The Unknown Regions. A stretch of uncharted space from the Tingel Arm to as far as the Ssi-Ruuk Cluster near Bakura.
Certainly stuck in the middle of nowhere, a claw shaped fighter hung dead in space, its pilot hitting the systems in front of him out of sheer frustration for his bad luck. Colonel Jagged Fel, son of the infamous General Baron Soontir Fel, knew his fighter was lost, at least for the moment. Not only was that bad enough, he was out here alone, no back-up to tow him to the safety of a command ship, no fellow pilots to share his predicament. His young face frowned at the readout the computer gave him. He would be better off counting the parts that were still good in his fighter instead of going through the ongoing list of system failures.
He closed his eyes for a moment.

Think! He thought to himself. Think for a moment. You're not out of options yet!

The comm unit still worked, but at this range he couldn't even hail a particle of sunshine. He scrolled down the list. Nothing. He should be glad the computer still worked. Sighing he flicked the screen off with a black-gloved finger and slumped in his seat. The oxygen indicator showed the time left before it would run out, suffocating him. Long before that he would be comatose, he knew, from asphyxiation.

Not a welcome thought.

If he was lucky, a patrol-ship would come by, but that was counting on extreme luck. In his young life, he had learned not to rely on luck. Skill and stamina, that was what ruled his world, not luck. Granted, it sometimes seemed the odds were in his favor, much like luck, but he thought of himself as someone who had the skill to match the odds.

Not that he cared about odds. His mother was a Corellian from birth, and Corellians didn't care for odds. Some of it must have rubbed off on him, he thought with a thin-lipped smile. Jaina Solo would think it arrogant. The young Jedi had impressed him with her flying skill during the battle at Ithor. Some months ago, his squadron had rescued hers from instant death. He had patronized her during that battle, claiming to be simply the best combat pilot in the galaxy. Over the comm he had heard her reply, between gritted teeth. Afterward, he had met her on a formal meeting, where he had avoided politicians in favor of meeting military personnel and her, causing a minor problem in the diplomatic relations. Some time later he had met her privately, or rather stumbled upon her, while she watched the unloading of the casket in which the Camaasi skeleton of Elegos A'Kla had been found, covered in gold. Again he had patronized her, and had insulted her with some of his arrogant "wisdom". Now that he thought back, his cheeks flushed deep again.

And now he was here, one of "simply the best combat pilots in the galaxy", stuck because his hyperdrive had taken leave on him, not to mention the rest of his ship. There was not a whole lot he could do. In fact, glancing at the readout, he couldn't do anything but wait. His only hope was that the rest of his squadron had made it home. They had been roughly three quarters of the way there when he had suddenly been yanked out of hyperspace, sparks flying from the console in front of him, smoke rapidly filling the cockpit. When it had cleared, his instrument panels were dark, and a restart didn't have the desired effect.

He pulled the latch, revealing a compartment that contained all the delicate wiring for the consoles and screens. He cursed to himself when he saw a melted assortment that had once been a thick band of wiring, completely fused together. That was a goner no matter what he could come up with. Then, all of a sudden, he heard his comm unit crackle, and a voice boomed through the cockpit. He quickly dialed it down, to no effect.

"---onel Fel, come in. This is Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera hailing Colonel Fel."

He pushed the transmit button, but the green light, indicating that he could speak, didn't come up. He looked around and saw the giant ship come up on his starboard side, a little below him.

"Colonel Fel, we assume that your communications are down. Standby for a tractor beam, we will bring you aboard."

While he waited, Jag thought to himself that it was an awful coincidence that the Star Destroyer had arrived when it did and knew who was piloting the fighter. His squadron couldn't have made it that quickly. A trap? All he could do was wait and see what happened.

The fighter lurched when the tractor beam found its quarry, and slowly the fighter disappeared in the main hanger. They moved the fighter to the side of the cavernous bay and softly set it down in an empty spot between two flights of Tie-Interceptors. He popped the canopy and stood. An Imperial lieutenant and four stormtroopers approached the fighter, waiting beside it until he hopped down in front of them. He stiffened his back and saluted smartly.

"Colonel Fel, Squadron Leader of the Chiss House Phalanx Spike Squadron."

The lieutenant returned the salute. "Lieutenant Kokol. Welcome aboard, Sir. If you would follow me?"

Jag was accompanied by two stormtroopers on each side, and moments later they entered one of the turbolifts on the far side of the bay. "Bridge", the lieutenant said curtly. The doors closed and sped them on their way.

They escorted him onto the bridge where a lone figure dressed in a general's uniform stood before one of the big viewports, looking out over the massive bulk of the Destroyer. When they stopped right behind him, he turned around. Intelligent eyes regarded Jag, and a courteous smile blossomed on the man's lips.

"Colonel Fel. What an unexpected pleasure."

Jag saluted. "General Pellaeon, Sir!"

Pellaeon returned it with a nod and dismissed the lieutenant and stormtroopers. Then he turned back to the viewport.

"You have encountered an enhanced Empion mine, Colonel. One of the projects of Zsinj. I had it enhanced for use in the battle with the Yuuzhan Vong. You happened to fly through a test area. It should not have worked on your fighter. Tell me what happened."

Jag thought for a moment. So that's what it had been. Outfitted with an ion projector, rigged to a detonation charge, gravitational and electromagnetic pulse generators, it could bring fighters prematurely out of hyperspace. As soon as the fighter would emerge, a communications module would send a signal to whomever had planted the mine and he could then bring his forces to bare on the target. A clever piece of technology, elegant and quite suitable for rendering a target defenseless. Rumor had it that Rogue Squadron had encountered them first, in the campaign against Zsinj.

He gave his report to the General, who then ran his fingers over his mustache in thought.

"I see. We must find another way to put them to use, then. My apologies for the damage on your fighter. Repairs are already underway, even as we speak."

"They won't be able to gain access to the fighter, Sir. I can imagine the temptation to have your technicians work on an 'intact' fighter of this make, but I cannot allow it. My father made that absolutely clear, the last time that we were on loan to you. I will have to make repairs myself. If I could make use of your tools and equipment, that would be enough."

Pellaeon shrugged. "As you wish. I will send word down to make sure you are not hindered in any way and to have the tools made available to you. Until we meet again, Colonel."

Jag saluted again, turned, and walked down the command walkway to the huge doors. The lieutenant and stormtroopers waited just outside the bridge and accompanied him back down to the hangar where his fighter was parked. A cart loaded with tools and equipment was already there, and Jag immediately began repairs. It took him the better part of the day to finish it. Food had been brought to him, which he ate in the confines of the cockpit. A few technicians tried to get a better look at the fighter but a warning glance from Jag's green eyes in their direction had been enough to get them moving.

He was just finishing up when he saw Admiral Pellaeon enter the bay and walk in his direction. Jag straightened and waited for him. Then he saluted. Pellaeon nodded and spoke, while he let his eyes run over the smooth lines of the claw shaped fighter.

"We have just received word that the Yuuzhan Vong will cease their attack."

Jag blinked, surprise showing all over his young face. "They will? Why?"

"Why? We should just be glad that they would. However, I do see your point. Why stop when they are on a winning streak? There is a catch, however."

"Somehow I'm not surprised. That catch being…?"

"They want the entire Jedi Order. Either killed or brought to them. They especially want one of the Solo children, Jacen."

Shock and anger ruled Jag's face. "And the New Republic is giving serious thought to this?"

"I do not know, but you should hurry. The Chimaera will leave in one standard hour for Bastion."

"I have just finished my repairs. I will leave as soon as I get clearance."

"You have it. And son? Give my regards to your father."

Pellaeon turned and walked away before Jag could reply or offer a salute. He frowned to the disappearing back of the Admiral, then shook his head and started to make preparations. He closed the latch containing the new wiring he had installed and started the preflight procedure. After contacting the Star Destroyer's Command, he immediately obtained permission to leave, just as the General had promised. Engaging the repulsors, he slowly drifted to the huge bay doors where a magnetic containment field kept oxygen in and the vacuum of space out. He fired his engines, the hum of the ion engines making him smile. With a tight turn he rounded the bow of the huge ship and wiggled his fighter in a salute. Then he shot past the Command tower and powered up the navicomputer. Moments later, stars elongated into columns of light as his fighter leaped into hyperspace.

--==CHAPTER 2 - "Home and Away"==--

Jaina Solo entered the apartment the family owned on Coruscant. In the main living area she threw her backpack on the floor and slumped down in one of the seats. The view from the huge windows was stunning. Originally, Orowood Tower had been build as an enclave for Alderaanian refugees when that world had been destroyed, all those years ago. Pictures of the world hung on the wall above her. She might have liked it there, she thought, as she looked out to the planetwide city.

But anything is better that this monstrosity of a city.

She longed to take a bath and then sleep for hours. Ever since she had come back from Duro, she hadn't gone from her mother's side. Almost mortally wounded by the Yuuzhan Vong, her mother now received bacta treatment in a medical facility not far from the Orowood Tower. She had tried to convince her father to come with her but he wouldn't leave his wife's side. Finally, the medical staff had prepared a room for him, right next to Leia's.

Jacen and Anakin were both on their way to Yavin, to protect the students. Ever since the offer of the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah, to stop their advancement in return for the lives of all the Jedi, people were attacking Jedi, trying to capture or kill them. Jaina knew that she should get off-planet as soon as possible. Her face was too widely known and it was only a matter of time before someone would recognize and try to capture her. She had already made arrangements to depart for Yavin in the morning. She had taken a leave of absence for an unknown period of time from her unit, Rogue Squadron. The unit's commander, Gavin Darklighter, had given it immediately. He knew her life was in danger, even more so than being on the squadron ever would be.

She sighed deeply and stood. She picked up the backpack and walked up the stairs to the second level where the bedrooms were located. She entered her own room and threw it on the bed. Then she undressed and went into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Half an hour later she emerged, refreshed for the moment.
She laid down on the bed after putting the backpack and her clothes on one of the chairs that occupied the room. She flicked the vidscreen on with a remote and pulled some pillows behind her back. She watched the latest developments on the screen for some time and fell in a deep dreamless sleep during one of the gossip programs that speculated on her mother's well being.

The following morning she woke from the cold. She was still lying on top of the covers, the pillows had spread all over the bed. Groggily she sat up and made her way to the refresher station in a corner of the room. She looked at her image in the mirror and stuck her tongue out at the sight.
Her hair was slowly growing back to a length acceptable for public appearance. It had been cut off on Duro to avoid infections that were spreading throughout the refugee population. Even her mother's long and beautiful hair had been cut.
She washed herself thoroughly and dressed into civilian clothes. It felt weird at first, not wearing military clothing or coveralls and she fidgeted a little at the long skirt that whirled around her legs. When she viewed the final result in the mirror she made a face. She looked her age now. All she now needed was some makeup. If she was going to travel the streets as a young woman, she better put some on. She hated it. The sticky lipstick, the eye-dye…she felt like a doll for a three year old instead of a young woman, dressed for another day at work. The end result, while pretty, was something that was absolutely not her. All the better.
She stuffed her coveralls, lightsaber and toolbelt in the backpack and closed the door behind her. In the living area she took one last look around and then left the apartment.

She made it in good time. She approached the gate behind which the barracks stood where her squadron would be stationed when on-planet. Today it seemed deserted, aside from the guard that stood at the gatehouse. She approached him and showed him her pass-card. He eyed it and raised his weapon.

"I'm sorry, m'am. I cannot let you enter these premises. Your pass-card belongs to someone else. You will come with me, now."
Jaina grinned to herself. She had done too good a job on her appearance. She knew this guard quite well. If he couldn't see that it was her, no one could. She used the Force to cloud his mind.

"My pass-card is fine. I may enter", she said, willing the words into his mind. She felt a little guilt forming in the back of her mind. Uncle Luke wouldn't approve her doing this.

"Your pass-card is fine. You may enter", the guard repeated and handed the card back to her.
She quickly passed the gate and made her way to the barracks. Only then did she release her grip on his mind. The guard would think himself hallucinating, seeing things that simply weren't there.
Inside she changed her clothes into the coveralls and fastened the toolbelt around her waist. At the refresher station she cleaned her face, scrubbing away all the makeup. Finally she looked at her image in the mirror. Much better.
She stuffed the dress back into the backpack and made her way to the hangar, where her fighter had been parked on the ferrocrete floor. Gavin had made sure that the fighter had been prepped and ready to go on a moments notice. Her R2 unit, Sparky, was already in his socket and greeted her with a warble.

"Hey Sparky. Ready to go?"

Another warble followed by a hoot. She had learned to interpret it as an acknowledgement. She climbed the ladder on the side and used the Force to get it at a safe distance from the fighter. She then asked the control tower clearance for take-off and waited until confirmation and slot-numbers came in. Then she engaged the repulsorlifts and drifted out of the hangar. As soon as the nose of the sleek fighter cleared the doors she pulled the yoke back and throttled up to cruising speed. She had to wait for nearly 15 minutes before she could pass through the shield that protected the world. She made her way to the jump point where she threw the lever. The fighter accelerated to impossible speeds needed for the jump into hyperspace and with a quite bang she left the system.

--==CHAPTER 3 - "Father and Son"==--

Jag entered the system without encountering any more problems. He approached the planet that he had called home for as long as he lived. His comm unit crackled and a sophisticated voice sounded in his ears.

"Approaching fighter. We have you on our scanners. Destination?"
He gave them the proper codes and corrected his approached when asked.

"Continue along this flightpath and follow the beacons in. We have reserved docking platform three, slot six for you. Control out."
He continued the approach and drove into the atmosphere of the lush planet. He broke through the clouds and continued the straight flightpath that brought him to an area just outside the city on his left.
He noticed that the landing site was right next to the emergency equipment hangar. He noticed several figures near the building, watching his approach. He came to a stop above the designated spot and hovered. Slowly he let the fighters descend and touched down without so much as a bump. Immediately the people approached the fighter and waited for him to climb out. 4 blue-skinned Chiss stood at attention as he hopped down. He straightened his body and returned it. Then one of them stepped out of the line and took 1 step before the others. Jag approached him.

"Sir. Your father would like to see you at once. Please follow."
The alien turned sharply, as did the rest. Jag adjusted his step to theirs and they quickly took him to the Command Center, situated to the side of the Control Tower. They entered the building. Even after all these years, Jag marveled at the structure. In the middle was a huge Operations-Center which could be observed unobstructed from every angle due to the floor-to-ceiling glass. In a circle around it were the offices, spaced every 15 meters. The whole building had been constructed like an arena and was dimly lit. He was taken to one of the offices where they waited in front of the double doors. A moment later the doors parted and he stepped through, leaving his companions behind him. His father was seated in a command chair behind a huge desk, which seemed oddly out of place. Jag stepped right up to the desk and saluted. His father stood and returned it. Then he motioned to a chair in front of the desk.

"Sit."
Jag sat down and kept his eyes on his fathers face. He studied it for a moment. It was expressionless, save for the black patch over his right eye. It seemed that his hair and goatee had grayed a little more during his absence. He waited until spoken to, which wasn't a long wait.

"You caused quite a stir when your squadron showed up without its leader. Report."
Jag should have guessed. No familiarity, no emotion. Not even an inquiry about his well-being. He gave his report in the same cold style that his father had used towards him.

"In all fairness to Admiral Pellaeon, he did lend me tools and equipment to go on my way and bring this news to you. He asked me to give his regards to you", he finished. That last actually brought a slight smile to his fathers face.

"I bet that good old Gilad was just waiting to get his hands on one of our fighters. I trust that no one has been able get inside?"

"None."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Yes, Sir, there is. Just before I left, Admiral Pellaeon personally came down to bring me the most disturbing news. It appears that the Yuuzhan Vong are offering a truce on the condition that each and every Jedi is brought to them. Alive or otherwise."
Surprise crept onto his fathers face after hearing that news.

I can still surprise you if I must, father.

"Have they, now. How interesting. And how did the New Republic respond to this….'truce'?"

"Unknown. Permission to speak freely, Sir?"
His father nodded, absentmindedly stroking his goatee.
"Sir…father, we already know that the Empire is next to none existing. Only a couple of systems, maybe a thousand worlds. We gain nothing by befriending them. They would just take away the research and weaponry we have gathered. But if we could obtain the goodwill of the New Republic, that would open up a whole new era for us. One of wealth and prosperity, not to mention their military might. We have several enemies here in the Unknown Regions, against whom we could use a good ally. We also have the Empire to consider as a serious threat. They are close to our borders and already Admiral Pellaeon is using several systems as a test-bed for his weapons. Uninhabited systems so far, but it is only a matter of time before they discover our homeworld. When they show up with a force and we are here, side by side with New Republic warships, they would have to think twice for attacking us and destroying our way of life."
Jag knew that he was walking dangerous grounds, proposing peace with the New Republic. Close to treason, even.
His father regarded him for a moment. Then he stood and walked to a holographic map of the galaxy with sectors of the New Republic, the Empire and other known regions colored in shades of blue, red, yellow and green. It occupied most of the wall behind Jag. He looked at it for a moment, and then turned around.

"And how do you suppose we could obtain their goodwill? By offering a few squadrons? Maybe a few warships? Don't be absurd! They would appreciate it, surely, but not enough to offer anything of value like a treaty that would open up trade and ease our lives. They certainly wouldn't give us protection when we need it."

"Perhaps they will. If we would offer the Jedi sanctuary, a place to hide for the Yuuzhan Vong. We have enough habitable worlds to offer. That would certainly befriend us with the Jedi, if they accept. Also, Councilor Organa Solo is a Jedi and has enough political power left to get higher up in the chain of command. Three of her children are Jedi and her brother founded a Jedi Academy on the planet Yavin. If we would offer them sanctuary, it would gain us considerable leverage to the New Republic Ruling Council. Many of her closest personal friends have been instrumental in the downfall of the Empire. Mara Jade is her sister-in-law, for example."

"Hmmm…is she now? How interesting. I can see the reasoning behind all this. Save one of the most powerful families in the galaxy and we gain their support to submit our case to the Senate. Very clever."

"No father. We will submit our case to the Senate ourselves. Use the Jedi as leverage, yes. Use them as bait, no. We're not starting another war, we are trying to end one. In the end, everybody gains, no one loses."
His father turned to him and looked at him as if he had said something utterly impossible.

"Has it been that long, Father? Has it been that long that you have forgotten what it was like to travel the galaxy freely? How long has it been since you have seen any family? And mother, how long has it been for her? She hasn't seen her brother in ages. He is married now, did you know that? He's out of service and settled down. He has children, one named after Mother. She cried when I told her that."
For the first time in his life, Jag saw his father change into an ordinary man. His shoulders sagged a little and he averted his eyes from his gaze. It took a long time before he finally spoke. When he did, Jag had to strain his ears to hear him.
"I shall bring this information and your suggestions before the Chiss High Command. They will decide."
He then walked over to the desk and sat down. He spun the chairs' back towards the room and looked out the window. Jag took a step towards the desk and wanted to say something but halted. He shut his mouth and turned towards the door. When the doors parted, his father cleared his throat and he stopped in mid-stride.

"Go to the house. Your mother is worried about you."
Jag kept silent, waiting for more. When none came he walked out.

--==CHAPTER 4 - "Decisions"==--

It had been four days since that conversation when he received orders to come before the Chiss council. During that time he hadn't heard from his father, had not even seen him. He knew that his mother was worried about their relationship, which had deteriorated considerably since his brothers' death. Things had gone from bad to worse since. Everything he did was measured up to the standards his brother had unknowingly set for him and he failed continuously. Even when he had won command of the squadron, his father had not been present during the ceremony. While he walked to the Command Center, he wondered what the outcome would be. When he entered the building, the light was bright instead of the usual dim setting. In the Operations Center a row of twelve seats had been set up, each now occupied by a member of the Chiss High Command.
His father stood before them. When Jag had entered the building, a Chiss behind his father had turned and now came towards him.

"Follow."
The alien escorted him inside the Operations Center and waited until his father acknowledged them. When he finally did, the Chiss stepped back and motioned Jag to go forward and stand beside his father.

"Jagged Fel. You have been brought before us at the request of the Honored General Baron Soontir Fel, your father. He has given us the outline of an idea that originated from you. We, and your father, agree with your proposal. We would like additional information. Are you willing to tell us what we want to know?"
He recognized the elderly alien as the Chiss military leader. He wore an Admiral's uniform.

"I will, to the best of my knowledge in the matter."
The better part of the following two hours were filled with questions, fired rapidly towards him. He answered them truthfully and as best he could. When the barrage of questions finally ceased they were both dismissed and had to wait outside. They both went to his father's office and waited.

"This will take some time. Normally, we would have to wait at least a day. It won't take quite as long now, but one never knows", his father said.
Jag cleared his throat.

"Father..I.., I want to apologize for what I said. It was not my place to lecture you."
The elder Fel shook his head.

"No, it wasn't. But you did and it takes a brave man to do that. And you spoke truth. I cannot ignore that. Son, I am a proud man, you know that. I have been at war for as long as I can remember. I have dragged our family all over the galaxy and it has to stop somewhere. It might as well be here. The Chiss are a proud people but they are not waiting for another war. When I brought this information before them they practically jumped at the chance. I have never seen them excited about anything and they don't express it very well. But I could tell that they were. We shall see what happens."
They didn't have to wait long. 10 Minutes had past when the console on the desk beeped twice, signaling them to return to the Operations Center. They both stood in front of the twelve, silently waiting to be addressed.

"Jagged Fel. We have reached our decision unanimously. You will travel to the Yavin system and put your proposal before Jedi Master Skywalker, in our name. To ensure this mission's success, two transports will be assigned to your command. They will be stripped of weaponry to show them that we have no evil intend or any wish to harm them. Therefore, you will travel onboard one of the transports, not your fighter. We do not want to show force, we want to show hospitality. Do you accept this mission?"
Jag looked at his father, who nodded.

"I accept, Admiral. One question, if I may?", he said.
The alien nodded.

"Why such a small group? Two transports will not be able to hold all the students."

"We have anticipated that, yes. The explanation is quite simple. Master Skywalker will never put all of the students in one vulnerable place. Not if he has any sense. He will send the youngest and a few experienced Jedi to protect them. By sending their youngest they ensure continuation of the Order, even if the rest of them is destroyed. Also, sending a small group to scout for a suitable world within our borders, ensures him that when such a world is found, it has been done by his own trusted people without our interference."
Jag nodded. He didn't like the idea of traveling without any firepower whatsoever but he did understand the reasons for it. All of the twelve members stood and left the room, single file. When the last of them disappeared through the door, his father turned and put a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Son, our future depends on this mission. You must succeed. Failure is not an option. Bring them here."

"I won't fail you", Jag said solemnly. His father nodded once. Then he turned and left the room, leaving him alone.

--==CHAPTER 5 - "The Meeting"==--

When, 3 days later, the transports arrived in the Yavin system, there immediately seemed to be some confusion on the bridge. The navigation officer, Corfi as Jag knew him, stared intently at the chart in front of him. Jag walked up to the chart-console and caught his eye.

"What is it?"
The young Chiss stared from the chart to the main viewport and back again. Then he looked up and shook his head in confusion, pointing out the viewport.

"Sir…there should be 3 habitable planets in the system."

"Yes?"

"There are only two."
He pointed out the viewport to a few specs of bright light.

"Yavin 8, Yavin 5. Yavin 4 should be right ahead of us."

"Don't be foolish. It's probably behind the giant."

"No sir. With al due respect…It is not."
Jag frowned and took another look at the chart. Right away he could see that the young man was right. The planet should be dead ahead from their current position. A cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomage.

"All stop. Scan for Yuuzhan Vong vessels", he croaked, swallowing away the bile that suddenly found it's way past his larynx. A few painstalking seconds past.

