Summary: Rogue Squadron heads back to Hoth to defend an Intelligence Unit. But they get more than they bargained for.

Disclaimer: Star Wars, Rogue Squadron, and the rest are not mine. I write this
for my own amusement. Jesina is my own, original creation.

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Chapter 8: We'll Deal With It

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Keyra was sitting in Hobbie's quarters when he woke up. In the dim light she saw him fumble for the light switch. He finally found it and flipped the lights on, blinking furiously against the sudden brightness. Then he saw her and jumped – quite comical form her standpoint, as he was only halfway to a sitting position and covered by a heavy blanket. "Sithspawn! Where did you come from?"

"Alderaan, or so they tell me," she quipped. He muttered a Corellian curse under his breath and she shook her head. "Spending too much time around Wedge, I see."

"Actually, you were the one who taught me that. Why are you here?"

She moved from the chair to the cot. "You've got a few people worried about you." Reaching out and gently taking his right hand, she noticed the bruising. "With good reason, I see. I think you might have broken this. I was told you almost broke it, but it looks like you did."

"I'm going to kill her."

"Quiet." She fixed him with a look to rival Janson's from earlier. He returned the glare, but fell silent. "Yes, it was Captain Forge who came to speak to me, in lieu of going to Wedge or Tycho. This was after she drugged you because she was afraid you'd hurt yourself."

His face actually turned blue as he sputtered. He finally got out the words, "She what?"

"You put your fist into a wall," Keyra said calmly. "I can't say I blame her; I also can't say even I would have had the guts to do that when I was younger."

"I'm fine."

So you apparently said, many times as a matter of fact."

"I am, Jes."

She elected not to correct him. She didn't much care what name she went by now. "No, you aren't. I don't think you're crazy, but I do think you aren't 'fine.'"

He got out of bed. "It's just hard being back, Jes. Every time I look outside, all I can think about is crashing. When we were walking into the hangar, Inyri looked outside and said something about how it was pure white, and how we'd stand out. I looked outside, and it was like I was there again, only watching it this time, and it scared the hell out of me." He stopped pacing for a moment. "I really am fine. It's just not easy being back." He looked at her, giving her the same pleading look he'd given Janson. "It can't have been easy for you."

"Not easy, but it wasn't nearly as bad for me. I wasn't here for the battle – obviously – and even when you think about just you, Janson, Wedge, and Tycho, you had it worse than any of them. You're supposed to have a tough time. But the worst thing you can do is not talk to anyone." She glanced at his right hand, which he was cradling in his left. "All right, that's the second worst thing. The worst is putting your hand into a wall."

She stood, walked over to him, and took his hand again. "Promise me you won't do this again? And promise me you won't get mad at the next person who tries to help? Namely one Inyri Forge?"

He didn't like the tone in her voice. "Forge? What about her?"

"Like I said, she's worried about you."

He shook his head. "Uh-uh. That's not what you meant."

She grinned at him, eliciting a smile, pained as it was. "I also think she really likes you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really. I've seen people concerned about their squadron mates. And I've seen people concerned about friends. And this was neither."

Hobbie shook his head. "You're crazy."

"If you say so." She glanced at his hand. The bruising was even more pronounced than it had been. "Let's go get this taken care of. And you really should talk to Wedge. I'm pretty sure that that's broken, and even with bacta, you're not going to be able to fly for a few days."

He sighed. "I told them I didn't want them covering for me."

"They did the right thing. From what Forge said, you were in no shape to fly, and you'd have ended up in a lot more trouble if you had done your patrol. Now come on. We'll get you fixed up, and then I'll go with you to tell Wedge and Tycho."

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"You have a few minutes, Wedge, Tycho?" Hobbie asked. It was late, and he was surprised to see both of them still in the office.

Wedge nodded as his friend came in with Keyra, and then frowned when he saw his bandaged hand. "What happened?"

"I, um, I broke it. That's what I came to tell you. I can't fly for a few days."

"Obviously. HOW did you break it?"

"I punched the wall," he mumbled, but Wedge heard, "unch a all."

"What?" Tycho asked, exchanging a puzzled look with Wedge. They both glanced at Keyra, who shook her head and nodded at Hobbie, plainly saying, "ask him."

"I punched the wall," Hobbie repeated, more clearly this time.

"Why?" Wedge asked concerned. That wasn't like him.

"I was angry at Wes and Inyri."

"Why?" It was Tycho this time.

Hobbie looked at Keyra for help, but she shook her head again. "I'm going to go." She might have been friendly with them once upon a time, and Hobbie seemed to be rather accepting of her sudden return. But this wasn't her place. "Good night." She patted him on the arm as she walked by him. "It's all right." Then she was gone, fully expecting a visit from any number of people tomorrow morning.

"What's going on, Hobbie?" Wedge asked. Tycho leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"Corran took my place on patrol earlier."

