Hearts Are Meant To: Chapter 12
Disclaimers: All the usual disclaimers apply.
"Up and at em!"
Luke groaned and buried his head further under his pillow to shut out Wedge's annoying voice. He just wanted to get back to that brief yet wonderful deep sleep he'd been so rudely pulled out of.
In a heartbeat, the pillow was yanked off his head as Wedge yelled, "Come on, Luke! It's time to get up."
Refusing to open his eyes, Luke rolled onto his stomach and hid his face in his arms. It couldn't possibly be time to get up already! He'd only gone to sleep . . .. "What time is it?" he slurred sleepily.
"0600,"Wedge replied with a none-too-gentle nudge in his ribs.
"Ugh, Stang!" Luke swore grumpily. "Go away, Wedge."
Wedge, however, wouldn't budge. "Luke, come on, we have a meeting. It's time to get up!"
Muttering a string of curses that would make any Corellian proud, Luke slowly pushed himself up from the bunk, rubbing his eyes and trying to postpone opening them for as long as possible. When he'd finally managed to maneuver himself into something resembling a sitting position, he blinked tentatively. The glaring light of the room made him wince.
"Force, Luke," Wedge laughed. "You look like hell! When did you finally crawl into bed?"
"About thirty minutes ago," Luke mumbled, trying now to focus on something in the room other than Wedge's mocking face. "Who decided to hold a meeting at 0600, anyway?"
Wedge ignored his second remark. "What the blazes were you doing all night?"
Rubbing a hand across his face in an attempt to slough off as much sleepiness as he could, Luke replied, "I couldn't sleep, so I spent the night working on that busted stabilizer."
The pat on the back Wedge gave him nearly made him fall over. "Well, that should put you back in Cage's good graces," he teased.
Luke glared at him, getting to his feet and stumbling toward the crumpled flightsuit on the floor. "Actually, she helped." He turned to catch the reaction of his friend, and he wasn't disappointed. The look on Wedge's face was well worth getting up this early.
"She what?"
Climbing into his flightsuit, Luke grinned. "She helped," he yawned. "She didn't know anything about the mechanics of an X-wing, so I taught her a few things. And she eventually helped."
"And you two didn't kill each other in the process?" Wedge asked in disbelief.
"We came close," Luke answered flatly. He waited for a few moments while he kept his face expressionless, wanting to keep Wedge wondering if he was being serious or not. Finally he said, "I'm kidding, Wedge. Actually, we made our peace."
"Great," Wedge exclaimed. "Does this mean she'll come back to the Rogues?"
Luke shook his head as he pulled on his boots. "Wedge," Luke answered with forced patience, "she's a Renegade. She's happy there, and that's where she belongs." After a pause, he added, "Besides, there's no sense tempting fate."
Wedge grinned stupidly. "Meaning you two have a thing going."
With a sigh and a scowl, Luke looked back to him. "Are you always this annoying, or only when I've gotten a half-hour's worth of sleep?"
His friend tried to sober up. "Yeah, I am in a bit of a mood, aren't I?"
Luke silently nodded the affirmative.
Wedge sat down beside him and shook his head. "Been a weird mission."
"It has," Luke quietly agreed.
Wedge was silent. After a moment he sighed and asked, "You sure you two don't have a thing going?"
Luke snatched the pillow that was now lying at his feet where Wedge had dropped it, and nailed him in the head with it. He then rose and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Once by the door, he turned to Wedge, who was following right behind and said, "Just so you'll know, I'm ignoring you for the rest of the day." He grinned.
Wedge shrugged his shoulders, laughing. "Fine by me!"
The two men then left the room and headed into the corridor. It was empty except for the two of them. Either they were late, or they were too early. No one else seemed to be going anywhere.
As they headed toward the common room, Wedge spoke up, "So was Cage up all night, too?"
"Strange," Luke muttered looking around as though he couldn't see Wedge next to him, "but I seem to be hearing something. Like the voice of an annoying person I'm trying to ignore."
"Hey," Wedge responded defensively, "I'm just trying to find out whether I should avoid her or not. Dealing with cranky females isn't exactly my thing."
Rolling his eyes, Luke murmured, "And it just goes on and on and on . . .."
