Hearts Are Meant To: Chapter 15
Silence filled the small, stark room in the ship's brig as Genna glared blaster bolts across at the man standing in front of her. Wedge shifted uncomfortably, glancing toward her slight handcuffed form and then to Laire, the object of her wrath. He knew Laire had cause to suspect the Renegade pilot, but deep down in his gut, Wedge knew she was as innocent as he was in this whole matter. After all, one would expect an ex-Imperial to be knowledgeable about standard Imperial procedure, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was a traitor. If she was suspect, a good portion of the Alliance should be as well.
As if to punctuate his thought, the door behind him suddenly opened and a familiar form was shoved beside him by two armed officers.
"What the-" he gasped in horror.
Tycho Celchu simply snarled at him, "Get these cuffs off me now, Wedge!"
"You will address him as Commander Antilles," Laire warned.
Tycho arched an eyebrow as he looked at Wedge darkly. "Oh, so they promoted you, now? Funny, I thought you were one of us."
"It's just temporary," Wedge blurted guiltily, surprised to find his friend now under suspicion as well. He turned to Laire, indicating the binders on Tycho's wrists. "Can we get these off?"
Laire ignored the question. "He is acting as commander of Rogue Squadron until we can determine Commander Skywalker's fate," he spoke coldly. "So for the time being, he is your superior officer, and must be addressed as such."
"Really?" Tycho's pale eyes darted from Wedge to Laire and back. "Well, congratulations, Wedge. Laire, here, seems almost giddy to have Luke replaced." He looked back at Laire. "I'll bet you're just hoping against hope that Luke remains permanently MIA, aren't you?"
"That will be enough, Celchu," Laire snarled.
"Couldn't stand it that he had earned and gained more respect than you at such a young age," Tycho went on.
"Tycho, please," Wedge pleaded quietly, knowing full well that his friend's temper was getting the better of him, and deservedly so. He didn't want him digging himself into a hole he couldn't get out of, however.
"Or the fact that we Rogues are more loyal to him than-"
"Tycho!" snapped Wedge, forcefully cutting him off and drawing Tycho's attention back to him and away from Laire.
"You see what I mean about former Imperials?" he heard Laire's voice remark coldly. "Completely out of line."
Wedge quickly bit back his own surge of anger and kept his eyes focused on Tycho while placing a restraining hand against the man's shoulder at his reaction to the Commander's words. Refusing to glance in Laire's direction, Wedge asked stiffly, "Sir, may we remove these binders? I can vouch for Celchu's loyalty."
Laire's responding laugh was cold and derisive. "Absolutely not."
At that, Wedge spun on him. "Sir, there is no just cause for restraining him. We're supposed to be fighting injustice, not inflicting it. Now I strongly insist that these binders be removed," he paused before overly emphasizing the final word, "Sir."
Obviously taken aback by Wedge's sudden forcefulness, Laire only stared back at him for a moment. Then, without a word, he signaled to the two officers standing behind them. Wedge was momentarily relieved when the two guards proceeded to remove the cuffs.
Tycho, however, avoided his gaze and focused instead upon the young woman in the corner. "Well, greetings, Cage. Fancy meeting you here."
Genna only stared back, expressionless.
"She hasn't spoken a word since she was taken into custody," Wedge explained quietly.
Tycho grinned wryly and gave her a reassuring nod. "Good for you, Cage. Stars, I hate being right all the time."
Wedge noted that he was rewarded with a slight grin from Genna, but she remained silent. When he looked back at Tycho, he was surprised to see that the man was once again staring back at him.
"So why is she being questioned?" Tycho asked in a mock-whisper.
Laire interjected, "That's none of your concern."
In response, Wedge threw a sidelong glance at Laire before replying to Tycho's question. "They suspect her of being a spy, not that I agree with them."
"Antilles!" bellowed Laire.
Both Tycho and Wedge ignored him. "What gave them that idea?" Tycho pressed.
"She said she suspected they were after someone, specifically Luke, based on her knowledge of Imperial procedure. Seconds later, the biggest ship I ever saw dropped out of hyperspace right on top of us."
Tycho glanced over at Genna, then looked pointedly at Laire. "Oh, then by all means, she's certainly a spy."
Wedge tried valiantly not to chuckle to himself as Laire turned red-faced and practically hollered, "Return to your quarters, Celchu!"
Tycho responded with an exaggerated salute and a loud, "Yes, sir!" before spinning on his heels and marching out past the two stationed guards.
Wedge could feel the color rising in his own cheeks as he fought hard against the laughter that was threatening to burst forth. Laire's voice sobered him.
