Jag stood on the ground beside his clawcraft, glad to breathe fresh air again. Jacen walked over, stretching muscles stiff from the flight. "Seems like I was just here," he said lightly. Jag only gave a small grunt acknowledging that he heard. Jacen said nothing more, his attempt at levity failing utterly. He also remembered the last time he was on Bakura. While not really a near death experience, he didn't like that close of a brush with entechment.
When the _Shadow_ landed, both men headed towards the entrance ramp and into the cockpit. Mara sat staring intently at the console, at the comm unit specifically. Somewhere beyond their sight, Kyp was performing a quick check to try and locate Jaina's downed craft. For a long time there was nothing, but then a burst of static met their ears. Jag growled impatiently before the sound cleared.
"I think I've found her ship," Kyp's voice crackled. "There's a small settlement not too far away. I suggest we start there. Even if Jaina's not there, the people may know something about the crash."
"How far away is it?" Mara asked.
"Not very. About fifty kilometers from your current position. I'm sending the coordinates of her ship. I'm going to do a bit more scanning, so don't take too long."
"We won't," Jag responded. He and Jacen were out of the ship at a run and into their own snubfighters. Mara's voice came over the comm. "Here are the coordinates from Kyp. The _Shadow_ is too big to just sit down in the middle of anywhere, and there don't appear to be any other spaceports over there. You two go ahead. I'll go on a speeder bike, but it will take me a bit longer. I'll catch up."
"All right, Mara," Jacen said. "We'll see you shortly."
*************************
Chev leaned against a small boulder and watched the beautiful girl nearby. She was fiddling with a portable comm unit that she had salvaged from the ship a few hours before. She had been attempting to fix it well enough to get one of the Republic military channels, even though Chev was under the impression she had already found a way to contact them.
During the few days she had been there, Chev managed to get her to talk quite a bit about herself, and he had to admit to himself that he was intrigued. He quickly stopped thinking of this young woman as Colonel Solo. After all, she never mentioned any husband or fiance. It was true that she might be slightly out of his league, being the daughter of the former Chief of State and all, but most of the galaxy's social structure had become disorganized after the recent war. She was witty, intelligent, and more beautiful than most women he knew.
"What are you staring at?" she asked suddenly, a hint of irritation in her voice.
"Nothing." He dropped his gaze, flushing slightly. She turned back to the machine before her on the grass. As soon as she was turned away from him, Chev went back to staring at her.
Without warning, they heard the whine of an ion engine coming from the south. Jaina jerked her head around. She leapt to her feet, shielding her eyes from the sun. Then she dove for the comm and called into it, "Republic X-wing craft, do you copy? This is Colonel Solo. Repeat, do you copy? My ship is down and I require assistance." She repeated this several times, but there was no answer. She threw the unit to the ground with a surprisingly colorful oath.
A few minutes later, the x-wing returned, flying low. Jaina jumped up and down, waving her arms and shouting, but the craft didn't stop. She gave the unit a solid kick before saying, "I give up. They're not going to stop if I keep at it like this. Let's go back." She picked up the comm, which now sported a large dent in one side.
On their way back to the house, they passed the abandoned x-wing. Jaina gave the battered hull an affectionate pat, though Chev detected a faint hint of sadness in the gesture.
As they passed through the clearing caused by the collision, Chev once again heard the sound of engines, though this time it seemed slightly different. "Twin ions," Jaina murmured, cocking her head to one side to listen.
"What?"
"TIE fighter. You can tell by that distinctive whine. But normal TIE fighters are usually a bit more screaming than that." At that moment, the ship came in sight. Before it was another - or perhaps the same - x-wing, but the other craft was unlike anything Chev had seen before. It did look slightly like the TIEs he had seen in holos, but not very much. "What was that?" he asked when the two ships had vanished above the trees.
"Chiss clawcraft!" Her cheeks were flushed and she was grinning.