"Why?" Wedge again.

"I...had a flashback in the hangar. Wes, Corran, Gavin, Inyri, Donos, and Seylien were there. They all didn't think I should fly, so Inyri dragged me back to my quarters and Corran flew for me. I was pretty angry, and put my hand into the wall. Then Inyri drugged me," he paused as his face turned a furious shade of red, "and went to Jesina."

"Keyra," Tycho corrected him.

Hobbie shot him a strange look. "Whatever. Anyway, that's what happened."

Wedge glanced at Tycho. "Why don't you go have a word with Major Janson, Commander Horn, and Captain Forge?" he suggested. Tycho nodded and left as Wedge turned back to Hobbie. "Sit down."

Hobbie sat. "Wedge, don't be too hard on them. They were only trying to help me."

"I won't be. But they need to understand something, and you do too. If there's a problem, we'll take care of it. But I need to know about it. I get the distinct feeling that I'm going to have enough to worry about before long that I actually know about without having to worry about problems that I don't know about."

"There's not a problem," Hobbie protested.

"If you say so, I'll take your word for it – for now. But no more cover-ups. Like I said, if there's a problem, we'll deal with it." He paused. "Feel like talking?"

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Corran, Wes, and Inyri were together in Wes' quarters when Tycho knocked on the door. The look on Wes' face when he opened it said it all. He was in trouble, and he knew it. Looking past him into the room, he saw the other pilots. "Just the people I wanted to see."

Inyri scowled. "She told you?" Anyone who knew her – and probably those who didn't – could detect the betrayal in her voice.

"Not her. Hobbie, though it was probably with a little prodding from Keyra."

"Tycho—"

"Wait," he said firmly. "Me first, okay?" There was a definite edge to the words.

Wes sat down, resigned. "All right."

Tycho leaned against the closed door. "I understand what you tried to do, and I appreciate the effort. But Wedge – and I, for that matter – has enough to deal with without worrying about what he's not being told."

"Tycho—"

"Wait, Wes," Tycho repeated. "Now, what I don't understand is what you think you were protecting him from. You should know enough that, if there's a problem, Wedge will do what he has to to take care of it. But he has to know about it to take care of it."

"It was more that he didn't want anyone to know about than that we didn't," Inyri said softly.

"I understand that. But if you know that there's a problem, you need to take responsibility. Suppose that Hobbie was having a serious problem. Someone could get hurt or killed because of it."

"That's why we wouldn't let him fly today," Wes put in.

"I get what Tycho's saying," Corran said. "If something had happened today – if there'd been an attack of some kind – Wedge would have had Hobbie fly, and if he had another flashback, he – or someone else – could have gotten killed."

Tycho nodded, gratified that someone was understanding him. "No one's getting in trouble. I want to make that clear. I also want to make clear that this DOES NOT happen again. If there's a problem, there's a problem, and we'll deal with it, and no one hides it from Wedge and me again. Understood?"

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Wedge looked up as Tycho entered the office only minutes after Hobbie had left. "How'd it go?"

"All right. Said it was because Hobbie didn't want us to know. And Inyri's not a little pissed at Keyra for coming to you."

"She didn't. She made Hobbie."

Tycho shrugged. "Either way. They'll get over it. What I don't understand is why anyone – Hobbie included – felt the need to hide it from us, protect him from us. Especially Janson, considering what happened with the Wraiths and Donos." Wedge had told him about Donos' breakdown and the Wraiths' handling of it.

"Instinct, maybe?" Wedge suggested. "A friend's in trouble – potentially serious trouble – and they do the first thing that comes to mind? And we ARE obligated to report it if there's a real problem."

"You don't think there is, though, do you?"

"No. We had a long conversation after you left. He said pretty much what Iella said to me earlier. Everything just hit him all at once, and he doesn't know how to deal with it yet. After a few days, I think he'll be all right. We'll keep an eye on him, though."

"Okay. Meeting with...Keyra in the morning?"

"Yeah. These reports – what I actually had the chance to look at, anyway – don't seem like much, so I can't figure out why we're here. I can't figure out why Intel's here in the first place, and I really don't know why anyone's worried about them. Unless there's something Keyra didn't give me, I wouldn't bet that she knows either."

"Want to give me some of that to look over?"

"Nah," Wedge said, waving a hand dismissively. "Like I said, there's not much here. Get out of here for the night. Get some rest."

Tycho wasn't about to argue. At least, not about him getting some rest. "May I suggest you do the same?"

"I may not listen, but you can suggest it all you want. Now go."

Tycho made it to the door before he turned around. "Is it weird to you to call her Keyra?"

Wedge nodded. "Yeah. But most people don't know her by any other name, so..." he trailed off and shrugged.

"Yeah...it's still strange, though." He headed out, tossing a "good night" over his shoulder.