TITLE: It’s Been a Long Day
AUTHOR: Katrin
RATING: G, believe it or not
CATEGORY: It’s um, dialogue and character introspection.
SPOILERS: It takes place right after chapter 24 of “Dark Tide: Ruin.” Spoilers for the comics “Blood and Honour” and “Union” and the books “Solo Command,” “Starfighters of Adumar” and “Ruin.”
ARCHIVE: My site, WAAS
SUMMARY: Face talks to Wedge about a new member of the family.
FEEDBACK: Send it to kathalcyon@hotmail.com or kathalcyon@yahoo.ca
DISCLAIMER:  Nothing belongs to me. The SW universe belongs to Lucas, and Allston and Stackpole created various other things.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It’s short, but I felt like writing and I was bored. So there. Nothing smutty or even romantic; sorry, gals.
WARNING: Mish says Face went grey too fast.

General Wedge Antilles sank into a soft chair in his small quarters on the Ithorian herd ship Tafanda Bay. It had been a trying day – well, evening, really. A party with a bunch of politicians, including Borsk Fey’lya, was not his idea of a good time.

He had just started to roll his shoulders, working out the kinks, when there was a knock on the door. He sighed, not wanting to be interrupted, but called out, “Enter.”

The door slid open and in stepped Colonel Garik Loran of the NRI. Wedge smiled. If his solitude had to be intruded upon, at least it was by a friend..

“Fun party?” asked Loran, more commonly known as Face, with a grin. There was a sparkle in his green eyes, which had remarkably few lines around them. Face’s once-black hair had faded to silver, but it made him look distinguished and mature, rather than old.

“Not really,” Wedge replied, going back to working the tension out of her shoulders. “Borsk Fey’lya was practically following me around. I can’t understand why no one’s shot him yet.”

Face laughed. “I managed to avoid him, myself. I had a nice chat with Colonel Jagged Fel.” There was some hesitation in Face’s last words.

Wedge sighed. He’d known this was coming. “You’re curious about how I have a nephew.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, yeah, sort of. I guess I’m a little hurt. I thought we were friends, Wedge.” Face spoke with disarming honesty, no trace of the acting he was famed for.

“Face, I didn’t tell anyone about my sister. Not even Iella.” He winced at that, wondering how he was going to explain a nephew to his wife. And he had told Wes, Plourr and Hobbie… but, well, admitting that would just get him in more trouble. He’d have to remind them not to tell anyone they knew about it. It was ages ago; maybe they didn’t even remember. “I didn’t even know for certain she was alive.”

“That’s another thing, If Colonel Fel is the son of the Empire’s Baron Soontir Fel… well, Baron Fel was married to…”

“Wynssa Starflare, I know,” Wedge interrupted. “Less commonly known as Syal Antilles.”

“If Wynssa Starflare was your sister… Wedge, I did a holo with her!”

Wedge’s sister Syal had made a reputation for herself as the Imperial actress Wynssa Starflare. Face had been a child actor before he had joined the Rebellion, and had starred in The Black Bantha with Starflare.

“Face, don’t take it personally, please.” With all the upheaval in the galaxy, Wedge didn’t need his friends getting angry with him.

“You know Colonel Fel has a brother and sister living with the Chiss?” Face asked, changing the course of the conversation abruptly.

Wedge nodded. “I’d like to visit when… when I can.” By the Force, let that be soon.

“With Iella?”

“If she doesn’t kill me for keeping secrets, yes.” Wedge missed his wife desperately; he ached for her. Even if she got furious with him when he told her about his sister, he wanted nothing more than to be with her again.

“The easiest policy is not to keep secrets, I’ve found.” Face, though several years younger than Wedge, had been married several years longer.

“Yeah, I’ll try that out next time,” Wedge replied dryly.

“Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t plotting anyone’s demise after the party,” Face said, taking a few steps towards the door. “See you tomorrow, Wedge.”

“See you.”

As Face left, Wedge reflected on his situation – his familial situation; thinking about anything else would keep him from going to sleep and he needed rest. When Iella got over her initial anger over being lied to – he hadn’t told her any untruths, but he’d kept things from her, and she tended to view that as lying – he thought she’d like Jagged, for he was a nice young man despite his upbringing.  Myri and Syal would be delighted to have a cousin, he thought with a grin. Maybe it would all be okay.