Jedi Council Forums - Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)

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Author	Topic: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
CarrKicksDoor Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 4/27/05 7:18pm Subject: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Author: CarrKicksDoor Title: Days of Grace Timeframe:: Five years after Tenel Ka becomes the Queen Mother of Hapes. Keywords: J/TK Summary: Tenel Ka has to make a damaging choice to keep Jacen safe. Status: Complete. Notes: Part of the April 2005 Crystal Reef Palace Auditorium Challenge This comes five months after Grasping at Dreams and 3 ½ years before Every Day is a Good One * He wondered how he’d gotten here. Sitting in the dank, dark room, the chill was creeping into his bones. The soft sniffle of a woman crying met his ears. “Hey,” he said softly. “It’ll be okay.” She shook her head in the dim light of the monitor showing her young child in another room. “The queen will never negotiate with them. They’re going to kill my baby.” Jacen scooted over closer to the crack in the wall that let him see the woman. “It’ll be fine. Tenel Ka won’t let anything happen.” His eyes flicked to the monitor, the image of a little girl stretched out on the cot. This was how it had started. A visit to Hapes at the first chance he’d had to break away, and this had happened. * [Two Days Earlier] “Cancel my meetings,” Tenel Ka ordered, and her attendant ran off, leaving them alone out on the veranda overlooking her garden. She turned back to look at him. “Jacen, my love.” He tangled his fingers in hers and kissed her soundly. “I’ve missed you.” She loosed her hand from his, bringing it up to the back of his neck so her fingers could play in his hair. “I have also missed you.” “You ruined my surprise,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “I should have known better.” “Little escapes my notice,” she said. “But I sensed your presence when you ship jumped in system. Are you hungry? It’s nearly time for midday meal.” “I’m starved,” he said. “You know how shuttle food is.” She opened the door and called for food—within a few minutes, food was brought and set on the table before them. Jacen dug into the salad. “This is good.” “I will pass your complements to the kitchen,” Tenel Ka said, picking up the fork. A movement at the window caught her attention and she nodded. The door opened, and a tall woman wearing a military uniform stepped onto the veranda. “Your Majesty. I am sorry to interrupt you. We request your presence in the war room.” Tenel Ka rose and Jacen did the same. “Rosal?” The woman nodded. “Akarn has listed his demands.” A gesture from Tenel Ka indicated for Jacen to join them, and he fell into step beside Tenel Ka. “General Ashira, Master Jedi Solo.” Jacen nodded an acknowledgement of the introduction. Ashira did not look impressed. Jacen had never had an opportunity to enter the Hapan War room, but when he stepped in, he stopped in wonder. The technological mass collected there astonished him—satellites covering each of the sixty-three worlds, intelligence reports and comm units chattering in the background. Tenel Ka strode over to the center table where a holographic, topographic map had been laid out. “We can hit their base precisely. Little collateral damage,” Ashira said, pointing towards a building on the map. “We would have to use a turbolaser blast at night—this building next to it is a school.” “Anything else?” Tenel Ka asked. “We could send in a special team, but the projected casualty rate for our men and possible civilians is quite high,” Ashira said, brushing her long braid behind her shoulders. “They have made their demands?” Tenel Ka asked. Ashira nodded. “Immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Hapan forces from Rosal, immediate control of Rosal’s intelligence satellites, and monetary aid to set up a new government.” “Any threats?” Tenel Ka asked. Ashira shook her head, sending her braid swaying. “As yet, they have done nothing illegal, except perhaps a few weapons violations. They aren’t something I would send our normal public safety officers to arrest them for. Akarn has a history of violent behavior as do many of the men associated with his movement. Tenel Ka straightened. “We cannot do anything until one of them breaks a law, and a serious one at that. If one does, we can arrest the others with collusion.” Ashira nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty.” “Do we have any ships in the area?” Tenel Ka asked. “The Solaria,” Ashira said. “Have the Solaria hold a geosynchronous orbit over the base for now,” Tenel Ka said. Ashira bowed, and Tenel Ka turned to Jacen. “Come, we