Beyond - Legends Traitors and Trades (Jacen/Tenel Ka)

If Lumiya becomes desperate enough she can either dispose of Jacen or seek another apprentice.

 

Guess "my" Jacen is not the only one who regulary has bad dreams.

Nice that he has found someone who listens to him in Kenara. Though at the same time they running into each other again makes me a bit suspicious if there might be more to her than just a simple traffic controler. Intriguing chapter.

 

Sure...but who? The only one to be a likely candidate right now, Jaina, has already been dismissed as not right for the job. Ben would be the ideal, especially considering Lumiya's REAL goal was revenge (at least, that's my opinion), but he's still too young.

Ha! Although, if he wouldn't have fallen off of the rails in LotF, he wouldn't have these dreams!
As I've said before, sometimes it really is easier to open up to someone you don't know. Hmmmm....maybe. Or maybe she's just persistent!

 

Chapter 5 – End Game​

Fountain Palace – Chume’dan, Hapes

Through a crack in the door, Jacen saw that Tenel Ka was indeed sticking with her usual Tuesday routine. For a few moments, he simply observed as she punched a speed bag. Even one-handed, she was fast enough to make the bag sound like a repeating blaster, the rattatta-rattatta reverberating around the small gym. A fresh wave of depression washed over him and Jacen found himself fighting back tears as he watched the copper-haired queen get even faster on the bag. Briefly, he considered backing out of his plan and returning to Coruscant—maybe he could find a different solution to what needed to be done. No, it has to be her. Intellectually, he knew that she was the only one who would understand what he was trying to achieve; she alone would understand that this sacrifice was for the greater good—he could only hope that Allana would understand in time.

Wiping his eyes, Jacen visibly stiffened and reached out cautiously through their Force link, a link that he could never break. As he lightly brushed her mind, Jacen almost recoiled at her frustration and anger—both directed at him, and had to physically fight the urge to rush in and give her a reassuring embrace; to tell her that he loved her and that everything would be okay. For the second time since he boarded the Olympic, it occurred to him that only now did he find his humanity again: only at the end did he fully realize just how much he loved Tenel Ka Djo. For almost two decades, she had been the one constant in his life, the one thing that he could count on. And how had he repaid her friendship and love? Pain—nothing but endless pain. Shamelessly, he allowed the tears to come. On some level, he was glad that he could not do this without feeling remorse; it felt right to know that this hurt. Unconsciously, Jacen had backed away from the door, as if preparing to leave the Palace. Grimacing, he took a deep breath, took a step forward and pushed open the gym door.

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Whump. Over the sounds of the speed bag, Tenel Ka heard the door open and immediately tensed, knowing whom it was. Jacen. The Palace staff always announced themselves before entering, and it was much too early for either her father or Allana to be awake. Stopping the bag, she threw off her boxing glove and turned to face her friend. Time seemed to stop as Tenel Ka stared at Jacen. For the briefest of moments, upon seeing the face of a man who was not Jacen, Tenel Ka thought she was wrong—that this stranger was someone new to her staff. Jacen’s Force presence gave him away, however, and his new look only increased her sense of foreboding. Seeing his look of determination, Tenel Ka called her lightsaber to her hand.

The last time he had visited, she could feel that something was amiss but could not bring herself to ask about it, telling herself that she would get better intelligence about the situation and then confront him. Apparently, she had missed her chance: this strange man standing before her had destroyed the Jacen she loved. Horrified, she immediately grasped that this imposter could only be here for one of two reasons: either to convince her to join him, or to steal her daughter (not their daughter—this man was not Jacen.)

Tenel Ka found the first option repulsive and the second was beyond comprehension. Her heart breaking, she ignited her turquoise blade and launched herself at this facsimile of her best friend, swinging viciously at his left arm.

Surprised, Jacen managed to get his green blade ignited, raising it to block her blow--he had forgotten just how ridiculously fast Tenel Ka was. Growling at his block, his best friend leaned forward into his blade and swung the stump of her left arm, catching him across the face. Pirouetting, she kicked out with her left leg, catching Jacen in the sternum, launching him back a meter and crashing him against the door.

Wincing, Jacen slumped slightly against the door—he had heard the distinct ‘pop’ from his rib cage when she kicked him, and he realized that had definitely forgotten how fast his Dathomiri friend really could be. With her spin kick, Tenel Ka had seized the initiative, and she quickly stepped forward to press her advantage. After three quick parries, they found themselves once again leaning into each other’s blades, Jacen’s back against the door. Needing more space to defend himself, more space to maneuver, he pushed out with the Force, earning a frustrated snarl from Tenel Ka as she skidded three meters into the center of the room.

Holding his sabre in a one-handed en garde position, Jacen allowed a small smirk as he slowly moved to his right, circling his friend. Carefully, hoping that she would be too preoccupied to notice, he again reached out through their Force-link and sent her even more strength and fed her fury. Jacen had to be careful, his plan relied on her not being able to see his real goal until it was too late.

Glaring at the imposter circling her like a predator, the red-haired Queen became incensed when she saw his smirk. She used that anger to launch herself at him, feinting another blow at his left arm before countering with a complex attack of three moves, the last of which Jacen could not quite get out of the way, earning a cut across his right arm. Tenel Ka’s anger towards Master Skywalker and his ridiculous ultimatum inspired another complex four-stroke riposte that raked Jacen across the abdomen, drawing more blood. Long pent-up anger at her dead grandmother resulted in a two-pronged attack and another spin kick that Jacen did not see coming. Hearing another of his ribs crack, the Queen mother felt giddy.

Now, it was her turn to smirk as she continued to land kicks, blows with her left arm, and even a head-butt, all while assaulting him with her lightsaber. Combat skills that she thought dormant jumped to the fore as she wailed away on her former friend, Jacen barely able to keep up with her onslaught. Tenel Ka’s frustration and anger at his actions over the last few months made her want to inflict as much bodily harm to him as she could and she became a torrent of parries, thrusts, and kicks.

This is for trying to make me laugh. Jacen was not quite quick enough to leap back from a well-disguised parry that gashed his left thigh. This is for allowing me to kiss you. Again, Jacen was a shade late to react, resulting in another gash on the left arm, this time on his bicep. For falling at Cloud City. Tenel Ka fired off another three-stroke attack that Jacen managed to anticipate, but failing to recognize it as a feint, received a knee to the groin from which he only partially twisted away. Hearing his grunt of obvious pain, Tenel Ka felt ecstatic.

For getting captured. She used his block as a pivot and smashed the pommel of her lightsaber into his left cheek, feeling the bone give way. For leaving me alone on this stupid planet. Tenel Ka attacked low to his right hip and again used his block as a pivot, crashing her sabre-handle into his left hand, cackling haughtily at the sound of breaking phalanges.

Screaming like a banshee, the Queen Mother launched a final crescendo of speed and violence. This is for chopping off my arm. Hiding behind a vicious smirk, her grey eyes burning with raw power, she launched a five-stroke attack. With a flick of her wrist, Jacen’s lightsaber flew across the room, half of his hand still attached, shutting down with a hiss-snap and landing with a sickening ‘thump’ against the far wall. Spinning her lightsaber like a baton, she looked into his face and made a final swing. And this is for getting me fall in love with you.

