The characters that have appeared in previous Star Wars novels are property of Lucasfilm, Ltd. Captain Amaryl Assay, Admiral Tesh Dorass, First Officer Azzeh, and the name of Tycho's droid belong to the author. Any other characters presented here that have never been seen in a Star Wars novel are property of Iris Bailey. Do not repost anywhere without the permission of the author!
"Everyone, I would like to offer a toast, if I may." Wes stood at the opposite end of the table from his seat beside Wedge in order to be able to face the man he was toasting. He was no longer steady on his feet after a number of glasses of a blue liquid he called Laser Water, but that did not seem to deter him.
Wes was quite dashing in his outfit of navy pants and a shirt of deep sky blue. His sapphire eyes sparkled with mischief. His hair, as always, was a whirling brown mess. It looked like he had been standing on his head in a Tatooine dust storm.
He continued as he saw that he had the attention of at least some of the people sitting at the long table. "I would like to say that I have probably known the boss, ahem, excuse me, General Antilles, longer than most of you gathered here. I’ve seen him do some extraordinarily heroic things in that time, risking life and limb for the New Republic. I, and others, have also seen him do some incredibly stupid things as well, all of which I will now list."
He felt around in his pockets for something, presumably the list. There was a smattering of laughter throughout the group. Hobbie, from further down the table, threw a rolled up napkin at him. It passed just over Wes’ left shoulder and landed on the floor behind him. He looked over at Hobbie, who made a face at him. "As usual, Hobbie couldn’t hit the side of an Imperial Walker if he tried."
Hobbie crossed his arms over his chest and moped.
"Since I seem to have misplaced the list, I will have to go from memory." He cleared his throat, rubbing his hands together in the anticipation of embarrassing his friend. "Please rest assured that I have done extensive research to ensure the accuracy of these tales. First, and my personal favorite, is the famous line that he uttered at the Battle of Yavin on his approach to the first Death Star. Immortal words that should never, ever be forgotten and, I am sure, will be engraved on his tomb."
He cleared his throat again and continued in a higher pitched voice, at least an octave above Wedge’s actual speaking voice. "Look at the size of that thing," he squeaked.
This time, the laughter was much more pronounced. This seemed to bolster Wes’ confidence and he pressed on. "As much as I tried, the nickname of Wedge 'Look at the size of that thing' Antilles never stuck. So I wanted to find a nickname that would befit him. Suitably heroic of course. It was not until I was asking around for more embarrassing stories that I found that Wedge had had another nickname, from his childhood."
"Wes, please don’t..." Wedge began to beg.
Wes held up a hand. "I’m sorry, General. I am compelled to reveal this information." He smiled wickedly. "Many of you may not know that as a child Wedge’s parents called him, and please feel free to use this, Veggies."
Corran Horn nearly choked on his drink, coughing lightly then laughing. His wife, Mirax, was in hysterics on his right. On his left was Tycho Celchu, Rogue Squadron’s second in command. He was laughing as well, although he made less of a show of it than Mirax did.
At the head of the table, on the other side of Tycho, Wedge hid behind his hands in dread of what Wes would say next. When he finally did look up from his hands, he gave a mock glare to Mirax, the only person who could have known his childhood nickname. She hid behind Corran and continued to laugh.
"In all the time that the General and I have served together, about ten standard years by my calculation, I have to admit that there are too many stories that I could tell about him to be able to list them all here. But I will favor you with another of my favorites."
"Wes, can I have a hint so that I know whether or not to have Tycho shoot me?"
Wes smiled. "Yub, yub, General."
Wedge turned to Tycho. "Please, just kill me now," he pleaded.
"I couldn’t do that. I’d miss the story," the blue eyed Alderaanian replied.
"Traitor!" He snarled at Tycho, then just hung his head as Wes recounted the story of Lieutenant Kettch, the Ewok that Wedge had impersonated during some of his time commanding Wraith Squadron.
Corran had heard this story before from some of the members of the Wraiths themselves, when the two squadrons had served together on Mon Remonda during the search for Warlord Zsinj. He had even seen Wedge once with the Ewok stuffed animal strapped to him before climbing into a TIE fighter and heading out on a mission. So he glanced around the table to watch the reaction of the others present. He could see that the rest of the Rogues, especially some of the veteran pilots, were enjoying the stories tremendously. They would surely use them to tease “Veggies” at a later date.
