Beyond - Legends Not Over Yet (post-TSW AU, Jagged/Jaina/Zekk) AUTHOR'S NOTE: what you can expect coming up

Title: Not Over Yet
Author: Darkwriter
Timeline: post-TSW, AU
Characters: Jagged Fel, Jaina Solo, Zekk.
Genre: romance.
Keywords: J/J/Z, DN AU, short story.
Summary: Jaina and Zekk go after Jag when he falls at Tenupe.
Notes: This is like a short story, but I?ve divided it up into chapters. I don?t really know how long it?s going to be. For those of you who have read That Man, this is in that universe. That said, this is part of the Alternatia Kismet Collection. You can find Jacen and Allana?s side of the story in my profile, as well as a teaser of what?s to come.
EDIT: Ha, ha. Short story. That makes me laugh. This is turning into an epic. As of now, it is undecided whether or not Not Over Yet is actually a part of the Alternatia Kismet Collection.

DISCLAIMER: The people who created these characters are much cooler than me.


Prologue

Everyone asked where she was going, but she hardly knew herself. Jag was stuck on Tenupe, and the Chiss weren?t going to save him, so it was up to her. Ironically, it was the reason he hated her now?and also the reason he had fallen in love with her from the start, at Hapes, at Borleias.

Jaina closed her eyes. It was like a dream now, one that went away too fast. She would give anything to go back to those days, the war, when Jag had loved her, when he would follow her anywhere. But then he had gone back to Csilla?and reality?and he?d realized that Jaina Solo was not someone he could spend the rest of his life with. She was a rogue, and the Chiss did not associate with rogues.

?Jaina.?

That was Han. He was standing just below her, at the foot of the X-Wing with Leia, looking worried. Zekk was half out of his X-Wing, one leg still in his cockpit, unsure of what to do, while Luke and Mara and Jacen were standing back, waiting as Han and Leia pleaded with their daughter.

?Honey, you haven?t thought this through,? Leia said. ?We need to talk about this.?

?There?s nothing to talk about, mother.? Jaina slid into her cockpit seat, scowling. ?Jagged needs my help.?

?How are you going to get him back with only an X-Wing??

?I?ll think of something.?

Jaina felt something touch her just then, and she almost didn?t recognize it: Jacen. She stood up so that she could see him, and he was still by Luke and Mara, but his face was different?like he understood. Of course, he had to understand?he was her brother?but since he reappeared from his five-year sabbatical he?s seemed so foreign to her. Now he brushed his presence with hers so slightly that she knew something had changed. He was back.

Jacen smiled at her. Be careful, Jaina.

She grinned and sent, Hey, it?s me.

But Han and Leia still weren?t satisfied, and Zekk complained that somebody better make a decision quick, because his leg was falling asleep. Jaina shrugged in reply, and she sat back down in her seat, strapping on her webcrashing.

?How about,? Zekk was saying to Han, ?I go with Jaina. When we find Jag, we?ll comm. you in the Falcon.?

Jaina sensed her father was doubtful, but when she revved her engines, he readily agreed.

She didn?t need Zekk, but their minds were still joined, if only with less intensity. She still wasn?t sure what they were to each other?but he definitely wasn?t her boyfriend, like everyone kept saying. Did they think she was callous? She?d only been apart from Jag for two years?

She suddenly felt overwhelmed by guilt. She was callous. Oh Zekk, she thought. I left everything unresolved with you when I ran to Jag. Can you ever forgive me?

His answer was a resounding yes, without hesitation, but it just made Jaina?s stomach turn over. Was he still that in love with her? After all these years?

It pained her even more that she couldn?t think those feelings back at him, because?in spite of the whole Shadow Academy fiasco?he was just so nice. He was her best friend,

 

Oh, yes, this is good. This is so very, very good.

 

GeithJiseo2.Thank you! Here's the next post.


***

Chapter One

Jagged Fel used his arms to pull himself forward just far enough that he could see out of the cave he?d taken refuge in. His Chiss clawcraft was about a mile off, where it had crashed and burned. The search teams wouldn?t find him, he knew. He would have to fend for himself.

