--A/T and a little K/J, hm? Nice.
--still don't own any Star Wars characters. It's not like you can just buy them off eBay.
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"Got you, hero boy!"
Anakin heard Tahiri's words, but let them slip to the back of his mind as he concentrated on the rather more urgent problem of her electric blue blade fast approaching his neck. She hadn't been fooled by his feint a moment earlier; merely ignored it and casually knocked his blade sideways as she slashed her own upwards. But before the lightsabre could cut through his neck, Anakin quickly brought his own amethyst blade up inside of Tahiri's, knocking hers out and down towards the stone tiles of the training room.
Surprised by the force of her friend's parry, Tahiri couldn't lift her blade again in time, and instead disengaged the power before it sliced through the floor. She glanced at the now useless hilt in her hand, then at the point of Anakin's violet-silver blade hovering mere inches from her nose. She narrowed her eyes at Anakin's cocky grin and, as he brought the lightsabre down, she clipped her own to her utility belt and took a step backwards.
"Nice try, Tahiri," Anakin said, still with the same cocky grin on his face – obviously inherited from his father; why had she never noticed it before? "But never underestimate your opponent."
"I didn't underestimate you," she shot back, trying to cover for her sudden embarrassment. Embarrassed? Why am I embarrassed? This was Anakin, she shouldn't feel embarrassed around him about anything, even messing up in a duel. Right? "I just… thought I had you there."
Anakin shook his head and wiped a hand across his brow, grimacing at the sweat and grime on his hand; they had obviously been training longer than he'd thought. "Always prepare for the worst eventuality; never think you 'have' your opponent. That's when he turns and slashes at you, when you least expect it."
"I suppose you know that from personal experience, huh?" There was a note of jealousy, wistfulness, in Tahiri's voice. "When you're out fighting the Vong, one-on-one, protecting the galaxy. Right?"
Anakin sighed. "Yeah," he said flatly, without elaborating.
"And I suppose," Tahiri continued in a resigned tone of voice, "you don't want to tell me about it."
"Not really."
There was a short pause, and, after a moment, Tahiri sighed exasperatedly. "Anakin you've been here almost a week already and you haven't told me anything about it all. All we do is train, and you teach me to fight, which, OK, I'm grateful for, but you have to tell me stuff as well! Like what's it's like to fight them, and what it felt like, and just… what they're like."
Anakin sighed again and stepped back, so he was leaning against the cool stone wall. He glanced up, realising with a jolt how low he actually had to look now, and met Tahiri's sparkling green gaze. He frowned slightly. "You really want to know?"
"Of course I do!" She glared back at him mockingly. "And I won't leave you alone until you tell me."
"You won't leave me alone anyway," Anakin reminded her.
"No," she admitted. "But tell me!"
"It's not exciting, Tahiri, it's…" He squeezed his eyes shut as images flashed through his mind; memories of Dantooine, Ithor, Duro; fighting, always fighting, always slashing and blocking and running, warriors everywhere, scars and tattoos, spots of nothing in the Force, and always fighting. And yet when he wasn't fighting, it was almost worse – it was debates, arguments, politics, and always the price of fighting would weigh down on him. If he'd fought more, he could have saved more, he knew. Fighting and killing saved people; ironic, but proven and true. But the fighting, the Yuuzhan Vong, the fear… It's all too much, the cost, and is it worth it in the end?
"It has to be… doesn't it?" Tahiri asked in a whisper.
Anakin's eyes shot open; he had forgotten where he was, that Tahiri was even there. He swallowed hard and tried to banish the thoughts and memories, tried to concentrate on the present. It was working, or at least he thought it was – he was suddenly finding himself distracted by how much closer Tahiri was now compared to when he'd last looked. The horror in her eyes, too, and the nervous way she chewed her bottom lip.
"Worth it," she added. "But it's awful…"
"You saw?"
She nodded, and tapped a finger against the side of her head. "In here. Or…" She reached up and touched Anakin's forehead, and he swallowed at the familiar – or was it? – closeness. "Maybe in here. It's hard to tell sometimes," she added with an apologetic smile.
"Yeah. All mixed up," Anakin agreed, his eyes refusing to leave Tahiri's.
There was a long silence, almost uncomfortable; strange, thought Anakin.
"Is it… really that bad?" Tahiri asked suddenly, her voice so much smaller than normal.
"Most of the time. It's better in space… in a fighter… but it's war, Tahiri. It's really a war, and we're really fighting for our lives."
