Title: Inner Demons, Outer Evils
Summary: A tragic event sets Rogue Squadron on the path to the truth...and sends one of the Rogues on a collision course with himself.
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 27: Nowhere to Go
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Inyri helped guide the foot of the repulsor stretcher that Face lay on. The rescue crew had made short work of the mess blocking the door and in no time the medical crew was allowed entrance. They fitted them both with proper oxygen masks – discarding the portable one Inyri had gotten for Face – and performed a quick diagnosis of both men. Face did, indeed, have a collapsed lung and, in addition to his broken leg, they thought he had several broken or cracked ribs. A severe concussion, as well, though not as severe as Gavin's.
Gavin's head injury was his most serious ailment, though the medics expressed concern over his decreased blood pressure and heart rate. His anxious squadron mates were told, though, that they'd have to wait for any additional information.
After both had been removed from the room, Inyri took Donos' proffered hand and climbed out herself. Dusting off her clothes, she moved out of the way as Donos helped Iella out. "How are they?" she asked, nodding toward Wes and Jesina.
Donos shook his head. "Still unconscious. They're just about to move them down to the Med Center." He sighed. "Looks like they'll be in bacta for a while."
Inyri nodded and then heard Iella ask the question they'd all been wondering. "How did this happen?"
Inyri shook her head. "I just heard the explosion, and then the alarm. I don't know what triggered it."
Wedge approached them. "The Captain is sending up a couple of explosives technicians in a few minutes. We'll just have to wait and see what they find out."
"And suppose they find out it wasn't an accident?" Iella asked.
Wedge shook his head. "I'm not getting involved in it. There are military police on board. They can do their jobs." He sighed. "All I care about right now is making sure that everyone alive now is alive nine days from now on Coruscant."
"I don't see how you can stay out of it," Iella protested.
She took a step back when she saw his expression turn from concern to anger. "Duryll, Piggy, Elassar." He paused for a moment. "Hobbie. I've lost four people – four good friends – on this assignment. Not to mention the losses we took in the battle over Zhar. And I'll be damned if I'm going to lose any more. You think we should look into it, do it yourself." He turned on his heel and walked away without another word.
Inyri rested a hand on Iella's shoulder. "He's…just upset. I'm sure he didn't—"
Iella pulled away and faced her. "I'm fine. He's right. None of you should get anywhere near this. I'm just worried that if we don't try to find out how this happened, we could have more casualties on our hands." She bit her lip and turned to go, following after her husband.
The remaining Rogues stood around for a second, shocked by their CO's uncharacteristic outburst, then slowly dispersed – not that they had anywhere in particular to go.
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Wedge was already in the med center when Inyri went down about an hour later to see how her injured squadron mates were doing. She wanted to come down earlier, but knew she'd probably end up in the way. It had taken all her willpower to wait this long. "How are they?" she asked him softly.
"Let's just say we'd better not run into any trouble between here and Coruscant. None of them will be able to fly anytime soon."
"They'll be all right, though, right?"
He nodded. "All four of them are in bacta right now." He paused. "They put bone knitters in to repair the damage to Face's knee and his ribs, and they began repairs to his lung. Iella was right – it was collapsed. They're also using bone knitters for Gavin's skull. He has a pretty good fracture, though there was no way you or Iella could have figured that out. Other than that, he's got some minor cuts."
She knew it was a preemptive attempt to keep her from feeling guilty, but it failed. She didn't say anything, though, because he went on to talk about Wes and Jesina. "Jesina's actually more or less all right, thankfully. She's got some bruised ribs, a couple cracked, and inhaled a lot of smoke and dust. There are a couple of hairline fractures in her left leg and she's pretty bruised all over, and she's got a minor concussion." He shook his head. "Considering how we found her, she was lucky. Wes took the brunt of it."
"How is he doing?"
"A skull fracture to rival Gavin's," Wedge began, but stopped when Inyri snickered in spite of herself.
"I'm sorry. It was just, as soon as you said that, all I could think about is all the times we've called Janson hard-headed. I don't think we can say that any more."
