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Anakin recognized being in the dream. He felt it in the way his limbs hung wrong on his body. The way that he felt dwarfed by the doorways in the Jedi Temple, and the adults that walked past him. He knew it in the way that he did not really have control over his body, the way he seemed more observer than participant. He glanced over and saw Tahiri, young, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, her hair a wild mass of curls and waves, bare feet whispered quietly on the stone as they walked the halls.
"This session is almost over, isn't it?" she asked him.
He nodded his head. "Yeah. That's why we have to do go down the river tomorrow."
"And then after that, you're going home?"
"Yeah," he replied, lowering his head slightly. "Jaina and Jacen are coming back for their session, so I'm going home to visit Mom and Dad."
"But you'll be back?"
He looked over at her again, and quickly nodded his head. "Of course."
She stopped walking. "C-can you promise me?"
He took a few more steps and then stopped as well. Slowly, he turned to look at her. She stood there, head tilted downward slightly, a frown edging her mouth and her eyes were large and green, with tears lining them. In her hands, she clasped the small angel doll that he had given her at the start of the term. The one his father had helped him pick out. He walked back towards her.
"It's a promise," he replied, grinning at her. "Everything will be all right."
"Promise?" she asked lifting her head to look up at him.
"Yeah, It's a promise."
"Yes," she said, a smile coming to her lips.
Anakin glanced at the doll for a moment. "That doll that I gave you..."
She lifted it slightly, "This one?"
"Yeah, it's not an ordinary doll. It's a magical doll that can grant wishes." She blinked her eyes a couple times, and he grinned at her as he continued speaking. "You think I'm lying to you, don't you?"
"A little," she replied.
He shrugged his shoulders. "But it's true."
"Really?" she exclaimed, her mouth dropping open.
He nodded his head, once sharply. "Yup, but it can only grant three wishes. And no more wishing for more wishes, you'll have to take into account the person granting the wishes."
She clutched the doll tight against her chest again. "Who's going to grant them?"
He grinned at her again. "Me, of course."
"I see..."
"So I can't grant any wishes that are impossible for me, either. Now, say any wish you want."
She tilted her head slightly, thinking hard. Then she focused on him again, smiling broadly. "All right, I have my first wish, and here it is. Please don't forget about me."
Anakin felt his mouth open in shock, and he blinked twice.
Tahiri had closed her eyes, and just continued talking. "Even if you go home, because it's your brother and sister's turn for training, please remember me from time to time. And think, 'Right, I met that strange, Tusken girl that wouldn't stop talking.' That's enough, so please... don't forget. That... that's my first wish." She opened her eyes again. "Is that okay?"
He snapped his mouth shut, and nodded his head quickly. "I told you, I'd do anything that I can. I promise. I'll never forget about you, and that I'll come back to Yavin. When I do, we'll have some canapés together."
She smiled brightly. "Yeah."
Anakin bolted awake, a thin sweat covering his body. He pushed the blankets off of him, and swung his feet out of the bed, clutching his head in his hands. The flickers of the dream still preyed on his mind, and he wondered why he was dreaming of Tahiri.
Sighing, he got out of bed, and walked to the door to the balcony. He pushed it open, and stepped out. A cold wind whipped through his hair, cutting through his sleeping clothes, sending a chill down his frame.
He leaned against the railing, and looked down at the ground far below. Then he lifted his face, to star at the stars. He watched, and as he did so, memories of Nelani flashed through his mind. All of events from the night of her party, two days ago. The way she had smiled at him. That single kiss. Then the way she had just disappeared.
"Anakin?"
Startled, he looked up and over, to see Tahiri walking towards him. "'Ri?"
"You'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long."
"Leave me alone," he replied, walking away from the rail to lean against the wall.
She giggled and jogged closer to him, gripping onto the railing, leaning over the side. Then she dropped back to the flats of her feet and looked up at the sky. "Do you think it'll be raining again soon?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Probably. The rainy season isn't that far off."
"You were thinking about Nelani again, weren't you?'
"You heard about her illness?"
"From Jaina," she replied. "And Jaina said she heard it from Kiori."
"I see."
"Is her illness that serious?"
"Yeah..." he said, frowning slightly. "Actually, I don't know that much either. All I know is that she can't come outside for a while."
"I see," Tahiri said a hint of pain in her voice. "Well, I hope she gets better soon. If there's anything I can do, I'll do it." She then turned to look at him. "Just like you comforted me so long ago."
He shook his head. "I didn't do much."
"That's not true. If you hadn't comforted me, I don't think I would have ever been able to smile again." She pulled her necklace out from beneath her sleeping shirt, and showed him one of the pendants on it. "And actually you gave me this as well."
He looked at the pendant, a brown stone; smooth, attached to her necklace by a twisted piece of wire. He felt a frown form onto his face, and he wondered just when he had done so. "I gave you that?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Around the time when you were supposed to go back to Coruscant." She pulled it out a bit further, so she could get a better look at it. "Anakin?"
He focused on her again, "Huh?"
"Do you remember when you gave this to me?"
Slowly, he shook his head. "No, I don't... sorry."
"Oh," she replied, eyes falling again. "Actually, I don't remember that much about that time either." She let the pendant go, allowing it to drop against her breast again. "I, I was hoping that you would remember, but... Let's go back inside."
He straightened slightly, surprised at the sudden shift in topic.
Tahiri smiled at him. "We need to get up early tomorrow for Jaina's match."
"Yeah," he replied. "You're right."
She turned to look up at the sky again. "I hope that it's sunny tomorrow."
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Anakin, Mara Jade and Tahiri stepped into the dim cavernous room that was used for lightsaber tournaments. A crowd had already gathered, giving the room the atmosphere of a sporting event back on Coruscant. He looked around, waving at some of the other students that he knew from training. Finally, he spotted his sister, and called out, "Jaina!"
She turned towards him, and jogged over, a grin coming to her face.
"Everyone came," she said as she wrapped Anakin in a hug.
"Good luck, Jaina," Tahiri said.
"My apprentice doesn't need luck," Mara responded dryly.
Anakin shook his head slightly. "Dad would say that since she's a Solo, that's all she really needs."
Mara frowned his way. "Watch it, Solo."
Anakin laughed, and turned back to his sister. "Do make sure you put on a good show. I don't want to think I wasted this prime sleeping-in morning for a half-hearted attempt."
Jaina scowled at him, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Keep it up, and I'm sure I could convince Aunt Mara that you need to participate in these things."
Tionne, the Master in charge of training with Jaina's team stepped out from a side door, and waved Jaina over. For a moment, her eyes seemed to lock onto Tahiri, but then she frowned and turned away. Jaina waved at the three of them, as she started to jog off. "I'll talk to you later."
Tahiri twisted her head around, and pointed towards a space on the top set of bleachers. "Look Anakin, we'll be able to see better from up there."
She then grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the bleacher. He cast a glance over his shoulder and saw that Mara was shaking her head as she fell into step behind them.
Once they had gotten settled into seats, Tahiri leaned towards him. "Do you think Jaina's going to win? She'll win right?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. She's not very nervous. Seems to me she'd be more nervous for the match."
Tahiri scowled at him, and slapped his shoulder. "That's not true! Jaina will win for sure."
Looking down at her, he grinned slightly. "You're the one that said you were worried."
Her eyes popped open wider, and then she dropped her head. "I did, but..."
The distinctive snap-hiss of a saber igniting drew his attention, and he turned towards the ring. Jaina stood in the center, an older Rodian he didn't know facing her. Standing to her left was Daesha'cor, on her right was Ganner and behind her was Raynar. In a similar diamond formation behind the Rodian were three other Jedi Knights: a second Rodian, this one female, was standing opposite Daesha'cor, while Miko Regalio faced off with Ganner and a human that Anakin didn't know was in the back position for the opposing team.
Standing in the center of the ring, was his Uncle Luke. He was speaking soft words to both teams. Anakin watched his uncle for a moment, seeing how tired he appeared.
Tahiri leaned over towards Anakin. "Isn't that your Uncle?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"I didn't know he was on Yavin right now."
"He came back," Mara responded; her eyes glued to the field, watching both her husband and her apprentice. "For this tournament. After this, he has to go back to Coruscant for more meetings."
Anakin focused back on the field, as Luke stepped away. Then the two teams rushed forward, their sabers flashing in bright arcs only to flare into white when they connected.
Jaina jumped and twirled, her blade always perfectly positioned to block the saber of her opponent; then she would twist and turn the block into an attack.
"Wow," Tahiri whispered.
He could hear the smirk in Mara's voice. "That's my apprentice. She's the best one out there, as usual."
Anakin chuckled, and continued watching, as one after one, Jaina's team defeated the opposing teams. Finally, it was the last match for the team events. Before long, Ganner had knocked Wurth Skidder to the ground, and with the tip of his saber drew an infinity symbol in the air, showing a kill point for the final member of the opposing group.
The crowd erupted into cheers, with Anakin and Tahiri standing up and screaming along with them. He noticed that Mara merely sat there, a superior smirk on her face, as she watched the two teams shaking hands in the center of the field.
After they had left the fields, Luke walked to the center, and raised his hands. Silence dropped over the gathered people. "Now, it is time for the singles competition."
He nodded towards the corner, and Anakin watched as Miko and a Twi'lek female he didn't recognize walked out onto the field. He proceeded to ignore the battle, and chatted with Tahiri instead.
Two hours later, the final singles match was being held. Jaina was squaring off against Raynar.
Anakin leaned forward, watching the two intently, wondering just how well Raynar would be able to do against Jaina. Since they spent so much time training together, he thought they should be fairly evenly matched.
Luke stepped away from between them, and gave the signal for the match to begin.
Jaina charged forward, her blade coming in low. She thrust up and to the left, and Raynar jumped high, slashing at her exposed back.
She dropped to the ground and rolled. She got to her feet in a single, fluid movement, and darted forward again, her saber slashing in a right, left, right pattern.
