Disclaimer: See the first chapter
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been pretty busy in RL lately. I'm trying, as always to get back on a more regular posting schedule.
As her twin's powerful words blared from the speakers all across the Star Destroyer's control center, Jaina was galvanized into action. It was her nature to be in motion and her twin's challenge to Shimrra was not enough to change that basic reaction. Hesitating only long enough to coordinate the orders for the ships directly under her command with Slarne and to give him a few other secondary orders, Jaina ran towards the turbolift. She didn't even question how Jacen had managed to 'procure' a B-wing, as her focus shifted in an instant from the larger battle to concentrate on the smaller, but suddenly much more important fight. The Force was telling her that Jacen's duel was the only thing of true importance at the moment and she would listen.
The only words that she uttered as she stepped into the waiting turbolift were, "Have my x-wing prepped."
Jaina flew with the singleminded determination and unerring focus that made her one of the best pilots that the GFFA boasted. Skips simply couldn't match her maneuvers and gouts of molten plasma went wide around her as she dove towards the enormous monstrosity that had drawn her twin in, in the midst of the chaos of the battle, to duel Shimrra.
She approached the massive tentacled vessel with more than a hint of apprehension. She would've had to be insane to face this vessel fearlessly and now Jaina had far too much to lose to be fearless. That was why this had to be done perfectly.
She remembered as she studied her monstrous opponent, how she had felt as 16, launching herself at Landro's asteroid field at full speed. She had been proud and determined to prove herself there. Nothing had been able to touch her that day. She let that memory wash over her and Jaina felt a wild, defiant grin begin to spread over her face. She looked up from her tactical console and out at the destructive flailing tentacles.
Jaina shoved the throttle as far forward as it would go and she felt her x- wing jump forwards with the surge of power. She waited, following a straight course towards Shimrra's vessel, until the tentacles flung towards her. Jaina's reaction was pure instincet. If she had hesitated- even for a fraction of a second to plan her evasive maneuvers- then she would already have been so much space dust.
She responded to the attack by cutting sharply down and away. Her astromech screamed in protest, in the next instant, as she cut all power to her engines and fell into the dive. However, the tentacled vessel hadn't accounted for her sudden loss of velocity and the tentacles flailed harmlessly past her.
She took advantage of her moment of reprieve to send her x-wing surging forwards again. As another tentacle lashed towards her x-wing, Jaina suddenly yawed away from it. Then she was under the vast vessel, mostly away from the tentacles and the spitting acid. She yanked the stick of her x-wing back and angled it up towards the underside of the Vong vessel. Without trepidation Jaina watched the underside of the vessel grow larger and larger, filling more and more of the view outside of her cockpit.
Her only action was to tilt the nose of her x-wing farther upwards so that it was climbing 'upwards' at about a 60 degree angle with the belly of the Vong vessel. She counted down the long seconds steadily, with each of her hands poised over different controls. She waited as her collision warning system blared in the noise of eminent danger and held her course past the point of no return. The instant after the last moment, she simultaneously fired all of her torpedoes and pulled the ejection lever.
Jagged Fel tensed abruptly as Jacen's challenge filted over the frequencies. Only one word flashed through his mind. Jaina. She would respond immediately to Jacen's challenge--he couldn't believe that she would allow him to challenge Shimrra.
Almost without thinking, Jag gave the order for his second in command to take over the squadron. Shimrra's bold decleration had taken away any need for him to convey that information to Pellaeon and the Spikes had already joined in the main fight. He also had a feeling that Jaina might need him more at the moment.
He tucked his clawcraft around in a turn that would have caused any x-wing pilot to blackout. As he headed quickly back towards the Insider's Star Destroyer, he threaded his way through the mass of skips and starfighters engaged in the en masse fighter duels, engaging in a fight only when he couldn't in good conscience pass it up. It took as much talent to bypass the skips intent on vaping him as it would have to survive a duel with them.
By the time that he was approaching the Star Destroyer, Jag had several skips tailing him in an entourage of destruction. He juked and jinked away from their attacks, cutting and spiraling into evasive maneuvers, as he attempted to contract the Star Destroyer. There was still no response to his request to land aboard the Destroyer as its gunners finally began to target the skips attacking him. A slight beeping on his tactical board caught his attention almost instantly. It was the signal for a pilot in distress-one that Jag had become all too familiar with in his years of fighting.
It was the identity of the person in distress that caught his attention. The x-wing was designated as belonging to Twin Suns Leader. That could only mean Jaina. He watched in that moment as her x-wing grew closer and closer to the underbelly of Shimrra's vessel. He wasn't even paying attention to the Vong who were firing on him. He waited, holding his breath, expection Jaina to pull away at any moment. And then she didn't.
The blip representing Jaina and the blip representing the Vong vessel merged on his console. Jag's fist slammed into his thigh as Jaina's ship exploded into the underside of the Vong ship in a massive explosion.