"If it's that bad out there, what are you still doing here then, dummy?" she asked, trying to joke, but her shaking voice hinted at her worry.
Anakin shrugged. "I guess Kyp feels guilty about the Academy. Stranger things have happened." Only an instant later, he realised what he should have said: To make sure you stay safe. That was why he came, after all… But then, wouldn't Tahiri have been indignant if he'd said that? He didn't know. He didn't like not knowing; he'd never had to think and worry about what to say around Tahiri at all before – that is, when he ever got a word in edgeways.
"Oh," Tahiri replied simply. That, too, was strange.
Another uncomfortable silence stretched into a few long moments. Anakin tried to think of something to say, since it seemed Tahiri had slipped into a rare silence. Nothing came to mind. "Um," he tried, "maybe we should get back up to the rec room, or something. It must almost…" He trailed off, frowning.
Tahiri poked him in the shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know…" He glanced round the training room, but it was empty apart from him and Tahiri. "Something's… happening…"
Tahiri closed her eyes and Anakin felt her stretch out with her mind. He did the same, combining his senses with hers, and together they used the Force to try and find out what was going on.
They could feel the other trainees, some relaxing in their rooms, some pretending to relax in the rec room with the Dozen pilots and Ikrit. Tionne and Kam were in the dining hall, mostly preparing the evening meal with the help of the server droid, partly… being mushy, Anakin realised with disgust, and he heard Tahiri giggle beside him.
He nudged her mind with his – or was it the other way round? – and stretched further out. They sensed Jaina in the hangar, working on her X-wing, faintly annoyed – and, deep down, amused – at something. Kyp was there too, presumably working on his own X-wing, though he seemed to be mostly annoying Jaina.
Even further out, there were the many plants and animals of the jungle moon, all hunting, sleeping, living, in a rhythm that would break for no one. And then the comforting life faded as the two young Jedi – but almost one mind – reached out into space. It was harder, fainter, but the Force still existed even in vacuum, and they drew from its power as they continued searching for whatever disturbance there was.
And then they found it. A few hundred kilometres out from the moon, two of the Dozen pilots – Nym Stanta and Adi Tallen, they thought, though they couldn't be sure – were on patrol. But their minds were tainted with surprise, and a little fear, and as Anakin and Tahiri reached out even further, they felt – nothing.
Tahiri stumbled as Anakin broke their bond suddenly, and he caught her arm even as he leaned back against the wall to steady himself.
"What – what was that?" Tahiri asked, eyes wide.
"Yuuzhan Vong," Anakin replied, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "They're here. I think," he added, though he knew with absolute certainty that they were.
"What do we do now? No one's here to get the students yet."
Anakin sensed fear in Tahiri, but he couldn't be sure whether it was for herself, or the other trainees. "Come on," he said quickly, turning to leave the room. "We have to tell Kam and Tionne to get the other students ready for… something."
"How long will it be until someone gets here, then?" Tahiri asked nervously as she ran with Anakin to the turbolift.
"I don't know. I couldn't… we couldn't sense Karrde out there, but he could just be on the other side of Yavin."
"What'll you do?"
Anakin stopped suddenly at that, then shook his head and reached out to hit the turbolift call button. "Fight again, I guess," he answered slowly, as the doors opened and the two of them stepped into the 'lift.
"In space? With the Dozen?"
Anakin hesitated. "I… don't know. Yes. This time."
"And then what?" Tahiri was staring at him, and it made him a little nervous. "Will you just leave again afterwards, off to save the galaxy in the way that only Anakin Solo can?"
"What are you getting at?" Tahiri's tone not only made him nervous, but slightly defensive. "I have to fight."
"Why?"
Anakin couldn't believe it. Why was she questioning him all of a sudden, at a moment like this? "I just have to. For the galaxy." And for you.
Tahiri frowned slightly, but didn't ask again.
When the turbolift reached the same level as the rec room, the two of them stepped out into the corridor and listened for a moment. They could hear the noise from just a little way down the corridor; laughing and joking as the youngest Jedi trainees tried to get the pilots to play with them "jus' like unkie Nym", and the older ones talked among themselves.
Anakin put a hand on Tahiri's arm to stop her from entering the room, and nodded his head down the corridor. "Let's check the comm. room first…"
Normally, there would be someone on duty in the communications room at all times, but when the regular staff had left the Academy a few weeks earlier, it had been left to whoever had free time to stay in there. At the moment, Anakin could sense the room was empty, so he and Tahiri quickly made their way down the corridor and into it.