Throwing his hands up in surrender, Wedge laughed, "Okay, okay. I get the point. I'll shut up now."
"Thank the Force!"
The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard behind them, and the two men spun around to see Hobbie rushing down the corridor, running a hand through his own messy hair as he approached. "This had better be good," he groaned when he reached them.
"Who called this meeting, anyway?" Luke asked, trying not to sound as tired as he felt.
"Dunno," shrugged Hobbie.
"Wedge?" pressed Luke, turning his attention to the dark haired pilot.
Wedge pretended not to hear him. It took a few seconds of silence and Luke's heated gaze before Wedge, turned to them and said, with mock confusion, "I'm sorry, was someone asking me a question? I thought I was being ignored."
Luke turned back to Hobbie. "Remind me to kill him if the Imps don't do it first."
"Copy that, Commander," Hobbie replied with a grin.
They'd reached the door to the meeting room stepped inside. Most of the Rogues were already assembled there, milling around with steaming cups of caff in their hands. Luke immediately sought the source of the desired beverage. It took him a moment to spot the small table set up in the corner, and he headed straight for it.
He'd nearly reached the table when he heard Genna enter the room. "Give me some caff, and no one gets hurt."
Luke chuckled as he poured his own cup. Wes, who was standing beside him at the table, called out, "Caff's on, right here."
"Sweet Angels of Iego," she sighed, rushing to the table and nearly bumping into Luke as she threw an arm around Wes's shoulder. "Janson, you're my new best friend."
Wes laughed as he poured her a cup. "Not a morning person, eh, Cage?"
Luke threw a glance at her, noting her disheveled appearance and the dark circles that rested under her tired eyes.
She met his gaze and smiled dryly. "Not when I get only three hours' sleep."
Wedge stepped up. "Wait a second! Luke said he only got thirty minutes of sleep."
"That's because Cage wimped out on me," Luke replied with a wink at Genna before taking a sip of his caff. "I thought she was going to pass out, so I finally sent her off to her room to get some real sleep."
Wes took a step back at his remark. "And what exactly were you two doing, if I may be so bold? Last I heard, you hated each other."
Luke watched as Genna turned back to Wedge with a gentle, patronizing expression. "Ah, Wes. If you only knew. There's nothing like a guy who gets my ship running in the night!"
Caught off guard between a swallow and a laugh, Luke missed the looks on the other men's faces as he nearly choked to death on his caff. He continued to laugh and cough simultaneously for a few moments as Genna pounded on his back and tears came to his eyes. When he finally managed to bring himself under control, he wiped the tears from his reddened cheeks and patted Genna on the arm. "That was good," he chuckled. "That was very good. Either that, or I'm just really, really tired."
Genna grinned. "That was good, wasn't it?"
Wes shook his head. "I'm so lost."
"I'll explain later," Wedge told him with a grin.
Wes's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "It's not what I think, is it?"
Struggling against residual coughs and giggles, Luke pointedly ignored his question and grabbed his remaining caff. He pointed toward the chairs set up in the room. "I'm going to go sit down now," he told the others. He was still giggling by the time he sat down, even as he wondered what the meeting was going to be about.
As sleep-deprived as he was, it was sure to be an experience.
*****
"Wait, lemme get this straight," an irritated Wedge demanded. "We're flying diversion again?"
Genna glanced over at the obviously distraught Rogue. She didn't blame him for being upset. She would be, too. Especially considering the price they'd paid on the last diversionary flight just yesterday.
In the buzz that followed his comment, she almost missed Wes Janson's whispered response. "Didn't you hear?" he said as he nudged Wedge. "They're thinking of changing our name to Live Bait Squadron."
Luke nearly choked on his caff again, but he covered nicely. Commander Laire, however, standing at the front of the room, did not appreciate the various reactions of the Rogues, and he deepened his frown.
"I understand that this is not the most pleasant of assignments," the white-haired man spoke sternly. "However it is a necessity."
The Rogues continued to grumble in irritation.
Luke finally spoke up. "Commander," he said, trying to make his voice sound forceful in spite of his exhaustion, "won't it look suspicious for a group of headhunters and a cruiser to suddenly drop out of hyperspace and into the path of an Imperial starship? It's obvious that we have no business being anywhere in the area. Our ships don't even have hyperdrives."