He closed his eyes. It could have been worse. He could have been captured by the Killiks?the bugs. Not even the stinging would take his mind off the woman and her mother that had stranded him here in the first place. Jaina, he knew from experience, was an excellent shot, and if he hadn?t been Jagged Fel, he wouldn?t have escaped her blasterfire.

But still. She shot at him, fully intending to have him dead, here on Tenupe. The realization hurt, but he couldn?t help but wonder if he would have done the same, in all his bitterness. Probably. The Chiss had taught him to focus his service into a loyal sense of duty. Jaina, on the other hand, was different; she was Jaina Solo. Jag had seldom known her to obey the confines of her commands.

So why was he angry? Because she had done her duty, finally? He should have admired her for that, because that was the source of all the division he?d been receiving at home and among the ranks near the end of their relationship. She?s a loose cannon, Jag. She?ll never be one of us.

Now Jag had to wonder if he had ever been one of them, or if the entire Ascendancy had given up on him the moment he met Jaina Solo.

He was proud of Jaina?really, he was, but her actions still hurt. How many years had he flown by her side? How many times had he defended her wing?

Jag focused on his knee. It was probably sprained, or broken, but at least his feet were fine, and he had his upper body strength?and his blaster. If anything tried to eat him, he?d shoot it first.

Okay, med kit. Where did I put the med kit?

He found it, and took out some bacta and some gauze, wrapping both around his knee. Maybe if he let it sit like that through the night, he?d have enough strength to limp around in the morning and get some food. Unless he?d set the bone wrong. Then he was probably just doomed.

At least he had his blaster.

Jag reached inside his travel pack and took out some rations, swallowed just a little bit of water from his canteen, and blew out the small fire he?d set for light in the dark cave. He had just started to fall asleep when, much to his lack of delight, he heard footsteps outside the cave.

Great. A predator.

Jag grabbed his blaster, and raised it toward the cave entrance, but the more he listened, the more the footsteps sounded less like a deadly predator and more?human. Or Chiss. Had they come for him?

The light of a flasher lit the front of the cave, and for a moment Jag allowed his hopes to leap. They had come for him! He knew he was too valuable for the Ascendancy to lose, even if he had allowed Lowbacca to?

At that moment, a tall, dark and very not-blue figure emerged at the entrance of the cave and pointed the flasher at Jag, and his arm was shaking so badly, that his instincts took over: he fired.

The figure instantly dropped the flasher, and a bright orange light sprang from his hand instead. He deflected Jag?s bolt easily, but Jag kept firing, so the orange light twirled in a circle of defense against his bolts.

?Jag, stop!? the figure yelled. ?It?s me! It?s Zekk!?

Jag wondered why Zekk thought that would make him stop shooting. He packed another round of ammunition and fired again.

?I?m here to help!? Zekk pleaded.

Jag didn?t waste his breath on the man. I don?t need you?re help.

So he kept firing, and Zekk kept deflecting, until Jag lost his grip on the blaster, and some intense force swept it out of his hands. When he looked up he spotted Jaina Solo, standing next to Zekk, the glow of the orange lightsaber illuminating her features. Her hair, Jag noted, was tied back at that top of her head.

T

 

Ah, gotta love those pesky love triangles. I sure do hope things get better for everyone involved. Great story!

Darkwriter, I enjoyed the interaction among all three characters. Just the right amount of tension and emotion.

Keep up the good work. I am really enjoying this story.

 

I like how you wrote Jag in that last update...yeah he's totally having a pity party...but you got beyond the anger and bitterness to what is truly causing it...and that is the fact that he still loves Jaina and he thinks she loves someone else.

 

REPLIES

GeithJiseo2. Thank you! I love all three of these characters dearly. Whomever Jaina does not end up with, I'll personally take under my wing. It's good to know that I balanced them well...and I hope I continue to do so. (Please be honest if I don't.) I'm glad you're enjoying it. I am, too!

star_writer24. He is having a pity party! I so love it, because in DN he was just seemed...mean. But pity-party Jag is just sooooo cute. Can you imagine him as a two-year-old, with his arms crossed because he didn't get his way? Again:

Glad you liked Jag in this. I enjoy writing his POV.

