Lifeline - (Jaina/Jag Fic - COMPLETED - Last update: 02/19 )

You're going soft in your old age.

 

More like being extremely cautious. With Bush, you never know who's watching. I could be flown over to face charges for 'damaging the minds of our young' or something similarly weird as only he can dream up.

Eld.

 

Nah...the minds of our youth are already warped.

Finished writing yet?

 

Nope, not done. Seems I have to flesh it out a bit more. Too much action to oversee in one or two single chapters. It'll be at the beta this weekend though.

Eld.

Edit: Ehr... first chapter done and sent to the beta.

 

Yeeehaw, on a roll! Writing the battle. See? I told you guys; when I read a new book, I get inspired.

Eld.

 

I smell a post!!!! And it smells pretty good!

 

Well, the beta has it. As soon as it comes back, I'll put it up.
Battle is under way, about half to three quarters of it is written.

Eld.

 

Yea
new post soon

 

--==CHAPTER 45 ? ?The Battle For Filuud ? Interlude?==--

?What?s going on?? Han yelled to no one in particular, standing in the middle of barely controlled chaos. He?d come in a few minutes before, when everything was silent. Then, some nerf herder had sent a message that had gotten the entire command on its feet.

?It?s the Empire, Sir. They?ve entered the system,? he heard.

?Whoa? tell me more,? he said, simply holding out a hand and grabbing onto the first person rushing by.

The aide, a young female who couldn?t have been much older than Jaina, gave him a furious burst of red-eyed anger for it but he held onto her arm.

?Tell me the gist of it.?

?One of our patrols went to investigate an anomaly on the far side of Filuud. They detected a large Imperial fleet approaching. They barely made it back.?
Han growled in his throat.

?How long before they are in range??

?Any minute now.?

At that, the young woman forcefully broke her arm free and went on her way.
Han looked after her as she disappeared in one of the offices. Then he took his comlink.

?Leia??

?I?m here, Han. What?s going on??

?The Imps decided that it was time to join this little party of ours. I?m on my way to the Falcon.?

?I?ll meet you there.? He pocketed the comlink and ran out of the Command Center.

******************

The two fighters, an X-wing and a Chiss clawcraft, rose from the planet in close proximity of each other, gunning for space. Spike Squadron met them when they cleared the stratosphere.

?Report,? Jag?s voice sounded over the comm.
The voice of a Chiss male, Amado if Jaina had remembered correctly, replied.

?Sir, it looks like the Imperials are on an intercept course with the shipyards in a two-pronged attack from both sides of Filuud. We counted twenty Imp-X?s, ninety-six attack and support vessels.? He paused before adding, ?And one SSD.?

?They have a Super Star Destroyer?? Jaina gasped.

?The Imperials have two, as far as we know. One is permanently guarding Bastion. The other hasn?t been seen until now,? Amado answered.

?Where?s our fleet?? she asked.

Just then, Jaina?s display suddenly came to life and Amado let that speak for itself. Dozens of blue blips appeared as the Chiss defense forces moved into sensor range.
The fleet was still too far away to see it with the naked eye, but she counted at least ten capital ships; at least five of those were Bulwarks that she knew of by name.
In its day, a Bulwark was nearly matched with a Super Star Destroyer. However, Jaina had learned that the Remnant had redesigned a lot of their capital ships, weapons and shielding. If they had done the same with the SSD, there was no telling what would happen.

What she saw next caused the blood to freeze in her veins as, almost simultaneously, red blips began to appear on both sides of the system?s primary. Ten, twenty and then too many to count.

?Look at that,? she gasped. ?They still believe in overkill, do they??
She had heard the stories from her father and Wedge.

?They prefer strength in numbers, yes,? Jag replied. He stayed silent for a few seconds and then his voice grew serious and businesslike when he gave his orders.

?All right Spike Squadron; form up on me. We?ve just been assigned to defend the shipyards.?
At the same time, Jaina received a message from Wedge and commed Jag.

?Mind if I tag along? It seems you?ll be going my way.? She could hear a smile in Jag?s voice when he acknowledged.

******************

The Millennium Falcon?s engines whined as Han throttled back to line up with one of the Inimitable?s aft docking bays. In the days of the Empire, this particular one was reserved for the captains? shuttle, tucked away underneath a blister of turbo lasers.
Han gently guided the saucer shaped freighter into the bay, tapping the console in front of him ever so slightly. Once inside, he let her hover and then slowly turn 180 degrees, facing the magcon field.
He shot Leia a lopsided grin when she rolled her eyes.

?Ol

 

lvoed it!!!! can't wait forthe plac to go to action!

 

Yay for action! And I love Han!

 

?I think you do. Then again? what time of the month is it??

?The time that will see the end of Han Solo if he doesn?t speak real soon,?


Loved that line.


Great update, Eld!

 

Thank the feisty girlfriend from a good friend of mine; she said it hours before I used it.

Eld.