"No sign of them, Sir."
Then what happened? The moon seemed to have just….dissapeared. To his knowledge, other than the Yuuzhan Vong, there was no power left in the galaxy that could destroy a planet. And even the Vong couldn't do it without a trace. There should be asteroids and meteors all over the place.

"Continue our course. Scan for lifesigns, debris. Anything", he said with a low voice. If there was anything to be found, he planned on finding it. Slowly the transports approached the site where the planet was supposed to be. Then, all of a sudden, several alarms started blaring throughout the bridge.

"All stop!", he yelled. With a lurch the ship decellerated. One of the officers behind him slammed hard into the bulkhead and silently slid to the deck. He didn't even look back because the view in front of him completely stunned him. There, right before them, the lush green moon had appeared out of nowhere. His jaw dropped as he blinked his eyes unbelievably. He turned around and gestured wildly to Corfi. The young man just shook his head and held up his hands in a helpless manner.

"I'm sorry, Sir. It…I…"

"Never mind. Hail them."

*********************************

Jaina's fighter jumped in the system, well on schedule. She had even made it a bit quicker than usual. Yavin slowly rotated in her forward screen and, right behind the huge gas-giant, the moon Yavin IV with the Jedi Academy lay waiting. At least, she knew it to be there. To people without sensitivity to the Force, there was nothing. She let the Force guide her and then, suddenly, she dove through whisps of clouds. Suddenly her sensors teemed with life as it registered all sorts of lifeforms. Far ahead, the Great Temple rose high above the jungle. She pointed the nose of the fighter towards the huge structure and engaged her repulsors.
When the clearing in front of the Temple came into view she held back a startled gasp. Two transports berthed on the landingzone. Her targeting-computer, which couldn't identify the design, immediately started beeping. The ships definitely looked alien so a Peace Brigade transport group was out of the question. They wouldn't have showed up without any fighter support anyway. Who were they and what did they want?
She stretched out with her mind and found Uncle Luke. She felt his answer quickly and reassuring.

Good people.

She sighed relieved and started to make preparations for landing.

Her fighter softly touched down on the landingpad near the Great Temple where she powered down the engines. She lifted the canopy and stood, taking in the humidity that had been her home for years. Of all the paces in the galaxy, this was home. Before she saw them she sensed them in the Force. Two hooded figures dressed in Jedi robes quickly approached the pad. She jumped down and landed softly in front of him.

"Anakin! Jacen!"
Her brothers pulled down their hoods and smiled at her.

"Jaina. Only our parents are missing, otherwise we would call this a family meeting", Anakin said
She grinned at him and pulled her backpack out of the compartment.

"What's with the transports in orbit? Visitors?"
He nodded.

"They're inside, with Luke and Mara."

"And…..who are they?"

"You will see soon enough. Let's get inside."
They led her inside where they took a turbo-lift down to the command center the Alliance had used decades ago to coordinate the attack on the first Death Star. Before she entered she already felt his presence. At first it was only a familiar feeling. Then, when she entered the room she stopped abruptly.

"What are you doing here!", she spat to the young man that had stood when she entered. To the side, a couple of the blue skinned aliens stood, regarding her with curiosity.

"Greetings, Jedi Solo", Jagged Fel said politely. He bowed to her, the same way he had done at the party on Ithor.
"A pleasure to see you still alive", he added, raking his green eyes over her.
She blushed and stalked right past him to where her aunt and uncle were sitting. He made her feel giddy and strange, a feeling she definitely didn't like. She greeted Mara and Luke with a hug, whispering to the latter, "What is he doing here?"

Luke softly let go and gently pulled her beside him. Then he nodded to Jag and reassured her through the Force.

They arrived about an hour ago. We waited for you. Now listen to what he has to say.

Jag found himself a little worried by her appearance at first. Her hair was very short, as if she had been taken ill. Her hostility hadn't been affected, however. He smiled sourly and cleared his throat.

"Master Skywalker, gathered Jedi. I come before you with an offer for sanctuary. The Chiss have send me here on a mission of peace. We have received information from a source, telling us that the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster, Tsavong Lah, has declared a halt to their advancement into our galaxy in return for the lives of all the Jedi. My superiors have met this 'offer' with disgust. They have sought my help to ensure the Jedi's survival. We came up with a plan that ensures the continuation of your existence. The plan is simple. You may choose a world within our borders and continue your training of the young Jedi candidates. We will not interfere on that world, we will leave you strictly alone."
His eyes moved over the gathered Jedi before him. Some of them regarded him with a surprised look, others kept silent and showed no expression.
Master Skywalker stood.

"And what will be asked from us in return?"
Jagged faced him.

"All that we ask in return is your help to meet with the New Republic High Council. From there, our leaders will take over. Whatever the outcome, this offer stands as it is. The Chiss respect the Jedi and their ways."
Master Skywalker seemed to deep in thought. Then he looked up and said, "I can not give you an immediate answer. I will have to discuss this with others. Please, have something to eat while you wait. Jaina?"
She stood.

"Yes, uncle Luke?"

"Take them up and show them the guest quarters", he said.
She hesitated for a moment, long enough for Jag to see her reluctance. Then she came forward and led them out of the room. They silently walked through the corridors and toward the turbolift. Meters before they actually were at the doors, they parted at a gesture that she made.

"Please, don't do that. It's…creepy", he said, finally breaking the silence.
She looked up, startled.

"What? Oh…sorry."
She smiled, a little too ferociously. He sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long wait.

--==CHAPTER 6 - "The Talk"==--

Jaina took them up to the main floor, where most of the quarters were situated. She showed them into one of the larger rooms where a refresher station stood in a corner. A cooling unit and a heater were off to the side, where the guests could prepare something to eat while they waited. Usually, only transports with food and supplies came to the Academy. Those pilots only waited until their cargo had been unloaded and left. Uncle Luke had insisted on making room for them, if they ever had to stay overnight in case of repairs or just to relax.
When she was done showing them their quarters she turned and started to leave. She opened the door when his voice stopped her.

"What happened to you?", he asked softly.
She slowly turned around to face him.

"What?"
His hand went up to his hair and pulled it. She touched her own short hair.
"Oh. That. Long story."
Jag crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"Long wait. I'm not going anywhere. Please?"
He gestured invitingly to a couple of chairs and walked over. He pulled one towards him and sat down, his arms resting on the back, his legs spread wide.
She stood for a moment. Then she sighed and walked towards the table.
He pointed to the door.

"Door."
It closed while she sat down.
"I asked you not to do that", he said, sharply.
She shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry."

"Do you have to flaunt your powers like that? I thought you were smarter than that", he said.
She smiled.

"No. You probably bring out the best in me. Why does it bother you?"

"It's uncanny." He shivered. She smiled and nodded.

"It won't happen again", she promised.
He relaxed visibly. The he motioned to her hair again.

"Well?"
Jaina explained to him what happened. She found it surprisingly easy. He was a good listener, only asking questions at the appropriate points in the story.

"How is she now?" he finally asked.

"She's still in the med-center. She'll pull through. Could you imagine her cutting her hair like that?"
He shook his head.

"No more than I could imagine you doing it. It was a wise decision."
Her anger flared.

"What do you mean by that? You can't imagine me making a wise decision? Well, apparently not, 'cause I'm sitting here with you, right?"
She started to get up. His hands shot up in a defensive position.

"No no no. That's not what I meant. Jaina, I'm sorry. I meant to say that I couldn't imagine you cutting your hair. Please, forgive me?"
The way he looked up at her made her feel like she was watching a small child, pleading with innocent eyes.

The same way dad does when he's made Mom mad.
The thought shot through her as she looked down into those bright green eyes. She smiled shyly and sat down again.

"We seem to have a communication problem at times", she grinned.

"My fault, I'm sure. I'm not used to…to…"

"Talking to women?", she added.
He sighed.

"That's about the size of it, yes."

"I thought I heard that you have sisters. Do you communicate with them the way you do with me?"
Jag blushed a little and squirmed. Jaina never saw a grown man squirm and she quite liked it. She grinned at him.
"The first thing a treaty between the Chiss and the New Republic should enact is sharing books on human socializing. Because you, stranger, really need an update. Human women are different."
His face blossomed a deep red.

"I noticed."
She smiled at his uneasyness and didn't push any further. He had enough to think about for the moment. She observed him for a moment. His broad shoulders, the strength of his jawline, his face itself. When he, unexpectedly, lifted his head and threw a glance in her direction, she felt like a kid, caught with her hand on her father's hydrospanner. The corner of his mouth lifted a little and her heart skipped a beat when his scarred eyebrow rose questioningly.

Oh no I'm not. This is not going to happen. I'm not going to fall for a cute face.
Abruptly she turned and walked toward the door.

"Let's go check if there's a decision yet", she said bluntly.

"Jaina!", he shouted. He scrambled to his legs and started to run after her. His companions, who were in one of the other rooms, came rushing out, their weapons drawn. He startled at their sound behind him and stopped, cautious and ready.

"What the…oh. It's ok. Lower your weapons."
He reached the door and stepped into the corridor. He could just see her receding back rounding a corner, some distance away.

"Come with me", he motioned the guards, and followed her

--==CHAPTER 7 - "A New Future"==--

When Jag entered the former Command Center, the ongoing discussion abruptly stopped. He noticed a handsome and tall Jedi, dressed in blue and black robes, observing him with squinting blue eyes. A scar ran over his face. Jag recognised him en took a few steps towards him.

"Ganner, if my memory serves me well?" he asked the man, politely extending his hand. The other seemed to hesitate and then smiled easily.

"Nothing wrong with your memory, Colonel Fel. Welcome."
Jag turned towards the others and saw Jaina's eyes hastily avert his, trying to make it seem like she was in a very enthusiastic discussion with her aunt. Unfortunately for her, Mara regarded her as if seeing water burn and frowned. He could just barely hold back a smile. He straightened his back and regarded Master Skywalker. He bowed his head and upper body in a respectful manner.

"Your answer?"
Master Skywalker stepped into the middle of the room and extended his arms.

"We have a question. How do we know that this offer is sincere?"
Jag nodded and smiled.

"You just have to trust us. We came here unarmed, aside from our personal weapons. Our ships have been stripped of weaponry as a sign of trust towards you. All we ask is your help to get into a dialogue with the New Republic. You will get full command of the ships that are currently in orbit. We will provide you with the maps from our space and will surrender our personal weapons if you ask us to. We have no motive, other than help you survive. Your help in opening the negotiations with the New Republic will have the same base, only on a larger scale. We have need for products the New Republic can provide. We have certain knowledge the NRI would love to get their hands on."
Master Skywalker nodded, as if anticipating his answer.

"Very well. I myself will not be going. The younger students are, as we speak, packing their belongings."
He extended his arms to a dark corner of the room. A tall bearded man came forward from the shadows.
"I want you to meet Kam Solusar, Jedi Master, and his wife, Tionne. They will travel with out students."

"I will be coming along, too," a voice added behind Jag.
He turned and nodded to Ganner, who stood tall, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Just as he started to turn back to Master Skywalker, a tremor shook the building. The bearded Jedi closed his eyes for a moment. A shiver went through Jag's spine when he opened his eyes and seemed to stare right through him.

"They have arrived. We need to hurry." Kam turned and stalked out of the room, followed by Tionne and Ganner. Startled, Jag looked at Master Skywalker.

"Who have arrived?"

"The Peace brigade."
Jag frowned.

"Who?"
Jaina came up behind him and stalked past him for the doorway.

"The men and women who think that the Jedi should be delivered to the Yuuzhan Vong in order to save their own miserable little hides."
Without even thinking he went after her.

"Go with the others. We will catch up later!" he yelled in midstride to the guards, who already started to come after him. Jaina glanced sideways when he caught up with her. They reached the turbolift and stood waiting before it when she suddenly lifted her head. He studied her face, for a moment. Her expression was alert.

"Get back!" she suddenly warned. "They're already coming down."
They retreated to a corner with a perfect view on the doors. They heard a muffled thud when the car reached their level.

"Get behind me," she hissed, drawing her lightsaber. When the shimmering shaft emerged from the hilt, his eyes widened a little. Then he drew his blaster.

"Get behind me, you mean," he smiled, taking up a place next and slightly forward. She rolled her eyes in disgust and made a gesture of contempt.

"Me Leia, you Han? Get your trajectory straight. Those days are over. Now please listen to me. When they get through that door, you do not want to be….."
Her blade slashed close to his nose to deflect a bolt that would've severed his head cleanly from his body.
"…. in my arc when I start deflecting bolts. One scar should be enough for you."

"How did you…", he started, touching his nose with his free hand to make sure the tip of it was still in place, "know where to…"

"The creepy stuff you hate so much," she grinned, deflecting another bolt aimed for them. He withdrew respectfully and watched in awe as she deflected several more bolts with deadly precision. This was his first actual confrontation with a Jedi in combat.

"I don't hate it," he began, ducking when another bolt barely missed his shoulder, "I said I found it creepy. Period."

--==CHAPTER 8 - "The Galactic Core"==--

Deep in the Galactic Core.

"I have to go, Liegeus."
Daala sat back in her chair as she watched his reaction.
He stared back at her in disbelieve. The green eyes in her beautiful face kept looking at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Let me get this straight. After years of inactive duty, you want to go back into service? Back into danger?", he asked, his teeth clenched in frustration. This was starting to become a dinner conversation he didn't particularly care for. And fast.
With her left hand she moved a few strands of red long hair out of her face. Then she nodded. She had known that he wouldn't like it. He leaned back in his chair, stunned.

"Why?"

"Because I think they could use my help."

"What makes you think they would accept it?"
To him, that seemed to be a question she didn't expect. She frowned while she looked at him, apparently genuinly surprised.

"Why wouldn't they? i know I'm a little rusty but I think I still know some of it. How to lead a vessel. How to go into and prepare for battle. You think I cannot?", she replied with some of the fierce fury that had once burned inside of her. He made a gesture of dismissal.

"Of course you can. You could even learn them a thing or two. But your trackrecord…"

"Isn't something that would make Tarkin or Palpatine proud?"

"Precisely."

"That's why I'm not going to offer my services to the Empire. Or the New Republic, for that matter."
At this, he frowned.

"I thought…"

"Yes, my dear. You thought. And you really shouldn't. Leave that to a bantha. It has a bigger head", she smiled, affectionedly.
He grinned and padded her on her knee.

"Now, now…don't speak to old Liegeus that way. You know what I meant."

"Yes I do", she smiled and put her hand over his, "and you're not old."
She stroked his hand, deep in thought. Then she looked up, seeking his eyes and approval.

"I really think I could help. I know I have done many things in the past that would make my parents turn over in their grave. I cannot undo them. I can only try to set things straight. And I think this is a time that I can make a difference. A real one. One that would send these Yuuzhan Vong straight back to the void they came from."

"How?"

"By offering my services to the Jedi."

"The Jedi? My dear, have you gone atoms? Why would they accept you? You attacked them, you hurt them. Even if they would accept, and I'm only speaking hypothetically here, the New Republic would go beserk if the learned about it."

"Only when it's too late. I know for a fact that Skywalker isn't on the best of terms with them, these days. Everyone knows it. You know it."

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry for that, he's a good man. The same goes for his sister. I still thank them for the day they brought us together again. "
He thought for a few moments about the events on Nam Chorios, some 12 years ago, where he had first met Leia Organa Solo. A shudder ran through him when he thought about the things he had done to her. The poison he had fed her.

"But that doesn't mean that he would accept your help. Our help, by the way. Because if you're going to do anything, I will be there, right beside you."

"If he has any brains, he would accept my…our help. You see? You're already turning around."
She grinned and winked. He smiled sourly and leaned over for a kiss. She warmly returned it.

"I am not. Not yet, anyway. Because I still don't know why they would accept your assistance. It's not like you're bringing a fleet of Star destroyers."

"No, but something quite close. I know the location of another Super Star Destroyer."

"You what?" Liegeus cried, horrified at the thought. A shiver ran down his spine, only by thinking of the dagger shaped monstrosity. Bristling with weaponry from bow to stern, 500 light and heavy turbolaser batteries, 250 ion cannons, 40 tractor beam projectors and 250 missile launchers, the Super-class Star Destroyer was a fleet all by itself, measuring a stunning 12.8 kilometers. 13 Colossal engine thrusters would glow blood red as they would push the immense craft through space.

"The Inimitable. One of Tarkin's projects that he hid from the Emperor.
A few weeks ago, I finally cracked the encription on an Imperial file that was download when I first came out of the Maw. It has slave cirquitry and can operate with a skeleton crew. I didn't know it until I cracked the first sequence of Tarkin's code, a few months ago."

"I guess I should have expected it. Tarkin was as devious as Palpatine. But why are you telling me this now?"

"I couldn't tell you until I was sure. I cracked the whole thing just yesterday."
He slowly put his arms on the table and thought deeply. The frown on his forehead made it clear to her that his mind was racing.

"Where is it?"

"The Unknown Regions. I only have coordinates."

"How many people do we need? To fill a skeleton crew?"

"50. And that's only for flying it. Taking it to battle would mean that we'll need an additional complement of thousands of specialized crew."

"Bringing a vessel with that kind of firepower into any battle would give the Jedi something to bargain with", he nodded, understanding the implications of what she had found.
"Maybe I could find some ways to improve it."

Exactly the response she had hoped for. As a designer of artificial intelligence systems for spacecraft, Liegeus would prove very valuable. And it would mean they'd have to stay together during this mission. IF the Jedi offered her a position.

"Indeed. I understand that they're threatened by this Peace Brigade. Yavin is only a small moon and has no weapons. If the Incriminator showed up, they would think twice before attacking, especially a ship that size, no matter who is on it. "

"And who would command it?"

"That's for the Jedi to decide."

"You would give them this ship without demanding to command it?"

"I would. Don't get me wrong, I would like to be in the thick of it again. So maybe they could use my knowledge and offer me a position as an advisor. But even if they don't, I would still give it to them. The Yuuzhan Vong need to be removed from this galaxy and they made a mistake. I am Daala. And if they had any pre-knowledge of us, whatsoever, they should have known not to make an enemy out of me. But they have. And now they will pay the price for their lack of vision."

--==CHAPTER 9 - "Here We Go Again"==--

They stayed there for another half hour. Then Jaina shut down her lightsaber. No sound came from the turbolift.

"The others have had enough time to get out," she whispered, "let's go after them."
Jag nodded and holstered his blaster. He slowly stood, watchful for anything out of the ordinary, and extended his hand. She took it and pulled herself up. They stood close for a few moments in which his eyes curiously searched her face. His gaze seemed to hypnotize her and she blinked rapidly. Then, slowly, he bowed his head towards her. His lips grazed hers ever so lightly before he lifted his head again, his eyes closed. He waited for the slap that undoubtedly would come. When it didn't, he opened his eyes, only to see her quickly moving down the corridor. He took a deep breath and sighed before following her to the Command Center. As she had said, the others had already left. He followed her to the back of the room. When she ignited her lightsaber again, he drew his blaster.

"Trouble?"

"No. Look."
At first glance, he didn't see anything. When she moved the lightsaber a bit, he saw it. In the back wall there was a small staircase, winding up into the darkness. The steps had been carved out of the bare rock. It could only be seen from a where they were standing.

"Did they go up there?"
She nodded. Then, a sound came from behind them. He glanced over his shoulders and saw illumination approaching.
"They're coming. Let's go."

They ran up the stairs. There wasn't enough room for them to walk side by side but for the moment, Jag didn't mind. He had quite a view in front of him. When they finally emerged from the confined stairwell, it was already dark outside.

"Where to now?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on the opening they just came out of.

"Follow me. They're not far ahead."
They started running towards the edge of the jungle. Without hesitation he followed her into the thick foliage. They ran for about 15 minutes. Then, without warning him, she abruptly stopped and turned around towards him. He ran into her, full force, and let out a startled yelp. His hand quickly moved to protect her neck as they fell to the ground. He landed heavily on top of her, causing her to let out a surprised "oof". He lifted himself up on his arms and stared down on her.

"Are you all right?" he whispered. His eyes slowly went over her face and stopped when they met hers. His warm breath stroked her cheek and lips, causing her heart to suddenly start beating faster

"I…I'm fine," she said, her voice sounding husky, "get off of me."
She groaned, squirming underneath him.
"Please."

"Don't get excited!" he grunted to hide his own discomfort. Feeling her soft warm body against his, moving and struggling to get up, didn't exactly help diminish the feelings that suddenly screamed through his body.

"Colonel, being floored by you isn't quite enough to get me excited," she struggled.

"Sorry sweetheart. We don't have time for anything else," he smiled roguishly. He couldn't resist teasing her and actually found it very easy to flirt with her. He felt her knee come up and reacted quickly by rolling off. He heard her disgusted grunt and grinned in the dark.

"Now why did you stop so suddenly?"

"I sensed them close by. That is, before you ran into me like a rancor in heat. Now I'm not sure anymore."

"How delicately put. What's a rancor?"

"It's a mindless beast. You'd like one. It's right up your trajectory."
He laughed aloud. She could be quite funny if things didn't go the way she wanted them to go. He hadn't had this much fun in ages, even with a couple of men on their tail, bent on destroying them.

"Ok…now what?"
She pointed to the south.

"That way. That's where I last sensed them."
They started to go into the direction she indicated when suddenly the foliage parted and Master Skywalker stepped through.

"You certainly took your time", he said, regarding her disapprovingly. Then he looked at Jag.

"And you should be more careful. I heard you laughing half a click away."
His eyes narrowed a bit as he curiously looked him over. A trace of a smile hinted at the corners of his mouth before he turned around, motioning them to follow him. A few minutes later they met up with the others. The 4 Chiss approached them and discretely indicated that they wanted to talk to Jag. He nodded and took a few steps back so they were out of earshot.

"Colonel, the transports took off as soon as the Peace Brigade showed up. They landed about half a days walk from here. They are undamaged."

"Did you have contact with them?"
One of the blue-skinned aliens nodded and reached to his ear.

"I'm in constant contact with them."

"Good. Tell them to sit tight and wait for us. Tell them not to communicate again until we breach commsilence."
The alien took a few steps from them and started to whisper his orders into a concealed comlink. When he returned, he nodded once.

"Good. Now, watch for anything. The PB probably followed us into the jungle."
They parted. Jag walked over to Master Skywalker and told him about the transports.

"We can't leave as long as the PB is in orbit and on the planet. The transports are unarmed."
Master Skywalker nodded.

"Yes, so you told us. But we might be able to do something about the PB."
He softly called over to where Anakin, Jacen and Jaina stood. They approached and sat down.

"Jaina, where did you land?"

"Right in front of the temple, Uncle Luke."

"Then we can assume that fighter is a goner. Our own fighters have all been moved to another location. Years ago, in the beginning of the Academy, Kyp found a temple in the middle of a lake. We found out that the temple structure actually cannot be penetrated by scanners from orbit or the shores of the lake. We have 3 fully armed x-wings in there."

"I take it you plan to lead the PB away from here so the rest of us can get to the transports?" Jaina asked. He nodded.

"With one difference. I will not be flying my fighter. I want you to take it. I myself will go with Mara. Her ship is already somewhere safe. We need to go somewhere to make arrangements. We'll leave as soon as you get on your way to the fighters. We'll meet at the usual rendezvous-point, three days from now."

Jag swallowed back a comment. He didn't like Jaina to be up there, where those PB's could take a shot at her. The feeling was quite intense too. A bit taken aback about that, he shut his jaws with a sound loud enough for the others to turn around and watch him.

"Anything you wish to submit to the conversation, Colonel?" Master Skywalker asked him, smiling.

"I..eh…I…no. Yes!"

"Well?" Skywalker said, an amused twinkle in his blue eyes, "What's it going to be…yes or no?"

"Yes. I don't think it's wise to send up three Jedi. Three of the most wanted in the galaxy, no less."