will finish our meal.” They walked out of the technological wonder that was the war room back into the traditional Hapan palace. “That’s what they were protesting when Jonlin brought me to the palace?” he asked. She took his arm as they continued down the hall. “Yes. Rosal is integral to the Hapan defense system, because of it’s location in the Rim Worlds. With the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong splinter groups, I cannot allow them to break our defense grid.” “I understand,” he said, laying his hand on hers. A tingle went down the back of his neck, one that indicated oncoming danger. “Come,” Tenel Ka said. “My grandmother is gone for the next few days and we should enjoy the respite.” * He lay in the bed, arms crossed behind his head and looked at the ceiling. He sensed the movement of the guards patrolling the quiet hallways and closed his eyes. Jacen focused on the sense of danger that had been popping up all day. Each time, someone had mentioned Rosal, but as Tenel Ka had said—all the hunches made no difference if they didn’t have a legal reason to hold Akarn and his men. The danger sense leapt upon him again, and the quiet hallway was suddenly no longer quiet. The guards vanished from his sense, and his lightsaber leapt from the desk into his hand. The emerald green light through the room into shadows, and Jacen carefully opened the heavy wooden door. A blaster barrel pointed itself directly between his eyes. “See the child here, Master Jedi?” A blue hologram of a little girl appeared. “I see her,” Jacen said, preparing his lightsaber strike. “Resist us and she dies,” the man said. The confidence in his voice was echoed in the Force, and it gave Jacen pause. He knew, definitively knew, that the man was telling the truth. Some how, if he resisted, the child would die. He shut down his lightsaber, showing it to the man as he opened the door. “Throw it behind you,” the man ordered, and Jacen tossed it over his shoulder. “Get your clothes, we’re leaving.” * With nothing more than the threat—the all too true threat—that if he tried anything, they would kill the child on the monitor, they left him in the cell. The child was far from his cell, he could tell that much, and even he couldn’t stop ten blaster bolts at her head if he tried something. “Is someone there?” he heard a soft voice say after the heavy door closed. “I’m here,” he whispered, his easy searching the wall. The chink was near the bottom, and he sat towards it. “What’s your name?” “Alyce,” she said. “Who are you?” “Jacen,” he said. “Solo?” He nodded, then realized she probably couldn’t see him. “Yeah.” “They’re going to kill my baby!” she said, suddenly bursting into tears. “Hey, hey,” Jacen said. “I’m not going to let that happen. If it means I have to stay here, I will.” Her tears dissipated slowly. “Really?” He nodded again. “Really. What’s her name?” A sniff prefaced each sentence. “Marin. She’s six. See that doll she’s holding? Her father brought that back for her when he got leave during the war.” She sniffed louder. “That was right before he died. The doll has a red dress. Red’s her favorite color.” “My sister’s favorite color was red at that age,” he mused. “She was a terror for disassembling things.” “Marin’s just a terror, some days,” Alyce said. “Really?” Jacen said, settling back against the wall. “Oh, you don’t want to hear about that,” she said. “Go ahead,” he answered. “We’ve got plenty of time.” *** “What do you mean, gone?” Tenel Ka asked. The attendant took a step back at her fierce question. “Your Majesty, he’s gone. Foul play, they killed the guards—“ She was already flying down the corridor, never minding her sleeping attire, brushing past courtiers and servants, even her father as she did so, haste blinding her to anything other than her goal. She stopped suddenly in front of the room Jacen had been staying in. A few doctors pulling sheets over two bodies further down the hall stood, but she ignored them. She carefully opened the door as palace security roped off the area. One made a half-hearted plea for her not to enter, but she didn’t hear them. The room was dark and quiet when she entered. Jacen’s things remained where they’d been when she’d wished him goodnight the evening before, except for his lightsaber. It laid in the middle of the floor, and she knelt beside it, stretching her fingers out grasp it. Her fingertips brushed the cool metal— A cascade of images fell on her—Jacen sleeping, danger, the light of his lightsaber, the guards in the hall, a face she recognized all too well from the intelligence reports—Jacen willingly going along with them. Tenel Ka suddenly came back to herself, the empty room reminding her of the urgency