Healer_Leona I love the way you worded this:

It is so true, and it really makes me feel for Zekk. You're right. Jaina does need to clear things up, doesn't she? And of course I'll put you on the PM list.

The PM List.
Healer_Leona

 

Chapter Two

Zekk had never gotten over how naturally beautiful Jaina Solo was. He liked watching her sleep?how her breasts barely moved but he knew she was breathing anyway, because she always put herself into a trance before she fell asleep, so the nightmares wouldn?t come. Jacen used to worry about her. He?d ask Zekk what kind of nightmares she had, and why they were so bad that she couldn?t face them. Even though he knew the answer?that Jaina didn?t want to see the dead faces: first it was Chewbacca and then later her brothers and her friends?he?d only shrug, said maybe it was Rogue stuff. That usually silenced Jacen pretty quick. He never asked questions about Rogue Squadron.

But what freaked Jacen out the most was that he could never tell that his twin sister was alive, just by looking.

Zekk reached out with the Taat bond he shared with Jaina and brushed his presence with hers just so, so that he knew she was only sleeping. Or healing. She was so close to him even now that the nervous lump he always got when he was around her rose and bobbed in his throat. She had unconsciously wrapped one arm around him in her sleep, nuzzling her head into his shoulder.

He carefully detached her arm from his waist and slid up to a sitting position, so that he was still watching over her, but not feeling as awkward about his position.

His eyes settled on Jag, who was, much to Zekk?s lack of surprise, sleeping straight on his back in a flawless position, as if he slept on rock every night. Actually?it probably wasn?t much different from sleeping on ice.

Jaina rolled over and groaned.

Closing his eyes, Zekk reached out with the Force and embraced it, wallowing in the silence. Over the years silence had become his friend?not out of pity for himself, but because it had always been a big part of his life. When his parents died, there was silence. Living as an orphan, there was silence. At the Shadow Academy, there was silence. Even in the Jedi Order, there was silence. As he dwelled in it more and more he?d realized that the silence had power?not a dark power, like Brakiss, but a good power, like Luke?and that it had a certain beauty to it that he?d never experienced before.

It was good. It was very, very good.

That was why Zekk tolerated Jag Fel. He didn?t like Jag, but the man obviously had a mutual respect for the power of silence, and for that Zekk respected him.

His eyes still closed, Zekk smiled. It was a song. It was a brilliant, beautiful song.

But suddenly the song was interrupted?as if someone had added a gungun blow horn that shouldn?t have been there. Instinctively Zekk knew that the source of the interruption was danger, and it was wicked, and it was?himself.

That couldn?t have been right. Zekk loved the silence. And he was certainly not wicked. It was something else, something else that was a part of him, in him. He looked to Jaina, but it wasn?t her. Nor was it Jag. Zekk was running out of possibilities; what else in the galaxy was possibly connected to him? He had no family, few connections. Who could have caused such a disturbance? Was it Lowbacca? Jacen? Tenel Ka?

This time he heard the scratch. It was a cry, a scream, a wail, like a woman scorned, a woman who had been through the nine Corellian hells, torn them apart, and come back again.

Zekk opened his eyes.

Alema Rar.

He grinned, but then it faded as he reached to his belt and unhooked his lightsaber. He looked down at Jaina, and he almost woke her, but in the end he decided against it. He could handle Alema on his own. Wanted to.

Zekk pushed himself to his feet, quietly sneaking out of the cave, spared one last glance at Jaina, then stepped outside. Soundlessly, droplets of water touched his hair, ran down his face. He tipped his head back, looking up at the sky, as if he could actually see the Force in all its glory, and hung his mouth open.

?Why?? he screamed. ?Why is it raining??

