Here it is... Hope you enjoy!!
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Chapter Nine
The next morning, Jaina stepped out of her room and set off down the hallway. Little did she know.
Around the corner, Kyp keyed his comlink. "Target has set out. Operation Woasted 'Tato. Wait a minute-who came up with the operation name?!"
Wedge's chuckle crackled in his ear. "I asked Myri what Ben's favorite food was."
Kyp rolled his eyes. More like you came up with it to make me squirm every time I say it. "Okay, Operation. er, Woasted 'Tato is commencing."
Kyp, dressed entirely in black, slipped around the corner and followed Jaina at a discreet distance. He cloaked his Force presence so she would not sense him following her. If she did. Kyp cringed just to think of it.
He followed her outside, where she began running. Kyp keyed the comlink once more. "Target has begun running. Target started maneuvers at the purple tree on the south side of the base. I'm following in case target does something unexpected."
"Copy," Wedge said.
Kyp followed Jaina for twenty kilometers in a circuit around the base. By the end of the run, he was sweating profusely and panting for breath. "Target-has-reached-base-once more," he gasped.
"Copy. Durron, you sound tired. And thirsty. Too bad you aren't here in this ventilated office, sipping a nice cool drink like I am."
"Sir. Please shut up. I hate you." Kyp clicked the comlink off and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. He narrowed his eyes at Jaina who was barely breathing hard. What I wouldn't give for her physique. he thought wistfully. He stood there replaying the thought over in his head, then grimaced. EWWW!! Never mind!
Kyp snapped out of his daze when Jaina started moving again. "Target is reentering building, most likely headed towards the gymnasium."
"Check. Follow her."
"Copy." And with that, Kyp trotted after Jaina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five standard hours and about 3,000 kilometers later, Operation Woasted 'Tato finally terminated and Kyp showed up at Wedge's office, out of breath and sweating like a bantha.
"Sir," he gasped, throwing a quick salute, then fell into a conveniently placed chair.
Wedge grinned. "I could say so much. but I won't, because I'm that nice."
Kyp rolled his eyes. "Yes, sir, you're just about the nicest guy I know. Except, of course, Palpatine, Vader, Boba Fett, Dengar, Admiral Daala, Zsinj, and Iceheart were all guys that were nicer than you."
"Yes, Iceheart was definitely a guy." Wedge shook his head and brought up a holomap of the base to float above his desk. Kyp leaned forward to look. "Okay, I've traced her route on this map. Tomorrow, you'll follow Jag around and we can transfer his activities here too."
Kyp's mouth fell open. "I have to follow JAG around?!?! Mr. Buff Extraordinaire?? What does he do, run his butt off all day?!?!"
Wedge grinned. "Unfortunately, Durron, I happen to know that my nephew isn't particularly partial to going on twenty-kilometer runs. Yet."
Realization dawned on Kyp. "So it'll be my job to sorta casually ask him to go running with me? And it'll just coincidentally be the same route Jaina takes every morning?"
Wedge grinned back. "Precisely," he said.
"Sorry for asking, but wouldn't it be a whole lot easier if Jaina and Jag were to 'bump into each other' at the tapcaf or something?" Kyp asked.
Wedge looked at Kyp exasperatedly. "How many times do I have to say this, Durron? That might be a good idea if we were dealing with... oh, how should I put it... normal people. But when dealing with Jaina and Jag, we must go to extreme measures to ensure that they hook up."
"But why?" Kyp asked, still daunted with the task of following "Mr. Buff Extraordinaire" around the whole day.
"Because," Wedge said patiently, "like I said before, and the time before that, and the time before that, they're biologically predisposed to make things as difficult as possible. Try to imagine a Han Solo with a double dose of stubbornness and sheer stupidity and a Princess Leia with twice the sass and stubbornness, then quadruple the blindness on both parts and take away Jabba, Vader, Calrissian, space slugs, and other convenient circumstances and you've got yourself our situation."