Some of Wraith Group was also present. They were no longer a squadron since they had been transferred from Starfighter Command to Intelligence, but most of them had managed to stay in contact with Wedge in one way or another, showing tremendous loyalty to the group's founder.
Four of them sat together at the far end of the table, just to the right of where Wes was standing. Captain Garik 'Face' Loran was sitting with his wife, Lieutenant Dia Passik. Next to them sat Lieutenants Tyria Sarkin and Kell Tainer. Kell was one of the tallest pilots Corran had ever met, and apparently one of the better looking ones, according to Inyri Forge. Corran’s squad mate had had a thing for him since they had met on Mon Remonda. But Kell and Tyria had been an item for a couple of years now.
All four of the Wraiths were laughing at the memory of Wedge in that silly Ewok suit.
Across and a couple of seats further down the other side of the table was Major Ajene Tuvora. She looked like she was listening to Wes, but Corran could tell her attention was divided. Every now and then, when she thought no one was looking, she smiled at Wedge.
Corran raised an eyebrow. Interesting.
He returned his focus to Wes just in time for the toast. Wes had come to the conclusion of his speech after dragging up every embarrassing anecdote he could remember and no doubt making up the rest. Wedge brought his hands up in surrender, then formed a blaster with the thumb and forefinger of his left hand and "shot" at Wes to try and shut him up.
"So in conclusion, I would like to offer up a glass to the General. The man who led us all here, and will most likely have me on kitchen duty for the rest of the week." Everyone raised their glass to Wedge, who looked more than a little embarrassed at the attention. "To General Veggies ‘Look at the size of that thing’ Antilles. Happy Birthday." Wes raised his glass in the air and saluted Wedge with it. Everyone drank from their glasses, then applause broke out along both sides of the table.
Corran applauded as well, but his attention was on Ajene Tuvora. He watched her with fascination. Her eyes glanced around the table, then stopped on Wedge. She caught his eye and smiled at him. Wedge winked at her in return, then tore his gaze off her as Wes resumed his seat to his right.
Corran raised both eyebrows this time. Very interesting.
Although Corran had no formal training as a Jedi, he had found that his understanding and sensitivity to the Force was increasing with time. He also had an extremely accurate gut instinct that had served him well as a member of the Corellian Security Force, and even more so as a pilot. He was also entirely too curious by nature. He closed his eyes and thought about Ajene and Wedge.
He started as Mirax nudged his arm. "Corran, are you alright?"
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Yeah, fine. Why?"
"Because you’ve been sitting with your eyes shut for the last minute. I would have thought you had fallen asleep, but you weren’t snoring."
"I only closed my eyes for a few seconds to concentrate."
"Well, it was far longer than that." She laughed lightly. "I thought you were in some Jedi trance or something."
He lowered his voice so no one else could hear him at the loud table. "While Wes was talking, I thought I noticed something about Ajene, so I decided to concentrate on her to see if there was something there. But I didn’t mean to space out on you. Sorry."
"Did you sense anything, or did you actually just nod off?"
Mirax gave him a look that suggested she wasn’t really taking him seriously, but Corran pushed on anyway. "I think they’ve gotten together."
"Wes and Ajene? I find that hard to believe."
"No, not Wes! Wedge and Ajene."
Tycho leaned over to join in the conversation and his eyes lit up at the possibility of being in on some gossip. "What about Wedge and Ajene?"
"Tycho, you have some set of ears on you." Corran was sure that no one would be able to hear him.
"It comes from my paranoia that everyone is talking about me behind my back." Tycho smiled willingly, easing some of the lines around his eyes. Although less than a year older than Wedge, Tycho had years on his face that Wedge did not, possibly because of the tribulations life had thrown him over the last several years. Not only had his home planet of Alderaan been destroyed by the Empire, but after volunteering for a secret mission to the then Imperial Center, he had been captured and tortured by Ysanne Isard at her Lusankya facility.
