"Oidhche et Fàiredàn Trilogy I: Aftershock" Completed 11 July!

Geezz! what's up with Luke and red hair chicks? Im trying to picture two Mara's here and ......weird, but good story!

 

WOW! I have never seen a story quite like this before. Man! Luke's life is really messed up right now. It's going to be interesting to see where this story goes. Great job so far. Looking forward to the next post.

 

I'm back!
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Katrael looked worriedly at her aunt. "Aunt Leia?"

It took Leia a moment to answer. She still wasn't used to being called that. "Yes?"

"I'm afraid. Mara hates my mother, my mother doesn't exactly like Mara, and my father is caught in the middle. And they're both married to him."

Leia nodded. "It's a difficult problem. Your mother is right, though. If she married Luke almost twenty years ago, and they were never divorced, then legally they're still married. But no one knew, and now he's married to Mara."

"Why did he marry Mara, if he was already married to my mother? And they look so much alike . . . I just don't know what's going on."

Leia put her arm around her niece's shoulders. "I don't know, either, Kaeta."

The hangar door opened and Kyp walked in, silver-shot black hair pulled back into a ponytail. He looked very concerned. "What's going on?"

"Mara and Dana came to blows. Apparently, Luke and Dana are legally married, which invalidates his marriage to Mara," Leia told him. "And Mara is furious."

Kyp glanced at Katrael, then said, "Especially since Luke wasn't with Mara last night."

Leia blinked, surprised by this revelation. That would explain Mara's upset the night before. But, technically, there wasn't anything wrong with it.

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Across the hangar, Dana glanced at Mara, then looked to Luke. I'm sorry, Luke. Maybe I should just take Katrael and go. I've caused you enough trouble.

He gazed at her for a moment, a hand on Mara's arm. No, please. I need you here while I figure this out.

Leia was chief-of-state. I'm sure she would know what to do.

Mara shook loose of Luke's grip. "Stop it. I don't know what you're saying."

Luke looked at Mara, and his heart ached. He was in love with twin sisters. It seemed impossible. "Mara, let's work this out. Please. Don't do something you would regret forever."

"I wouldn't regret it," she stated flatly.

Dana felt close to tears. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen. She'd just wanted to see her daughter again, see Luke for the first time in twenty years. Be reunited with her sister. She hadn't meant to get involved with Luke again. Or hurt Mara so deeply.

Several tense moments passed, then Dana turned and started to walk towards her ship. "I'm leaving," she said. "I don't know where I'll go, but if I stay here, things will just get worse."

Katrael started over, looking worried and sad.

"The Yuuzhan Vong are out there," Luke told her. "And you don't have the jump coordinates to get away from Eclipse."

She stopped, turned, and looked at him with tears in her blue eyes. "Luke, you left the first time. You had to do your duty, and I had to do mine. You have a family, now. It may not be technically legal, but in a way, she's right. We were over a long time ago. Move on. Be happy. It's my turn to go, now. Take care of Katrael."

"Dana . . ."

She didn't look back.

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Of course, it's never that simple . . .

Dana

 

Yay, she's back!!!
Now please update your other stories, too...

 

More complications . . . Really, this is like a soap opera. Maybe I sould try writing for one. Can't be worse than, say, Passions . . .

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Three weeks later, Mara fell ill again. The disease attacked more rapidly than ever. Panicked, Luke spent every spare moment with her. Nothing was working, not even the synthetic "tears" they'd formulated from the ones given to Han by the creature Vergere. Cilghal couldn't do anything for her.

Mara stayed in a state near death for days. When Luke collapsed from sheer exhaustion, Katrael, surprisingly, took over. She didn't look much better than Luke, feeling betrayed and abandoned by her mother.

"My mother is a healer," she told Cilghal one afternoon, watching Mara's chest rise and fall only millimetres. Cilghal already knew that much, but didn't say so. "I know she would be able to figure something out. But things are so messed up, I don't know if she would, even to save her sister."

"If your mother were to come back, and Mara were to die under her care, some might suspect her of murder," Cilghal said kindly. "I think it's best for all conerned that your mother stay away."

Katrael nodded. "Me, too. I just wish . . . I just wish Dad hadn't left so long ago. Things would be different if he'd stayed."

"The Force works in strange ways," Cilghal reminded her, rolling her eyes around. "I think only time will tell what is to happen."