Raynar stumbled backwards, his blade constantly parrying Jaina's blows, but leaving him unable to attack.
She pulled back, and Raynar darted in with an attack. She ducked the blow, and swept his legs out from beneath him. Popping back into a standing position, she quickly made the infinity symbol above his chest.
As Jaina helped Raynar to his feet, Anakin chuckled to himself, pleased that she was able to so easily best her opponents.
Luke then gave out the awards for winning the various competitions. Jaina stood up there by their uncle, a happy grin on her lips. As she was getting the medal for winning, she saw Anakin and the others in the bleachers, and waved. Tahiri jumped up from her seat and waved back.
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Anakin sat across from Jaina. They were in Poltz, at a table next to the big bay windows that looked out onto the street. Anakin lifted his cup of tea, while Jaina lifted her strawberry parfait. The touched the rims of their glasses together, as Anakin said, "Congratulations on winning."
She grinned for him, mischief flashing in her eyes, "Thanks, Anakin."
"So, did you comm and tell Kiori about your win?"
Jaina nodded her head, "Yes, she sounded happy. She also said that she's sorry that she couldn't be there in person."
"I see," he replied.
She took a bite of her parfait, and looked out the window. "So Anakin, have you gotten used to Yavin?"
Anakin arched an eyebrow at his sister. "What's this all of a sudden?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just that when you got here, you were worried about not being happy here. That you were worried about the past. Do those things still bother you?"
He shook his head, and peered into his tea. "Yes and no. Most of the time I don't even think about it."
"I'm sure," she replied, grinning slightly as she took another bite of her desert. "But, I like it here, so I want you to like it as well."
Anakin took a sip of his tea, and looked out at the pedestrians on the street. After a moment, he turned back to Jaina. "You don't have anyone that you like do you?"
"What?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Just something Raynar said. You're popular, everyone likes you, but you keep everything in. You hide behind these walls."
Jaina sighed, and took another bite of her parfait. "I used to. There was a boy that I liked back on Coruscant."
"Wow," he replied. "That was a while ago. What happened?"
She shook her head. "I, I was rejected."
"And you haven't seen him since?"
"I saw him once after that rejection. Things... they didn't go well that time."
Anakin frowned at glanced out the window again. He watched, as a young boy, maybe 8 years old ran from a girl about the same age. In his hands he held a scarf, which the girl was obviously chasing after. The girl stopped and dropped to her knees, putting her hands over her face, obviously crying, and Anakin had to chuckle as the boy quickly turned back to the girl, handing her the scarf.
Anakin focused on Jaina again. "So there's no other boys out there?"
Laughing, Jaina shook her head. "No, that one was enough." She took another bite of her parfait, and then grinned up at him. "Well, I could tell you about this one boy I met, not the one I liked, but another one. It was about six years ago or so. He was head over heels for this one girl, had no clue about it though."
"So what happened between them?"
She chuckled. "Oh, he's still crazy about her."
"That's devoted."
"Well, he can be mean sometimes," she replied. "But when he sees someone in trouble, he has to stick his nose into it." Then she chuckled. "Of course, he doesn't seem to realize that he does so."
Anakin shook his head. "Sounds like a personality that is asking for trouble."
She smirked at him. "Oh, definitely."
A short while later, they were walking towards their apartment building. Anakin looked around at the stores that lined either side of the street, and then at Jaina. "Should I buy you something to celebrate your victory?"
She looked up at him, surprise on her face. "Really?"
"Although," he continued. "I don't have much on me. I had to use money rather frequently lately."
Jaina thought for a moment, and then looked into the shop they were passing. "Then..."
She stopped, and went into the shop. Anakin backed up and followed her in. Walking over to one of the display counters, she picked up a single red marble, holding it up to the light between her forefinger and her thumb.
"This," she said. "I want this."
"I've got enough to buy you something better than that."
"No," she said, smiling as she shook her head. "It's pretty, and it's the color of strawberries."
He shrugged his shoulders, and passed over his credit chit to the shopkeeper. A few minutes later, they were walking down the street. Jaina holding the marble up towards the sun, one eye closed as she stared at it. She grinned and said, "It really is pretty."
Snorting, Anakin replied, "And you're weird too. Comparable to Tahiri actually."
Jaina stopped walking and lowered her arm. "Hey, Anakin..."
He stopped, and turned back towards her.
She continued, "Don't give Tahiri too much trouble, okay?"
"If anything," he replied. "I think I'm the one who's getting all the troubles."
Jaina sighed and shook her head. "You don't understand. Tahiri is..."
"Tahiri is what?"
She turned away from him, refusing to meet his eyes. "It's a secret."
"Give me a hint," he said, raising a finger.
"It's meaningless for me to say it," she replied as she began to walk past him.
"Hint two," he said, raising a second finger.
"Nope. You only get one."
He turned, watching her as she walked past him, frowning slightly.
"Bonus chance!"
"There's none of that."
He jogged to catch up to her.
"Special chance?"
"Now you're just making things up."
"Attack chance?"
"You're not making any sense."
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Anakin recognized the familiar sensations of a dream; the surreal quality to his sense and emotions, the feeling of once more being a child.
He was running down the hall, hunting for someone. Darting in and out of the other students and the instructors.
Finally, he spied her, sitting on a bench, kicking her legs, the pink of her toes flashing rhythmically as they swung in and out of the shadows beneath her seat. She stared at the ceiling, looking bored and chewing on her lower lip, and in her hands, she held a small package, wrapped tightly with a string.
"Tahiri!" he called out.
She lifted her head, her green eyes flashing with delight, as she jumped up off the bench. "You're late, Anakin."
"Sorry," he mumbled between pants. "To keep you waiting."
She shook her head. "I almost thought we weren't going to be able to do this today."
"Me too, actually," he replied. "I thought Uncle Luke was going to give me some extra lessons. Sorry, I made you wait."
"Anakin, uhm..." She then thrust the package she was holding towards him. "These are for you. They're cookies that I made."
"Handmade," he asked, taking them from her. "Thank you."
He untied the ribbon, and fought to keep the shock and fear off of his face, but what he saw in the package scared him. They were lumpy, and had a black tint to them, the smell of charcoal drifted up to his nose. His eyes flicked up to Tahiri, where she stood in front of him, a blush shining bright through her tanned cheeks.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't make them very well," she said.
He plucked one out of the bag, and lifted it to his lips. He bit into it, and then crunched down harder when a piece wouldn't come off. He tried to swallow the bite without tasting, but it still touched his taste buds, and he had to forcibly suppress a shudder.
"So, how is it," she asked, her eyes large and green.
"It's good," he lied to her.
The fear fled her face, being replaced by a brilliant smile. "That's great!"
Anakin looked around, shoving the remaining cookies into one of the pockets of his orange jumpsuit. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and together they darted towards one of the Temple's exits. As soon as they left the building, the warm humid air struck them, sweat started running down their faces and backs, as they went further and further from the Temple.
Then they stopped, both awestruck by the river that thundered past them. It was a good ten meters across, fast moving, and they had both seen it before in their dreams.
Tahiri gasped, and then said, "I, I've never seen so much water in one place before.
Anakin blinked rapidly, and then looked around. "Where is it?"
"Where's what?"
"The boat," he muttered, looking around. "In the dream, there's a boat, a silver boat."
The looked for a few more minutes, but when they couldn't find the boat, they slowly made their way back to the Temple. Once they had gotten back to the bench, Tahiri sighed.
Anakin scratched at his hair. "I guess we'll have to try again tomorrow."
She frowned for a moment. "It's not long before you have to go back to Coruscant, right?"
He nodded his head. "Yeah, but I have a few more days before that happens. We'll try again tomorrow."
"Great," she said, beaming at him. "I'll be waiting for you here then."
Anakin's eyes snapped open. He knew that he had been dreaming; that he had been reliving a memory. Yet the harder he clung to it, the quicker it flickered away. Finally, he gave up, and got out of bed. He glanced towards the door to the balcony, and walked over to it. His hand lingered on the handle for a moment, and then he slid it opened and stepped out.
A gust of wind tugged at his pajamas, and he frowned up at the stars, wondering why he couldn't remember anything.
"Anakin?"
He turned and saw Tahiri standing there in her pajamas. She was rubbing her shoulders as she watched him. She padded over to him, her bare feet barely whispering across the permacrete of the balcony. Leaning against the wall beside him, she looked up and said, "So, we're out here again."
Chuckling, he smiled at her and said, "Yeah. You're not stalking me are you?"
"It's a coincidence," she replied, lowering her face to look at her toes as she wiggled them. "I had a dream and woke up."
"That is a coincidence," he said. "I had a dream as well."
She lifted her face to look up at him again. "What kind of dream?"
"I forgot."
She giggled. "Well, maybe we had the same dream."
"As if."
Anakin looked up at the stars as silence settled over them. They watched together the timeless parade of the night.
"Hey," he began after a few moments of silence. "How much do you remember from six years ago?"
"Bits and pieces," she responded, chewing slightly on one of her knuckles. "I know we were together almost every day, but..."
He snorted. "You have a lame memory."
She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat, and twisted her head to the side. "So, do you remember?"
Smiling, he shook his head. "To tell the truth, I don't remember either. Ultimately, I was able to remember with Sannah and Tenel Ka, I wonder why..."
"Well, it was six years ago. But..." Anakin turned to look down at her, and found her staring at him, her green eyes flashing with delight. "... even after six years, I still have my necklace, and you're right here in front of me. Isn't that amazing?"
"Is it that amazing?"
"Yep," she replied with a quick nod of the head and a big smile. "I think it is."
The next day at lunch, Anakin was sitting across from Raynar, who was poking at his nerf steak with his fork, one hand propping up his head. Sighing, he looked towards Anakin. "Why are we eating lunch together, alone?"
Anakin took a bite of his protatoes and shrugged. "Can't be helped. Kiori's out still and Jaina had to talk to Master Tionne about the team stuff, as you should know."