"Someone's trying to get through," Tahiri noted, pointing towards an urgent flashing light on the switchboard.
Anakin hurried over and flipped the comm, grimacing as Nym's voice came through.
"Finally, stang, you Jedi ought to man that thing more often. And Lead really shouldn't leave his comm in his room so much."
Anakin rolled his eyes. Obviously not too urgent, then. Yet. "What's going on out there, Nym? We sensed something…"
"Spooky Jedi. Actually, this is serious. About twenty minutes ago, a Yuuzhan Vong fleet dropped out of hyperspace, a couple hundred kilometres from the eighth moon."
The eighth moon…
"Lyric," Tahiri whispered.
"She'll be fine," Anakin assured her, turning his attention back to the comm. "Have they engaged you?"
"I'll avoid the obvious pun and just say no, they don't know we're here. We decided to stay out here and keep watch, but when no one answered their comms at all, we almost thought we'd have to come back and physically tell you."
"Don't bother with that. Stay out there and keep watching them, and comm us again if they move any closer."
"Well, they're already moving at a fairly steady rate. As in, they'll reach Yavin 4 in about, oh, two hours?"
Anakin swore loudly and grimaced again. "OK, we'll sort things here and get out there as soon as possible. If anything changes, contact either Kyp's comm or mine; I'll get his to him now. Don't engage them if they get closer, just try to avoid them until we get out there. And keep a look out for Talon Karrde's ship."
"Three unidentified corvettes, and a larger ship identifying as Wild Karrde?"
Anakin blinked and vaguely heard Tahiri stifle a quick giggle. "That could be him. He's here?"
There was a pause. "About ninety degrees round Yavin from the fourth moon. From what I can tell, he's using the gravity well of the planet to pick up speed… I don't know if they've seen the Vong yet. We didn't know whether to try hailing them or not; we only just confirmed the big ship's identity."
Anakin nodded. "Hail him, explain, and tell him to hurry. How long-?"
"About four hours," Nym answered before Anakin finished asking.
"Sithspit. Tell him to hurry," he repeated. "Remember, stay out of the way of the Yuuzhan Vong, and comm if anything happens. Tell Karrde to comm, give him Kyp's frequency."
If Nym was indignant, or even amused, at being given orders by the young Jedi, he didn't show it. "Understood. And tell Kyp that's three drinks, now."
Anakin shrugged and replied, "Uh, sure. Solo out." He flipped the switch to close the channel, and turned to face Tahiri once again. "OK. You go tell Kam and Tionne what's going on; I'll go get Kyp and Jaina-"
"Why do we have to split up?"
"Have to move fast. Two hours, Tahiri, is not a long time." Checking over the comm board one last time, Anakin stepped out of the room, Tahiri close on his heels. "Try to avoid alerting the other trainees though…"
"If only because Valin'll want to try and 'help' with everything." She grinned. "I'll get Masters Kam and Tionne, then, and meet you back in the hangar. Later, hero boy."
As he watched Tahiri hurry down the corridor and turn left towards the dining hall, Anakin half-smiled. He wasn't really sure why, but despite the imminent attack, he felt… happy. He shrugged. I guess Tahiri's cheerfulness can be infectious sometimes.
As he ran to the turbolift and called it – to first head up and get Kyp's comm from his room, then down to the hangar – he tried to figure out what it was that had changed lately. Something obviously had. But he couldn't pinpoint it and so, eventually, he let it slide to the back of his mind; a topic for a moment when danger wasn't imminent.
OK, he corrected himself with a resigned sigh, for when it's not as imminent as right now.
Which, he realised in the same moment, was still going to be a long time away.
-----
He didn't even have to say anything; his mere presence was enough to irritate her. And yet, Jaina admitted to herself, knowing that Kyp was just a few metres away was... not comforting, but perhaps... distracting, and not in an entirely unpleasant way.
She was lying across the back of her X-wing's cockpit, reaching into an open panel to repair systems that didn't need repaired. Tinkering, really. She had come up to the hangar an hour or so earlier, to get away from the noise of the rec room. And, she had told herself at the time, to get away from Kyp, though she had known full well he would join her - under the pretence of repairing his own fighter, of course. All he'd done, however, was gotten into a loud argument with his astromech droid, and stared at her while pretending to reprogram modules in his X-wing.
Jaina felt Kyp's eyes on her once again, and sighed. She knew what he was about to ask. He'd asked the same question at least twice a day since they arrived on Yavin 4. Stop staring at me, Kyp, she thought to herself. I'm not going to tell you if I've decided yet.
