A/N: _Underscores_ mean italics, //two slashes// means "mind to mind" speech.
The Jedi reached the door of their destination with no problems. Using the Force, they managed to convince all possible threats to stay away from that particular corridor. Unfortunately, standing outside the door, they hit a snag. Jacen could feel the mind of the man behind that door. It was not a weak mind, and Jacen knew he would not be able to send him on his way. He motioned for Jaina and Tahiri to be completely silent and then reached out to Jaina in the Force.
//Any ideas?//
//Not really. We need to get him out of there, and I know that I'm not strong enough to do that.//
//Neither am I.//
//What if we made the battle meld like we did against the Vong? Tahiri and I could lend you strength.//
//I don't think that will be enough.//
//Perhaps it would be easier if he were distracted? One of us goes in as a diversion and you can make him suddenly decide to leave. Will that work?//
//It might.//
Tahiri tapped him on the shoulder and joined the conversation. //Jaina will be best for that.//
//Why?// The pilot demanded. Tahiri rolled her eyes. //Look at yourself.// Jaina complied and let out an exasperated sigh. "Always leave it to the girl with the most skin showing, right?" she hissed out loud. "That wasn't exactly the sort of distraction I was referring to."
//Still, that will be better than whatever you had in mind.// Jacen told her. //I'm guessing you were going to suggest running in there, lightsaber activated and a blaster in the other hand.// Jaina sighed quietly and ran a hand through her hair. She motioned for Jacen and Tahiri to stand in doorways where they could not be seen.
Jacen reached out with the Force and felt the other two do the same. The three minds joined, lending each other power. Jacen heard the slight buzz as Jaina pressed the door button. He held his breath when he heard the door open.
*********************
Jaina forced a suggestive smile on her face. She was hating herself right now. The door opened to reveal a tall, skinny man with an intelligent face. He gave her a surprised look and said, "Aren't you usually supposed to stay up where the customers are?" _Oh help. He thinks I'm a 'business girl.'_ She only smiled innocently, trying to assume the image of the role he thought she was. "Well," he continued, "why don't you come in? After all, it's been a boring day."
Jaina couldn't surpress a grimace of disgust, but thankfully it came when her back was to him. As she walked slowly into the office she was actively trying to maintain her connection with Jacen and Tahiri, but it was a very difficult thing to do. She felt a tremor through the Force and recognized it as Jacen searching the man's mind again. //Go ahead and pull out of the meld, Jaina. I can get him now.// Jaina didn't sigh in relief, but she wanted to.
Suddenly, the man stepped in front of her and slid his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. _Get me out of here!_ she silently cried. Though she wasn't speaking into the mind of her brother, Jacen seemed to get the jist of what she was thinking. Jaina braced herself as the man tilted her face up and leaned down. Centimeters away, he stopped and pulled back, looking puzzled. He released her and glanced around the office confusedly. "There was something I forgot to do," he murmured. "I need to go down to the.....to the....mechanics area for a few minutes." And then he was out the door.
Jacen and Tahiri came in a few seconds after to come face to face with a very angry Jaina Solo. Glaring daggers at Jacen, she snarled, "If you ever make me do that again, I swear I'm going to take you by the pants and shove you through a garbage disintigrator. Then I'm going to take whatever particles come out of that and burn them."
"Calm down, Jaina. We're all in here and he's out, and that's the important thing."
"Important, yes, but so is my need to retain my dignity."
"Sis, he doesn't even know who you are. Just get the file."
Still grumbling indignantly, the Jedi dropped into the chair before the computer and set about her task.
****************************
Tahiri could not express her relief in words when Jaina announced she had it. It had taken nearly two hours, and that was a long time for her to stay immersed in the Force while she and Jacen attempted to keep the room's previous occupant busy. For a moment after the two first pulled back into the world around them, a flicker of fatigue passed over Jacen's face, but he guarded it quickly. Jaina looked almost as tired as Tahiri felt. The colonel's eyes were watering from staring at the screen for so long, and she kept flexing her fingers in an attempt to get the circulation moving again.
