Just Yesterday

“I love you.”1

“I love you, too,” the man replied as he moved closer to the woman.  He grabbed her gently, her youthful face completely open to him.  Anticipation, excitement, and lust played for equal space across her features.2

A small tone sounded somewhere in the background, causing her to pull back and look around.  The man’s eyes closed for a moment and when they opened, she was gone.  In her place was the curtain that separated his bunk from the twenty or so others in the Pilots Communal Center.3

Captain Wes Janson moaned in annoyance as he hopped out of bed, pulling on his flight suit as he threw the curtain open.  He jumped back and fell onto the bed as a young pilot barreled past him.  “Damn kids,” he mumbled.  “In a hurry to get killed are you?”4

Wes stood again, peeked out the curtain and then made his way to the front of the teaming pilots.  He listened as Colonel Jagged Fel of 'Twin Suns' Squadron briefed the group, then set off with the rest to their respective fighters.5

He approached a bright yellow fighter adorned with wildly drawn black lines along the sides, it’s motif matching his equally obnoxiously designed flight suit.  The 'Taanab Yellow Aces' took their skill seriously, and their wildly designed fighting combination equally so.6

Climbing into the cockpit, running through the preflight procedure, Wes tried not to think of anything but what lay ahead of him.  He looked across the launch bay, once again shaking his head at how young some of the pilots were.  You were once that young, old man……I’m not old, so shut it.7

8

Wes Janson had spent the better part of his life fighting for the Rebel Alliance, which became the New Republic, which was now called the Galactic Alliance.  Still handsome in middle age, Wes maintained his sometimes-annoying humorous charm, and not so subtle flirtatious ways.9

He sat back in his fighter craft, waiting for the go ahead signal.  It was then that he allowed himself to think about the dream he had been so rudely awakened from.  He hadn’t seen the object of his dream in nearly twenty-five years, and it had been around twenty years since he last heard from her.10

He had loved her and she had loved him.  Then she was reported as killed and he went through hell.  Five years later she sent him a holographic message, announcing that she was still alive.  He was happy and had replied back, but events never seemed to link up for them to get back together, and eventually they stopped communicating with each other.  A few years later, he had heard she had gotten married, a union arranged by her father.  Even when he had found out that she became a widow a few years after that he had not contacted her, instead working hard to erase her face from his every waking moment.  Although, sometimes her image appeared in his mind, as clearly as if he had seen her just yesterday.11

“Tarsu,” he whispered, “why am I dreaming about you now?”12

“What was that, Ace-One?” a voice said over his speakers.13

Wes laughed to himself.  “Just thinking out loud.” He keyed his mike twice to tell the other to remain silent, and got one click back from each in return. 'Just yesterday?' he thought to himself. 'Hell, I'll be lucky to have a 'just tomorrow' if I don't start paying attention.'14

___________15

The Yuuzhan Vong pilot smiled as the disgusting human’s fighters spilled out of the offensive metal huge ship, his cut lips showing broken teeth.  His face, humanoid-reptilian in its general appearance was all but invisible under the multitude of tattoos and self-inflicted mutilating scars.16

He guided his coralskipper towards the oncoming humans, anger fueled by his hatred for all things that were not organic.  His species had come from the ‘Unknown Regions’ of space and lived to conquer.  They valued pain above all else, and mutilated their bodies not only for pleasure, but to appease the numerous gods who guided their every move.  They did have one special attribute, though…they were totally devoid of the Force.17

The Force, which flowed through all living things, was not present in the Yuuzhan Vong, nor could they be sensed through it.  As a result, they took great offense to these systems so-called masters of the force, the Jedi.  Hunting down and destroying these masters had moved to the number two motivation for the Vong; second only to complete domination, annihilation even, of the entire human species.18

The pilot set his sights on an especially offending yellow fighter and thought of personal glory as the two forces met, their weapons fire lighting up the cold dark space around him.19

------------------20

The corvette stayed in front of the sun, it’s plating shining like a giant diamond, it’s running lights seeming like crimson, turquoise and saffron colored jewels.  The crew went about it’s usual routine, alert for any signs of a Yuuzhan Vong attack, or one from the equally dangerous Peace Brigade.21

A woman checked a few readouts on a monitor and, satisfied with the atmospheric test she was running, went back to her original reading.  The report contained the recent activities of both humans and non-humans who had sold out their own people to the Vong for special consideration.  The Peace Brigade had spread quickly at the beginning of the war, believing that the lies of the Vong could be trusted.  Even now, four years into the invasion, large pockets of misguided cells could be found, reading to turn over anyone and anything for a quick profit and promise of further riches. 22

The woman hated the Peace Brigade.  Three years previous, she had been living an ideal life on a small exploratory outpost near Chiss space, on the border of the vast Unknown Regions.  She had helped design this outpost, and had stayed to help run the scientific studies.  The Chiss, a blue skinned, black haired, and totally humorless species had ignored them from the beginning and had not helped when the Vong had attacked.  The outpost had made the mistake of giving fuel and provisions to a passing ship; a ship the Peace Brigade had pegged as carrying the Vong-hated Jedi.23

