A/N: slightly shorter chapter here after that last long one… and just a reminder, only one chapter to go, which will go up tomorrow at the same time as the first part of the sequel. I'll send a link to the sequel when the end of this goes up. :-)

Disclaimer: If only…

Part V

"Admiral," Jaina smiled and shook the bothan's hand; he smiled back warmly.

"Jedi Solo, it's wonderful to see you again; I trust your family is well?" He didn't wait for a response. "It's a terrible thing, the attitude that's erupted towards the Jedi, on Coruscant itself no less… I've told my cousin that the Jedi are going to make the difference in this war, but he's stubborn as a… ah, Master Durron!"

Kyp eyed the commander of the Ralroost bemusedly, but shook the proffered hand. "Admiral Kre'fey, I'm glad you were able to make it."

The bothan waved him off. "I just wish we had been able to disengage sooner; I'd like to get a quick start with this weapon your squadron uncovered in Sernpidal, the last thing we need now is another unknown quantity that the Vong can use against us."

"I quite agree, Admiral," Wedge Antilles was watching the reunion with a bit of annoyed impatience, Jaina thought, but she didn't have time to speculate. "So let us adjourn to our war room and we can see what we already know and decide where to go from there."

The four walked together from the shuttle pad on the base on Chandrila where they would be conducting their planning sessions. Jaina was relieved to be on solid ground again, for however short a time. As they walked, Kre'fey fell into step beside her. "Have you been formally knighted yet, Jaina?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. Between the onset of the war and my aunt's illness and now the pregnancy, I never finished my apprenticeship with her. I uh," she glanced around at Kyp who seemed to be paying them little heed, "I've actually been apprenticing informally with Master Durron while we've been stationed aboard the Mon Mothma, but it's not likely to last long once the mission to Sernpidal is completed. Commander Darklighter is trying to cut the political tape and get me back into Rogue Squadron. "

"Master Durron, eh?" Kre'fey shot a glance over at the robed Jedi master. "Good man; bit of a loose cannon though, isn't he?"

"Perhaps," she conceded wryly. "But we know each other very well."

Wedge chose that moment to join the conversation, unbidden. "Yes," he said pleasantly, but Jaina saw something hard in his eyes. "I remember when your father returned from Kessel with him, when he was all of eighteen or so… and you and Jacen were just little things then."

She sensed something from Kyp that seemed akin to a mental eye-roll. "Yes, sir. I don't really remember, but I was only two when Kyp came to stay with us for a time."

"That was probably nice for your parents," Wedge continued, voice just a little too innocent now. "Sort of an impromptu baby-sitter when they were busy with state affairs, huh?"

Kyp tensed. Jaina's eyes narrowed as far as she dared them while speaking to a New Republic general, even if it was one she knew as well as Wedge. "Threepio took charge of Jacen and myself at that age when necessary," she told him stiffly. "I believe my father spent most of that period of time keeping Kyp out of trouble, actually."

"Try the other way around," Kyp muttered behind her, and Kre'fey chuckled, apparently oblivious to whatever unspoken battle of wills existed between Wedge and Kyp- and was being waged through Jaina. Supremely annoyed, she promised to ask Kyp later just what exactly he had done to piss off Wedge Antilles.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

Maintaining a conscious awareness of casual passerby around them, Kyp and Jaina strode through the sizable courtyard of the headquarters building on the base. Their hands were clasped behind their backs, and they looked for all the galaxy like a master and apprentice sharing a quiet conversation… unless someone got closer and heard the hissing, heated tones.

"What was that all about?" Jaina demanded.

He shrugged, far too casually. "I told you, the general likes getting under my skin."

"Yes, but why?"

Kyp's voice became snappish. "He doesn't like me, Jaina, who cares?"

"I care," she stressed.

He sighed and led her to a bench, sitting and stretching his long legs out in front of him. Jaina sat stiffly, arms crossed. "He was annoyed that I took you on as my apprentice," he finally muttered. "He probably thinks I'm corrupting you."

She giggled in a very uncharacteristic manner. "Cute. Are you?" she deadpanned. He just shot her a look and thought about how they'd woken up barely six hours prior.

"Irrevocably," he assured her wryly. "Anyway, I think it bothers him to see the young daughter of a close friend paired up with the volatile, formerly dark Jedi is all."

Jaina snorted. "It's been fifteen years; how long do you think he'll hold that over you?"

"Until the very moment he can throw it in my face, undoubtedly."