Kyp was effectively silenced by Wedge's explanation. All he could manage was a half-hearted "Oh."
"Durron, you're a fast learner." Wedge took out a red holocrayon. "If you go this way with Jag, and Jaina goes this way, then you should meet right about there." He marked a big red X on the holomap. "This is, of course, if after you follow my nephew tomorrow, their paths don't cross at a more conducive location."
Kyp frowned. "Wouldn't it be kinda suspicious if we 'just happened' to run into Jaina on our first run? If you'll excuse the pun." He snickered.
Wedge groaned. "Durron, promise me you'll never be a stand-up comedian. That would be as terrible as Tycho being a stripper in some nightclub."
"What was that about me?" Tycho asked indignantly, walking through the door.
Wedge turned off the holomap. "Nothing at all, Tych."
Tycho shook his head. "You know the galaxy's spinning in the wrong direction when Wedge Antilles and Kyp Durron are hunched over a desk looking as guilty as Jedi apprentices."
Kyp grinned. "I had plenty of experience."
Wedge grinned as well. "Me too. I knew Jaina and Jacen growing up."
Tycho just shook his head some more. "Now I see what Iella was talking about. This is too surreal. Oh, and Wedge, before I forget, all of these documents need a reply from General Antilles himself." He tossed a datacard to Wedge then left, muttering something about "bad influences" and "Jedi mind-tricks" and "like Wedge needed any more encouragement."
Wedge turned to Kyp with an innocent look on his face. "Do you have any idea what Tycho could be talking about?" he asked in a voice loud enough to be heard by the retreating pilot.
"No, sir," Kyp replied.
Wedge chuckled and brought the holomap back up. "Well then, back to business." He sighed. "Anyway, if Jag's quarters are here"-he circled a room-"then he should set out through this corridor"-he traced a line-"and then-" Wedge paused with the holocrayon in his hand as footsteps were heard approaching his office.
Iella walked into the room. And stared. And blinked. And turned and ran.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You know the drill...
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Chapter Nine
The next morning, Jaina stepped out of her room and set off down the hallway. Little did she know.
Around the corner, Kyp keyed his comlink. "Target has set out. Operation Woasted 'Tato. Wait a minute-who came up with the operation name?!"
Wedge's chuckle crackled in his ear. "I asked Myri what Ben's favorite food was."
Kyp rolled his eyes. More like you came up with it to make me squirm every time I say it. "Okay, Operation. er, Woasted 'Tato is commencing."
Kyp, dressed entirely in black, slipped around the corner and followed Jaina at a discreet distance. He cloaked his Force presence so she would not sense him following her. If she did. Kyp cringed just to think of it.
He followed her outside, where she began running. Kyp keyed the comlink once more. "Target has begun running. Target started maneuvers at the purple tree on the south side of the base. I'm following in case target does something unexpected."
"Copy," Wedge said.
Kyp followed Jaina for twenty kilometers in a circuit around the base. By the end of the run, he was sweating profusely and panting for breath. "Target-has-reached-base-once more," he gasped.
"Copy. Durron, you sound tired. And thirsty. Too bad you aren't here in this ventilated office, sipping a nice cool drink like I am."
"Sir. Please shut up. I hate you." Kyp clicked the comlink off and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. He narrowed his eyes at Jaina who was barely breathing hard. What I wouldn't give for her physique. he thought wistfully. He stood there replaying the thought over in his head, then grimaced. EWWW!! Never mind!
Kyp snapped out of his daze when Jaina started moving again. "Target is reentering building, most likely headed towards the gymnasium."
"Check. Follow her."
"Copy." And with that, Kyp trotted after Jaina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five standard hours and about 3,000 kilometers later, Operation Woasted 'Tato finally terminated and Kyp showed up at Wedge's office, out of breath and sweating like a bantha.
"Sir," he gasped, throwing a quick salute, then fell into a conveniently placed chair.