Many of the other pilots in the room nodded their heads in agreement.
Laire seemed to be growing uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Commander Skywalker," he bit out severely, "our main goal is to divert as much attention away from Derra IV as possible. This is the most expeditious way to do so."
"Yes, but with all due respect," Luke argued, "I've already lost one man. I can't afford to lose anyone else on a mission that, quite frankly, seems rather senseless."
Genna stared at him in disbelief for his brazen comment. Surely, Luke had been with the Rebellion long enough to know where to draw the line when addressing a superior officer. But the manner in which he was now questioning Laire's orders made her anxious.
Laire, himself, seemed rather put out by Luke's words, as well. "My orders come from Alliance High Command, Lieutenant Commander," he practically snarled. "If you have a problem with them, take it up with Command when you get back."
Genna's eyes darted to Luke again, and she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. He was not happy about this at all, she noted. In fact, he looked very close to walking out of the room and calling Alliance Command himself. Instead, he simply stared coldly back at the Commander without another word.
Wedge's hand shot up a split-second later. "Sir?"
Commander Laire pulled his gaze away from Skywalker's dark glare and looked at Wedge. "Yes?"
"We're still down one pilot."
Laire grinned smugly at his question. "I've already assigned techs to Cage's ship. She will be flying with you."
Genna then spoke up. "Uh, sir, that won't be necessary."
Misinterpreting her comment, the man looked at her sharply. "Exactly what do you mean by that?"
She swallowed under his sudden glare. Obviously, with the general mood of this meeting, he assumed she was refusing to fly with the Rogues. "What I meant was," she hastily explained, "the stabilizer's already been fixed, sir."
"By whom?" he demanded.
"Skywalker fixed it last night," she replied.
Again, Laire grinned darkly. "Well, that would certainly explain his unpleasant demeanor this morning," he sneered toward Luke. Shifting his gaze back to Genna, he added, "Nevertheless, I'll have the techs check it out."
She saw Luke stiffen out of the corner of her eye, and she winced in sympathy. This man was clearly all of the worst elements of the Rebellion rolled into one. And he certainly had no affection for Skywalker. Or his mechanical abilities. "Yes, sir," she answered stiffly.
Laire nodded before addressing the rest of the Rogues. "You have exactly eight hours until we come out of hyperspace. I assume you'll spend the time wisely."
A grumbled affirmative was the only response he received.
Sensing that it would be best to end this whole thing, Laire then snapped, "Dismissed!"
The Rogues were practically climbing over one another to leave, with Luke in the lead. Genna had to hurry to follow him, nearly tripping on her way out the door. By the time she stepped out into the corridor, he was halfway to his room.
"Skywalker, wait up," she called, rushing to catch up to him.
He paused, but did not turn around.
She reached his side and murmured, "Sure is a nice guy, isn't he?" She threw a sidelong glance at Luke to see the thin smile on his lips. "So where are you off to?"
"To take a nap," he replied. "I don't want to keep from 'spending my time wisely'," he added in a perfect impression of Laire.
Genna smiled. "Of course not," she laughed. "Well, have fun sleeping." She started to walk away.
Luke turned toward her and reached for her shoulder. "Wake me up in four hours?"
His unexpected request startled her, and she cautiously turned back to him. "What about Wedge?" she asked, a slight tremor in her voice that made her wonder at its origins.
With a shake of his head, Luke responded, "Uh-uh. He got me up this morning, and I have no desire to repeat the experience."
"That unpleasant, huh?"
He nodded.
Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Sure, no problem."
"Great," he said with a grin. "See you in four." With that, he continued heading down the hall away from her.
Genna stood there for several moments, watching his retreating form with a strange mixture of feelings she couldn't identify. Rubbing her eyes wearily, she turned toward her own room and sighed. No sense worrying about things she was too tired to figure out anyway. Luke's idea of a nap suddenly sounded really good. As she headed toward her quarters, she decided to catch two hours of sleep. That should really be enough, she mused. Of course, she'd have to set her alarm.
She stopped mid-step. Spinning back around to face the direction Skywalker had just gone, she wondered why he had bothered to ask her to get him up. Surely, the man had to have a chrono in his quarters somewhere! Shaking her head in irritation, she groaned, "Men!"