"Perhaps not Colonel, but I need your men to stay with the group. Only they know where the transports are. We don't have much of a choice. It'll have to do. And my niece and nephews are more than capable.

"I didn't mean to imply that they weren't," Jag hastily said, when he saw Jaina glaring at him. "A suggestion, then. Let me take Jacen's place. He's the most wanted."
Skywalker nodded thoughtfully.

"I could use Jacen on where we are going. I accept your offer. Anakin, Jaina? Take him with you. We have to move quickly."

The group split up in three. Luke, Mara and Jacen disappeared in the foliage to Mara's ship. The main group, led by the 4 Chiss guards, continued towards the transports.
Then Jaina turned around and looked at the other two.

"Let's go."

--==CHAPTER 10 - "Old Enemies Meet"==--

The battered shuttle smoothly docked with the platform that connected to the giant domes of the Coruscant Spaceport Arrivals Hall. Immediately upon docking, people got out of their seats, grabbing their luggage and moving towards the exit-ramp before it had completely lowered. Daala and Liegeus both looked at each other as they watched the stream of passengers slowly advancing. She slowly shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Why is it that people always clog up the exits when the pilot hasn't even given the 'all-clear' light?" she whispered to him.

"Because they think him mentally incapable of reaching for that particular switch," Liegeus reacted dryly. He looked sideways and smiled when he heard her mumbling.

"You can say all you want about the Empire but back then, things were going much smoother," she muttered under her disguise.

Because her features were too well known, and could still spark anger towards them, she had dyed her hair black and had put on a lot of make up. Color contacts made her green eyes look pale blue. Thankfully, his features were not known to many. All it had taken him was a haircut and a shave. They finally stood when the last passenger walked passed their seats.
As soon as the transport had come into the Coruscant system, a Customs official had boarded and cleared them for further travel into the system.
A smug grin clung to Liegeus's face as he remembered the moment that he handed over their falsified id's. The official had scanned them and cleared them without a second look. When the transport finally got into geostationary orbit around the city world, they entered the shuttle that would take them to the surface. At least, what went for the surface. The real ground of the world hadn't been seen in thousands of years, much less seen the sun. Orbital solar mirrors reflected the sunlight to heat the world below.
Docking platforms floated in midair between buildings taller than his imagination had ever been able to produce. And while they now were on one of the medium-sized ones, he still had to crane his neck to see the top of a nearby colossus, dwarfing the one they were standing on. Streams of transports, airtaxi's and speeders cruised by, rows upon rows. The sheer volume of it all made him take a step back and blink in wonder. Beside him, Daala seemed amused at his obvious awe.

"You'll get used to it, Liegeus. And we won't stay on the planet for long. Come, let us go. We have a lot to do."

They boarded an airtaxi that would bring them to the Manarai Mountains and their final destination, Orowood Tower. A quick overview Daala called up on one of the screens in front of them, told them that the thirty-eight story Tower was home to many government officials and wealthy industrialists. A little of the background, like why the Tower had been build and what materials had been used during construction, completed the overview. Liegeus whistled softly as he saw a few of the resident's names scroll by.

"One bomb on that building and half the government is blown to Oseon."
She smiled cautiously as the driver turned to them.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I couldn't help overhearing your comment. That tower is almost empty now. Many of the residents have gone off world to avoid the war. Some think that the Yuuzhan Vong will attack Coruscant."

"Do you think they will?" Liegeus asked curiously.
The driver seemed to think that to be a very funny question.

"No sir," the driver laughed loudly, "this planet is too heavily protected. Even for them. They'll think twice before attacking here."

"That's what the Empire thought, too. The Alliance still conquered the planet," Daala commented sweetly, effectively shutting the driver up. Years ago, a sentence like that wouldn't have found it's way past her lips but even she now knew how rotten and wrong the Empire had been after Palpatine's demise. Shivers ran down her back when she thought about 'people' like Ysanne Isard or Warlord Zsinj and their horrifying crimes. Hers paled in comparison. But she would try to make the difference. Starting today.

They quickly exited the airtaxi and paid the driver who grumpily accepted the credits and wished them a pleasant stay.
They walked to the entrance, where a friendly security guard greeted them.

"Good afternoon. How can I be of service to you?"

"We have come for the Former Chief of State, Leia Organa Solo," Liegeus began. Immediately upon hearing her name, the guard's face saddened.

"I'm afraid I cannot be of service to you, then."
Liegeus frowned. The guard hadn't even asked his name yet and already he was denied? He had heard of strict security before but this was ridiculous.

"Why not?" Daala asked, a hint of steel in her voice, "I am..."

"You apparently haven't heard," the guard interrupted gently, "she has been seriously injured during recent events on Duro. They are treating her in a hospital not far from here. You might want to try there."

"I see," Liegeus said, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Come dear. We will take this man's advice and try there."
The guard helpfully gave them directions and produced a small map from behind the desk. Liegeus thanked him for his help and walked towards Daala, who already stood outside. In silence they waited until a landspeeder stopped before them. Ten minutes later they arrived at the Mount Manarai Hospital.
Inside, they stopped by the information desk and made some inquiries. The droid helpfully gave them the room and floor numbers. They entered the turbolift which smoothly took them up.

Daala's nose wrinkled in disgust as she smelled the sterile scent when the doors silently slid sideways. She never liked hospitals or sickbays. She couldn't even remember the last time she had entered one.
A long corridor lay before them, eerily quiet.
Private floor she thought.
They stepped out of the turbolift and walked towards an information desk, situated halfway in the corridor. While Liegeus made some inquiries, she looked sideways and saw a man sitting on a bench outside one of the rooms. He somehow seemed familiar to her. She slowly walked toward him and stopped, less than a meter before him.

Han Solo had aged considerably since the last time she had seen him. His brown hair was now shot with strands of grey. A tired expression lay on his face as he softly slept in an upright position. She reached out her hand and jerked it back when his eyes flew open and his hand grabbed her wrist. As quickly as he had grabbed it, he released her and muttered an apology.

"Sorry 'bout that. You really shouldn't sneak up on people," he smiled tiredly.
She rubbed her wrist, also apologizing. His head came up with a sudden jerk as he heard her voice. He frowned and curiously studied her face.
"Have we met before?"
Before she could answer, a hand slid around her waist and pulled her against a warm body.

"You certainly have, Captain Solo."

"Now there's a voice I haven't heard in a long, long time," came a soft female voice from the room behind Solo, who raised his eyebrows and rose from the bench.

"Well I'll be a son of a…"

"HAN!" Leia's voice sounded sharply, "Don't be a nerf-herder and show him in."

*********************

"Liegeus Vorn. What a pleasant surprise!" Leia Organa Solo said with a friendly smile on her face. Her brown eyes twinkled as she held up her hand to him. He gently accepted it and softly touched it with his lips.

"If only it was under better circumstances," he said ruefully as he looked at her wrapped legs.

"Oh that. It seems worse than it actually is," Leia lightly waved. Then she saw the woman behind him and made an effort to look past him.
"I see you brought…ehm..someone. Care to introduce us?"
Daala smiled and extended her hand.

"You know her already, Leia," Han's voice sounded from the doorway. "It's Admiral Daala herself."
At this, Leia raised her eyebrows in surprise. She took Daala's extended hand.

"Admiral."

"I'm not an Admiral anymore, Your Excellency. Please, call me Daala."

"Daala," Leia nodded and smiled carefully. "Somehow I get the feeling that you both are not here to pay me social visit."
Liegeus laughed and even Daala's mouth twitched at the dry comment.

"No, indeed. Leia, we are here because we need to find you brother," Liegeus answered, his voice serious.

"Luke? What do you want with him?"

Daala cleared her throat and looked at Liegeus. He nodded.
"We want to join your fight."

"You what?" Solo's voice sounded from behind them. He closed the door behind him and came into the room.

"We want to joi.."

"I heard you the first time," he rudely interrupted. "Why?"

"Why? Because all life in our galaxy is threatened."

"No offence, sister, but we have had some experience with your own attempt to do so," he sneered.
She winced at this but nodded and looked him straight in the eye.

"Fair enough. No, Liegeus. He's right," she said, holding up her hand to stop Liegeus for whatever comment he wanted to make

"Yes Solo, I have done things that are very wrong. I have killed people, innocent creatures. When I first came out of the Maw, it was because of you. You discovered us and were a threat.
Believe it or not, I was shocked to learn that the Empire was gone, that my believe-system had been eradicated. I wanted to lash out. I acted out of anger and spite. And I will confess that it felt good to strike back and do damage to those who had taken it away from me. I'm no hypocrite. Who doesn't like to strike back when he or she feels wronged? I had the tools of mass destruction. I used them. And, believe it or not, I am very sorry for it."

Silence hung heavy in the room as she walked to the window and looked out over the cityscape. When she spoke again, her voice was low and soft.

"In the first year after Liegeus and I went to the Core to settle and build a home, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't regret some of my mistakes. Mon Calamari is one of them."

"She cried sometimes. I'd find her somewhere outside, curled up like a baby," Liegeus softly said in the silence after her words.

"Yeah, well…sorry isn't good enough," Han said. The tone of his voice, however, had lost most of its sharp edge.

"I know that, Solo," Daala said, turning her back to the window. "But I have the means to make some of it right. Or maybe not right, but at least more…bearable."

"And what are those?" Leia asked.

"That's where Skywalker comes in. He's the only one I trust with this information. Not that I don't trust you. But this decision…"

"Daala. We should tell them. They're going to know eventually," Liegeus interrupted.
It took a while before Daala eventually nodded.
It didn't take Liegeus that long to bring the Solo's up to speed.

"A Super Star Destroyer," Leia gasped as she let herself lower into the cushions. Even Solo had to sit down to process the news.

"I thought we had them all accounted for."

"Apparently not," Leia sighed. "But we can't let an opportunity like this slip through our fingers. We need to meet with Luke. As soon as possible. And we need to keep the New Republic out of this. There's a leak somewhere. "

"Which means that we can't contact the military. Great…who's going to command that thing? We don't have anyone with that kind of experience."
Daala drew herself up and looked him straight in the eye.

"Well, you do now. If you'll have me."

--==CHAPTER 11 - "Escape"==--

It took them almost half a day to reach the lake. Now they stood on the shore, looking at the island in the middle. Jaina felt coldness as she reached out her senses toward the structure, and glanced at Anakin. He barely nodded, indicating that he felt it too. That place was enveloped in the Dark Side. She remembered a story that Tionne once told them when the children had just started their training. Apparently, Kyp and another Jedi, Dorsk 81, had come here. The spirit of Exar Kun had revealed itself and tried to kill the defenseless Dorsk 81, which Kyp prevented.

Probably the only thing he's ever done right she thought.

"I wonder how deep it is," she commented.

"We'll have to swim," Anakin commented, wrinkling his nose. "I don't like sitting in a cockpit with wet clothes on."

Jaina wholeheartedly agreed but she didn't see any other choice. They both stepped to the edge and went in. Jag looked at them as they suddenly submerged. Jaina broke the water surface first, inhaling air as she cursed. About a meter to her left, Anakin appeared, using a much more crude vocabulary.
Jag walked to the edge and was about to get a wet suit himself when something caught his eye. A few columns of rock rose from the bottom to the surface. He went over and kneeled, peering in the water. Then he stood and cautiously stepped on the first column. When it didn't sag into the bottom, he hopped to the second. He glanced to the side and saw Jaina looking at him, her mouth open in astonishment.

"You Jedi think should try to look with your eyes instead of your senses," he smirked, hardly able to keep from laughing aloud.
Her saw malicious intend appearing in her gaze and he quickly hopped over the surface. Anakin saluted with a sour look on his face and went to the edge to climb out. He too went to the edge and saw the columns. He quickly followed suit.

By the time they reached the island, Jaina was also crossing the lake using the steppingstones. She hopped of the last stone and intently walked to Jag, as he watched her laughing loudly. Furiously she stood before him as he gazed down at her, a warm smile on his lips.

"When I told you not to close doors with your mind, I didn't mean to close your mind completely, you know," he grinned. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, throwing caution in the wind. He regretted it the moment he felt her wet arms around his neck and her wet body pressing in on his.

"I know, Jag," she said in a girlish voice, "I'll try to use my eyes in the future."
She smiled sweetly as she let him go, eyeing her handywork. The total front of his uniform was stained with wet spots.

"Oh my," Jaina exclaimed, trying to duplicate the prissy voice that only Threepio could manage, "I seem to have ruined your uniform."
She grinned and turned her back to them as she walked to the edge. He closed his eyes and shook his head, chastising himself for his stupid impulse.

"I should have known," he sighed with a smile on his lips.
He heard Anakin laughing softly behind him and turned to see the young man eying them curiously.
"Yes, you should. Never make fun of her. She'll make you regret the day you laid eyes on her."
Jag glanced in Jaina's direction as she started to wring out her clothes, her back turned to the men.

"No. I'll never regret that day," he muttered softly under his breath.

***************************

The three Blade-32 fighters rose above the jungle on repulsors. Jaina's sensors immediately picked up a flight of half a dozen fighters to the south, quickly turning in their direction to check the new threat they proposed.

"Heads up, boys," she said, a grim look on her face. She glanced to her left, where Jag hung back a little. She keyed his private comm.

"Jag, it's me. Try to keep up, please."
She knew he wasn't used to these new fighters. She had flown them for a couple of months now and even she had a hard time getting used to the fighter. Especially Uncle Luke's.
Produced at Adumar, the fighters were equipped with 2 lasers forward, 2 in the back and 2 missile ports for a total of 16 missiles. At first had they lacked shields and a hyperdrive. Those were added in the New Republic upon arrival from Adumar, where the fighters got more upgrades like better engines and missiles. Uncle Luke's had been custom made as a gift from the Adumari, so his had all those and a few extra's such as better inertial compensation, a gunner's seat and engines that could outfly any fighter, including the New Republic's pride and joy, the A-Wings. It also lacked a R2 unit, something she privately wished for. Long flights could become tedious without even an astromech to talk to.

"It's a bit sluggish," Jag commented. "Not like our claws. But I see 16 missiles?"
That last came out surprised.

"Correct. We have some visitors. Check your board."

"Acknowleged."
They turned to starboard on Jaina's mark, straight for the enemy. It took them no longer than a minute before they could see them visually. They came at them, lasers blazing, and Jaina started to go evasive, drifting to port in the process. Not of the enemy's lasers scored a hit as she pulled back the control yoke, sending her fighter into a steep climb. Halfway into the climb she forced it to the left, letting her fighter slip into a barrel roll. She leveled off smoothly behind the attackers and painted one them with laserfire. Its wing was studded with scoremarks before it tore off, sending the fighter effectively out of the battle. As fast as she was flying, she could still see its canopy shoot up, followed by the pilot. Then another fighter exploded in a fierce ball of fire, followed by a cheer.

"Got him!" Anakin's voice sounded through the comm.

"Cut the chatter," Jag's voice cut in. Jaina looked to her left and saw his lasers open up on a fighter that had drifted to port to avoid the explosion. She watched in amazement as his lasers connected with its engine compartment, dead on. The fighter immediately dove to the ground below.

Great anticipation! she thought smiling, And only 3 enemy fighters left.
Then her board started beeping as three other blips appeared on the screen. She smiled relieved when one of them identified as the Jade Shadow.

Then her targeting computer got a lock without her even aiming for the enemy. One of the enemy fighters had drifted into her aim. She fired out of reflex. A proton torpedo streaked from its tube to the starboard fighter. She flew straight through the expanding cloud of smoke and debris as she couldn't maneuver out of its path.
Glancing at her board, she saw Anakin and Jag engaging the last two fighters. Five minutes later, her board was clear, save for the 3 blips on it.

"Let's give them some cover," Jag's voice cut through.
The three fighters turned starboard and quickly gained on the transports. Her comm lit up.

"Jaina? Mara here. Great job. We waited for you, before lifting off. We'll be on our way. We'll see you at the rendezvous point."
Jaina acknowledged. They stayed with the transports until they broke the atmosphere. On her board she saw 2 Peace Brigade cruisers gaining from behind.

"It's not over yet. We've got company. We need to give the transports more time."
The fighters pulled up and leveled of on a trajectory, straight for the cruisers.

"Ok boys. We need to stall those two. Any suggestions?"

"Well, we do have 16 torpedo's each. Jaina shot 2. That's 46 missiles. They'll expect 18. That should slow them down,"Jag's voice cut in. "All we have to do is hurt them. So, here's an idea. On my mark, and then 2 seconds after one another, we fire. I'll fire first, then Anakin, then Jaina. Target the left cruiser. Then, on my second mark, target the right one, but only once. Then target the left one again and fire until we run out of missiles."

"It's a plan," Anakin replied. Jaina agreed.
She brought up her targeting screen and waited.

"Mark."
She waited 4 seconds and pulled the trigger. Two missiles shot out in front of her fighter as she targeted the right cruiser.

"Mark."
Again she hit the trigger and repeated it until her last missiles shot out of their tubes. Then she watched as the first wave hit the left cruiser.

***************************

Captain Osama watched as the three fighters came toward his ship.

What do they think to accomplish by this? He thought. Three fighters against a cruiser?
Then he saw the glow of missiles coming at his ship. The first 2 hit harmlessly against the shields. He smiled confidently. Then the other 2 hit. The ship shuddered upon impact. His smile wavered a bit when 2 more hit.

"Sir! The bow shield is barely holding!" his weapons officer, Lieutenant Laden, shouted.

"Silence! The shields will hold. Three fighters! That's a total of 18 missiles. They just used 6. Reinforce the shields and they'll hold."
It stayed silent for a moment as the officer stared intently at his screen.

"Sir, the Ferocious is reporting missile hits."

"How many?"

"Six, sir."

"Six? That only leaves them another six."
He turned toward the officer and smiled confidently.

--==CHAPTER 12 - "Nar Shadda I"==--

The trip to the rendezvous point was boring and uneventful. Through a series of 5 long jumps, they finally emerged from hyperspace in the Y'toub system. Dead ahead, the grimy world called Nal Hutta lay before them. Orbiting the brown ball of dirt was their final destination. The Smuggler's moon, Nar Shadda. Debris from starship hulks, fighters and transports orbited the enormous moon that started to fill her cockpit screen.

"Home sweet home", Jaina smirked through the comm.

"Charming", Jag voiced over the channel. "We're headed for that ball of dirt?"

"No Jag", Anakin's voice chimed in, "the moon orbiting it. Do you recognize it?"
It took a moment of silence. Than Jag's answer sounded with a growl.

"Not a clue."

"Then I welcome you to "Glorious Jewel", also known as Nal Hutta. The moon's called Nar Shadda. You might have heard of it, referred to as the "smuggler's moon". Jag, let me be the first to welcome you to Hutt space," Anakin replied, as he matched his sisters' course toward the moon.

"WHAT!"

"A little louder, Jag," Jaina's voice sounded, sarcastically. She dialed down her own signal so only they would be able to hear her.
"They haven't heard you. ON CORUSCANT!"

She smirked when she heard Anakin's laughter and shook her head. Sometimes…

*******************************************

2 hours later they were making their way through the Corellian section of Nar Shadda.

"This must be what that Rancor creature you told me about, smells like," Jag commented, wrinkling his nose as he came up beside Jaina. This time she couldn't hold back a loud laugh and nodded.

"Pretty close. You'll get used to it."

"Oh good. Where are we headed, anyway?"

"Our dad maintains a place here. He lived here before he met Mom," Anakin said. He glared at a young Barabel, trying to get closer. When he lifted a piece of his cloak, revealing the lightsaber underneath, the creature hissed an apology and withdrew.
"A real paradise."

*******************************************

It took them almost half an hour before Jaina indicated that they'd arrived. She knocked on a small door in, what seemed to him, some sort of secret code. Moments later, the door opened, revealing Master Skywalker. They quickly entered the apartment. Jag had to lower his head when he came in and looked around. It wasn't a big apartment, not by any standards. It was set up like a small suite, with only the most necessary equipment. Two foldout beds had been shoved together in a far corner of the apartment. It had recently been slept on. He turned to the small kitchen, just in time to see Mara Jade finishing up on some dishes. He grinned, prompting her to raise an eyebrow.

"What….they don't do dishes where you come from, Fel?"

"Your reputation preceded you, ehm…"

"Mara", she encouraged him.

"Mara. I eh.."

"You didn't think I would do dishes?"

"Honestly? No, I didn't."
She smiled and padded him on the shoulder.
"You're quite right. I don't. But it makes less noise, instead of using my blaster to clean up."
He smiled and sat down when she invited him to do so. Mara herself remained standing and turned to Jaina and Anakin.

"What took you so long?"

"We took the long way around," Jaina explained. "We thought it better to be safe, in case we were followed."

"Were you?" Skywalker asked softly.
She shook her head.

"I don't think so. We took 5 jumps and only remained at each jump point for a couple of minutes at the time."

"Good," Skywalker nodded, "Sit. Please."
The only place for her to sit was next to Jag, as Anakin took the remaining unoccupied seat, or the floor. Jag scooted over to make room, after which she sat down. She felt his warm calf touching hers and quickly withdrew her leg. She glanced sideways, only to see him smile and a wink. She flushed and averted her gaze when she saw Mara closely watching her. Uncle Luke, thankfully, hadn't seen it.

"Let me begin with our own journey. Mara and I went after the Errant Venture," Skywalker began, slowly pacing the room before them. "We were a little surprised when we found the transports also there. Apparently, Kam had come to the conclusion that that's where we were headed. I'm glad to tell you that they have resumed course to the Chiss homeworld. Shortly after that, we received a transmission from your parents."

"Dad?" Jaina interrupted, sitting up.

"And your mother. Apparently, they have some news that they wish to discuss with me. So we came here and are waiting for their arrival.

"How did Mom look?" Anakin asked.

"Eager," Luke smiled. "I could tell, by the look on her face, that she has some good news."

"They're coming here?" Jaina asked, standing up.
Right then the coded knock, that Jaina had used not yet 10 minutes ago, sounded at the door. Her hand went to her lightsaber, hanging from the utility belt around her waist. She closed her eyes for a moment.
"It's Mom and Dad, but…"

"They're not alone," Anakin commented, also rising from his chair. He unclipped his lightsaber and looked at his uncle.
Skywalker frowned and held up his hand toward them.

"I sense something. A presence…"

--==CHAPTER 13 - "Nar Shadda II"==--

The Millennium Falcon set down on the assigned landing pad, firing its repulsors for one of the smoothest landings Han had performed in weeks.

Maybe it's because today, I could take the time to actually land instead of rushing in and out of danger zones, Han thought amusingly as he looked out the viewport.

How long had it been since he was last here? It had been a long time. As he saw the surroundings, it all came rushing back. Bria Tharen, his first true love, Mako Spince. And what was that kid's name again…Jarik? He could still hear the kids' voice, telling him that he was a Solo. Related to Han Solo, the famous smuggler. Han smiled fondly as he thought about the kid that had lost his life on Ylesia. He also remembered how Chewie had liked the youth. To his surprise, no sadness filled him.
Leia, seated in the co-pilot's chair, Chewie's chair, stared strangely at him as the memories flooded his mind. She stretched out an arm and put it on his.

"Hey, you awake?" she asked softly, squeezing his arm a little.
He shook his head to clear his mind, gave her a watery smile and nodded.

"Yeah. Memories, you know."

"I know," she smiled and winked. "Let's go."

******************************

There hadn't been much change on Nar Shadda. The same grimy buildings and flashy lights, trying to attract customers for their specific needs. Han knew that some of the holosigns, which seemed broken or just out, were actually on, only visible in a visual spectrum some species required. A large group of aliens coming out proved him right.
He took their party on a quick journey through the streets and skywalks of Nar Shadda, leading them into the Corellian section. The streets and alleys were dirty and dark, hiding numerous beings, preying on innocent victims. Then again, no one was really innocent on Nar Shadda. An hour later they arrived at the shabby flat he still kept here.
He wrinkled his nose when the stench of the moon, that had been such an important part of his life, became so strong that even he wrinkled his nose in disgust. He heard Daala gasp and cough. He turned his head and grinned.