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Growing up, Jacen had heard stories about the fighting ability of Dathomiri women from his uncle, but he had just assumed it to be hyperbole. Now, seeing Tenel Ka in full battle mode for the first time, he had to admit that she was scary. Back when he taught lightsaber classes at the Jedi Academy, students always asked who he thought the best swordsman of the Order: Jacen would smile and say diplomatically that Luke Skywalker was the best since Windu. Apparently, he had lied to his students; the Hapan Queen Mother was far and away the best swordsman he had ever faced.

Jacen had long prided himself on being able to tolerate more pain than anyone else alive, but nothing had prepared him for the type of pain he now felt. Through his link with Tenel Ka, he saw the images she used to fuel her anger. The memory of her ‘surprised now?’ kiss on Yavin, the memory of her rushing eagerly toward him when he had returned to Cloud City; these were two of his most favorite memories, and she was using them as a weapon. The woman he had loved since he was thirteen hated him. Worn down from all of the cuts and broken bones, from the incredible speed of her attacks, and from the certainty that he no longer meant anything to her, Jacen could no longer keep up with her onslaught. With a flash of pain, he saw half of his right hand fly against the wall, his fate sealed. Bravely, unashamed to be overcome by grief, he looked into her eyes one final time and tilted his head away from her oncoming blade.

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Tenel Ka stopped her swing centimeters from Jacen’s neck, noticing for the first time since their encounter began that his eyes were…brown. Not that sickly yellowish-brown that they had been the last few times he had visited, but brown…her brown. For a long moment she lost herself in her favorite color, the only sound being the hum of her lightsaber.

Jacen tilted his neck closer to her blade and could feel the skin start to blister.

“Do it.” He whispered and saw the shock in her granite eyes at what had just transpired and realized he was out of time; if she did not act now, she never would. He again moved fractionally closer to the turquoise blade, pain ripping down his being. “Please.”

Tenel Ka continued to stare into his eyes, the full impact of what she had done to her friend becoming apparent. He was bleeding from several cuts on his face, his nose broken, and his left eye was swollen shut. Additionally, he was clearly favoring his right leg, his left hand was almost twice the size of normal, and his right hand ended with a cauterized stump. Horrified at her actions, she closed down her lightsaber, hooking it to her stretch pants.

“No.” she replied quietly, “I have taken your part of your hand; that is enough.”

Reaching out cautiously through their link, she let out a small gasp when she felt how much pain he was in; physical pain, yes, but mostly emotional pain. Anguish that he had hurt her, anguish that he had let her down, and the intense heartache that could only come from love. Understanding dawned on her face as she realized what he had been doing. He wanted her to hurt him; he needed her to hurt him. He was the reason that she had felt invincible. He had fed her frustration, turned it into a blinding rage, and she had welcomed it. She relished the feeling of power that it had given her and was afraid of what it meant.

As her eyes searching his, she whispered, “Why, Jacen?”

His eyes fell as he answered quietly, “I deserved it.” Plan A had failed, but he knew that it only had a limited chance at success; Tenel Ka was much too forgiving. Time for Plan B. As he felt her reach out with the Force, he flooded their link with memories: Memories of what had happened on that asteroid near Bimmiel, images of what he had done while flying with his sister, the memory what had happened while he was interrogating Mirta. He showed her the vision of Luke that he had seen before he killed Nelani; he showed her the vision of someone, probably himself, whispering ‘Mine!’ the last time he came to Hapes; he showed her visions of a dark man sitting on a throne.

She tried to withdraw, but he literally grabbed her Force presence and showed visions of the galaxy burning, of chaos, of Allana joining the Sith. Showing her his ‘Plans Bravo, Charlie, and Delta’, he let her know what he was doing in her Palace at this early hour. For the good of the galaxy and the safety of Allana, Jacen Solo had to die.

Finally, he let her go, adding in a flat, emotionless voice, “This is what I see. This is what I’ve become.”

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A/N: As I mentioned, I'd intended this to be in my previous story, but it didn't seem to fit. I don't think it too much of a stretch, however, to think that Tenel Ka would be upset with what her friend had been up to on Coruscant, and I don't think it would take too much prodding to get her to show it. Thanks for reading!

 

on the incredibly riveting duel! And I'm speechless.

 

It was great!! I love reading duel sequences, I've gotta say, and this one was equally great @SiouxFan!

 

Thanks! I'm not going to lie, the scene took me forever to edit. I find it tough to write fanfic duels...the reader knows I'm not going to kill Tenel Ka, and there's not point in bumping off Jacen in fanfic...profic has already done that...so it's hard to make it seem that either one is in real danger. I confess, though, that I was tempted to have her go through with it. Just end the story after 5 chapters and be done with it.

 

Wonderful, moving chapter. Very intense, emotional and vivid-loved it.

 

That was pretty intense. Its hard to see Jacen and Tenel Ka fight each other like that.

 

Wow. Okay. I don't really know what to say. I think I might be a step or two behind, since I'm not very familiar with the canon.

I really enjoyed Chapter 4, and the easy back and forth between Jacen and Kenara.

I have to say, Chapter 5 caught me off guard. I guess I thought you were mostly ignoring the more distasteful parts of canon (that's what I like to do!), but it looks like maybe not so much! Anyway, you did a really great job writing the action. The whole scene is just heartbreaking.

Still really don't know where this story is going (or what's going on with the switching places part), but I'm eager to find out more!

 

Thanks! I tried to make it as intense as I could, but was running out of lightsaber-battle-writing skill!

I tried to write it so that folks with only a basic knowledge of LotF would be able to follow, so if I've lost you, let me know! I can try to fill you in. I'll admit to being a bit of a lazy writer, and just 'borrowed' Kenara from my other story...I had a bit of fun writing her character in Quest, so I thought it best to keep her.

I probably should have just ignored the lousy parts of canon, but for some reason I try to work with them and try to find a better way out of the mess they were written into. All will be explained in due time, I promise!

Next post will be Tuesday, but I'll make it up and do two chapter next week...probably Tue and Thur.

Thanks for reading!

 

Chapter 6 – Force Overload​

Tenel Ka could only sit stunned for a long moment, reeling at what Jacen had showed her. When they were younger, all he had ever wanted was a better understanding of all the varied assets of the Force, and how had the Force repaid that curiosity? With despair and pain. The Force had taken the sweetest, most compassionate person she was ever likely to know and turned him into a bitter, jaded shell of a person, a person that was begging her to destroy him. For the first time ever, she found herself hating the Force, and wished that she had listened to her grandmother all those years ago and remained ignorant about the ways of the Jedi.

Jacen took a step forward and tried to take her hand, wincing as he did so. She had broken at least three of his fingers in his left hand, and with all of the swelling it was almost impossible to make a fist. Recognizing his effort, Tenel Ka gently took his hand and started a modest healing effort to reduce the swelling in his remaining hand.

He quickly gave her a smile of gratitude and tried to explain his plan, “I misinterpreted my vision on that damned asteroid.” Closing his eyes, he let out a pained sigh, “I’ve come to believe that the Force was telling me that I was the reason Uncle Luke would die, not Nelani.” Raw despair now filled his voice, “I killed an innocent person because I chose not to believe what I saw.”

Tenel Ka could only answer with a small nod. “Why did you not tell me earlier?” More than anything else, the fact that he did not trust her with his visions hurt deeply. He was the only one outside of her father whom she trusted implicitly, and it hurt to know that he did not trust her fully as well.

