Beyond - Legends Danni's Quest (Jacen/Tenel Ka, Danni Quee) Completed 11/19

Congrats for your nominations SiouxFan! They are well deserved!

 

Congratulations! Marne and Tahiri are great working together. I can understand Marne's curiosity. I think she will find a quite-changed Jacen when he gets back. Not so closed off. Cool bit of espionage with the listening devices. And Teo and Franke -- feels like a slice of American life there. Yup, this downturn is fixing to turn itself around.

 

Thanks! It was not something I really expected...fans of J/TK are kind of an underground movement that most of the EU fans pretend don't exist!

When I was in HS, my father bought an RX-7 on a whim...and it promptly got 'stolen' by my sisters and I. My wife and I went on our first date in it, my younger sister drove it on her first date with her husband and took it to the prom (as did our neighbor's son a couple of years later), my older sister drove it on her wedding day, and I won't comment on what went on behind the seats in it...(Mom might be reading). A few years ago, Dad confessed that he didn't drive it very much and wanted to sell it. 'You CAN'T sell it...it's family!' I told him...and promptly wrote out a check.

I can't remember which book it was where Tenel Ka got her ship, but I do remember it featured in almost everyone after that...I don't think it too much of a stretch to think that both her and Jacen (and Jaina and Zekk) would have fond memories of it...it's just that most people don't talk about it!

For the life of me, I can't understand how the Corellian's became the heros of LotF. They were SECEDING...they'd threatened to do so before at least twice, they'd wiped out the Bakuran fleet, Sal-Solo destroyed the Hapans...their history on the Wook reads like that of the French after 1790....always opposing whatever government was in power. It's why I had Marne bring it up...if anyone should be governed by an 'occupying' force a la Japan after '45, it would be the Corellians.

 

Thanks! In all honesty, I got hooked on reading your 'Sacrifices' and was one of the reasons I started posting this here...I probably owe you a beverage of some kind!

Tahiri is rather fun to write...I had Marne ask because I wanted to imply that her and Jacen had become something other than just 'boss/secretary'...that Jacen was still 'Jacen' deep-down, even before Danni walked into his office and that he considered Marne a...confidant of sorts. The devices just popped into my head as I was writing the scene...adds a bit of 'Clancy' to the story, IMO!

Nelani is mentioned only once after Betrayal...I'd think that her family would've eventually asked the Jedi where she was, what had happened to her. Another 'loose end' that nobody ever tries to wrap up. Ugh. And I agree...when is the recovery supposed to happen? We were promised a recovery after the TARP, and after the last round of tax-cuts...proof that neither party knows what drives an economy...and neither do economists, apparently.

 

@Ewok_Slayer; @Iverna; @windu4; @snowduchess; @Kahara; @SHADOW_MASTER_W; @Nyota's Heart; Jedi_Lover​

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Chapter 34—Bearer of Bad News​

Lorrd City—ten years previous

After weeks of looking for work, Teo had finally found a job as a short-order cook at a slightly worn corner bistro. Two months ago, Nelani had been told that she was no longer welcome at her last school because she was scaring the other students with her ‘fortune telling’, and the two of them were forced to move again—this time to the capital city hoping to be able to find another school for his sister. Unfortunately, because of Nelani’s past ‘problems’ only one school would allow her to attend, and on a probational basis; the others were too concerned by her ‘deviant’ behavior.

He knew that Nelani did not mean to scare the other kids, she only told people what she ‘saw’ and was only trying to help…but the fact that most of what she said actually came to pass scared people. Shaking his head at his sister’s predictions, he returned his attention to the nerf burger on the grill. Hearing the front door open, he looked up through the small pass-through window and cringed when he saw his sister enter the restaurant, another stranger in tow. Teo loved his sister, he truly did, but did she have to find everyone that was down-on-their-luck?

“Not today, Nelani.” Came the gruff voice of the bistro’s owner, a Devaronian named Felek, from somewhere on the other side of the partition, “Business hasn’t been too good this week.”

“But Mr. Felek, she can pay.” Nelani replied, indignantly. This got Teo’s attention; Nelani never brought in paying customers.

Seeing the flabbergasted looks of the two men, the stranger smiled warmly, her green eyes sparkling as she nodded at Nelani, “She’s right…I can pay.”

“Pardon me, miss.” Felek replied, giving the woman a more critical look. She was dressed rather conservatively: a brown leather jacket over a loose, button down dark green shirt and dark, tight-fitting pants; certainly not one of Nelani’s usual ‘finds’. “It’s just that Nelani often brings in…”

“It’s okay.” The blonde woman replied knowingly, “Ms. Dinn mentioned your ‘charitable’ donations.” From her tone, the young woman seemed to understand that Felek only grudgingly gave away meals to Nelani’s ‘customers’, but that he did not want Nelani to lose her caring nature. “She also mentioned that your pain au chocolat is the best in the city.”

“Did she now?” Felek’s tone remained gruff, but he smiled slightly at the praise. “You’ll have to excuse Nelani, she does tend to exaggerate a bit.”

The teen’s blue eyes widened at the insult and she huffed. “I do not. They….”

“Still, I’d like try one.” The blonde woman interrupted smoothly, regaining control of the conversation. “If they’re as good as she says, I’ll buy the ten you have left.”

Teo frowned as he put the nerf burger in the window to be taken to the restaurant’s other customer. The woman hadn’t even glanced at the bakery section, so there was no way she could have known how many were left. The only possible explanation was that this woman knew about Nelani’s abilities and wanted to exploit them in some way, just like the man his mother had brought home nine months ago. The man had claimed that he was clairvoyant, and had devised a test to ‘…determine the real deal from the fakes.’ Nelani was excited when she learned that there was someone else who ‘saw’ things like she did and wanted to prove that she was ‘real’ and leapt at the chance to go with the man, eager to make her mother proud. As it turned out, the man was just a very good card counter, intent on making a quick fortune. Unfortunately, he was not as good at disguise and casino security detained the two of them. It took a lot of sweet-talking on Teo’s part and the promise of ‘free service’ from his mother to persuade the Chief-of-Police not to arrest his sister. “What do you want with Nelani?” He asked rudely, garnering a stern look from his boss and a look of shock from his sister.

Instead of the chagrined look he expected to see, the woman just smiled. “Why don’t we talk about that over a pastry and café au lait. My treat.”

Teo looked over at his boss for support, but instead saw the Devaronian already humming to himself at the caf machine, happy to have someone ‘cultured’ in his bistro. Frowning at the lack of help, “Okay, but you only get ten minutes.”

“Fair enough.”

As the three of them sat at one of the booths, the woman extended her hand, “I’m Eriana, by the way.” She nodded at Nelani, “I met your sister in front of the library. After she introduced herself, she told me she knew she would meet a blonde woman at the library today.”

Teo gave his sister an irritated look, but Nelani only shrugged it off. “What? It’s true…I did know she would be there.”

He opened his mouth to retort, but Eriana calmly interrupted. “What do you know about Nelani’s abilities?”

Turning his attention back to this mysterious stranger, Teo Dinn made a face. “She…sees things before they happen. She can find things…” he paused as Felek placed three cups of café au lait on the table, “…I lost my keys the other day—searched the flat for over an hour, and she comes home and found them under a cushion in twenty seconds flat. It was like she knew where to look.”

“Did you know where to look?” Eriana asked kindly.

Nelani nodded, her mouth full of pastry.

“How’d you know where to look?”

Swallowing, the young girl shrugged, “I don’t know really…I just did.”

Eriana smiled warmly, “I used to be that way—drove my parents nuts.” Seeing the girl’s look of surprise at her admission, she looked over at Teo, “I’m pretty sure your sister is Force sensitive.”

“Really?” Nelani whispered, afraid that if she acknowledged her ability out loud it would disappear.

The blonde nodded, “Really.”

Teo looked over at his sister, clearly trying to decipher what this new information meant for the two of them. Turning his attention back to Eriana, he let out a long sigh and scowled at the woman, still thinking this was some con job. “Is this where you offer us fortune and fame?” he added caustically, unable to stop himself.

Eriana shook her head, watching as Nelani slugged her brother in the shoulder and answered in a bemused tone, “Not at all…I can only offer years of study and under-appreciation.”

“Sounds delightful.” The older Dinn sibling replied drolly. “So….now what?” He sighed as he looked at his sister.

Eriana shrugged at the question, “Well-l-l…” she drawled, “…I’m not really sure. I’ll have to contact my friend, he knows more about the Jedi Academy than I do.”

“You’re not sure?” Teo asked as he shook his head in disbelief. “What kind of recruiter are you?”