"I just feel so melancholic all of a sudden."
Anakin shrugged again, and took a bite of the fish he had as a main course.
A few minutes later, Raynar spoke again, "I hear Nelani is doing well."
"I see," he replied, a grin tugging slightly at his lips.
Once he returned to class, he started staring out at the meditation garden where he would often meet Nelani. Suddenly, he missed her, and wished to see her down there in the garden once again, with her shawl around her.
"Anakin," Jaina's voice cut through his ruminations. He looked up at her, and she grinned at him. "Training's over for the day."
Startled, he looked around and found that only the two of them remained in the classroom.
"Oh," he replied, then standing he left the Academy grounds, heading towards the shopping district.
Before long, he was wandering through the district, something tugging at his soul, causing him to frown.
Suddenly a weight dropped onto his back, as arms wrapped around his neck. Tahiri's voice was warm and loud in his ear, "Anakin!"
Grinning, he responded with a simple, "Hey, Tahiri."
She dropped off of his back, and titled her head slightly. "You're not surprised today?'
He shrugged, "I think I'm used to it now. Surprise attacks just won't work anymore."
Her face scrunched up in anger as she balled her fists and stomped. "They're not surprise attacks!"
She looked around, and then raced over to a bench. "You know, six years ago, I used to wait for you on a bench just like this." She dropped into the seat, and looked down at the ground. "I always arrived first, and would have to wait for you to show up."
Chuckling, Anakin walked towards where she sat, kicking her legs. When he stopped in front of her, she lifted her face, and with a grin said, "You're late, Anakin!"
He smiled at her. "Sorry, I'm a bit late."
"Not just a bit, a lot," she shot back. When he didn't respond, she lifted her head, and noticed the faraway look in his eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"
He shook slightly, and grinned. "No, nothing. So, you're here looking for your lost item, have you found it yet?"
"Actually," she replied, some of the brightness seeming to flow from her. "Not yet..."
"Well, I'll help you out."
Her face transformed as she smiled up at him. "Did you come here just for that?"
"I just happened to pass by," he responded. "I'm not that nice."
With another bright smile, she stood up and they began to search once again.
Two hours later, they found themselves back where they had started, both of them now sitting on the bench, Tahiri looking depressed.
"I couldn't find it again," she complained.
"Don't be so sad," Anakin said, smiling at her. "I'll help you look again tomorrow."
A small, sad smile came to her lips. "Sorry I made you come along."
"Don't worry," he replied, shaking his head. "I had time to kill anyways."
She folded her hands and then placed them in her lap. Frowning, she looked down at them, watching her hands as they sat there. "Sitting here like this reminds me of those times. Before coming to Yavin, I was alone. I mean, I had my father Sliven, but he wasn't really my father. I didn't really have a friend until you came to talk to me."
"Yeah, I remember that," he replied.
"Have you ever lost an important person right in front of you?"
The tone of her voice, the wavering tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, all of it pricked at his heart. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing would come out.
Finally, she continued speaking. "I... I have. I couldn't do anything. I was forced to face the fact that I was a powerless child. All I could do was call..." She blinked, and one of those threatened tears became realized and slowly traveled down her cheek. "All I could do was call out my mother and father's name until my voice died, and I couldn't speak anymore."
The tear reached her chin, and fell to splatter against her hands. "I don't want to feel that again. Have you... have you had that experience?"
"I..."
Then images slammed into Anakin.
Sannah playing on the ground with Ikrit, mute and childlike from the Changing.
Sannah slipping into the dark waters.
Tenel Ka trembling from pain and exhaustion.
Tenel Ka slamming her sword through her chest.
Nelani from the moments leading up to that single kiss, and when she disappeared.
Finally, an image of the river, a silver boat, and gathering clouds slashed through his awareness.
"Tahiri, is... is Nelani... d-" he stopped speaking, and covered his face with his hands. He fought against the tears that wanted to come, and could feel his body shaking. Tahiri placed her hand on his back, and leaned towards him.
"What's wrong, Anakin?"
He bolted to his feet, and started walking away from her.
"Anakin," she called out after him, scrambling to her feet, and jogging to catch up to him.
After he had walked a good three meters, he stopped, and waited for Tahiri.
She arrived moments, later and walked around in front of him. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm fine now."
"So," she replied, the tears leaking from both of her green eyes as they seemed to pierce his soul. "You have experienced it. You have lost someone important right in front of you."
He didn't reply, just watched her face, as the tears ran down both of her cheeks, freely flowing for their shared pain.
"Anakin," she said. "Don't look at my face, okay? I'm sure it's all messy from the tears and everything. So, close your eyes."
"Yeah," he replied, and did as she asked. Hiding the world behind his eyelids.
Her voice floated to him from the darkness. "I'll close my eyes, too."
Then he felt the gentle, feather-light touch of her lips against his. He almost opened his eyes, but was afraid that if he did so, she would disappear. Instead he reached down, and clasped his hands around her arms, ensuring that she stayed there with him.
In the light of the setting sun, they stood there kissing for an eternal moment.
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Leia Organa-Solo stared out at the snow storm. They had remained on this frozen planet for months, while Han slowly made repairs. Only the occasional visit from Tahiri or Lando had interrupted the monotony of their days; and it had been a while since either of them had shown up.
She reached out with the Force, and found her husband's presence deep in the bowels of the ship. He was focused, intent, and she smiled. That was just one of the many reasons she loved him. Despite his lackadaisical exterior, he was truly dedicated to those things he believed in.
Then the events of the past few months crashed in on her againl; Jacen growing more and more dangerous, the civil war between Corellia and the Alliance, and Luke's betrayal.
For a moment, she wondered just what there was left in the galaxy to believe in. Her lips compressed into a thin line and she stood up, and walked from the cockpit. Her footsteps were even on the metal plating, a bare echo returning to her ears with every step.
Finally, she arrived at the common area and sat down at the holonet terminal. She stared at it for a moment, and then reached out and flipped the machine on. A few moments later, message headers scrolled into view.
Sighing, she began to cull the unnecessary ones from the list. Her eyes widened as she saw one from Luke. A message addressed to her personal account rather than the official Jedi account.
Opening it, her eyes began to water once again as she read his request that she speak at Mara's funeral in a few weeks.
She read the message once again, and then looked away from the holonet terminal, dropping her face into her hands.
It was the first communication from her brother since Tahiri had told them about Noelani's parentage. She still remembered how broken and distraught the younger Jedi had seemed that night; disillusioned with the Jedi in a way that neither Anakin's death nor The Swarm War and her exile had caused. This seemed to be the ultimate in betrayals from an Order that has been a source of pain and suffering for Tahiri for nearly two decades.
What Leia found even more disappointing was the fact that Luke made no mention of Tahiri or Noelani in his message. No hint that Leia had a granddaughter out there that Luke had hidden from them all. No sign that he considered what he did wrong.
No apology to either her or Han.
Her shoulders shook, pain welling up in her chest, threatening to consume her. It had been years since she had felt this bad; fourteen to be exact.
A large, calloused palm dropped onto her shoulder, and she lifted her face up to find Han standing behind her, concern etched in his brown eyes. His eyes flicked to the message she still had pulled up, and she watched as he quickly scanned it.
After a moment, he turned back to her. "You okay, Princess?"
Nodding her head, she allowed a weak smile that she didn't feel to flicker onto her face, and gestured to the message still displayed on the terminal. "Can we go?"
His eyes flicked to the message for a second, and then back to her. She knew he hurt as bad as she did over the gulf between them and Luke. That he felt as betrayed as she did from Luke hiding their granddaughter. "Of course we're going. She's family. Luke's family."
Leia turned back towards the message. "But the warrant…"
Han barked a short, brittle laugh. "The day that Coruscant can keep me out of their airspace will be the day…. Well, it'll be something… And there's no way that Jacen would dream of using Mara's funeral to arrest us. No matter how dark he's gotten, he wouldn't sink that low."
Leia looked at him, a cold, unsettled feeling, deep in her gut. "I just hope you're right."
Han smiled smugly. "Of course I am."
She shook her head, laughing bitterly. "Now, comes the real question; do we really want to go? Especially after what he did to Tahiri and Noelani."
Han scowled as he looked away. She felt his Force presence waver, flicker with suppressed grief and rage. "We need to face him sooner or later about it. Besides, I… I'd like to see the kid again."
Leia felt a smile touch her lips, one not quite as fake as earlier. "Now, that sounds like a good reason to go to Coruscant."
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Chase crouched low, hunkered down behind a rusted hulk that he believed at one time had been a speeder. A dozen paces away were three ferals; their slave seed coral glowing dimly in the dingy light, their stench almost overpowering his sense of smell.
They were loud, and he was certain they were hunting him; for they had appeared around him four times in the past two days. Their movements were jerky as they ambled around the area, overturning containers, and trash bins.
He raised himself up a little, so that he could look out over the top of the speeder at the three. He frowned as they moved about the area. Their movements seemed different than the ferals he had ran into when he had first fled to the undercity after leaving the Jedi. Now they seemed more coordinated than before.
Behind him, someone stepped into one of the ever present puddles of water. The freezing liquid splashed up, and splattered his back. Gritting his teeth, Chase spun around to find a fourth feral—this one looked like at one time it had been a Givin. It moaned in a low note of pain, and its bony hands lifted; reaching out for him.
Chase let out a short, sharp curse, and scuttled out of his hiding spot. He ducked under the outstretched arms, and felt the feral's bony fingers trying to get a grip on his jacket. Fortunately, he was faster than the Feral. He stood up, and quickly scanned the area around him, hunting for something, anything that he could use as a weapon. He knew from painful experience that the only sure-fire way to kill a feral was to destroy its brain.
Anything short of that, and they kept coming for you.
Spying a length of metal pipe, he dived for it, and came up in a roll, holding it out in front of him like a sword. He wished he had a blaster.