At that moment, Alema leaped off the cave they had been hiding in,

 

I am enjoying this. I love not knowing where you are taking it. I have to comment on two posts: first Jag's:


So why was he angry? Because she had done her duty, finally? He should have admired her for that, because that was the source of all the division he?d been receiving at home and among the ranks near the end of their relationship. She?s a loose cannon, Jag. She?ll never be one of us.

Now Jag had to wonder if he had ever been one of them, or if the entire Ascendancy had given up on him the moment he met Jaina Solo.

He was proud of Jaina?really, he was, but her actions still hurt. How many years had he flown by her side? How many times had he defended her wing?

You really feel the betrayal here. I think Jaina made some really bad choices. Here she is always doing what she believes is right and finally when it's life or death she follows duty. What happened to Jag on Tenupe was horrible.

?Jag, stop!? the figure yelled. ?It?s me! It?s Zekk!?

Jag wondered why Zekk thought that would make him stop shooting. He packed another round of ammunition and fired again.

?I?m here to help!? Zekk pleaded.

Jag didn?t waste his breath on the man. I don?t need you?re help.

Oh the bitterness here is so painful. I love the jealous tension too. Jag's thinking, might as well kill him and get him out of the way.

But Jaina ignored his scowl and in turn scowled at Zekk. ?You have to do everything the hard way, don?t you??

?It?s better than??

?Levitating is not of the Dark side, Zekk.?

I thought that was funny!!!

Zekk shrugged and went to lie down by her. Jag felt a stab of jealousy, but it was more than that: it was disappointment, sorrow. He felt as if he were actually going to cry. He rolled over so they wouldn?t see him, shut his eyes and bit his lip, willing the tears to stay in.

You can?t be doing this. You can?t be missing Jaina Solo.

Poor Jag, he must be injured, he's usually much more stoic. But his heart is broken too. And I think inside he knows his people abandoned him.

And on to the Zekk POV post:

As he dwelled in it more and more he?d realized that the silence had power?not a dark power, like Brakiss, but a good power, like Luke?and that it had a certain beauty to it that he?d never experienced before.

It was good. It was very, very good.

That was why Zekk tolerated Jag Fel. He didn?t like Jag, but the man obviously had a mutual respect for the power of silence, and for that Zekk respected him.

Such beautiful insight to Zekk's thoughts on himself and Jag. Zekk, he's just so darn good!


Alema,? he said. ?Come back with us. Master Skywalker can help you.?

?There is no hope for her,? Jag said bitterly. ?She is too twisted.?

Zekk risked a glance at Jaina. ?No one is ever beyond redemption,? he said. ?I learned that the hard way

I would have been very upset if you hadn't included this in there. Zekk would want to redeem her, it's his way. It's Luke's way too, which is why in the profic I don't get the Alema hatred. It's so not Luke.

His hair was a complete and total mess, and it was all Alema Rar?s fault.

A little comic relief huh!!! I liked it, gives me good imagery of the hottie getting entangled with Alema. Somehow, I don't think he is enjoying it.

Looking forward to more and hoping to be added to the PM list. thanks!

 

Really liking this so far. You've got the characterizations down perfectly, and you don't seem to be playing favorites with Jaina's boytoys. They each have their endearing traits and their obnoxious tendencies. This is going to be fun to watch.

His hair was a complete and total mess, and it was all Alema Rar?s fault.

 

I really like this so far. I think you're doing a great job with everyone's POVs, and I really appreciate that you don't seem to have a bias for either Jag or Zekk. I hate it when people write J/J/Z stories and vilify whichever suitor they don't like, so kudos to you for not doing that. I look forward to seeing what happens.

 

REPLIES

Healer_Leona. So naughty! But he?s a boy, so?you know. He might be a good boy, but he?s still a boy.

Yes, doesn?t he?

Glad you liked that line. I figured it was prominent.

Mira_Jade. Thank you! I rewrote Zekk?s scene a million times, trying to make it believable. I?m glad it turned out the way it did. I?m glad you liked Jag?s POV. I was worried that he?d be out of character, but then again he has been mortally wounded.