Eriana looked confused. “Recruiter?” She shook her head when she finally understood what Teo meant, “You misunderstand—I don’t work for the Jedi, I’m just a tourist—I really did come to Lorrd on a whim….” glancing at the girl seated on Teo’s left, “…or perhaps I was steered this way.” Shrugging, she continued, “Anyway, I’m sure the Academy would love to have you.”

“I could learn to be a Jedi?” The girl asked disbelievingly as she looked up at her brother.

The older woman nodded, “I believe so, yes. My friend knows more about this sort of thing than I do. I’ll give him a call.”

Nelani’s look became confused, “You’re not a Jedi?” She, too, had learned to be cautious after nearly getting arrested and had no desire to be disappointed again. “You said that you could ‘…find things…’. Only Jedi can use the Force.”

Eriana smiled, as she shook her head, “A common misconception.” She took a sip of her flavored caf before continuing, “I’m actually a Jensaarai.” Seeing the blank looks from the pair across from her, she explained further, “We’re a bit like the Jedi, except we tend to focus more on the…martial…aspects of the Force.”

Teo nodded at his sister, “Can she be Jensaarai?”

The blonde woman grimaced at the question, “Unfortunately…no.” She let out a long exhale before continuing, “We take very few ‘outsiders’ into training. The elders maintain that ‘…you need to be ‘born’ Jensaarai…’” From her tone, it was clear that this was not a belief she shared. “Besides…” she added, her tone again becoming light, “…the Jedi are far more welcoming of new students.” Turning her attention back to Nelani, “You’ll do well.”

The girl nodded, clearly excited, “How do I join?”

“And how much does it cost?” Teo added, earning a dirty look from his sister.

“I’ll let my friend answer the first question, because I don’t really know.” Looking over at Teo, she continued, “And nothing. In fact, she’ll even get a small stipend while attending school.”

Eriana talked to the pair for another half an hour, doing her best to try to explain what the Jedi did, who they worked for, how they lived and left with the promise to contact her friend and to come back to the bistro after school and talk to Nelani some more the next day.

Four days later, a man and woman, both in their early twenties and looking strangely alike, entered the bistro and chatted idly with Felek as Teo finished grilling a sandwich for another customer. As he flipped the sandwich over, he took a causal glance at the pair. The young woman was dressed in the ‘traditional’ Jedi garb, and she seemed to be the more wary of the two, her dark eyes always scanning around. The man, her brother if Teo had to guess, was dressed in a simple blue tunic and black pants and seemed to be the more open of the pair, happily chatting with Felek about the odds of Lorrd’s smashball team winning the sector championship.

Finishing the sandwich, Teo placed it on a plate, scooped up some pommes frites from the warming bin and placed the plate on the counter, ringing the bell as he did. Making his way towards the pair, he addressed the young woman. “I’m assuming you’re Eriana’s Jedi friend?”

“Actually, that’s me,” the man answered, sticking out his hand to shake Teo’s. “I’m Jacen…” he nodded over at the young woman on his left, “…this is my sister Jaina…she knows more about the new Academy than I do…plus she’s my ride.” He shrugged apologetically, “My ship broke down over on Bimmiel.”

Teo shook the man’s hand, introducing himself and his boss, who was standing behind the counter, a stern look on his face.

“Eriana told me about your pain au chocolat…” Jacen stated matter-of-factly, clearly trying to placate the Devaronian restaurant owner, “…I’d love to try one.”

“And some of your chai tea, as well.” Jaina added brightly, remembering that Nelani bragged about the stuff.

Mr. Felek tried to hide a small smile as he nodded once. He still wasn’t sure if he trusted the Jedi, but at least they had good manners and taste.

As his boss turned his attention to the drink dispenser behind the counter, Teo gave the two a wry smile as he gestured to a table: he knew how much Felek had spent on that drink dispenser, and how disappointed he was that most of their customers still preferred straight caf. “Caf…“ Felek had told him once, “…is a drink for simpletons.” Perhaps it was, Teodore had argued, but caf still made the small restaurant a lot of money. The Devaronian didn’t really have an answer for that, so turned away muttering something about, “…leading an eopie to water...”

As they sat, Jaina interrupted his reverie, “We understand you have a few questions about the Academy.”

“I do. But first: is Nelani Force sensitive?”

Both twins nodded, Jaina speaking first, “She passed all of the baseline tests we have…her spatial recognition skills are particularly impressive.”

Nodding, Teo glanced out the large window, as he tried to phrase his question without sounding rude. Sighing, he turned his attention back to the pretty woman seated across from him. “Forgive me, but what do kids actually learn at this Academy? All of the information I found on the ‘net was pretty vague.”

“You know…” Jacen chuckled, bonking his sister with his left shoulder, “…you’d think with all of those web-savvy kids running around, the Academy would have a better holosite.”

Jaina grimaced at her brother’s observation; Jacen was right, of course, a better website would do wonders to reassure parents the Academy wasn’t going to turn their kids into a cult of armed monks. Not wanting to argue with her brother again, she instead answered Teo’s question. “Students take ‘traditional’ classes…mathematics, political history, writing…that sort of thing, three days a week and focus on ‘Jedi’ training the other two.” Holding up her hand to forestall Teo’s coming argument, “The ‘Jedi’ training periods are only half-days, so students still get time off to rest and relax.” Giving Jacen a rather pointed look, “It’s a lot more organized than when we went through.”

“Traffic on Coruscant is a lot more organized than what we went through.” Jacen deadpanned, getting a laugh from his sister.

“Will Nelani fit in?” Teo asked. “She’s going to be a lot older than most of the other ‘new’ students.”

Jaina shook her head. “You’d be surprised…we get older students more often than you think.” She paused, “We’ll have Nelani start in her ‘traditional’ classes first…give her a semester to get to know everyone, get used to the schedule, get comfortable, and we’ll start her ‘Force’ training her second.”

The young man nodded as Felek bought over four cups of chai and four pastries. “And there is no cost?” the Devaronian asked as he passed out the snack.

Smiling at the obvious concern Felek showed for his employee’s sister, Jacen shook his head. “No cost. In fact…” he turned his attention to Teo, “…she’ll be classified in the same pay-grade as a Cadet at one of the Service Academies, and will be eligible for a government pension when she chooses to retire.”

Teo shared a look with his boss, satisfied that Jacen had told them the same thing Eriana had a few days earlier. After taking a sip, he again turned his attention to Jaina. “What happens if she doesn’t…” he trailed off, not wishing to jinx his sister.

“It’s not unheard of.” Jacen answered warmly. “If that happens, she’ll still be allowed to stay and finish her ‘traditional’ studies, if she’d like.” He glanced at his sister and saw her almost imperceptible nod. Nelani had changed schools so often over the last three years and they did not really think the young girl’s psyche could stand too many more. After some arm-twisting, Jaina eventually promised him that she would make sure Nelani got to stay…even if she had to use their ‘my-Mom-used-to-be-Chief-of-State’ card. They both knew that once Leia got involved, no one besides Luke had the leverage to override her and even he wasn’t foolish enough to take on his sister very often. “The Academy’s college-prep courses are pretty robust.” Jacen added, hoping to reassure both Teo and Felek.

The Solo twins could both feel the relief coming from both men as the door opened and a clearly excited Nelani rushed in with a smug-looking Eriana in tow. From the blonde woman’s look, it was clear that the two of them had accomplished their mission.

Giving Felek a quick kiss on the cheek, the girl slid two tickets in front of her brother.

“What are these?” Teo asked, his voice stern.

“Those…” Eriana answered smoothly, sitting next to Jacen, “…are two tickets for tomorrow’s performance of the Philharmonic’s performance of Petyr and the Lupus.”

“Nelani told us that Franke plays in the college band….” Jacen added, brightly, “…and that it’s her birthday tomorrow.”

Glaring at his sister around Felek, who was sitting between the two, “What did I tell you about minding your own business?” He groused. “Besides, I’m sure she’s already made plans.”

Jaina tsk-ed and shook her head, “Silly boy…if she already had plans, she wouldn’t have asked you if you were busy tomorrow.”

As the five of them: Jaina, Jacen, Nelani, Felek, and Eriana, made plans for his upcoming ‘date’ with Franke Boer, Teodore sat back and watched his sister for a long moment. For the first time in a few years, she seemed…excited…about school, about life. Deep down, he didn’t really want her to leave…he loved his sister more than he could ever explain…but he knew that there was nothing for her on Lorrd. Smiling at the bright future she would have as a Jedi, Teo leaned forward and joined the conversation about what sort of corsage to get his date.

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Present day…

Teo could only stare at the two Jedi as they shook the light snow from their tunics. Finally, before the silence got to be too uncomfortable, the man addressed them, his voice solemn, “Good afternoon Mr. Dinn, Ms. Dinn. I don’t know if you remember me, but…”

“I remember you, Jacen.” Teo interrupted quietly, not wanting to hide behind pleasantries. “Something’s happened to Nelani, hasn’t it?”

