Beyond - Legends Knights of the New Republic~ Sequel to I, Exile Updated 15/2/12

Thanks. That's what I was going for- I know that they say Force Lightning in canon but yes, I always figured that Electric Judgment just suited him better. Hmm...Vaapad does sound interesting. And that would be quite the idea- since I've got Quinlan Vos as part of this AU in the Jedi Council- wasn't he supposed to have picked up at least a little Vaapad somewhere down the line? Anyways, here is the the conclusion of the battle.

 

Thanks. And don't worry, I do plan on trying to work Pellaeon in here at some point, likely once we hit the era of the Thrawn Trilogy- I was always a fan of that set and hope to give writing an AU of it a shot.

Right and now on with the show...

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[i]Space above Brentaal IV, two hours later[/i]

Mara Jade kept a close eye on everything that her squadron did, micromanaging the start up procedures and the final preparations before the Hikaris entered the battle. It was her duty as Hikari leader and she needed to above all make sure that her subs were well briefed on the procedures she expected. This in this case, included Luke Skywalker, a man with whom she had a complicated relationship.

It wasn?t that she didn?t like Skywalker or trust him- she did. She certainly respected him. The man had faced more Sith than anyone else in the Order and lived to tell the tale. But he could be so hopelessly naive that it was frustrating and was the source of numerous arguments between the two. And then there were the theories in the Order, sourced from the observations of her closest friends, that they actually were attracted to each other and it was only a matter of time before theory matched reality.

This was based on partial, spotty empathy- bloody Bolts- and Fable with her keen reading of body language. Her two friends often pointed out little bits of their evidence whenever they were around, which was off and on since they had joined the Infiltration teams. That was a small mercy at least. There was nothing there- her friends were seeing things.

[i]So you say[/i]. The often suppressed voice in her head would repeat at least once a day.

But she had better things to do than deal with this so-called attraction at the moment. She had actual work to do and she intended to do it. And the final checks were what needed to be done.

?Hikaris, check in.? Mara called out.

[i]?Hikari One ready.?

?Hikari Two all green and ready to roll.?

?Hikari Three, here.?

?Hikari Four cheery and ready to kick some Imp butt.?[/i]

?Eagerness is appreciated Four but cut the snark. Only I?m allowed to do that.? She replied, to the collective chuckles of the entire squad over the air.

[i]?Hikari Five all green.?[/i]

[i]Skywalker, of course.[/i] She thought to herself ruefully.

?Welcome to back to the friendly skies, farm boy. Sorry you left yet?? Mara drawled in turn.

[i]?Never left, Jade. Never left.?[/i]

Mara groaned in annoyance. As amusing as this otherwise would be, she didn?t have time for this right now. She needed to get this flight out and into battle. Many people were counting on her, most of all the Order. Any delay would to any sceptics of the continuing role of the Jedi in combat in the push toward Coruscant that the role should end. That meant Borsk Fey?lya, the perpetual bugaboo of the Order, would no doubt gleefully pursue that end before the Provisional Council. And that most certainly wasn?t an option.

?Skywalker, just fly. And everyone else, just click in affirmative so that we can get this show on the road.?

With that, the rest of the Hikaris click off that they were there and ready to enter the battle. There were signals from that the other fighter squadrons were heading out and along with the Rogues, the Hikaris formed a vital taskforce of X-wings that would attack Imperial targets and protect the New Republic capital ships as well. This was vital, important and Mara intended to prove her worth.

?Alright, everyone pair up and Skywalker, you?re with me.?

[i]?Roger, Lead. Farm boy out.?[/i]

Mara grumbled and muttered under her breath about the stupidity of gentle and boyish farm boys in general. As she did so, she led her squad off the ship and into battle. The X-Wings swung around on a starboard trajectory towards the defending Imperials

 

Nice battle. Looks like the fight turned into a close-quarters brawl in record speed. Nice seeing Luke and Mara banter a bit ... yeah, they bicker like an old married couple. And Iceheart manipulating Fel ... ouch. Interesting that Fel out-piloted Wedge; then again, the "Squint" is a good deal more agile than the X-Wing, albeit a bit of a tinfoil cannon. Loved Fel getting ioned from behind by a Y-Wing ... that's gotta hurt his ego a bit. Still, he did beat Wedge fair and square, so that's gotta count for something. Can't wait to see the next chapter.

And I wouldn't mind a transition chapter showing relatively brief snapshots of the intervening events such as the Borleias assault.

 

Great chapter Miraluka! Keep it up!

Master Fay Fan

 

I dearly hope this story isn't abandon. The first part was a joy to read, and I can only pray that this one will continue to turn lips.