Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order_ Dark Tide 02_ Ruin - Michael A. Stackpole [44]
“You have a much greater burden, and one that has shifted slightly. You’ve been born to privilege, whereas I was a moisture farmer’s brat. My parents were no one; yours saved a galaxy, and continue to serve it. In that service they made enemies, and you’re smart enough to know that once your mother left power, her enemies set about weakening her image, and that of the Jedi.”
Jaina nodded. “I’ve met people who figure me for a spoiled Jedi brat. I work hard to prove them wrong.”
“That’s very apparent, and those of us in the squadron are very happy you’re with us. There are others on this ship, however, and in the service, who don’t have the view of you that I do.” He sighed. “Part of what happened here was to show them that we play no favorites. There isn’t a single person here who didn’t feel for the death of your brother, and none of them would have liked to have been in your boots when the Lost Hope exploded. All of them know how much you must have been hurting. And when they learned that your superiors had purposely not let you know—not let any of us in Rogue Squadron know—what was happening, they realized they’ve got more in common with us than they imagined. They realized that the problem of the Yuuzhan Vong is serious enough that the New Republic isn’t playing favorites: not for Rogue Squadron, not for the Jedi, not for any Solos.”
The young pilot closed her eyes and rubbed one hand over her forehead. As he explained it, everything made sense. Jaina discovered she’d inherited from her parents the narrow belief that it was her role, her family’s role, to be saving the galaxy. The fact was that their actions were crucial, but it was the hundreds of thousands of sapient beings that made up the Rebellion that had been able to capitalize on and maintain the victories others won. Blowing up the Death Star certainly eliminated threats to the galaxy, but it hadn’t liberated a single Imperial planet. That had taken lots of others working hard.
And they needed to be shown that hard work is going to be vital here. She opened her eyes and looked up at her commander. “Colonel, I—Boy, this is humbling, and I guess I didn’t realize I needed to be humbled.”
Gavin laughed heartily, then nodded. “You didn’t need it as much as others might have thought you needed it. You’re not the first pilot in this unit to be taken down a notch or two, and remember, all of us were treated similarly. Rogue Squadron is the best unit in the New Republic, but now our comrades know we’re all on equal footing when it comes to how we are treated.”
He held up a finger. “One more thing that I hope you’ll take away from this. In my time with Rogue Squadron I’ve seen a lot of people die. I’ve lost a lot of friends, people I was close with, and some I was very close to. What Admiral Kre’fey managed to do is remind all of us, through the persons of your brother and Corran, that none of us are immune to death out here. He reminded us that we may be called upon to make sacrifices we don’t want to make, and that’s good. If we go out there thinking we’re invulnerable, we’ll get stupid. Stupid people die, and all too often, they take friends with them.”
“Yes, sir, thank you, sir.” Jaina had already seen, in the simulations she’d flown after Garqi, that she was flying sharper than before. She had more of an edge, and she knew she’d need it against the Yuuzhan Vong.
“Very good, Lieutenant.” He straightened up in his chair. “Go find your squadron mates and tell them they have two hours before we report to the belly launch bay. Admiral Kre’fey thinks he has