"Come on," Tahiri said. "Let's get out of here." Jaina stood with a faint smile, but it vanished suddenly. "What?" Tahiri asked.
"I forgot about the brandy."
"We have more important things than brandy to worry about," Jacen hissed as he pulled her out the door into the corridor.
Into a corridor they had forgotten to mentally scan first.
"Hey!" someone cried before they had taken more than three steps. "What were you doing in there?"
//Run!// Jacen "shouted".
The three Jedi tore down the corridor towards the cantina. A moment later, red lights began flashing and a warning siren was screeching. Ahead of them, a few confused beings stumbled out into the hall only to be leapt over by the fleeing Jedi. A blaster bolt burned into the wall beside Tahiri's head. Three lightsabers snapped to life and were waved backwards to deflect any more incoming shots.
At last they reached the first room, only to be intercepted by the sabaac player. He started to reach for his blaster, but Tahiri's fist connected with and broke his nose before he could get it. They all shut down their blades and slapped open the door to the cantina. A number of shots followed them out and struck the overhead lights. Half of the room was plunged into darkness, made all the more disorienting by the screams of innocent patrons. They elbowed their way through the panicking crowd and escaped into the open street beyond. "Get to the hanger!" Jaina hissed as she led the way down the avenue. Behind them, terrorist operatives were still in pursuit.
Tahiri was instantly grateful that Jaina had insisted they stow all of the equipment before venturing into the base. All they had to do was get in their ships and take off. The first step, getting in, went smoothly, but bolts started flying again before they could get out of the hanger. Jaina's voice crackled over the comm. "Get off the ground! I'll hold them!" Fire rained from her quad guns, taking down a number of enemies. That was all Tahiri had a chance to see before she was in the air with Jacen beside her.
Once they had cleared the atmosphere, Tahiri tried vainly to twist in her cockpit to see if Jaina was following. "Watch your scope," Jacen told her. "We've got company." He was right. Seven blips appeared on the radar screen. As they came closer, Tahiri dove down into a wild evasive manuever. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, and the answer why was simple. Tahiri Veila was not and never would be a fighter pilot.
Almost immediately, an opposing B-wing started following at her tail. She managed to dodge the first few shots, but she knew she couldn't do so for very long. All of a sudden, lasers tore through the B-wing's hull, and Tahiri recognized the familiar facial profile of Jaina in her cockpit. "You're all clear, Tahiri, so try and stay that way."
Jaina rolled away. She was in her element. With a bit of help from Jacen and Tahiri, she had six of the seven down or disabled. She turned to make a last pass at the final one. Tahiri jerked her joystick around, just in time to see enemy fire rip through Jaina's sheilds and strike the right wing. Another blast hit the tail, and it looked like it had destroyed the sublight engines. "Jaina!" Jacen screamed over the comm.
The only response that met their ears was static.
************************
Jaina's ship bucked and went into a wild spin when the first shot hit. She didn't hesitate a moment as she threw one of the engines at full power and the other to an almost standstill in an attempt to break free. But then the second shot collided, and she lost all control of the ship. She began transmitting a distress signal, but she quickly found out it wasn't going to work any time soon.
Cappie let out a frenzied squeal. The monitor showed that Jaina was headed straight towards the planet. Through the corner of her eye she saw the last ship blossom into flames. Well, that was one good thing at least. Her passage was already rough, but it became even more so when she entered the atmosphere again. It was so bad her teeth started rattling.
Jaina finally managed to pull out of the spin using the Force. What few sensors she still had were showing her an impact point, and it wasn't far. In a final, desperate attempt, Jaina managed to extend the landing struts and turned the repulsorlifts all the way up to help cushion the collision. It made some but not enough difference, so she employed the Force to slow the craft.
Her teeth gritted, and she braced herself against the walls of her cockpit as she approached the impact point. The landing struts caught on a pile of boulders and snapped off like twigs. Jaina vaguely felt herself thrown forward into the console and the hatch despite the crash webbing strapped around her.