Wedge cracked a smile and shook his head. Secretly, he was relieved Inyri was able to find some humor in the situation. She'd been closed off to everyone except Wes since Hobbie's death. But then, thinking about what else was wrong with Wes, he sobered. "His whole body's going to be black and blue for a while. But that's the least of it. He has serious internal bleeding, both lungs were collapsed, and several broken ribs. His right knee was shattered, and he's got compound fractures in both his left arm and leg. He's got a serious concussion, and they don't expect him to regain consciousness anytime soon, though he will at some point. The same with Gavin," he added, knowing that would be her next question.
She took a step back and sat down on the chair. "I want to go home," she murmured. "I feel like a child, but it's true. I just want to go home."
"I think we all do." He paused. "How angry is Iella?"
She thought for a moment about letting him squirm, but shook her head. "She's not angry. She's just worried that someone else will get hurt if we don't try to find out how it happened."
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Wedge sat down at the table in the conference room nearest the med center. "What do you have?"
The technician held up a small device, charred black over the entire surface. "It was definitely deliberate. This is all that's left of the bomb that destroyed Colonel Dreis' quarters. It was wired to the door, to go off as it opened. It was more than likely intended to reduce just that section of rooms to rubble. There'd have been a lot more damage – and your people probably wouldn't have lived to make it into bacta – except that whoever created it didn't want there to be a fire. For whatever reason. It wasn't incendiary."
Wedge frowned. "How do you do that?"
"It's complicated. The easiest way I can explain it is to equate it to a minor shock wave. Energy waves tore through the room, bringing everything down around it."
Iella had slipped into the room unnoticed, and so Wedge was startled when she spoke. "We have a serious problem, Wedge," she said softly.
He glanced at her and then looked back at the technician. "Let me know if you find out anything else, lieutenant. Dismissed." He turned to his wife. "I'm sorry about earlier."
"You should be," she replied sternly, but her smile softened the words.
He returned the expression but sobered quickly. "What's the problem?"
"A couple maintenance techs saw someone walking away from Jesina's door. They only got a look at him from the side, but they gave me a pretty good description. On a hunch, I showed them a holo." She paused. "Guess who?"
He shook his head. "No." Vayl Lonciez back from the dead. Terrific.
"Oh yes. He's not dead."
"Then who is?"
"My guess? No one. Wes received no communication from that shuttle before he blew it up. And no one actually saw him get in and not get out. I think it was a decoy. He has the training for it. And he has the training to set up that bomb. Trust me. I've worked with him before."
"What I don't understand is why," Wedge muttered. "Face said that Lonciez was obsessed with Jesina. The kidnapping thing I could understand. But why try to kill her? There's no way that bomb could possibly have been for anyone else."
"I know. If he's been around all this time, there's every possibility he's been watching her the whole time. And if he has, he'd know that she and Wes have gotten very close. It's a classic stalker syndrome. He can't have her, so no one can."
"You've got a lot of nuts working for you, you know that?"
"They don't work for me," she protested. "I just get stuck working with them all."
Wedge leaned back in his chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. Things just kept getting better and better. He thought back to what Inyri had said about Iella's reaction to his earlier frustration. She was right. If he didn't do anything, chances were that people were going get hurt. Namely Jesina. And possibly Wes, if Lonciez set his sights on him as well.
"I want to get them off this ship," he said suddenly.
Iella frowned. "You want to move them to the Valor?" Valor was one of the Imperial-class vessels in the task force, the next down from Lusankya.
He nodded. "There's no way I can see to catch Lonciez. We thought we had him once and he slipped through our fingers. He'll just do it again. And who knows what other surprises he'll come up with for us. It'll be easier – and safer – for everyone involved if we just get all the Rogues off the Lusankya."
"I presume you mean Face and Dia, too?" Iella asked.
He frowned at her. "Of course." He'd been looking at the two lone Wraiths as Rogues since they'd taken on Rogue designations for the battle over Zhar. The rest of the pilots had as well.
She held up a hand. "Just checking. Although I'd be willing to bet Face wouldn't mind having a shot at Lonciez himself."
"Face won't be having a shot at anyone for a while." He told her everything he'd told Inyri. She just shook her head, and he sighed.
"Do me a favor? Find out how soon everyone can be moved? I'll have the captain send a message out to the task force and have them work out some safe coordinates to come out of hyperspace to transfer everyone over."