Disclaimers: All the usual disclaimers apply.
"Up and at em!"
Luke groaned and buried his head further under his pillow to shut out Wedge's annoying voice. He just wanted to get back to that brief yet wonderful deep sleep he'd been so rudely pulled out of.
In a heartbeat, the pillow was yanked off his head as Wedge yelled, "Come on, Luke! It's time to get up."
Refusing to open his eyes, Luke rolled onto his stomach and hid his face in his arms. It couldn't possibly be time to get up already! He'd only gone to sleep . . .. "What time is it?" he slurred sleepily.
"0600,"Wedge replied with a none-too-gentle nudge in his ribs.
"Ugh, Stang!" Luke swore grumpily. "Go away, Wedge."
Wedge, however, wouldn't budge. "Luke, come on, we have a meeting. It's time to get up!"
Muttering a string of curses that would make any Corellian proud, Luke slowly pushed himself up from the bunk, rubbing his eyes and trying to postpone opening them for as long as possible. When he'd finally managed to maneuver himself into something resembling a sitting position, he blinked tentatively. The glaring light of the room made him wince.
"Force, Luke," Wedge laughed. "You look like hell! When did you finally crawl into bed?"
"About thirty minutes ago," Luke mumbled, trying now to focus on something in the room other than Wedge's mocking face. "Who decided to hold a meeting at 0600, anyway?"
Wedge ignored his second remark. "What the blazes were you doing all night?"
Rubbing a hand across his face in an attempt to slough off as much sleepiness as he could, Luke replied, "I couldn't sleep, so I spent the night working on that busted stabilizer."
The pat on the back Wedge gave him nearly made him fall over. "Well, that should put you back in Cage's good graces," he teased.
Luke glared at him, getting to his feet and stumbling toward the crumpled flightsuit on the floor. "Actually, she helped." He turned to catch the reaction of his friend, and he wasn't disappointed. The look on Wedge's face was well worth getting up this early.
"She what?"
Climbing into his flightsuit, Luke grinned. "She helped," he yawned. "She didn't know anything about the mechanics of an X-wing, so I taught her a few things. And she eventually helped."
"And you two didn't kill each other in the process?" Wedge asked in disbelief.
"We came close," Luke answered flatly. He waited for a few moments while he kept his face expressionless, wanting to keep Wedge wondering if he was being serious or not. Finally he said, "I'm kidding, Wedge. Actually, we made our peace."
"Great," Wedge exclaimed. "Does this mean she'll come back to the Rogues?"
Luke shook his head as he pulled on his boots. "Wedge," Luke answered with forced patience, "she's a Renegade. She's happy there, and that's where she belongs." After a pause, he added, "Besides, there's no sense tempting fate."
Wedge grinned stupidly. "Meaning you two have a thing going."
With a sigh and a scowl, Luke looked back to him. "Are you always this annoying, or only when I've gotten a half-hour's worth of sleep?"
His friend tried to sober up. "Yeah, I am in a bit of a mood, aren't I?"
Luke silently nodded the affirmative.
Wedge sat down beside him and shook his head. "Been a weird mission."
"It has," Luke quietly agreed.
Wedge was silent. After a moment he sighed and asked, "You sure you two don't have a thing going?"
Luke snatched the pillow that was now lying at his feet where Wedge had dropped it, and nailed him in the head with it. He then rose and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Once by the door, he turned to Wedge, who was following right behind and said, "Just so you'll know, I'm ignoring you for the rest of the day." He grinned.
Wedge shrugged his shoulders, laughing. "Fine by me!"
The two men then left the room and headed into the corridor. It was empty except for the two of them. Either they were late, or they were too early. No one else seemed to be going anywhere.
As they headed toward the common room, Wedge spoke up, "So was Cage up all night, too?"
"Strange," Luke muttered looking around as though he couldn't see Wedge next to him, "but I seem to be hearing something. Like the voice of an annoying person I'm trying to ignore."
"Hey," Wedge responded defensively, "I'm just trying to find out whether I should avoid her or not. Dealing with cranky females isn't exactly my thing."
Rolling his eyes, Luke murmured, "And it just goes on and on and on . . .."
Throwing his hands up in surrender, Wedge laughed, "Okay, okay. I get the point. I'll shut up now."