"Chiss?! What are they doing here?"
"Come on, Jag! Don't let me down!" she hissed, almost too softly for Jag to hear.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. Chev expected her to continue on, but instead she climbed precariously onto what used to be the starboard wing of the ship and squinted as well as she could across the trees. They were tall, and surely couldn't give her a good view.
To Chev's immense surprise, the ships came back, three of them. One came in slowly, only a few feet above the trees. Chev could see the figure within pointed off in the direction of the other two. He didn't quite understand, but Jaina obviously did. She hopped down and fell to her knees with a grunt of pain when she landed. "I forgot about that," she groaned. Chev helped her back to her feet. "That was my brother! We're supposed to go over there," she told him. "I think back to that open field where we were before."
"Makeshift landing pad?"
"Something like that. Come on."
********************
Jag's ship was barely on the ground before he leapt to the ground below. He struggled a bit with his helmet. Yes, he had seen Jaina from the sky, but he was still worried about her. Mara said she was injured. His anxiety made his gloved fingers clumsy. When he finally managed to jerk it off and look up, Jaina was running out of the trees. Well, running wasn't the best word for it. She was partially bent over, one arm clutched awkwardly over her lower ribcage. That wasn't a good sign.
Jacen reached her first. He pulled his sister into a tight hug, but not too tight so as to hurt her further. The young Jedi could also tell she was in pain. Kyp clapped her boisterously on the back, hard enough that she winced and jerked away from him. Jag stepped forward and offered her a tight handshake. "Colonel Solo," he said in way of greeting. Jaina accepted the hand with a faint sigh of understanding. "Where's Mara?" she asked.
"She was coming by on a speeder bike," Kyp said. "And it's a good thing. Your ship looks pretty much totaled."
"It is."
When Jacen and Kyp turned to introduce themselves to the young man following Jaina, Jag slid his arm around her shoulders and murmured in her ear, "I'm glad you're safe."
"That's good to hear, but I suppose it's against the rules to show it?" Jag was a little stung by her tone, but he didn't have a chance to respond. He dropped his arm once the two Jedi started turning around. "And this is Colonel Fel of the Chiss fleet," Jacen was saying. Jag offered a short nod but said nothing.
At that moment, they heard the speeder bike engine, and Mara came into view. She hugged Jaina tightly, earning a groan of, "Ow, Mara. That hurts!" Mara released her looking a bit sheepish. She looked over her niece carefully. "How badly are you injured? You didn't tell me any details before."
"A few ribs and an arm. Nothing Tekli can't take care of. It's not that bad."
"Thank goodness. I was worried."
"Well, no point in standing around," Jacen interrupted. "General Antilles will want us to be back as soon as possible, so I suggest we hurry up and get out of here."
"Okay," Jaina agreed.
**********************
Chev watched silently as the three men climbed back into their ships. Jaina walked towards the speeder bike. Halfway there, she turned around. She elbowed the red haired woman and said, "Can you hang on a second?" Without waiting for an answer, she came back over the Chev. She was silent a moment before she said, "I just want to tell you how truly grateful I am for all of your help. And tell that to your parents, too. If it hadn't been for you three, I don't think I would have been able to get out of the crash alive. I'm never going to forget what you did for me."
And with that she spun on her heel and ran back to the older woman, who was tapping her foot impatiently. Chev felt a bit empty as he watched them disappear from sight. What had he been expecting? That she would refuse to leave? That she would kiss, or at least hug, him goodbye? "A silly notion, really," he growled to himself, but the thought didn't help.
*************************
En route to the landing pad, Jaina and Mara got a call from Kyp saying that they were already there and would meet them in orbit. Mara moved the bike into a higher gear so as to save time, and the fifty kilometer trip was over in almost exactly thirty-five minutes. Jaina had never been so glad to see the _Shadow_ in her entire life. She helped Mara stow the bike in the cargo hatch before going over to the entrance ramp.