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Dantana wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then washed her hand. She couldn't believe how sick she was suddenly. She'd been on this planet for over a month now, using her ship as a home.

She splashed a bit of water on her face and stepped out of the refresher. The world spun a little, so she put her hand on the wall to steady herself until she saw straight again. What she really needed was food, but she couldn't stand the thought, not so soon after being sick.

She lowered herself onto her bunk and closed her eyes. Maybe if she meditated, she could figure out what was wrong with her. It was possible it could be the water she'd been gathering from a nearby stream. That happened sometimes on Gaeina, at least until the Yuuzhan Vong had destroyed her home.

She reached within herself and began lightly touching each organ system, her blood, and each nerve, trying to detect anything at all that would cause the nausea. She started at her head and moved down. Heart okay, along with lungs, liver, stomach a little upset, but nothing discernable to her. Kidneys, spleen, intestines. Then a little further down . . .

Dana sat up, having fallen off the bed rather suddenly. She'd touched something within her, something incredibly powerful, and very, very small. Something only a few weeks old, and definitely human.

Overwhelmed with grief and joy, she began to cry.

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Dana

 

Is that what I think it is?

Great post!

 

I like soap opera style SW fanfics!
Can't wait for the K/J part... I hope that's soap opera like, too...

 

Me want get to Kyp and Jaina, so me post a lot.

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Zekk volunteered to find Dantana. He was angry with Jaina for turning to the Dark Side, and angry with himself for not being able to do something about it. He was also angry over Jaina's apparent attraction to Kyp Durron. She belonged to him, not Durron!

The former bounty hunter used all of his tracking skills to hunt Dana, who, though Mara had insisted was only a Knight, had certainly long ago gained the rank of Master. Zekk had seen the fight between Dana and Mara, and knew that Mara may be better with guns and hand-to-hand combat, but Dantana far surpassed her in swordplay. The woman from Gaeina had been amazing, even though she'd never been on the offense. He decided he didn't want to see her as such.

Zekk located her after a long while on a planet lightyears outside the Yuuzhan Vong-held area, about half-way between Tatooine and Dagobah. It appeared to have once been a thriving place, with great buildings and incredible stretches of green fields. He wasn't sure, but he thought this place might be Naboo, the former home of the late Emperor Palpatine.

Dantana's ship was stationary in the middle of a grove of trees, some distance outside the former capital city. Large rock statues of strange animals surrounded the ship. Dana sat on the head of a giant, frog-like creature, as if it were just a boulder. Her hair had grown at least two inches, now brushing her shoulders.

"Hello, Zekk," she said, without looking at him.

"Mistress . . . Uh."

"You can call me Dantana, Dana, or whatever you want. Techincally, you could even call me Mistress Skywalker, but I don't think my sister would like that." She opened piercing blue eyes and fixed him with their sharp gaze. "Took long enough for someone to come after me."

"Well . . ." Zekk cleared his throat. "Master Skywalker would have come himself, but, he's, uh, tending to Mara. She's sick. She's dying," he reiterated.

Dana held up her hand as a small bird fluttered over. It landed on her palm and fluffed its feathers, hunkering down. "I know," she said softly. "I've known since the moment she became sick. I also sense that my daughter is angry at me, and afraid for me."

"Why did you choose this place to hide?" Zekk burst out. "There's no one here. You're the only one on the planet. Besides the animals. I think."

She shrugged. The bird, startled, flew away. Lightly, she hopped down from the rock. "It is very much like my home, which, I would imagine, has been turned into yet another shipyard, or breeding ground for some evil creature. Unless, through some strange turn of events, the inicrubh trees are not digestible by their creatures."

Dana wandered out of the clearing some distance, through the forest, until she reached the edge of the woods. The view here was breathtaking, overlooking a fallen city. She waited until Zekk caught up, then said, "My ship is very old. Nearly a hundred years. It's passed through many hands in the last thirty years. But it still knew to find this place."

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Naboo," she said, confirming his suspicions. "We're looking at the former capital of Theed. My ship once belonged to Queen Padme Naberrie Amidala. Luke's mother. I only discovered that through checking the registry, which had been only partially wiped. Not about Luke's mother being the Queen. That the Force told me."