And, predictably, he started: "So, have you-?"
"Don't even bother, Kyp," Jaina cut him off, not looking up.
A second of silence passed, and Jaina couldn't resist lifting her head and stealing a glance at Kyp. He was still looking at her, a smirk on his face, safe from harm in his X-wing's cockpit.
She turned back to her own X-wing, fixing her gaze on the open - but perfectly working - panel and systems before her, and went over the question in her head again, the same one he'd asked so often in the past week. Have you decided yet?
Had she decided whether to join the Dozen or not yet? Yes, she had decided - had done so the day before, in fact. Anakin's input had been worthless - he didn't know what he was going to do, he'd told her. And so she'd had to think about it herself; weigh the advantages, disadvantages, and consider exactly what becoming Dozen Two would mean.
It would mean no more Rogue Squadron, which had been the hardest thing to realise. But then, if Kyp - for she suspected Anakin's words the week before had actually been Kyp's - was right, her career as a Rogue was effectively over, for now. That was hard to believe - surely Gavin wouldn't let something as absurd as anti-Jedi sentiment sway his judgment? But it was far too possible, given the current state of affairs in the galaxy.
She didn't know what, exactly, her parents' reactions would be, nor those of her aunt and uncle, but she doubted they would be positive. So it would mean making people angry, or disappointed, or just plain confused. Surely that wasn't what mattered, though? She was an adult now; she was free to make her own decisions without having to consider their opinions. Or, to consider them, but ultimately disregard them...
And it would also - maybe - mean finding out just what that annoying feeling in her stomach was. It had surfaced again at Kyp's smirk a moment earlier, increasing her irritation with him. She was starting to doubt that it was anything to do with disgust, considering how often she had felt it during the week. It would twist in her stomach every time he asked her about her decision; every time he smiled, which she suspected was more often lately than usual; even at his typical, amused, arrogant smirk. She almost thought it would be worth joining the Dozen purely to find out what the strange feeling meant, even it it turned out to be nothing.
She had to know. She had to fly, she had to fight, but most of all, she had to know. That, she knew, was the main reason she had decided to take up Kyp's offer and become Dozen Two.
Another moment passed as Jaina stared at the tools in her hand, deep in contemplation. With a sigh, she shook her head and looked up at Kyp again. He was studying a screen in his cockpit, frowning, and Jaina found she had to look away in order to remember what she was going to say. "Tell me again," she said when she remembered, "why it has to be me who joins you."
Kyp looked up at her, and for a moment Jaina froze, suddenly self-conscious under his dark green gaze. Then he rolled his eyes, replying with his usual response as if he was getting tired of repeating it: "Because you're a great pilot and you'd do better with- in my squadron, than in that wretched Rogue Squadron."
He had almost said with me, Jaina knew, and she wondered why he'd stopped. "That may or may not be true," she mused out loud, unsure whether it was or not. She grinned inwardly as she added, "But do you really want someone better than you in your squadron?"
"I..." Jaina could see that Kyp was stunned at this new response, and it pleased her for some reason. "Well, that's something I'd have to consider," he said eventually, still frowning in confusion.
"Do," Jaina replied lightly, grinning to herself as she turned once again to her repairs.
After a second, Kyp spoke up again. "Does that mean you've decided then?"
Jaina grinned again, not looking up this time. "Maybe," she replied nonchalantly. "But even if I have, I'm not telling you just yet."
"Fine," he said in the same impassive tone - obviously fake. "It's not like I'm desperate to know. Couldn't care less."
Jaina's grin turned into an unsure half-smile as she looked up at him. Her brain knew he was lying, but the feeling in her stomach made her doubt her certainty, and for some reason, it made her feel disappointed. "Uh huh," she said carefully, trying to force nonchalance into her voice. "That's why you've asked me every day since we came here. Because you don't care."
"Nope," Kyp replied, that same smirk on his face. "Not at-"
"Jaina! Kyp!"
Jaina sighed as her brother's voice interrupted Kyp, and looked up as he ran into the hangar. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, Kyp almost topple over the edge of his cockpit. She hid a grin as he righted himself and, as if he had intended to do so all along, transformed his fall into a graceful jump down to the stone floor.
Closing the panel she had been working on, Jaina jumped down from her own fighter as Anakin skidded to a halt beside it. She took a moment to study her brother, noting his light brown hair even more dishevelled than usual, light jumpsuit rumpled and probably sweaty, and his ice-blue eyes fierce and determined. "What is it, Anakin?"