After that, it was only darkness.....................
The Jedi reached the door of their destination with no problems. Using the Force, they managed to convince all possible threats to stay away from that particular corridor. Unfortunately, standing outside the door, they hit a snag. Jacen could feel the mind of the man behind that door. It was not a weak mind, and Jacen knew he would not be able to send him on his way. He motioned for Jaina and Tahiri to be completely silent and then reached out to Jaina in the Force.
//Any ideas?//
//Not really. We need to get him out of there, and I know that I'm not strong enough to do that.//
//Neither am I.//
//What if we made the battle meld like we did against the Vong? Tahiri and I could lend you strength.//
//I don't think that will be enough.//
//Perhaps it would be easier if he were distracted? One of us goes in as a diversion and you can make him suddenly decide to leave. Will that work?//
//It might.//
Tahiri tapped him on the shoulder and joined the conversation. //Jaina will be best for that.//
//Why?// The pilot demanded. Tahiri rolled her eyes. //Look at yourself.// Jaina complied and let out an exasperated sigh. "Always leave it to the girl with the most skin showing, right?" she hissed out loud. "That wasn't exactly the sort of distraction I was referring to."
//Still, that will be better than whatever you had in mind.// Jacen told her. //I'm guessing you were going to suggest running in there, lightsaber activated and a blaster in the other hand.// Jaina sighed quietly and ran a hand through her hair. She motioned for Jacen and Tahiri to stand in doorways where they could not be seen.
Jacen reached out with the Force and felt the other two do the same. The three minds joined, lending each other power. Jacen heard the slight buzz as Jaina pressed the door button. He held his breath when he heard the door open.
*********************
Jaina forced a suggestive smile on her face. She was hating herself right now. The door opened to reveal a tall, skinny man with an intelligent face. He gave her a surprised look and said, "Aren't you usually supposed to stay up where the customers are?" _Oh help. He thinks I'm a 'business girl.'_ She only smiled innocently, trying to assume the image of the role he thought she was. "Well," he continued, "why don't you come in? After all, it's been a boring day."
Jaina couldn't surpress a grimace of disgust, but thankfully it came when her back was to him. As she walked slowly into the office she was actively trying to maintain her connection with Jacen and Tahiri, but it was a very difficult thing to do. She felt a tremor through the Force and recognized it as Jacen searching the man's mind again. //Go ahead and pull out of the meld, Jaina. I can get him now.// Jaina didn't sigh in relief, but she wanted to.
Suddenly, the man stepped in front of her and slid his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. _Get me out of here!_ she silently cried. Though she wasn't speaking into the mind of her brother, Jacen seemed to get the jist of what she was thinking. Jaina braced herself as the man tilted her face up and leaned down. Centimeters away, he stopped and pulled back, looking puzzled. He released her and glanced around the office confusedly. "There was something I forgot to do," he murmured. "I need to go down to the.....to the....mechanics area for a few minutes." And then he was out the door.
Jacen and Tahiri came in a few seconds after to come face to face with a very angry Jaina Solo. Glaring daggers at Jacen, she snarled, "If you ever make me do that again, I swear I'm going to take you by the pants and shove you through a garbage disintigrator. Then I'm going to take whatever particles come out of that and burn them."
"Calm down, Jaina. We're all in here and he's out, and that's the important thing."
"Important, yes, but so is my need to retain my dignity."
"Sis, he doesn't even know who you are. Just get the file."
Still grumbling indignantly, the Jedi dropped into the chair before the computer and set about her task.
****************************
Tahiri could not express her relief in words when Jaina announced she had it. It had taken nearly two hours, and that was a long time for her to stay immersed in the Force while she and Jacen attempted to keep the room's previous occupant busy. For a moment after the two first pulled back into the world around them, a flicker of fatigue passed over Jacen's face, but he guarded it quickly. Jaina looked almost as tired as Tahiri felt. The colonel's eyes were watering from staring at the screen for so long, and she kept flexing her fingers in an attempt to get the circulation moving again.