to find him. She rose, filled with a determination that Ashira would welcome in putting down the Rosal rebellion. She strode out of the room, her white robe billowing behind her, Jacen’s lightsaber firmly in her hand. The attendant she’d left in her suite jogged to her side, considerably out of breath. “Find General Ashira,” she said. “I am here, Your Majesty,” Ashira said grimly. “Akarn has made his threats.” Isolder met Tenel Ka at the entrance to the war room with a robe that was slightly less diaphanous than the one she had on. Ashira pointed to a com screen. “The message was sent to us alone.” She nodded, unwilling to let go of Jacen’s lightsaber long enough to play the message, and Ashira reached around her to start the playback. “Your Majesty,” Akarn said, an ugly sneer on his face. “We have your lover, and we will kill him unless you immediately agree to our demands. Even a Jedi Master cannot block twenty blaster bolts.” The message shut off. “Your Majesty, the Solaria can acquire a target and fire in less than three minutes. We can have a team ready to enter the base in three hours.” Tenel Ka turned, leaning on the table showing the base and silence fell over the room. There was truth in Akarn’s statement. He was capable and he would kill Jacen if pushed. But both of Ashira’s options did little better. She couldn’t do it. She had to. But she wouldn’t. She had given up enough of what she wanted to Hapes. She couldn’t give up Jacen. “Ready my ship,” she said, standing tall. “Send a message back to Akarn that we agree and will be on the Solaria in an hour to sign the planet over to the Rosali people.” “Your Majesty—“ Ashira said, stopping, speechless. “Tenel Ka,” Isolder said. “You cannot do this.” “It is done,” she said, turning to Ashira. “Ready my ship.” Ashira hurried off, and Tenel Ka looked at her father, who had a strange expression on her face, one of pride and pity at the same time. “Tell me I am doing the right thing.” He took her hands in his. “My daughter, I love you.” He kissed her forehead, leaving without an answer to her question. *** “Solo!” a voice bellowed. “Get up, and let’s go.” “Jacen!” Alyce’s voice held a note of undisguised panic. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll do everything I can to get you and Marin out, I promise.” He rose, meeting plenty of blasters surrounding him, and he ended up cuffed to a console in a two man ship. “Can I ask where we’re going?” His abductor, who Jacen surmised was Akarn, just smiled. “The queen has agreed to my request. Rosal is soon to be free, and you are my guarantee.” It took Jacen a minute to process that. “Are you stupid? They’ll arrest you the moment you step foot on the ship.” “Not with my blaster directly to your head. After we sign, they can arrest me. Rosal will still be free.” Jacen fell silent. He was sealing with someone who truly believed he was right. Quiet reigned until the reached the Solaria. *** “Your Majesty,” a voice said from the pit of the bridge of the Battle Dragon. “Akarn’s ship has just docked.” Tenel Ka nodded an acknowledgment. “General Ashira.” The woman turned. “Your Majesty?” “Have the gunners acquire a firing solution on the base.” An expression of understanding crossed Ashira’s face. “I’d be delighted.” The security team escorted Akarn and Jacen to the bridge, the barrel of Akarn’s blaster set at the back of Jacen’s head. “Your Majesty.” She locked eyes with Jacen briefly to assure that he was all right before breaking her contact with him. “Let’s get this over with.” She picked up the pen and scrawled her name and title on the bottom of the flimsiplast. Akarn took the pen from her and signed his name with his free hand. “Very well, thank you, Your Majesty.” He dropped his blaster, and threw up his hands. “Rosal is free!” Tenel Ka’s voice was cold. “General Ashira. Fire.” Jacen lurched forward. “No!” It was too late. The Solaria’s turbolasers had already fired. They watched the blast on the monitor as a phantasmagorical bloom of fire raged into the air. “Oh, sweet Force,” Jacen whispered, barely keeping upright. Tenel Ka caught him, propping him up. The sounds of Ashira arresting Akarn behind them, Tenel Ka looked at him. “Jacen?” He just watched. *** He sat in her garden on one of the grassy mounds that one day might aspire to be a hill. The Hapan moonlight shone down, illuminating the garden, and the Dathomir night lilies began to bloom in his presence. She quickly opened the doors, gliding across the path to where he say, wrapping her robe around her to protect her from the slight breeze. “Jacen, my love?” He took a moment before looking up. “Right here.” She moved down the path and sat beside him. “Jacen?” “She was six,” he said