Sword of The Lanterns

Chapter Twenty-Eight- Mines

"What about the new X models?" A voice on the other end asked. 

"They're not scheduled to test until eleven. Tell Porkins and Dak to be suited up by twenty til. And find one of the smaller extra flight suits."

Carol shoved Hal towards the locker room, and showed Jaina to the ladies' to help her suit up, but Jaina didn't need anyone to show her how to put on the flight suit.

Hal met her on the runway, his helmet tucked under his arm.

"You ready for this?"

"Born ready!" 

Hal helped her into the seat behind him in the much safer and well tested YT-13 jet model, and turned on the radio. 

"Jaina," Anakin whispered. But Jaina was so excited she wasn't paying attention to the force, or the bad feeling in her gut.

"You good to go, Jordan?" Carol asked from the air traffic control tower.

"All strapped in."

"Jaina!" Anakin would have screamed, but Jaina wouldn't listen to him. If she had been paying attention, she would have heard several other voices teasing him good-naturedly about karma.

"Got your ring? Just in case?" Hal covered the mic with his hand and whispered to Jaina. She just nodded, bouncing up and down in her seat.

Hal smiled, steering the jet towards the runway. "Tower, this is Castle. We are a go."

"Runway is clear, you may proceed." Carol told them. "Have fun, Jaina."

The jets screamed like thunder, aimed towards the mountains at the end of the runway. Jaina leaned forward to see as much as she could, and her stomach lurched as the wheels lifted up off the ground.

"WHOO-HOO!" She cried. The nose of the plane angled up towards the sky, and turned around, soaring above Coast City. Sure, Jaina could fly with her ring, but there was something about riding in cockpit of a ship that filled her with joy. The vibrations beneath her, the scent of oil and metal, the sight of scenery blurring past.

"Enjoying the view?" Hal asked via radio.

""Loving it!" Jaina cried. There wasn't enough room to throw her arms up in the air in the cockpit, but if there was, she would have.

"How are things up there, Castle?"

"Looking great, tower!" Hal told Carol. 

"Pressure and temp are stable, all instruments look okay," Jaina cut in, much to Hal's jealousy.

Suddenly a red light on the dash began to flash.

"Castle, what is that?" Carol demanded.

"Sensors are picking up something closing in fast-" Before Hal could discern what what "closing in", an explosion tossed the jet off course. Hal was jerked to the side, ramming his head on the glass of the window.

"Hal!" Jaina cried. 

Her mentor moaned, and a hairline crack appeared on the window. Another explosion rocked the jet, and there were more coming. Jaina braced her arms against the wall, and shoved in front of Hal, taking over the pilot's controls.

She jerked the yoke to the side, avoiding another explosion.

"Jaina, what happened to Hal?" Carol asked. Jaina didn't respond. She shoved the controls forward, pushing the jet as fast as it would go.

She barely heard the noise as she reached sonic speeds, and when the explosions stopped coming every two seconds, she deemed it safe to go back and land. 

As she touched down, she saw Carol running out onto the runway, scrambling med and repair crews. Jaina hit the brakes hard enough that she stopped just shy of the hangar.

"Next time, listen to me!" She could feel Anakin's glare as she flickered in and out of lightheadedness.

"Shut up," She gritted her teeth, and used the force to open the cockpit, carrying Hal in her arms.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, Jaina, I promise, I'm okay," Hal mumbled deliriously.

"We shouldn't have done that," Carol rubbed her temples as the medics took care of Hal. Bee tittered nervously, rolling around Jaina to make sure she was okay.

"It wasn't Hal's fault," Jaina insisted. "I have a feeling..." She barely looked around to make sure no one was watching her before she shot into the sky and back again, holding something round and metal.

"Jaina-! What's that?" Carol cut herself off.

"Don't worry, it's a dud," Jaina assured her, panting heavily. "it's a space mine." 

Something caught her eyes. It could be trick of the sunlight on the mountains in the distance, but Jaina knew what it was.

"And I think I know who put them there."

Comment the easter eggs you found in this chapter!!

More Jaina/Selena edits for y'all!