She looked over at him. "I was actually headed to Tatooine, and I felt drawn to this place."

Zekk nodded. How could he convince her to return to Eclipse, when all she did was talk about this planet? "Mistress Skywalker."

Dantana flinched. She had never been called that, had always longed to, but to hear it now was painful.

He continued, understanding a little of her pain. After all, he had to watch Jaina with Kyp. "I realize that everything between you, Master Skywalker, and . . . Mara, is confused and painful right now, but I believe you should return to Eclipse. Cilghal

 

That was intersting

 

Wow! More please!
I liked Zekk's jealousy, promises intrigues, really soap opera-ish...

 

This story is huge. And it has a sequel, called "Moment of Weakness". Sometimes, I feel I'm in over my head. But I CAN'T STOP WRITING!

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Katrael slowly walked back to her quarters, rubbing the back of her neck. She'd just spent three hours with Mara, feeding her lifeforce with her own. It would be convenient for her mother if Mara died, but Kaeta had had several months to get to know her stepmother--aunt?--and had come to like her. She would grieve if Mara died.

She stopped outside her father's quarters. After several moments, she knocked softly on the door, ignoring the buzzer.

"Come in, Kaeta," Luke called.

The door slid open and Kaeta walked through. "Mara is stable," she said. "She seems a little improved."

"That's good." Luke was currently occupied with Ben, who stood in front of him on shaky baby-legs. The six-month-old looked absolutely thrilled with himself. Luke had hold of his hands.

"Isn't he young to be standing?" Katrael asked.

"Yes, but he's mature for his age." Luke picked up the child and looked to his daughter. "What can I do for you?"

Kaeta hesitated, then said, "I'd like to build a lightsaber. I don't have one of my own."

The Jedi Master looked at her for several moments, then nodded.

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Kyp watched Jaina as she practiced against a hovering droid. The darkness in her disturbed him. She'd been so valiant and a true warrior for the light side when he'd asked her to apprentice. Now she wasn't Jaina anymore. Not the Jaina he knew.

He'd watched her push everyone away in the aftermath of one brother's death, and the other's capture. He'd seen the pain on Zekk's face when Jaina had coldly rejected him. He understood, personally viewing Jaina in a light Han Solo probably would have creamed him for. It was possible that he was not the right one to help her, but she'd have no one else. And, in a way, as her teacher, it was his place to help her.

He'd never been one to admit when he needed help, unless there was something in it for him. But now, Kyp would be the first to admit that he had no idea what to do. He'd ask Master Skywalker, but Luke was so involved with Mara that he hardly paid attention to anyone else's struggles. Zekk was off trying to find Dantana Skywalker--Kyp only privately called her this--and the Solos were wrapped up in their own pain, over losing two sons to the same mission.

Not for the first time, Kyp Durron wished that the Yuuzhan Vong had never come to the galaxy.

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Dana

 

Had problems posting, so I had to split the post in two.

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Dantana stood at a hole in the wall that had once been a window. It was floor-to-ceiling, and allowed light from the distant sun to fall on the exquisite marble floor of the former throne room.

"Nothing but destruction," she mused, looking out over Theed.

Behind her, Zekk looked around the throne room. "Where did the Naboo go?"

Dana glanced his way and shrugged. "I have no idea. My ship's records didn't contain that information. Wiped, remember?"

"I'm thinking it might have something to do with the presence of Queen-Senator Amidala's personal transport wherever it was you got it."

"Coruscant," she said, turning back to the window. "On my one trip there with the Senatorial contingent from Gaeina."

Zekk's head whipped around. He'd never before heard the name of Dantana's homeworld. Since she and her daughter were Fellescae, he'd assumed it was Fellesca, or something. "Gaeina?"

"What about the name bothers you, Zekk?" She didn't turn her head, but her eyes followed him.

"I- I don't know." And he really didn't. "Just a vague memory, of something. I don't know what."

"Hmm. You aren't from Gaeina. You said you're from Ennth. Perhaps your mother . . . You do bear a slight resemblance to my father." Dana walked the length of the room and sat in the old throne. Out of everything in the palace, this one article seemed to have escaped unscathed.

Knowing that Padmé Naberrie Amidala had not been the Naboo's last Queen, Dana did not attempt to get any sort of reading off the chair. There was no point. It would be too jumbled with other presences.