 

great posteie~

 

yea new post
it was great

up up up

 

*jaw falls open in shock*
Wow! He actually posted!!!
I loved it. It was funny, and that's actually a good bit of strategy Han's got there.
Anyway, I can't wait for the next one!!!!
(while we're all waiting, you should all go read MY fanfic, Twist of Fate
*wink, wink* *nudge* *SHOVE!*

Namarie!
~Eariwien

 

Shouldn't take too long; I sent the next installment to the beta yesterday evening.

Eld.

 

--==CHAPTER 46 ? ?The Battle For Filuud ? Silence Before The Storm?==--

Spike Squadron, along with Jaina, arrived well ahead of the enemy fleet that came on a direct approach vector, angling straight for the shipyards. The other part of the Imperial fleet had, in the meantime, engaged the Chiss Defense fleet, commanded by General Baron Fel.

During the flight, Jaina had made several calculations as to the size of the enemy fleet and the outcome did not sit very well with her. She commed Jag on a private channel and ran the numbers to him. It didn?t help ease her mind any further; he came to the same conclusion.

?We need a small miracle,? Jag said, voicing her concerns. ?I count at least six Imp-X?s coming to the shipyard. Each of those carries six squadrons of Tie Defenders.?
Jaina blinked silently; over 400 fighters inbound.

She had heard a lot about the Tie Defenders but never actually seen one and asked Sparky to put up a schematic on her console. Unlike the standard Imperial Tie Fighter, this model featured sturdy deflector shields and a hyperdrive, and packed incredible firepower. Fitted with three sets of angled quadanium solar gather panels, clustered around the familiar circular cockpit, the fighters were fast, agile and extremely dangerous in skilled hands. Each wingtip held powerful weapons, with the lower two holding a pair of SFS L-s9.3 laser cannons and the upper ones carrying two Borstel NK-3 ion cannons. It also carried a pair of M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers.

?This is going to be messy,? she said, more to herself than to Jag, not realizing that the comm was still open. She startled when Jag answered grimly.

?It might. Be careful out there, Jaina.?

Then, before she could answer him, the frequency was overridden by her father?s voice.

?All squadrons; enemy fighters inbound. Squadrons Spike, blue, yellow and opaque; form up behind the Inimitable. Red, green, purple, orange, silver and gold: attack plan omega.?

All wings acknowledged and a glance on her console told her that the fighters were forming a screen around the shipyard. She tapped her earpiece when she was privately hailed.

?Colonel Solo??

?Yes sir?? she answered.

?Come aboard and report to the bridge.?

She acknowledged and veered off to the main docking bay, which was barely visible through the maze of girders, cranes and cables from the construction dock. As she approached, she noticed numerous outcroppings on the surface of the shipyard surrounding the Inimitable. She hadn?t seen those before. They looked like coffins; elongated boxes but considerably deeper.
Then, before she could give the boxes more thought, approach control hailed her and she got busy with landing procedures.

******************

She entered the Inimitable?s bridge and stopped for a moment to look at the dozens upon dozens of support personnel occupying the crew pits on both sides of the command walkway. To her right, gathered around a plotting table, stood her parents together with her brothers, Wedge, Wes, Luke, Mara, Daala and Liegeus. Han motioned her over.

?Alright everyone; as we see it, this Fleet Commander Kamp has split his forces in two, the largest of which is currently heading toward us. We suspect that he wants to save the shipyard.?

The plotting table?s holographic imager came to life when Wedge tapped a few buttons, displaying the current positions of the fleets.

?Baron Fel has engaged the smaller part of Kamp?s fleet, which is a formidable force in itself. Fourteen Imp-X?s, lots of support craft and carriers. Fel is outgunned two to one,? Wedge said. ?The rest of Kamp?s fleet is moving toward us at flank speed; one SSD, six Imp-X?s and around ten troop carriers. It?s going to be busy around here, real soon.?

?The odds of winning this engagement are?? Daala spoke up, cut off by Han.

?Never tell me the odds.?

?She is right, though,? Mara commented, pointing at the plotting table where two Bulwarks and four Imp-X?s blinked out of existence. ?Fel is taking a

 

wonderful postie Eld!

 

Yay!... Han rocks!--as usual! Can it really be the end? Well, I'll anxiously await your next fic...you are going to write a new one, right??????

 

Not entirely sure yet. Maybe.

Eld.

 

Opaque squadron? Ha. That's pretty good!
Anyway, great post, Eld, looking forward to the next. Only two or three chapters left!?
Oh, well, then you can start another one!!!!
UP!
Namarie
~Eariwien Starsong
Lady of Rivendell

 

What's with this 'another one' idiocy? Like I'm a good writer. Puhlease; I made you wait 2 years for this one's ending! The next story would probably take 4 years.

Eld

 

Okay, dear...I'm here to stroke your ego. Yes, we would love to have another story. Even if it does take a while!

 

Sorry Val, but I disagree. 2 years is waaaaaaaay too long. And I thought Dana specialised in cliffies.
Naughty peoples
*sigh* I love misbehaving Han *sigh*