hollowly. “Damn it, she was six! Her name was Marin and her favorite color was red.” He threw a piece of grass angrily. “She loved to swim and she liked pilafruit and trimpian. Her mother read The Little Lost Bantha Cub to her every night while she drank a glass of milk and she kissed the picture of her father every night before she went to sleep, and she was six, Tenel Ka!” He shot up, angrily swiping at one of the night blooming bushes, and delicate white flowers blew over the garden, over the grass and landed in Tenel Ka’s unbraided hair. She couldn’t say anything. A simple sorry wouldn’t suffice, but her heart ached to see him in pain. He stood with his back to her, picking apart a flower. “I don’t know if this is going to work.” Her heart stopped. “Us?” “They’re always going to know your weak spot—“ he began, the rehearsed speech spilling from his lips. “Stop,” she ordered. “Do not lie to me, Jacen Solo.” He turned. “How could you fire on that base?” “Because it was necessary,” she shot back., her tone every bit as confrontational as his own. “I need Rosal in the Consortium. It’s vital to our safety.” “To hell with safety!” he cried. “There had to be another way. There had to be!” She rose, the wind blowing her hair and her robe around her. “There was! But it would have meant that many of my men would have died as well. Would you rather that had happened?” “No!” he said, throwing his hands up. “No.” He sat back down, and Tenel Ka did the same, deeply feeling his disappointment and his sorrow. “She was six,” he whispered. He dropped his head, but it didn’t hide the tears streaming down his face, glistening in the moonlight. She put her arm around him and let him cry. *** -----signature----- Carrolé, Handmaiden of the Crest Not even your deepest secrets escape the NRI: So Much For Our Happy Endings: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=23843466&brd=10477
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RK_Striker_JK_5 Registered: Jul '03	Date Posted: 4/27/05 7:31pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story) - Date Edited: 4/27/05 7:32pm (1 edits total) Edited By: RK_Striker_JK_5
	So, the good guys don't always win... EDIT: Heartbreaking, Carr. Simply heartbreaking. 'She was six.' And Tenel Ka, she did the right thing-or did she? Was there another way? Maybe, or maybe not. My hat off to you. -----signature----- E-married to the wonderful DarthIshtar. Now also her Padawan. Member of the Y.J.K. Revolution Staring into the Darkness http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/27537567/p1/?23
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pregnantpadme Registered: Oct '04	Date Posted: 4/27/05 7:52pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Wow... That was great. That was a grown up story. Whenever people talk about the reasons why Jacen and Tenel Ka will or won't work...no one ever mentions stuff like that. Well done. -----signature----- Is Anakin still dead? Not in my new story: Fragile Oh, look... there's a link right there http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30173930/p1/?69
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Amidala_Skywalker Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jul '01	Date Posted: 4/27/05 7:52pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Wow, Carr, you have outdone yourself. I love this story. Tenel Ka had to make the hard decisions and quickly. She didn't have Jacen's perspective on the situation; she had her own resolve to keep the peace. Okay, this does remind me of ENT "Damage". Captain Archer defying his principles. Terrific! Amsie -----signature----- Amsié, Crest of Handmaidens . ___ TF.N Archive Reviewer ___ Battlestar Galactica is the new way.
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Lola64 Registered: Mar '05	Date Posted: 4/27/05 8:34pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Tenel Ka's weakness is Jacen and Jacen's weakness is the lives of innocents. Kind or makes me believe they won't really work out being together. I'll have to read the other parts tomorrow but just let me say how well you write. It's amazing. -----signature----- Kyp/Nurse Lola: the new ship I stalk people. It's a Lola thing. Been gone and is now back. Did you miss me?
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SilSolo Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 4/28/05 5:44am Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Heartbreaking. Wow. Bloody, bloody massacre. grins and reveals fangs -----signature----- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/27517284/p1/?11 Like this quick sketch: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32848083/ ? Then commission me. Prices are negotiable.