The other three ferals turned to face him, all of them making that low moaning noise. It was right at the edge of his hearing, and he frowned at it.
Movement in the distance caught his eye, and he saw another feral ambling towards them.
"Shavit," he muttered, as he realized that the moaning was a form of communication. He knew there were a number of species that communicated using some form of harmonics, and wasn't really surprised that the ferals had developed it after the death of the World Brain.
Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology was nothing if not aggressive and ingenious.
The Givin ambled towards Chase, and he tightened his grip on the length of pipe. He pulled back his arms, raising his fists to just above shoulder level.
Finally, the feral was close enough, and Chase thrust the pipe forward, slamming it hard into the Givin's ocular cavity; ramming the point deep into its brain.
Convulsing, the feral dropped to the ground, ripping the pipe from Chase's hands.
Cursing, Chase looked up at the other ferals, two former humans and a Twi'lek, noticing that they had gotten closer. Dangerously close. He grabbed the pipe and pulled. It popped out of the Givin with a sucking noise.
Chase snarled as the moans grew slightly louder, changing pitch and tempo.
He pulled back his arms again, and swung forward once more. The metal pipe slammed into the closest of the ferals, one of the humans. Yet as he had stepped forward, he had slipped in some slime that coated the ground. His attack landed, but rather than a strike dead to the head, it was a glancing blow to the shoulder.
The feral howled in pain, and stumbled under the force of the impact. Chase swung the pipe horizontally, and heard the crack of coral and bone breaking as the length of metal slammed into the next feral.
Something tugged on his pants leg, and he looked down to find the first human there, her clawed hands hooked into the cloth of his pants.
"Duwin-tiu, bar" he snarled as he yanked his leg away from the woman. With the distinct sound of ripping cloth, he pulled his pants free, and then kicked forward as hard as he could.
The steel toe of his boot met her nose with a sickening crunch. The feral convulsed and then went still. Movement drew his attention, and Chase focused on the Twi'lek that was ambling towards him.
He was a massive being, outweighing Chase by at least 50 kilograms, and all of it appeared to be muscle mass. Chase raised his makeshift weapon into a ready stance and took a few steps backwards.
The feral seemed to disappear and then reappear right next to him. A coral-encrusted arm slashed out, and to Chase it felt like a bag of bricks had just slammed into his chest.
He flew backwards, and landed hard on the ground. Squeezing his eyes shut from the pain, he rolled over and climbed to his hands and knees.
Just in time to be kicked in the stomach.
The thin, liquidly remnants of his last meal erupted from his mouth as he folded around the foot.
Chase felt something pull at his jacket. Within moments, he had been hauled to his feet, and the feral screamed at him. His eyes narrowed as he fought against the instinct to clamp his hands to his ears. To do that, he would have had to drop the pipe.
He swung the metal pipe laterally, slamming it as hard as he could against the arm that was holding him up off the ground. Shards of coral broke off from the feral's arm as the pipe bent slightly.
The feral's pulled his arm back and then casually flung Chase across the street. He slammed into a building, and slumped to the ground.
He shook his head, trying to clear it of the ringing noise, and then noticed that he still held the pipe in his hand.
He staggered to his feet, and saw the feral racing towards him; moving faster than any feral he had ever seen. When did they become so fast?
Not knowing what else to do, he lifted the pipe up and thrust forward just as the feral closed.
It slid neatly into a fleshy space between two coral outgrowths, aimed for the back of the feral's neck perfectly. There was a slight pressure, but the feral's mass and speed pushed it further onto the pipe.
With a crack, the feral dropped to the ground, its body twitching slightly.
Startled Chase looked down at it, and saw an end of the pipe poking out the back of the creature's neck.
He stared for a long moment, and then turned away, heading once more towards the Jedi Temple.
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Anakin sat at his desk, staring out the window, watching as the sun crested the horizon in the burning glory of dawn. His eyes were rimmed with red, dark circles hung beneath then. Suddenly, his alarm went off, an annoying beeping noise. Sighing, he stood up and crossed over to the nightstand and pressed the off button. Taking a final look at the rising sun, and the landscape he had spent the entire night staring at, he left the room and went to the refresher to get cleaned up.
After getting dressed, he walked into the kitchen to find Tahiri and Mara working at the counter, rolling out dough. Mara looked up at him, and arched an eyebrow. "Good morning."
He lifted his eyes, and quickly nodded his head. "Good morning, Aunt Mara."
"Wow, Anakin," Tahiri cut in. "You're looking bad this morning."
He straightened his posture, and grinned. "I'm Corellian. I'm perfect."
"You don't look that perfect to me this morning," Tahiri shot back.
Mara snickered. "Go sit down, Mr. Corellia. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
Anakin smiled at his aunt, but as soon as he turned away to take his seat at the table, the smile fell off his face.
--------------------
Anakin slowly walked towards the Academy, automatically following the streams of students that were doing the same thing. His thoughts had taken a dark turn once again, as he was focused on Nelani and Kiori.
Suddenly, someone slammed hard into his back. He stumbled forward and let out a short yelp of surprise. Spinning around, he was about to snarl something at whoever had ran into him, but the words died in his mouth as he found himself staring at Nelani's smiling face. His heart hammered.
She tilted her head slightly. "I'm sorry. But I was just so happy to see you that I felt that I absolutely had to run into you. You understand, right?"
"Yeah, good morning," he said, grinning, as he bumped his shoulder against hers.
He started walking towards the academy and she fell into step beside him. Looking down at her, he asked, "Did you make a lunch again today?"
She quickly nodded her head. "Yes, and I have the utmost confidence in it."
"Good," he replied, chuckling. They then stepped from the bright sunlight of the outside, into the cool dimness of the Academy itself. "Let's eat it together."
"Sure," she said, beaming happily at him. "At lunch, I'll come to your class..." Her chin dropped to her chest for a moment, pain flaring in her eyes before it was once again hidden behind her smile. "On second thought, let's meet in the cafeteria."
"Yeah," he replied, nodding his head.
Then she was running off to her lessons. Anakin watched until she had disappeared, and then went to his classroom and looked in. When he didn't see Kiori, he turned and started searching the various places he knew she liked to hide. Finally, he found her, standing on the observation level on the exterior of the Academy. Her arms were folded across her chest as she watched a flock of birds in the distance.
He stopped a few paces from her. "I was looking for you."
She responded, but did not turn to face him. "When I'm doing this... When I'm standing here like this, I can almost believe that time has stopped. But it's a lie. Time will never stop."
"You don't look so well. You should get some more sleep."
"Winter is coming. Did you know that? Soon, all these gardens will always be empty and barren." She pointed towards one of the gardens, and Anakin looked at it, recognizing it as the one that he used to meet Nelani in. "That garden is always empty in winter. No one goes there. But during the spring, after the rains have come and gone, then people will wander in, filling it, smelling the flowers."
Anakin nodded his head. "So you knew that she was out there, waiting for you, every day."
Kiori lowered her head, and spun around, walking past Anakin without looking at him. Then she started down the steps. Silently, he watched as she disappeared from view.
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Anakin was sitting at the same table they had used the day before, Nelani once more on the far side of the table from him. Also the same as the day before, a massive amount of food was in front of him. He grinned at her. "I want to throw you a birthday party."
She looked up from her lunch, and worried sy her lower lip slightly. "Birthday party?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I won't push, if you don't really want one, but I think it'll be fun."
"Not at all!" she responded, shaking her head. "I'm happy about it." She paused, and scratched at her nose for a moment. "But who else would you get to attend?"
"Well, there's Tahiri, and then I was going to ask 2 or 3 of my friends. It'll be a small party, but you know how it is."
Nelani nodded, a finger finding its way to her mouth where she began to chew at a knuckle. "I see..." Then she looked up at him, smiling. "Well, I'll be looking forward to it then."
After he had finished eating, they walked the corridors aimlessly, chatting about nothing in particular. His stomach complained at eating so much, and seeing a bench, he dropped down onto it. Then he stretched out, lying across the bench. Nelani slipped in beneath his head, allowing it to rest on her lap.
"My stomach's stuffed," he muttered.
"I'm sorry. I know I packed too much..."
He shook his head slightly. "It's fine. I just couldn't see wasting any of it since it was all so good."
He closed his eyes for a moment, and inhaled deeply, smelling the light scent that she wore. Then he opened his eyes, and looked up at her, to find her staring down at him. "Nelani? Let's skip out on the rest of training today."
Her eyes opened wider and her mouth parted slightly.
"Anywhere's fine. We'll go where you want to. While you still can."
Her eyes softened, their look of surprise fading slightly. "What's this all of a sudden?"
"Ah, well..."
"You talk like we won't get to see each other anymore, soon." She grinned mischievously. "You're such a bad boy, trying to talk a younger student into skipping out of school with you."
"I tried to draw you to the dark side," he responded dryly. "But I guess I failed."
She patted his head and he rolled off of her and the bench, as she stood up. "Well, I'll be going back to my lessons now."
Anakin nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll see you after school then."
She smiled brightly for him, and then darted off down the hall. He watched her disappear, and then dropped back to the bench, covering his face with his hands.
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They stood just outside the shopping district, next to one of the many rivers which ran throughout the area. Its babble served as a soothing counterpoint to the subtle murmur that came from the shopping district. Nelani lifted her arm and pointed towards the horizon. Anakin's eyes traced where she was pointing, to find himself staring at the setting sun. The oranges and reds of it gave the illusion that the whole expanse of the heavens were on fire. Her voice was soft with awe, "It's beautiful."
"Sunsets aren't that rare of a thing," he said, grinning slightly.
"Still," she responded, turning a frown his direction. "There's such a thing as 'mood.'"
He rubbed at his hair for a moment. "The things girls say make no sense."
She turned away from him, focusing once more on the sunset. "It's so dazzling."
Silently, he watched as she closed her eyes and basked in the warm sunlight. His eyes prickled and he had to look away from her. Had to look at anything besides her.