"Come on," Tahiri said. "Let's get out of here." Jaina stood with a faint smile, but it vanished suddenly. "What?" Tahiri asked.
"I forgot about the brandy."
"We have more important things than brandy to worry about," Jacen hissed as he pulled her out the door into the corridor.
Into a corridor they had forgotten to mentally scan first.
"Hey!" someone cried before they had taken more than three steps. "What were you doing in there?"
//Run!// Jacen "shouted".
The three Jedi tore down the corridor towards the cantina. A moment later, red lights began flashing and a warning siren was screeching. Ahead of them, a few confused beings stumbled out into the hall only to be leapt over by the fleeing Jedi. A blaster bolt burned into the wall beside Tahiri's head. Three lightsabers snapped to life and were waved backwards to deflect any more incoming shots.
At last they reached the first room, only to be intercepted by the sabaac player. He started to reach for his blaster, but Tahiri's fist connected with and broke his nose before he could get it. They all shut down their blades and slapped open the door to the cantina. A number of shots followed them out and struck the overhead lights. Half of the room was plunged into darkness, made all the more disorienting by the screams of innocent patrons. They elbowed their way through the panicking crowd and escaped into the open street beyond. "Get to the hanger!" Jaina hissed as she led the way down the avenue. Behind them, terrorist operatives were still in pursuit.
Tahiri was instantly grateful that Jaina had insisted they stow all of the equipment before venturing into the base. All they had to do was get in their ships and take off. The first step, getting in, went smoothly, but bolts started flying again before they could get out of the hanger. Jaina's voice crackled over the comm. "Get off the ground! I'll hold them!" Fire rained from her quad guns, taking down a number of enemies. That was all Tahiri had a chance to see before she was in the air with Jacen beside her.
Once they had cleared the atmosphere, Tahiri tried vainly to twist in her cockpit to see if Jaina was following. "Watch your scope," Jacen told her. "We've got company." He was right. Seven blips appeared on the radar screen. As they came closer, Tahiri dove down into a wild evasive manuever. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, and the answer why was simple. Tahiri Veila was not and never would be a fighter pilot.
Almost immediately, an opposing B-wing started following at her tail. She managed to dodge the first few shots, but she knew she couldn't do so for very long. All of a sudden, lasers tore through the B-wing's hull, and Tahiri recognized the familiar facial profile of Jaina in her cockpit. "You're all clear, Tahiri, so try and stay that way."
Jaina rolled away. She was in her element. With a bit of help from Jacen and Tahiri, she had six of the seven down or disabled. She turned to make a last pass at the final one. Tahiri jerked her joystick around, just in time to see enemy fire rip through Jaina's sheilds and strike the right wing. Another blast hit the tail, and it looked like it had destroyed the sublight engines. "Jaina!" Jacen screamed over the comm.
The only response that met their ears was static.
************************
Jaina's ship bucked and went into a wild spin when the first shot hit. She didn't hesitate a moment as she threw one of the engines at full power and the other to an almost standstill in an attempt to break free. But then the second shot collided, and she lost all control of the ship. She began transmitting a distress signal, but she quickly found out it wasn't going to work any time soon.
Cappie let out a frenzied squeal. The monitor showed that Jaina was headed straight towards the planet. Through the corner of her eye she saw the last ship blossom into flames. Well, that was one good thing at least. Her passage was already rough, but it became even more so when she entered the atmosphere again. It was so bad her teeth started rattling.
Jaina finally managed to pull out of the spin using the Force. What few sensors she still had were showing her an impact point, and it wasn't far. In a final, desperate attempt, Jaina managed to extend the landing struts and turned the repulsorlifts all the way up to help cushion the collision. It made some but not enough difference, so she employed the Force to slow the craft.
Her teeth gritted, and she braced herself against the walls of her cockpit as she approached the impact point. The landing struts caught on a pile of boulders and snapped off like twigs. Jaina vaguely felt herself thrown forward into the console and the hatch despite the crash webbing strapped around her.
After that, it was only darkness.....................