"Thank the Force!"
The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard behind them, and the two men spun around to see Hobbie rushing down the corridor, running a hand through his own messy hair as he approached. "This had better be good," he groaned when he reached them.
"Who called this meeting, anyway?" Luke asked, trying not to sound as tired as he felt.
"Dunno," shrugged Hobbie.
"Wedge?" pressed Luke, turning his attention to the dark haired pilot.
Wedge pretended not to hear him. It took a few seconds of silence and Luke's heated gaze before Wedge, turned to them and said, with mock confusion, "I'm sorry, was someone asking me a question? I thought I was being ignored."
Luke turned back to Hobbie. "Remind me to kill him if the Imps don't do it first."
"Copy that, Commander," Hobbie replied with a grin.
They'd reached the door to the meeting room stepped inside. Most of the Rogues were already assembled there, milling around with steaming cups of caff in their hands. Luke immediately sought the source of the desired beverage. It took him a moment to spot the small table set up in the corner, and he headed straight for it.
He'd nearly reached the table when he heard Genna enter the room. "Give me some caff, and no one gets hurt."
Luke chuckled as he poured his own cup. Wes, who was standing beside him at the table, called out, "Caff's on, right here."
"Sweet Angels of Iego," she sighed, rushing to the table and nearly bumping into Luke as she threw an arm around Wes's shoulder. "Janson, you're my new best friend."
Wes laughed as he poured her a cup. "Not a morning person, eh, Cage?"
Luke threw a glance at her, noting her disheveled appearance and the dark circles that rested under her tired eyes.
She met his gaze and smiled dryly. "Not when I get only three hours' sleep."
Wedge stepped up. "Wait a second! Luke said he only got thirty minutes of sleep."
"That's because Cage wimped out on me," Luke replied with a wink at Genna before taking a sip of his caff. "I thought she was going to pass out, so I finally sent her off to her room to get some real sleep."
Wes took a step back at his remark. "And what exactly were you two doing, if I may be so bold? Last I heard, you hated each other."
Luke watched as Genna turned back to Wedge with a gentle, patronizing expression. "Ah, Wes. If you only knew. There's nothing like a guy who gets my ship running in the night!"
Caught off guard between a swallow and a laugh, Luke missed the looks on the other men's faces as he nearly choked to death on his caff. He continued to laugh and cough simultaneously for a few moments as Genna pounded on his back and tears came to his eyes. When he finally managed to bring himself under control, he wiped the tears from his reddened cheeks and patted Genna on the arm. "That was good," he chuckled. "That was very good. Either that, or I'm just really, really tired."
Genna grinned. "That was good, wasn't it?"
Wes shook his head. "I'm so lost."
"I'll explain later," Wedge told him with a grin.
Wes's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "It's not what I think, is it?"
Struggling against residual coughs and giggles, Luke pointedly ignored his question and grabbed his remaining caff. He pointed toward the chairs set up in the room. "I'm going to go sit down now," he told the others. He was still giggling by the time he sat down, even as he wondered what the meeting was going to be about.
As sleep-deprived as he was, it was sure to be an experience.
*****
"Wait, lemme get this straight," an irritated Wedge demanded. "We're flying diversion again?"
Genna glanced over at the obviously distraught Rogue. She didn't blame him for being upset. She would be, too. Especially considering the price they'd paid on the last diversionary flight just yesterday.
In the buzz that followed his comment, she almost missed Wes Janson's whispered response. "Didn't you hear?" he said as he nudged Wedge. "They're thinking of changing our name to Live Bait Squadron."
Luke nearly choked on his caff again, but he covered nicely. Commander Laire, however, standing at the front of the room, did not appreciate the various reactions of the Rogues, and he deepened his frown.
"I understand that this is not the most pleasant of assignments," the white-haired man spoke sternly. "However it is a necessity."
The Rogues continued to grumble in irritation.
Luke finally spoke up. "Commander," he said, trying to make his voice sound forceful in spite of his exhaustion, "won't it look suspicious for a group of headhunters and a cruiser to suddenly drop out of hyperspace and into the path of an Imperial starship? It's obvious that we have no business being anywhere in the area. Our ships don't even have hyperdrives."