Later that night, he was sitting on the floor in front of his bed. Tahiri and Jaina were in his room, sitting on his bed watching him.
"So," he began. "I'm throwing Nelani a birthday party tomorrow."
Tahiri bounced up straighter, a grin coming to her face. "Really? Tomorrow's her birthday?"
"Well, no... her birthday is the day after tomorrow. But tomorrow worked better for her… schedule. So we're having it tomorrow."
Jaina frowned as she tugged at a strand of her brown here. "So, uhm... who is this Nelani girl? Is she in training?"
Anakin gave a quick nod of his head. "Yeah. She's been sick a lot so she has missed most of the training while she was on planet. Which means that she doesn't have a whole lot of friends. That's why I thought we could celebrate with her."
Tahiri clapped her hands together. "I'd be glad to." She then turned towards Jaina. "What do you say, Jaina? You know it'll be fun."
The older girl shook her head slightly, her frown flickering to a smile. "Well, I have practice after classes, but if I can make it, I'll be there. Worst-case is that I have to leave half-way through, after all the tournament is coming up soon."
Anakin grinned at his sister. "That'd be enough. Thanks!"
The next morning, Anakin once more was hunting Kiori. He first looked at the top of the Academy, and then searched a few dozen classrooms. He finally found her in the hidden corridor that led to the sulfur springs deep beneath the Temple. She leaned against the wall a few steps below him, her long hair hiding her face, as she kept her chin pressed tightly against her chest.
"There you are," Anakin said to her, not really expecting a response. "Today's the last day that Nelani will be able to come to school. After her birthday tomorrow, she'll either be in bed at home or at the hospital. She won't be able to go outside."
Kiori started up the steps, brushing past him. As she did so, she said, "I don't want to talk about it."
"I'm throwing her a birthday party," he said. "I want you to come as well."
She stopped. But for a slight tremble to her shoulders she was perfectly still.
Anakin watched her for a moment. "It'll be today after school. At Poltz."
"I won't be there," she replied.
"Nelani is living her life to the fullest. Right now. How much time she has left is not the issue. Do you mean to tell me that you won't acknowledge her as your little sister, even now. At the very end?" He paused for a moment, noticing that her shoulders had begun to shake harder. "Do you know why she came to the Temple every day? Why she stood out there in that garden every day? She wanted to have lunch with you."
Kiori's head lifted up, and Anakin took a few steps closer to her. Part of him felt bad for the things he was saying to Kiori. He knew that it was hurting her. But he knew that this distance between the two sisters was hurting them worse.
He continued speaking. "I heard that you two had made a promise once. That you two would eat lunch here once you were both training to be Jedi. She was looking forward to that. She was looking forward to going to school with her sister, having lunch with her sister and even walking home afterwards with her sister. She dreamed of those mundane events. Those everyday things."
He watched as a shiver raced down her body. Then she began walking again. He took a step closer towards her, and called out, "We'll be waiting, so make sure you come."
Then she was running. She disappeared around a corner, the echoes of her footfalls reaching his ears for a few moments before they to were gone. Anakin snarled, his fist striking out at a wall. Frustration and pain hammered at him, and he took in a deep breath, holding it for a five count before slowly exhaling. Finally, his emotions calmed once again, he returned to his classroom, noticing that Kiori refused to meet his eyes.
Sighing, he took his seat and attempted to pay attention to Master Horn's lecture.
After class, he walked out of the main entrance of the Temple. Standing by the gate, her customary shawl wrapped around her shoulders was Nelani. He noticed that she had changed from the orange jumpsuit to her usual clothes. When she saw him she lifted an arm and waved--her smile lighting up her face and warming his heart.
"Anakin!" she called out.
He looked her up and down. "So, you changed, I see."
"Yes," she replied, blushing furiously. "Since class got over early, I figured that I had time."
He chuckled. "Well, I think that it's a good thing you decided to change. After all, I don't think orange is really your color."
She pouted, and turned her head away slightly. "I don't like people who say things like that."
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Anakin looked up at the sign. In bold, aurebesh it read: Poltz. He grinned. This was his favorite restaurant on Yavin, and the location for Nelani's birthday party. She stood beside him, staring up at the frontage as well. He felt her gentle pull as she reached out and tugged on his jacket. Smiling, he looked down at her.
"I'm a little nervous," she said, wringing her hands.
"Don't worry," Anakin replied as he placed one of his hands over hers, giving them a gentle squeeze. "They're all good people."
He released her hands and then stepped forward. He opened the door, holding it for Nelani. She hesitated for a moment, and then went in. He stepped into the building as well, allowing the door to swing shut behind him.
"Anakin!" someone called out.
He looked into the dining area and saw his friends sitting at a table, Raynar waving at him. "Anakin, over here."
"Hi, Nelani!" Tahiri chimed in.
Anakin grabbed Nelani's hand and dragged her to the table, introducing her to Jaina, Rayner and the young Twi'lek girl that was in Nelani's session. They then sat down, Nelani taking the seat at the head of the table, Anakin in the chair to her left. Anakin took a moment to look around the cafe, noticing that as usual it was filled with trainees from the Jedi Academy.
The server brought out a large ice-cream cake, with fifteen candles flickering slightly.
"Happy Birthday," the group called out to her, as Tahiri threw handfuls of confetti into the air.
"Um," Nelani began, happily smiling. "Thank you... thank you very much."
He grinned at her, and nodded his head. "Well, blow out the candles."
"Yeah," she replied and then took a deep breath and blew out the candles.
Soon, the cake was served out, and they were all eating.
"So," Raynar said to Anakin. "Nelani was the girl that came and got you the other day. I knew I had seen that face from somewhere before." He then focused on Nelani. "You're the one that used to stand out in the garden all the time."
Anakin chuckled and then nodded his head. "Oh yeah, that's right. Raynar was the person who pointed her out to me. That was either my first or second day back."
Raynar flicked his spoon out of his bowl, and pointed it at Anakin. "That's right! And you laid your hands on her without my permission!"
Jaina snickered, as Anakin smirked at Raynar. "Don't say such misleading things."
"Seriously, let's think about this," Raynar said as he waved his spoon at Anakin again. "There's Nelani, Jaina and... Tahiri," As he spoke he moved his spoon from person to person. "And there's even this young lady who's in Nelani's class." Then he turned back towards Anakin, leaning into him slightly. "And you're also close with Tenel Ka and Eyrl from the level above ours."
Raynar jumped out of his seat and pulled Anakin from his, quickly getting him in a head lock. "You.... you're as bad as that General Calrissian fellow! You... you Corellian!"
"Raynar," Jaina sighed. "It's not that way from Anakin's viewpoint." Then in a lower voice she said, "Besides, not all Corellians are like that."
Tahiri chimed in between bites of ice cream. "You're not making much sense to me."
Anakin struggled against Raynar's arm, trying to disentangle it from his neck. He snarled, "I'm going to knock you out!"
Jaina sighed again, and then picked up a jar filled with a red substance, and passed it to Nelani. Nelani turned it over in her hands, looking at it and Anakin heard Jaina say, "This is from our Aunt Mara and me. It's homemade strawberry jam."
"I love strawberry jam," Nelani replied as she beamed happily at the jar.
Raynar finally let Anakin go and he dropped back into his seat, rubbing at his neck. He tossed a glare in Raynar's direction.
Movement drew his attention and he watched as Tahiri lifted up a plain, brown paper bag high into the air. "And this is from me," she said, and then blushed slightly. "Sorry, I didn't have time to pick out presents."
Anakin arched an eyebrow, and smirked at the blonde girl. "So you bought her canapés?"
"This is from me," the Twi'lek girl said, interrupting any comeback Tahiri might have made. She then lifted a basket of cupcakes.
Once the presents had been gathered in front of Nelani, Jaina looked them over, and said, "Wow, they're all sweets."
"But I love sweets," Nelani replied a pout coming to her lips.
Anakin laughed. "And she's not saying that to be polite. Her food of choice is ice cream."
The group laughed, as Nelani blushed slightly. Anakin grinned at her and winked, causing her blush to deepen even more. Turning from her, he glanced up at the chrono hanging on the wall, seeing that it was almost time for them to end the party.
Raynar leaned closer towards Nelani. "If ice cream is your food of choice, then you've got a serious maladjusted diet. Let me take you out and get some real food sometime."
Then Jaina sat up straighter in her chair, looking towards the door. "Kiori?"
Anakin's and Nelani's head snapped that way. Kiori stood in the doorway, one hand picking at her lip, the other supporting her as she leaned against the door jamb. She stared at the floor, looking as if she was still deciding to run away or not.
"So, Kiori was invited too?" Jaina asked Anakin.
"Hey Kiori!" Raynar called out.
Anakin turned to look at Nelani, seeing the sadness that flickered across her face as she watched her older sister.
When Kiori did not move from her spot at the door, Jaina called out again, "Kiori?"
As Anakin watched, Nelani turned away from Kiori and faced forward, staring intently at the empty bowl that had contained her ice cream.
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Kiori sat across the table from Anakin. She stared straight ahead, not turning to look at her sister. He flicked his eyes to look at Nelani, and noticed her still staring at her empty bowl, as she chewed on her lower lip.
"Anakin," Jaina said, confusion giving her voice an odd lilt. "You invited Kiori as well?"
"Kiori!" Raynar exclaimed, cutting off anything Anakin might have said to Jaina. "Let me introduce you. This is our guest of honor, Nelani. Uhm, oh yeah, what's your last name again?"
Anakin frowned at Raynar for a moment, and then pushed back his chair and stood up. "Now that we're all here, let's get this party started!"
Silence greeted him, and he looked around, noticing the tenseness between all the girls.
He dropped back into his seat, and frowned down at his own empty plate.
Without speaking, Nelani stood up and picked up Kiori's plate, dishing her out a helping of the ice cream cake.
"Oh," Tahiri said, frowning slightly. "I could have done that."