"Antilles, I don't tolerate disrespect or insubordination. I'm leaving it up to you to discipline that young man."
Wedge's response was an incredulous, "Sir?"
Laire refused to acknowledge his question as he turned toward Genna. "Now, let's find out what you truly know."
*****
Two hours later, Wedge strolled through the corridor toward Genna's holding cell, sipping one cup of caff and holding another in his hand. He winced slightly as the hot liquid ran down his throat. Only one more hour until they came out of hyperspace. Then, hopefully, this whole mess would be resolved. With any luck, Luke would be at the rendezvous point waiting for them, and all Laire's questionings would prove to be nothing more than the groundless suspicions Wedge believed they were.
An hour ago, he'd stormed out of the cell. He'd had enough of Laire's demanding tone and insinuations, and he'd had enough of Genna's stubborn refusal to answer any of his questions. If she'd been a Rogue, it would have been a different story. But she wasn't, and she was completely out of his jurisdiction. So he left her alone to deal with Laire herself, while he found a half-dozen other things to do to bide his time. Of course, there was this annoying thing in Wedge's gut called a conscience, and it was pressing him now toward her cell with a fresh cup of caff and, hopefully, a bit of a reprieve from Laire. After all, stubborn or not, no one deserved to put up with him for that long. The man was insufferable.
Reaching her door, he nodded to the guard stationed there and palmed it open. He blinked as he noticed that only Cage was in the room, still seated in the chair, but thankfully alone. She cradled her head wearily in her manacled hands.
"Thank the stars," he murmured in response to Laire's absence.
"Tell me about it," came the muffled reply before Cage brought her head up to look at him. Her eyes fell on the second cup in his hand. "Please tell me that's for me."
Wedge nodded and handed her the cup. He grimaced as she reached up with her hands still bound together to take it. "I'd have them remove those for you, but Laire'd have a fit," he said in apology.
She nodded as she sipped her caff. After swallowing, she responded, "I really detest that man."
"I'm definitely going to have a long talk with Rieekan about him," Wedge agreed. "He's too suspicious for his own good. And too self-important to admit it."
Caged arched an eyebrow at him over her cup of caff. "You sound as though you feel I shouldn't be in here."
Wedge met her gaze. "Should you be?"
Cage was silent for a moment, then she lowered her gaze and seemed to ponder her cup of caff. "You bugged, Antilles?"
"Not that I'm aware of," he answered, a bit of an edge creeping into his voice at the implications of her question. What was she about to tell him?
She picked up on the tone. "Relax, Antilles. I'm not a spy." She paused, still staring at her cup and swirling the liquid around. "I just haven't told you the whole story."
Wedge leaned against the wall, eyeing her with a hard stare. "Then maybe you should."
She sighed in response. "It's a long story. How much time do we have?"
Wedge checked his chrono. "We come out of hyperspace in an hour, so you've got plenty of time. Spill."
Cage gave him a wan smile, then took a deep breath. "I told Luke most of it, just not the parts that concern him."
"What do you mean?"
"It's complicated," she said, looking up at him. "And it's a hard story to tell, so just be patient."
Wedge grimaced. Patient? Here she was saying that her story involved Luke, his friend who was missing and apparently wanted by the Empire. And she expected him to be patient? "Go on," he grumbled.
"Yeah," Genna breathed. "So, anyway, as you know, I was a pilot in the Imperial Navy. Right up until Alderaan. And it was like my whole universe had suddenly shattered and had been put back together all wrong. I was a mess, to put it lightly." She paused, and although her tone had been light, conversational, Wedge could hear the emotion simmering beneath the surface. "So there I was, an Imperial who had realized she was fighting on the wrong side of a war. And when that happens, you're lost, dead inside. And it doesn't take long for you realize you're not the only one. It was easy to spot the others, once you knew what to look for. There's that 'my life is a lie' look to the eyes that tips you off. Some of them jump ship first chance they get, others plot revenge. A bunch of us, we decided to take the lower road and sought vengeance immediately. We planted a bomb on the carrier, destroyed it along with our fellow pilots, those who had remained true to the Imperial cause. No remorse, instant gratification." She looked up into Wedge's pale face. "Sounds horrible, doesn't it?"
He shifted where he leaned against the wall, feeling cold. "No," he whispered in reply. "A lot of us have been there." He just hadn't thought the pretty pilot had been one of them. "Continue."
