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 10: Resignation

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Corran walked into Wedge's office on the afternoon of their second full day on Hoth. He was still wearing his flight suit and had his helmet tucked under one arm. "Well, whatever they're doing up there, they don't want anyone to know about it."

Wedge jerked his head up. "What?"

"We stumbled across a couple of uglies." Uglies were fighters – though calling them fighters was generally being kind – that were often used by pirates and smugglers. They were junkyard ships, made of whatever starfighter components could be found. X-wing wings, TIE bodies, etc. "One of them fired at us."

"Why didn't you call for assistance?" Wedge demanded.

Corran held up a hand. "First of all, there were only two, and they took off as soon as they shot at us and missed. Second, I didn't think it was worth giving us away. Third, even if I'd planned to, I couldn't. They jammed us."

Wedge frowned. "Real fighters don't usually have jamming equipment, never mind uglies."

"And even if they did, I can't see how the range could have extended as far as it did. We were halfway back to the planet before the jamming ended. There's something else out there."

"Terrific." Wedge glanced at the chrono. "We're going to have to step up patrols. Do me a favor and find Tycho, ask him to put together a roster for three 4-person patrols a day of the asteroid field. Different areas at different times each day, and I don't want the same people flying at the same times each day. And if he asks, tell him I'm talking to Keyra."

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"What the hell is going on?" Wedge exclaimed, storming into Keyra's office.

She looked up at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I want to know what you haven't told me."

Keyra shook her head, maintaining the confused expression. "I don't understand. You've got everything I have."

"My pilots just got shot at and had their communications jammed."

"In the asteroid field?"

"No, in the mess," he said sarcastically. "Yes, in the asteroid field."

"How? What did they come across?"

"Uglies. Now you tell me how an ugly can jam communications from the asteroid field to half the distance back to Hoth."

"I…I don't see how they could. Even if they could create jamming equipment that small with such a range, the fighter wouldn't have enough power to maintain it long enough for your people to have realized it extended as far as it did."

"No kidding. What the hell else is out there?"

"Wedge, I don't know. You have everything I have," she said again. "Here." She held her datapad out to him. "Take it. See for yourself." She opened the top drawer and pulled out a stack of datacards, practically throwing them at him. "You have everything. I don't know anything else." She was starting to lose her temper.

"You'll forgive me if I don't quite trust you," Wedge shot back. "Intel and I have a pretty bad track record."

"Wedge, I'm the same person I used to be."

"You don't even use the same name!"

"But you're still my friends. You, Tycho, Janson and Hobbie. I would never put you in danger. If I knew anything, I'd tell you."

"I want to talk to Cracken. Now."

"I'll do my best."

"You'll get me Cracken, now. Or I pack my people up, call in our backup, and get all of us the hell out of here. And you'll be on your own."

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"General, if I'm here under false pretenses, I have all the authority I need to pull my people out," Wedge reminded him. "So either you tell me what I want to know, or your people fend for themselves against whatever you want them protected from."

"You'd leave Keyra?"

"Right now, most of my people aren't exactly fond of her, myself included. So yes, I have no qualms. She's survived this long in NRI."

"And Iella?"

"She's a big girl. She's more than capable of taking care of herself." It pained him to say it, but it was true. His responsibility was to his squadron, not to Intel – even if the NRI people were an old friend and his fiancé.

Cracken glared blaster bolts at him, but he knew he didn't have a choice. "We believe that a large asteroid – of which there are many in that field – is home to a force-user," he admitted wearily.

"A force-user? A Jedi?"

"Not a friendly one."

"That doesn't explain the jamming."

"We believe that a small contingent of Imperials is exploiting some force-adept for his skills."

"We believe, we believe," Wedge muttered. "I'm not sure I believe any of it." He looked over his shoulder at Keyra. "Did you know about this?"

Her arms were folded across her chest. "No, I didn't," she replied, eyes narrowed at her superior officer. "If you knew what was going on," she asked, "then why are we here?"

"Because we don't know where, exactly, they are, nor do we know who is behind it. We can say with relative certainty that this Force-user was on Sullust not long ago and was instrumental in the deaths of two Sullustan Senators."

"Have you told Luke Skywalker about this?"

"We have not."

Wedge scowled. A Jedi – Dark Jedi? Sith? – running around the galaxy and Cracken didn't tell the one being in the galaxy who most needed to know. It figured. "Tell him. Because there's no way I'm having my people take on a force-adept without someone around who knows how to handle him."

"I'm not about to take orders from you, General."

"Then don't consider it an order. Consider it an ultimatum. You tell him, or we head home. My pilots just got shot at today. It could have been much worse, and I'm not about to let that happen."

"You have Commander Horn there."

"Yes, and Commander Horn has nowhere near the capabilities that Luke has. I want Luke here, now."

"I will do what I can. Master Skywalker is no longer at the beck and call of this government, and does have his own responsibilities."

"And one of those responsibilities is dealing with Force-related threats. I'm sure he'll be very interested. Antilles out." He threw a stylus at the comm screen as the image faded, and then turned to Keyra. "And you wonder why I didn't believe you." Then he walked out on her.

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Keyra and Iella walked into the briefing room as Wedge was winding up. He'd just finished going over their new patrol schedule after telling them what little information he'd gotten from Cracken. As Wedge asked for questions, Keyra raised a hand. "I have something to say."

He frowned but nodded. "Go ahead."

"I just wanted to properly introduce myself. Many of you know me as Keyra Nitram. That is not my name, not really. My name is Jesina Dreis. I knew Colonel Celchu growing up, and I knew General Antilles when he was still smuggling for Booster Terrik. I've been with Intelligence since Rogue Squadron was originally formed. And I am officially resigning from Intelligence as of this point in time. Iella Wessiri is now acting Regional Intelligence Director."

Wedge knew his jaw hit the floor and he saw that Tycho, Wes and Hobbie were having the same reaction. He knew she'd planned on leaving Intel, but he hadn't expected her to do it like this. "Keyra," he began, but she stopped him.

"Jesina, Wedge. Please. I'd like to have my own name back."

He nodded. "Jesina, I'd like to talk to you." He glanced at his pilots. "Dismissed."

By unspoken agreement – but predictable just the same – Wes, Tycho, and Hobbie remained behind as everyone filed out. "What's going on, Jesina?" Wedge asked her.

"Today was it. That was all I could take. I'm supposed to be running the show here. I'm responsible for my people just the same as you're responsible for yours. And I can't protect them if I don't know what's going on. Like you said, you don't trust NRI. And neither do I, anymore."