Nelani shook her head. "It's all right. I don't mind." She then set the serving in front of Kiori. "There. Please eat it if you like."
She settled back into her seat, lowering her head to look once more at her plate.
"Thank you," Kiori replied, without moving her gaze.
"The parfaits here are really great, too," Jaina told her friend.
Her voice was almost dead sounding. "I'll have one later."
Anakin watched as Jaina and Tahiri exchanged confused glances. He sighed, wondering if this was as good of an idea as it had originally seemed. He looked between the two sisters, and noticed that they both seemed even more depressed than they had before. In fact, it was the saddest he could remember ever seeing Nelani.
Raynar leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Hey, what's with this awkwardness?"
Anakin leaned closer to him. "I'll explain later. Just please... make this place lively."
"Looks like there's a story behind this," Raynar said with a grin. He then gave a curt nod of his head. "You got it."
He reached down and grabbed a bag out from beneath his feet, and then stood up and darted to the rest room. He returned a few minutes later, dressed in the same sequined, white jumpsuit that Anakin remembered him wearing at the Dance Festival.
He jumped up onto his chair, and stuck one hand onto his hip and pointed the other straight into the air. "All right! This is a party, and with it, comes a dance!"
Raynar began to shake his hips from side to side. "I plan on making my triumphant return to the dance scene from the fiasco that was the Dance Festival."
Anakin looked around, and noticed that Tahiri had a hand covering her mouth while Jaina looked mortified. Nelani and Kiori both had matching looks of shock on their faces, eyes opened wide, mouths hanging slightly.
After a moment, Jaina said, "Raynar, you're seriously going to dance here?"
He pointed at her. "You know it."
The waitress stepped up, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry, sir. But I don't think you should be dancing here. That'd probably disturb the other customers, so..."
Suddenly, one of their classmates yelled out, "No, it's fine. Let him dance, so long as he makes it interesting."
Another student in their class, this time a young Arconian, yelled out, "Yeah, dance for us Raynar!"
Then to the waitress's dismay, all the students began to cheer.
Raynar waved at them, and said, "Thank you!" He then turned back to their table, and held his hand out towards Kiori. "So Kiori, if I may have your hand?"
She recoiled from him, her eyes opening even wider. "I... I'm fine..."
Anakin chuckled and looked at Nelani. "Why don't you dance, Nelani?"
Horror flickered onto her face, and she began waving her hands and shaking her head. "No! I, I'm fine, too. Really."
He sighed, and then stood up and looked at Raynar. "Well then, I guess that I must be your partner."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm serious," he shot back. "What, I'm not good enough for you?"
He poked Anakin in the chest. "Of course you're not good enough. You're not Kiori."
Anakin grinned and grabbed Raynar's hand. "Now, now. Don't be so modest about it."
He then flung him around, in one of the Corellian two-steps that he had learned the year before.
"Oh, fine," Raynar muttered, and Anakin dropped his hand.
Then they began to try to outdo one another in the most outrageous ways they could move their bodies.
The crowd around them were laughing, and Anakin winked at Tahiri as he saw her wiping away a tear from her eyes.
Finally, he started squishing his face with his hands, as he noticed Nelani trying her best to not laugh.
He glanced over at Raynar, and noticed him on the ground flopping around like a landed fish.
A quick glance at the two sisters revealed them almost laughing. Then they looked at one another, and their faces fell once more.
As the two boys continued to make fools of themselves to the laughter of their friends, Anakin watched, as Nelani for the first time, began to stare at her sister. Quietly watching her, as she slowly took her first bite of the cake.
A few moments later, she dropped her gaze again, once more watching her empty bowl.
An hour later, the group stood outside of Poltz. Anakin stood in the center of the group, to his right stood Nelani and on his left was Raynar, Tahiri, Jaina and then Nelani's classmate. Standing a few paces away, watching the distant sky stood Kiori.
"Well, that was embarrassing," Jaina said.
Anakin laughed. "Oh? But you were laughing hard."
"Are you all right, Nelani?" Tahiri asked. "You look tired."
"No," she replied. "I'm fine. I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed spending time with everyone."
Nelani looked over at her sister, and then dropped her gaze slightly.
"Nelani," Jaina said, leaning forward, grinning. "Let's have lunch together next time."
Nelani's hand shot to her mouth, as she straightened. "Can I?"
"Me too," interjected the young Twi'lek.
Then Tahiri chimed in, "Me too!"
Anakin frowned at her. "You can't. You don't train at the academy."
She pouted up at him, and he suppressed a chuckle.
"I'm in too," Raynar said. "It's pointless to let Anakin have all the fun."
Anakin sighed. "I told you to not say things like that. Someone could easily misunderstand you."
"Why?" Raynar asked. "Don't you want to make a cute girl like her your girlfriend?"
Kiori sighed, lowering her head slightly, shifting it so she looked at him. "You really don't have an eye for girls, do you, Raynar?"
Anakin and Nelani both sat up straighter, startled. He focused on Kiori. He watched her for a minute, and then began to grin. "Mind your own business, Kiori."
She looked at Anakin, her eyes narrowing slightly. "It is my business. Because Nelani is... Nelani is..." She lowered her head and closed her eyes. Anakin noticed that everyone in the group was staring at her, and he could not help but smile. After a heartbeat, she lifted her head again, and opened her eyes, and smiling, said, "Nelani is my little sister."
Nelani inhaled sharply, as the rest of the group shouted out, "Little sister?"
Kiori smiled at Nelani, tilting her head slightly. "Isn't that right, Nelani?"
Nelani opened her mouth. Then closed it. She inhaled deeply, and then slowly exhaled.
Raynar spoke up before Nelani could reply. "Then why didn't you tell us sooner? Could it be-"
Anakin smacked him on the back of his head. "Zip it."
He looked down at Nelani, seeing the brilliant smile on her face.
Kiori smiled in return, and then held her arms out towards the rest of the group, herding them away from Anakin and Nelani. "Come on," she said. "Let's be off."
After she had taken a half dozen steps, she spun around to look at them again. "Nelani, uhm... Let's chat a lot later."
Nelani nodded her head. "I'd like that."
Then Kiori turned on Anakin. "Anakin, take care of my little sister."
She then turned, and jogged to catch up to the rest of the group.
Anakin looked down at Nelani who was watching her sister. After a moment, she lowered her head. "Thank you so much, Anakin," she said. "You made me so happy."
He grinned at her. "Happy Birthday, Nelani." He watched her for a few more minutes, and then shifted his gaze up towards the setting sun. "Where should we go now?"
She shifted to look up at him, her head cocked to one side, an eyebrow lifted in question.
"You still have time, right?" he asked. "I'll tag along where ever you want to go."
------------------------------------
Anakin watched as Nelani once more played the Whack-a-'Wok game. The rubberized mallet coming down a split second after each holographic Ewok disappeared. Finally, she was fast enough and slammed the mallet down onto one of them. The score counter flickered up a digit. Then the game was over.
She spun around towards him, grinning broadly.
He bought her an ice cream to celebrate.
An hour later, night had fallen, and they still walked through the shopping district, watching as the shops and vendors closed down for the night. He looked over at her, and saw the happy smile she still had on her face.
"You don't have to go home yet?" he asked.
"That's right," she replied. "I told my parents that I would be home late tonight."
A brisk wind sliced through the street, and he looked towards the horizon, and saw storm clouds obscuring the stars in the distance. Then he noticed that Nelani had stopped. Frowning, he turned towards her, and saw that her head was lowered, a frown flickering on and off of her face.
"Uhm... Anakin? Do... do you think we could hold hands?"
He felt the surprise slash through him, and watched as she blushed brightly, and tucked her chin even tighter against her chest.
Then he stretched out his hand, reaching for hers.
Her eyes lifted, slowly followed by her chin, and he smiled at her. She smiled back, and then blushed once again.
Hesitatingly, she reached out and slipped her hand into his. Electric fire raced up his arm as the soft tips of her fingers slid across his calloused palms.
Then their hands were clasped together. He smiled at her, and she walked forward, and they once more took up their stroll. This time, hand in hand.
Before long, they were at the park. Their park. As usual it was abandoned, this time, even the street vendors were gone. Nelani sat on the edge of the fountain, keeping Anakin's hand clasped in hers. He settled down beside her.
Silence stretched between them for a time.
Finally, he said, "I'm a little tired."
"Yes," she replied, giggling slightly. "Especially since I dragged you around to so many places. But I have gotten better at the Whack-a-Wok."
He laughed. "Yeah, you've got a knack for it."
They fell into silence again. Anakin watched her from the corner of his eye, watched as she struggled to find the courage to say something. So he simply waited, quietly holding her hand.
"I don't know how to thank you," she said softly.
"I haven't done much."
"You're a strong person," she replied. "Stronger than me."
"No, you're the strong one."
"No I'm not," she said, as she lifted the hand that he held onto, releasing her hold on his fingers, as she pulled the sleeve down, revealing her inner wrist, and the thin white scars on them. "I... I slit my wrist once before."
Anakin inhaled sharply, and looked at her, his mouth hanging open slightly.
She continued her story. "It was the night I met you. I did it with a utility cutter. It was the opening day of the third semester. I saw my sister leave her room, and then I did the same. I carried only this shawl, which until then I had rarely used." She lifted one corner of the shawl, looking down at it. "Kiori gave me this shawl, exactly one year ago today. I begged her for a present, and so she gave it to me a day early." She lowered the shawl, and reached over to clasp his hand again. "I bought the utility cutter at the store, and then bought a number of other things as well. Even though I didn't need them. I took the long way home, wanting to admire the scenery here one last time, and that was when I met you and Tahiri.
"I remember that night. In my room, the lights turned off... I was all alone. I couldn't hear or see anything. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't think of anything. It felt like I was cut off from the entire world. Trapped in my room, merely waiting to die.
"It felt like I had wandered into the wrong place. The wrong world... The wrong life. As I made that first cut, I thought I heard some laughter. It belonged to the two people I had met that afternoon.