"Don't worry, that smell is normal. You'll get used to it."

"I hope not," Daala said, gazing at him from under the hood of her cloak, "because I'm not planning to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary. I just hope that Skywalker made it here."
Leia's face became a little dreamy and then she nodded slightly.

"He's here."
She smiled as she sensed not only her brother but also his wife and two of their children. She touched Han's sleeve.
"Jaina and Anakin are also here. I can feel them. They're waiting for us."

"Really? Good. I still have some unfinished business with that daughter of ours," Han remarked as he knocked on the door, using the coded knock that would let the others inside know they had arrived.

As if they need it, he thought smirking.
Having a brother in law, a daughter and two sons, all strong in the Force….it sometimes made him uneasy. They knew things before they happened; they knew how he felt, how his mood was. Sometimes he just felt like screaming, that they go away and stop prodding his mind.
They waited until someone answered the door. A broadly smiling Luke appeared in the doorway.

"At last!" he started. Then his gaze fell on the other two newcomers. "Liegeus?" he said, the smile widening on his face. Then his gaze fell upon the hooded figure standing beside Liegeus.
"Admiral Daala…"

Daala removed the hood and locked gazes with him. A slow smile formed on her lips.
"Skywalker. It's been a long time."

"That it has been," Luke replied, looking confused as he let them inside. For Han, it was a pleasure to see his brother in law confused and he grinned at him. It was a rare sight.
As he stepped past Luke, he saw the others rising from their seats. He immediately walked over to Jaina and hugged her tightly. He repeated it with Anakin, who seemed a bit shy at his fathers' happiness to see them. It took him a moment before he returned the hug.
Then Han saw the man behind Jaina and let go of his son. He frowned as the young man bowed his head curtly and extended his hand. Jaina was quick to introduce them.

"Colonel Jagged Fel, meet my father. Dad, this is Jagged Fel," she introduced. Han could hear her holding her breath as he took the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, Fel," he smiled.

"And you, Sir."

"Knock it off with the 'Sir', please," Han said," you're making me feel old."

"Sorry Si..eh.."

"Call me Han."

"Han.." Jag replied, a bit uneasy.

"So you are Soontir's son? How's your old man. Still flying, I take it?"

"Absolutely," Jag nodded, cautiously smiling. He looked sideways at Jaina, who seemed to be a bit surprised as well.

"Let me introduce you to my wife, Leia," Han continued as he grabbed Leia's arm and pulled her beside him to introduce her. When the introduction was over, he left them alone to talk and went over to Mara. She glared at him while keeping Daala continuously in her sight.

"What is she doing here?" she growled. He smiled lopsidedly and pulled her into a hug.

"It'll become clear in a few minutes. Just…just give her the benefit of the doubt, ok? What she has to tell Luke is really important. I wouldn't have brought her here otherwise, now would I?" he whispered in her ear.

"I guess. Alright, but only because we're related. She caused more pain and sorrow than I care to think about right now. It better be good."

"Oh it is, believe me. It is," Han replied and led her to where Luke stood, talking to Liegeus and Daala. Luke turned a bit and extended his hand to her. She took it and let herself be introduced to Liegeus and Daala. Liegeus got a warm smile but no such thing for Daala, who seemed to accept her suspicious stare. Luke frowned at his wife.

"Mara…"

"It's alright, Skywalker," Daala interrupted, "If I were her, I would probably do the same. She doesn't trust me. But maybe I can gain a little of her trust by sharing some information that I stumbled upon."
Luke gestured with his arm to the sitting area and after they were also introduced to Jag, Jaina and Anakin, the party sat down.
After everybody was seated, Han leaned down with his elbows on his knees.

"So…Jag…care to tell us what you are doing here?" he asked.

"Han.." Leia started annoyed.
Jag held up a hand and held the rest of her comment from her husband.

"I escorted your son and daughter here because we covered the exit for the other Jedi when the Peace Brigade showed up at Yavin. I was there, on behalf of the Chiss, to offer the Jedi refuge on a world of their choosing in the Unknown Regions. Right now, they're all safely aboard transports that the Chiss provided," he explained. He smiled when Solo's eyebrows seemed to go through the roof upon hearing this news.
"We met some resistance, but none we couldn't overcome. We even killed one of their cruisers."

Han nodded approvingly as he listened to the young man explaining some of the action that had taken place.
Then Luke intervened.

"I'd like to hear about it all, but if any of you don't mind...I'd like to hear what Liegeus and Daala have to tell me."
All faces turned to Daala and Liegeus, who had taken a few crates to sit on.

"Well," Daala began, "Years ago, when I first came out of the Maw, one of the first things I did was order a full update on the current state of events. In that stream of data, there were several files specifically for me. They were coded with a strong encryption and at the time I didn't have the proper tools to try and crack it. I sent them to an account, specifically set up for these kinds of files. When I left the military and settled with Liegeus in the Deep Core, I stumbled upon the account again by accident, about a year ago. I had forgotten those files and out of curiosity I tried to break the code. I finally cracked it last month."

She took a sip of water and glanced around the group. So far, everyone seemed to hang onto every word she said. Even Han and Leia, who had heard the story before.
She set the glass back on the table and continued.

"I found out that the files were incomplete. The files originated from Grand Moff Tarkin. As you probably know, he had some projects that he kept hidden from the Emperor. One of them was the Maw Installation. The other was this."
She produced a datacard and put it on the table.
"On that disk, you will find the schematics for a ship called Inimitable. A Super class Star Destroyer."

A collective gasp went through the group. Luke stood and walked over to the kitchen. From a small bag he produced a datapad and came back. He slipped the datacard into the pad and scrolled through the data.
"The ship is fully rigged and mostly automated. It has slave circuitry. It can be run with a skeleton crew of about 50. It's ready to fly."

Mara took the pad from Luke and scanned through the information. She frowned and looked up.
"There's no location mentioned."

"No. I took it out and buried it in here," Daala said, pointing to her head. "This information is too valuable to leave lying around so the first thing I did was memorize the coordinates."

"Why are you coming to us with this? Why not go to the Remnant or go after it yourself?"

"I didn't offer it to the Empire because the Empire I once knew is no more. And I didn't go after it myself because I don't have any designs on power anymore. So, when I heard about the ultimatum the Yuuzhan Vong made to the New Republic, I decided to reveal the location to the Jedi."

"Why not to the New Republic?" Leia asked curiously.

"Because I do not recognize the New Republic as a government. Not after I saw them lay all the blame on the Jedi. And I owe your brother and you, Princess. You brought Liegeus and me together again."

"So where exactly is the ship?" Mara asked, a bit friendlier.

"The Unknown Regions."
Jag lifted his head in surprise.

"We had all that firepower right under our noses and we didn't know about it?"
Daala smiled and shook her head.

"If Tarkin didn't want something to be found, you wouldn't."
She looked at Han sourly.
"Unless you stumble upon it by accident."
The remark made the others laugh.
"But from Colonel Fel's words I understand that no one has found it yet. So….Skywalker. I offer it to you."

Luke seemed to think about it for a moment and then nodded.
"I accept, Admiral Daala."

"I resigned my commission years ago, Skywalker."

"I understood as much. But I would like you to reconsider. I have no idea how to run a ship that large. I ask you to assume command of it. You would only answer to the Jedi."
Daala glanced sideway and smiled to Liegeus.

"Then I accept, Skywalker."

--==CHAPTER 14 - "Dark Force Rising"==--

Bastion. The Imperial capital planet in the Remnant. As the Chimaera approached the planet, Pellaeon sighed heavily while he stood before the giant viewports of the bridge. When Captain Ardiff informed him that they had reached orbit, he nodded and called ahead to the hangar bay to have his shuttle prepared for departure to the surface.

Better to get this over with quickly.

Four guards that were to accompany him planet-side, stood at attention as he entered the cavernous bay. They swiftly walked up the boarding-ramp and sat down. After they fastened their seatbelts, the ramp closed with sharp hisses, and the shuttle lurched, rising in the air. He had always disliked the cramped space of a shuttle and today was no exception. As soon as they cleared the magconfield, the shuttle simultaneously dove sharply and veered off to the left, reminding him of the breakfast he had this morning. He experienced the same feeling as they broke through the atmosphere and harsh winds buffeted the shuttle, the pilot warning his passengers for a rough ride down.

Ten minutes later, Pellaeon was glad that he had the planet's soil beneath his feet. They boarded a spacious speeder. One of the guards, the most trusted in his ranks, took a seat behind the controls and soon led them through the streets of Bastion's capital. In the distance, the palace of the former Moff Disra rose into the late afternoon skies. However, instead of going toward the center of the city, the speeder swung left on a trail leading away from it and headed into Blackwood Forest which bordered the city to the south. The guard kept them on the track for at least ten minutes. Both sides of the path were now lined with thick and almost impenetrable forest. A small sidetrack appeared to their right, and the guard reduced speed and turned onto it. About a mile further, a huge gate loomed up high before them, barely lit by two old fashioned storm lamps that swung in the soft breeze. They had arrived at Darkwood Hall, a huge mansion that had once been owned by the richest man in the sector before the Empire had taken possession of the planet and named it their capital.

When Pellaeon had first encountered it on one of his treks through the forests surrounding the city, the mansion and its other buildings had been in desperate need of repair. Despite the state of disrepair, he hadn't been able to resist coming here time and time again. He had secretly inquired about who the owner was and had contacted the man, who had completely forgotten about the place. He agreed on the first sum that Pellaeon offered him and seemed very glad to be rid of it. After acquiring the property, it had taken months to restore the old buildings to their former glory because the whole thing had to be done in secret. Contractors from other parts of the planet had been approached and paid off, to keep his new residence a secret from the Moffs that, back then, ruled the Remnant.

He stepped out of the speeder, took a deep breath of the fresh air and closed his eyes for a moment. No speeder fumes, no gasses. Just pure sweet air, scented with the smell of the woods surrounding the property.
Away from the hectic daily life on a Star Destroyer, he thoroughly enjoyed the silence that the place had brought him over the years. Not many people knew of his on-planet residence. Most assumed that he lived on board the Chimaera whenever he was in the system. Only Captain Ardiff and one other person-the woman he was about to meet-knew where to contact him.

She had contacted him on board the Chimaera little more than a month ago, and completely stunned him with her detailed description of his private and, so he thought, highly secret residence.

She had been courteous in her approach, not trying to please him but not patronizing him at the same time with idle chitchat. She immediately led the conversation but allowed him to still have a sense of control throughout the transmission.

At his grumpy invitation, which she had accepted without hesitation, she now waited for him in one of the warm, spacious guestrooms. He looked up and saw a warm glow coming from the third floor.

He turned his head to the huge double doors as he heard one of them opening. A small but distinguished gentleman appeared in the doorway, dressed in a black, handmade suit.

"Good afternoon Dervall," Pellaeon greeted his trusted servant, as he walked up the stairs leading to the doors.

"And you, Sir," the older man replied with a warm smile on his face. "I trust the journey went well?"

"As well as can be expected, Dervall. Has our guest arrived?"
He noticed the man shudder slightly as he nodded.

"Yes, Sir. I've taken the liberty of preparing the guest suite in the west wing. She arrived yesterday."
Pellaeon nodded.

"Good. Good. Please bring her to the library. We do not want to be disturbed. I will call you when I need you."

Dervall bowed slightly and ascended the stairs. Pellaeon silently watched him go and then turned left to the library. There he waited until a soft knock sounded on the door. The door opened and Dervall appeared. Without a word he stepped aside and let their guest enter.

Fully clothed in a long black cloak, supported by a gnarled cane, she approached him. Her blood-red lips parted, and her voice was barely a whisper, rasping and low. It sounded more terrifying than he remembered from the holo-transmission.

"Gilad Pellaeon."

A chill ran up his spine as she looked him straight in the eye. His own eyes started to water a little in reflex as he stared back into a pair of mismatched eyes. One was a molten red, like liquid durasteel. The other was a cold icy blue, the one that had given her the name that stood for terror among many in the galaxy. Iceheart.

Like the rest of the galaxy, he also had believed Ysanne Isard dead. A female NRI officer had killed her at Bilbringi, or so the story went. Apparently she failed. However, if he watched closely, he could see her ragged breathing. Scarring on the right side of her face was kept out of view most of the time by a long strand of pure white hair, reaching her midsection. She kept the hood of her black cloak drawn over her features.

She's Vader without a mask he thought More dead than alive.

He caught himself staring at her as she looked at him with a frown.

"My apologies, Madam. I did not mean to be rude. But forgive me. You were thought to be…"

"Dead."

The word sounded like a whip in the silence as she interrupted him. Cold hatred boiled underneath the surface of her stare.

"Not yet, Admiral, not yet. That Wessiri woman might have thought she killed me and, for a moment, even I believed it. But I was saved. Captain Wintle, a man who remained faithful to me for some reason, had thought it best to assist me and went to find me. He barely arrived in time and eventually nursed me back to health. We stayed on board the Lusankaya for a long time, avoiding the rebels. He used medication from one of its laboratories. He helped me escape and stayed with me until, about three months ago, he died at the hands of a bounty hunter.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Pellaeon answered softly.
She smiled.

"Sorry to hear that I'm still alive or that a good man died?"

"Both. Madam, let's not delude ourselves. I do not like you and you don't like me. So, let us get to business. You told me you have valuable information."

"I have."

"What do you possibly know that could be of value to the Remnant?"

"The location of a fully operational and ownerless Super Star Destroyer would be valuable, wouldn't it?"
She saw surprise light up in his eyes.

"Well, yes," Pellaeon said, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. "But…why not take the ship yourself? You seem to have a special affection for the vessels."

"I do. And if I still commanded enough power and men, I would have it in my grasp already. But that is not the case, unfortunately."

"Why offer it to us?"

"Who else is there? The Rebels? Out of the question. The same goes for the Yuuzhan Vong. What else, the warlords? No, the Remnant is the only power of significance left that has sufficient crew and capability to use the ship's potential."
She narrowed her mismatched eyes at him.
"You seem to be hesitant in accepting this information. Maybe I came to the wrong party after all."

"Oh no, Madam. Let me assure you that the Remnant is very interested."

A Super Star Destroyer, ready for the taking. If he somehow had any misgivings about the woman in front of him, they quickly dissipated. A Super Star Destroyer would certainly be welcomed to the dwindling fleet of Star Destroyers the Remnant kept in service. The war with the New Republic might be over but with the new threat of the Yuuzhan Vong, they could use every inch of firepower. Twelve kilometers worth of it certainly fit the bill. Oh yes, they were interested alright.

"How have you attained this information? With you, Madam, it surely involves the death of several people, if not thousands or millions."

"You give me too much credit this time, Admiral," she smiled unpleasantly. "Not even one fatality."

"For you, that must be an improvement. You didn't answer the question."

"I still have a few operatives scouring the holonet, finding bits and pieces, passing along information. They stumbled upon an old account, apparently set up by Moff Tarkin. I take it that you do know who he was?"

Pellaeon nodded.

"Good. Now, Tarkin had a pet project and he put his secret trainee, Admiral Daala, in charge of it. They set it all up.."

"In The Maw, near Kessel. Yes, I know. And..?"

"Patience, Admiral. Patience. Now, the account my agents discovered seems to have been set up to protect the information in the event that something unwelcome happened to one of them. Tarkin or Daala would still have access to what they needed."

"Yes?"

"My agents discovered a highly encrypted file, sent by Tarkin. It's taken them a few weeks to crack the code and deliver the content of it to me. It revealed the coordinates of a Super Star Destroyer, the Inimitable."

"Where is it?"

"Wrong question, Admiral."

"Very well…what is your price?"

"You catch on quick, Gilad."

"Your price, Madam. And it's Admiral, even for you."

"Two, actually. One is my price, the other is a favor in which I need your help. Admiral."

"Name them."

"One, I want to be there when you find the Inimitable."

"Done. And second?"

"The death of Wedge Antilles."

Pellaeon frowned.

"Why?"

"He is the husband of the woman responsible for my injuries. Iella Wessiri. I want her to suffer and suffer hard. And in the end, I will be the one to tell her how her second husband met his maker. Through my doing."

--==CHAPTER 15 - "Rise of the Future"==--

They arrived on the Errant Venture two days later. Right after landing, Jaina immediately departed the hangar bay in search of her brothers. Jag didn't even get a chance to speak to her, but simply watched her go. He felt a hand on his shoulder, looked up and saw her father standing next to him.
Han followed his gaze and smiled.

"She's fast, isn't she?" he grinned.
Jag smiled sourly and nodded.

"That she is. I've never seen a woman fly a fighter with such skill."

"I didn't mean that, Fel. I meant that she cleared out of here before you got a chance to speak to her."

"Si…ehm, what do you mean?"

"I'm not blind, Jag. I can detect a man in love with my daughter a mile away."
Jag looked up at the older man, a bit unsure what to say.

"What happened between you two, Fel? Something I need to know? It's not like her to avoid people. What did you do?"

"Sir I…I.." Jag stumbled. Then he sighed deeply and watched Jaina enter the turbolift. He turned towards Han.
"I fell in love with her, Sir."

"Knock it off with the 'Sir' thing. I told you.."

"Yes Sir. Han. I…well, I didn't mean to.."

"No man ever means to fall in love, Jag. I sure didn't. And it couldn't come at a more unwelcome time. Let me ask you something.."

"Yes?"

"Have you ever been encased in frozen carbonite?"

"What!"

"You heard me. Listen and learn. I don't like my daughter to get hurt. Ever. If anyone, and in this case it seems to be you, does…"

"Encasement in carbonite, Sir?"

"You got it."

******************************

"Jaina?"
She took the comlink from her belt and thumbed it on.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Could you get Jag up here? He's in the hangar bay. We need him to show us the best route into the Unknown Regions."

"Dad, I'm pretty busy at the moment. Can't you send Anakin?" she asked, trying to suppress the quiver in her voice. She was trying to avoid the man that was occupying way too much time in her thoughts. On the way over to the Errant Venture she even had a dream about him. And her. She could even recall the moment that they...

"Anakin shut off his comlink. I wouldn't ask you if I had Jag's comlink code."

"Ok.."

"Thanks honey."
She heard a click, indicating that he had thumbed his comlink off, and sighed. She groaned a little as she stood and walked to the nearest turbolift that would take her to the hangar bay. When she arrived there, she saw a pair of feet sticking out from underneath Jag's fighter and walked over.

"Jag?"
She heard a bump and a muffled curse. Then his head appeared. Her heart seemed to make a full flip in her chest when she saw him, despite the grease smeared across his forehead.

"Jaina! Hold on…I'll be there in a sec."
He disappeared from view to crawl from underneath the fighter. She heard another bump, a little harder than the last one.

"Ouch!"
She put her hand to her mouth and stifled a laugh. He crawled into view again, rubbing the skin above his right eyebrow, a pained look on his face.

"Let me see," she offered without even thinking.
He bowed his head to just inches of her face.
"Take your hand away," she instructed, inspecting the indicated spot. A trickle of blood flowed from a shallow cut, right next to the scar that ran into his hair.

"It's bleeding. I need a medkit to clean it. There's one on the Falcon. Come."
He followed her to the other side of the hangar, chastising himself for his clumsiness, where the Falcon stood amidst a pair of Uglies, fighters assembled from several other fighter components. He walked up the ramp after her and followed her to the galley, where she instructed him to sit down at the hologameboard. She disappeared for a moment and he heard her rummaging through a locker. She returned with a medkit under her arm, dumping the contents over the hologameboard.

"It's not that bad," he started to protest.

"Quiet. Lean back," she instructed him, holding a clean piece of bandage drenched in some sort of liquid. "This will sting a bit."

She sat beside him and lifted her leg up on the seat so she was turned towards him.
He never so much as winced while she cleaned the cut. In fact, he didn't even notice the pain at all. All he saw was the rising and falling of her chest right in his line of sight. The zipper on the front of her flight suit wasn't completely drawn up, and he could see bit of her smooth skin peaking through. His breathing became labored, and it seemed like someone had turned up the heat from one moment to the next.
This couldn't go on much longer or he wouldn't be able to control himself.

"Done," she said. Relief poured over him as he lifted his head just a little too fast, trying to get some distance between them. She groaned as his forehead came into contact with her lower lip. Her hand shot up to examine it. He looked up and searched her face, noticing a little cut where her own teeth had come into contact with her lip. Neither spoke as his eyes found hers.
He lifted his hand and softly touched her lip with his fingers. Her warm breath flowed over his hand when he softly ran them over the small cut. Then he slowly tilted his head and drew nearer.

Jaina's heart almost stopped beating when he replaced his fingers with his warm lips. At first she didn't even know what to do.
Then he gently leaned forward, slipping his hand to the back of her head, pulling her closer. He deepened the kiss when she opened up to him. Then he felt her hand come up and softly stroke the stubble on his cheek, a result from two days in a cockpit without his hygienic kit. It bristled underneath her soft touch.

Her scent completely filled his nostrils, and he deepened the kiss further more. He felt her other arm sneak around his neck and made a satisfied sound, deep in his throat.
They stayed in that embrace for what seemed to be hours. When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. She just sat there, her hand sliding to his chest, where she felt his heart beat against her touch. He put his own hand over it and started to gently caress it.

"Finally," he whispered. She felt a bit dazed after what had just happened and only half registered what he was mumbling. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."
He drew back a little further and tenderly gazed into her eyes, as she slowly returned to her senses. Her hand came up and gently touched the scar above his eyebrow.

"How did you get this?" she asked softly, tracing it with her finger.

"The scar? An accident in my youth. I'll tell you about it, sometime."

"Why not now?"

"Because I can think of a few other things I'd rather do," he grinned winking, causing her cheeks to flush a deep red. Well, she better get used to it. He liked to speak his mind, especially if he got this kind of a pleasant reaction.

She let him draw her near again and let his mouth claim hers for a second time. Only when they heard sounds from outside the Falcon did he let her go. He sighed and let her slip out of his embrace.

"Are you going to tell your parents?"
Her head shot up while she straightened some of her clothing.

"What do you mean? I'm not going to tell them just yet."

"Your dad already knows."
She narrowed her eyes at him and stood there for a moment. Then realization hit her.

So that's why I had to go and see Jag. Dad set me up!

"Does he now? I wonder how he found out," she said, grinning evilly and slowly walking towards him. He smiled and pulled her to him again.
She sneaked her arms around his waist and laughed.

"Did he threaten you?"

"Hmmm...did you ever hear of carbonite freezing?"
She looked up at him.

"I see...so he did? Why that old…"
The words were cut off when he kissed her again. Finally, he lifted his head again and looked at her questioningly.

'Well? Are you going to tell your family?"
She shook her head.

"No. Not yet. This is new for me. I mean, you've probably got more experience than me. I have to get used to ehm..seeing you as..."

"Someone to see regularly and who gets to kiss you?"
She blushed and smiled shyly.

"That's about it, yes. I never had any romantic entanglements with men before. At least, not officially."

"Me neither," he grinned.
She hit his chest with her fist and blushed.

"Don't make fun of me."
He grabbed her fist when she tried to hit his chest again.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. But, just so you know, I don't have that much experience either. We'll take it as it comes, ok?"
She nodded.
"I'm just glad that this happened. I wouldn't have lasted another week without telling you or showing it."
She grinned.

"Who knew? The great Colonel Jagged Fel, a softy."
He growled threateningly, deep in his throat.

"Watch it, Solo."

"Or…?"

"Or I'm telling your brothers."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"Let's not," she smiled, "but…ehm…I really have to get back. So, if you could let me go?"
She leaned back when he tried to kiss her again and grinned, trying to pry herself out of his embrace. He sighed deeply and let her go, grinning as she left. He pulled his arms up and sat there, his hands behind his head. Then he heard footsteps again and stood quickly, only to see Jaina coming around the corner.