Out of five hundred people, less than eighty had made it off planet.  They ran for months, until landing in New Republic space and signing on for any project, mission or event that they were needed for.  She didn’t have a warm spot in her heart for the Chiss either, but she didn’t hold their not helping against them.  They had, at that time, made it clear that they were staying out of the conflict.24

“Captain?”25

The woman looked up at the voice.  “Yes?”26

“We have multiple targets, both Vong and New…, “ he paused, correcting himself, “Galactic Alliance.”27

“Launch a probe, keep me informed,” she replied.  “Get me whoever is in charge over there and see if they need assistance.”  She turned before he had a chance to reply, and motioned to another officer.  “All pilots to their craft, run through preflight, and be ready.”28

“Yes, ma’am.”29

She sat back and allowed a small smile to creep on her face.  It wasn’t a cheerful smile, it was pure predatory in nature.  She looked as the images from the probe appeared on the screen in front of her, blinking in amusement as a bright yellow fighter, complete with mad black stripes came into view.  30

The pilot outflew and out shot three of the four coralskippers that were after him, but the forth seemed to land a solid shot against him.  She sighed as the display showed sparks coming from the front of the Galactic Alliance fighter, and unable to now fight back, he flew in her direction as Vong coralskipper hammered shots into his shields from behind.31

“Open a channel,” she ordered.  A ping sounded, indicating her orders were carried out with their usual efficiency.  “This is the Corvette 'Alasha’s Reprisal' to the Galactic Alliance pilot in the obnoxious yellow fighter. Do you require assistance?”32

“If its not too much trouble,” the pilot replied calmly, his voice distorted by the comm.  He cursed and small explosions could be heard through the speakers.  “Ummm…not to be rude, but now would be nice.”33

“Target that ship,” she ordered, watching as shots flew out from her corvette, only to be swallowed by the ‘voids’ that seemed to always accompany the Vong ships.  They sucked enemy fire into nothingness, making it a chore to destroy.  “Fire here, here and here,” she order as she pointed to specific spots on the display.  “One right after the other.  The voids won’t be able to keep up.”34

She turned her attention back to the pilot, who was getting closer.  “Don’t worry, flyboy, we’ll get you back to your wife, safe and sound.”35

“That…doesn’t instill confidence,” the pilot replied. “I’m not married.”  He cursed some more as he relied on all his years of evasive flying maneuvers.  “No girlfriend either…you available?”36

The woman laughed softly, a sound she hadn’t made in a long time, and felt the years slip away.  Here was a pilot who could be blown out of space any second, and he was coming on to her.  “Sorry son,” she replied diplomatically. “I’m probably a bit too old for you.”  37

Any reply he may have had was cut off as the Vong craft behind him exploded in a spectacular display.  He cried out in shock as his craft was tossed around like a child’s toy, and cursed as he fought to regain control.38

“Tractor beam,” the corvette’s captain ordered.  “Snag him and bring him in.”  She watched, releasing breath she didn’t know she was holding as the yellow and black craft stopped spinning and started being pulled into her large ship.  She leaned back in relief, then as curiosity got the better of her, stood and walked to the hatch leading off the bridge.39

“I’m going to ‘welcome’ our guest,” she said.  “Inform Galactic command that we have one of their pilots, and will deposit him when we rendezvous in two days time.”40

“Aye, aye, Captain.”  The officer turned back to his console.  “'Alasha’s Reprisal' to incoming pilot…”41

She lost the rest as the hatch slid shut behind her, and stopped herself as she started to smooth down her uniform.  “Preening for a flyboy,” she said with a shake of her head.  “Somethings never change.” She took a quick look in the reflective surface of a diagnostic panel as she passed, frowning at the gray in her hair and wrinkles that were starting, but proud all the same in the events that had led to them.42

She walked into the landing area at the same time the canopy of his cockpit opened and he easily jumped to the deck.  She waited until the small robotic Vong sensors cleared him as human, and then approached.43

“I’m Captain Alasha,” she said as she held out a hand.  She hesitated as he stood there staring at her, his expressions hidden behind his flight helmet.  “And you would be?”44

“You haven’t changed a bit,” the pilot said in an awe filled voice.  He removed his gloves, then took off his flight helmet, running a hand through his still brown hair as he smiled at her.45

She would know those eyes anywhere and felt weak at the knees as a quarter of a century dissolved in an instant.  Out of all the pilots in the entire known universe she could have saved, somehow fate had thrown them together this way.46

“You look good,” she said, realizing how lame it sounded.47

“I think I look great,” he countered.  “But not as great as you do.”  He unconsciously reached out and took her hand in his.  “This is…surprising.” 48

Tarsu looked down at their hands and could feel his shaking slightly, either from just escaping near death, or from coming face to face with his past.  Then, she said the one thing she didn’t expect to.49

“I love you.”50

“I love you, too,” Wes Janson replied as he moved closer to her.  He grabbed her gently, her face completely open to him.  Anticipation, excitement, and lust played for equal space across her features.51