Zekk spun on one foot and faced her. "Are you coming back to Eclipse, or not?"

Dantana, for the moment, ignored his question. She ran a finger along the edge of the arm of the throne, then pressed a button, raised only slightly. It would have been invisible to anyone trying to find it. Only touch or knowledge of its whereabouts would allow one to find it.

The top of the arm slid open, revealing a hidden compartment. Dana was mildly surprised. Cautiously, she looked into the hole.

Zekk came forward to investigate. "What is it?"

She waved at him with her free hand, the other reaching into the compartment. After several moments, she pulled out a datapad. It was archaic in design, compared to those of now. How old it was, she had no way of knowing.

"It's a datapad," she said. "I don't know how long it's been in there. A while, I would guess, judging from the amount of dust on it. It might not work, but I'd been willing to see if I can get anything off of it."

She tucked it into her pocket and reached into the compartment again, to check for anything she might have missed. "Nothing," she sighed.

"What are you looking for?" Zekk asked.

"Oh, just about anything. Pieces to a galaxy-wide puzzle. Answers." She stood up and let him examine the compartment. "I'm going to the Queen's chambers, see if I can find anything at all on Amidala. Maybe you can find a . . . control centre, or something?"

Zekk nodded. "I'll look."

They parted ways. Dantana had wandered the palace in the month she'd been here on Naboo, picking up flashes of . . . something. Mostly memories of pain and fear, from the people and their rulers. She couldn't imagine anything that could possibly wipe out the entire population of a planet, other than a plague or the Death Star. Or maybe simply the Empire.

She pulled the datapad out of her pocket and attempted to turn it on. Its powercells were dead. Prying the back open, she looked at them, and found they were ancient, obsolete. She'd have to get Zekk to wire something to it to charge it.

The Queen's chambers were a discovery she'd made just a few days before. They were spacious, as seemed to befit a Queen, but seemed more like an oversized bedroom. Dana only knew the last ruler had been a Queen from the presence of a few old, tattered dresses tucked into a dressing room the size o

 

Wow...more good posts [face_shocked] me Like!

 

You know what? I've posted a whole ton on this story, and I'm not even a fourth of the way through the text document. I've posted maybe a fifth or a sixth of the story, and I'm not finished writing it.

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Luke sighed and rolled over, drawing the sheets around him. He started at the ceiling and thought about what drastic events had taken place in the last few months. Anakin's death, Jacen's capture, Jaina's battle with the dark side. Mara's illness returned. The birth of his son. And Dantana.

He'd been completely stupid. Of course that union ceremony had been a marriage ceremony. Dana had practically said as much, but since there hadn't been more than one witness--three, if you counted Katrael and her still-born twin, Obi-Wan--and that had been her sister, Rhiannon.

The details of the ceremony had faded with time. Eventually, as the years went on, he'd begun to view it as a broken engagement. He'd been in denial, he could admit now.

Luke got out of bed and went to check on Ben. The child slept the sleep of the innocent.

The Jedi Master sighed. How had he ever let things get so out of control?

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Jaina sat in her quarters, trying to meditate. She and Kyp had just returned from an adventure on Hapes, their time there spent quelling a coup. She felt for Tenel Ka, whose mother, the now-former Queen Mother Teneniel Djo, had been poisoned in the coup. Tenel Ka hated the thought of ruling, but she had finally capitulated when her people needed her. Now a Jedi was Queen Mother of Hapes. Queen Mother Tenel Ka.

Jaina shook her head, finally accepting that she was not going to be able to meditate at this moment. She been trying more often of late to reattune herself with the Force, in the wake of Anakin's death, Jacen's possible demise, and her own battle with the Dark Side. She hadn't even thought about the path she'd started down, until her numerous confrontations with Kyp while on Hapes. Now the thought terrified her.

What terrified her even more was that she had slipped into the dark so easily. Her Uncle Luke had told her that he'd learned while serving the Emperor nearly twenty years ago that it had taken Palpatine decades to learn Force lightning, and in one single moment of sheer grief and anger, Jaina had reduced several Yuuzhan Vong to smoking cinders with the deadly ability.

It had taken one particular encounter with Kyp, involving said lightning, to jar her back to her old way of thinking. She'd been horrified at what she'd been doing, and had begun steps to return to the light side.