"I totally forgot. My dad called. You're wanted on the bridge. That was why I came here in the first place, before you attacked me like a Rancor in heat," she grinned, using the joke from Yavin.
She turned around and giggled girlishly when he hooked his finger underneath her belt, drawing her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"I thought you came back for more," he whispered in her ear. Then he stiffened behind her.
"Attacked? I don't think so! "
She laughed and pried his arms from her waist again.

"Back off, flyboy," she grinned, "my dad is probably sending out search parties as we speak. Maybe later."

"It's a date," he said smiling, and let her go. He watched her until she disappeared into the turbolift. Then he went over to his fighter to get some datacards and followed her path up to the bridge.

He could still taste her and thought back to the magical moment when his lips met hers. The softness of her tongue touching his. The warmth of her mouth underneath his own.
He arrived on the bridge with a stupid grin plastered to his face. It stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

--==CHAPTER 16 - "A Pleasant Surprise"==--

"Valin, leave those people alone for a while, ok?" Booster Terrik boomed as he scooped his grandson up in his arms, away from the crew in the crewpit. The kid started to squirm in his arms as the older man started to tickle him. Booster's loud laugh made the men and women on the other side of the bridge look up, and they watched the scene smiling.
They had all gathered on the bridge, to discuss the route they were to follow. Daala and Liegeus stood a bit aside from the others while Han, Leia, Luke and Corran Horn had placed themselves around the plotting table.

"Who would have guessed that a man of his size would get so much joy out of a kid ten times smaller?" Corran remarked dryly as he watched his father-in-law hold his son upside down in one hand.

"Don't you say another word, Corran," Mirax Horn smiled as she came walking down the command walkway that divided the crew-pits, "I can show these people some pictures of you holding Jysella or Valin like that. Of course he was smaller at the time. Valin, not Corran."

The others laughed at Corran's quasi-betrayed face as he glared at his wife.

Han grinned as he watched Valin's squirming figure. It wasn't so long ago that he had held his own kids that way, laughing and playing. As if they didn't have a care in the galaxy.
He turned around when he heard the huge mechanics of the bridge doors wail behind him. Jagged Fel came walking in. Han glanced at his chrono. It had been an hour since he had called Jaina to bring Jag to the bridge. One look on the young man's face told him enough. The rosy color on his cheeks, the strange smile. It told Han that he had succeeded. He winked at Jag, who could barely keep a straight face. He just nodded to Han and joined the group, standing at the circular plotting table.

A starchart lay before them. Long green, yellow and blue lines crisscrossed over its surface.

"I wish Mara and I had taken one of those starcharts when we had the chance on *** ," Luke said, as he gazed over the long white lines that held the Unknown Regions within their borders. "It would have made our task today a whole lot easier.

"Alright, Admiral Daala. Show us the way," he asked, looking up at the red-haired woman.

"132.658.01," Daala recited.

Han cocked an eyebrow at her. She smiled back and pointed to her temple.
"Its all in here, like I told you. I memorized it. That's where the Inimitable is waiting for us."

Han began to make some adjustments on the controls of the chart. A white line appeared on the map, leading from their current location to their destination. He frowned.

"Well", Booster Terrik's voice boomed, "what are we waiting for! Helm! Bring us about, and take us to this location. Full speed!" he said, rattling off the coordinates to the young man sitting at the helm.

"Hold it," Han said. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the map beneath him. "Those coordinates are bringing us right into the center of the Unknown Regions. Jag?"

The young man came up beside him and checked his calculations. He nodded.

"Correct."

"Are you certain?" Terrik asked, also frowning.

"As much as I'll ever be," Han replied calmly. He turned towards Jag. "What do you know about that area?"

"There's not much of importance there. It's pretty far from Chiss space. But I do know that the Imperials are using the space nearby as a testing ground. I know that because) I flew through it and got caught in one of their 'projects', not that long ago.
Han scratched his chin while he looked at the younger man thoughtfully.

"Imperials, huh?"
Jag nodded.

"Okay, we can't go through there. We don't want to attract attention. We'll have to get there by an alternative route."

It took them about half an hour before they finally came up with a route that would attract the least attention.

"We can re-supply in the Koornacht Cluster," Han said, tracing the route with his finger. "I have some friends there that can help us and keep it quiet. Then we'll jump towards Bilbringi and make the final course correction."
When everyone agreed, Booster ordered the helm to make the jump to their first stop on the route. The huge ship made the turn and angled for their exit vector.
Then the communications officer looked up.

"Fighters inbound, Sir! They're coming in from our exit vector."

"How many?" Booster asked as he came up beside the officer.

"Hmm..only three."

"Three?"
The officer smiled relieved as he got the readings from the transponders the fighters carried. Just then, the computer received a hail from one of the fighters.

"Going somewhere, Booster?" Wedge Antilles' amused voice sounded. Booster smiled and signaled the officer to open the channel

"You're just in time, Wedge. Come aboard and we'll discuss it."

***************************************************

Jaina's comlink beeped insistently. She rolled her eyes to her aunt as he picked it up and answered the caller.

"Jaina? It's dad again. Wedge is on his way in. I thought you would like to know."
"Thanks dad!" she replied and turned the comlink off. She looked at her aunt, whom she had visited the moment after her romantic meeting with Jag in the hangar bay.

"Go, go! I'm fine," Mara smiled, softly rubbing her stomach. Not long from now, the baby would lie in her arms. She couldn't wait for it to happen. She watched her niece go, a big smile on her face. By the looks of it, her niece was headed for happiness herself. The girl deserved it. And Jagged Fel was a good man, from what she had seen of him. The adoration in his eyes when he looked at Jaina was obvious. And he was strong enough to not let her walk all over him. His upbringing would see to that. No, Jaina finally met her match.

***************************************************

Jaina ran through the corridors as she made her way to the hangar bay. She wanted to be there when Wedge would land his fighter. She rounded a corner in full speed and promptly ran into a tall figure, who yelped in surprise. They fell down to the deck and she didn't land very softly on top of the person underneath her.

"What the…Jaina!" Jag groaned surprised. She lifted her head and blushed as she felt his arms wrap around her. At any given time, someone might see what was going on. She began to get up but a twinkle of mischief came into his stare.
"Couldn't wait for more, huh?" he grinned and pulled her head down.

"No..wait…Jag....I...Ok."
She gave in and fully concentrated on him, as he masterfully played her senses like a virtuoso.
A laugh rumbled in his throat as she slid her arm underneath his neck, lifting his head from the cold plating on the deck. He sighed satisfied and deepened the kiss, rolling to his side and then lifting himself up on his arms over her.
She didn't even feel his weight as he coaxed himself on top of her. She just completely lost herself in the kiss. She also didn't register the two feet that were silently coming up on them. Not until she heard someone clearing his throat in the far, far distance. She blinked when Jag ripped his lips off of hers and stood like he was stung by an Ithorian land snake.
Then she looked up and saw Wedge, Tycho Celchu and Wes Janson looming over her, barely able to keep a straight face.

"Attention!" he shouted, almost openly smiling now. She raced onto her feet and tried to avoid his amused gaze. Beside her, she sensed jag starting to shudder as he also couldn't keep from laughing. Then she couldn't contain a straight face herself and burst into laughing herself.

"Sorry about that, Wed..Sir."

"Don't worry about it, Lieutenant. I'm pleasantly surprised. Carry on."
He began to walk again and they followed him.

"I'd rather not," she grinned and gave a startled yelp when Jag pinched her side.

"Oh you don't, huh? I'm not sure I like that," he whispered as they followed Wedge.

"Shut your face, Fel," she hissed back," I'm already as embarrassed as I'm ever going to be."
He grinned and stopped her, letting Wedge and the others continue towards the bridge. He looked to both sides before he stole another kiss. Then they quickly followed Wedge.

***************************************************

"Wedge my boy! It's good to see you," Booster bellowed across the bridge as they entered though the huge doors.

"Booster," Wedge nodded smiling and turned towards the others. His facial expression sagged when he saw Daala.
"What is she doing here?" he asked
"We better fill you in entirely, Wedge. If you don't want to come along, you can still leave," Leia intervened.
The better part of the hour they explained the last few days and Daala's discovery.

"An SSD?" he blinked, gazing at the woman who stood silently off to the side. "And she's giving it to you?"
Leia turned and followed his gaze, smiling towards Daala and Liegeus. She extended her arm invitingly and they joined the group.

"Yes. Admiral Daala has given us the location of this vessel. And she has done so because of the reasons that she gave us and we just explained to you. We believe her. She didn't have to come to us but she did. You can leave if you do not accept her story," Leia explained, setting her jaw. She didn't like to go against the man she had considered a friend for all those years. But she was determined to also show him that those days were gone.
A few tense moments passed as Wedge stared at the red-haired woman who he had fought against all those years ago. She met his stare unflinchingly.

"I believe her," he finally said. A collective gasp of relieve went through the group. "We will join you. You're going to need us, in case there are more people looking for it."

"I doubt it," Daala said, "the message was highly encrypted and almost untraceable."
Wedge gave her a cold smile.

"Nothing is untraceable. That much we have learned a long time ago. And it seems in a galaxy far, far away."

--==CHAPTER 17 - "Greed"==--

Pellaeon stood before the Imperial High Command and shook his head slightly as he watched the total chaos that surrounded him. Standing in the middle of a nearly full circle of tables, he listened to the screams and demands that had erupted around him when he had informed them of the precious prize that awaited them in the Unknown Regions.

"Silence!"

The order was given by the official ruler of the Remnant, Melchior Aruma. His voice was commanding, warm and rich, deep and resonating. Pellaeon almost laughed aloud as the room suddenly fell silent.

"How has this information come to your attention, Admiral?" Moff Aruma asked him, eyeing the other Moffs with a hint of contempt in his dark blue eyes.

Moff Aruma had risen to power very quickly, almost furiously so, and now resided in the palace that had once been Moff Disra's residence. It was he that Pellaeon ultimately had to convince of this mission's necessity.
The room they were currently in was located beneath one of its rising towers.

Even Pellaeon had to admit that Aruma had charisma. He, unlike any other Moff he had ever met, sported a beard. Like his curly hair, it was pure white and kept trimmed short to his skin. It gave his noble features the edge he had needed when the elections were finally held and he had become the official ruler of the Remnant.

"I'd rather not disclose that information in this group, Sir," Pellaeon replied, eyeing each of the Moffs for a full minute before he finally turned to their leader. "But I will tell you in a private meeting, later tonight. I'll even bring my source to verify all I have told you here today."

"You answer to us," one of the Moffs, a weasel of a man named Helcor, fumed. "We will have your resignation if you do not disclose your source. Now!"

"We will have no such thing," Aruma rumbled deep in his throat as he narrowed his eyes to Pellaeon with a hint of respect. "The information will be available when it's necessary for you to know it. For now, on the assumption that I trust his source, I will grant Fleet Admiral Pellaeon his request for the five Star Destroyers. You will all give him whatever he needs. We need that ship! And this meeting is over. Dismissed, gentlemen."

That last was said with such a finality that no Moff would dare go against Aruma's decision. They quickly exited the room. When the last of them had disappeared through the double doors, Aruma spoke softly.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Gilad. It's not wise to anger a man like Moff Helcor. But I'm probably not telling you anything new, am I?" He smiled when Pellaeon nodded. "I thought so. Now tell me. Who is this mystery source of yours?"

"I am sorry, your Excellency. You will have to wait until tonight. You see, she prefers the dark."

"A woman of mystery. How…intriguing. Very well. Tonight then."

With those final words, Aruma rose to his feet, nodded to Pellaeon, and then left the room, leaving Pellaeon behind in deep thought.

**********************************************************

Isard just started down the stairs when Pellaeon entered Darkwood Hall. He watched as she, apparently with great difficulty, descended. He slowly walked to the bottom of the stairs and waited for here there, taking her outstretched hand when she was nearly down.

"Pathetic, isn't it? I walk like an old woman," she said. When he didn't reply, she led the way to the library and he followed her, matching her slow steps. He could hear her heavy ragged breathing.

"She shot me in my stomach. That Wessiri woman. By the time I left the Lusankaya, the wound had healed, but the skin had become very tight. I've walked like this ever since because I can't stand up straight anymore. The pain is too great."

"Why didn't you have reconstructive surgery?" he asked curiously. He would have had it done.

"And get caught? Admiral, there aren't many people with features like mine. I would've been recognized instantly and arrested. I'm hated everywhere. No doctor would help me, even if I forced him. But it's a minor injury compared to what I'm going to do to that Wessiri woman. She will pay. And her pain will heal me."

He shuddered at the thought of what Isard might do to Iella Wessiri. He definitely didn't want to be present for that payback.

"Please tell me how your meeting went. Have they accepted your demand for an escort?"

"Yes. A few Moffs threatened me because I did not want to reveal the source. It worked, like you said. Aruma will meet us tonight. And he took the bait. He gave them a direct order to supply the ships. The fleet is assembling in orbit as we speak."

At first, when they had started planning the whole scheme, he hadn't thought it would work. The minute the Moffs found out that it was Ysanne Isard who had provided the location, they would have refused to cooperate. But she had come up with a plan, brilliant in its simplicity. He was to go before the Moffs and lure them in with the Inimitable, then refuse to tell them who his source was.
Isard had predicted correctly that Aruma would appreciate that the source would only be revealed to him. It played to his ego, just as she had foreseen.

"If he's still as greedy for power as he was when I met him in the Outer Rim Territories, he will be desperate for this Super Star Destroyer. I watched him for a long time before I came to you. His power is weakening, you see? He'll get the other Moffs out of his way by ordering them to send their ships and agree to meet me. He's a clever man. He will want to personally be there when we take control so that he can make the Inimitable his personal flagship. No one can touch him then. He will declare himself the new Emperor."

Pellaeon hadn't really believed that the charismatic leader would fall for it, and when he had, it had been a complete surprise to Pellaeon. Isard had accurately predicted Aruma's every move.
Maybe it wasn't so bad after all to have her as an ally. Even in her weakened body, she still had the sharpest mind he had ever encountered, second only to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

**********************************************************

They arrived deep in the bowels of the Palace and made their way up through dark hallways and turbolifts. When they arrived on the main floor, a guard stood at attention and brought them to a darkened office. As soon as the guard left, the lights came up very slowly. A lone figure sat at a huge desk on the far side of the room. Isard stayed behind Pellaeon as he slowly walked towards the desk.

"Good evening, Your Excellency."
The lights came up some more, and this time Pellaeon could clearly see the white beard.

"Admiral. And please, introduce your guest. I'm very curio.." Isard stepped from behind Pellaeon into the light. "No…" Aruma hissed, "you're dead!"

"As you can see, Aruma, I'm very much alive. How are you these days? Still enjoying that mistress of yours?" she grinned unpleasantly.
A betrayed look came upon his face, and he angrily pointed at Pellaeon.

"You knew she was alive and you didn't report that to us? She will be our undoing if she ever takes command of the Remnant again, you fool!"

Pellaeon continued to stare at the man that he had thought of as charismatic and in control. None of it was showing now. The real Aruma sat bare before them. Pellaeon could see that now, as he remembered Isard's scorn for the man.

"Relax, Aruma. I'm not here to take your place. I'm here because you wanted to know the source of the information that Admiral Pellaeon here, gave you this afternoon."
Aruma seemed to relax a bit when he heard that she had no intention of removing him, perhaps permanently, from office.

"What is it you want then?" he asked a bit more calmly.

"Nothing that concerns you. Or the ship. We just needed the escorts you and the other Moffs kindly offered today. You see, five Star Destroyers hold enough extra personnel to form the crew and prepare the Destroyer for voyage. That was all that we needed from you. The other Moffs would have denied it to us if they would have known that it was me behind the information."

Aruma nodded and he seemed to fully understand the trap he had walked in to.

"The information is true then?"

Isard kept silent and just stared coldly at him.

"Very well then. I will, of course, come with you. I want to be there when we seize our prize."

Pellaeon glanced sideways and caught Isard's eyes. She had been right again.

"Of course, Your Excellency."

--==CHAPTER 18 - "Sweet Anticipation"==--

The Errant Venture disappeared into hyperspace with a quiet bang beginning the long journey towards the prize in the Unknown Regions.

Jaina slowly walked back to her quarters and thought about this new adventure they were embarking on. Right before her, Jag had left with her brothers. They had been talking softly and insistently, something that had brought a frown to her face.

What were they up to?

She got to her quarters and slipped inside. She immediately began to undress herself and was just about to go to the refresher station, when she heard a knock on her door. Then a piece of flimsy was pushed underneath. She frowned and looked around for something to wear before opening the door. She grabbed her robe and tied the sash around her waist.
Then she picked the piece of flimsy up from the floor and curiously unfolded it.

`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`
Milady,

Your presence has been requested in maintenance room 1138 at no later than 20:00 hours. A dress-code has been instituted; therefore, you are required to dress yourself in the dress that is currently waiting for you on the other side of this door. The other box contains the matching shoes.

Regards,

TPM
(The Phantom Men)

`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`

She opened the door and indeed there were two packages, packed in colorful wrapping. She looked left and right, but the corridor was completely empty.
She picked them up and carried them inside, closing the door behind her with her foot. She set the packages on the bed and un-wrapped the largest first. She opened the lid, and held her breath when she saw the most beautifully colored dress she had ever seen. It was made of a light blue shimmersilk. She picked it up and held it into the light, sighing deeply. Whomever it was that wanted to see her in this dress, and she believed only one person so eager that he would buy such an expensive piece of clothing, certainly had taste.

She held the dress before her slender figure and walked on over to the giant mirror placed on the inside of her wardrobe closet. She giggled a little as she looked at herself, holding the dress in front of her. She practically ran to the bed and started to undress herself. One look at the front of the dress told her that she would have to remove all her upper clothing. She frowned again. She'd never worn something so revealing before.

She almost decided to clothe herself into a more conservative dress, one of her own, but the piece of art on her bed seemed to beckon her, call her name. She just had to try it on.
She carefully, as not to rip the delicate fabric, picked it up and let it slide over her head. It felt like water running down her frame, so light was the fabric. It fit perfectly, as if the buyer had known her exact size.

She almost dared not to look in the mirror at herself. She slowly walked towards it and closed her eyes for a moment, taking the last step. Then she opened them.
Who was this person, staring back at her? It looked like a holomovie-star, one of those beautiful people who had the perfect life, and all of the perfect, handsome men. She slowly swirled in front of the mirror, causing the fabric of the skirt to softly rustle and sway around her legs. She blushed as she saw herself again. The front of the dress didn't leave much to the imagination. There were solid pieces of fabric, seemingly placed at random, that concealed the obvious spots. The rest of the front was tailored like the skirt and back of the dress. The back of the dress, along with the skirt, seemed to have been attacked by a thousand clawed paws. Strips of the light blue shimmersilk hung down to slightly above the ground in thousands of individual strands.
She remembered the shoes and walked back to the bed to open the box. Then she smiled and picked up her commlink instead. She programmed the device to a certain frequency and pushed the transmit button.

"Yes?" Mara's voice sounded impatiently.

"Mara? It's Jaina. I'm sorry, I seem to have disturb…"

"No, no. It's all right. I was trying to take a nap, but the baby has other plans, it seems. What can I do for you?"

"Could you please come to my quarters? I need some advice and also to show you something."

"I'll be over in five minutes," Mara promised and cut the transmission.
She made it in little over three. Jaina decided against rushing to the door. Instead, she ran to the refresher station and stood behind the door. Then she reached out with the Force and opened the room door. She looked around and saw Mara slowly walking in.

"Close the door, please," she giggled. Mara looked in her direction and raised an eyebrow. Then she did as requested and closed the door.

"Ready?" Jaina called out.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Mara mumbled, softly stroking her belly. Then she looked up at the door to the refresher station. "I'm ready!"
She held her breath when Jaina appeared in the doorframe.

"Oh, Jaina," she gasped. "That dress...what a beauty!" she continued after she found the words.
Jaina looked at her, insecurity plainly visible in her gaze.

"You think so? I mean…I feel.."

"Naked?" Mara grinned. When Jaina nodded she laughed loudly. "Oh, sweetie, if only you could see yourself through my eyes. You look wonderful. I take it that it's a gift?"
Jaina nodded again.
"Jag?" Mara guessed, taking the soft fabric in her hands, squinting her eyes. When Jaina didn't answer she looked up.

"I think so…" Jaina said slowly.
Mara raised her eyebrows again.

"You think so?"

"Yes.The dress was delivered here, with this note."
Jaina picked up the note and gave it to her. She opened the shoebox in the meantime and almost choked on her breath when she discovered what was inside.

"Oh, Mara…take a look at this," she sighed, gently taking a shoe out of the box. Mara looked up and took the shoe from her.

"Exquisite," she mumbled. Then she gave Jaina a wink and held up the note.

"It must be from Jag. It has to be!" Then she eyed the shoe again and held it up to the light..
It shimmered like the dress because the entire outside of it was coated with the same silk. The three-inch heels were thin and made of a see-through material, as was the entire sole. It would be like she was walking on glass.

"When a man buys this kind of stuff for us women…we women have to be very careful," she finally sighed, carefully handing the shoe to her niece. Jaina put them on and as with the dress, they were a perfect fit. She frowned at her aunt.

"How so?"

"Honey," Mara began, patting beside her on the bed, "come sit here for a minute."
Jaina obediently walked around the bed, a bit wobbly at first because of the shoes. She'd never worn shoes like this before. Mara turned towards her and took her hand.

"Have you ever had…ehm…the talk?" Jaina frowned. "You know…the talk."

Jaina's cheeks turned a deep red as she finally understood. She shook her head. "Not really, no. Mom once told me of…stuff. But I know enough.."

Mara smiled. "Honey, we never know enough. And this is a new period in your life. You're being courted now. It's not as innocent as it was with Zekk. Are you ready for that?"

"For what?"

Mara sighed.

Oh brother..

"Listen and listen carefully. I'm not saying that this is what he wants but…when men buy gifts for women, they usually want something in return."

"Like what," Jaina asked, now completely confused. She frowned deeply when Mara began to insistently send signals with her eyes.

"You know…that. Men want…intimacy."
Jaina's eyes grew large as she understood what Mara was trying to tell her. She immediately became nervous and stood up from the bed, pacing in front of her aunt.

"Oh," she stammered, "I…I..what…would.."

"Calm down, honey. And stop pacing. You'll wear out the carpet."
When Jaina didn't do as she requested, Mara stood and grabbed her arm. "Stop that. What's gotten into you? Like I said, it may not be his intention at all. Actually, I'm quite certain that it's not," she soothed, "Your whole family is aboard this ship. He wouldn't dare even if you wanted him to. Force knows what your father would do if he ever found out, right?"

That somehow seemed to calm Jaina down and she stood still, looking at her aunt.

"I never thought about this…"
Mara smiled.

"Of course you didn't. But you're a young woman now. And this is the first man that has approached you with romantic intentions. Things happen and that is one of them. Just be careful and you'll be fine."
Jaina hugged her aunt, much more at ease now. As they were hugging, she saw her own face in the mirror behind her aunt.

"Oh my! Look at me. My hair!"
Mara leaned back and took her head in her hands.

"Don't you worry about a thing. We'll make you look stunning."
She glanced at the chrono on the wall.
"And we have about an hour to turn you into a masterpiece."

***********************************************************

Three quarters of an hour later, Jaina walked down the corridors of the Errant Venture, a bit self-consciously, eyeing the seemingly endless row of doors. She finally found number 1138 and softly knocked. When nothing happened, she opened the door quietly and stepped inside. She held her breath when she saw something that she never thought she'd see inside a maintenance room.