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Neo-Paladin Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 4/28/05 6:47am Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Very moving. I really think it is important to see the Hero's fail sometimes. If they don't fail sometimes their wins are meaningless. Thanks for this. -----signature----- Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. Edward R. Murrow
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Lady_Jedi_Carenix Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 4/28/05 11:27am Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Wow. That was heart-breaking at the end. Tenel Ka had to make a tough decision and no one really wins in the end. Sad but good to read. -----signature----- “Yes, yes, I know, random, clumsy, etcetera, etcetera; but some times you just need to make a lot of indiscriminate damage." - Zekk Link to J/TK fanfic in bio JC twin to TheEmperorsHand Retired Lightside Jedi Master, Knight of Fan Fiction
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DathomiranAuthor Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 4/28/05 3:07pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Wow, that's so sad. Very powerful fic, and awesome description.
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CarrKicksDoor Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 4/28/05 7:11pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	RK, No, they don't always win. And I think that's important. Preggers, You're right. No one ever does mention stuff like that. IMO, I think that Tenel Ka really has to choose between her duties as a Jedi and her duties as a queen. But it takes as much strength to make those decisions as it does to go into battle. Amsie, I know. Tenel Ka didn't have that perspective, but I really wanted to show Jacen's persepective, and give everyone a chance to feel what he was feeling. Lola64, well, keep watch for the next in the series. I have an idea for it...a kind of a very hard reconciliation. Sil, that is a horrible thing to say!! Neo, I really think it is important to see the heroes fail sometimes. If they don't fail sometimes their wins are meaningless. Thank you for saying that ten times better than I ever could. That's exactly what I was trying to get across. LJC, Tenel Ka had to make a tough decision and no one really wins in the end. You know, so often, everything in Star Wars ends with a happy ending. Even if horrible things happen, there's always a happy ending, and that's not the way life really is. Datho, thanks. I appreciate the comment about the description, I was kind of worried that I was focusing too much on the dialogue. ~Carr -----signature----- Carrolé, Handmaiden of the Crest Not even your deepest secrets escape the NRI: So Much For Our Happy Endings: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=23843466&brd=10477
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SilSolo Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 4/29/05 1:17pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	that is a horrible thing to say!! What did I say? The comment on the massacre didn't offend you did it? I mean it as in I like it (ya know, vamps like the blood). -----signature----- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/27517284/p1/?11 Like this quick sketch: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32848083/ ? Then commission me. Prices are negotiable.
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Amidala_Skywalker Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jul '01	Date Posted: 4/29/05 7:31pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	So, are we thinking of submitting this baby to the Archive too? Ams -----signature----- Amsié, Crest of Handmaidens . ___ TF.N Archive Reviewer ___ Battlestar Galactica is the new way.
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HansGirl Registered: Sep '02	Date Posted: 4/30/05 10:52pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Depends on if I can coerce Carmen and Jayen into betaing again. grins angelically at gals ~Carr
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CarrKicksDoor Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 5/1/05 2:20pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Whoops. Was using Mum's account. ~Carr -----signature----- Carrolé, Handmaiden of the Crest Not even your deepest secrets escape the NRI: So Much For Our Happy Endings: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=23843466&brd=10477
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Healer_Leona Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jul '00	Date Posted: 5/1/05 3:46pm Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Yikes... I don't think kidnapping Jacen is the illegal thing Tenel Ka will be expecting. Tenel Ka’s voice was cold. “General Ashira. Fire.” .. I had so hoped they were firing on Akarn. Oh my, that's was just to painful.... poor poor Jacen. A very thought provoking viggie... -----signature----- Break away from everybody Break away from everthing If you can't stand the way this place is Take yourself to higher places
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CarrKicksDoor Registered: Jan '05	Date Posted: 5/3/05 6:27am Subject: RE: Days of Grace (a J/TK short story)
	Leona, thank you so much. hugs ~Carr -----signature----- Carrolé, Handmaiden of the Crest Not even your deepest secrets escape the NRI: So Much For Our Happy Endings: http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=23843466&brd=10477
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