Genna nodded. "We fled, but we weren't thinking right at the time. We took off together, that was our first mistake. It didn't take long before we were captured. Our actions were deemed so outrageously traitorous that we were dealt with from the very top. I stood and watched as Vader choked the life out of my comrades one by one, leaving only three of us alive. Why he kept us alive, I don't know. But we were each then separated and. . . .punished for our crimes." She swallowed hard but continued right away, betraying little of her emotions. "I would have done anything to end it, by death or otherwise at that moment. Then Vader came to me with an out. I was given a mission for the Empire, one that I agreed to accomplish. I was ready to agree to anything. I was given the name of a rebel pilot I was supposed to gather information on. How I got that information was up to me, but that's all I was supposed to do. Seemed simple enough, so I accepted the mission. I wouldn't have to kill anyone, I wouldn't have to sabotage the Rebellion's efforts, and I wouldn't have to betray top-secret information. All I had to do was learn everything I could about one man."
"Luke Skywalker," Wedge said coldly.
Genna nodded.
"Why?"
"I don't know," she replied softly. "Could be the Death Star, but whatever it is, Vader wants him and wants him bad. That's how I knew when that Super Star Destroyer came out of hyperspace."
Wedge growled at her, "And you led him straight to us!"
"No, I didn't," Cage cried. "That's the problem. I haven't reported to Vader. I haven't told him anything . . .both because I haven't learned anything significant and because I wouldn't tell him if I did. Vader's mission got me into the Rebellion. But it's my heart and my conscience that's keeping me here! You can't honestly think that I'd tell him anything after what he did to my home! My family! Palpatine's little henchman wanted to use me! But instead I used him!"
"Then how-"
"There's someone else! Obviously, I wasn't alone in this mission. Or maybe Vader has had an operative working another angle. I don't know! All I do know is that there is someone on this ship who is working for the Empire! And it's not me!"
Wedge stepped toward her. "Then who is it?"
"I'm not sure," she sighed. "But I have my suspicions."
Wedge shook his head. "Do you really expect me to believe all this?"
"Antilles," she began, a plea in her voice, "what reason would I have to betray you? I know you care a lot about Luke, but you've got to believe me when I say I care about him, too. Granted, we didn't get off to the best start, but he's kinda' grown on me."
Wedge chuckled slightly. "For an obnoxious farmboy, he does have that tendency, doesn't he?"
"Definitely," she agreed, rising to her feet and holding her bound wrists imploringly. "So please believe me. There's an Imperial on this ship. We have to find out who it is and stop him before it's too late."
Silence filled the small, stark room in the ship's brig as Genna glared blaster bolts across at the man standing in front of her. Wedge shifted uncomfortably, glancing toward her slight handcuffed form and then to Laire, the object of her wrath. He knew Laire had cause to suspect the Renegade pilot, but deep down in his gut, Wedge knew she was as innocent as he was in this whole matter. After all, one would expect an ex-Imperial to be knowledgeable about standard Imperial procedure, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was a traitor. If she was suspect, a good portion of the Alliance should be as well.
As if to punctuate his thought, the door behind him suddenly opened and a familiar form was shoved beside him by two armed officers.
"What the-" he gasped in horror.
Tycho Celchu simply snarled at him, "Get these cuffs off me now, Wedge!"
"You will address him as Commander Antilles," Laire warned.
Tycho arched an eyebrow as he looked at Wedge darkly. "Oh, so they promoted you, now? Funny, I thought you were one of us."
"It's just temporary," Wedge blurted guiltily, surprised to find his friend now under suspicion as well. He turned to Laire, indicating the binders on Tycho's wrists. "Can we get these off?"
Laire ignored the question. "He is acting as commander of Rogue Squadron until we can determine Commander Skywalker's fate," he spoke coldly. "So for the time being, he is your superior officer, and must be addressed as such."
"Really?" Tycho's pale eyes darted from Wedge to Laire and back. "Well, congratulations, Wedge. Laire, here, seems almost giddy to have Luke replaced." He looked back at Laire. "I'll bet you're just hoping against hope that Luke remains permanently MIA, aren't you?"
"That will be enough, Celchu," Laire snarled.
"Couldn't stand it that he had earned and gained more respect than you at such a young age," Tycho went on.
"Tycho, please," Wedge pleaded quietly, knowing full well that his friend's temper was getting the better of him, and deservedly so. He didn't want him digging himself into a hole he couldn't get out of, however.
"Or the fact that we Rogues are more loyal to him than-"
"Tycho!" snapped Wedge, forcefully cutting him off and drawing Tycho's attention back to him and away from Laire.
"You see what I mean about former Imperials?" he heard Laire's voice remark coldly. "Completely out of line."