The question caught the other man slightly off-stride; Jacen’s shoulder’s slumped a bit; he had obviously hoped to hide behind his ‘prepared’ remarks and Teo saw the Jedi’s carefully maintained mask of impartiality crack, revealing the unmistakable face of shame and guilt. Instantly, the restaurant owner knew that his sister was dead…and that Jacen was present when it happened. “I’m sorry, Teo.” Jacen whispered tonelessly, “Nelani…”

“How?” Teo interjected calmly, his knuckles white from gripping the counter. “How did my sister die?”

Jacen’s mask shattered altogether and everyone could see the immense pain that tortured the man’s soul as he hung his head to avoid eye contact. The intervening silence was deafening, and if it weren’t for Franke standing beside him clutching his right arm, Teo was sure he would have collapsed into a morass of despair. Swallowing once to moisten his dry mouth, Jacen raised his head a bit, “I…”

“The Sith.” The raven-haired woman standing next to Jacen answered gently, taking his hand as he gave her a startled look. “Nelani and Jacen tracked down a Sith Lord and she ambushed them in the Bimmiel system.” The woman glanced over at Jacen and saw his sad, grateful smile and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Nelani died trying to save Jacen.”

Teo felt his knees weaken a bit and nodded absently…too numb to react. The two men continued to stare blankly at each other as the two women gently led them to a vacant booth and quietly withdrew. After a few minutes of silence, Teo finally found his voice, “The Sith?” He asked quietly, as he stared at the table, “I thought that they had died off.”

Jacen grimaced and answered gently, his voice full of remorse, “We thought so as well.”

After another period of silence, one in which the gurgling sound of Feel’s old drink dispenser made as it steamed the cream Franke had added, Teo finally looked across the table, “She had a huge crush on you, you know?”

“I know.” The Jedi admitted, a small smile on his face.

Teo nodded once and slid over as Franke brought over a cherry pie, some plates, and a thermos of chai, sitting them on the table. For a long moment, the three sat silence, sharing their despair. Behind him, Jacen heard the door open again and Tenel Ka placed the box of Nelani’s belongings in the booth behind them, sitting next to her husband when she had finished. As she did, Jacen offered a small smile towards the Dinns, “Nelani was easily my best fencing student…she could do things with a sword that defied belief.” He shook his head, amused by the memory. “Probably the second best swordsman I’ve ever met.”

“Probably comes from all of the rifle practice she used to do.” Franke replied, getting a confused look from her husband. Bonking him with her right shoulder, “Don’t you remember? After you’d moved here, she decided to be a ‘rifle twirler’ in the marching band.” Turning her attention to the pair opposite her, she continued. “She used to spend hours practicing upstairs…I think there are still dents in the hardwood.”

Teo let out a chuckle, nodding at the memory. “That’s right…poor Felek had to rearrange his bedroom to give her more room to throw the damn thing. He used to grouse that she was going to break all of his fine porcelain.” Giving Tenel Ka a wink, he continued, “Felek was so-o-o glad when spring came and she could practice outside.”

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“She used to do that with our training swords…always toss them and twirl them like a baton. Her classmates used to place bets on how many revolutions she could do with it before she dropped it.” Jacen added, a warm smile on his face, “But I never saw it hit the ground; she had the most uncanny eye-hand coordination…it was almost scary to watch.”

“Did she ever show you her juggling skills?” Teo asked, an amused glint in his eyes. Seeing Jacen’s confused look, he continued, “She must have been about seven when one of Mom’s boyfriends bet her five credits that she couldn’t…”

For the next couple of hours, he regaled the three of them with stories about his sister. About how she could juggle three oranges the first time she tried; about how she would find random strangers and invite them to the restaurant, seemingly knowing that they were at wits end and just needed a warm meal to soothe their soul; about how she introduced him to Franke, commenting that ‘…you two will hit it off, I just know it’; about how excited she was when Eriana told her that she was Force-sensitive; her letters home telling him how much she ‘fit in’ at the academy; about being able to learn from the ‘famous’ Jacen Solo; how she prided herself in being able to make a difference on Lorrd, even if it was in a small way. After he had finished, the four of them sat quietly for a while—each knowing that Nelani Dinn was still alive and well.

Tenel Ka quietly rose and found got Nelani’s urn from the other booth, placing in gently on the table. After she did, Teo smiled a small smile, “A puzzle vase! She always loved these things.” He gave her a curious look, “How did you know?”

The raven-haired woman shrugged slightly, not knowing what to say. “We just…guessed.” From what Danni had told her, Nelani actually picked the vase out, but wasn’t sure how to admit that to the woman’s brother—sane people do not admit to seeing ghosts, after all.

They talked for another twenty minutes or so, Jacen explaining about Nelani’s life-insurance policy and that she named Teo and Franke her beneficiaries. He then detailed to the stunned couple that the Lorrdian Parliament considered Jedi to be military veterans and included them in their generous education benefits program. Because Nelani had not yet used any of her allowed credits, the law allowed a one-time transfer to her brother or to her two nephews.

As they left the small diner, Tenel Ka promised to contact the couple again in the coming weeks to help with legal matters as she gave each of them a heartfelt embrace.

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Walking down the block to their rented speeder, Tenel Ka sensed the growing despair as it started to roll off of her husband and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Glancing over, “Are you okay?”

Jacen shook his head, snow scattering off his getting-curlier-as-it-got-longer hair. Not only was he not okay…he was beginning to wonder if he would be okay ever again. The most honest, forthright person he knew had just lied to protect his reputation and that of the Jedi; he was definitely not okay. “No.” Glancing to his right, “Do you mind checking us in to a hotel? I…need some time.”

His Queen gave him an understanding nod as they stopped in front of the speeder. “Sure.” Another day or two away from Hapes was not going affect anything major—Anhaje had made sure to clear her schedule for two and a half weeks, so they still had a few days before she needed to return…mentally including time for their small detour to Dathomir, of course, to get their permanent marriage certificate. “Would you like ostentatious or just over-the-top?”

Jacen allowed a small smile as he opened the door to the speeder, appreciating her attempt at levity. “How ‘bout truly decadent?”

Tenel Ka nodded, an amused glint in her eye. “I can do that.” Neither of them really cared much for the trappings of luxury, and they both knew she’d find some low-key, comfortable place. As she leaned forward for a quick kiss, she whispered, “Don’t be gone too long.”

“I’ll be careful.” Jacen replied as he helped her into the driver’s seat. “I love you.”

Tenel Ka said nothing as he closed the door, but gave him his favorite smile to let him know she reciprocated the feeling.

The one-time Jedi smiled back and waved as the speeder accelerated away, kicking up a cloud of snow in its wake, causing him to turn his head to avoid getting a blast of snow in the face. With a long sigh, Jacen dug out his comlink and pulled up a map to get his bearings. Nodding to himself, he set out in the direction of the one place he could always go to think.

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A/N: Eriana (and her small back-story) belongs to Jedi Carpet from over on FF.N and is used with permission. He’s got a pretty interesting series over there that substitutes everything after TUF, so give it a look if you’ve got some time—it’s pretty good; probably not as good as YodaKenobi’s work, (but really, what is?) but still a good read.

 

Wow, wow. TK is amazing. Simply, shockingly amazing. Like, if they weren't married already, that gesture of hers would've sealed it. She didn't have to burden Teo and Franke with the details, but I can totally feel Jacen's surprise, and understandable sense of bone-deep guilt. If we needed any more proof of his genuine turn-around, we have it here. I think they both deserve a night or two of decadent

 

Ah, the good old days when Jacen and Jaina were still on speaking terms.

 

Wow, Jacen and Tenel Ka are bold face liars. Not that I blame them. At this point the truth can only bring more pain to the family, the Jedi and the Hapans. They lie to make Nelani a hero and not a murder victim at the hands of a comrade. I am sure they can justify that in their heads. Samuel Butler once said, "Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well." Jacen must be that type of man.

Nice update.

 

My internet and power have been patchy lately, but I'm all caught up again, and wow! I LOVED Jacen and Tenel Ka's discussion of Darth Vader and that idea of the perfect Sith engine. I'd never thought of it that way, but it makes so much sense. Kudos!

And of course, I love the fact that those two have finally made up and sorted a few things out. Hopefully now Jacen can stop all that darkside nonsense, and reconcile with his family as well. Ahhh. I love how you write the two of them. This is how it should be!

 

Yes. Yes she is. I'll leave it up to you, the reader, to decide whether or not she did the right thing…

I know ***sigh***….how I miss those days.