Many of the other pilots in the room nodded their heads in agreement.
Laire seemed to be growing uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Commander Skywalker," he bit out severely, "our main goal is to divert as much attention away from Derra IV as possible. This is the most expeditious way to do so."
"Yes, but with all due respect," Luke argued, "I've already lost one man. I can't afford to lose anyone else on a mission that, quite frankly, seems rather senseless."
Genna stared at him in disbelief for his brazen comment. Surely, Luke had been with the Rebellion long enough to know where to draw the line when addressing a superior officer. But the manner in which he was now questioning Laire's orders made her anxious.
Laire, himself, seemed rather put out by Luke's words, as well. "My orders come from Alliance High Command, Lieutenant Commander," he practically snarled. "If you have a problem with them, take it up with Command when you get back."
Genna's eyes darted to Luke again, and she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. He was not happy about this at all, she noted. In fact, he looked very close to walking out of the room and calling Alliance Command himself. Instead, he simply stared coldly back at the Commander without another word.
Wedge's hand shot up a split-second later. "Sir?"
Commander Laire pulled his gaze away from Skywalker's dark glare and looked at Wedge. "Yes?"
"We're still down one pilot."
Laire grinned smugly at his question. "I've already assigned techs to Cage's ship. She will be flying with you."
Genna then spoke up. "Uh, sir, that won't be necessary."
Misinterpreting her comment, the man looked at her sharply. "Exactly what do you mean by that?"
She swallowed under his sudden glare. Obviously, with the general mood of this meeting, he assumed she was refusing to fly with the Rogues. "What I meant was," she hastily explained, "the stabilizer's already been fixed, sir."
"By whom?" he demanded.
"Skywalker fixed it last night," she replied.
Again, Laire grinned darkly. "Well, that would certainly explain his unpleasant demeanor this morning," he sneered toward Luke. Shifting his gaze back to Genna, he added, "Nevertheless, I'll have the techs check it out."
She saw Luke stiffen out of the corner of her eye, and she winced in sympathy. This man was clearly all of the worst elements of the Rebellion rolled into one. And he certainly had no affection for Skywalker. Or his mechanical abilities. "Yes, sir," she answered stiffly.
Laire nodded before addressing the rest of the Rogues. "You have exactly eight hours until we come out of hyperspace. I assume you'll spend the time wisely."
A grumbled affirmative was the only response he received.
Sensing that it would be best to end this whole thing, Laire then snapped, "Dismissed!"
The Rogues were practically climbing over one another to leave, with Luke in the lead. Genna had to hurry to follow him, nearly tripping on her way out the door. By the time she stepped out into the corridor, he was halfway to his room.
"Skywalker, wait up," she called, rushing to catch up to him.
He paused, but did not turn around.
She reached his side and murmured, "Sure is a nice guy, isn't he?" She threw a sidelong glance at Luke to see the thin smile on his lips. "So where are you off to?"
"To take a nap," he replied. "I don't want to keep from 'spending my time wisely'," he added in a perfect impression of Laire.
Genna smiled. "Of course not," she laughed. "Well, have fun sleeping." She started to walk away.
Luke turned toward her and reached for her shoulder. "Wake me up in four hours?"
His unexpected request startled her, and she cautiously turned back to him. "What about Wedge?" she asked, a slight tremor in her voice that made her wonder at its origins.
With a shake of his head, Luke responded, "Uh-uh. He got me up this morning, and I have no desire to repeat the experience."
"That unpleasant, huh?"
He nodded.
Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Sure, no problem."
"Great," he said with a grin. "See you in four." With that, he continued heading down the hall away from her.
Genna stood there for several moments, watching his retreating form with a strange mixture of feelings she couldn't identify. Rubbing her eyes wearily, she turned toward her own room and sighed. No sense worrying about things she was too tired to figure out anyway. Luke's idea of a nap suddenly sounded really good. As she headed toward her quarters, she decided to catch two hours of sleep. That should really be enough, she mused. Of course, she'd have to set her alarm.
She stopped mid-step. Spinning back around to face the direction Skywalker had just gone, she wondered why he had bothered to ask her to get him up. Surely, the man had to have a chrono in his quarters somewhere! Shaking her head in irritation, she groaned, "Men!"