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

The hyperspace jump to Sernpidal took nearly a week, given the partitioning of the travel lanes during the war. Detours had to be followed, adding hours, to avoid potential Yuuzhan Vong gravity traps. All in all, for most of the crew it was a dull way to pass a week after the enjoyable experience of being on solid ground in Chandrila for several days.

Jaina and Kyp didn't mind, somehow.

The usual schedule of squadron briefings and simulator training continued, but since they were unable to conduct usual flight tests they generally had more free time day to day than was normal. This gave the Jedi master and his informal apprentice plenty of time together to continue Jedi training- among other things.

Curled in the crook of Kyp's arm one evening, Jaina reflected on the time they'd spent together, both in the past six weeks, since she had met up with Kyp's squadron, and since her relationship with Kyp had grown into something more, something serious yet indescribable.

She thought she had sensed an odd melancholy about him lately; perhaps because the fleet's move to Sernpidal signaled the beginning of the end of Kyp's tense alliance with Wedge Antilles. Once it was taken care of, Jaina expected to stay with the Mon Mothma as Rogue Squadron's flagship, assuming Darklighter managed to get her back on the roster as he planned. Kyp, on the other hand, would go back to what he did best- waging a guerrilla war when and where it best suited his Dozen, aligning with the military when necessary- like at Sernpidal- but not regularly.

As much as she liked Kyp, Jaina was smart enough to know that what there was between them was temporary and just for fun. But still… she would be sad when they parted ways.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Kyp woke and groaned, rolled over, buried his face in her hair and slung an arm across her waist, dragging her close against him. She laughed and turned her face to kiss his cheek. "Nice nap?"

"Hm," he murmured, voice muffled by her hair. "Did you sleep?"

"No," she sighed contentedly, squirming a bit as his fingers turned explorative and playful. "Stop that!"

He smiled a predatory smirk. "Care for a sanisteam?"

"Should I be offended at that question?"

His hands found a sensitive spot above her knee and she squealed. He covered the sound with a kiss and murmured in her ear. "I was thinking for more recreational purposes," he said. "Together."

"Sounds… crowded."

"We'll make it work."

And they did.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

She felt him coming before the clang of his heavy-booted footsteps reverberated around the plated floor of the XJ hangar. Refusing to hurry, she continued her work with the hydrospanner, conscious of Kyp standing and watching her half-exposed body sticking out from the underside of the maintenance access hatch.

"Don't they have mechanics and droids for this sort of thing?"

A minute later, she slid out and glared up at the Jedi master. "I am a mechanic," she said tartly. "And I like to be personally responsible for the tip-top shape of my own craft when flying into battle, thank you."

Kyp grinned. "And I'm sure you'll go over it another half-dozen times between now and then anyway, so let's say you take a little break, hm?"

"Master Durron," Jaina said with an assumed wide-eyed innocence, "you wouldn't want to jeopardize the condition of my craft now, would you?"

The corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement. "No… I was just thinking that maybe the cockpit could use some more work. There seemed to be a bit of a problem, last time I was up there…"

"You were in my ship?" she demanded, keeping her own smile at bay with effort.

He shrugged. "Sure, just concerned with my apprentice's safety. I wanted to check out a few things… system controls, life-support… spaciousness…"

"Hm," she considered. "And just how did the, er… spaciousness measure up to standards?"

"I think it could use a re-check. Care to join me in the investigation?" Jaina smiled slyly, but looked anxiously around the hangar. "We're alone," Kyp waved off her concerns. "The general gave everyone non-essential the night off, no one else will be crazy enough to come do maintenance work now, and we're in hyperspace for another two days- it's not like anyone will be coming to grab a shuttle for a test-flight."

For a few moments, she hesitated. Then, with a grin, she allowed Kyp to pull her to her feet, and he pressed her hard against the smooth durasteel side panels of the craft, leaning forward and applying his mouth expertly to a pressure point at her throat. His hands went to work at the clasps of her jumpsuit and in moments, had her down to her grey undershirt, the jumpsuit hanging at the waist.

He leapt gracefully to the wing and caught her as she came up. Settling down in the low seat of the craft, he steadied her as she settled in after him, wrapping her legs around his waist and leaning back against the control board with a wry smirk on her face.

Eyes darkening in lustful desire, he leaned forward and captured her mouth while slipping a hand beneath the hem of her shirt.

It was, Jaina later reflected, the most enjoyable experience in a spacecraft she had ever had. She did not know, however, that the next time she got in that particular ship would be the last; nor that, by the end of that flight, her entire life would have shifted dramatically.

End Part V