This is a theme that I think we struggle with. One of the arguments for staying in Iraq and Afghanistan is that we didn't want to leave before the job was done--we need to know that those who've been killed have died FOR something. I think TK could sense that Teo needed to believe in the 'rightness' of the Jedi cause a while longer.

This actually comes from one of the books about Vader--it might have been Dark Lord of the Sith--anyway, there's a part where he has hunted down and killed a couple of Jedi, and one of the members of the 501st makes the comment about not having anyone left to hate. 'No', he replies, 'I still have one.' (This is a paraphrase) To me, this is a great look at the self-loathing Vader had for what he had become.

I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying we'll have a non-sithly Jacen at the end of this…and thanks!

 

@Ewok_Slayer; @Iverna; @windu4; @snowduchess; @Kahara; @SHADOW_MASTER_W; @Nyota's Heart; @Jedi_Lover​

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Chapter 35—Feeding time at the Zoo, Part II​

Lorrd City Zoo—

Jacen sat on a medium-sized rock at the mouth of a small man-made cave at the back of the zoo’s pardalis enclosure, content to watch the falling snow as he gently scratched the ears of its sole inhabitant: a small, spotted feline that was curled up against his left leg, her quiet purr barely audible. As he continued to scratch his companion, Jacen unconsciously spun the ring on his left ring finger with his thumb as he once again felt awash with guilt. His best friend—his wife—lied about what had happened in the Bimmiel system. Why? Why would the most forthright, honest person he knew lie to complete strangers? Was it to protect his reputation? He scowled at the thought—his reputation was already in the crapper, so that was unlikely. The Alliance’s? The Jedi’s? He didn’t know…and he wasn’t sure Tenel Ka really knew either. I can’t. He thought to himself for the second time in five days. I can’t do this to her anymore. Thoughts of turning himself into the authorities entered his consciousness, but he quickly dismissed them. There was no body, no real motive, the photos he was pretty sure Danni took at the scene would be circumstantial, and the only other witness was a Sith Lord who would be all but impossible to subpoena. Without anything concrete, the authorities, both here and on Bimmiel, would probably just think him to be another attention-seeking crackpot.

Nope, he reflected, it is probably best to just disappear. Chuckling humorlessly to himself, he continued to stare at the ring on his left hand; after years of waiting, yearning, wanting, he finally got to marry the woman of his dreams…only to find out that he had thrown it all away a couple of months prior because he didn’t stop and think. It was ironic, in a way: Anakin would always be seen a hero because he relied on instinct. Jacen had tried twice now to do the same…and been burned both times.

“I thought I’d find you here,” came a soft, feminine voice from the back of the cave, startling both Jacen and the feline. As they both turned in her direction, Nelani continued, “I checked the altaica exhibit, but it’s closed for renovation.”

“So I found out.” Jacen replied drily, continuing to scratch the feline, as she once again got comfortable against his leg. “The animals are ‘on loan’ to another zoo for the time being.” When he taught at the Academy, Jacen made it a point to take his students to the Imperial Zoo on the first day of class, assigning a three-page essay on what their favorite animal was and why afterwards. He did so for a couple of reasons: One, it was a way for the class to bond a bit outside the confines of the Academy; second, it was a way for him to share his love of wildlife; finally, it allowed him to learn something about his students…and for them to learn about themselves. Much had been made about Grand Admiral Thrawn’s ability to predict behavior based on art…but Jacen also thought that a person’s favorite animal said a lot about their personality. Oddly, even though he had asked everyone about his or her favorite animal, only one person asked him—Nelani Dinn. ‘The altaica is my favorite to watch, but the pardalis is the one I identify with.’ he replied when she had asked on the train ride back to the Temple. ‘They’re not terribly big, but they are able to take on bigger animals because of their cunning and because they only strike when the odds are in their favor.’

Sitting next to him on his rock, Nelani gave him a scathing look. “Is this your plan? To give up?”

Jacen grimaced at the accusation. Weakly, he tried to explain, “I can’t do this to her….”

“You feel guilty now?” Nelani interrupted, her voice harsh. “You killed me to save the galaxy, remember. Now you’re letting your guilt overcome you? Vergere is most disappointed.”

Jacen jumped to his feet, causing the feline to scramble to the back of the cave. “Don’t talk to me of her.” He yelled. “You know nothing of…” he broke off finally comprehending what the ghost said. “Is?” He asked, his voice quiet.

Nelani regarded her former teacher for a long moment as he resumed his place on the rock. “You chose, you acted. And now you’re quitting.” Her voice became disgusted. “Some gardener you turned out to be.”

Jacen grimaced in pain as his head fell at the accusation as he held out a hand towards the pardalis who was warily approaching him again. After a few cautious sniffs of his fingers, the feline seemed content that the strange human was not going to do any more yelling and curled up against his leg once more. For a time, he gently stroked the animal, clearly stalling for time. Finally, he looked over at Nelani, “You were never a weed.”

The apparition shrugged slightly, her voice contemplative, “You went with the information you had.” Smiling slightly, she bonked his shoulder, “And I was trying to stop you.”

“I should have listened to you on Lorrd.”

“Probably.” Nelani answered matter-of-factly. “Listen to me now: be better. You’ve been given a second chance by Tenel Ka…earn it.”

Jacen nodded and smiled at hearing those words for the second time, and was buoyed by the forgiveness in the young woman’s tone. With a long sigh, he looked over at his former student. “I’m….” sorry. He wanted to say, but stopped as his face fell. Sorry didn’t really cover it—there were no words to convey how badly Jacen felt about what he had done on that damned asteroid.

“Me, too.” She replied, her voice soft. A wicked grin appeared as she continued, “I’m going to get even by haunting you for the rest of your life.”

Jacen nodded, and tried to explain what had happened in the diner. “I didn’t plan on lying to Teo. Tenel Ka just…jumped in.”

Nelani shook her head, “No, it’s better this way.” Sighing, she continued, “Teo already feels guilty enough about the way we grew up…this would be more than he could take.”

Only when she had returned to Lorrd as a Jedi did she finally understand how much her brother shielded her from their reality they shared growing up. Not once did he ever say anything derogatory about their mother and what she did to make ends meet; not once did he complain about having to be the ‘man’ of the house, essentially raising Nelani because their mother would be gone for days or weeks at a time with her clients; he never complained about moving schools every time she was ‘asked’ to go somewhere else; said nothing about having to grow up much faster than other teens his age. He bore all of it with dignity and grace—her brother was her only rock in a turbulent world. But if he were to learn that her favorite teacher was actually the one who killed her…he would be devastated. Nelani knew he did not really want her to leave that day with Jaina; she could see the guilt on his face when she called him that first week and told him she was having trouble fitting in; could see his concern when she admitted to having difficulties with meditation later that first year; hear his doubts when she proudly showed him some of the bruises she had gotten in fencing practice. Perhaps she would tell Teo the truth someday, but only when he was ready for it. For now, he needed to know that he had done the right thing in allowing her to leave for the Academy; that she was proud to be a Jedi.

“Will you?” Jacen asked thoughtfully, interrupting the young ghost’s musings. “Haunt me for the rest of my life, I mean?”

Nelani perked up, recognizing the hopeful tone in his voice. “Would you like me to?”

Nodding, he replied quietly, “Yeah, I would.”

Nelani smiled warmly; one of the reasons she liked Jacen so much was the way he seemed to use his feelings as motivation. Instead of denying his guilt, as many would, he embraced it—used it to become a better person. “Well then…” she stood and gave him a small curtsey and affected her best Coruscanti accent, “…I am Nelani Dinn, ‘Force-ghost-at-large’, at your service.”

Laughing, Jacen stood and gave Nelani his best bow, earning another perturbed look from the small feline as she hopped off the rock. “I look forward to working with you, Ms. Dinn.” He replied in his best ‘official’ voice before nodding at the steadily increasing snowfall, “I should be going before she gets worried and starts looking for me.”

“True.” His former student replied knowingly before giving him a small smile. “Thank her for me. Tell her that her intuition was correct: Teo isn’t ready yet.”

“I will.” The new Hapan Prince replied, before apologizing softly, “I am sorry.”

“I know.”

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O O(___)O O​

Three people, two women and one man, sat at a picnic table next to a playground in one of Coronet’s city parks, each looking thoroughly glum despite the sunshine and warm temperature of an early spring afternoon. “What the hell just happened?” Stefan asked rhetorically, shaking his head in disgust. “All of the progress we’ve made over the last two days…gone.”