"The Vong are here."
Jaina's stomach twisted in a very different way to the twist caused by Kyp's smile, and she had to take a step back to lean against her X-wing. She blinked, and then focused on Kyp as he stepped towards them, with a strange expression... Jaina would have said he seemed uncertain, but that was foolish, for this was Kyp Durron - even when he was wrong, he was certain about it.
"Are you sure," he asked. "How far away are they?"
"Absolutely, and less than two hours, says Nym." Turning to Kyp, he unclipped something from his belt and tossed it at him. "And he says that's three drinks now."
Jaina saw a quick grin on Kyp's face, before he turned vaguely serious again. "Then we need to get a move on. Do Kam and Tionne-?"
"Tahiri's gone to tell them," Anakin answered before Kyp finished. "But we'll need to do something... keep the Vong away until Karrde lands."
"Karrde's here?" Jaina asked, surprised.
Anakin nodded. "Almost four hours out, though."
Jaina thought about it for a moment, then grinned to herself. "You'll find out in four hours then," she told Kyp.
"Ah, you have to tell me before we get out there, surely?"
Yes, she thought to herself, and she knew she would. But first, she would play along... put the severity of the approaching battle off for as long as possible. "Nope, not a chance. You'll just have to be patient."
Kyp scowled, and Jaina stuck her tongue out at him, barely noticing Anakin as he rolled his eyes. "Jaina, Kyp, I don't know what you're talking about, but stop-"
Jaina had hardly registered the addition of Tahiri and Kam to the room before the young Jedi had tackled her best friend, neatly avoiding Kyp as he stepped aside to let her pass. Jaina couldn't help but laugh as Anakin stumbled backwards, more than a little unsure of how to handle someone so firmly attached to him.
"Uh, Tahiri..."
"You're going now, aren't you? And you'll fight and go away and I know I won't see you again for so long, no matter what you say, and you can't do that, Anakin!
"I'm not- I'll be back, I'll come back and see you again, I promise," Anakin told her firmly.
"I don't know..." Tahiri pulled away a little, looking up at Anakin, a slightly disapproving look on her face. "What if you don't? I'm going to come and fight with you."
Kyp coughed, and Jaina grinned as Tahiri whirled round and glared at him. "Tahiri, that's a nice thought, but-"
"Don't you dare say I'm too young, Durron-"
"Master Durron," Kam corrected her, as much as Jaina knew it pained him.
"-because I'm not, Anakin wasn't much older than me at Sernpidal, and-"
"No, no, I wouldn't dare say you were too young, Tahiri," Kyp assured her quickly, a bemused expression on his face. "Just that we don't have a spare X-wing for you, and while I'm sure you would be a great help, it wouldn't be much good if you're crammed in with Anakin, would it?"
Tahiri continued to glare at him for a few moments longer, and then let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, that's just stupid, not having a spare fighter..."
Jaina's efforts not to laugh out loud were wasted when she caught Kyp's eye, and she found herself the victim of Tahiri's glare. She tried to disguise her amusement as a coughing fit, and though she was sure Tahiri hadn't fallen for it, the girl turned back to Anakin anyway.
"Tahiri, you need to stay here anyway," Anakin said quietly, holding up a hand to stop her answering back. "You have to help lead the kids to safety, in Ikrit's cave, right? You two are the only ones who know where it is."
Tahiri frowned a little, softening her glare. "I guess, but... I can fight-"
"I know, Tahiri," Anakin assured her. "But just because you can do something, doesn't always mean you should."
Jaina regarded her brother cynically. Did he realise how much he sounded like Jacen just then? Probably not... She supposed that even Anakin could allow for Jacen's philosophies, when it was someone he really cared about... Strange.
Before Tahiri could reply, Kyp's comm beeped loudly at him, and he unclipped it from his belt to answer it. "Durron here."
"Lead, finally. OK, hold the expensive Corellian ale for now, and tell those lazy pilots of yours to get a move on. Our original estimate for an attack was a little... optimistic."
"Right... what's your revised estimate, then?"
"Well, my sensors have taken a little... turbulence, but Adi reckons maybe... half an hour now."
Jaina bit at her bottom lip and glanced at Anakin, frowning at his shrug. Half an hour...
Even so, Kyp was smirking at something. "You're in vacuum, Nym. I take it that's code for, 'I didn't hide where Adi told me and got hit by a skip'."