The entire room was lit by candles, hundreds of them. The walls were covered with deep red flowing fabric that hung down from the ceiling, creating an intimate and romantic atmosphere. And in the middle stood a table, set for two. Her mouth went dry when she saw Jag standing up, dressed in a pure white uniform, his insignia and rank on the left of his chest and collar. He slowly came towards her as she stood there, waiting for him to get near.
He took her unconsciously outstretched hand and brought it up to his mouth, softly kissing it.
His combed back black hair shone in the flickering candlelight. The only thing that stood out was the scar above is eyebrow, running back into the white hairlock. He smiled, and it gave him a devilish appearance.

Without saying a word, he took her hand and guided her to the table, where he courteously held the chair back for her. She sat down and looked around as he walked to the other side of the table. He took the wine bottle and poured the greenish sweet liquor in the high glasses.
The door opened and two young men came walking in carrying trays. She had to look twice before she recognized Jacen and Anakin. She stifled a laugh when Jacen cleared his throat discretely.

"Good evening, Milord and Milady. We will be your waiters for the evening. Any wish you have will be our command. We hope you enjoy your evening. We will start off with some hors 'd oeuvres." He bowed slightly and stepped back after he set his tray in front of his sister. Anakin set his in front of Jag.

"How did you get those two to behave, much less to put a suit on?" Jaina asked, gesturing with her thumb over her bare shoulder. "I've tried for years to get them to do my bidding, and Mom tried in vain to get them in a suit."

"Why don't you ask them?" Jag replied, his eyes twinkling.

"Jacen?" she called. She heard his footsteps behind her.

"Yes, Madam?"

"Cut that out. What did he do to make you guys behave?"

"My apologies, Madam. The kind Sir requested that we not reply to such questions. Milord figured you might try the same in the near future. We happily agreed on that term. Enjoy your dinner, Madam."

Her mouth hung open, and she turned in her seat to see him take his place beside his brother near the wall. She looked at Jag and narrowed her eyes.

"I couldn't do that to them," he explained, smiling, "so don't punish them. If there's anyone to be punished for this, take me. I'd be happy to be the…victim of your wrath."

She grinned evilly.

"Don't be so sure of that."

--==CHAPTER 19 - "On Top Of The Galaxy"==--

Dining in the warm glow of candles and the simmering gazes that Jag continuously gave her, made Jaina feel like she was on top of the galaxy. It couldn't get any better than this in her perspective. The food was exquisite. They had started off on her favorite meal, Taladron steak, and from there the most exclusive dishes passed in front of her nose.
She had given up on finding out how he had gotten the help of her brothers. Instead, she was dying to know how he had arranged all this in less than a few hours.
Sitting back in the chair, her stomach filled and a little buzz in her head from the sweet wine, she looked at him curiously.

"So, how did you arrange for all this?" she asked, gesturing around her.

"Does it matter?" he asked winking. When he saw that the answer wasn't the one she was looking for, he sighed. "I had some help from Booster and them," he said, gesturing with his head to her brothers who still stood near the wall.

"You arranged this in less than one day?" she asked unbelievingly.

"What does it matter how this was arranged? Why does a little mystery bother you so much? Do you always need to know everything?"

"Yes, she does," Jacen mumbled under his breath but loud enough for his sister to send him a withering look.

"No, I do not. Don't listen to him."

"Then don't ask but enjoy the evening," Jag replied slyly. He signaled the boys to come and empty the table, ending the topic in which the conversation was headed. When Jacen came back into the room, he nodded towards him.
Jag stood up and walked around the table, formally asking her for a dance.

As soft and romantic music started to play, he guided her into a slow dance. They slowly turned and shuffled through the room. He saw Anakin and Jacen grinning at him and making suggestive wiggles with their eyebrows. He smiled and gestured to the door with his head. The boys took the hint and quietly left, leaving them alone in the candlelit surroundings.

"Alone at last," he whispered in her ear, holding her close to him. She looked up and saw that her brothers had left the room. Aunt Mara's warning immediately sprang into her thoughts.

You know…that. Men want…intimacy.

She felt a panic rise inside when she felt his hand on the small of her back, pulling her against him. His hips softly rocked against hers as he guided her into a slow spin.

Is he expecting something? She wondered and opened herself to the Force, gently probing his mind. She found no wrong intentions, no expectations. What she did find was admiration and warmth for her, tenderness and emotions that he seemed to control. For now. The room was definitely becoming warm very quickly as she withdrew herself from his mind and looked up into his green eyes. They came closer as she was captivated by their intensity, and he nuzzled his nose against hers.

"What is it?" he whispered softly, lightly touching her mouth with his lips. "Something wrong?"
She shook her head and smiled, letting her head rest on his chest as they moved through the room.

"Nothing. It's just…this is wonderful."
She heard the soft rumble in his throat as he softly laughed. Then he stopped in the middle of the dance and kissed the nape of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She felt his warm breath on her cheek as he traveled towards her mouth and then claimed it.
She let her arms slip around his neck and unconsciously pressed herself against him. He groaned a little as her body fit to his and deepened the kiss. It resulted in a passionate embrace and he broke the kiss by lifting his head when he felt his body react.

"No Jaina, stop…" he sighed, urgency in his voice. But she didn't hear him. All she knew was that it felt too good to let him go. She kissed the corner of his mouth and let hers be captured once again as he couldn't resist. They stood so close to each other that she could feel…
He broke the passionate kiss abruptly and stepped back.

"We need to stop this. Now," he insisted urgently and pulled away. She immediately felt cold and stared at him, a little shocked that he had broken the embrace. She saw his chest rising and falling in rapid succession.

"We can't continue this," he smiled sadly and touched her chin. She stared up at him and saw the muscles in his jaw contracting as he clenched his teeth.
"Don't look at me like that," he growled and stepped back again.

"Like what?" she asked softly and touched his arm. He withdrew it like she had stung him.

"Like that! Innocent. Do you have any idea what almost happened?"
Then Mara's advice came rushing into her head and she deeply colored.

"I'm…sorry," she whispered, embarrassed that she had lost her cool. It only seemed to happen whenever he was around. Especially when his mouth…
She heard his sharp inhale and he came towards her again, lifting her head gently with his fingers under his chin.

"Don't be sorry. Don't ever be sorry. It was a physical reaction and you may consider it a compliment."
He smiled and kissed her forehead, then let his rest against it.
"There will come a time that we will continue. But not today. We're both not ready for that, yet. We don't need to rush this, okay?"
She nodded softly and was glad that he had picked up on her inexperience, handling it with care.
Then he pulled her into his arms again and slowly started to dance again.

****************************************

It was very late when they finally arrived at the door to her quarters. The illumination in the corridors had been dialed down, to give the people aboard spaceships a sense of time. Knowing Booster, it was also to cut costs. He left entire sections of the Errant Venture un-pressurized and dark.
Jag laughed at her comments about it and turned to face her when they stopped at her door.

"Here we are," she said, realizing that it wasn't necessary to say that. But she had to say something. She fiddled with a few strands of her dress and looked down to the ground, avoiding his eyes. He took control of the situation by stepping up to her and taking her in his arms. He gave her a long and passionate kiss before he stepped back, smiling. She felt like she could just slide to the floor and sleep there, and it showed. He couldn't resist taking her in his arms one more time. He smiled when he lifted his head.

"I really have to go."
She grinned and pondered her newly found power over him. It was different, and very exciting.

"Then go."

"I don't want to."

"Then don't."
He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, fighting for control. He resolutely shook his head.

"Don't Jaina. Just don't, ok? I have to go."
He kissed her one last time and then hastily exited the scene.
Jaina rested her back against the door and watched him leave, sighing deeply.

This is going to be very difficult She thought and opened the door. She quickly undressed and prepared for the night. Then she slid between the sheets of her bed and closed her eyes. It didn't take long before she was sound asleep, dreaming of the man that had turned her life upside down.

*************************************************

She woke up from one of the most compromising dreams she had ever had. She smiled to herself and got out of bed. She couldn't wait to go and find Mara, to tell her all about her date with Jag.
She quickly washed herself and slipped into a pair of coveralls. She fastened her utility belt and hooked her lightsaber onto it. Then she left her quarters and went up two decks, where Uncle Luke and Mara had their quarters. She entered when she heard Mara call out to come in and was surprised to find her parents were also there.
She greeted them with a hug and sat down. Blast. She couldn't talk to Mara with her parents there!

"So how was your date?" her mother asked.
Jaina looked at Mara with a betrayed expression on her face.

"I had to tell them, Jaina," Mara apologized, "Your dad here was about to disturb you last night."
Jaina looked at her parents and saw her mother looking at her, smiling.
She blushed and gave them a small account of the evening before, leaving out the more intimate details.

"I hope that he kept his hands where they belong… off of my daughter!" Han grumpily declared.
Mara stifled a laugh and looked the other way. Leia gave him a hard stare.

"That's not what we agreed on, Han," she said.
Then she looked at Jaina apologizing.
"Sorry about that, honey. Your dad is a bit…ehm…protective. Even though I heard that he helped out, somewhat, by sending you to Jag in the first place, yesterday."

"Yeah, well, he is putting the moves on my only daughter. I didn't know he would move that fast!" Han spat, standing up and beginning to pace the room.
Mara leaned over to Jaina.
"I can see where you got that from," she whispered.
Leia smiled and looked at her husband.

"Han...ehm...maybe it would be better if Mara and I talked to her alone.."
Han rolled his eyes and started for the door.

"Fine. I get it. You want to be alone for one of those girl-talk sessions, huh?"

"Something like that, yes," Leia replied dryly.
Then she looked over her shoulder to make sure that he had left. She immediately drew the chair she was sitting on, closer to her daughter and leaned over.

"So tell us, woman to woman….is he a good kisser?" she asked.
Jaina blushed deeply and opted not to reply. She looked at Mara who seemed to also want to know the answer. Then she grinned.

"Very."

The rest of the morning was completely lost in what Han had correctly called a girl-talk session.

--==CHAPTER 20 - "Journey"==--

The Errant Venture arrived in the Koornacht Cluster two standard days later and achieved orbit around the cluster's capital planet, N'Zoth. Once home to the Yevethan race that had been known throughout the New Republic as a cruel and dangerous species when the Black Fleet Crisis had started almost nine years ago, the planet and the entire Koornacht Cluster were now New Republic territory.

Han Solo stared down at the planet below through the viewports on the bridge. He didn't have a particular fondness for the world, or the entire cluster itself for that matter. He still remembered the savage beating that he had received at the hands of Nil Spaar, the then Viceroy of the race and one of the cruelest Yevetha he had ever encountered. Leia had told him, after the ordeal was over, that Nil Spaar had taped the entire beating of him, bound and defenseless, just to make a point to the New Republic that they should leave Koornacht immediately.

It had only provoked the opposite reaction. The New Republic had declared war on the Yevethan race and swore to disable its capacity to ever wage war again.
The New Republic had succeeded in the end, with the help of Imperial prisoners still in captivity when the Yevetha had taken over the cluster after Emperor Palpatine's demise at Endor.

The vivid memories from the days on the world down below still made Han shudder. Then he remembered how Chewie had come to rescue him with a crazy and daring plan, and a slow rueful smile played across his lips. He sure did miss the old fuzzball. He started a bit when two arms wrapped around him from behind. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at his wife. Then he put his own hands over hers and held them.

"Memories, huh?" she softly whispered, hugging him more tightly for a moment. He slowly nodded and they stood there in silence for a while.

"I can't wait to get out of here," he said after the long silence.

"You came up with the idea of the Koornacht Cluster, honey," Leia reminded him, gently slapping his shoulder. He grinned and turned towards her.

"I know."

*********************************

Half a day later, the Errant Venture slipped into hyperspace once again en route to the last coordinate change. It would take them dangerously close to Bilbringi, the shipyard that had recently fallen into enemy hands. Data on the surrounding systems was hazy at the most. They had tried to get the last available news reports during the stop at N'Zoth, but nothing had been said about the shipyards. Even Luke, who had high clearance on military operations, couldn't pry anything loose, so they jumped 'blind'.

*********************************

The reversion to realspace was about to come up, and everyone assembled onto the bridge. Tension rose as the counter slowly counted down the seconds. The stars elongated into streaks of white light when it reached zero. Immediately the bridge became a rustle of activity with Booster in the center of it.

"Report!" he shouted. They waited several seconds before an officer down in the crewpit gave the all clear.

"Nothing on radar, sir!"

"Good," Booster replied. Han, in the meantime, went down into the crewpit and calculated the final leg for the journey with the helmsman, motioning Jag to come too.
Half an hour later, the Errant Venture disappeared again. Next stop: The Inimitable.

*********************************

"Admiral, the fleet is ready for your command," Captain Ardiff spoke formally, indicating the fleet was ready to depart for the long journey towards the prize awaiting them in the Unknown Regions. Pellaeon nodded and gave the communications officer a signal to open communications. Five miniature holograms suddenly appeared before him… the captains of the other ships.

"Gentlemen, in about one minute, coordinates will be sent into the navicomputers aboard your ships. Many of you have no idea to where we are headed. This will be revealed to you by my guest aboard the Chimaera, our ruler, Melchior Aruma."

Pellaeon turned around and motioned to Aruma who stood waiting behind him. All captains bowed in unision when Aruma stepped up on the transmittor platform and appeared in miniature form on their own receivers. He glanced sideways to the communications officer who gave two thumbs up.

"Good day, gentlemen," Aruma's rich voice boomed. "You have just received the coordinates into your navicomputers. As you can see, we are headed deep into the Unknown Regions. We are straying so far from our own territory because we have received valuable information that at those coordinates we will find our quarry, or rather our prize. We will find a ship there that will greatly enhance our ability to protect and even expand our current territory. The ship I'm talking about is the Inimitable, a Super Destroyer Class vessel."

Startled gasps came through the speakers as the captains reacted to this new revelation. Aruma raised his hands to quiet them.

"I'm afraid that we cannot delay our departure anymore than is absolutely necessary, so I will keep this short." He took a moment to look purposefully at each captain before he continued.
"Gentlemen, we need this ship, to protect ourselves from our rivals and the new threat that the Yuuzhan Vong are posing to our galaxy. I expect your full cooperation. We do not know what to expect when we arrive, but one thing is very clear; failure to capture this ship is not an option."

With those ominous last words, he retreated from the transmitting platform. Pellaeon immediately took his place and gave some last instructions. Then the counter reached zero. A loud wail sounded, and one by one, the ships entered hyperspace.

*********************************

The Errant Venture glided smoothly through dark space. The nearest star, some ten lightyears away, was too dim to shed any light into this unexplored corner of the galaxy.
They had only arrived an hour ago, after a journey of almost 3 more days. A full system scan had revealed that there were no other vessels in or even close to the area. Unfortunately, that couldn't be said for asteroids. The system seemed laden with the dreaded things. Whole chunks, some the size of small moons, slowly drifted past the searchlights, supporting Booster's guess that the original star in this system probably had gone supernova thousands of years ago. Every now and then, a turbolaser would open up on one of the smaller chunks when it came too close to the ship. When the field grew too dense, Booster ordered the destroyer to be moved out and above the asteroid field.

"This is getting us nowhere," he sighed, gazing out the viewport at the rolling asteroids below. "It will take years to comb through this field."

"Maybe not," Jag said thoughtfully stroking his chin and looking at Daala. "Didn't you say, back on Nar Shadda, that the ship was rigged? Slaved to a frequency?"
Daala nodded.

"Yes. But I don't have the beckon call. I only have the frequency for it."
That made Mara's head turn.

"That's it! I hadn't even thought about that!"
She immediately walked down the command walkway and impatiently gestured to the rest of them to come with her.

"I'll explain on the way down."

*********************************

They exited the turbolift in the hangar bay and immediately proceeded to the Jade Shadow, parked next to the Falcon.

"I didn't think about the conversation back on Nar Shadda. Only when Jag mentioned it did I think about it," Mara said, punching the access code into the panel next to the ramp. It came down with a hiss of pressurized gas and touched the deck with a soft clunk. She quickly boarded her ship, telling the others that she'd be right back. Minutes later she appeared again holding a palm-sized device in her hand.

"This is the spare beckon call I had for the Jade's Fire. The other one was destroyed on Nirauan and I totally forgot about this one. I stashed it in here because I thought it could come in handy some day. We could reprogram it to the frequency of the Inimitable."
Han looked doubtful and carefully took it from her.

"I dunno," he said, softly pondering while he scratched his cheek. "The system on the Inimitable is what….25, maybe 30 years old?"

"We can at least try," Daala chimed in, holding her hand out to him. He placed the device in her hand after which she examined it. "Yes, I think it'll work."
She unlocked the casing so she could manipulate the buttons. After a moment, a green light began to blink rapidly. Then she pushed the transmit button.
"What's the range on this thing?" she asked Mara, who shrugged.

"About 150 miles. Not that far, really."

"It'll have to do. We might see it better from the bridge. We need to get very close to the asteroid field in order for this to work. One hundred fifty miles isn't that much."

"Wait," Anakin suddenly spoke up. "What if we took our fighters, the Falcon and the Shadow, spread alongside the Venture and relayed the signal through our transmitters? That way we can boost our range to almost a thousand miles."

His father looked up in surprise, but then a slow smile formed on his lips. He reached out and tousled Anakin's hair.

"I like it. Good thinking, son. Booster?"

"Already on my way," Booster smiled, turning towards the turbolifts. Daala and Liegeus followed him. Han looked to his wife, who looked at him, fists at her sides.

"I'm coming with you."

Han threw his hands in the air, surrendering to her withering look. On the other side of the group, Mara gave Luke the same stare.

"Don't even think about it, Skywalker. I'm coming, too. I need to get off of this ship or I'll start screaming. And you really don't want that. Really you don't."

Luke looked over her head towards Han and gave him an exasperated wink. Then they walked up the ramp of the Shadow and disappeared inside. The rest of the group followed their example and went to their own ships. Jaina was just about to climb into her cockpit when she felt two arms sliding around her waist from behind. She smiled and turned, looking up in Jag's concerned face.

"Be careful out there, ok?" he requested, softly kissing her lips. She nodded when he lifted his head and pulled it down again, sliding her arms around his neck and giving him a tight hug.
From the Millennium Falcon, Leia saw the scene and nudged her husband, nodding towards the couple on the other side of the bay.
He grinned at her and flicked a switch, leaning over to the comm.

"Hey! Knock it off, you two and get flying. We're not going to war, we're going out on scan duty, for Force sakes!"
The startled couple hastily let each other go and grinned towards the Falcon, throwing them a mocking salute. Leia slapped her husband lightly on the shoulder and shook her head.

"You really are a scoundrel."

--==CHAPTER 21 - "Inimitable Search"==--

Their ships exited the hangar bay on the Errant Venture and split up evenly along its sides. Leia glanced at the Falcon's targeting display and saw that everyone was placed in position.

"Ok Daala, we're ready," she said into the comm.

Moments later, the dataflow button started to blink,relaying the beckon signal through the string of ships to both sides of the Venture. When, after two hours of slowly cruising right above the asteroid field, there still was no sign of the Inimitable, Han became restless. Just as he was about to give Daala a piece of his mind, he spotted something. At first he thought it was nothing, but something in the swirling stream of rocks glistened unnaturally. Then it stopped, only to return moments later.

"There," he pointed, narrowing his eyes and peering out the viewport.

"Where?" Leia asked breathlessly beside him. She looked past his arm out the viewport. At first she didn't see it, but soon she saw something glistening in the searchlights of the Errant Venture.
"I see it," she said, feeling her blood start to rush through her veins. They had found it.

*************************************************

Deep within the densest part of the asteroid belt, ship systems woke from hibernation. Something it had been taught to react to, called. At first the signal was weak, but it grew stronger with every moment, as it came closer. Then the system received the second string of commands. Consoles powered up, systems booted to their starting screens and awaited commands. Exterior running lights came on, hesitating and flickering at first. Then the third string came in, the string the system had waited for, for decades.

A shudder went through the entire length of the ship as thirteen enormous engines came online and started to glow a crimson red. Then, slowly, the bow began to rise out of the asteroid field that had been its home.

The Inimitable had awoken.

*************************************************

Almost majestically, the bow of the Inimitable broke through the asteroids in its path, blasting with the help of automated sensors to avoid being crushed in the onslaught of rocks and debris.
Han and Leia watched the vessel come up almost at a vertical angle as it cleaved its way through on the way to its master. They could hear gasps over the comm as the others also watched the dramatic scene in amazement.

"I'd forgotten how large these things were," Luke's voice sounded over the channel.
The ship was large indeed. Over twelve kilometers long, the Inimitable was a show of force in itself, easily containing the firepower of half a dozen ImpStar Deuces. It was completely painted in Star Destroyer white, making the mammoth ship seem even much more intimidating from afar.
It had almost cleared the asteroid field now, and it seemed as if a giant dagger had been thrust upwards from the bottom of the field.

"What a beauty," Daala's voice cut in, admiration clear in her voice. And even Han had to agree with her, not matter how he loathed anything Imperial. It was a stunning sight.

"We better get aboard and make her ready for hyperspace. This place is giving me the creeps," he replied over the comm.
He heard acknowledgements coming in and pointed the Falcon towards the distant Inimitable. The ship grew rapidly in the viewport. Then the comm suddenly began to crackle.

"Han, stop!" Luke's voice shouted. "Pull back!"

Instinctively Han veered off. Then a sudden blast came from the Inimitable. The Falcon lurched under the turbolaser impact.

"What the…," he began, immediately going evasive. Then he understood. "She won't let us come close unless we provide some sort of code?"

"She probably sees us as asteroids getting too near. I already wondered how she had survived in the middle of that asteroid field," Luke replied. The Jade Shadow swung in beside the Falcon and both ships kept a considerable distance between them and the Inimitable. Han cursed at Daala loudly, totally forgetting that the channel was still open.

"Before you ask, no, I didn't know about that," Daala's said dryly. "But I might be able to do something about it."

"I'm afraid not," Booster's voice also cut in, "We've got company."

Han frowned and glanced on the tactical display. His eyebrows shot up as he saw who exactly those visitors were.

"Imperials," he growled under his breath.

"What!" Leia gasped in horror.

"We've got six Star Destroyers incoming at flank speed. We've got one more hour, unless they perform a micro jump. In that case, they'll be on us in a minute."

************************************************

"It seems that we've been beaten to the punch, Sir."

Pellaeon raised his eyebrow questioningly at captain Ardiff. "Explain."

"There's one Star Destroyer near the Inimitable, as are several fighters and two other larger ships."

"One Star Destroyer?"

"Yes, Sir. Its transponder code identifies it as the Errant Venture. The other two ships are the Millennium Falcon and the Jade Shadow."

"Ah, Booster Terrik's ship. No matter then. The Venture might be a Star Destroyer but she's no serious threat. He can't afford to keep her maintenance up. If she has five working turbolasers it'll be more than I imagined. The others are no much for us."

Beside him, Aruma came forward and for the first time Pellaeon saw him nervous, as he wringed his hands. "They're allied to the New Republic. We can't risk a war…"

Before Pellaeon could react, Iceheart spoke up. "Then we'll have to make sure they don't leave, won't we?"

Pellaeon's head shot up. He narrowed his eyes at her. "We'll do no such thing. We have other means to this goal. After all, we have six Star Destroyers against their what?…four fighters, a yacht, a freighter and a hopelessly neglected capital ship? I think they'll see reason when they have that kind of firepower breathing down their neck." He glanced towards Ardiff. "How long before we reach them?"

"One hour at flank speed, Sir."

"How about a microjump?"

"I would advise against that, Sir. There is too much debris in our path. We'll hit some for sure before we enter hyperspace."

Pellaeon nodded. "All right. There's not much they can accomplish in one hour. Certainly not power up the Inimitable, much less its defenses. We'll have our prize in a few more hours."
Then he walked towards the viewports, his hands clasped behind his back. This would be a good day. They would get the Inimitable. There was no doubt in his mind.