Until today, the ‘back channel’ negotiations had been going better than expected; the Corellians were content with the assurances that Omas would consider their Fleet proposal once they had agreed to remain within the Alliance; and most of the taxation issues had been largely addressed the day prior. This morning, however, the Corellian Undersecretary dropped the bombshell that Centerpoint Station was not on the table for negotiations, stating that it was defensive in nature, and that he wanted to revisit their issues with the way the Alliance Navy was being controlled. Defensive? Stefan Jodl had yelled, jumping to his feet. Tell that to the Third Fleet. Tell that to my aunt…two of my cousins are dead because of your ‘defensive’ station. Enraged, the Hapan had stormed out of the room, Marné trailing him to try and calm him down. Sighing, Tahiri had addressed the not-quite surprised Corellians as she stood to leave; I think we need to take a day off. Let’s reconvene tomorrow morning at 9.

“Defensive, my ass.” Tahiri muttered caustically, staring at the table. “They’re trying to intimidate the Alliance with it.”

“Says the Imperial.” Jodl retorted playfully, rolling his eyes at the fact a representative of the government that built two Death Stars would talk about intimidating other governments. Shaking his head, he added drily, “They certainly learned from Palpatine how to walk loudly and carry a huge stick.”

Despite her gloomy mood, Tahiri cracked a smile and was about to reply when Marné interrupted, her tone one of someone who was trying to puzzle something out. “We’re missing something. Corellians have always prided themselves on giving their subordinates authority to decide without having to get approval from above…it fosters initiative, they claim…part of their ‘independent’ streak.” She glanced at her two tablemates. “Why the reversal?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Tahiri replied, “They’re itching for a fight.”

The mood at the table sank again with this revelation. The galaxy still had not recovered from the last war…would it be able to survive another? “No.” Stefan replied quietly, and gestured around the park, “That’s not it...take a look around…people here are still relaxed, confident. This is not a society that is bracing for a war. At least not yet.”

Tahiri scowled as she stretched out with the Force, realizing the Hapan was correct: things were still too calm on Corellia. In her two-and-a-half years of working the Grand Admiral, she had seen first-hand what a populace looked like when it was bracing for a war…and Coronet was still quite a way from matching that feeling of false bravado and hidden panic she had felt elsewhere. “Then what?”

“They’re stalling.” Marné answered slowly, still lost in thought. “Someone from above is telling them to stall the talks…string things along. They’re waiting for something.”

Stefan nodded thoughtfully. “Waiting for what, though?” Gesturing over at Tahiri, he added, “Even our resident Jedi hasn’t gotten any sense of deception from our counterparts.”

“I’m not fool-proof.” Tahiri muttered as she shook her head. “But you’re right…they’re almost as much in the dark as we are. Someone is telling them to stall, without giving a reason why.” After a short pause, she continued. “We need to find a way to ‘un-stall’ our negotiations.”

“No-o-o.” Stefan drawled, staring off into the distance as an idea started forming itself on the edge of his consciousness. “We need to find a way for the Corellians to ‘un-stall’ the negotiations.” Seeing the expectant faces on the two women sitting opposite him, he continued. “The whole point of these talks was to ‘work around Gejjen’ and convince their Foreign Ministry to tell Parliament that there was a serious peace offer on the table, right?” Both women nodded, and the Hapan diplomat started to talk faster as the idea took shape. “Since the Foreign Ministry is stalling…we end run them and go directly to Parliament.” The Nubian woman across from him opened her mouth to object, but he held up his hand to forestall her argument, “Not directly, of course…here’s what we do: we have an ‘unnamed source’ on Hapes leak to the press about these talks—that we are trying to find a way to resolve this issue peacefully.” As he finished, he looked at the two women hopefully, clearly wanting them to understand what he was trying to get across.

Nodding slowly as she started to see what Stefan was getting at, Tahiri started thinking out loud. “The Hapan press confirms this with your External Affairs Minister and broadcasts this development on the evening news.” Grimacing, she saw the problem with this tactic. “It won’t work. Coronet will disavow any talks and we’ll all get sent home.”

“Precisely.” Jodl admitted, leaning forward in excitement. “They will disavow the talks…until the Imperial press picks up the story and verifies it with your Foreign Secretary…”

“…And the Coruscanti press does the same with the State Department.” Marné interrupted, catching on to this new plan.

Stefan tilted his head; he clearly had not thought about Coruscant’s reaction. Smiling, he nodded his head at the Nubian, “…and the Alliance press, and suddenly the press here has caught Gejjen in a lie. He’ll have to admit to holding talks and Parliament will demand to know why they aren’t negotiating in good faith.” He snapped his fingers, “Presto! Our talks become unstuck.”

The three of the sat in silence for a time, each trying to find holes in this audacious plan. After a minute or so, the Hapan once again started, his previous confident tone gone. “Or is this too bold?”

Marné shook her head, “No, this is good. These talks were never going to stay ‘secret’ for very long.” With a long sigh, she continued, “My guess is that they wanted us to make demands about Centerpoint today so that they could ‘leak’ to the press about how the Alliance wants to geld Corellia. This move allows us to regain the initiative.” She gave the Hapan a scrutinizing look, “Will Minister Xana’a agree to the leak?”

Stefan scowled, “Of course. You know us Hapans—we’re always in the mood for a little political backstabbing.” As he knew it would, his comment elicited a couple of chuckles from his companions.

“Old habits die hard.” Tahiri replied drily, shaking her head. “What about Omas?” She asked, looking at Marné. “Will he play along?”

Nodding, the Nubian woman agreed. “I think he will. This gives him a chance to look like a statesman—to tell everyone that he’ll listen to any ideas that prevent bloodshed.”

Satisfied, Tahiri stood. “Okay. You two get word through your embassies of this new plan and we’ll meet for dinner in a three hours.”

“Sounds good.” The Hapan replied as he got up. “In the mood for steak?”

“You read my mind.” The blonde quipped, as the three headed separated to get their respective government’s approval for their new plan to watch Gejjen hang himself politically.

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O O(___)O O​

Bastion—

Erwin Mendel was about halfway through dinner with his wife of thirty-two years when the secure comlink in his library started to ring. Rolling his eyes at her upturned eyebrow, he slowly dabbed his mouth with a napkin and made his way to the comm, muttering ‘…better be important…’ under his breath as he did. Picking up the handset, “Yes.”

“My apologies for the interruption,” came the immediate reply from the other end of the line. “This is Major Zeitz at the Ops Desk. We just received a ‘flash’ message from Coronet that I thought you should see…I’m forwarding it to you now.”

Digging his reading spectacles out of his pocket, Erwin logged onto his secure computer terminal and pulled up the email, letting out a toneless whistle as he quickly read the contents.

“Exactly.” The duty officer at the Ops Desk replied, drily. “This is really bold. You understand why I called.”

The Remnant’s Foreign Minister only nodded as he re-read the message, clearly trying to think through the implications. Tahiri was right—this would certainly get the talks moving again…but it also had the potential to piss off Gejjen and end any chance at a peaceful resolution. Taking his spectacles off, he looked sightlessly out the window trying to decide which way to play this as he chewed on one of the spectacle’s legs. After thirty seconds or so, the silence became deafening. “Sir?” Major Zeitz asked. “You still there?”

Erwin let out a deep breath, fully aware that this decision might doom the galaxy to another conflict. “Do it.” He paused slightly, chasing the doubt out of his mind. “Give her permission to proceed. I’ll call the Boss.”

“Yes sir.” Zeitz replied, the tension in his voice evident. “Not that it matters, but I think this is the right call.”

The highest-ranking civilian in the Imperial Remnant shrugged to himself, “We shall see soon enough.”

With that, he disconnected the call and dialed the Grand Admiral, whose butler answered the call on the second ring. After getting handed to the Remnant’s Chief-of-State, he outlined the plan as he waited for the older man read the message from his ‘Hand’. “Certainly is bold.” Gilad replied drily after Erwin had finished.

“It is.” Mendel agreed, shaking his head. “’Better to fail spectacularly than succeed meekly.’”

There was a small chuckle on the other end of the line, as his boss recognized the quote. “Ah, Yularen. Of course, it helped that he was working with Kenobi.” The Grand Admiral paused for a second, “Should we leak the story from here?”

Shaking his head, Erwin answered. “No. I think it’d look too…orchestrated…if we did.” Clearing his throat apologetically, he continued, “The Hapans are much better at this sort of skullduggery, I say we let them run with the ‘leak’.”

“Fair enough.” Gilad replied, as if expecting that to be the answer. “You’ve already given Tahiri the go-ahead?”

“I have.”

This elicited another small chuckle. “I thought as much. See me first thing tomorrow so we can formulate our answer when the press starts asking questions.”

Mendel nodded, “Sure thing. And Gilad?” He paused, making sure he had the admiral’s attention, “Whatever you’re paying Tahiri…double it: she’s worth it.”

“She certainly is.” The Grand Admiral replied warmly, “She certainly is.”