The former head of Imperial Intelligence had tried to turn Tycho, as she had with Corran himself not too long after, into one of her spies. She had not succeeded, but the suspicion that Tycho had been under upon his return had nearly ruined his career. The New Republic had even put him on trial for Corran’s murder. Only his own return from Lusankya had been able to prove Tycho innocent. All through his trial, Wedge had stood by him, solidifying their already strong friendship.
Mirax leaned across Corran, jerking a thumb at her husband. "He thinks that Ajene and Wedge have gotten together. I think this Jedi thing has finally gone to his head."
Tycho laughed quietly, his shoulders trembling as he did. Corran wasn’t sure if he was laughing at him or the thought that Wedge might actually have a girlfriend.
"You can’t tell me that Wedge has the guts to go after her." Tycho said. "I mean, look at her. Have you ever seen anyone as imposing and intimidating as that woman?"
"You wanna make a bet?" Corran replied.
"You’re on. How does fifty credits sound?"
"Done. But you’re going to lose." Corran shook his head. "I can’t believe neither of you can see it. The way she glances at him when she thinks that no one is looking, the way that he smiles back at her. Either they are not very good at hiding it or they have gotten together recently and can’t hide it. And since we only returned this morning, it would have to have been this afternoon when she was supposedly trying to talk him into coming here."
Tycho gave him a sly smile. "Well, all I can say is that if they are together, then the best of luck to them."
"I agree." Mirax added. "I’ve known Wedge for most of my life and it is about time he had someone to take care of him besides me and the children of Rogue Squadron."
"Children?" Both Tycho and Corran responded simultaneously. Most of the people at their end of the table turned and looked at them. Corran’s face reddened perceptively and Tycho coughed into his hand.
"I think I need another drink," Corran said as he reached for the pitcher of Lomin Ale on the table. Tycho held out his glass for him to refill as well.
Mirax laughed at both of them.
* * * * * * *
It was in the very early hours of the morning when the party finally broke up. Wedge watched as most of his friends split into groups and headed off to their respective homes. Ajene had left a few minutes before, but not before giving him a look that suggested she would be waiting for him. In the end only Wedge, Hobbie, Wes, Tycho, Corran, and Mirax were left.
Wedge stretched his arms out above his head then stood, pulling his jacket from the back of his chair. "Well, I had better be going. I have to fly out to Thyferra later this morning." He covered a yawn with his left hand and moved in the direction of the door. He staggered a little and came sluggishly to the conclusion that maybe he had had just a little too much of Wes’ Laser Water.
Still, he felt good. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this relaxed and content. Then he remembered his activities of the afternoon and had to try hard to hide a smile.
Wes staggered over to him. He leaned up against Wedge and they both swayed. "So, were ya surprised? Huh, were ya?"
"Oh, yes, today has been a day full of surprises." Wedge said, shaking his head.
"I bet it has. Surprises like Ajene Tuvora." Wes giggled at his revelation and then slumped into a nearby chair. His head wobbled as if it was on a spring instead of his neck.
Corran’s head came up at the mention of the Major. "Yeah, Wedge, what is it with you two? I thought you were just friends?" He smiled at the reaction he got with his question. It all but confirmed his earlier theory.
Wedge blushed.
Wes continued to chuckle to himself. "You see, Hobbie, I told you. The boss has got himself a girl. Didn’t I tell you?"
"Wes, I told you!" Hobbie replied. He tried to keep a straight face with little success as he too slouched in his chair, his face flushed and his eyes brighter than usual. Finally unable to contain his mirth, he began to laugh. "That’s really great, Wedge," he managed to utter between snickers.
Tycho leaned over to Corran. "Yeah, just great. Now I owe you fifty credits."
Wedge turned and fixed Tycho with a stare. "You two were betting on Ajene and I? You should be ashamed of yourselves." Wedge dropped into the chair next to Wes. He leaned his elbows heavily on the table and placed his forehead on the palms of his hands.
Mirax leaned over and tousled his hair. "Are you alright, Veggies? I’ll probably have to carry Corran home, but I’m sure I can handle both of you if you want to stay at our place." She smiled as Corran opened his mouth to deny his intoxication then quickly closed it again.