Wedge quickly bit back his own surge of anger and kept his eyes focused on Tycho while placing a restraining hand against the man's shoulder at his reaction to the Commander's words. Refusing to glance in Laire's direction, Wedge asked stiffly, "Sir, may we remove these binders? I can vouch for Celchu's loyalty."
Laire's responding laugh was cold and derisive. "Absolutely not."
At that, Wedge spun on him. "Sir, there is no just cause for restraining him. We're supposed to be fighting injustice, not inflicting it. Now I strongly insist that these binders be removed," he paused before overly emphasizing the final word, "Sir."
Obviously taken aback by Wedge's sudden forcefulness, Laire only stared back at him for a moment. Then, without a word, he signaled to the two officers standing behind them. Wedge was momentarily relieved when the two guards proceeded to remove the cuffs.
Tycho, however, avoided his gaze and focused instead upon the young woman in the corner. "Well, greetings, Cage. Fancy meeting you here."
Genna only stared back, expressionless.
"She hasn't spoken a word since she was taken into custody," Wedge explained quietly.
Tycho grinned wryly and gave her a reassuring nod. "Good for you, Cage. Stars, I hate being right all the time."
Wedge noted that he was rewarded with a slight grin from Genna, but she remained silent. When he looked back at Tycho, he was surprised to see that the man was once again staring back at him.
"So why is she being questioned?" Tycho asked in a mock-whisper.
Laire interjected, "That's none of your concern."
In response, Wedge threw a sidelong glance at Laire before replying to Tycho's question. "They suspect her of being a spy, not that I agree with them."
"Antilles!" bellowed Laire.
Both Tycho and Wedge ignored him. "What gave them that idea?" Tycho pressed.
"She said she suspected they were after someone, specifically Luke, based on her knowledge of Imperial procedure. Seconds later, the biggest ship I ever saw dropped out of hyperspace right on top of us."
Tycho glanced over at Genna, then looked pointedly at Laire. "Oh, then by all means, she's certainly a spy."
Wedge tried valiantly not to chuckle to himself as Laire turned red-faced and practically hollered, "Return to your quarters, Celchu!"
Tycho responded with an exaggerated salute and a loud, "Yes, sir!" before spinning on his heels and marching out past the two stationed guards.
Wedge could feel the color rising in his own cheeks as he fought hard against the laughter that was threatening to burst forth. Laire's voice sobered him.
"Antilles, I don't tolerate disrespect or insubordination. I'm leaving it up to you to discipline that young man."
Wedge's response was an incredulous, "Sir?"
Laire refused to acknowledge his question as he turned toward Genna. "Now, let's find out what you truly know."
*****
Two hours later, Wedge strolled through the corridor toward Genna's holding cell, sipping one cup of caff and holding another in his hand. He winced slightly as the hot liquid ran down his throat. Only one more hour until they came out of hyperspace. Then, hopefully, this whole mess would be resolved. With any luck, Luke would be at the rendezvous point waiting for them, and all Laire's questionings would prove to be nothing more than the groundless suspicions Wedge believed they were.
An hour ago, he'd stormed out of the cell. He'd had enough of Laire's demanding tone and insinuations, and he'd had enough of Genna's stubborn refusal to answer any of his questions. If she'd been a Rogue, it would have been a different story. But she wasn't, and she was completely out of his jurisdiction. So he left her alone to deal with Laire herself, while he found a half-dozen other things to do to bide his time. Of course, there was this annoying thing in Wedge's gut called a conscience, and it was pressing him now toward her cell with a fresh cup of caff and, hopefully, a bit of a reprieve from Laire. After all, stubborn or not, no one deserved to put up with him for that long. The man was insufferable.
Reaching her door, he nodded to the guard stationed there and palmed it open. He blinked as he noticed that only Cage was in the room, still seated in the chair, but thankfully alone. She cradled her head wearily in her manacled hands.
"Thank the stars," he murmured in response to Laire's absence.
"Tell me about it," came the muffled reply before Cage brought her head up to look at him. Her eyes fell on the second cup in his hand. "Please tell me that's for me."
Wedge nodded and handed her the cup. He grimaced as she reached up with her hands still bound together to take it. "I'd have them remove those for you, but Laire'd have a fit," he said in apology.
She nodded as she sipped her caff. After swallowing, she responded, "I really detest that man."
"I'm definitely going to have a long talk with Rieekan about him," Wedge agreed. "He's too suspicious for his own good. And too self-important to admit it."
Caged arched an eyebrow at him over her cup of caff. "You sound as though you feel I shouldn't be in here."
Wedge met her gaze. "Should you be?"
Cage was silent for a moment, then she lowered her gaze and seemed to ponder her cup of caff. "You bugged, Antilles?"