Out of nowhere, something struck Mara between the shoulder blades, throwing her to the ground. Jaina whipped around, lightsaber in hand in time to hear a voice scream out, "_Jeedai!_"
When the _Shadow_ landed, both men headed towards the entrance ramp and into the cockpit. Mara sat staring intently at the console, at the comm unit specifically. Somewhere beyond their sight, Kyp was performing a quick check to try and locate Jaina's downed craft. For a long time there was nothing, but then a burst of static met their ears. Jag growled impatiently before the sound cleared.
"I think I've found her ship," Kyp's voice crackled. "There's a small settlement not too far away. I suggest we start there. Even if Jaina's not there, the people may know something about the crash."
"How far away is it?" Mara asked.
"Not very. About fifty kilometers from your current position. I'm sending the coordinates of her ship. I'm going to do a bit more scanning, so don't take too long."
"We won't," Jag responded. He and Jacen were out of the ship at a run and into their own snubfighters. Mara's voice came over the comm. "Here are the coordinates from Kyp. The _Shadow_ is too big to just sit down in the middle of anywhere, and there don't appear to be any other spaceports over there. You two go ahead. I'll go on a speeder bike, but it will take me a bit longer. I'll catch up."
"All right, Mara," Jacen said. "We'll see you shortly."
*************************
Chev leaned against a small boulder and watched the beautiful girl nearby. She was fiddling with a portable comm unit that she had salvaged from the ship a few hours before. She had been attempting to fix it well enough to get one of the Republic military channels, even though Chev was under the impression she had already found a way to contact them.
During the few days she had been there, Chev managed to get her to talk quite a bit about herself, and he had to admit to himself that he was intrigued. He quickly stopped thinking of this young woman as Colonel Solo. After all, she never mentioned any husband or fiance. It was true that she might be slightly out of his league, being the daughter of the former Chief of State and all, but most of the galaxy's social structure had become disorganized after the recent war. She was witty, intelligent, and more beautiful than most women he knew.
"What are you staring at?" she asked suddenly, a hint of irritation in her voice.
"Nothing." He dropped his gaze, flushing slightly. She turned back to the machine before her on the grass. As soon as she was turned away from him, Chev went back to staring at her.
Without warning, they heard the whine of an ion engine coming from the south. Jaina jerked her head around. She leapt to her feet, shielding her eyes from the sun. Then she dove for the comm and called into it, "Republic X-wing craft, do you copy? This is Colonel Solo. Repeat, do you copy? My ship is down and I require assistance." She repeated this several times, but there was no answer. She threw the unit to the ground with a surprisingly colorful oath.
A few minutes later, the x-wing returned, flying low. Jaina jumped up and down, waving her arms and shouting, but the craft didn't stop. She gave the unit a solid kick before saying, "I give up. They're not going to stop if I keep at it like this. Let's go back." She picked up the comm, which now sported a large dent in one side.
On their way back to the house, they passed the abandoned x-wing. Jaina gave the battered hull an affectionate pat, though Chev detected a faint hint of sadness in the gesture.
As they passed through the clearing caused by the collision, Chev once again heard the sound of engines, though this time it seemed slightly different. "Twin ions," Jaina murmured, cocking her head to one side to listen.
"What?"
"TIE fighter. You can tell by that distinctive whine. But normal TIE fighters are usually a bit more screaming than that." At that moment, the ship came in sight. Before it was another - or perhaps the same - x-wing, but the other craft was unlike anything Chev had seen before. It did look slightly like the TIEs he had seen in holos, but not very much. "What was that?" he asked when the two ships had vanished above the trees.
"Chiss clawcraft!" Her cheeks were flushed and she was grinning.
"Chiss?! What are they doing here?"
"Come on, Jag! Don't let me down!" she hissed, almost too softly for Jag to hear.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. Chev expected her to continue on, but instead she climbed precariously onto what used to be the starboard wing of the ship and squinted as well as she could across the trees. They were tall, and surely couldn't give her a good view.