I?ll add you to the PM List

iamobiwan1970. Thanks. I?m glad you can?t tell. I never like to reveal my ending at my beginning. And you picked up on all my favorite parts!

Such beautiful insight to Zekk's thoughts on himself and Jag. Zekk, he's just so darn good! He is good, isn?t he? I feel that Zekk is so underplayed. He?s actually a very interesting character, and very insightful, as you said, so I?m glad you liked him. Zekk strikes me as the reaI?m glad you liked him. Zekk strikes me as the real Young Luke, as opposed to Jacen. One of the reasons you just have to like him is because he?s got a good head on his shoulders.

And yes, I thought a little comic relief was appropriate. I really like Zekk?s POV had had before this one, but he came off as too funny, and it totally destroyed the tension. This was better, but I felt I needed just a little of his humor in there. And no, he?s not very happy.

I?ll add you to the PM List.

jedi_of_ennth. Thank you! To be frank, I love both Zekk and Jag, so I guess that?s where my unbiased view comes from. I can?t be especially cruel to either of them. Actually, I can. I?m the author. I hope you continue to enjoy this story, because it?s certainly got me by its hooks.

And I?m glad you liked that line.

Emerald_Lady. Thanks. Generally I don?t like love triangles, probably for that exact reason. Like I said above, I really adore both of these boys, and I think I?m having more fun writing them than Jaina. I hope you continue to enjoy.

 

Chapter Three

It seemed like several hours?days, even?since Zekk had been ripped away from her. He?d been her partner for at least four years, and he?d been her best friend since she was eleven. They had shared secrets, confessions, vulnerabilities?Zekk had been her confidant when Jacen had been moody. She?d had a crush on him in her teenage years, when he?d seemed so much older, so much more mature than her. When he was still living in the underlevels, she?d thought the grime he covered himself with was especially attractive.

She remembered the day she held out her hand, begging him to come back into the light. She remembered perfectly that Zekk would not let her back in the temple, would not let anyone back in the temple, and how he nearly sacrificed himself for her?and the rest of the Jedi students. She remembered how he tried to put the Shadow Academy behind them and declared himself a bounty hunter.

She remembered the day he told her he was going to be a Jedi Knight.

Jaina closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. No. He couldn?t be gone. Just couldn?t. He hadn?t survived the war just to follow her here and be sucked up by a giant plant.

Jag touched her arm, tried to pry it off the front of his shirt she?d been clutching. Jaina looked at him, then back at the forest, then over her shoulder, to Jacen and his skiff.

Jacen!

She didn?t remember ever being so happy to see her brother. He was a beacon of light?thankfully, without the beard?broad shouldered, standing at the hatch of his skiff. His very presence seemed to say, Peace. I have come to save you. Maybe it was because of Zekk, or the fact that she knew her brother was back to his old self again, but something swelled in her chest, and she didn?t need any more encouragement. Jaina jumped to her knees and ran to him, hugged him tightly.

?Oh, Jacen.? He hugged her back, and she reluctantly let go?but just so she could look up at him. ?How did you know to come? We didn?t get a chance to comm. the Falcon.?

Jacen flashed her a lopsided grin. ?I sensed that you needed me.?

Of course. He was always there when she needed him?when he could help it.

Together they helped Jag up and into Jacen?s skiff.

?Mom pulled some strings,? Jacen said to Jag. ?We aren?t allowed in Chiss space, and they won?t come to Coruscant, but a council has agreed to come to Ossus to review your case.?

Jaina tried to pay attention, but her mind was elsewhere?on Zekk. Jag was going home? She knew she had come to save him, but for some reason her stomach didn?t like the news. Of course, she wanted Jag safe, but safe with her and safe on Csilla was?different.

But she put on a smile anyway and patted his shoulder as she and Jacen set him down in one of the passenger seats.

?That?s good news,? she said.

Jag looked doubtful. ?They only said they would review my case.? He looked down at his knees, and Jaina felt his disappointment. ?In the end, they could decided to ban me from the Unknown Regions?and my family?indefinitely.?

