Title: A New Path

Summary: Tycho Celchu's journey from the Empire to the Alliance.

Disclaimer: Star Wars is, quite clearly, not mine, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is not written for profit.

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Chapter 22: And, Good-bye Again

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Jesina was waiting outside Tycho's quarters when he got back from patrol. "Can we talk?" He eyed her warily and she laughed. "I don't bite. Usually, anyway."

He smirked in spite of himself and nodded, keying in the door code, then stepping back. "Go on."

She sat down on the cot, crossing her legs in front of her and waited until he was sitting as well before saying, "I heard what you said to Janson yesterday."

Tycho scowled. He hadn't meant for her to hear that. But then, he hadn't actually meant to say it, either. Not the least of his reasons was that, even if she had gotten involved with Janson, he didn't have to believe it until the words were actually said.

And he'd said them.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Be angry at me all you want. But I can't tell you what's going on. And I've known Wes for a while now. Granted, not as long as I've known you, but he's still a friend. And I'm not going to put that friendship aside because of petty differences between the two of you."

He just stared back at her, sullen.

She glared, clenching her fists. He almost grinned at that. It was classic Jesina, trying to keep her cool when she wanted to explode. "Oooh, you're acting like a child!"

Tycho's eyes widened. "You…"

She cut him off. "I what? I'm friends with a man who you seem to view as your mortal enemy?"

"Hey, don't turn this around on me! He's hated me since day one." He was angry now. He'd understood Janson's animosity toward him, and accepted it. Truth told, he couldn't blame the other pilot. He guessed he'd feel the same way in Janson's position. But if she wanted to blame this on him, she had another thing coming. "I've tried to be friendly to him. But he hates me!"

She relaxed her hands and sighed, all the fight suddenly gone out of her. "He doesn't hate you. He hates himself." Then she pointed a finger at him sternly. "And I shouldn't even have said that, so I'll kill you if you repeat it. And I won't tell you anything more!"

He held his hands up. "Not a word." Then he thought about what she'd just said. It explained a lot, though not as much as if he knew the whole story. But he knew Jesina well enough to know that he'd already gotten more out of her than she'd have liked to give, so she'd seal herself off completely now.

Uncomfortable with the silence that had overtaken the room, he shifted slightly and decided to broach the subject he'd really wanted to avoid. "Um, Jes…about you and Janson…"

Jesina shook her head. "There's nothing going on between us. I'd tell you if there was. You know that."

"Maybe you don't know."

"What?"

He shrugged. "The way you look at him…how often you look at him…" he trailed off, knowing that she was getting his message.

She shook her head once more. "Tycho…I know I paid a lot of attention to him yesterday. I realize that. But it's out of…concern, not anything more than that. We're friends. I care about him, and I've found out some things I didn't know before, and it has me a little worried. You and I aren't the only ones dealing with pasts – and presents, for that matter – that have been rough on us. Wedge lost his parents when he was sixteen, and hunted down the people responsible for their deaths. His sister ran off and he has no idea where she is right now…and Hobbie, well, if you can get anything out of him other than 'I left Raltiir when I was seventeen for the Academy,' you're doing good."

"Yeah, he is pretty tight-lipped," Tycho agreed. Even after they'd become friends, Hobbie hadn't talked to him about his family, or his past. If they were with a group and talking about the people they'd left at home, he tended to get very uncomfortable, sometimes to the point of leaving. Tycho had assumed that he had no family because Hobbie never got any messages from back home, but he'd never asked.

She nodded. "Anyway, let's just say that Wes has his secrets too…and you kind of became an unfortunate target for them." She frowned. "I don't think target's the right word…more like focal point."

"Terrific."

Jesina sighed. "I think everything's going to be all right now…he's dealing with what he needs to deal with, instead of trying to ignore it."

Tycho didn't look convinced. "If you say so."

She smiled at him. "I do." She unfolded her legs and stood. "I've got to get ready to go…I have another run to make." She needed to deliver Kalix to someone who could make use of her knowledge. It was good for Intelligence to know about the newest Imperial technology, but they couldn't do a lot with it. They needed to pass her off to someone who could understand the data she had and try to find ways to counter it.

He stood too. "Wait." She looked at him, and he knew his thoughts were written all over his face. "I just—"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Tycho, there's nothing between Janson and I. I'd tell you if there was. There was more between you and I, back…" she trailed off, as if she'd just realized what was going on. "Are you jealous?"

Tycho shook his head, vehemently. "No! I mean…it's just…" He sat back down, defeated. "I don't know. I've seen you with other people before, since…us…and it never bothered me at all. So I don't know why it is now." He shook his head.

He and Jesina had been so close when they were teenagers that the line between friendship and 'something more' had gotten blurred a bit. One of the times she'd visited him after she'd left for Corellia, they'd taken steps that were definitely on the 'something more' side of the line. And quickly realized that wasn't what either of them really wanted from the other. Then she'd moved on, and he'd found what he was looking for in Nyiestra.

She gave him a warm smile. "I think you're feeling Nyiestra's loss a little more acutely right now." Then she shook her head. "Don't let's blur that line again, Tycho. With you and me, or with Wes and me. Okay?"

He returned the smile and nodded. "Okay."

She shifted from foot to foot, as if unsure of how to end this awkward moment. "It'll probably be a few months before I can see you again. By then, maybe you and Wes'll be best friends."

He snickered. "I doubt it." Then he hugged her and watched her go.

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Jesina was surprised to see Wes waiting by the Nightwind as she walked up with Kalix. She frowned thoughtfully, then turned and nodded to the other woman. "Head inside. I'll only be a minute."

Wes waited until she was out of sight to speak. "Leaving so soon, Dreis?"

She nodded. "Duty calls."

"I know that feeling." He hesitated. "I wanted to thank you for making me talk to you. It helped. And it made me think about a few things."

She shifted the bag she was carrying from one hand to the other and studied him for a moment. "Good. I'm glad I could be of service."

He looked uncomfortable. "I mean it. Thank you."

"And I mean it. I'm glad I could help. But don't think that I don't expect to be repaid." Her eyes twinkled. "Try not to be such a jerk to Tycho, will you? He's not exactly had an easy time of it, and you certainly haven't helped."

He had the grace to look ashamed. "I know. When he first got here, I really didn't trust him. And then when I found out about Kien'tol, I hated him. And then Hobbie said a few things, and…" he trailed off and shrugged. "And after the other night, well…" He sighed. "A lot more things make sense, somehow."

"Good." She glanced at her chrono. "I've got to go. We have a place to be."

He nodded, and shifted from foot to foot. He looked so…nervous, somehow…and Jesina felt like she was seeing the man he'd been before Kissek Doran, and before Kien'tol. She thought about her promise to Cracken not to say anything about Trae's identity, and about all the reading she'd done on Kien'tol after talking to Wes. She'd managed to learn one thing, and it was something she thought Wes deserved to know. "Cam Teien's death wasn't your fault. He wasn't even there that day. His 'death' was a cover for him to go into Intelligence. He's dead now, and that's why I'm telling you this. But his death wasn't your fault."

Teien was supposed to have been one of the men in Wes' flight at Kien'tol…the first to be killed as a result of his disobeying that order. She guessed that Bel Iblis had somehow found out about it, and that had influenced his decision to intervene on Wes' behalf.

She waited just long enough to see the stunned expression on his face, then turned and walked up the boarding ramp.