--==CHAPTER 22 - "Hook, Line & Sinker"==--

Han immediately threw the Falcon into a sharp turn when he saw that the Imperial ships had no intention of leaving, speeding back to the Errant Venture.

"Ok, Daala. Let's hear it. You said you could do something about the Inimitable not letting us near?" he asked through the comm as he sharply turned to round the Star Destroyer's bow.

"Meet us in the hangar bay to pick us up," her voice sounded a bit far off, "We're coming with you."

By the time he flew the Falcon through the magconfield, Daala was already waiting for them, Wedge standing slightly behind her. Leia walked towards the ramp and lowered it.
Once they were aboard, the Falcon sped through the magconfield again and pointed its bow towards the Inimitable. Han then brought the freighter to an almost complete stop and turned in his seat.

"All right, what've you got?"

Daala held up the beckon call, switched it off, and set it on the table. "I turned it off to buy us some time. The Inimitable should slow down in a few seconds. It will attack the Errant Venture too, if Booster approaches her too closely."

Han glanced at the tactical screen and saw that she was right. The Super Star Destroyer was slowing down.

"Fine. So we won't have to avoid her guns. Now, how do we board her?"

"Easy. She needs the general unlocking code. I'm the only one who knows it, since Tarkin and I had a code that only we knew. But I need some time with your transmitter. Booster wouldn't let me get near his systems."

"He doesn't like any Imperial, current or past, touching his precious ship. What makes you think that I would?"

"Because, even though you might be as stubborn as he is, you also know that we need control of the Inimitable before those Imperials start shooting. And they will, treaty or not. So why not even the odds a little?"

The thought had crossed his mind. And if all it took was letting her fumble with the transmitter for a while, no questions asked, who was he to stand in the way? He generously motioned towards the transmitter controls and stood from the pilot seat.

"She's all yours, but we better hurry," he said, glancing at the chrono, "we've already lost thirty minutes."

******************

"How long before we are within firing range?" Pellaeon asked, turning to Captain Ardiff.

"Another twenty-five minutes, sir."

Pellaeon nodded, signaled a squad of stormtroopers and walked over to the viewports, where Ysanne Isard and Melchior Aruma stood. They turned as he approached them.

"Your Excellency, Madam. We need another twenty-five minutes before we're in firing range. I suggest you make your way down to the hangar bay, where I have arranged for two separate shuttles for the both of you. Your Excellency, these men will escort you, wherever you go. They will protect you on board the Inimitable, in case there is any resistance. I have taken the liberty of assigning your shuttle to the first boarding wave. You will spearhead our attack force, as you requested."

"Thank you, Admiral," Aruma smiled, making a little bow with his head. Then he swiftly walked down the command walkway, flanked by the squad of stormtroopers.

Pellaeon waited until Aruma was out of earshot before he turned to Isard. "Please remain onboard, Madam."

Isard bowed her head obediently even though he could see her puzzlement. It would become clear to her in a moment. They waited until Aruma's shuttle had cleared the hanger bay and became visible off to starboard.

"Charge starboard turbolasers," Pellaeon calmly said. He heard a puzzled affirmative from Captain Ardiff. Then he turned around and locked gazes with him. "Target the shuttle. You may fire when ready."

He heard Isard's sharp intake of air beside him and spared a glance towards her. Then he locked gazes with Ardiff again.

"Is there a problem, Captain Ardiff?"

"Sir…that shuttle. It's our leader…I…I must protest and.."

"Confine yourself to quarters, Captain, if you will not obey my commands," Pellaeon interrupted him coldly, "But I warn you. Failure to obey now will result in a trial of treason and conspiracy. Melchior Aruma planned on declaring himself our new Emperor as soon as he had taken possession of the Inimitable. It would have made him the ultimate power in the Remnant. I cannot allow that."

Ardiff swallowed visibly but remained behind the targeting computer. Then he nodded.

"As you wish, Admiral. Turbolasers are charged and ready."

"Fire."

Pellaeon looked out the viewport and saw several green lasers lancing out towards the shuttle. It seemed to glow at first before it exploded spectacularly.

"Very well done, Admiral," Isard's admiring voice rasped beside him. She clapped her hands in delight at the sight of the exploding shuttle. "You surprise me."

"A possible threat to the Imperial Remnant has now been rectified, Madam. See to it that you do not become such a threat yourself," he warned, bringing a warning finger close to her face. She squinted her mismatched eyes at him but remained silent. He stared back calmly. Then he clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked towards the briefing room. He was sure he'd have a few messages waiting for him, most likely from five fuming captains.

******************

"We can't make it in time," Daala sighed, slumping in the pilot's seat with a defeated expression on her face.

"What do you mean," Leia asked her in alarm. She looked out the viewport and saw the Imperial ships drawing nearer. "They're coming! Another 10 minutes and they'll start pounding us!"

Daala turned the seat towards her and looked out the viewport. She thought for a few moments and then snapped her fingers, vacating the pilots' seat.

"The code somehow isn't accepted. But we're not out of the game yet. Solo?"

Han appeared in the doorway to the cockpit, his eyebrows raised in a questioning manner.

"We need to get behind the Inimitable. Now!"

He threw himself in the pilot's seat and began to manipulate the controls. The Imperials disappeared from the viewport as the Falcon banked sharply, racing back towards the Inimitable.

"Don't get too close," Leia warned. Han smiled thinly and turned his head towards Daala.

"What's the plan?"

Just then, the comm started to crackle to life.

"Han, what's going on?" Luke's voice cut through.

"Hold on, Luke. Daala has a plan."

He dialed the transmitter up a few notches and nodded towards Daala.

"We need to get behind the Inimitable, all of us," she began, "With that ship between us and the Imperials, they'll think twice before attacking us. And the Inimitable still…"

"…has enough firepower to make them think otherwise, if they come after us," Luke's amused voice chimed in. "I like it. Booster?"

"Already on my way. We'll have to go around her in a wide arc. That way, the Imperials will think that we're retreating. Let's hope they don't know about the automated defenses on her."

"They don't," Luke's voice absently cut in. Leia smiled as she felt her brother reaching out to probe the general mood on the Imperial ships.

"All right," Han said, pushing the throttle up to maximum, "it's a plan." Then he thumbed the transmitter again, this time using a different channel. "Jag?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Did you get that?"

"Yes, sir. We're already on our way."

Han glanced on the tactical screen and saw the fighters following the Errant Venture in its wide arc around the Inimitable, now positioned below and to their left. Then he sent the Falcon after them.

******************

"Sir! The New Republic ships are retreating!"

Pellaeon looked up surprised as he came back onto the bridge.

"Report!"

"Sir, all their ships are retreating at maximum speed. We must've scared them away."

Pellaeon thoughtfully stroked his goatee and then looked at Isard, who came walking down the command walkway. "What do you think, Madam?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter what I think, Admiral. They're giving us the ship. It would be rude not to accept such a precious gift," she smiled.

He nodded softly and then made his decision. "I agree. Helm? Get us to the Inimitable. Captain Ardiff?"

The captain appeared beside him. He still looked a bit shaken up by Pellaeon's order to kill Aruma.

"Sir?"

"Order the boarding parties to launch as soon as we're within a hundred-thousand kilometers. Tell the other captains to do the same. We need as much crew on that ship as we can spare, and we need them there fast. The New Republic might be retreating, but they'll be back with more ships. We need to get out of here with the Inimitable before they arrive again."

Ardiff nodded and left to relay the order to the other ships. Pellaeon turned towards Isard again and gave her a tight smile.

"It appears that we will get what we came for, after all."

She nodded silently and walked back towards the viewports. She gazed out towards the Inimitable, a hungry stare in her mismatched eyes.

"Yes, Admiral. It appears so," she whispered. "It appears so."

--==CHAPTER 23 - Get Ready For A Surprise!==--

Han turned around in his seat, his eyebrows almost reaching the ceiling. He'd never heard a woman issue such an expletive like the one Daala had just used.

"Trouble?" he asked dryly as he watched her slam the beckon call on the holo-gameboard.
She spun around to give him an icy stare. "It's not my fault! This stupid piece of….of… junk just doesn't respond to any of the commands I'm sending it. Not even a whisper."

She pounded it one last time. The device gave a little, indignant beep and completely turned off. Every light on its little screen dimmed.

"Well, that's just great," Leia muttered, "Now what?"

They had just passed the Inimitable and time was running short. The Imperials were not far behind them, angling in to capture the huge vessel. Already they were launching boarding craft, a steady stream of troop-vessels pouring from the hangar bays underneath the Star Destroyers.
They completely surrounded the Inimitable before moving in.

Then it happened. The beckon call began to blink. Leia was the first to notice it.

"Look," she said, almost afraid to speak up loudly and cause the device to malfunction. Daala grabbed it and looked at it in wonder. She pushed the activation button and they all looked out the viewport. At first, nothing happened as the Imperial fleet drew nearer and nearer. Then all hell broke loose.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Pellaeon was about to order all vessels to a complete stop when it happened. The Inimitable suddenly fired and slowly came towards them. Columns of green and blue streamed from her turbolasers and ion-cannons as she began to fire on the three closest ships that now flanked her, the Tyrannus, the Patronizer and the Licentious. Three Star Destroyers completely caught off guard and, more important, without their shields up. Pellaeon could only imagine the inferno blazing inside those vessels as they began spewing fire out into the cold vacuum. Melted hull plates hurled into space, clearly visible to the naked eye.

"Nooo!" he breathed, gripping the railing in front of the viewport, his knuckles turning white. Within moments, half his fleet of virgin white vessels was turned into boiling red encasements of durasteel, with thousands of crew trapped inside. One of the ships, the Tyrannus, had already been completely fried within minutes. Secondary explosions ripped through her hull as squadron upon squadron of tie fighters and interceptors blew up inside her hold, causing the mighty ship to break in half.
He tasted bile as he looked over to the Patronizer, exploding into a giant ball of incandescent gas and fire. He saw the blossoming explosion of her reactor core and turned his face away. A huge ring quickly expanded outwards.

"Shields up and brace for impact!" he shouted and gripped the railing even tighter.

Just before the expanding cloud reached the Chimaera, he saw the command tower from the Licentious awash in flames. The ship had exposed her relative unscathed belly towards the Inimitable's onslaught of continuous fire. He saw her shields glow with every impact until they shrank to the point of collapse. No matter how horrendous the sight was when the Inimitable's lasers scored on the hull, Pellaeon marveled at the sight of the pure raw power that the ship represented. No matter what happened today, he would get her, even though it had already cost him dearly. No matter what the cost. Then the shockwave hit the Chimaera.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Jaina saw the Inimitable come to life as they reached their meeting point, far behind the huge vessel. Her mouth dried as she saw some 700 cannons open up on the three ships that surrounded her. No matter that this was the enemy; the stream of laser fire wasn't something she wished upon anyone. Well, maybe the Vong.

"We need to get on the Inimitable!" she heard her father's voice say. "The Imperials will retreat, for now. They've just lost half their fleet."

She pushed the transmit button on her panel and spoke up.

"Dad, we can't get near her either."

"Yes, we can," Daala's voice cut in. "I know what's wrong with the beckon call. Its technology is far more advanced than what we used in the heyday of the Empire. Too sophisticated for the commands I was sending through it. I managed, somehow, to go into automatic defense mode again. But I'll need Mara's help to reprogram it so the Inimitable will listen and follow us."

"I'll talk you through it on a private channel," Mara's voice chimed in. The next fifteen minutes were spent in absolute silence as they waited. Then Jaina's comm crackled to life again.

"All right…this should do it. We're going to wait for another half hour and see what the Imperials are up to. Then we're going in," Han's voice sounded.

Jag's voice almost cut him off when he hissed audibly.

"I don't think we'll have to wait to see what they're up to. I can tell you that they're coming to us. Right now!"

Jaina glanced at her tactical screen and indeed, the remaining Imperials we're cautiously moving around the Inimitable, on a course for where she and the others were waiting.

"Ok….so no half hour," Jaina muttered under her breath as she powered up. "Anyone have a plan?"

"I do," Jag said.

"Let's hear it," Han replied.

"First off, I still have the Imperial codes. I can listen in on them. They're planning…"

"And you're just now telling us?" Anakin cut in, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Calm down, son," Han said. "Let's hear what the Imperials are planning for us."

"I can tell you that it's Admiral Pellaeon in the lead ship, the Chimaera," Jag continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "And they're…"

"Pellaeon?" both Han and Leia's voices sounded.
"I don't understand," Leia said. "Of all Imperials, I hadn't thought him to…wait a minute…if they're coming for us, they're…"

"…planning not to leave behind any witnesses when they break the peace between the New Republic and the Remnant," Jag finished.

That silenced all of them for a couple of seconds.

"That's just great," Han sighed sarcastically. "So we're in for a slugging match. Booster?"

"I'm here. So, that's it? We're giving up?"

"Not by a long shot, Sir," Jag chimed in again. "Sorry for interrupting, Han. But I have some information that we can use. Apparently the Imperials think that the Venture is less than capable of fighting. They seem to think that it has only about five working turbolasers?"

His voice trailed off as if he believed that there might be some truth to it. Booster's laugh sounded so loud over the channel that everyone had to dial it down.

"Do they now?" he said, still laughing. "Then I have a little surprise for them. Believe me, do I have a surprise for them. Let's just say that their spies aren't as good as they used to be."

"I'm glad to hear that, Sir," Jag replied, sounding puzzled.

Jaina grinned and could imagine his puzzlement. But if Booster had made some upgrades, she had every confidence that the Imperials were about to regret the coming match.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Pellaeon clasped his hands behind his back as he looked around. He frowned when he didn't see Ysanne Isard. He turned towards Captain Ardiff.

"Where is Iceheart?"

Ardiff looked up.

"She left about five minutes ago, Sir. I thought you knew."

"I didn't. Find her. I want to keep an eye on her."

Ardiff nodded and signaled two officers. Then he looked down on his console.

"Transmission from the Errant Venture, Sir."

"By all means, put them through."

It took a moment before Booster Terrik's voice boomed through the bridge. Pellaeon motioned to Ardiff to dial it down and smiled.

"Mr. Terrik. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" he said in a soothing voice.

"You can tell your ships to turn around, and we'll forget this whole incident."

"You know very well that I can't do that, Mr. Terrik, Pellaeon replied amused, "but thank you for the warning. Now, hear this; We, the Remnant, claim this vessel. It was built by Imperials for Imperials," Pellaeon stated.

Han snickered and cut into the conversation.

"Correction, Admiral, the ship was probably built by slaves, not Imperials. And you can put that claim where starlight never penetrates. If you want it, come and get it. But you won't get it without a fight."

And that was that. The cards were on the table. It now was only a matter of who was going to open fire first.

Pellaeon signaled Ardiff to cut the transmission and glanced at his tactical officer, who nodded.
"Target the Errant Venture and fire at will. Captain Ardiff? Launch fighters."

The officer nodded and gave his crew the instructions. Then his eyes widened and he looked up, amazement showing on his pale face.

"Sir, we've just been targeted by missiles."

Pellaeon looked up, annoyed.

"Yes? And? We're about to go into battle, Lieutenant. There's bound to be some enemy fire coming at us."

"Yes, Sir, but I meant a lot of missiles. We have 175 missile locks, Sir. From the Errant Venture."

That did cause Pellaeon to squint his eyes at the young man.

"What do you mean, 175 missile locks? A Star Destroyer has no missiles and they don't have enough fighters that could carry that amount. Your console must be malfunctioning."

The lieutenant went to another console and called up the statistics again. He looked up and shook his head.

"No Sir. No malfunction. Of course, I could order a complete calibration of our scanners…"

Pellaeon made a dismissive gesture.

"Nonsense. Terrik's bluffing. I've heard this before. He used the same trick during the Bacta War. Close the distance between us and turn him to slag, Lieutenant. You'll see that all he has mounted on that ship are a few turbolasers and a lot of missile projectors."

The lieutenant nodded and went back to his original console. Ardiff signaled Pellaeon as the deck started to drum when the turbolasers opened up on the Venture over the long distance.

"Sir, another transmission."
Pellaeon sighed and shook his head in mock disgust. Then he indicated to Ardiff to open the channel.

"Yes, Mr. Terrik. You wish to discuss the terms of your surrender, perhaps?"

Terrik's laughter sounded over the hissing channel.

"Oh no, not at all. But maybe you would like to. As you can see, I've got a few locks on you. You can still turn around."

That caused Pellaeon to laugh also. He couldn't believe the audacity of the former smuggler.

"I don't think so, Terrik. I like this little charade you've got going here, but I'm not fooled by your tricks. All you've got are a lot of missile projectors. You're beginning to fall back to known territory, Booster. You've tried this trick before. I'm not falling for it. And that, Booster, is the last conversation we're going to have. Permanently."

Pellaeon had the transmission cut and ordered the crew to open up all guns on the Errant Venture as soon as it was in range. Moments later, streams of laser fire lanced out towards the red Star Destroyer.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Booster Terrik nodded grimly to his second in command, who gave the order to fire, and he wished he could see Pellaeon's face as 175 missiles shot out of their tubes towards the Chimaera.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

For the second time, Pellaeon breathed an exasperated scream as he saw the terrible truth. Terrik hadn't bluffed at all. He shouted for evasive maneuvers when the first missiles hit the shields. They first held and for a moment, he thought they just might survive this barrage of missiles. Then one penetrated the reinforced shields and impacted on the hull. A cascade of explosions neared the command tower as more missiles impacted on the shieldless hull, slowly eating away at the massive bulk of the Star Destroyer. And still more missiles kept coming.

He was thrown backwards as the viewports blew in. He first registered the terrible cold from the vacuum of space as it came rushing in. He felt the blow against his back as he came into contact with the bulkhead and heard his spinal chord snap. A sharp pain shot through his body. Then the blackness slowly consumed him.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Han cursed as he saw the first wave of Tie Figthers coming at the Millennium Falcon. Daala had climbed into one of the two laser turrets and Liegeus had climbed the other one.
Together with the Jade Shadow and the fighters they were now facing hundreds of fighters swarming their way.

"Heads up, people. We've got incoming," he shouted into the internal comm system. He heard both Daala's and Liegeus' acknowledgement. Then they were on them. No matter where he flew, more fighters were approaching.

He heard the elated screams of his children whenever a fighter blew up spectacularly. And blow they did. At the first pass, he registered five kills.

"This is a shooting gallery," he heard Daala mutter. He grinned. That it was. But no matter where he flew, more were already coming his way.

"There's only one way to get rid of an Imperial," Han commented, gritting his teeth as he went evasive when another pair of Interceptors locked onto the Falcon's tail. He banked the freighter sharply to port and down, racing towards the churning asteroid field below.

Leia gasped and stared at her husband for a long time.

"You're not actually going into an asteroid field, are you? Not again!"

He just gave her a lopsided grin and winked.

--==CHAPTER 24 - Darkness Surrounds Us==--

Ysanne Isard left as soon as she saw the Patronizer succumbing to the streams of turbolaser fire that the Inimitable poured into her. This was not supposed to happen and she realized that all too soon, the Chimaera would fall under the guns of the mighty vessel before them. She glanced over to where Pellaeon stood and saw his attention fully directed towards the doomed ship. She quickly retreated along the command walkway and slipped into the main corridor behind the bridge. She stepped into the nearest turbolift that would bring her to the hangar bay. She hoped that Pellaeon hadn't lied to her when he had told them on the bridge that there were two separate ships.

She sighed relieved as she came out of the turbolift and saw a boardingshuttle waiting lonely on the deck. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching her, but found the entire bay empty.
All the fighters were out there, the result of a shouted order by Captain Ardiff when the Tyrannus had blown up with most of its fighters in the hold.

She quickly boarded the shuttle and closed the hatch behind her with a slap on the controls. She then made her way to the cockpit and took a few moments to familiarize herself with it before she hit the ignition controls. A slow drum began to sound as the deck vibrated beneath her feet when she ignited the repulsors and guided the shuttle towards the magconfield.

A sudden explosion lit up the deck as the bulkhead to her left blew out, spraying her ship with debris. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the inferno inside and she immediately acted before she even thought about what she did. Fire engulfed the shuttle as it shot through the magconfield and for a moment there, she didn't think she would make it. She slumped against the controls when she realized that she had.

The black of space behind her lit up in a rosy and yellow color as the Chimaera blew up behind her. And she actually felt a tang of regret. Pellaeon had been a good man. But he had been a tool in her ultimate goal. Just as Captain Wintle had been.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Jaina, pull up!" Jag's voice cut into her headset.

Without so much as hesitation she did as requested and pulled the steering yoke against her chest. Moments later she saw a flash of what looked like Jag's clawcraft shoot by, followed by the blossoming explosion of her attacker, right behind her. She kept the yoke against her until she saw the final stages of the explosion and followed Jag.

"Thanks," she sighed, "that was close."

"No one touches my girl," his grim voice replied.

"Jag," she breathed.

"I know this is the worst moment but I need to know," he softly said, "but…Jaina…are you my girl?"

Memories of the perfect diner rushed through her mind, as did the images from the both of them on that trek through the forest, their talk in the guestroom. The flood of images ended with a bright flash of white light. And from that light, his image appeared, walking slowly towards her. That's when she knew.

"I…I would like that, Jag," she smiled. Her heart was thudding heavily in her chest as she could feel his relief tangible through the distance between them. Their fighters were apart by mere meters as they flew together. She looked to her right and touched her canopy with her hand. He mimicked the gesture and for a brief moment, the galaxy's spiral slowly grinded to a halt as the two of them flew onwards.

All too soon the moment ended when her fighter took a hit from behind. Immediately pulled out of the tense moment, she glanced at her display and saw that her aft shields were…gone. Wait a minute…

"You two lovebirds should learn where your priorities lie. You're lucky I used the underpowered lasers," Han's voice cut through the comm.

"Dad..," Jaina began, her cheeks flushing red.

"You had half the battlefield listening, honey," Leia's amused voice cut in.

"Mom.."

"Later honey, now is not the time, ok?"

"Ok."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Isard closely monitored her tactical screen as she slowly approached the Inimitable. The giant ship had grown in her viewport for the last hour as she had crept up to it. And she realized that she wouldn't make it through the barrier, which lay about half a kilometer around the ship. Not without a wall of rock in front of her, to protect her.

She glanced another time and saw a V-shape quickly approaching her from behind. At first she thought them to be enemy fighters but her tactical screen tagged them as 'friends'. She sighed relieved and looked out the viewport again. Then her head snapped back to the display and a slow smile crept upon her face. She reached over and keyed the comm-unit.

"Boarding shuttle Straggler hailing the Imperial flight behind me. Please come in."
The channel hissed for a few seconds before a sharp voice came back.

"Who are you?"

"I am..ehr…a guest from Admiral Pellaeon. I'm the reason we are here, to take possession of what is rightfully ours. And right now, I need your protection."

"For what?"

"I need to get on that ship."

"Why?"
her mind raced as the clock kept ticking, counting down the seconds until they were in firing range.

"I have Admiral Pellaeon here with me. He is critically wounded. I can't keep him alive for much longer. I need to get on that ship! Maybe there are medical supplies on there."
She put a hint of anxiety into her voice, trying to make it sound more believable. Then they flew into firing range and she closed her eyes, knowing that it was over.

"Very well. We will escort you towards the main hangar bay."
She slumped in her seat for a few seconds, breathing deep and hard. Then she leaned forward again and saw that they were almost on her.

"I need you to be in a wall formation in front of me as we approach. But do it quickly, there are two enemy fighters on your tail.

The comm clicked once, indicating that the leader of the flight acknowledged her request. She powered up the engines and started to fly towards the Inimitable, keeping her speed much lower to allow the flight to pass her.
She saw the two enemy fighters come within firing range as the fighters in front of her formed into the wall formation.