Was it perfectly awful that suddenly Jaina found that her heart was leaping for joy?

Jacen looked at her, subtly sending her an admonishing look, and then he focused his attention on Jag again. ?Mom is going to be part of the review,? he assured Jag. ?She?s going to be fighting in your defense.?

Down went the stomach again. ?Yeah,? Jaina said. ?You can?t ask for a better defense. When Princess Leia wants something done??

??she gets it done,? Jacen finished.

Jag tried to smile, but Jaina sensed that his heart still wasn?t into it. ?They won?t take me back if I have any injuries.?

Jacen looked down at Jag?s knees and grinned. ?Leave that to me.? He whirled around his chair, gripping the controls, set a course for Ossus?and suddenly Jaina found her heart in her throat.

She was not going to leave Zekk stranded on Tenupe.

Before she knew what she was doing, her hand snapped out and grasped Jacen?s wrist. ?What do you think you?re doin

 

?Jaina??

Speak of the Sith.

lol This made me laugh. You did a very good job with this--Jaina's indecision and guilt, Jacen's untrustworthy nature, Jag's anger--they were all very believable. And leaving Zekk stranded on Tenupe is certainly a change of pace. I hope he gets Alema.

Great update!

 

Nice update! I liked this look into Jaina's head; the poor girl has a lot of issues she needs to sort out. I feel so sorry for her, having to choose between Zekk and Jag in more ways than one.

 

His hair was a complete and total mess, and it was all Alema Rar?s fault.

As soon as I read that, I knew this would be good. Ok, it wasn't just that line, it just cemented it (and I loved it so much I had to quote it at least once).

She still wasn?t sure what they were to each other?but he definitely wasn?t her boyfriend, like everyone kept saying. Did they think she was callous? She?d only been apart from Jag for two years?
^^ This one helped, too

It is really awesome to see an unbiased Jaina-love*insert appropriate number of male suitors here, in this case, triangle*-fic, ok, that and you absolutely nailed Jag and Zekk

And Jaina! Poor girl, indeed.

 

I like!!
Add me to the p.m. list

 

Hhhhhhmmmm!

Very interesting characterizations! I like the inner dialog of Jaina's, it makes her very human.

 

Why would Jacen help Zekk? From Jacen's point of view, Zekk has been corrupting and misleading his sister all along. Jacen clearly recognizes Jag as a loyal and honorable man. Thats the kind of man you steer your sister toward, not a pennyless sewer rat with no hope of having a decent job.

 

Emerald_Lady. Thank you! I almost left Jag on Tenupe, but I figured it would exhaust the characters. Leaving Zekk, on the other hand, that was different. As you said, it changes the pace of the story.

jedi_of_ennth. Thank you very much. I was very worried about Jaina?s POV. I like writing Jag and Zekk much better. But, alas, she this story can?t be about two ex-lovers feeling sorry for themselves. It requires Jaina, too.

Meshuhenah. Glad you like! And thanks for citing the quotes you liked. It makes me feel very happy inside. I hope you stick around.

Mira_Jade. I can?t either, but Jaina?s had to do it more than once. After a while, she just doesn?t take it anymore. You?re right, Jag does need a hug, and I know the perfect person to give it to him (and it?s not Jaina). *sigh* Jacen is loathable, but he?ll shape up. He?s going through some?emotional issues right now.

JainaRox. Thanks! I will!

_Tenel_Ka_ Thank you. Being human is always good, as opposed to being?not human. Or a Yuuzahn Vong god.

LeatherNeck. From Jacen?s POV, he?s a little more worried about is own lovelife. And Zekk has been Jacen?s friend as long as he?s been Jaina?s. The principal is not who they are rescuing, but that in fact they are going to rescue a friend. Jaina?s left too many people behind in battle, including her own brothers, to leave Zekk in Alema?s clutches now. Even Jacen can recognize that. Besides, its not the Jedi way to abandon a friend.