"I remembered the way they laughed. Their joyful faces. I was miserable and crying, the blood dripping from the wound on my wrist. Then... Then I was laughing. Then the tears, the tears that wouldn't come even when my sister told me I wouldn't see my next birthday started leaking out. They were tears that came out from laughter, but I couldn't stop them.
"Then I realized that I was crying because I was sad. After... after I had laughed and then cried, I couldn't cut myself anymore." She chuckled lightly, and looked up at him. "Maybe that was the miracle."
Anakin shook his head. "No... that's your strength."
"I'm weak," she replied. "I'm a weak person who can't live without someone else supporting her."
"That's fine," Anakin said, conviction making his voice firm. "Everyone needs support from others. I do. My uncle does. Besides, it's called a miracle because there's a chance that it might come true."
"Maybe you're right."
He squeezed her hand. "Can you make a promise with me?"
"A promise?"
"If a miracle does happen, then you'll treat me to a cafeteria lunch."
"Okay," she replied, her voice hitching slightly from unshed tears. "It's a promise."
The wind whistled through the trees.
"Anakin? I had fun today."
"I had fun as well."
"I'd like to go to that cafe again. Just one more time."
"Yeah."
"And I'd like to walk through the shopping district with you."
"Yeah."
"Today," she said. "I made a new friend at school. She said let's go out and have fun next time."
"That's great," he replied.
"There's still so many places I want to go. Things I want to see and do," she said as she looked up at him. "I don't think I want to die." Then she dropped her head, too once more look towards the ground. "I don't think I should have grown so close to so many people."
"You don't think so?"
"No," she replied. "Because I'll make those people suffer the same way that my sister has."
Anakin lifted his head, and turned to face her. He tightened his grip slightly on her hand. "Nelani, I'm glad that I got to know you."
Her head snapped around to face him, her eyes wide. "Really?"
"Of course," he said with a smile. "I'm not lying about it."
She straightened up slightly, a smile coming to her face. Then she seemed to deflate again. She tilted her head to the side, and smiled weakly. "Was I able to keep smiling?"
Startled, he opened his mouth, but did not know how to respond.
"Was I able to keep my smile on the whole time?"
"Y-yeah," he finally replied. "You were fine."
"I'm glad," she responded. Then she looked over at the clock that stood in one corner. It read just a few minutes until midnight. "It's almost time."
Anakin looked that way, and then nodded his head. "Yes, it is."
"When midnight comes, I'll finally be sixteen years old."
"Yeah."
Finally, the minute hand clicked over, and the clock displayed midnight. He watched a smile appear on her face. Wistful. Melancholic.
Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a package, holding it out towards her.
"Happy Birthday, Nelani."
Grinning, she took the package from him, and then looked up at him. "Can I open it?'
"Of course."
Carefully, she unwrapped it, revealing a new sketchbook and a package of styluses. A smile brightened her face, as she looked up at him.
"Go ahead and fill those pages," he told her.
"Yes," she replied. "I will." Then she hugged the book close to her chest. "Thank you, so much. I'll treasure it."
"Anakin?" she began, lifting her head towards him.
Without thinking, he moved his head towards her, and suddenly her lips were pressed against his. Time seemed to stop.
All too soon, she was standing up, the sketchbook clutched to her chest, a flush burning her face. "I... I'll go buy something warm to drink. Will you wait here for me?"
Before he could respond, she dashed towards the corner of the park which contained vending machines. Gingerly, he touched his lips with his fingers and realized that he could still taste her.
He lifted his head to watch the clouds in the sky, and got lost in his thoughts. Then he looked over at the clock tower, and realized that she had been gone for ten minutes already.
She's sure taking her time, he thought. Then he looked down at where she had been sitting and realized that she had taken the basket of sweets that she had gotten at her party. Startled, he stood up, and took off running in the same direction she had. He entered the vending area, and looked around, but the only thing he saw was a still steaming cup of caf holding down a sheet of flimsie from the sketch book he had just given her.
Slowly, he walked forward until he stood before the flimsie, and then he read the words written there: Thank you, so very much. Goodbye.
He clenched his teeth as he read the last word once more, fighting back the tears.
"Happy birthday, Nelani."
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A few hours later, we were leaving Coruscant airspace. Seha had still not talked to me, and every time I looked at Jysella, I felt like she wanted to skin me alive. So I did what any sensible man in my position would do. I ran and hid.
In this case, it was to the cockpit, as we were on my starship, the Jade's Scion. It was a Baudo-class star yacht. The same class of ship which Jysella's mom used, and which in theory Jysella herself owned, though the rumor was that the Pulsar Skate was in dry dock on her grandfather's Star Destroyer.
Frankly, I'd always been too scared to ask her, and I could only guess that the reason she was so angry on this voyage was because I was flying a Baudo-class. I hadn't told her, so it did come as something of a nasty shock.
But in my defense, I hadn't thought of it either. When I bought it I did so so that it would be a reminder of my own stupidity. That every time I flew somewhere, I would be reminded explicitly of my own implicitness in the death of Mirax Horn. I didn't think about how it would affect her.
Just one of those stupid things I seem to do around both of these girls.
I sighed, as I settled into the pilot's seat, my eyes flicking across the array of controls and indicator lights. Seeing nothing abnormal, I leaned back in my seat, waiting until the navicomp told me that it had calculated the jump to lightspeed. Finally, the navicomp beeped in notification, and I grabbed the lightspeed control levers, and pushed them forward.
A part of me soared as the stars elongated and jumped towards me, before collapsing into the swirling blue madness of hyperspace. I stared at it, wondering what other people felt when they did so. I remember, there used to be a superstition that humans would go insane if they stared too long into the abyss. It was so bad in fact that ships made a little over a millennium ago came equipped with viewports that instantly opaqued when the ship made the jump.
"What do you see out there?" Seha's voice came from behind me, and I closed my eyes.
"I see ghosts of the past," I replied. "Of course I know that's just my mind trying to make sense out of the fog and swirls, but..."
I heard the co-pilot's seat shift, and opened my eyes, to look at her. She was folded into it, staring out the canopy, her feet resting on the chair, arms wrapped around her legs, and her chin resting on her knees. She gazed into the distance, her eyes haunted, filled with pain.
Kriff, I thought as I frowned. How can I help her?
"Seha..." I began, trying to figure out what I should say next. Wondering what I could do. Not knowing what else to do, I played dumb. "What... what do you see out there?"
A shiver raced through her, and she lifted her chin up, and turned away from the viewport and the scar of colors on the far side of it. A tear was rolling down her right cheek.
"Why did you do it Ben? Why did you follow him for so long?"
I frowned and shook my head. "For the same reason you did things for him for so long. He was charismatic, and I thought he knew what was best. I thought he deserved my loyalty."
She turned away from me again. "That's not a good enough reason Ben. You... you turned them over to him, knowing what he'd do to him. How many other times did you do that?"
"I..."
How could I answer that question truthfully? Every Corellian I arrested, every Corellian I snitched on. When I arrested Aunt Mirax. When I slashed Zekk with my saber while trying to arrest Aunt Leia and Uncle Han. Sacrificing Cal Omas for my revenge. Sacrificing Kashyyk.
How could I tell her all those things that I had done.
I didn't want to know about them myself.
I hated myself for doing them.
In the time between Nelani Dinn's death and my walking away from Jacen, I had done, or allowed to be done, countless terrible things.
During that time, I did two good things. One was saving a little girl while on Kiost and the other was saving Uncle Lando and his family.
And both of those I considered myself as having failed as what I did at first was to effectively sentence them to death.
"Yes, Ben," Jysella said, her voice cutting through my thoughts from behind me. "Why don't you tell us all those things you did while being Jacen's Vader?"
I shifted my seat around to face her for a moment. Her face was cold and hard, and I merely shook my head. "It won't do us any good. I'm not proud of what I did back then, and I'm trying to make up for it."
"Shavit Ben!" Seha snarled. "I don't care about you making something up. I just don't want to know how people suffered under you. I don't want another one of those visions kicking me in the stomach."
I sighed, and scrubbed my hands across my face. Out of a whole year's worth of actions, there were two worthwhile things I done, and she had just described half of those actions as a kick in the stomach because of the evil I had caused.
"I'm sorry Seha," I whispered. "I don't have control over what the Force decides to share."
I glanced over at Jysella, and realized she was watching Seha, frowning slightly. Finally, she spoke, "You really didn't know, did you? You had no clue about everything he's done."
Seha frowned as she shook her head. "I knew he worked with Jacen Solo and was trained by him, but none of the Master's told us what that meant."
This won't end well, I thought as I shook my head, trying to cut Jysella off. "It meant that I did a lot of things that I regret now. Most of which I'll never be able to make up for."
I felt Jys' staring at me. It was a hot, prickly sensation at the nape of my neck--one I'd often associated with imminent danger. The type of danger that could very well leave me dead.
I ignored it, and kept my focus on Seha. She had been rattled enough by her participation in the vision. She really didn't need any more details of what I had done while being Jace's lapdog.
"Regret? Amends?" Jysella hissed out. Her voice low and dangerous, and I felt myself cringing. "Is that what this is all about? Is that why you came back?"
I closed my eyes and exhaled. Opening them back up I twisted the seat around until I was facing her and then I stood up. I had known that this was going to happen sooner or later. In fact I'd been expecting it since I had returned to the Jedi.
I just didn't expect it on this mission.
In front of Seha.
"Jysella... Jys, you know I wish I hadn't-"
She interrupted me with her fist. Stars flared across my vision as I dropped back to my seat, blood pouring from my nose.
The Force was a maelstrom around her, raging, as she snarled over me. "Then why the kriff did you?"
I felt Seha's confusion, and from the corner of my eye saw her looking between us.
I had no answer. I didn't all those years ago when I did it. I didn't all those years ago when I finally left Jacen and went to the Jedi. And I still didn't. I probably never would have an answer that would satisfy her.
