." Her tone of voice changed and she let some of the anger that she was feeling show. "However, you will be facing disciplinary action for this stunt. Report to my office at 0730 tomorrow morning."
Brantur opened his mouth and she could almost hear his protest coming. She cut him off quickly, "Just be glad that I'm not kicking you out of Twin Suns for this disturbance. If any of the Chiss leaders had chosen to take offense at this...." She glanced over at Jag, "I'm sure Colonel Fel will take measures to ensure that his pilot will regret this incident as well." She stifled the sudden urge to ask him which one of his sisters this was, Wyn or Cem.
Jag, who had been listening quietly to the exchange, suddenly looked up at Jaina sharply. She could see the beginning of fury on his face as he turned stiffly towards his sister. "You're dismissed for now, Lieutenant." His voice was cold, as was his expression, as he turned back towards Jaina. "Colonel Solo, in case you've forgotten, I'm no longer apart of your squadron, nor am I apart of your Goddess scam or under your authority in any way and as such you have no right to give me orders, especially in front of one of my pilots."
"Don't you mean your sister, Colonel," she shot back without hesitation. "You can hardly be an impartial commanding officer in this case."
"You are calling me impartial?" His voice was low and incredulous. "You, Goddess," he sneered, "are the one that throws away the lives of her pilots without a thought and killed two hundred people who you were supposed to be protecting all because you were blinded by the need for revenge against the Vong for the death of your brothers."
Her first blow caught him solidly on the chin and he staggered back several steps. Jaina's second blow never connected, as her wrist was caught in firm and immobilizing grip before it could connect. The next blow, aimed at the person restraining her, was thwarted again with Jedi instincts. Kyp's face was cold, as he forced Jaina to face him. "Not now, Goddess." He shoved her towards the exit, without a backwards glance.
Please leave a review to let me know what you think about this update. All feedback is appreciated.
Author's note: CEDF= Chiss Expeditionary Defense Fleet or something like that. I found it in Rebel Dream or possibly one of the Force Heretic novels, I think. As for the Monday/Friday schedule, yes, I really will be trying to keep to that.
The surge of angry emotions in the Force was the first thing that had caught Jaina's attention and then she heard it- the unmistakable sounds of a fight. A lifetime of Jedi training or perhaps merely the Solo survival sense prompted her to step away from her dance partner, a four legged alien from a mid rim planet that she hadn't heard of before the evening. Jaina, however, would remember him and his race for quite some time after that evening. His homeworld was a large supplier of the munitions needed by Starfighter Command and Jaina was literally under orders to keep him happy. The downside of this was the fact that he had insisted on dancing and with two extra legs, he had always seemed to find a way to step on at least one of Jaina's feet at all times. The only reason she hadn't decked him yet, was that the Galactic Alliance truly did desperately need those munitions.
She couldn't have been happier to see the fight. It only took her a moment to pinpoint the location of it. What she saw surprised her and made her furious. Two pilots were literally coming to blows. Without hesitating, she stepped forward and inserted herself between them, pushing them apart without even bothering to call on the Force to do it. Jaina got her first good look at them a moment later, and felt her temper ratchet up a notch.
The angrier fighter who had tried to push back at her to get back to the other combatant was one of her newest recruits into Twin Suns. He was an excellent pilot, but he carried a chip on his shoulder the size of a Super Star Destroyer. His homeworld had been decimated under the rule of the Empire and crushed as it had just begun to thrive with the Vong invasion. Jaina had, had severe doubts about him, but had chosen him for the squadron anyway because of his piloting skills. She shoved him further back for good measure as she turned to face the other participant in the fight.
"Hutt slime," Jaina spat at no one in particular as she saw the young woman's CEDF uniform and the small patch on her upper arm the signified the squadron that she belonged to. The last thing that they needed was a conflict between the Galactic Alliance and the Chiss. She took a deep breath and then spat at both of them, "What in the nine Corellian Hells were you thinking? Pilots having a brawl at a diplomatic reception!"
Her pilot, Flight Officer Brantur, started to reply and she held up a hand sharply as several other pilots approached with Esmen among them. Jaina took her eyes off of the two pilots that she was dealing with and shot a glance at Esmen, snapping an order at her. "Go find Colonel Fel. Tell him that one of his pilots was involved in a fight."
"No, please," the woman spoke up for the first time, since Jaina had broken up the fight, "Please don't tell him."
Jaina almost smirked, "You should have thought about that before the fight," she glanced at the woman's rank insignia, "Lieutenant." She turned back to Brantur and waited. Unfortunately, she didn't have to wait long.
Jagged Fel's face was almost unreadable, barely showing a hint of emotion as he walked towards the group of pilots. He stopped in front of Jaina and shot a look at both of the pilots that were standing on either side of her. Jaina thought she had seen a flicker of emotion cross his face as he saw the other woman, but it was gone before she could be sure.