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O O(___)O O​

Hapes—

Even from across the slightly controlled anarchy that is Hapes largest newsroom, Rika Berglund could hear the comm console ring in her corner cubicle. Frantically, she grabbed her cup of caf and the bagel she had just finished toasting and practically sprinted to her office. In her line of work, missed calls meant missed stories, missed stories made for an unhappy editor, and an unhappy editor meant she would be relegated to covering the graveyard police beat—which, on Hapes, meant covering the occasional stolen speeder or upturned garbage bin. Shuddering at the thought, she made it to her cubicle on the third ring, spilling part of her caf as she reached for the handset. “Berglund.” She answered, shaking her hand to remove some of the caf.

“Good morning Miss Berglund, this is Oskar Dörn. Have I caught you at a bad time?” Asked a pleasant voice over the comlink.

Rika’s eyes widened in surprise as she slowly sat down in her chair. Even in her job as senior Palace reporter, she didn’t get calls from Prince Isolder’s secretary very often. “No, no.” The brunette woman replied, trying to act nonchalant, “I just was getting my morning caf.”

“Ah…” The older man chuckled knowingly, “…the breakfast of champions.”

“Exactly.” Rika replied drily before turning serious, “What can I do for you Mr. Dörn?”

“My boss has a matter he would like to discuss with you…” he paused theatrically, “…off the record, of course.”

“Of course.” Rika agreed. It was a bit of a game that government officials played with the press; most officials saw the need to keep the public informed about what its government was doing, but were also afraid of repercussions if found to be the ‘leak’. Fortunately, the press understood the game and knew that if they wanted information they would have to keep their sources confidential. “I’ll need a bit of a hint so that I’ve got something to tell my editor, though.” Personally, she liked the Crown Prince; he was gracious, friendly, and warm. He did, however, have a propensity for being talkative and any meeting with him would likely take a couple of hours—meaning that she would probably be late with her current story.

Mr. Dörn knew his boss well and understood that Rika’s editor needed to know this was important enough to allow her to be out of the office for an hour or two. “Tell her it concerns Corellia.” He answered, knowing this would certainly pique Rika’s interest—and that of her editor. “Do you know of the small aerodrome on the south side of town?”

Rika frowned, trying to remember. “No.” She answered finally, shaking her head. “But it can’t be that hard to find.”

“It’s not.” Oskar agreed. “Just head south on highway 119. There’s a small café called ‘Touch and Go’ adjacent to the field. He’ll meet you there at 12:30.”

“Touch and Go…12:30.” The reporter reaffirmed, jotting down the time and the name of the restaurant. “Got it.”

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O O(___)O O​

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Tenel Ka found herself nervously biting her thumbnail as she padded around the modest suite in the low-key hotel she had found near the spaceport. In hindsight, she probably should have insisted that Jacen not go wandering off by himself, but he had left part of their link open as a concession and she could sense that his almost overpowering feelings of guilt had abated to a degree. Still, she had no idea where her husband was; and the fact that the storm only seemed to be getting worse as night fell only increased her anxiety. Unable just sit and wait any longer, she made her way back to the bedroom to find her shoes, smirking slightly at the mental image of her husband rolling his eyes—she had always been a woman of action, a fact that Jacen had often chastised her for. ‘Must learn patience…’ he would comment, doing his worst Yoda impersonation. Finding her shoes, she sat on the edge of the bed to put them on when there was a knock on the door. Shaking her head at Jacen’s preternatural ability to know just how far he could push things, she answered the door, not knowing quite what to expect from the Jacen on the other side.

As soon as she opened the door, a pair of strong hands grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her forward for a deep kiss. When they both came up for breath, Jacen whispered as he closed the door behind them, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She purred, running her fingers through his wavy snow-dampened hair. Smiling, she grabbed his hand and led him into the small kitchen; “I figured you might want some ‘comfort food’, so I got us some fried poultry.”

Her husband nodded in thanks and pulled her closer, giving her another kiss. “Got tired of the black?” he asked, running one of his fingers through her hair, now back to its usual copper color.

She gave him a wry smile and shrugged as she opened the door to the ‘fridge, “There would be too many questions if I showed up on Dathomir with jet black hair, and I’d make too much of a mess if I tried to wash it out on the Dragon.” Seeing Jacen’s nod of agreement, she handed him a bottle of Hapan sweet ale and grabbed one for herself. As they sat at the small table, “Where did you go, anyway?”

Jacen’s eyes twinkled at the tone—he knew that she had worried about him, but she managed to sound only slightly curious. “The zoo, actually.” Seeing Tenel Ka’s head fall as she let out a ‘I-should-have-known’ snort of laughter, he continued to tell her about walking around the zoo and jumping into the pardalis enclosure, hoping to find a moment of clarity. As they munched on the fried poultry, he talked about his conversation with Nelani, about Vergere being disappointed, and about Nelani’s gratitude for her words to Teo and how she planned on ‘haunting’ him for quite a while.

“She doesn’t plan on ‘haunting’ you all the time, does she?” Tenel Ka asked, teasingly.

Jacen shot her a wink, “Look at it this way, we could always use another babysitter.”

“Ah. The hidden side of being a poltergeist Obi-Wan never mentioned.” The Hapan replied drily, taking a long pull from her bottle of ale.

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A/N: Pardalis is the species name of the leopardus pardalis—the ocelot.Originally, I was going to have Jacen jump into a Siberian tiger pen (the tigris altaica), but thought that would be too…much—only the truly insane would want to jump into the pen of a 400-pound tiger. Ocelots, however, are much smaller, more personable, and they purr! (Always a handy story-telling crutch)

 

Enjoyed the varied scenes & how the strategies and plans are unfolding.

 

More awkward conversations to have to have. I can hardly imagine how awful it would be to deal with unknowing family members after something like that. It wouldn't have been kind to tell Teo what really happened (also would have wrecked all other plans.) But the lies... ouch.

The scene afterwards with Jacen at the zoo was helpful to me for this, because otherwise it does feel rather like Nelani's murder gets hidden away without consequences. This is in spite of the chapters before -- those seemed more about reacting to what Jacen had become than what he had done, in a way. There is kind of a theme that I don't care for in some sci-fi/fantasy where the lives of less powerful characters are treated as less worth bothering over, and no one seems to notice. I'm glad that doesn't seem to be what happens here. There are at least some not-entirely-selfish reasons why the murder is hidden and the characters most involved are troubled by the whole situation.

The part that I liked best was this:

Ocelots are beautiful cats and I was glad to see that I'd guessed the pardalis's identity. Funny that Jacen goes to the zoo when most people would probably seek out a pet or therapy animal, but then I suppose he hasn't thought he had time for pets in a while.

 

We'll deal with the politician angle a bit for the next few chapters…my hope is that you all don't find it to dry. LotF REALLY stumbles when it comes to the politics…Denning sets up the whole secession storyline…and then *poof* we go to war…and then *poof* it stops and Daala is in charge.

I felt we needed some closure with Nelani…we didn't get any closure at all in profic, and that rubbed me the wrong way. Initially, I had planned on Jacen only meeting with Nelani's ghost somewhere (I had originally planned on this conversation to occur on Hapes), but I liked the idea of Tenel Ka taking him to Lorrd to face what he had done…

Actually I wrote it this way on purpose…I felt it was more important to stop Jacen from becoming truly 'Sithy' first, then make him own up to killing his former student. To answer your un-asked question: Is Jacen getting away with murder? Yes, I suppose he is; but I can't think of a realistic way out of that problem. Can I lock him up? Sure…but how long until he escapes? He would only stay in prison only as long as he wished to be held. Ysalimiri would work, but that is not a fool-proof option. Profic hasn't come up with a way of 'stripping' someone from the Force, so I can't use that. (I could invent a way…in fact, I have…but I didn't feel it fit here) Further complicating matters would be the fact that this would kill him and TK as a couple…and I'm much too romantic a writer to allow that. And on top of all of this: there is the Kyp conundrum. Durron wiped out an entire planet, killing who knows how many millions of people and got away scot-free. We can rationalize it by saying Carida was an Imperial training base and, as such, a legitimate military target…but there are plenty of problems with that argument. IMO, there is already a Jedi precedent for getting away with killing someone.

I'm trying to take the approach that Tim Zahn did: that there are plenty of talented 'lesser' people in the galaxy whom are capable of great things; that the Jedi are better when augmenting these people.

And I'm glad you guessed...I was hoping someone could figure it out! I so-o-o wanted to give Jacen a pet in this…but he's gone so much and works such weird hours, I just didn't think it made sense. Perhaps TK will let him get a whisperkit when he moves in to the Palace!

 

You might eant to look up GFFA animals, it's kind of jarring reading animals, and modern earth references, in a great story.