Jacen’s head fell in shame. Looking back up at her face, “I should have. I guess I thought that you would not understand.” He paused and looked at her earnestly, “You mean the world to me, you know.”

The Queen Mother nodded, “I know.” She cocked her head, “I could never hate you, Jacen. I have loved you for far too long.” Seeing his face light up slightly, she continued, “This Plan B? Will it work?”

Jacen tilted his head in response. “It should.” He paused and closed his eyes, clearly going over the plan in his mind. Tenel Ka did the same, trying to ascertain the plausibility of this plan. She scrunched her nose; all she could feel from the future was more loneliness. Perhaps her present was influencing her future. Opening her eyes, she started to voice her concern but saw his goofy smile.

“The theory is sound, but this has never been done before.” He commented optimistically.

“Fact.” Tenel Ka had spent years trying to rid herself of her speech habits, but she always seemed to fall back into her old ways when she was around him. Her eyes sparkled when she heard his chuckle; it had been far too long since she had heard him laugh. Her face turned serious, “Are you ready?”

Jacen shrugged, “No.” He struggled to dig out a comlink out of his pants pocket and then held up his left arm as she removed her ‘saber from her waistband and once again ignited the turquoise blade, the snap-hiss sounding painfully loud in his ears. “But, I doubt that waiting will make this any easier.”

Tenel Ka shook her head, and pointed at his right arm with her ‘sabre, “Other arm please.” She left unsaid the reasons why: she wanted to feel his caress from a real hand, she wanted Allana to have a real hand to hold on to as they crossed the street, she wanted to feel his real hand run down her back while they made love. Jacen seemed to understand all of this and swapped arms, angling his body to give her the best angle on his outstretched right arm.

Looking into his eyes, “This will hurt.”

“I know.” He nodded to her partial left arm, “It has for years.”

Closing his eyes again, he stretched out through the Force and found his ship, the Solo Journey, parked in the GAG hangar on Coruscant. He pressed the ‘Call’ button on his comlink and… nothing. Even with faster than light technology, it still takes time for a signal to travel from Hapes to Coruscant. Finally, after several agonizing moments, Jacen felt his ship explode.

Not wanting to open his eyes, he reached out for Tenel Ka and found her presence right there with him, waiting. Knowing that he would never be able to do so again, he poured every ounce of love he felt for her into their bond and felt her do the same.

Taking a deep breath, he sent further reassurances to his Queen and commanded quietly, “Now.”

Tenel Ka sent even more love through their link and Jacen heard her lightsaber move through the air and then a sickening ‘thump’ as his right arm hit the ground. Just as with the destruct signal, it took a few moments for events to catch up with his perception. Suddenly, pain like he had never felt before surged up his arm. His last thought before being overcome by darkness was: Tenel Ka is right, this does hurt.

Tenel Ka saw everything happen in slow motion; swinging her lightsaber, watching it cut through his right arm just below the elbow, the sickening ‘thud’ as his arm hit the ground. In that split-second, she realized that she had now heard that sound three times in her lifetime, including twice in the last ten minutes, and it was a sound that she never wished to hear again. She closed down her ‘saber immediately after it had cut through Jacen’s arm and time seemed to resume it’s regular pace as Jacen let out a low, agonizing scream. Suddenly, she felt his presence explode in a massive Force fireball and then just as quickly implode on itself, as if Jacen had become the center of a black hole.

The Queen Mother gasped as her breath left her, the pain was like nothing she had ever experienced before, not even when she felt Jacen ‘die’ all those years ago; it felt as if someone had reached into her chest, grabbed her soul and ripped it from her body. Still struggling for breath, she saw Jacen’s knees buckle and watched horrified as he started to topple over. Somehow, she moved to catch him and slowly lowered him to the floor, laying him on his back. Checking for a pulse, she breathed a quick sigh of relief; it was weak, but steady.

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As she walked down the well-travelled thoroughfare on Dubrillion with her husband, Leia expanded her Force presence as far as she dared, only half-listening to Han’s recount of his last conversation with Lando. “…could do is a regular room, but I told him that anything will be an improvement over where we stayed last night.” She caught his famous smirk and nodded absently in reply, still thinking about the vague sense of unease that she was getting. Suddenly, in a flash of intense pain, her worst fears became reality.

It took Han a couple of steps to realize that his wife was no longer walking beside him. Confused, he turned and found her slumped against a lamppost, doubled over in clear agony, gasping for breath.

“Leia!” He rushed to her side, “Leia, what’s…” he stopped when she looked up at him, her face a grotesque mask of pain. He had seen that look once before, and it was a look that he had hoped that he would never see again. Han’s heart stopped as he enveloped his wife in an embrace. “Jacen?” He whispered and felt her nod against his shoulder, her tears soaking into his shirt. He closed his eyes, and quietly cursed fate as he wondered sadly what he had done to deserve such a life. His best friend, both of his sons…what more did Han have left to give?

It was unclear just how long they had remained like that; the two of them alone in their sea of despair, when Han became aware of the incessant vibrating of his comlink. Before he could stop himself, he answered the call, “Solo.”

Leia stiffened against him as they heard her brother’s voice sound over the small speaker, “Han, I’m…”

“DO NOT. Finish. That. Sentence.” Han growled into the comlink, interrupting his brother-in-law. “You are most definitely NOT sorry. At looks as though you got your wish. My son can no longer make you look incompetent.”

They heard Luke sigh into the speaker, “You think that this is what I…”

Again, Han interrupted, “Yes. We know that you wanted to ‘stop Jacen’.” His voice rose to a shout, “Leave us alone!”

A new, feminine voice sounded over the speaker, “Han, he’s arresting Corellians.”

Han let out a sad sigh, “Yeah.”

He and Leia had argued on and off about Jacen’s actions as head of the Galactic Alliance Guard for the better part of two months. He could not believe that his son would think that rounding up Corellians, people from his homeland, was a good idea. Leia consistently argued that while she was not in favor of the ‘detention camps’, nobody else had proposed any better ideas. Part of the reason Han was so upset at his son was that Leia was right: no one, including himself, had offered a better solution. No one, it seemed, had been acting rationally over the last few months.

Mara chided in a haughty tone, “So, now you’re making excuses for him?”

Leia snatched the comlink from her husband’s hand, “How DARE you, Mara Jade. Jacen was enforcing the law, which is something that the Order has NOT been doing. While you were busy subverting the authority of the Chief-of-State, my son was trying to keep Coruscant from exploding.” In her rage, Leia started to shake, “My sons are DEAD. They’re dead while you two continue to debate what the role of your Order should be. I expected more from the Emperor’s Hand.” She paused to let that sink in. “Don’t call us again.” With that, Leia threw the comlink with all of her might against the brick wall on the other side of the sidewalk and gave a satisfied nod as it broke apart with a small ‘crack’ and fell to the ground.

Han could only stare at the remains of his comlink as Leia stormed off up the sidewalk. Shaking his head, he hurried after her, catching up in a few long strides. Just as he caught up, she stopped and spun around, her lovely face still clouded with pain and anger. “I hate him. I hate them both.”

Han drew into another hug and shook his head, saying gently, “No, you don’t.”