There was a knock at her door, then it slid open and Kyp walked in. He was wearing Jedi robes, but didn't have his cloak or lightsaber.

"Hey," she said. "You get anywhere talking to Uncle Luke about the council idea?"

Kyp Durron sighed and shook his head. "No. I mentioned it, but he's too wrapped up in Mara. She does seem to be a little improved today, though, Cilghal is overjoyed to report."

Jaina straightened. "Really?"

He nodded, dark hair bobbing. "But she expressed a desire to have your aunt- Mistress ni Uiletor . . . return. She says that Dantana is a truly gifted healer."

"I can't believe any of that happened," Jaina said. She drew her knees to her chest and indicated for Kyp to sit down. "I mean, Uncle Luke married to sisters? And why didn't he ever tell anyone about Dantana?"

"I'm not sure. I met Master Skywalker apparently just after his return from Gaeina. And I was a young idiot, so I didn't pay much attention to anything around me besides Exar Kun." He laughed, but not with humour.

"I've known Mara for years. I even apprenticed to her. I feel angry for her, but I just can't find it in me to be upset at Dantana. " She looked at Kyp curiously. "Why is that?"

"Perhaps because she's lost at least as much as you have. She's lost her family, save for those people here on this base. Her sisters, and her nieces and nephews."

"I've lost Anakin and Jacen," Jaina said softly. "Ex

 

Wonderful!

 

Okay, just a few notes: This will be my last post for today, 'cause I have a job interview in half an hour.

There's a scene that I cut out, in which Kyp and Jaina talk in the aftermath and do the whole "I love you" thing for the first time. I cut it because it was a little, uh, let's say there was a lot of naked wrestling. Nothing descriptive, just implied. Don't feel comfortable posting THAT.

Timeline wise, we're not post Dark Journey, roughly. Y'know, with my messing with the timeline and all.

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Luke ran into Leia early the next morning. "Hi. Where's Han?"

"Working on the Falcon." Leia looked cautiously at her brother.

"Kyp and Jaina," Luke said, getting right to the subject.

"You, too, huh?" she asked.

"Does Han know?"

Leia shook her head. "Kyp's still alive, isn't he?"

"You have a point. The question is, what do we do? Jaina's nineteen, old enough to choose for herself. And as disreputable as he is, he seems to be bringing her back from wherever she went when Anakin died."

"But if Han finds out, he'll try to kill Kyp. I mean, look what he did when Ta'a Chume offered a marriage contract between Jaina and Isolder last week."

"You handle Han," Luke said. "I'll talk to Kyp."

"I don't know," Leia said.

Luke sensed through the Force that she had misgivings about Luke undertaking anything relating to responsibility regarding relationships. She almost thought as much.

"I've screwed up," Luke said. "But I think Kyp might listen to me about this. Who better to give advice than someone who's messed up badly and lived to learn a lesson from it?"

"Someone who didn't mess up? And quit reading my mind!"

"You're the only one who can deal with Han," Luke pointed out.

"Okay. But I still need to have a serious talk with you. I'm only putting it off because Mara's sick, and we've got a disaster to avert."

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Kyp sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled his boots on. Jaina lay on her right side, watching him. He hadn't pulled his tunic on yet, and she watched the muscles in his back flex as he moved.

"Kyp?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

Jaina sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. Her hair, just below shoulder-length, was tousled and tangled. Her mouth was swollen and her cheeks slightly flushed. "Last night . . . you said you loved me. Did you . . . mean that?"

Kyp shifted to get a better look at her. Taking her face in his hands, she leaned close and whispered, "I mean it, Jaina. I love you."

She placed her hands over his and smiled. "I love you."

He kissed her softly. Jaina scooted closer and looped her arms around his neck. She kissed him back until they had to come up for air. Reluctantly, Kyp pulled away.

"I've got to go," he said softly.

"I know. I'll see you sometime later, right?"

"You're my apprentice. Of course you will. And if I have to, I'll make a way." He ran his fingers through her hair, then stood up.

Jaina caught his hand. "Wait. I-"

Kyp sat back down. "What?"

Her brown eyes searched his face. "This is just . . . I feel different. Do you feel different?"

"Completely different."

"I kind of don't want you to go."

"I don't want to leave." He ducked his head and kissed her again. "But I have to. We'll see each other later, don't worry."