"Not that I'm aware of," he answered, a bit of an edge creeping into his voice at the implications of her question. What was she about to tell him?
She picked up on the tone. "Relax, Antilles. I'm not a spy." She paused, still staring at her cup and swirling the liquid around. "I just haven't told you the whole story."
Wedge leaned against the wall, eyeing her with a hard stare. "Then maybe you should."
She sighed in response. "It's a long story. How much time do we have?"
Wedge checked his chrono. "We come out of hyperspace in an hour, so you've got plenty of time. Spill."
Cage gave him a wan smile, then took a deep breath. "I told Luke most of it, just not the parts that concern him."
"What do you mean?"
"It's complicated," she said, looking up at him. "And it's a hard story to tell, so just be patient."
Wedge grimaced. Patient? Here she was saying that her story involved Luke, his friend who was missing and apparently wanted by the Empire. And she expected him to be patient? "Go on," he grumbled.
"Yeah," Genna breathed. "So, anyway, as you know, I was a pilot in the Imperial Navy. Right up until Alderaan. And it was like my whole universe had suddenly shattered and had been put back together all wrong. I was a mess, to put it lightly." She paused, and although her tone had been light, conversational, Wedge could hear the emotion simmering beneath the surface. "So there I was, an Imperial who had realized she was fighting on the wrong side of a war. And when that happens, you're lost, dead inside. And it doesn't take long for you realize you're not the only one. It was easy to spot the others, once you knew what to look for. There's that 'my life is a lie' look to the eyes that tips you off. Some of them jump ship first chance they get, others plot revenge. A bunch of us, we decided to take the lower road and sought vengeance immediately. We planted a bomb on the carrier, destroyed it along with our fellow pilots, those who had remained true to the Imperial cause. No remorse, instant gratification." She looked up into Wedge's pale face. "Sounds horrible, doesn't it?"
He shifted where he leaned against the wall, feeling cold. "No," he whispered in reply. "A lot of us have been there." He just hadn't thought the pretty pilot had been one of them. "Continue."
Genna nodded. "We fled, but we weren't thinking right at the time. We took off together, that was our first mistake. It didn't take long before we were captured. Our actions were deemed so outrageously traitorous that we were dealt with from the very top. I stood and watched as Vader choked the life out of my comrades one by one, leaving only three of us alive. Why he kept us alive, I don't know. But we were each then separated and. . . .punished for our crimes." She swallowed hard but continued right away, betraying little of her emotions. "I would have done anything to end it, by death or otherwise at that moment. Then Vader came to me with an out. I was given a mission for the Empire, one that I agreed to accomplish. I was ready to agree to anything. I was given the name of a rebel pilot I was supposed to gather information on. How I got that information was up to me, but that's all I was supposed to do. Seemed simple enough, so I accepted the mission. I wouldn't have to kill anyone, I wouldn't have to sabotage the Rebellion's efforts, and I wouldn't have to betray top-secret information. All I had to do was learn everything I could about one man."
"Luke Skywalker," Wedge said coldly.
Genna nodded.
"Why?"
"I don't know," she replied softly. "Could be the Death Star, but whatever it is, Vader wants him and wants him bad. That's how I knew when that Super Star Destroyer came out of hyperspace."
Wedge growled at her, "And you led him straight to us!"
"No, I didn't," Cage cried. "That's the problem. I haven't reported to Vader. I haven't told him anything . . .both because I haven't learned anything significant and because I wouldn't tell him if I did. Vader's mission got me into the Rebellion. But it's my heart and my conscience that's keeping me here! You can't honestly think that I'd tell him anything after what he did to my home! My family! Palpatine's little henchman wanted to use me! But instead I used him!"
"Then how-"
"There's someone else! Obviously, I wasn't alone in this mission. Or maybe Vader has had an operative working another angle. I don't know! All I do know is that there is someone on this ship who is working for the Empire! And it's not me!"
Wedge stepped toward her. "Then who is it?"
"I'm not sure," she sighed. "But I have my suspicions."
Wedge shook his head. "Do you really expect me to believe all this?"
"Antilles," she began, a plea in her voice, "what reason would I have to betray you? I know you care a lot about Luke, but you've got to believe me when I say I care about him, too. Granted, we didn't get off to the best start, but he's kinda' grown on me."
Wedge chuckled slightly. "For an obnoxious farmboy, he does have that tendency, doesn't he?"
"Definitely," she agreed, rising to her feet and holding her bound wrists imploringly. "So please believe me. There's an Imperial on this ship. We have to find out who it is and stop him before it's too late."