 

I try--but here's the thing: they only list about a couple dozen or so species, and most of them are NOT something anyone (not even Jacen) would want to cuddle up with; I used the Latin as a way to make it more 'Star Wars-y'…I just threw the real names in the author's note so you, the reader, would know what was in my head when I envisioned the scene. IMO, the SW universe does a lousy job with everyday things…food, wildlife, fauna, etc. I can look out my window and name about 7 different types of trees. I think there are only about that many in all of the SW universe.

Oddly, a lot of what I use is in the SW universe: I listened to the audiobook of 'Scoundrels', and Han actually does 'dial' a comlink, and his 'rings' later on, so I just went with it. One of the characters in 'Coruscant Nights', I believe, DOES wear glasses.

I've talked about this on the 'Pet Peeves' site as well…sometimes I think we try and re-invent too much. There was a discussion about whether it is a 'turbo lift' or an 'elevator', with the argument being that 'turbo lift' is a Trek term. Don't get me wrong, I see your point, and I'll try to limit 'earth terms', but I do feel that the story-telling is more important.

I'm glad you like my silly story!

 

That scene with Nelani was extraordinarily touching. I understand your argument regarding the "Kyp conundrum" and think it's awesome that you're taking steps to reconcile Jacen with his past mistakes. While I do think he should face the law for murder you've managed to make him take responsibility without dragging me out of the story. The building political intrigue continues to become more interesting as it unfolds. I'm really enjoying this story as a character study! I think it's a perfect contrast to YodaKenobi's Blood Trail which is also a Legacy era fic. Except it's nowhere near as depressing but still has a great emotional payoff!

I understand that this is your story but I'd love for you to account for Ben at some point. I think Jacen and Ben had a potentially interesting relationship and it'd be awesome to see these two together at some point. Whether he shows up or doesn't won't affect me, however. I still think this is a tremendously good read!

 

Oh, thank goodness. I've been trying to imagine TK with short black hair, and it's just not working

 

@Ewok_Slayer; @Iverna; @windu4; @snowduchess; @Kahara; @SHADOW_MASTER_W; @Nyota's Heart; @Jedi_Lover​

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A/N: Sorry it's been so long...​

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Chapter 36—Filtering out the noise​

Belkadan Survivor—

“I didn’t know Hapes was so mountain-y.” Allana commented from her seat behind Danni as she stared in awe out the cockpit viewscreen as they started their descent to the Trevi Spaceport.

Smiling at the young girl’s enthusiasm, Danni half-turned in her seat, “It looks different from up here, doesn’t it?” Seeing Allana’s absent-minded nod, she continued, “Hapes is a beautiful planet.”

“You should move here.” The five-year-old replied, matter-of-factly, finally turning her attention to the blonde pilot. “Since you don’t have a home or anything.”

“You’re right, I don’t.” Danni replied tonelessly, turning her attention back to piloting the Survivor.

“Allana! Be nice.” Gadell scolded softly, clearly embarrassed about the lack of tact from his boss’s daughter.

“What?” The girl replied earnestly, clearly not getting the hint. “That’s what you said last night. You said that you wanted to help find Ms. Danni a job so she had somewhere to go.”

“Did he now?” The scientist asked deadpan, casting a quick glance to her right at a Gadell Vessau who was clearly trying to disappear into the co-pilot’s seat.

“Yep.” Allana replied. “We spent half-an-hour looking for jobs for you.”

Giving Gadell a small smile, she let the obvious concern and affection coming from Allana warm her soul; it had been a long time since anyone had been worried about her. Turning her attention back to Allana, “So, what did you find?”

“Well…we found three jobs—and two are in Chume’dan!”

“Nothing in astrophysics, sadly.” Gadell added softly, refusing to look at his friend. While he was becoming rather fond of the blonde scientist, he did not feel he could ask her to pick up and move to Hapes just because he thought her an interesting, sexy woman; especially since they had only known each other a month. Shrugging, he tuned the backup radio to the approach frequency they were using, more as a way to avoid looking at the attractive woman sitting a half-meter to his left. “Two were teaching lower level math at Chume’dan Polytechnic, the other was for a research physicist on Febrini.” He paused and his voice dropped, “I know it’s not astrophysics, but…” he trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

Danni waited for her friend to finish fiddling with the comm panel and caught his eye, “That was very sweet of you.” Her comment was meant for Allana, but hoped that Gadell would understand that she was honored by his thoughtfulness, “I’ll take a look after we land.”

The security chief smiled slightly as Allana sounded gleeful, “Really?” she asked, clearly missing the subtle by-play between Danni and Gadell, “That would be so-o-o wizard!”

Danni smirked at the young girl’s enthusiasm and was about to reply when Approach control came over the comm with new vectors and she had to concentrate on flying the Survivor once again.

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Senate Rotunda, Executive Offices Floor, Coruscant —

Part of Rosbi Tyelnis’ job as Omas’ chief-of-staff entailed answering questions twice a day from the Alliance’s press corps. After answering a few easy questions from a couple of high school kids, (initially, it was started as a purely PR move—done to promote civic responsibility and expose a few kids to the ‘real’ workings of the press—but had become a fun part of his day, and the ‘real’ press seemed to enjoy mentoring the youngsters) he got down to the nitty-gritty. “What do you make of the story coming from Hapes?” One of the assembled throng asked.

Smiling, “Well, I feel bad for their smashball team. To be undefeated all year and then lose in the sector finals would be heartbreaking.” His answer got the laughs he knew it would; even though they tried to ignore it, the press still knew that more people paid attention to sports than to politics.

Giving him an amused look, the reporter in question re-attacked, “What about the report that they and the Imperials are trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Corellian crisis? Did the Chief-of-State know about these talks?”

Nodding as he took a quick drink of water, Rosbi answered, “We applaud the efforts of our Hapan and Remnant friends. They are trying to find a way forward that doesn’t involve sabre-rattling and potential bloodshed.”

Another reporter, this one from Bakura, recognized the answer as a bit of a dodge. “Did the Chief-of-State know about these talks beforehand?”

Rosbi again nodded once, “He did,” he paused and leaned forward on the podium and addressed the throng earnestly, “Look, it doesn’t take a genius to know that relations between the Corellians and us are not what they should be.” Rosbi looked around the room and saw a few nods of agreement before continuing, “We’ll listen to any idea that will keep the Corellians as part of the Alliance family, even if it comes from outside the Alliance proper. The Alliance has had its share of squabbles, but, like all families, we have common ground and years of history. Sometimes we need an outsider’s point-of-view to tell us how good our family really is.”

Rosbi fielded a couple more questions about the Corellians before the press moved on and asked about fiscal issues, a new executive order, and one question about parliamentary procedure. At the end of the hour, the Chief-of-Staff left the pressroom with a satisfied smile. If Gejjen wants to play hardball, we’ll play hardball, he thought as he walked down the hall towards his office.

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Prime Minister’s Office, Coronet—

“You lied to me!” Vol Barad practically yelled at Dur Gejjen, throwing a current copy of the Galactic Times on his desk. “Worse, you had me lie to Parliament,” he added hotly, tossing today’s edition of the Imperial daily, Der Spiegel, on top of the Times. “You’ve made us look like fools; like we are incompetent.” Which, to a politician, is the worst type of insult. Everyone knows, perhaps even expects, that politicians are…flexible…with the truth—but to be incompetent? The kiss of death. “The opposition party is going to be at our throats over this. You’ve made Omas look…presidential.” He picked up the Times and read from the front page, “…‘perhaps it is time Corellia start acting like a responsible family member…’” the older man quoted before chucking the news flimsi back on his boss’s desk, “Tyelnis has hit upon a great sound bite, and they are going to flog us with it until it gets stale.”

None of this was new to Gejjen, of course, as he listened to his second-in-command rant. In all honesty, the Hapan ‘leak’ had caught him off guard, and he fell back to his tactics from the campaign trail: obfuscate, deny, attack. Indeed, he had called the story coming from Chume’dan a ‘…flight of fancy by the Hapans to look important…’ Cringing at his words, he finally realized that the older man was staring at him, clearly having run out of steam. Using his best placating voice, one he had learned as a backbencher, “You’re right, of course; I reacted out of instinct and without thinking.” Shaking his head, “But all is not lost. We offer a contrite apology; most think me too young to be in this job, and we can use that as an excuse—that I let the pressure of needing to say ‘something’ override my common sense. We can use my inexperience as a way to gain sympathy in the Senate. Perhaps gain some concessions.”

The older man shook his head, “Omas is not going to concede independence.” He pointed at the Times again, “Read between the lines: We’re not going to get a chance to stop ‘being family’.

Dur shook his head, “Then we take it. If they won’t give it to us, we grab it from them.”