"Okay."

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Dana

 

Why does everyone think Han would kill Kyp if he knew? Han was the one who cared for him most...

EDIT: Is there a way I could get to read the cut scene? Could you send it to me privately or will it be an extra for the DVD version?

 

It's the whole overprotective father thing. Kyp's considerably older, one of Han's friends, and Jaina's Han's little girl.

Dana

 

Yay Nice post. Like the Jaina Kyp part

I'm just a J/K nut

 

Nice J/K stuff? Why Does Zekk thinjk he has a right to interfere.
Right now, I feel very sorry for Luke. Watching him choose between Mara and Ben And Dana and her baby will be fun.

 

awww....that's so sweet....i kinda feel sorry for zekk...but, like swmara, could i have a look at the cut scene too? please?

and poor mara...she's so sick and her ex-apprentice is off doing the wild thing with one of the people she most dislikes...lol

-JSD

 

Everybody's really messed up in this story. It's been a lot of fun writing it.

I haven't typed up the scene I mentioned, but I know exactly where it is in my collection of notebooks, so I could possibly get it typed up tonight and sent to you guys tomorrow. PM me if you want it.

Luke's really got a tough decision: on the one hand, he's got his wife and child, and on the other . . . his wife and child. Just a different wife and child. I really don't envy him sorting this out. Which is why he and Mara are happily married in all of my other 'fics.

Dana

 

There's some stuff coming up that, well, I personally don't like it, but you know how sometimes, your characters take over the story? Yeah, well, that's what happened. And The characters have to deal with it. More on that later.

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Katrael studied the lightsaber in her hands. She'd built it carefully Over the last week, when she hadn't been tending Mara. It was a silver version of her mother's, but instead of her mother's name engraved on the side, it had her own, carefully crafted in her people's language.

The thought of her people made Katrael sad and angry. She didn't know how many Fellescae still lived, besides herself and her mother. They had no contact left with Gaeina. Kaeta's last memory of her planet was her last glimpse before jumping to hyperspace, of the decimated villages and cities, and one refugee ship headed out, while the Fellescae's small fleet battled dozens of attacking coralskippers.

She forced her thoughts away from Gaeina's fall and back to her lightsaber. No, it wasn't like her mother's, Katrael thought. Not exactly. The metallic cylinder had a hammered texture, smooth, overlapping dimples in the metal. She'd worked for hours with the casing, to get it just right. The three sharpened prongs around the emitter were slightly stepped, each appearing to be a cluster of three thinner pieces of metal, at different heights.

Just below the activation switch, she had a small dial, like on her mother's, that adjusted the length of her blade. The blade would be a blue-purple, almost the colour of her cousin Jaina's, but a little less violet. Kaeta had used a crystal from a necklace her aunt Una, the Queen of Gaeina, had given her for her sixteenth lifeday, and its matching earrings. Una would have approved, she thought.

Katrael still had not tested her lightsaber, uncertain about her technical ability. She was half afraid that she hadn't done it right, and that it would explode when she turned it on, or that it would short out and she would lose a limb, like Tenel Ka, though the Dathomiri woman had lost hers in a training accident against Jacen Solo.

"Good morning, Katrael."

She looked up to see Jaina Solo standing nearby, looking remarkably pleasant today. The younger girl had heard about Jaina's recent struggles, and was a little wary of her cousin. "Good morning, Jaina."

"You built a lightsaber?" Jaina approached and eyed the weapon in Kaeta's hands. "It's beautiful."

"Thank you. I haven't turned it on, because I don't know if I put it together right."

"Can I take a look at it?" Jaina asked. "I won't turn it on, I just want to check your wiring."

Reluctantly, Katrael handed it over. Jaina looked at her cousin for several seconds, probing lightly with the Force, and said, "You don't need to be afraid of me. I'm doing better now."

Katrael watched as Jaina opened the metal tube and quickly examined the circuits inside. "You're in a good mood today, Jaina. I don't think I've seen you this happy since . . . before Myrkr."

"I haven't been," Jaina admitted softly, holding out the lightsaber. "But things feel a little different today." She flashed briefly back to the night before, and even just a few minutes ago, when she finally parted company with Kyp. It should have been wrong, considering it was Kyp, but it felt right.