She backed up a step and glared at her husband. “YES. I. DO. Luke sits and does nothing while the galaxy goes to hell, and then has the audacity to berate people who actually are doing something.” Gesturing wildly with her right hand, she allowed her voice to get louder, “There is a war coming, and what are his Jedi doing?” Her voice fell in disgust, “Nothing. Not one damned thing.”

Han saw a new fire in her beautiful eyes, and he knew that he was in for a wild ride. She stabbed him in the chest with her right index finger, “You helped start this mess with your support of the Corellians. You and I are going to try to stop it.” Her voice fell to a whisper and Han could barely hear her over the traffic, “I owe it to Jacen to do what he could not.”

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A/N: This chapter does sort of open a Pandora's box of what Tenel Ka will accept about Jacen...but having already decided to stay in LotF, I could not just ignore what he had done in book1. I'm hoping it doesn't seem too artificial.

I don't really have a deep hatred of Luke, but I don't think it too much of a stretch to think that his sister would be pretty pissed off at him. Luke approved of the mission that got Anakin killed, and he and the Jedi Council had pretty much decided to kill Jacen by book 3 (if memory serves) of LotF.

I still cannot understand why Han and others (Wedge, for example) decided to aid Corellia against the very government they helped form.

 

Wow, I'm speechless again! Plan B was a success, I suppose? Very explosively literally. And the Sky/Solos are emotionally fragmented. Leia is right about one thing: endless debates about what the Jedi should do while they do nothing winds up making the situation worse! And yet, Han is right too, she doesn't hate either Luke or Mara. And poor Han is caught smack-dab in the middle!

Another brilliantly intense update!

 

Ahh, I love it!! A great read, I must say! I always love seeing Han and Leia's relationship when Han takes control, you've done it so well. I gotta that Leia was right about some of the things. Still been getting used to the whole AU stuff, but this story has eased me in really well .
Can't wait for the next part of this to come

 

Thanks! And we'll see soon enough whether this plan works! You're right about them being emotionally fragmented, though...I've always thought they all need to have a group therapy session.

Here's the thing on the debates: I didn't mind the debating per se...I think it's healthy to discuss options before committing to a certain path. But...and I caution you, we're entering the political discussion of my post...the Jedi Council is debating things that they'd already decided. At the beginning of Swarm War, Jaina is testifying on the stand at a trial against a smuggling ring. From this scene, we learn that the Jedi have been trying to break up smuggling out on the Rim. It stands to follow then that the Council is at least nominally part of the GFFA and that the Jedi are okay with being part of an Investigation/Enforcement branch of the government. Why then, in LotF, is the council still debating their role in the government? It's clear that they already have, and agreed to, a role.

Furthermore, if the Council is okay with investigating and enforcing relatively minor infractions (like smuggling) why are they reluctant to do anything about more serious crimes? The Jedi do little about the violence done to and by Corellians on Coruscant...and even turn down Omas when he asks Mara to head the new GAG. They do nothing when Corellia secedes, an act of treason against the very government they helped form. What exactly are they debating?

The greatest thing about Leia is that she knows how to forgive, so I doubt she'll stay angry at her brother forever...but I wish she'd knock him upside the head. And don't feel too badly for Han...he DID help create a mess with his vocal approval of Corellia's actions.

The awesomeness of Han and Leia just can't be overstated. And thanks!

 

I'm glad to see Jacen and Tenal Ka seem to be on the same page, at least. It's sad to see them at odds. And I'm glad Leia and Han are going to try to help.

 

That's what irked me most about the books...they used to have such an easy chemistry, and it all went away. I understand that people change, but when I meet up with my best friend from junior high, her and I fall into our old rapport.

We'll see more of Leia a bit later...

 

A/N: This one is a bit long, but I felt it important to keep the second scene intact.

Chapter 7​

Fountain Palace, Chume'dan, Hapes

Looking about her gym, Tenel Ka found an exercise mat against one wall and called it to her hand. After rolling it into a pillow, she placed it under Jacen’s head and then looked for a first-aid kit. Finding one by the door, she again used the Force to call it to her and dug out some bandages. There is a common misconception that lightsaber wounds are clean wounds and never bleed. This is untrue; Jacen’s wound had had some cauterization, but the human arm simply has too many veins and arteries to cauterize them all with one swing of a lightsaber. As a result, Jacen was bleeding—not a lot, perhaps, but enough to be concerning. Finding what she was looking for, Tenel Ka tightly wrapped a pressure bandage around Jacen’s right bicep, staunching the flow of blood. That done, she went about placing a dressing and bandage over the wound, trying not to look at the bone in what remained of his arm.

Only after the Queen performed the necessary first aid did the full impact of what he had done dawn on her. Sitting next to his prone form, she stroked his cheek, grimacing as she felt the bone give way under her fingers. For all intents and purposes, Jacen Solo was dead; and it saddened her to know that she would never be able to tell everyone just how incredibly brave he had been. He had saved them all, and no one was ever going to know.

As she looked at her best friend’s face, she realized that she would never again feel his reassuring presence in her mind, never feel him be part of her. Jacen would not be able to show Allana how to levitate her stuffed tauntaun, or teach her any of the esoteric tricks he had learned while traveling the galaxy. While she would miss these things, her and Allana would still have Jacen, and that meant more. Tenel Ka kissed her Jacen’s forehead and did something she had not done in quite a while: smile. We will just have to make the best of the time we have.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost missed the sound of bare feet running at breakneck speed towards the gym. Allana. Neither she nor Jacen had stopped to consider how this would affect their daughter. Reaching out, she could feel the sense of panic boiling out of her little girl and tried her best to soothe her frantic thoughts. Looking down at Jacen, she grimaced and slid his detached arm closer to his side, hoping to keep it from view.

Just as she finished, Allana rushed into the room, fear clearly etched onto her young face as her words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, “Mommy, something bad has happened to…” Allana’s grey eyes widened in horror when she saw Jacen’s prone form, “…DADDY!” she shrieked, rushing forward.

Tenel Ka lunged at Allana catching her in a tight embrace that lifted her off the floor before she could reach her father.

“Shh…it’s okay.” She whispered, trying to soothe her struggling daughter, “Look, he’s still breathing.” Allana stopped trying to escape and looked at her father’s chest and watched as it rose and fell rhythmically.

Melting into her mother, Allana never took her eyes off of Jacen as her mother stroked her hair. Quietly, she asked, “What happened to Daddy?” Turning her head to look her mother in the eye, “Was it an accident like yours?”

Tenel Ka held her daughter close and rested her chin on the top of Allana’s head. Despite their best efforts, Allana had figured out who her father was and had probably done so quite a while ago.

Feeling a wave of guilt wash over her, Tenel Ka closed her eyes and shook her head, “No, honey. Jedi Ja…” she stopped and corrected herself, “…Daddy needed me to help him.” Relaxing her embrace, she knelt down to place Allana back on the floor and looked her daughter in the eye to try to explain. “Jacen wants to spend more of his time here on Hapes, but he needed me to help him from becoming a bad man.”

Allana scowled at her mother. Jacen had always been very nice to her, and she could feel his love for her every time he visited; she could not believe her Daddy was anything but nice.

Timidly, as if she were afraid of the answer, she asked quietly, “Was he a bad man?”

The Queen Mother shook her head adamantly, “No, sweetie.” She kissed Allana’s forehead, “He cut himself off from the Force before that could happen. It was a very brave thing to do.”