To Chev's immense surprise, the ships came back, three of them. One came in slowly, only a few feet above the trees. Chev could see the figure within pointed off in the direction of the other two. He didn't quite understand, but Jaina obviously did. She hopped down and fell to her knees with a grunt of pain when she landed. "I forgot about that," she groaned. Chev helped her back to her feet. "That was my brother! We're supposed to go over there," she told him. "I think back to that open field where we were before."
"Makeshift landing pad?"
"Something like that. Come on."
********************
Jag's ship was barely on the ground before he leapt to the ground below. He struggled a bit with his helmet. Yes, he had seen Jaina from the sky, but he was still worried about her. Mara said she was injured. His anxiety made his gloved fingers clumsy. When he finally managed to jerk it off and look up, Jaina was running out of the trees. Well, running wasn't the best word for it. She was partially bent over, one arm clutched awkwardly over her lower ribcage. That wasn't a good sign.
Jacen reached her first. He pulled his sister into a tight hug, but not too tight so as to hurt her further. The young Jedi could also tell she was in pain. Kyp clapped her boisterously on the back, hard enough that she winced and jerked away from him. Jag stepped forward and offered her a tight handshake. "Colonel Solo," he said in way of greeting. Jaina accepted the hand with a faint sigh of understanding. "Where's Mara?" she asked.
"She was coming by on a speeder bike," Kyp said. "And it's a good thing. Your ship looks pretty much totaled."
"It is."
When Jacen and Kyp turned to introduce themselves to the young man following Jaina, Jag slid his arm around her shoulders and murmured in her ear, "I'm glad you're safe."
"That's good to hear, but I suppose it's against the rules to show it?" Jag was a little stung by her tone, but he didn't have a chance to respond. He dropped his arm once the two Jedi started turning around. "And this is Colonel Fel of the Chiss fleet," Jacen was saying. Jag offered a short nod but said nothing.
At that moment, they heard the speeder bike engine, and Mara came into view. She hugged Jaina tightly, earning a groan of, "Ow, Mara. That hurts!" Mara released her looking a bit sheepish. She looked over her niece carefully. "How badly are you injured? You didn't tell me any details before."
"A few ribs and an arm. Nothing Tekli can't take care of. It's not that bad."
"Thank goodness. I was worried."
"Well, no point in standing around," Jacen interrupted. "General Antilles will want us to be back as soon as possible, so I suggest we hurry up and get out of here."
"Okay," Jaina agreed.
**********************
Chev watched silently as the three men climbed back into their ships. Jaina walked towards the speeder bike. Halfway there, she turned around. She elbowed the red haired woman and said, "Can you hang on a second?" Without waiting for an answer, she came back over the Chev. She was silent a moment before she said, "I just want to tell you how truly grateful I am for all of your help. And tell that to your parents, too. If it hadn't been for you three, I don't think I would have been able to get out of the crash alive. I'm never going to forget what you did for me."
And with that she spun on her heel and ran back to the older woman, who was tapping her foot impatiently. Chev felt a bit empty as he watched them disappear from sight. What had he been expecting? That she would refuse to leave? That she would kiss, or at least hug, him goodbye? "A silly notion, really," he growled to himself, but the thought didn't help.
*************************
En route to the landing pad, Jaina and Mara got a call from Kyp saying that they were already there and would meet them in orbit. Mara moved the bike into a higher gear so as to save time, and the fifty kilometer trip was over in almost exactly thirty-five minutes. Jaina had never been so glad to see the _Shadow_ in her entire life. She helped Mara stow the bike in the cargo hatch before going over to the entrance ramp.
Out of nowhere, something struck Mara between the shoulder blades, throwing her to the ground. Jaina whipped around, lightsaber in hand in time to hear a voice scream out, "_Jeedai!_"