"Peace Brigade corvette, actually," Adi's voice interjected, and despite the implications of that, Jaina saw Kyp grin even wider. Obviously there was some inside joke with Nym and Adi...
Nym made a non-committal sort of noise before answering, "Just hurry up, will you? The Vong are stationary just now, but the Brigade have gate crashed the party and... just hurry up. Three out."
Kyp stared at his comm for a moment, and Jaina could sense a whirlwind of thoughts going on in his head, all at once. "Right then," he said decisively, "we need... Tahiri, can you run down and get my pilots from the rec room?"
Tahiri narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "This is a ploy to get rid of me, isn't it?"
Jaina grinned again at Kyp's discomfort - he was obviously out of practice for dealing with smart kids. "No, I kind of need a full squadron to go out and fight, so it would help if they were here."
"Hmph." Tahiri took a step towards the exit, then turned and glared at the group. "But I'm coming back up!"
Jaina, still grinning, waved as Tahiri left.
Anakin ran a hand through his hair, trying futilely to make it a little neater, and spoke up, looking at Kam. "If they're that near, then you won't have much time before there are Peace Brigade ships landing. I'll stay behind in the temple and distract them-"
"No way," Jaina said firmly, instantly forgetting her amusement.
"Nuh uh," Kyp agreed. "Can't let you do that. Besides, I'll need you up there with the Dozen-"
"Where it's much safer," Anakin noted sarcastically. "I have to stay, give them time to get to safety..."
"Anakin, thank you," Kam said before Kyp or Jaina could reply, "but that won't be necessary. We'll make it."
Jaina saw her brother frown, and felt something rather dangerous from him through the Force, but he didn't say anything. She glanced at Kam. "You better get a move on then," she suggested. "Is Tionne-?"
"She's getting the kids ready. I better go warn her... send Tahiri-"
But Kam's words were interrupted by something that sounded very much like a herd of stampeding banthas, and Jaina stared in bemusement as eight very confused pilots entered the hangar, followed by an exasperated-looking Tahiri. "Got them," she said, rolling her eyes and indicating the pilots. "Now what?"
"Now," Kam started firmly, "we go join Tionne, Ikrit and the others, and get out of here."
"But-"
"Go on, Tahiri," Anakin told her. "I'll make sure and see you when this is over."
Tahiri hesitated, and Jaina could sense something between the two, a silent conversation. Then she nodded. "But don't leave it so long, OK, hero boy?"
Anakin half-smiled. "Promise."
Jaina watched as Kam and Tahiri left the hangar, and glanced back at her brother, smiling as he continued to watch the exit, long after the two were out of sight. "All right, little brother?"
"Hm?" Anakin blinked. "Oh, yeah."
"OK, Dozen," Kyp said suddenly, turning to look at the gathered pilots. "You know the drill. Keep the Peace Brigade and Vong from landing until Karrde can get the kids out. I'd talk more-"
"Don't we know it," one of the pilots - Dayvie - muttered, and a few of the others laughed nervously.
Kyp grinned. "Exactly. But there's no time now. So hurry and get out there."
The pilots all answered vaguely and ran off towards their own fighters. Jaina watched as Kyp approached his own fighter, hesitated, and turned to face her. "I know you said- but-"
Jaina half-smiled and nodded. "You've got yourself a full squadron, Lead."
Kyp looked shocked for a moment, and Jaina knew he had expected her to say no. But then he grinned, and returned the nod. "Excellent. Come on then, Two."
Jaina felt Anakin's shock through the Force, and his accusatory glare. "Two? Does that- you haven't- joined-?"
"And you, Thirteen," Kyp continued in the same cheerful tone, turning to climb up into his fighter.
"You know some cultures consider thirteen to be unlucky, right?" Jaina heard Anakin call as she climbed into her own X-wing.
"Sure," Kyp called back, not noticing that Anakin was still on the floor, not moving towards his own fighter. "But Solo blood counters all superstitions, doesn't it?"
Jaina rolled her eyes, running over her pre-flight checks. She felt a little thrill as she reported in as Dozen Two, anticipation of something, and was relieved when she heard Anakin report in, too. Apparently, he had made it to his own fighter after all.
But when the Dozen lifted off, out of the temple hangar and towards the enemy awaiting them in space, what Jaina didn't realise was that Anakin hadn't reported in from his fighter at all - he had done so from his personal comm, set to the same frequency.
He was, in fact, still in the temple, and determined to keep his friends safe - to keep Tahiri safe - for as long as it took
--