Allana nodded absently, not really understanding what her mother meant. Was not the Force part of who you were? Daddy had always said that it was. And if he had cut himself out of the Force, how come she could still feel Daddy? Maybe she was just imagining it, the way that she imagined her stuffed tauntaun could talk. She would have to ask Daddy about it when he woke up; he would know…Daddy knew everything.

Looking up at her mother, “Can Daddy stay with us now?”

Tenel Ka gave Allana a small smile, “Not right away, but he will soon.”

The Chume’da of Hapes nodded again and knelt next to her father. Kissing his forehead, she whispered, “I love you, daddy.”

T
_________|_________
O O(___)O O
​

Jacen awoke to a darkened room, the only light being the ambient city lights filtering in through the partially closed blinds in the room. Scowling, he took a closer look out the window; the light was much too bright and artificial to be Hapes. How’d I get to Coruscant? The thought jumped into his mind, but he knew that it must be right, nowhere else had a nighttime glow like Coruscant. He took a look around as he sat up on the bed, recognizing one of the posters on the wall. Hey, I had a poster just like that. He smiled at the memory of his favorite singer from his teenage years: Gorah Dibbon. She had only made four albums (naturally, he had them all), and it was her ‘girl-next-door’ persona that had always drawn him to her, earning him endless jibes from Jaina, Anakin, Zekk, and Tahiri. Oddly, Tenel Ka never had much to say about his crush on the pretty, brown-eyed, singer-songwriter. Pushing that thought away, he continued to look around the darkened room, and stopped, stunned. That is his Gorah Dibbon poster; Jacen was in his old room on Coruscant. That means I’m…

“…Dreaming.” Answered a chuckling voice from the doorway. Jacen’s head snapped around to look at the source of the voice.

It took him a second to find his voice. Before him stood his brother, looking just as he did the day prior to them leaving for their Myrkr mission. Jacen frowned slightly; he had forgotten how tall his brother had been. “Anakin?”

Anakin smiled a warm brotherly smile, “Hi Jace. It’s been a while.”

Flopping back on the bed, Jacen sighed, “If I can see you, it means that everything I just did was for naught.”

Anakin stepped closer and shook his head, “No, it worked.” He gave Jacen the famous ‘Solo’ smirk, “Mostly. I’m just a…residual benefit, I guess you could call me.”

Turning his head to face his brother, Jacen wrinkled his brow, “Residual?”

Anakin answered with a non-committal shrug—the same shrug they had seen their father do a thousand lifetimes ago. “We’re all curious… how’d you do it?”

His younger brother’s question certainly piqued Jacen’s curiosity, “We?”

The younger man offered a wry smile and nodded as he answered, “We.”

Jacen was hoping that his brother would elaborate, but Anakin only continued to look expectantly at him. Sighing, he finally got up off of the bed and walked over to the window, gazing out over the pre-war Coruscanti nightscape.

Looking over his shoulder, “I took all of the pain and anger coming from Tenel Ka and stored it in a sort of Force…” He paused, not sure what to call it. “…capacitor, I guess.” He glanced at his brother and saw the understanding nod. “Losing my arm was the trigger mechanism I used to release all of the energy from this ‘capacitor’ to expand both my Force presence and my ‘Vong’ sense at the same time.” Anakin opened his mouth to reply, but Jacen pressed on, turning back to the window, “It worked as I thought it would; the two ‘short-circuited’ each other and sort of…blew a fuse.” He took a deep breath and said quietly, “At least Dad won’t be the only non-Force user in the family anymore.”

Anakin whistled appreciatively, “Sounds painful.” Seeing Jacen’s single nod, Anakin continued, awe still in his voice, “Qui-Gon will be impressed.”

Jacen said nothing as he turned to stare dumbly at his brother; unsure as to whether he should be honored or not about being able to impress Qui-Gon Jinn.

Anakin could sense his brother’s inner turmoil and chuckled. “You’d like him…reminds me a lot of you, actually. He, too, is always trying to learn more about the different aspects of the Force.” Anakin turned his attention to the view behind Jacen, his voice almost reverential, “Apparently, it was Qui-Gon who ‘discovered’ how to anchor ourselves to the Force after our deaths.” He looked back at Jacen, “His jokes are loads better, though.”

Jacen smiled at his younger brother’s comment; even he had to admit, his jokes were pretty lame. For a moment, neither of them said anything, both lost in memories of times long gone.

“It’s a pity I won’t be able to meet him.” Jacen finally admitted, saddened by the realization of the consequences of removing himself from the Force.

Anakin smirked again, “Don’t be too sure. ‘Always in motion the future is.’” Jacen rolled his eyes at his brother’s impersonation of Yoda. The youngest Solo looked at his brother earnestly, “Which brings me to why I’m here: your ‘Plan B’…” he shook his head sadly, “…won’t work.” He held up his hand to forestall Jacen’s reply. “There are too many holes in the back story for the person you’ve invented. Unfortunately for you, both the Palace Guard and the Hapan public have become rather fond of the Queen Mother.” Jacen nodded; he, too, had noticed the public’s growing affection for their Head of State, and her for them. Anakin continued, “While this is good for Hapes as a whole, it also means that both will view her new ‘bodyguard’ skeptically. They will view you as someone who is merely a ‘gold-digger’ preying on their poor Queen’s affections.” Anakin paused briefly, letting this information sink in.

Quietly, he continued, “The press and the Palace Guard will find the inconsistencies in your story and they will coerce you to leave Hapes.” Anakin did not mention how this would be done, but he did not have to. Jacen understood that he would be exposed as a fraud and embarrass the Queen Mother. Once again, Jacen would hurt his best friend. Anakin looked sadly at his brother, “It’ll be some time before you will be able to see Allana again.”

Jacen sunk to the bed, running his fingers through his hair as he hung his head in defeat. The bodyguard character he created did have inconsistencies, but he had hoped to be able to steer the press away from looking too closely. He had hoped that Hapes would see that the Queen Mother was happy for the first time in years and that this would outweigh the holes in his personal history. Sighing, he mentally prepared himself for ‘Plan C’. He would not be able to spend time with Tenel Ka or Allana, but at least he would not hurt them any more. Fate, it seemed, had deemed it impossible for him to be able to spend his life with the two women he loved most.

Anakin stepped closer and leaned against the desk opposite Jacen’s bed. “No, don’t go to ‘Plan C’ just yet. There is another way.” He waited for Jacen to look up, a small sliver of hope in his eyes. “We have shown you a different path.”

Understanding dawned on Jacen’s face as he realized Anakin meant the dream that he had been having. “That was you? I thought it was just a dream.”

Anakin snorted, “You should know better than that by now.” He shrugged again, “We needed to make sure you saw it more than once.”

The flicker of hope died in Jacen’s eyes. Defeated, he said quietly, “I can’t Anakin. I killed an innocent person because of these Force visions. I’m not sure I trust the Force anymore.”

The youngest Solo nodded his head in understanding, “I’m not going to pretend to understand what the Force was trying to show you on that asteroid. None of us seem to be able to reach a consensus about it.” He looked at his older brother sympathetically, “However, this will work.” He leaned forward to emphasize his words, “Trust the Force one more time. Trust me.”

Jacen shook his head and opened his mouth to offer a rebuttal, but stopped. He and his brother didn’t agree on how to use the Force, but this was different; this was about trust. Nodding once in agreement, Jacen again turned toward the window.