Or myself.
I merely shook my head. She knew all of this. I had told it to her the day she put me in the medward after I had confessed to the Council everything I had done as Jacen's apprentice.
She dropped to her knees, her hands covering her face as her body shook with tears. Her voice lost that edge of anger, replacing it with a deep vein of pain. "Why did you turn my mom over to him?"
I closed my eyes as realization sunk into Seha. I glanced at her, and saw the horror on her face. Grimacing, I turned back to Jys.
"All I can do is say I'm sorry. I know I'll never make it up to you, I know it, but you're right. It's why I'm here. I have to try."
She pulled her hands away, and looked at me as the tears continued to roll down her face. "Tell me Ben, if I hadn't been hiding in the Force, would you have turned me in as well?"
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Tionne Solusar pulled her hair back and tied it into a knot at the base of her skull. She slowly moved down the hallway, her thoughts darkly focused on Tahiri fleeing the Jedi and subsequently disappearing from her apartment.
It hurt that Tahiri had chosen to flee the Jedi, but part of her understood her reasons. Tionne sighed as she turned the corner, and continued down the hall, her hand trailing lightly over the marble mosaic on the wall. Her fingernails clicked as they slid off each piece of marble and struck the thin line of grout.
Finally, she arrived at her destination. She stared at the simulated wood grain door, a lump forming in her throat. She had helped train hundreds, if not thousands of Jedi hopefuls, yet she found herself scared to enter this room.
To face the daughter of the Jedi that she viewed as her own daughter.
She closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled; blowing out all the fears and the frustrations, the anxiety. Feeling more centered, she opened her eyes and looked at the door again.
Tionne knocked softly. Receiving no answer, she frowned slightly and wondered just how hurt and damaged Noelani was by the events of the past few weeks.
Punching in her Master's override, the door slid open, revealing the darkened room beyond. The rectangle of light revealed a smattering of clothes thrown haphazardly around the room, and the rumpled bed. Tionne looked around, and noticed a mound on the bed the right size and shape to be the girl.
"Noelani, I know you don't like this, but we're leaving for Ossus now."
There was no response, and she frowned again. Sighing, she walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers, revealing a deactivated dueling droid. Tionne frowned at the device, and surveyed the room one more time.
Cursing under her breath, she spun from the room, and walked out, pulling her comlink from her belt as she did so, and opening a connection to Kam.
"This is Kam."
"Kam, Noelani's missing."
"Kriff, she really is Anakin's kid," he replied. "Have you told anyone else yet?"
"No, I called you first."
His sigh was clearly audible over the weak connection. "All right, I'll be up there soon. Get a hold of Kyp and Cilghal and… and try to get Luke there as well."
"I will," she replied and snapped the comlink closed. Staring at the device for a moment, she turned and looked back at the room Noelani should have been in. Part of her wondering if this would have happened if the Council had just let Tahiri continue to train her. That part knew Tahiri would not have left the Jedi if they had.
Discovering the truth of Noelani's parentage should have been a joyous occasion. Instead, it seemed as if more pain and more misery were being heaped upon the Jedi due to it.
She frowned as she realized that Noelani's birth should have been a joyous occasion fourteen years previously, in the height of the Vong War. Feeling, unaccountably old and worn, she turned away from the empty room, and started walking towards the turbolifts.
Opening the comlink again, she called Cilghal to tell her what had happened.
-------------------------------
She walked through the gloom and dampness of the undercity. Hunger gnawed at her, even as her feet ached from all the walking she had done. Dark green slime coated her legs, clung to her hair and was smeared across her right cheek and forehead, placed there when she absentmindedly wiped her face hours ago.
Skittering movement flickered at the edges of her awareness, but she had long ago stopped worrying about what they were. The first twelve hours down here she had jumped every time something moved in her peripheral vision or screamed in the darkness.
Now, she didn't have the energy to do that. Her prime concern was focused on finding something to eat. The second thing she cared about was finding some clean water in which to wash the gunk off of her body and clothes.
In that daze she walked, ignoring her surroundings, ignoring the flickers of warning from the Force.
Which meant that when she was attacked her guard was lowered, and she was unprepared for it. Out of the darkness, a massive fist slammed into the side of her head.
The force of the impact knocked her from her feet, and spinning, she fell hard onto the ground. She slid forward, and into a pool of black sludge which splattered onto her face.
A surge of adrenaline shocked awareness of her surroundings back into her. Sputtering, she lifted her head from the puddle, and felt a flicker of warning in the Force.
She rolled to the right, just as a pair of feet slammed down into the spot where her back had been moments before.
Looking up, she saw a nightmare staring at her. She opened her mouth to scream, but only a weak whimper emerged. She guessed that at one time it had been human, but years of pain and depravations had stripped it of any semblance of humanity.
Then she noticed the yorik coral sprouting all along the creature, granting it a hard carapace like appearance.
Shocked at the hideous appearance, she merely stared as its clawed hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders, lifting her off of her feet. She whimpered as the thing pulled her forward and sniffed at her.
Then its tongue slicked out and licked her. She felt the cold, clammy tongue slid up her face; felt the jagged scratches of coral that were sprouting from its tongue in two places.
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, the fear a heavy knot in her stomach, souring it as she fought to keep from throwing up.
Then she was thrown over his shoulder, a motion which brought realization back to her. She had no idea what he had planned for her, and had no desire in finding out either. Reaching down to her belt, she grabbed her saber and ignited it.
With a snap-hiss the blade flared into existence. The bright light of the blade hurt her eyes after so many hours in the dim light of the undercity.
The creature yelped in surprise, and dropped her.
Screaming, she slashed forward with her blade, and with a sickening thunk one of the creature's arms fell to the ground.
It howled in pain, and turned from her, fleeing into the darkness.
She dropped to the ground, sitting there in the sludge and slime, staring off into the distance. Finally, she deactivated her blade, and let it slip from her fingers. It clattered to the ground, echoing loudly in the close confines of the undercity.
Then she put her face into her hands, and began to cry.
-------------------------------
Jacen yanked off his helmet, his anger flaring brightly as he stared at Tahiri. Calmly, the young Jedi slowly removed the pieces of her pressure suit. Her eyes were glazed over and distant as she frowned. For a moment, he wondered what she was thinking, how her actions could have impacted his plans.
Then he pushed those concerns from his mind, and savored the taste of his anger. Felt the burn of power which it granted him. He turned on the young blond and snarled.
"Kriff Tahiri, are you a karking idiot? Didn't I tell you that we couldn't change anything?"
She did not respond, merely continued to stare off into the distance, her mouth slowly moving.
His anger flared brighter. He slapped her face, hard.
Her head snapped to the side, her body tensing with the sudden movement. Slowly, her head turned back towards him. He noticed a line of bright, red blood at the corner of her mouth as her lips compressed into a thin tight line. Her eyes were hard chips of frozen viridian.
Her voice was low, guttural, as much Yuuzhan Vong as Tusken Raider. "Don’t you ever, ever, kriffing touch me again."
Jacen stared into her hard eyes, and kept a tight reign on his emotions, refusing to let the joy at seeing her like this to be seen. "Then answer me. What were you thinking? I told you that we couldn't change anything."
Her lips pulled back into a snarl, as she jerked a thumb at her chest. "That doesn't matter to me, Jacen. Besides, we didn't change anything. Anakin's still dead."
He stared hard at her for a moment and in disgust ran his hand through his hair, pulling on it for a moment. "That doesn't matter Tahiri. We changed the past. We don't know what waves that will create in the present."
Tahiri watched him her eyes flickering across his face, and then she turned away from him. "I… I know. I just… I couldn't not kiss him again. I couldn't. Don't you understand?"
For a split second a smile crossed his face. Perfect. "I, I do understand Tahiri, and I'm sorry for slapping you. It's just that you were lost in your own world, and we needed to talk about it. Especially if you want to do something like this again."
Her head snapped back towards him, her eyes wide and shocked; her hair whipping around her head. "Again?"
"Yes. Again," he replied with a small smile. "You do want to go again, don't you?"
She began chewing on her lips, as her eyes glazed over, taking on that far away look once again. "Yes… Yes, I want to go see him again."
"Good," he said cheerfully, then he leveled his finger at her, and jabbed her on her shoulder. "But next time you have got to listen to what I tell you. Do you understand me?"
Slowly her head moved up and down, as she chewed on her lips. "Yeah… yes."
He watched her, as she worked through her emotions and thoughts. Finally, after a few more minutes, she focused on him once again. Some of the coldness had left her eyes, replaced by wariness.
"What's in it for you?" she asked.
His lips twisted into a grin. "I need a helper."
Her eyebrows twitched, as if she were trying to keep a frown off of her face. "A… a helper?"
Nodding, he stepped into the cockpit of the shuttle, and dropped into the pilot's seat. With practiced ease, he began inputting the coordinates for the rendezvous with the Anakin Solo. He heard the whisper of her feet on the bare metal deck, and replied to her question. "Yes, a helper. Ben's fairly… useless to me as he is still grieving for his Mother, so I need someone else here with the Guard to help me."
He looked up from the Navicomputer to watch her slide into the seat next to him. For a second he admired how she moved; the compactness of motion, perfect poise for a scrapper like her. He opened himself up to the Force, and touched her presence. Her emotions and Force presence were locked up tight as she chewed on her lower lip. "What exactly do you need from me?"
"I need you to learn from me," he replied as he turned back to the viewport. "I need you to lead my men; to carry out my orders. Basically, I need you to replace Ben."
"You… you want me to be your apprentice, don't you?"
He felt his heart skip a beat, surprised at her insight. He arched an eyebrow as he turned to face her. "What makes you say that?"
She slowly shook her head. "You want me to replace Ben. Isn't that what you're offering?"
He watched her for a moment; wondering if she suspected his true identity. "You're a Jedi Knight. What do I have to teach you?"
"Flow-walking."
It took all his control and will power to keep the frown off of his face.
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