"Colonel Solo," he said formally, sketching a half bow at her as if they were total strangers.
She took her cue from him, "Colonel Fel," she crossed her arms over her chest and then started to gesture at the two pilots. Whatever she had been about to say left her mind a she finally met his eyes. For the first time in years, brown met green. Jaina almost flinched at the immediate connection that she felt between them. She blinked sharply and narrowed her eyes, dismissing the feelings as an echo of something that had once been, but no longer was, and finished the sentence that she had started, "One of your pilots and one of mine were fighting. I thought that you might want to be here when they explained the situation."
She didn't notice Jag's own reaction, not to her statement, but to what had happened. "Thank you, Colonel." His voice was calm and almost patronizingly polite as he asked, "Do you mind?"
She recognized the pretense of politeness, but she let it go for the moment. Jaina didn't want to drag this out any longer than necessary and besides the only thing worse than the two younger pilots fighting would be the two squadron leaders fighting. So with equal politeness, she nodded and said, "Of course."
He turned to the young Lieutenant with an expression that Jaina had both used and had, had used on her, frequently. It was that of a definitely displeased commanding officer. "What happened here, Lieutenant?"
Jaina sensed the young woman's flash of defiance as she faced her commanding officer. "Nothing.....sir. The Flight Officer, here, just had a mistaken opinion that I took the liberty of correcting."
"Mistaken opinion," Brantur demanded, "It is not a mistaken opinion that my homeworld was destroyed and that the entire population of the city where my parents lived as children were massacred by a squadron of TIE fighters led by her father. It is not a matter of opinion that all of my parents' families were slaughtered and that my father was so severely injured that not even bacta and prosthetics could let him walk again."
"That's enough, Flight Officer," Jaina snapped. She wasn't certain about the incident that Brantur was referring to, but letting the two officers get into their argument again wouldn't be helpful. She could tell that the Lieutenant was ready to continue the argument with Brantur again, in defense of her father. Keeping a carefully eye on the Flight Officer, she glanced over at the other woman. "Who was your father, Lieutenant? Was he in the Imperial Navy?" It was likely that he had been at one point, given her Chiss association, but if he wasn't it would be the simplest way to end this fight.
The young woman's surprise was obvious and she shot a quick questioning glance at Jag. "My father was Baron Soontir Fel, Ma'am," she responded.
Jaina blinked at the woman and looked searchingly at her features. She couldn't resist the instinct to send a quick confirming glance at Jag. It figured. The last thing that Jaina needed was another Fel around. Jaina resisted the urge to sigh, and tried to recapture some of her long departed Jedi calm.
The war between the Empire and the New Republic had been over for more than a decade and even then Baron Fel had been a part of neither government. "It's Goddess, or Great One, Lieutenant, not Ma'am." She turned towards Brantur before Lieutenant Fel could speak. "And Brantur, whatever the Lieutenant's father might or might not have done, it is irrelevant. It has nothing to do with her, and although I am sympathetic to your loss, you should have behaved more like an officer regardless." Her tone of voice changed and she let some of the anger that she was feeling show. "However, you will be facing disciplinary action for this stunt. Report to my office at 0730 tomorrow morning."
Brantur opened his mouth and she could almost hear his protest coming. She cut him off quickly, "Just be glad that I'm not kicking you out of Twin Suns for this disturbance. If any of the Chiss leaders had chosen to take offense at this...." She glanced over at Jag, "I'm sure Colonel Fel will take measures to ensure that his pilot will regret this incident as well." She stifled the sudden urge to ask him which one of his sisters this was, Wyn or Cem.
Jag, who had been listening quietly to the exchange, suddenly looked up at Jaina sharply. She could see the beginning of fury on his face as he turned stiffly towards his sister. "You're dismissed for now, Lieutenant." His voice was cold, as was his expression, as he turned back towards Jaina. "Colonel Solo, in case you've forgotten, I'm no longer apart of your squadron, nor am I apart of your Goddess scam or under your authority in any way and as such you have no right to give me orders, especially in front of one of my pilots."
"Don't you mean your sister, Colonel," she shot back without hesitation. "You can hardly be an impartial commanding officer in this case."
"You are calling me impartial?" His voice was low and incredulous. "You, Goddess," he sneered, "are the one that throws away the lives of her pilots without a thought and killed two hundred people who you were supposed to be protecting all because you were blinded by the need for revenge against the Vong for the death of your brothers."
Her first blow caught him solidly on the chin and he staggered back several steps. Jaina's second blow never connected, as her wrist was caught in firm and immobilizing grip before it could connect. The next blow, aimed at the person restraining her, was thwarted again with Jedi instincts. Kyp's face was cold, as he forced Jaina to face him. "Not now, Goddess." He shoved her towards the exit, without a backwards glance.
Please leave a review to let me know what you think about this update. All feedback is appreciated.