Anakin stood and started to explain further. “In an odd twist of fate, there actually was a ‘Jason Naberre’. He was born 10ABY on Commenor, the only child of Kayrin Naberre, a single mother. His childhood was pretty normal, and his mother allowed him to join the Republic Marines at age 17. During the Coruscant campaign, Jason earned a Bronze Star for getting his squad out of a pretty dire situation.”

“After the war, he returned to Commenor to aid in the rebuilding effort. Jason spent three years tracking down old receipts for the Commenor Revenue Service, mostly in an attempt to find missing persons. One day, he got into an argument with one of his coworkers and, in his rage, punched her, knocking out one of her teeth. Jason was fired immediately and became a bit of a recluse, bouncing around for about five years from town to town on Commenor, before moving to Coruscant a couple of years ago to open an Army surplus store. He was last seen leaving a ‘gentlebeings’ club about two weeks ago.”

With a flash of insight, Jacen understood. “He’s the ‘John Doe’ robbery victim we found in Sector 46.” Anakin nodded in reply. Jacen stood and started pacing around the room, unsure as to how to feel.

Anakin could only shake his head at his brother; Jacen always did think better when he was moving around. He reached into one of his cargo pockets and produced a holodisk, holding it out for his brother to take.

Jacen nodded at the disk, “What’s on that?”

“Naberre’s memories.” Anakin paused, “Well, not his memories…it’s more like a third-person account of his life. Basically, this is a verifiable history for you to use as your new persona.”

For a long moment, Jacen stared at the proffered disk. He wanted desperately to believe in Anakin’s plan, but his track history with following Force visions was pretty dreadful.

“This will work, Jace.” Anakin paused and looked at his brother meaningfully, “Choose and act.”

Jacen snapped his gaze up to his brother’s face. Anakin had known about Vergere, of course, but he had died before the Fosh taught Jacen her most important lesson. If Anakin knew the quote…Jacen’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.

“You know Vergere?” he asked quietly, never taking his eyes off his brother’s face.

Anakin nodded and Jacen collapsed onto the bed, his eyes full of despair. In the same quiet voice, “She’s not…” he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Anakin shook his head slightly, “A Sith? No Jacen, she never was.”

Jacen’s head slumped forward as he bit into his left fist. Closing his eyes he took several ragged breaths, clearly trying to keep from crying. A quiet sob escaped his lips and he hid his face in his hands. “Damn. It!” he whispered, looking up at ceiling.

“Dammit, Anakin.” He glanced over at his brother, his lip still quivering, “I believed Lumiya.” His brother could only offer a sad nod in answer.

Jacen leaned forward again, his face in his hands, “I knew it wasn’t true. There were too many inconsistencies in what Lumiya told me.” Jacen took another ragged breath, “Vergere would never be pigeon-holed like that.” Looking to his right at the cityscape out the window, Jacen wiped his eyes, disappointed in himself. He had been so desperate for approval that he ended up following the advice of a bitter, washed up, Sith Lord. “I knew. I knew it couldn’t be true, but I doubted myself…again.” Chuckling bitterly, his eyes red with unshed tears, he looked over at Anakin, “I tried so hard…” he choked back a sob, “I tried so hard to prove to everyone that I could do it. That it was possible to be Sith and not be evil. I wanted to prove that we are not defined by labels.” His face fell, ashamed at what he had done. Finally, he whispered the one admission that he had been hiding from himself for months, “I wanted Vergere to be proud of what I was trying to do.”

Anakin knelt in front of his brother, looking him in the eye. “She is.”

Whatever dam Jacen had built to keep his emotions in check collapsed and his chest heaved with sobs. “Sh...she can’t b..be.” His body convulsed, “I’ve d..done horrible things.”

Anakin leaned forward and gave his big brother a warm hug and felt Jacen collapse against his shoulder. For a long while, he simply let his brother cry onto his shoulder.

Finally, Anakin explained quietly, “You’re the first person ever to say, ‘Enough! I’m not following this path any more.’” He leaned back and Jacen sat more upright, “Plaegius couldn’t do it, Granddad couldn’t do it; even Uncle Luke couldn’t do it. If it hadn’t been for Mom, he would have become ‘Darth Farmboy’.”

Anakin smiled as he heard a small chuckle from his brother. “You’re the only one that had the ability to look at yourself critically and realize you were only deluding yourself. All of us, Granddad, Vergere…me; we are all proud of what you did today.” He reached up and dried his brother’s eyes, “You proved that darkness doesn’t ‘always dominate your destiny’; that there is no ‘point-of-no-return’.”

Jacen only nodded as Anakin moved to sit beside him on the bed, each comfortable with the silence, content to simply be with each other. Finally, after ten minutes or so, Jacen looked over at his brother, “I’ve missed you, Anakin.”

Anakin grinned his infectious grin, “Me too.”

The eldest Solo son snorted as he shook his head in disbelief. “That’s what I get for being sentimental.” Anakin only shrugged. Jacen again glanced at his brother, and nodded towards the disk in Anakin’s left hand, “What’s the price of all of this help?”

The three of them: Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin, had spent way too much time around smugglers as kids to know to be leery of free help. Smirking at the memories, Anakin held up three fingers, “Three things. One: be a good husband and a better Dad.” Jacen nodded in agreement. That was, after all, the whole reason he had working on this plan for the last month. “Two: find a peaceful way out of this current mess.”

Jacen narrowed his eyes in confusion, “How am I supposed to be able to do that? I’m dead now, remember?”

His younger brother only shrugged noncommittally, “You’ll just have to be more creative.” Ignoring Jacen’s exasperated look, he continued, “Three: there are several Jedi out there who are rudderless and just drifting. Help them find their way.”

Jacen’s first thought went to Tahiri and he felt a new wave of guilt swept over him. He continued to think of Tahiri as his sister, but he and Jaina had been doing a lousy job of showing it. Still, Anakin’s phraseology gave him pause. “Several?”

Anakin only shook his head in reply, “You and Tenel Ka will figure it out.” Seeing Jacen’s exasperated look, he held out the disk again, a wry smile on his lips, “There’s a special ‘Force Ghost’ school that teaches us how to be vague.”

Frowning, Jacen reached for the disk, “Apparently.”

As soon as he took the offered disk from his brother, it started to dissolve and a barrage of images, sounds, smells, and feelings bombarded Jacen’s mind as he ‘uploaded’ the majority of Jason Naberre’s life into his mind.

Blinking his eyes rapidly, he blurted, “Whoa.”

It was as Anakin had said: these weren’t Jason’s memories per se, but it was like Jason Naberre had been followed around by a holo-film crew his entire life. After the process finished, Jacen had to shake his head to clear it. “That’ll take some getting used to.”

Anakin nodded before asking, “Who was Jason’s first-grade teacher?”

Perplexed, Jacen looked over at his brother before finally catching on. “Oh. Hang on a second.” He searched the new ‘archive’ to find the right images. “Miss…Stormborn.”

“His first kiss?”

“Uh…Nandi Viscount.”

“Your first date?”

Jacen grinned, “The Hapan Zoo.”

Anakin smiled, “Good, you are able to keep your memories separate from his.”

Jacen only rolled his eyes at the test before turning contemplative. Looking at his brother again, his asked quietly, “Do you know what happened to Kayrin?”

