Last Chance: Myn and Lara

by Derisa Ollamhin


Authors introduction & disclaimer: Credit where credit is due: most of these characters were created by either Michael Stackpole or Aaron Allston, and to those two go all the laurels for this little story. They play extensively in George Lucas’s creation of a Galaxy far far away, and they have his permission to do so. I don’t, but as I’m broke, I hope no one will sue me for the liberties I am about to take. These are characters from the X-Wing novels, for the most part, and the dialogue in italics in this chapter is directly quoted from Book 7, Solo Command, by Aaron Allston.

This story is a plausible expansion on one of the situations left hanging at end of that novel. In my humble opinion, this is the best of the Star Wars novels. I’ve read a lot of them, maybe half of the published novels so far, and this is by far the best of them: deep and real, and funny and so poignantly sad all at the same time. Allston keeps so many balls in the air, and yet each character speaks with his or her own distinctive voice. Characters are surprising and yet never surreal, and no one, I mean no one writes Wedge Antilles better. Sorry, I’m gushing, think I might be a fan? ;-)

Anyway, if you haven’t read that novel, and don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read any further. So without further ado, a possible answer to the question: what happened after that? for a troubled pair of ex-Wraiths. I hope you like it.

Your feedback is welcome! e-mail the author

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“...I’ll accept whatever you decide.”

The redhead gave the unseen holocam a last, long glance, her jade green eyes seeming to search out the viewer’s own, and then that almost-familiar face faded into the blankness of the recording’s ending.

Lieutenant Myn Donos of Starfighter Command’s justly famous Rogue Squadron bit his lip, his brow creased with concentration. With an almost reflex gesture, he cued the message to begin playback again. He had lost count of how many times he done this now, in the two weeks since he had first gotten it.

The screen brightened, and there shone the face of the woman he... well, that was the whole issue, wasn’t it? What did he feel for her? Who was she, really?

”Hello, Myn. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one another.” It had been six weeks. His life had changed beyond recognition. And hers?

Her name was Kirney Slane, in this new incarnation, but she’d been Lara Notsil when he’d known her, and before that...

Gara Petothel: an exemplary agent in Isard’s Imperial Intelligence Branch, specialising in deep cover espionage. She’d been born into a loyal Imperial family with Intelligence practically bred into her. What was it Corran had called her: a “situational adaptive”? Was she sane, or was she reaching towards a state of normalcy, even as he was?

“I’m back on Corellia now, after a few years of knocking around the Galaxy...” She sounded so... good, even with the odd Corellian accent, to his ears parched for her voice, and she looked so good to him, too, despite the change in hair tint.

But Gara Petothel had been the agent to deliver up his first command, the ill-fated Talon Squadron, to obliteration at the hands of the Empire, on a nameless, useless moon. He’d come away from that shattered, but still standing, if you could call it that. He had tried to bury his misplaced guilt and to deny himself any emotional expression at all, because if *one* thing were to slip...

The whole tower of cards had come tumbling down when his astromech, sole survivor of the Talon massacre other than himself, was destroyed in a later engagement. Suddenly alone and made brutally aware that his pilots had gone unavenged, Myn had retreated from his new unit, and had only been drawn out by the concerted efforts of his squadmates.

Flying with the Wraiths, he’d been as close to normal as he’d come after the disaster with the Talons, and it was Lara who had helped him see, just by her presence in his life, that he wasn’t as alone in the Galaxy as he’d thought. And neither was she.

“I know, after the way we parted company, you may not want to see me again.”

It had taken some convincing, and he was never really sure he *had* convinced her. Before they had exchanged more than the most preliminary reaching toward each other, her secret had been uncovered by the Lorrdian actor turned new Republic pilot Garik “Face” Loran, who was in command of the Wraiths. Lara had been his wing, and in order to forestall any sudden treachery, Face had kept her out of the fight.

What had followed had been a simple error, he’d not switched his comm back to private channels when he’d confronted his wingman with her deception. It had destroyed Myn’s world again, so close to being rebuilt: to learn that the woman he was falling in love with had been the original betrayer of his first command. He’d had his finger on the trigger and was firing before he really knew what he was doing. His finger was on the trigger, and her ship was square in his targeting reticle. He was deaf to the repeated commands to stand down, blind except to the chance for revenge. She’d almost cost him his career, again.

“But I had to find out if there was any sort of a chance for us.”

He had been snapped back to himself by the bitter comment from his squadron leader, for though he’d detonated his torpedo before it could strike Face’s X-Wing, the concussion of the weapon had damaged Face’s ship, rattling him enough to offer Myn a credit for the kill.

He was sure Face’s later comments about choosing targets had been joking, for the most part, but the sense of mistrust was there. Face had been promoted over Myn, but there was no rancor on his part: Face was a true natural leader, and Myn knew he was not fit for command. Hell, he had been barely fit to fly, and his career had depended on the slenderest of threads.

It was the odd advice of Lieutenant Wes “Buns” Janson, and the brilliant leadership tactics of Wedge Antilles that had saved him, that had helped salvage Myn’s career, and more, his actual self. It took some time grounded, in the midst of a vital and dangerous mission, and some seriously odd behaviour on his part, but he’d recovered his sanity, and his wings as a result.

Wraith had been recommissioned as an Intel unit, and even though he had the sniper skills to contribute to a ground unit, flying was what he wanted to do. as well, he doubted his unstable state would lend itself to a successful career in Intelligence, so he’d accepted the offer from the elite Rogues.

But that came after.

Lara had tried to say something to him, before she leapt out of there like a scurry with her tail on fire. She had tried to say...what? He thought he’d never know, until he recieved that message for the first time.

“I think I’m finally ready and able to give it a try again.”

But she hadn’t been what she’d seemed. Lara was Gara, who was now... Kirney Slane.

She gave some details on her location, along with a cryptic comment about a co-pilot, before finishing with that telling phrase: “Contact me, visit me- do whatever you feel you have to.”

That had included killing her and kissing her, at different times in the past. And now?

The questions facing Myn Donos were: Who is Kirney Slane? And was there any real hope for what he’d once, almost shared with Lara?

“I’ll accept whatever you decide.”

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part 2

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