And, just a reminder, this is in the same universe as the Alternatia Kismet Collection, so you?ve already seen Jacen?s POV, and Allana?s, from there.

Lol at your description of Zekk. It?s so sad, and yet so true!



Janet

 

Chapter Four

While Jag was at his meeting with the Chiss council, Jaina found her uncle. Jacen had went the other direction, towards the infirmary, saying there were some things he needed to take care of. For a brief moment, Jaina wondered if she should follow him, or if doing so would just show her something she didn?t want to see, something she didn?t want to know. Was it better to know her twin brother was a traitor, or to think he was the same fun-loving guy while he went behind her back? Which hurt less?

Jaina shook her head. She didn?t know, and she didn?t think she wanted to know. Part of her had trouble getting past Jacen as she had known him?her twin brother who told bad jokes?and seeing the Jacen he was now. She didn?t know who he was now, and she was afraid of what she would find if she looked. He had been gone for five years. Was Jacen even in there anymore?

He had to be. He had to be. Who was she if he wasn?t?

Maybe he hadn?t changed at all. Maybe she had changed. Maybe he was exactly the same brother she had said goodbye to six years ago, and maybe there was a rational explanation for everything he had done this past year. Maybe he hadn?t lied, but rather told a different point of view. Maybe there was hope for them yet.

Maybe she was just kidding herself.

Jaina stilled herself in the Force for a moment, resolving to work her problems with her brother out, sooner or later, but before she had the chance to knock on her uncle?s office door, he called for her.

?It?s open, Jaina.?

Jaina pressed the door controls, and it slid open with an Imperial-like whoosh. Upon seeing her uncle she flashed a cheeky grin and waved. ?I know we?re supposed to be Jedi and everything, but it still creeps me out how you do that.?

Luke smiled at her. ?It will become less creepy when you become a parent.?

Jaina laughed out loud, sitting down across from her uncle. ?At this rate, that?ll never happen.?

Luke gave her a knowing look. ?Don?t be so sure of yourself,? he said. ?If it can happen for me, it can happen for anyone.?

?This is true.?

Luke was silent for a moment, but then he cocked his head at her. ?Jag did come back with you.?

?Uh, yeah.? Jaina sank down in her chair, biting her lip. ?But he really hates my guts right now. I don?t think there?s any more romance left to be had between us.?

Luke shrugged. ?Mara wanted to kill me at first.?

?I remember,? Jaina said. She frowned. ?But, Uncle Luke, romance aside, I have a reason for being here today.?

?I know, Jaina.? Luke sighed, as if disappointed, and he pushed himself up from his chair, walking over to his mini-archive behind his desk. ?Zekk is stuck on Tenupe, and you want to go after him.?

?Well?yes.? Jaina followed her uncle. ?I abandoned him. I should be the one to rescue him.?

?Was that your logic for rescuing Jag, too??

?I think so,? Jaina admitted, looking down. ?With just a little less logic.?

It was truly awful. Hadn?t she put them both through enough that she had to save both of them from certain death, too?a death that was all her fault? But Jaina supposed for Jag and Zekk there was a bit of romance involved. Jaina loves me better, so she came to save me. But for Jaina, it was different. She loved them both, true, but it was more out of friendship and sheer principle. She wasn?t going to let anyone die on Tenupe. If Jacen were down there, she would have gone after him.

She was sorry she had misled either of them. But couldn?t they see that this was what it meant to be Jaina Solo? No happiness, no brother, no friends, no love?that was what it was to be the Sword of the Jedi. Jacen, for all his frustration, had it easy.

?Uncle Luke, I can?t leave him behind. I have to go save him.?

Luke nodded slowly, and Jaina was beginning to think he was the only person who really understood, if just a little. ?You can go, Jaina, but you have to take someone else with you.?

That was easy. ?Jacen alrea

 

Jaina! what are you thinking! Go get Zekk!!!!! Jacen is such a clown...he'll be fine, and if you believe he'll never manipulate you again you are crazy.

Luke or Mara should go help Jaina and right away!

Thanks for the PM!!!!!