Anakin shook his head as he rose off of the bed. “It doesn’t really work that way.” His tone was sad, and Jacen got the impression that his brother wished to be able to solve that problem, particularly with so many beings still unaccounted for. Shaking his head, “Anyway, we’ve found a couple of people who have memories of her in a camp on Dubrillion, but only from shortly after the planet fell. We can only guess as to what happened to her after that.”

Somehow, Jacen sensed that his ‘visit’ with his brother was at a close. What do you say to someone when you know you will probably never see him again? He glanced over at his brother, hoping that he could articulate how much he missed him. Instead of blubbering on, he simply said quietly, “Thank you, Anakin.”

Anakin smiled, seeming to know what his older brother meant, and pulled him into a warm embrace. For a few long moments, they stayed that way, both not wanting to let go.

Finally, Anakin stepped back and whispered, “Please tell Tahiri that it is time to move on.” Jacen nodded once as he watched his brother make his way to the door.

“Wait.” Jacen called, remembering something from the beginning of their conversation, “You said it ‘mostly’ worked?”

Anakin turned, grinning once more, “You’ll see.” He turned and walked through the door, closing it behind him. “Oh, Jacen?” Anakin called as he stuck his head back around the door, “One more thing.” Suddenly, Anakin’s voice changed to that of a confused little girl, “I love you, daddy.”

With that, the door clicked shut.

|
O
_____(___)_____
​

 

Fascinating A very intriguing way to make Plan B work!

 

Ooh, very mysterious! The turn of events is interesting and I love the way Anakin is portrayed. You've got me glued-- can't wait for the next part

 

Thanks! Jacen's a Solo....they never do things the easy way.

I'll be honest...writing Anakin was easier than I expected it to be.
Thanks for reading!

 

Chapter 8​

Fountain Palace, Chume'dan, Hapes

“I love you, daddy.”

Jacen woke with a start and was looking up at two sets of the loveliest grey eyes. As he carefully sat up, his daughter launched herself at him and embraced him in the tightest hug possible for a five-year-old. “Daddy!”

Wincing with considerable pain, Jacen stroked his daughter’s hair as he let her feelings of relief that he was okay wash over him like a gentle rain. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he should not be able to feel her relief; he should not be able to feel the Force at all. As he frowned in confusion, Allana’s feelings faded away and he shook his head; it must have been a figment of his imagination. Tenel Ka had told him once that she still felt things in her non-existent left hand, so he supposed that he would always feel ‘phantom’ Force impressions.

Tenel Ka saw his frown and assumed it to be in reaction to Allana’s reaction to his waking up. Smirking slightly, she gave him a ‘who did we think we were kidding’ shrug. “You did not tell me how big a toll this was going to take on you.”

Jacen rolled his eyes and answered drily, “How was I supposed to know?” Gently, he removed Allana’s arms from around his chest and turned her around, letting her remain on his lap. He truly appreciated the sentiment, but his ribs really hurt; from what he could tell, it appeared that there were at least four of them that were cracked or broken. As Allana scooted back a bit so that she could put her head on his shoulder, he looked back at Tenel Ka. “How long was I out?”

The Queen Mother shook her head as she glanced at the chrono behind him, “Not very long. Two, three minutes maybe.”

He nodded absently as he thought about his conversation with Anakin; he was pretty sure that it lasted longer than just a couple of minutes. “Hmm…it felt longer.”

Now it was Tenel Ka’s turn to frown. Why would he think that? She knew Jacen well enough to know when he was leaving something out.

Before she could ask him about it, Allana blurted, “Mommy says that you can start living with us now.”

Jacen smiled and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “Would you like that?” Allana nodded vigorously and he saw Tenel Ka try to suppress a smile. “Okay then, I will.”

Grimacing, he looked back at Tenel Ka, “Unfortunately, my Plan B…”

“…Will not work.” she finished.

Jacen sighed dejectedly, “You knew?”

Nodding sadly, “I suspected.” Pausing slightly, she daintily wiped a tear from her right eye, “I figured that ‘Plan B’ would be the best deal I could get. I would rather have you here for a few months versus not at all.”

Jacen closed his eyes and nodded. Tenel Ka’s pragmatism was one of the things he loved most about her, and it is what made her such a great Queen. She always focused on what could be done, not what she wished could be done. Opening his eyes, he started, “We’ll have to try…”

“NO!” Her voice sounded like a thunderclap and her grey eyes flared with anger. Startled, Allana turned her head to look at her mother. She had never heard her mother raise her voice like that, not even the time Tenel Ka caught her playing with a ratty, old, eggshell necklace. Clearly embarrassed at her outburst, Tenel Ka quieted before continuing, “No. We are not doing ‘Plan C’. I know that you hold her in high esteem, and I am glad that she is still your friend, but you are NOT going there without a chaperone.” Her eyes hardened once again, “If you want to see Danni Quee again, you will have to invite her here.” Where I can keep an eye on her. She left that part unsaid, but Jacen knew what she was getting at.

Jacen fought in vain to keep from smiling. Truth be told, he found her jealousy a bit endearing and was oddly flattered by the sentiment. Finally, he gave her a knowing smile, “That’s not what I was meant.” He watched as his Queen narrowed her eyes warily. “While I was…‘out’, I had a talk with Anakin.” Seeing Tenel Ka’s face scrunch in confusion, he continued quietly, “He showed me a way to make this work.”

When he had finished describing his visit with Anakin, and his dream from earlier, Tenel Ka gave him a perplexed look, “While I think it is great that you got to talk to your brother, how does you getting beat up by a street gang help us?”

He opened his mouth to reply and promptly closed it. How does this help? Anakin left out the most important part: how to get from that gutter to living with Tenel Ka here in the Palace. What would Anakin do? Improvise. Sadly, not Jacen’s strongest suit. He heard Tenel Ka’s dejected sigh and was about to concede that he had absolutely no idea where to go from here when he spied the treadmill in the corner of the room.

With a flash of insight, he looked back at his best friend. “Do you still go jogging around the city?”

Frowning, trying to decipher why he would ask about her exercise habits, she answered. “Of course.”

A small smile crossed Jacen’s face as he nodded once in satisfaction, “Good. In a few minutes you’ll decide to go on a morning run outside the Palace and your route will just happen to take you past the Commerce Guild Investment Bank…”

It was now Tenel Ka’s turn to nod as she caught on to the plan, “…where I will happen upon a street fight and a badly injured man.”

Gesturing toward her with his left hand, “Exactly.” His eyes sparkled mischievously as he continued, “Naturally, being the kind of monarch you are, you’ll want to visit this man in the hospital…”

“Naturally.” Tenel Ka could not keep the smile off of her face, as she continued to talk through their plan. “Being the Queen that I am, I will want to invite him to dinner to offer an official apology…”

“Of course. When I arrive at the Palace, I will meet your adorable daughter…” Jacen replied, winking at Allana.

“…Over appetizers, we’ll start to swap stories…”

“…We’ll discover our shared love for classical music.” Jacen caught her unbelieving look and gave her an ‘I’m-making-this-up-as-we-go-along’ shrug. “I’ll ask you to accompany me to the symphony….”

“…I will reciprocate by inviting you to a benefit gala…”

“…Next thing you know, we’re an item.” Jacen stopped there and for a long moment the two of them simply gave each other a knowing smile of restrained delight at their over-the-top plan.