"Nah, s’okay. I’d better get going." He looked over at Wes and then at Hobbie. "I would appreciate it if you didn’t spread this around too much."
"Yes, sir!" Hobbie gave a close approximation of a salute and then dissolved into fits of giggles. Wes just leaned his forehead on the table.
Wedge sighed and got to his feet. Everyone said their goodnights as they headed for the door, Mirax offering him one final Happy Birthday. As he made it outside onto the large walkway, Ajene was there waiting for him. She slipped her hand into his and they headed off together.
He could hear the comments from his friends behind him as they walked away, and what sounded like an attempted whistle from Wes.
Wedge didn’t care anymore.
* * * * * * *
Wedge walked Ajene back to her quarters and she decided to not let him leave. She dragged him into her room, which was smaller than his but had more personality. He guessed that was because she spent a little more time on base while he gallivanted all over the galaxy.
They made their way over to the bed where she lay down, pulling him down on top of her, already unbuttoning his shirt. She ran her hands across his shoulders, marveling at how his flightsuit managed to hide how broad they actually were.
"You tricked me tonight, into going to that dinner. Is that something you plan to do a lot of in the future?" he asked as he clumsily attacked the fasteners of her blouse.
"Of course not. But I have to admit that I did have the intention of tricking you when I arrived at your quarters. Hobbie and Wes called to ask me if I was willing to act as bait for their party since they hadn’t been able to convince you. In the name of the New Republic, I sacrificed myself. But I never expected to be stuck with you!"
She gave him a playful shove and he rolled over to lie on his back beside her. She rested a hand on his stomach and twirled a lock of his hair with the fingers of her right hand.
"You mean you didn’t come to my quarters to seduce me?"
She shook her head and continued to play with his hair.
"You sacrificed your body for the New Republic. Well, I am hurt." He looked over at her in the darkness and could see her smile. "But what a body!"
He tickled her and she laughed and squirmed under the assault. "You will pay dearly for your treachery."
"Oh, I hope so," she sighed. He seized her in a rough embrace and she cried for help in a whispered voice, then kissed him.
* * * * * * *
This time when Wedge awoke, he was comforted by Ajene’s presence, despite a touch of a hangover. Then he realized what time it was.
"Sithspawn!"
Wedge jumped out of bed and she sat up, startled. "What is it?"
"I’m late! I’m supposed to be flying out to Thyferra within the hour." He ran around her room picking up articles of clothing. "I have to go."
He swept over to the bed, his shirt halfway up his right arm. He leaned over and kissed her. "We’ll get together for dinner tomorrow evening when I get back. Okay?"
She nodded and ran her fingers along his arm, not yet willing to let him leave. "I wish you didn’t have to go. I feel like we just found each other and now we have to lose one another again."
He sighed and reached his hand up to take hers. "I know. I don’t want to go any more than you want me to. But it’s part of my job." She glanced down at their intermingled hands and he realized that he was being insensitive to her feelings by withdrawing from her. Or just protecting my own. "I am going to miss you. And I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll be arriving at Thyferra this afternoon, giving the lecture and heading back first thing tomorrow. I’ll pick you up here for dinner tomorrow night around 1800."
He pulled her into a hug that couldn’t last the years that he wanted it to. They separated, and he then headed off for his quarters to pick up his flightsuit and pack his bag.
Arriving at his room, he punched in his code and the door slid open. He grabbed his bag from the bottom of his closet and set it on his bunk. While he packed, there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Ajene standing in the corridor.
"I want to go with you to the hanger," she said without explanation.
He chuckled. "Okay."
She frowned at him. "Aren’t you worried that some of the crew will see us together?"
"Actually, I’m more afraid of leaving you here and having to go alone."
He took her right hand and kissed it. She caressed his face with it. "I don’t believe you’ve ever been afraid of anything."
He hastily finished his packing, then they left together and took a turbolift down to the hanger level. They exited the lift and crossed the large corridor to the huge set of doors that led to the bay. As soon as the doors opened, the sounds and smells of the hanger assaulted Wedge. Everything that had been so comforting just the day before now felt alien to him.
He navigated his way through the maze of crafts and mechanics to his ship, his arm around Ajene’s shoulders, hers around his waist. He could feel the occasional stare and hear some whispered comments behind him, but he tried to ignore them.