Katrael took her lightsaber back and looked at it. She felt as if her mother should be here to see this, to see when she turned it on. But her mother had left her.

The door slid open and Luke walked in, carrying Ben. He seemed a little surprised to see Jaina and Katrael sitting side by side. "Katrael, would you mind watching Ben for a little while? I've got some business to attend to."

"That's okay, Dad. I don't mind." Katrael clipped her lightsaber to her belt. She held her arms out for her baby brother.

"I see you finished your lightsaber. You'll have to show it to me in a little while." The Jedi Master smiled at his daughter, then turned to Jaina. "Jaina, h

 

LONG Kyp and Jaina post.

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Luke burst into the hangar bay, scanning rapidly to see if there was any sort of scuffle--make that battle--between Han and Kyp. But he could see instantly that there wasn't. The Falcon sat on one end of the hangar, Kyp's X-wing on the other. He could see Han and Leia sitting in the cockpit of the Falcon. He waved to them when they noticed him. Then he made a rather mad dash for Kyp.

Kyp looked up when he sensed Master Skywalker approaching. The look on SKywalker's face didn't bode well, but he didn't think it was half as bad as facing a potentially irate Han Solo. "Good morning, Master Skywalker."

"Kyp." Luke studied his former student for several moments, then mentally projected, Be careful regarding Jaina. Leia and I both know, but so far, Han doesn't.

Kyp straightened so quickly he smacked his head on the underside of his X-wing. "Ow!"

Luke waited until Kyp had stopped rubbing the back of his head. Kyp looked at him, green eyes wide. You know? he asked through the Force.

Yes. I doubt many Jedi on the base don't.

Kyp thought something along the lines of what Luke had said aloud. The older Jedi Master smiled briefly.

Speaking out loud, Luke said, "I was thinking about the Jedi Council you mentioned. I think we should consider doing that."

I'm not saying I approve, but Jaina's old enough to choose for herself. But you had better treat her well, or you'll be in bigger trouble than ever, Luke informed Kyp.

I intend to, Kyp replied. I don't know where this is going to go, but I'm taking it seriously. Even if you don't. Aloud, he said, "Would this include Knights, or just Masters? There aren't too many of those."

Luke chose to ignore Kyp's silent comment. "True. Possibly senior Knights. We'll convene some of the Masters, and get their opinion."

Just be careful around Han. When and if he finds out and comes after you, you'd better make sure you know what the right thing is, and do it.

Luke turned and walked away, leaving Kyp in turmoil.

-------------------------------

Cappie chirped with delight as Jaina knelt in front of him, scrubbing lightly with a cloth at the droid's exterior. She had a datapad hooked up to the droid so she could talk to it.

"You like that, huh, Cappie?"

The droid answered in the affirmative, then warbled something.

Jaina glanced at the datapad. "Yeah, the trip back from Hapes was pretty rough, wasn't it? Even with you inside the ship."

She rubbed off a smear of black on the dome, by its optical sensor. "How did you get so icky?"

It answered with a short beep, then a series of whistles. She raised a dark eyebrow. "Oh, he did, did he? Well, I'm going to have to talk to him about that when I see him, won't I?"

The droid cheeped a greeting just as a voice asked, "Talk to who about what?"

Jaina jerked and dropped the cloth. A hand reached down and picked it up. She shoved her hair out of her face and looked over at Kyp. "Talk to you about banging up my droid."

His fingers lightly caressed hers as he handed her the rag. A thrill shot through her and a blush tinged her cheeks. Their skin seemed to burn where it touched, but neither pulled away in a hurry.

"Sorry, Cappie," he said to the astromech. He glanced at Jaina, green eyes smiling. "I was removing a couple of bolts from my X-wing, and Cappie came over to help. He got kind of dirty."

"Why didn't Zero-One help you?"

Kyp snorted. "That philosophical chunk of metal? If I talk to myself, he starts analysing what I'm saying. Much better to talk to this little guy and actually get some work done, instead of arguing with a droid." He patted Cappie on the top of its dome. It cheebled happily.

"Talking to yourself?" She laughed lightly. "Now I know you've gone off the deep end."

He actually stuck his tongue out at her.

Smiling distractedly, Jaina found herself staring at his mouth.

"I'm not

 

Wow, more posts.

Interesting. Leia knows and she let him live. Wow!

More??