Allana had been observing this whole exchange, her head moving back and forth like she was watching a sphairistikè match. She had never seen her parents act so…flirty towards one another and was not sure what to make of it. Scowling at their adolescent behavior, she looked at the two of them, “You guys are creepy.”

Tenel Ka’s smile faded as Jacen chuckled at Allana’s comment and ruffled her hair. Her tone became almost fearful, “You do not think this is too contrived?”

Jacen shook his head, “That’s the thing: this is so unbelievable that it has to be true. No one volunteers to have his hand whacked off.” Jacen heard her small snort of laughter as he continued, “The Queen Mother never stumbles upon a mugging. Trust me: the more far-fetched a story is, the more likely it is to be true.”

Jacen craned his neck to check the chrono on the wall behind him: 05:35. He had twenty-odd minutes to make it to the bank and change the course of history. Grimacing in obvious pain, he gently placed Allana on the floor and struggled to his feet. Once upright, he staggered a bit and felt Tenel Ka’s hand on his left arm to steady him.

Concern filled her voice as she asked, “Are you sure you can do this?”

Fixing his friend a determined gaze, “This is our best chance.” He smiled grimly, “Pain is only temporary.” The Queen Mother could only nod as she watched him bend down to pick up his arm off of the floor. Allana gave him a disgusted look as he picked up the appendage like a stick. As he stood back up, he commented drily, “I should probably take this.”

Tenel Ka walked over to the far wall, picked up his severed hand, and gingerly pried his lightsaber out of its grip, hooking it into her pants next to hers. As she returned, she held his severed hand out to him. “This as well.” Jacen nodded as he readjusted his grip and could hold both of his former appendages like only so much firewood. Shaking his head at the macabre view he must present, he turned to leave.

“Wait!” Tenel Ka called after him, rushing over to a cabinet and returning with a telescoping metal baton, “I will not have you go out without a weapon.” Leaning forward slightly, she gave him a passionate kiss as she placed the baton in his pants pocket. “Good luck.” she whispered, “I will see you soon.”

Smirking his ‘Jacen’ smirk, he returned her kiss with one of his own. “You’d better.” He deadpanned as he turned and left.

Allana watched her mother in fascination as Tenel Ka’s face scrunched a bit in concentration, clearly reaching out with the Force. Mommy was really strong, what was making it so hard? Deciding that she could help, Allana closed her eyes and reached out, finding Daddy almost immediately. If she could find Daddy so quickly, why couldn’t Mommy? She pushed the thought aside and looked for Mommy. Even with her rudimentary Force skills, Allana could sense the growing worry and frustration emanating from her mother about not being able to track Daddy very well. Allana, not sure if she could maintain a link with both Mommy and Daddy, did the next best thing…grabbed Mommy’s hand, anchoring herself to her Mother and letting her link with Daddy flow through her. As soon as she did, she could feel Mommy’s relief as she squeezed her hand warmly.

As Jacen exited the Palace through an old maintenance tunnel, Tenel Ka was busy disabling the security systems while he transited through each section of the tunnels, making sure to re-engage them after he had exited the area. Unfortunately, the further away he got, the smaller his already tiny presence became and the tougher it was to keep up with his movements. She could feel a cold sweat start to drip between her shoulder blades as she poured more energy into the Force, realizing that if she lost him, she would not be able to disable the remaining systems at the correct time, putting their whole plan in jeopardy. Just when she was really starting to worry, she felt her daughter’s small hand grab hers and suddenly she felt Jacen’s presence bloom into existence again, and she squeezed Allana’s hand in thanks. To be fair, Jacen’s presence was still faint; it felt like she was seeing Jacen through a camera lens smudged with petroleum jelly, but it was much better than what she could see on her own. Somewhere in her sub-conscious, she realized that this implied something important, but she did not have time to worry about it at the moment; Jacen was about to leave the Palace, and she needed to blank the six cameras on that side of the grounds. Disabling all six took much more concentration than she cared to admit, and when she felt him dash down block and hide in some shrubbery she let out a deep breath of relief. She had done all she could, now he was on his own for a while. Good luck, love. It was odd in a way, she had never used such a term of affection before; only upon threat of losing him forever did she finally find the courage to admit to herself how much he meant to her.

Jacen left the Palace via the same route he used to get into it, relying on Tenel Ka’s abilities to track him and blank out the surveillance cameras as he passed. Even though she could not sense him through the bond they used to share, he knew that she would still be able to track him. Reaching the end of tunnel, he cautiously cracked the well-hidden door and slowly stuck his head out to take a look. There were no armed guards waiting, and he did not hear the telltale sounds of approaching sirens, so he had to assume that Tenel Ka managed to temporarily disable the security measures. Quickly, before he over-extended his friend’s abilities, he rushed across the street and hurried down half a block, trying to stay in the shadows, before hiding behind some thick shrubs. The former GAG Colonel smiled slightly as he imagined Tenel Ka’s relief that he was safely out of the palace. A slight frown crossed his face as he heard a faint Good luck, love sound in his head. Jacen shook his head as he realized that he was definitely imagining things; Tenel Ka would never use such a term of endearment.

Crouching in the shadows, he took several moments to get his bearings. Jacen did not want to admit in front of his daughter, but the events of the last twenty minutes had left him pretty drained and disoriented. Only the fear of failing two lovely ladies, combined with his inherent Solo stubbornness, was keeping him upright. After several confused moments, he finally regained his sense of direction and started off in the direction of the Commerce Guild Investment Bank, trying to remain in the shadows as much as possible.

As Jacen limped along, he reflected on his conversation with his brother and why he was so easily duped by Lumiya. Maybe the other Jedi were right: maybe he was arrogant. He had been keeping no one’s council but his own for the better part of a decade, and had come to believe that he was the only one who could solve the galaxy’s problems. He was not sure of when or how it happened, but some time ago Jacen Solo had crossed the line between self-confidence and arrogance. It was this arrogance that allowed Lumiya hook him with her plan, and it had almost cost him everything.

Wallowing in self-recrimination and guilt, Jacen lost himself in his thoughts and let his mind forget how much it hurt to move. Suddenly, he found himself standing in front of the Commerce Guild Investment Bank unable to recall actually walking (okay, limping) there. As he glanced up at the sign hoping to check the time with what he remembered from his vision, he thought he heard something and turned his attention again down the street only to find nothing moving. Shaking his head he looked back at the clock: 12°C. A frown crossed his face until it flashed and displayed the current time: 5:58. Jacen breathed a long sigh of relief as the sign above the bank changed to display the temperature again. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Jacen looked around, trying to figure out what to do for the next six minutes. Spying a bench on the far corner, he started limping in that direction when he felt a bone-jarring jolt and his world went black.

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Oh my! I was so chuffed with the warm comfy feels and had such a strong sense of relief that they were working out the details of the plan and that Allana was a conduit for Tenel Ka sensing Jacen When ... What was that! Someone is privy even to the very very secret happenings - because they would have no reason to pull off such an attack.

 

Seems Anakin really still watches over his family as he is always there to lend a hand to his brother.
Intresting chapters, I like the fact, that unlike in the EU Han and Leia actually feel something when Jacen, seemingly, dies.

 

So great!! I'm loving seeing more connection between Jacen and Tenel Ka, especially when there wasn't much in the books. Such suspense at the end!!