Wedge grinned. "I could say so much. but I won't, because I'm that nice."
Kyp rolled his eyes. "Yes, sir, you're just about the nicest guy I know. Except, of course, Palpatine, Vader, Boba Fett, Dengar, Admiral Daala, Zsinj, and Iceheart were all guys that were nicer than you."
"Yes, Iceheart was definitely a guy." Wedge shook his head and brought up a holomap of the base to float above his desk. Kyp leaned forward to look. "Okay, I've traced her route on this map. Tomorrow, you'll follow Jag around and we can transfer his activities here too."
Kyp's mouth fell open. "I have to follow JAG around?!?! Mr. Buff Extraordinaire?? What does he do, run his butt off all day?!?!"
Wedge grinned. "Unfortunately, Durron, I happen to know that my nephew isn't particularly partial to going on twenty-kilometer runs. Yet."
Realization dawned on Kyp. "So it'll be my job to sorta casually ask him to go running with me? And it'll just coincidentally be the same route Jaina takes every morning?"
Wedge grinned back. "Precisely," he said.
"Sorry for asking, but wouldn't it be a whole lot easier if Jaina and Jag were to 'bump into each other' at the tapcaf or something?" Kyp asked.
Wedge looked at Kyp exasperatedly. "How many times do I have to say this, Durron? That might be a good idea if we were dealing with... oh, how should I put it... normal people. But when dealing with Jaina and Jag, we must go to extreme measures to ensure that they hook up."
"But why?" Kyp asked, still daunted with the task of following "Mr. Buff Extraordinaire" around the whole day.
"Because," Wedge said patiently, "like I said before, and the time before that, and the time before that, they're biologically predisposed to make things as difficult as possible. Try to imagine a Han Solo with a double dose of stubbornness and sheer stupidity and a Princess Leia with twice the sass and stubbornness, then quadruple the blindness on both parts and take away Jabba, Vader, Calrissian, space slugs, and other convenient circumstances and you've got yourself our situation."
Kyp was effectively silenced by Wedge's explanation. All he could manage was a half-hearted "Oh."
"Durron, you're a fast learner." Wedge took out a red holocrayon. "If you go this way with Jag, and Jaina goes this way, then you should meet right about there." He marked a big red X on the holomap. "This is, of course, if after you follow my nephew tomorrow, their paths don't cross at a more conducive location."
Kyp frowned. "Wouldn't it be kinda suspicious if we 'just happened' to run into Jaina on our first run? If you'll excuse the pun." He snickered.
Wedge groaned. "Durron, promise me you'll never be a stand-up comedian. That would be as terrible as Tycho being a stripper in some nightclub."
"What was that about me?" Tycho asked indignantly, walking through the door.
Wedge turned off the holomap. "Nothing at all, Tych."
Tycho shook his head. "You know the galaxy's spinning in the wrong direction when Wedge Antilles and Kyp Durron are hunched over a desk looking as guilty as Jedi apprentices."
Kyp grinned. "I had plenty of experience."
Wedge grinned as well. "Me too. I knew Jaina and Jacen growing up."
Tycho just shook his head some more. "Now I see what Iella was talking about. This is too surreal. Oh, and Wedge, before I forget, all of these documents need a reply from General Antilles himself." He tossed a datacard to Wedge then left, muttering something about "bad influences" and "Jedi mind-tricks" and "like Wedge needed any more encouragement."
Wedge turned to Kyp with an innocent look on his face. "Do you have any idea what Tycho could be talking about?" he asked in a voice loud enough to be heard by the retreating pilot.
"No, sir," Kyp replied.
Wedge chuckled and brought the holomap back up. "Well then, back to business." He sighed. "Anyway, if Jag's quarters are here"-he circled a room-"then he should set out through this corridor"-he traced a line-"and then-" Wedge paused with the holocrayon in his hand as footsteps were heard approaching his office.
Iella walked into the room. And stared. And blinked. And turned and ran.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You know the drill...