"Quick, quick!" she shouted into the comm, pushing the throttle to maximum.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Jaina never saw where the blast came from. But one moment she was chasing a flight of Interceptors headed for the Inimitable, the next she felt the shock of thousands of volts as an ion beam found its target; the fuselage of her X-Wing.

Electric currents played over her body as she tried to reach for the stick, which had slipped out of her hand when she was hit by the ion bolt and thrown back into her seat. The pain was excruciating, making her twitch as she reached out. She clenched her teeth and leaned forward with all her strength, trying to grab the yoke. Every electric system on her fighter died, along with her internal compensator. The pure G-forces pushed her back each time she tried to lean forward again. The rapid spin that her fighter was executing didn't help matters either. And during one of those spins, she caught a glimpse of her trajectory. And her heart grew cold.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Jag saw it happen. The moment was edged onto his cornea. The ion beam, lancing out from the Inimitable towards her fighter, because she had approached the great ship too close.
He saw electric currents play over the fighters' hull, wreaking havoc on its systems. And on the person inside. Jaina.
He saw the fighters' systems fail and its exhaust nozzles flicker dimly,

"Nooooo!!!" he screamed, not caring if his comm was dialed up or down. There was nothing he could do as her fighter spun away, out of control. His heart stopped beating, the blood in his arteries turning to ice as he saw where she was headed.

A one way ride into the thick stream of asteroids, churning and colliding underneath.

--==CHAPTER 25 - Twist and Shout==--

Ysanne Isard pushed the shuttle to its limits as she headed for the main hold of the Inimitable. Turbolaser bolts blasted the shuttle, making the shields turn opaque on impact, while she heard the dying screams of her protectors on the comm.

She had no care for them. They were just a means to an end and the end was near.
As were her shields. The indicators showed her that the shuttle's forward shields were nearing collapse as she steered below the Inimitable, heaving a sigh of relief when she got the main hangar bay in her view. It invited her inside, and she accepted the invitation gladly.

She pulled back on the throttle and glided through its protective magconfield. She had made it. She dialed down the screams of her protectors as they were taken out by the enemy. It sounded like there was only one, but the enemy pilot seemed to have a protective angel with him. Or her.

She searched the shuttle for anything that she might be able to use and went on her way. She knew her target was on one of the lower front decks. She called up a schematic of the Inimitable and punched in a few commands. Moments later she found what she was looking for and entered a turbolift that brought her to the deck upon which her destination lay.

A long corridor stretched before her in the dark when she exited the lift, and she quickly moved through, searching the labels on the doors with a flashlight. She smiled when she found what she'd been looking for and set to work on the panel next to the door. It took her a moment to lift the cover, using tools she had found in the shuttle.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Jag gritted his teeth as he followed one of the last enemy fighters away from the Inimitable. He knew by now that they had protected a shuttle, which had disappeared in the main hold off the giant ship. But he couldn't care less about who had been aboard. All he cared about was finishing the enemy and searching for Jaina.

When she had been hit by one of the giant ship's ion cannons, his immediate response had been to follow her and try somehow to stop her fighter. But then he had gotten into the defensive zone of the Super Star Destroyer himself and had a whole lot of other things to worry about.

Most of the enemy had been wiped out by turbolaser fire from the Inimitable's automated defenses. By the time they reached the perimeter of the defensive zone, there were only three enemy fighters left.

He dealt with them in rapid and emotionless succession. He held them personally responsible for what could possibly be his future's death. He snapped out of the numbness that had overcome him when his comm unit crackled and he heard Han's voice coming through, insistently.

"Jag? Jag! Come in! Jag!"

He took a moment to compose himself. Then he answered the call.

"I'm here, Han. But Jaina…"

"We need your help, here. Now!"

Jag glanced at his tactical screen and saw that the Jade Shadow and the other fighters were completely overrun by the enemy fighters. Far in the distance he could see swarms of Ties of various design cloud over them like tiny bugs. And there still was the threat of the two remaining Star Destroyers, bearing down on the Errant Venture.

He immediately threw his fighter to port and gunned the engine for all that it was worth.

"I'm on my way."

"What about my daughter, Jag?" Han's voice sounded again, this time a little more strained.

"She was hit. Badly. She's down."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

When Jaina saw the thick stream of asteroids, she tried to grab the steering yoke again. When she still couldn't get a hold of it, she sat back and closed her eyes, concentrating. She had heard Uncle Luke talk about flying with the help of the Force. Heck, even Kyp Durron had bragged about his flight into the Maw for the first time and that he had done it with his eyes closed. And if Kyp could do it, surely she could!

She felt calm come over her as she reached out with her senses and envisioned the asteroid belt in front of her fighter. First she had to restart the X-wing. The fighter had gone into standby after the initial ion blast. Then she had to stop the fighter from spinning.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"No, she's not," Jacen cut in. "I can feel her. She's in trouble, but she's alive. She's using the Force."

He felt his sister submerging herself in the Force, completely surrounding herself as she tried to get her fighter under control.

"Extensively," Luke's concerned voice cut in. "She's deep within the Force now. We can't break her concentration. She's almost reached the asteroids."

"Asteroids?" Han asked, his fatherly instincts immediately surfacing.

"I guess she takes after her father. He also has a love for asteroids," Leia's dry voice cut in, immediately followed by a loud scream. "And did I mention that we are also inside that same asteroid field?"

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Booster Terrik looked satisfied as he saw the burning hulk of the Chimaera. But the battle was far from over. Two Imperial Star Destroyers still remained. The Validator and the Legator.

"Open a channel on all frequencies," he ordered. When he got a sign that the channel was open, he began to speak.

"Imperial forces. Your fleet has been severely wounded. Your leader is no more. I hereby ask your remaining leaders to cease their advance and withdraw all fighters. The fate of the Chimaera will be the fate of the Validator and the Legator if you choose to remain in this system. You have ten seconds to reply."

It took less than five before he got his answer.

"This is Captain Lokis of the Imperial Star Destroyer Validator. We will not leave this system. We will take what is rightfully…."

Booster frowned as he heard a soft rustle.

"Captain Lokis? I strongly advice you to reconsider."

"Errant Venture, this is ehr…Captain Wehka. I sadly inform you that Captain Lokis has been…ehr…taken ill. I'm his replacement. I hereby order all Imperial forces to stand down and to return to station. Will you allow us this, Venture?"

"You have one hour to leave the system. I advise you to put it to good use."

"One hour, understood. Validator out."

Booster smiled and gave the signal to close the channel.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

As soon as Booster's conversation with the Imperial captain was over, Daala got out of her laser turret and hurried to the cockpit, where she took her seat. The Imperial fighters behind them, at least the ones that were left after the wild chase through the asteroid belt, had immediately broken their pursuit.

But instead of following them out, Solo continued his flight inside the asteroid field.

"Solo," she began, instinctively ducking whenever an asteroid was in their path.

"Not now, Daala."

"Solo, we should…"

"Daala, look at the tactical, ok? See that fighter there? That's our daughter. And she's in trouble. We have to help her," Han said, sparing a glance in her direction over his shoulder. "You better strap in, it's going to be a rough ride."

--==CHAPTER 26 - A Close Call==--

Jaina felt the Force flow through her, a source of pure and raw energy, pouring into her as a breath of renewed strength, every time she inhaled. Large boulders whipped past her without her noticing. Instead, she envisioned them and reacted through the Force. But she knew that time was running out. Pearls of sweat trickled down her face as she fought against the stream of rocks in which she was now flying. And just when she thought that the worst was over, the field grew even thicker. Despair began to seep through her thoughts as the fighter dove into the thick of it. Then she heard it, faint but definitely recognizable. Uncle Luke.

Let go, Jaina. Give yourself to the Force. Open yourself as you have never done before. The Force will guide you. They're almost there. Let go…

Other voices joined in. She heard her brothers, Aunt Mara…even her mother. The words kept coming as the voices in her mind became one. Her mother's. Somehow, her voice came through the clearest. As if she were near…

Her concentration broke when the right wing of her fighter came into contact with a chunk of rock. She forced her head to the broken wing and saw sparks coming from the fuselage, the wing sheared in half.

Jaina!

She looked in front of her again, just in time to see a wall of rock rapidly closing in. A sudden jolt went through the damaged fighter, and at first she thought it was the end. This was it. She closed her eyes to meet her fate.

Surprisingly, when she slowly opened her eyes again, she was pulling away from the huge asteroid instead of rushing towards it.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"I've got her!" Leia shouted from the tractor station. "Let's get her out of here."

"We're already on our way," Han replied, sparing a relieved glance to his wife.

For a moment there, it had seemed like they would come to the rescue too late. Jaina's X-wing had been on a ramming course with a large boulder and grabbing her at such speed could have easily ripped her fighter apart.

"Her fighter is in bad condition," he said, shifting his gaze to the readout from the computer. Leia leaned over, concern clearly on her face.

"She's alive, I can feel it. Just get us out of the asteroid field."

"Gladly."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

As soon as the Millennium Falcon and the wounded X-wing came out of the asteroid field, they were met by the others. Jag did a close flyby and hovered near Jaina's fighter, making sure that she was all right. Relief was clear in his voice as he confirmed that, even though the fighter's wing was beyond repair, the woman inside was anything but. He didn't leave her out of his sight as the whole group set course to the Errant Venture and boarded.

Strong hands grabbed her hips as Jaina climbed out of the cockpit. She gave a startled yelp when she was lifted from the fighter's ladder and into a pair of strong arms that immediately drew her into a tight embrace. She savored the warmth as soon as Jag's hungry mouth found hers before finally noticing that they were in a very bright hangar bay. Surrounded by her family.

Her cheeks flushed a deep red as she softly pushed against his chest, meeting his questioning gaze and nodding to the group standing off to the side. Then he also colored, and laughter sounded through the bay.

"Well, that's one hurdle we won't have to take anymore," he whispered, making her laugh. She elbowed him in the stomach before she stepped towards the group and let herself be drawn in by her relieved family.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"All right, let's go," Han finally said, taking his blaster and making his way towards the turbolift. Behind him, the others followed suit and drew their weapons. They had no way of knowing if the Inimitable had any other automated defenses inside, despite Daala's reassurance that it didn't. To make sure that they wouldn't walk into any surprises, Han and Luke had decided that they would split up in several teams, each team covering a different route to the bridge.

Tycho and Wes were to take one of the longer routes, covering the port side of the Inimitable. Jacen and Anakin had taken starboard. Luke and Mara, together with Daala and Liegeus were to take the most direct route. Jaina and Jag would cover the aft section, where the engine emplacements were located. Han and Leia would cover the smaller bays before heading up to the bridge.

That left Wedge alone with no partner, but he reassured them that he would be fine on his own. All he had to do was secure the Auxiliary Bridge. The argument was still going on, whether to have anyone going alone or not, when he silently slipped away, disappearing into the dark corridor that Daala had indicated would lead to his assigned target. Once he arrived, he would wait for instructions until the others had taken the bridge.

When the others finally realized that they were arguing without him there, Jaina and Jag immediately followed him into the corridor. They had been walking for at least fifteen minutes when Jag took the opportunity and tried a couple of doors. Several were locked before he found one that opened. Behind him, Jaina frowned.

"What are you doing!" she hissed, annoyed that they still hadn't found Wedge. Before she could even yell, Jag grabbed her arm and pulled her inside.

"What ar…" she began before he covered her lips with his mouth, effectively cutting her off.
She immediately forgot her initial irritation and slipped her arms around his neck. She laughed deep in her throat when he finally broke the kiss.

"I…I thought I lost you," he sighed, letting his forehead rest against hers. Jaina heard his voice break from emotion and looked up. She smiled as he gazed deep into her eyes. She caressed his cheek with her thumb and followed the sharp angle of his jaw, tracing his lips with her finger and laughed when he caught it between his teeth. She felt his hand in the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. Then his mouth was on hers again. She felt warm and dizzy all over by the time he broke the kiss for air.
Jaina shook her head in wonder as she felt the wall against her back. Her hands rested on his laboring chest and she blushed when she looked up and saw the desire in his gaze.

"Jaina, I want you," he whispered, making his way to her neck with his mouth. She shivered in delight as he found her earlobe and began to do the most wonderful things to it.

"Let me love you. I need you," he continued, seducing her with his hands, his mouth.

"Jag," she sighed heavily, trying to make him look at her again. When he continued to seduce her, she grabbed his hair and forced him to look at her.

Her heart began to pound heavily when she saw the desire in his eyes. Pools of liquid fire gazed back at her. She barely nodded and just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the onslaught intensified. She felt the strong muscles beneath her palms as they both took what they needed from each other. She cried out loud when he accepted her gift. He held still for a moment and stared at her. Then he sought her mouth again and took her on a journey beyond his own expectations.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Luke suddenly looked up. He looked beside him and saw the dreamy look on Mara's face. So he wasn't the only one who sensed it. He caught his wife's eye and raised his eyebrow.

"You sense it too?" he asked through the Force.

She nodded. She sensed something out of place too. He had a feeling.

"I'm not sure. It's as if…" she began.

"We're being watched," he finished.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Isard watched with interest when she saw the boarding party split up on one of the monitors in the command circle. She turned on the other monitors and saw that each group left in different directions. She had already seen Wedge slip away silently as the others weren't looking, and to her delight, it seemed that he was headed in her direction. The others split up in equal parties of two, each taking a different corridor.

There was only one party left, the largest. She recognized Skywalker and his wife, accompanied by another couple from which the female seemed somehow familiar. They entered the turbolift again, probably heading directly for the bridge. She switched the camera view on one of the monitors to the inside of the turbolift. She watched with hidden pleasure as Skywalker suddenly looked up, directly into the camera. Isard knew that he wouldn't be able to see the camera, which was designed to blend in with the durasteel components of the elevator.

Then one of the other monitors captured her attention. Someone was approaching in the corridor, leading to the Auxiliary Bridge. She smiled when she recognized him.

Wedge Antilles.

Isard switched all the monitors into standby mode and then walked to the dark corner where she had set up a chair. She sat down, smiling to herself. Everything was ready. All she had to do now was…wait.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

--==CHAPTER 27 - Silent Rage==--

Stealthily, Wedge swept through the dark and silent corridor. He used his flashlight to read the signs on the doors until he found the entrance to the Auxiliary Bridge. Opened.

He slowly approached the opened doors and hugged the wall, closely listening. He waited for a few tense minutes. Nothing. Then he cautiously slipped inside.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

It had taken a long time for their heavy breathing to subside, but when it finally did, Jaina opened her eyes. Slowly raising her head, which had been resting on Jag's chest, she blushed fiercely when her eyes met his. He lifted his hand to softly stroke her cheek, then he laid himself back on the floor and stretched like a Togorian who had just finished a meal.

Jaina pushed herself into a sitting position and looked around, very much aware of her bare form. Her cheeks burned even more as she suddenly noticed her surroundings. Pieces of clothing lay splayed all over the floor. Behind her, Jag sat up and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

"Thank you," he whispered, placing soft kisses in the nape of her neck.

"For what?" she asked softly, closing her eyes and fully enjoying the way he made her feel.

"For your gift. For being the first to…"

A shiver ran through her spine when she felt his hands come up on her sides. It tickled and made her flinch.

"Ticklish, huh?" he smiled, continuing what he was doing. Then, just as she thought she couldn't take it anymore, he turned her around in his arms and took possession of her lips once again.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Situated in the center of a circle of consoles was a captain's chair. Wedge walked towards the chair and slowly looked around. The he froze and looked up when he heard a rustle of clothing.

"Welcome, Wedge Antilles," a rasping voice said somewhere from one of the dark corners in the room. Wedge frowned as he gazed around, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" Before he had time to react, he heard the rustle again, this time behind him.

"Don't turn around."

He felt the tip of something sharp in his back and slowly raised his hands.

"The stuff in this syringe is very useful. It will make you do whatever I ask you to do. They make it on Ryloth."

With those words, she stabbed him. A rush of strange, tingling warmth engulfed him and he wanted to turn around, defend himself against this attacker. But he found himself unable to do so when she ordered him to stand absolutely still.

"Walk to the chair."

He woodenly walked to the chair as if his mind had been possessed. Whatever was in that syringe, it made him do everything the woman wanted him to do.

"Sit."

He complied. Only then did his attacker come into view. If he could've moved his mouth, it would've hung open as he instantly recognized his assailant.

Isard! What does she want from me?

The smile she gave him made him feel very uncomfortable and if he had been able to, he would have pressed his back against the chair as she moved her face within inches of his.

"You are probably wondering what I want from you. Well, I want your death, Antilles. And I will have it. But first, we're going to have some…fun."

Her nails softly scratched over the fabric of his uniform. First on his chest, then down to his belly. It was then that he realized what she was about to do.

"But that'll have to wait. First, I have to set things up so your wife will have perfect footage."

He wanted to scream, to rush over to her and strangle her with his bare hands, but all he could do was watch her set up some sort of camera. Wires ran from a console to the device, and when she turned it on, he could see himself on the monitor. Isard seemed pleased with her handiwork and came slowly towards him, a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

"When your wife receives this footage, she will live with the knowledge that her husband betrayed her in the end. She will hate you for the rest of her pathetic life. My only wish is that I could be there when she sees it. On second thought, maybe I'll pay her a visit."

Raging, Wedge tried again to move. Sweat ran down his face as he tried to nudge so much as a muscle, but he couldn't. All he could do was sit there and watch her come closer, removing her cloak.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Daala looked at her chrono and saw that it had been an hour since she last heard from Antilles.

I should've never let him go down there alone. I'm going after him, she thought.

She motioned to Skywalker who came over to her.

"Antilles has been gone for an hour and we haven't heard from him. Something's wrong. I'm going after him."

"No. I'll go. We need you here, on the bridge. We still don't have control over the ship," Luke said, motioning to Mara and Terrik's technicians who were still trying to get through the codes.

Daala shook her head.

"I know where I need to go. If I had to explain it to you, we'll be an hour longer. No, I'm going. I need a blaster."

Reluctantly, Luke reached for his and handed it to her. Liegeus came up behind him and looked at his wife, then to the blaster in her hand.

"What's going on?"

Daala turned to him and hesitated.

"She's going after Wedge. We haven't heard from him in over an hour. Something's wrong," Luke said, receiving a vicious look from Daala. "Hey, if you're going down there, and there is danger, you husband should know about it."

Liegeus eyed his wife and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're not going alone. I'm coming with you."

"Liegeus…," Daala began.

"Not a word. I'm coming with you. Maybe, when we get there, I could find out why we're blocked out up here," he said with a finality that made Luke raise his eyebrows. He walked over to the crewpit, to collect his pads and instruments. Daala smiled sourly at him and nodded her head in resignation to Luke.

"When he's like that, there's no way I can make him think otherwise. I learned that a long time ago."

She turned around and walked to the bridge doors, where she waited for her husband. Luke smiled when he saw her begin an argument as they disappeared into the corridor behind.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Wedge sat in the chair like a droid, watching as Isard walked over to the camera and whispered something into its sound system. Then she turned around and reached inside one of her cloak's pockets, pulling out a blaster. Making sure she didn't walk into the camera's view, she took up position beside him, using the barrel to softly caress his cheek with.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute of it, as much as I will," she rasped.

She raised the blaster to his temple, her finger slowly squeezing the trigger.

"How very true," a voice came from the door.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Daala and Liegeus hurried their way down to the Auxiliary Bridge and stopped dead in their tracks when they reached the corridor on which it was located. All the lights were out and the corridor was pitch black. Carefully, they made their way to the doors behind which the command center lay and keyed open the pad next to the door. Liegeus looked closely at the pad while holding a flashlight in his mouth.

"It's been tampered with," he said softly after taking the flashlight out of his mouth and pointing to some scratch marks on the metal plating. He gave her the flashlight and opened his bag, taking out a few tools. He pried the lid off the wall, peered inside and whistled.

"Somebody knew how this lock works. There's enough explosive in here to wipe out the entire room behind these doors," he whispered.

Daala also peered inside and saw a network of colored wires. She followed the small tool he used to let her see what he discovered, and she swallowed hard.

"Can you open the doors?"

He slowly nodded and looked up, grinning in spite of the situation.

"Yes. No problem. But just to be safe, run about a hundred meters down the corridor."

She gave him a hard stare and was about to give him a piece of her mind, but something in his eyes told her to not argue the point. She touched his shoulder and smiled thinly.

"Don't you blow yourself up, ok? You know how I hate cleaning."

He smiled and promised to try, then watched her leave and set to work. It took him a painstaking five minutes before he softly called her on her comlink.

She joined him again a minute later and saw that the doors were still closed. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"I'll open them but before I do, you better get in position. Luckily, these doors are the silent ones, so whoever's inside probably won't hear it opening. On the other hand, they may be armed," he whispered. She took a position near the doors and nodded.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute of it, as much as I will," she heard a female voice rasping.

Daala took in the view inside the Auxiliary Bridge and saw a woman dressed in a dark cloak, holding a blaster to someone's, probably Wedge's, head. She couldn't see who the woman was but at that point, she didn't care.

"How very true," she said, raising her blaster. The woman's head shot up and, Daala's aim almost faltered. This couldn't be true.

"Ysanne Isard. You were supposed to be dead, weren't you?"

Isard's aim shifted to the door and she pulled the trigger.
Daala grunted as a hot pain shot through her shoulder when the blaster bolt hit. She dove inside and rolled over, back onto a knee. Then she rushed to the other woman before she had the time to re-aim and came in with a high kick that propelled the blaster from Iceheart's grip.

"Then I'll have to make sure that you stay dead this time, won't I?" Daala hissed.

Her eyes spewed fire as she pulled her knee up and shoved it hard into the other woman's abdomen.

Isard screamed in agony as pain shot through her old wound, spreading rapidly to the rest of her body. She lay on the floor, curled into a fetal ball as Daala took up a position behind her and grabbed her head.

"One of the many things I learned, while I was trained in secret under Tarkin's tutelage, was the ability to kill someone with one hand tied behind my back and still make it painful and slow. And to use your own words, you'll enjoy every second of it. As much as I will."

With those words, she forced Isard's head to the right and pulled. Isard's body began to convulse violently as Daala slowly increased her grip. She brought her mouth to Isard's ear.

"And this time, you absolute horror of a human being…you'll stay dead," she whispered.

Isard's hands clawed into Daala's as she struggled for life, but it was all in vain. Seconds later it was all over. Daala slowly stood, letting the lifeless body fall to the deck. She breathed heavily as she glared down with disgust.

Behind her, Liegeus came in and went to the man in the chair. Daala looked closer and saw that it indeed was Wedge. But he seemed somewhat…strange. She took a few steps in his direction, at which point Liegeus looked up.

"Please, don't come near. He's…not decent. I think she drugged him."

She stopped and looked around. Her eye caught the camera and the wires running from it to the row of consoles. She kept her back to the two men and walked over. Tracing the link to the correct console, she punched in a few commands and soon discovered what Isard had been up to. With horror on her face she watched Isard give Wedge a series of lewd commands, but stopped the file when her stomach began to lurch in disgust. Without even looking any further, she punched in a delete command and erased the file.

"Yes, it seems that she drugged him. You must order him to do things."

Liegeus looked up, puzzled and then looked at Wedge.

"Is that true?"

Wedge's face stayed emotionless as he answered with a toneless 'yes'. Liegeus then ordered him to stand up from the chair and get dressed. When he was decent again, Daala turned around and walked to him.

"I deleted the file, Wedge. No one will ever know. Do you understand?"

Again, the toneless 'yes' was given. They then ordered him to walk to the door and contacted the bridge that they had found him. When Luke asked what had happened, Daala simply answered that Wedge himself would explain it later. Luke promised to promptly send a team down to secure the Auxiliary Bridge, and they waited in silence until the team arrived.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^