As he walked up to his ship, Shi’dora approached, holding his helmet and gloves. When she saw Ajene, she held back several meters.
"Well, I guess I gotta go." He didn’t really want to, but knew that he had to. Thankfully she said nothing, just standing there looking at him, following his lead. He approached her and hugged her tightly, then turned without making eye contact, and headed towards the ladder of his waiting fighter.
"Don’t be late for dinner," she said as he left her.
He turned as he stood on the first wrung of the ladder and smiled at her. "I won’t."
Ajene moved a few meters away as Shi’dora came up and handed Wedge his helmet. The Twi’lek gave him a smile and he returned it, managing to blush only slightly. He turned and climbed up the rest of the ladder of his ship, hopped over the side, then dropped into his pilot's couch. Shi’dora climbed up after him and handed him his gloves. "You have a fine lady, General. It looks like all those self-diagnostics actually did you some good."
He gave her a lopsided grin as he pulled on his gloves. She gave him a thumbs up and started down the ladder.
As his canopy began to lower, Wedge began his preflight checklist and hit some switches on the console. There was a low hum as the engines began their warm up sequence and he glanced back at where Ajene was standing. She was still close enough for him to read the abandoned expression on her face, and it tore at his heart. He realized that here, exposed in the very public hanger, he had withdrawn again, leaving her standing there alone without so much as a kiss goodbye.
"Gate, put her in standby mode. I’ll be right back."
As the hum of the engines died, he hit the release switch and the canopy began to rise. He pulled off his helmet and vaulted out of his couch and over the side of the fighter so fast that the techs didn’t have a chance to replace the ladder. He landed in a crouch, already pulling at his gloves.
Ajene rushed to his side. "What’s wrong? Did you forget something?" she asked as Gate gave an annoyed trill from his slot high up on the X-wing.
"I couldn’t leave without this." Wedge pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, returning his kiss with a passion that surprised both of them.
They separated and he kissed her hand. He held it for just a moment longer, looking at her earnestly. "I am so sorry for what I did before."
"Honestly, Wedge, I know how all this makes you feel." She opened her arms wide, taking in the entire hanger. "And although it does hurt when you push me away, I’m making it my mission to make you more at ease with not only me, but yourself as well."
As he looked into her understanding green eyes, he wanted to say it, to say I love you, but he couldn’t. Although he cared deeply for Ajene, he hadn’t reached that point...yet. So he remained silent, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"I’ll see you tomorrow," she said, and pushed him towards his ship. "And the sooner you get moving, the sooner you’ll come back to me."
He smiled and waved goodbye, still keeping silent, not trusting himself to speak for fear of what he might say. Picking up his discarded gloves as he passed them, he headed up the ladder and into the X-wing that had carried him through battle after battle.
As his canopy began to lower for the second time, he spared one more glance at where Ajene had been standing. She had backed away another couple of meters to be clear of the repulsorlift backwash and she discreetly blew him a kiss. He gave her an abbreviated salute that he hoped she could see. She smiled, and waved goodbye.
"Okay, Gate, start her up and let’s get some atmosphere beneath us."
His droid tootled and a translation scrolled across the screen. Wedge didn’t catch all of it, but thought it said It is about time. The hum of the engines returned. He got all the way through his checklist this time, then brought the engines and repulsorlifts online and hovered out of the hanger.
As his fighter moved out into the cityscape of Coruscant, Wedge kicked in his ship’s four Incom 4L4 fusial thrust engines. He soared towards the atmosphere on the pre-cleared flight plan the Coruscant Traffic Control had given him. As the huge metropolis disappeared beneath him, Gate beeped a question at him. He looked at the translation as it scrolled across the secondary screen.
He smiled at what he read. "Yes, she is very beautiful. Thanks for reminding me. And I am not sure how it is any of your business who I date."
Gate made a trilling noise that sounded suspiciously like a raspberry. Sounds like Whistler has been teaching you some bad habits.
As he cleared the atmosphere and made his run up to lightspeed, Wedge looked back at Coruscant and wished for one of the first times that he didn’t have to leave.
Copyright June 13, 2001 by Susan Hill.
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