Title: Out of Time
Era: Inter-trilogy
Characters: Jagged/Zena Antilles; Wedge 'Veggies' Antilles; Booster Terrik; Syal Antilles (mentioned).
Ships: Jagged/Zena
Summary: A look into the final thoughts of Wedge's parents as they isolate the fire on the Gus Treta station.
Notes: I spent far too long looking at certain sections in part 2 of "X-Wing: The Phantom Affair" comics. Couldn't help myself, especially as it involves characters that are often overlooked in fanfiction. I have developed a new obession within Star Wars, namely Rouge Squadron, any of the pilots, or their families. :stalks off for more x-wing comics/books:
As an explosion rocked the Gus Treta station, Jagged Antilles found himself thrown across the room, the hydrospanner he been working with hitting the wall beside him.
"What in all nine Corellian hells...!" he cursed, gingerly rubbing the bruises that were already forming.
Lurching to his feet, he made his way over to the holocomm, grabbing a stool to keep his balance as another muted explosion sent shockwaves through out the station. He hit the controls.
"Zena! What's happening?" he asked as his wife's form appeared in miniature over the holocomm transmitter.
There was no denying the level of tension and anxiety in her as she answered, "Jagged, you better get up here quick."
He sighed, exasperated. hat wasn't what I asked, Zena.
"But what is happening?" he persisted.
"Bonestar pirates. They lifted off without unhooking the lines. Now get up here!" she said hurriedly, worry biting into her voice and closed the connection.
Sithspit! Jagged scrambled up the maintenance ladder as fast as his bruises let him. Hauling himself up the last part, he started to run towards the depot that he and his wife ran, a cold sense of dread settling in his stomach. The thrusters would have lit the lines up, leading back to the tanks… that was the explosions were. Jagged thought of many profanities which he would dearly love to voice, but didn't have the air available in his lungs to do so. It could destroy the entire station if we don't contain the fire.
He could smell the smoke before he actually saw it. Soon he caught up with Zena, a crowd of other residents on board the Gus Treta station evacuating towards other areas ahead of her. In passing the main commterminal, he grabbed one of the headsets and jammed it on.
Zena quickly reached her husband's side, and they stepped aside to let the others pass them. "Just before the pirates left, the Pulsar Skate had just dropped in-system," She told him.
Booster Terrik. Jagged and Zena's long-time friend, and currently the man who was taking care of their son.
"Good thing Booster and Wedge never landed then." Jagged said grimly before moving back towards the fires, Zena following him.
As if on cue, Booster's familiar voice came through the headset.
"Hey Jagged, can you hear me?"
"I hear you, Booster! Is Wedge okay?"
It was only then Jagged realised the background noise he could hear over the headset was Wedge making a racket. That answered that question. He smiled faintly, that was his boy, always wanting to be in the thick of it.
"What's happened?" Booster voice crackled in Jagged's ears.
"We had some Bonestar pirates here for refuelling! They took off in haste before unhooking. Thrusters ignited the fuel!"
Another explosion shook the station, this time just in front of Jagged. For the second time, Jagged found himself blasted off his feet by the energy produced.
"Jagged!" Booster's worried voice called as Zena helped him to his feet.
"I'm okay Booster, but something needs to be done here!" Or else everyone on this station is dead. Jagged knew what he had to do.
He also knew that it would cost him his life to do it.
"I've got to detach us from the rest of the station before the fire spreads! There's no way we can evacuate the whole thing!" It didn't matter if he didn't survive in his mind, as long as his family and those he had countered as good friends did. And anyway, it was his depot, it was his responsibility.
Zena turned back towards her husband. "We're the last ones left Jagged!"
Jagged looked at his wife. "Good. Go now, Zena!" Please, Zena, please…
Her jaw tightened and that stubborn look that always marked her victories in arguments came over her face. But this time it was tinged with sadness and desperation that was visible in her eyes before she turned to grab the two fire-suppressant foam canisters from a wall cavity.
"No way, Jagged Antilles! You'll need me to fight the flames while you activate the lancing charge!" There's no way I'm going to just going to leave you here, Jagged. You're a part of me.
"Don't be foolish, Zena! Once we detach, they can't save us!" And that means if you stay, Wedge'll lose both of us in one shot, you can't do that… nor to Syal, wherever she is right now.
Zena thumped the foam canister into his chest, and locked her blue eyes on her husband's warm brown ones.
"I know that, Jagged. You didn't marry a stupid woman!" The determination was almost flowing off her.
They seemed share a thousand words in those few seconds, but in reality, there were none. Just acceptance of what they both had to do.
"Okay, let's go," he said, pulling up a makeshift mask against the smoke.
"NO!" Up until this point, Zena and Jagged had almost forgotten that there were others who could hear them via the headset Jagged was still wearing. Their youngest child being one of them.
"MOM! DAD! DON'T DO IT!" Zena hastily swiped her eyes as she heard her son's heart broken voice begging to them.
"We have to, Veggies," she yelled, using the affectionate nickname given to him by his sister many years ago and hoping that Wedge would be able to hear her. "The station depends on it."
Jagged picked up where she left off.
"Hundreds of lives, we don't really have a choice." Believe us, Veggies, if there was a way out of this that didn't have to hurt you this way, we'd take it. But there isn't.
The pair of them sprayed the foam where the fire was licking at the lancing charge. Jagged ignored the pain that shot up his arms from the retained heat of the metal charge as he heaved it down, cutting their depot off from the rest of the station.
Suddenly, the hissing noise of the foam behind him came to an abrupt halt. Zena threw the canister she was holding aside.
"We're out of foam, Jagged!"
He moved towards his wife. "Never mind, Zena, we did it!" he said as the jolting the signified the release reached them.
The couple embraced, knowing what was about to come.
"Wedge? Do you hear me?" Jagged asked over his headset, unsure as to whether it was still working or not.
"Yes…" came his son's pain-filled voice through the static.
"We love you, son," he managed to say before the line disintegrated into complete static.
Zena buried her head in her husband's shoulder, briefly, before whispering in a broken voice, "Syal, we never got to tell her that."
Syal, their eldest, the daughter they hadn't seen in several years. Jagged quickly brought a memory of her to mind. Beautiful, like Zena, blue-green eyes, his own blonde hair, always full of excitement. Then there was Wedge, nearly ten years younger than Syal. Brown hair, brown eyes, inquisitive, and his love of flying, not to mention his skill in it.
It had hurt so much when Syal had run off, wanting to become an actress. And Wedge had only been seven at the time, it had hurt him deeply. They hadn't heard from her either, and now they'd never get to see her again. Nor Wedge.
All they could do now was to cling to each other and hope that both their children would be okay inn this turbulent galaxy.
But now, they were out of time.
Fin
Review, please.