For a long moment, neither man said anything as the grey-haired gentlemen glared at his boss. “This is not a fight we can win.” He replied, clearly defeated, “The Alliance is too strong.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We don’t have to win…we just don’t have to lose.”

Nodding, “I hope you know what you’re doing.” He replied as he left the Prime Minister’s office.

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Fountain Palace, Hapes, two days later—

Gadell answered his office comlink on the first ring, “Vessau.”

“Boss, you’d better come down and take a listen to this.” Replied the voice on the other end. “It’s from Corellia.”

The Director of the ‘Commerce Attaché office nodded, “Be right down.”

Walking down the hall, he stuck his head into Anhaje’s office, “I’m headed down to the sub-basement for a minute; shouldn’t take too long.” The Queen’s secretary only nodded in response as she continued to work on whatever it was she was doing and he resumed his trip down the hall.

Getting off the ‘lift, he turned to his left and entered a door with the innocuous title Communications Room. In truth, all of the communications coming into and out of the Palace went through a different switchboard on the main floor; this room was used solely by the Attachés to gather reports from around the galaxy.

Immediately upon entering, he was met by the shift supervisor. “We got a file from Cobalt twenty-three yesterday,” she said as she steered her boss towards a small office at the back corner of the room, referring to the agent on Corellia by her assigned identifier. “It was quite a bit of data and it took us a while to sift through it.”

“I can imagine,” Gadell replied, hearing her at her apologetic tone; he knew just how hard intelligence gathering could be: listening to hours of mundane conversations hoping to overhear something interesting. “Whatcha got?” He asked as they entered the smaller room.

The young woman nodded at the tech sitting in front of a bank of computers who immediately hit the ‘play’ button and a calm voice sounded over the room’s speakers. …then we take it. If they won’t give it to us, we grab it from them. Gadell’s eyes widened at the unmistakable voice of Dur Gejjen. After a pause, a different voice sounded, This is not a fight we can win. The Alliance is too strong. Commander Vessau grimaced at Gejjen’s smug reply, That’s where you’re wrong. We don’t have to win…we just don’t have to lose. The mystery man’s voice came again over the speakers, sounding resigned, I hope you know what you’re doing. The sounds of footfalls on thick carpet came sounded, followed the quiet ‘thunk’ of a door being closed.

“Whose voice...?” Gadell started to ask before the tech held up her hand, indicating that there was more on the recording. After another couple of seconds, Dur Gejjen starting talking again, apparently on a comlink. It’s me. A short pause. Yes, I’m aware I stuck my foot in it, he retorted angrily at the unrecorded rebuke, followed by another pause. I know this will erode support in Parliament, Gejjen replied, sounding desperate, and Vessau almost felt sorry for the man. We need to accelerate our plan to get the opposition to back off a bit. Another short pause followed, Lost it? He sounded incredulous. I didn’t think you could lose anything. Just audible from Gejjen’s comlink was the unmistakable sound of a woman’s laughter came over the speaker as she apparently started to explain how she could of lost whatever it was. Fine. Dur replied, sounding exasperated, Execute the plan when it turns up. Happy hunting. With that, the distinct ‘beep’ of a comlink being disconnected sounded and the tech stopped the recording.

For a long moment, Commander Vessau stood still, clearly trying to process this new information meant. “Any way of figure out who was on the other end of that call?”

Grimacing, the audio tech grimaced and shook her head, “We just don’t have a large enough sample. It’s female, obviously, but aside from that…” she trailed off, sounding chagrined.

Sensing her tech’s embarrassment at not being able to give the Commander what he needed, the supervisor quickly told Gadell some better news. “We’ve got a contact inside the Corellian’s Holonet switching station…she might be able to find something.”

Nodding his appreciation at her initiative and at her desire to protect her subordinates, Vessau asked about the other voice from the first half of the recording. “Ah. There we are on firmer ground.” The tech replied, clearly glad at being able to provide some useful information, “We believe the other person is Vol Barad, Deputy President of the Five Worlds.”

Gadell whistled tonelessly, Vol Barad had not been heard from in quite a while and many in Hapan Intelligence had assumed he was killed as part of Gejjen’s coup. Clearly, the rumor of his demise was exaggerated. “How sure are we?”

The tech shrugged, “Seventy, seventy-five percent. Most of our recordings of him are a couple of years old.”

“We need to make sure. You two,” he gestured to the tech and the supervisor, “come with me, we’re going to take this to Fleet Intelligence and have them take a listen.” The two women nodded as they gathered their things and followed their boss out of the Palace.

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After running it through their voice-recognition software, the signals office confirmed that it was indeed Vol Barad’s voice on the recording. With a satisfied nod, Gadell addressed the lieutenant, “Excellent. Can you ask your boss to meet us down here? Tell her it’s important.” The Intelligence officer nodded in reply and Gadell picked up the nearest desk comm and called the External Affairs Ministry. “Minister Xana’a? It’s Commander Vessau. I need about fifteen minutes of your time down at the Signals Office. Yes, it’s important.”

Hanging up, he walked over the audio player and pushed ‘Play’, wanting to hear the whole recording again. As he did, the two Attachés joined him in front of the speakers, the supervisor looking at him questioningly, “What’s this all about, sir?”

Gadell let out a deep breath, shaking his head as he did, “I don’t know, yet.”

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Thirty minutes later….

Captain Serva, Chief of Naval Intelligence, let out a long exhale. “Is this authentic?”

“It is.” The Palace and Navy audio techs answered simultaneously. After giving the other woman a small smirk, the Attaché tech continued, “I ran this through the filters about forty times and couldn’t find any evidence of tampering.”

Nodding, Minister Xan’a addressed Gadell, “The Corellians run a pretty sophisticated counter-surveillance sweep; how’d she get this?”

Gadell shook his head and tried to hide a grimace, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, or you won’t say?” Captain Serva asked pointedly. The intelligence services were supposed to share technology, and she was clearly perturbed that the Attachés had found a way to circumvent the Corellians counter-intelligence sweeps.

Vessau looked the Captain in the eyes, “I don’t know. Nor do I know where she got it.”

Placated, Serva looked back at the External Affairs Minister, “Can you use this?”

“I think so.” Xana’a answered slowly, as the idea started forming. “Barad is obviously not in favor of Gejjen’s plan to ‘grab independence’, and he still has a following in Parliament.” She looked around at the two intelligence professionals, “If we put our negotiator in touch with Borad, we could quietly let him know that we could assist in creating bad press for Gejjen, leading to a no-confidence vote.”

Gadell nodded, “I agree. We’ll to more digging to find some dirt on Gejjen...give Borad something to sell to Parliament.”

“You’ll need to run this by the Queen.” Serva observed, clearly not confortable with what the other two people were contemplating. In her mind, governments should not get involved in the affairs of others.

“She’s on vacation.” Gadell replied. “I’ll get the Crown Prince to approve this.” Vessau knew that Isolder, unlike Captain Serva, had no problem taking Gejjen down a notch.

“What about the second half of this recording?” Serva asked pointedly. “Is there anyway to find out who he was talking to?”

Vessau shrugged, “It’s a tall order, but we’ve got someone at the switching station that might be able to narrow down the list of calls.” Letting out a long sigh, he continued, “It’d help if we knew what Gejjen’s comlink frequency was.”

The Naval officer gave him a quick smile, “I think we might be able to help you with that…” and she proceeded to tell Vessau some of the information Signals Intelligence had been gathering by eavesdropping on Coronet.

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A/N: Egad…it’s been ages! Sorry about the delay; been a busy month. Anyway, so starts the final segment of our little saga…probably another four chapters or so.

 

Happy to have an update The scene with Allana, Gadell, and Danni - awwww! The final ones as they uncovered the details and strategized ...

 

Nice update! It was sweet to see Allana’s sincere attempts to help Danni by finding her a job. I like her conversations with Gadell, too. And that he’s kind of trying to see her again but feels guilty about it.

 

What's the status of this story? I hope you finish it.

 

So Do I! Jacen-not-being-an-idiot stories LOL are still refreshing as a crisp fall breeze.

 

It took me two nights to get through what you have written here. I am very interested in it. My favorite parts are with Jacen and Tenal Ka. And Allana always touches my heart.

Now I want you to know you touched a very very sweet childhood memory when you described what the 'cini-minis' were -- My Mom used to make them for my sister and I when we were little - we called them cini-crisps. Mom stopped making them because her back hurt too much to roll out the dough. Didn't understand that till I hurt my back in 2000.

I think this story is awesome. I adore your mushy scenes.

I always wished that Jacen had been open about his relationship with Tenal Ka. Please continue when you have time and please tag me in.

 

*poke* Anyone alive in here?