From Another View

by Certain POV

This is my take on how Danni Quee would react to Jacen Solo's fate by LOTF.

From Another View: Chapter 1

37 ABY: Zonama Sekot

Within the confines of her grashal, her home, Jabitha Hal had just died. Her serene form laid on the deathcot provided for just this sad, solemn occasion. Another Magister of Zonama Sekot had passed away, but this one didn't leave any offspring to inherit the role of serving the wishes of the planetary consciousness. But a successor had been chosen nonetheless prior to Jabitha's death; in fact, the successor had been chosen long before Magister Hal began to fall ill mere months earlier.

That successor, kneeling on the side of the cot, her face buried in the side of Jabitha's body, was the only one to listen to the late Magister's final words before her consciousness slipped forever into the Force. And in her death throes, Jabitha had conferred her powers upon the blonde-haired human female, the only one on Zonama, who had listened to her parting words. Yet, in spite of the power now granted to her, Danni Quee had never before felt so weak.

"You can do it, Danni. I know you can." That was all that Jabitha had to say before she was nothing more than a soulless cadaver. Danni wasn't sure if Jabitha's assertion was correct, even though the both of them were deemed worthy enough by Sekot to take on the role of Magister of Zonama.

You dishonor Jabitha's name by doubting her words, Danni, Danni heard Sekot say in her mind. The planetary consciousness was using Jabitha's voice to communicate. And by doubting yourself most of all.

"But I don't know if I can do it, Sekot!" Danni sobbed, pushing herself away from Jabitha's lifeless body. "I'm not as strong or as in-tune to the Force as Jabitha or any of the other Jedi! I don't know if I can fulfill any of your commands properly! Seven-year-old Jedi apprentices have more Force potential than I do!"

Danni, the disembodied voice of Sekot said You have more Force potential than you believe. If you were so weak, would Jacen Solo have heard your cries of help from Helska IV? Do you really believe that your knowledge of science is only your natural aptitude and your education? No, it's more than that; it comes from your ability in the Force. If you were so weak, why would I have consulted you of my final move to bring the Yuuzhan Vong down upon my surface? If you were so weak, would the Jedi have looked to you as an equally valid source of help in the war? If you were so weak, why would I have chosen you to succeed Jabitha in her duties? The only thing that makes you weak is your own doubt in yourself. Let go of that doubt, Danni.

Jacen Solo doubted his own relationship to the Force as well, Sekot continued. Yet, by the end of the war, he knew what to do because he let go of his doubt and allowed the Force to do its bidding for the good of the galaxy. When that happened, he became one of the most powerful Jedi that the Force had ever known. Don't forget that he saved you, as well, so that you could fulfill this destiny. It is no coincidence that you found me; you were meant to find me. So accept your role with your head held high, for it is all that you can do now.

From that moment on, Danni Quee was no longer the same woman that she was since before the Yuuzhan Vong War. From that moment on, she was a completely different women. From that moment on, she had overcome that doubt, as Jacen Solo himself had overcome when he ended the Vong War eight years earlier, so that she become an avatar of the Force.

A few minutes later, the new Danni Quee, Magister Danni Quee, stepped out of her late predecessor's grashal, dressed in the robes her new position afforded her, and she looked out among the crowd of Zonama's citizens, Ferroan and Yuuzhan Vong alike, before her. They had mourned Jabitha's passing with the glowing lambents that they held against their chests, and the second that Danni had stepped out of that grashal, they looked up in anticipation.

She stared back at them with a look that was absent any of the nervousness or wonderment that had plagued the previous personality of Danni Quee. What the individuals in this crowd all saw was a confident, self-assured woman who could carry out her duties as Magister to the proverbial letter.

Danni then raised her arms outward and loudly proclaimed, "I am Magister Danni Quee, the new hearer of Sekot's will. From hereon, until I have passed into the Force and my own successor is bequeathed with the knowledge and power that I have been granted, I will be the one from whose words you will listen to so that you may know Sekot's law."

Wordlessly, the mass of citizens before Magister Danni Quee knelt before her presence, and respectfully bowed to their waits to acknowledge her deigned superiority over them.

~o~

40 ABY

As she meditated peacefully in the quarters of her grashal, Danni felt something disturbing occur in the Force. She snapped her eyes open and out of the reverie that she was commencing on the soft, organic floor of her quarters and reached out for Sekot without hesitation.

You seek to know what you have just felt, Magister Danni. It wasn't a question on Sekot's part.

Am I not to know about it? Danni asked telepathically.

Actually, it maybe necessary for you to know about it, for the fate of the galaxy could be at stake, Sekot communed. Only know what the Force tells me, so even a planetary consciousness such as myself may make inaccurate assertions from what I can see.

Then what do you see? Danni asked.

I see another great war, Danni. I see the galaxy split up into three different factions, warring for relatively trivial political reasons... Then Sekot's tone grew solemn. I see Jacen Solo enveloped in darkness; he grows mad with power. He kills someone close to him; Mara Jade Skywalker, yes. He seeks to bring peace to the galaxy. But instead, he worsens the conflict, and in the end, he will have nearly the whole galaxy working against him; and his own sister, Jaina, will be the one to end him.

All of this mortified Danni. She took a moment for herself to really absorb what Sekot was telling her; she to absorb the shock of all this news.

I understand how you feel, our relationship notwithstanding, Sekot said. Jacen has more than disappointed me; he has not only let me down, he has not only let his loved ones down, he has not only let himself down, he's left even more than the galaxy down; he's let down the Force. And he let down you, of course.

Tears stung Danni's eyes. This was all so horrifying to learn. And especially knowing about what would happen to Jacen...

I know you loved him, Danni, Sekot said. And he loved you. But you were never meant to be together; your paths were completely different ones to take. This is the way of the Force.

"Why can't we stop this, Sekot?" Danni asked out loud.

Because if we do, we will only worsen the conflict, just as Jacen will do, and we will unleash the Bringer of Chaos earlier than expected.

"The Bringer of Chaos?"

Abeloth. An ancient, malevolent being in the Maw. Within two years, she will go free, and she will attempt to destroy the galaxy. Her plan will be folly, for she will be defeated. But only if we stay out of the affairs of the greater galaxy.

"So you're saying that if we get involved in this, no one will be able to stop Abeloth, and she will destroy the galaxy as she wants."

Yes. We must stay out of this, or else.

It took a moment, but Danni began sobbing again, like she had when Jabitha died three years earlier. Sekot didn't say anything more; she just let her Magister wallow in her grief, for there was nothing she could offer to help the former scientist through this pain.

Jacen failed, Danni thought to herself. He achieved oneness with the Force; he helped end the war with the Yuuzhan Vong; he allowed them to return to their ancient ancestors' way of life and spared them the extinction that others wanted for them to suffer. And now this is going to happen; he's going to kill Mara and promote a conflict that he's going to try to stop.

If he failed, will I, too?

Sekot's Jabitha-like voice returned. Jacen failed to follow his path because of his arrogance and what he saw. He thought he could single-handedly bring the galaxy back together in peace and defeat Abeloth all by himself. But he never relied on others to help; not his family, not his friends, not any of his loved ones. While he is powerful in the Force, what weakens him is his ability to trust in others now. If he were to come to us for help, then maybe his path can be stopped; but of our own volition, we will only escalate things to the point that they cannot be salvaged.

I understand why you think you might fall like Jacen; he doubted his connection to the Force, you doubted your connection to the Force, yet you both achieved a connection to it that others could only dream of. But he failed. The difference between the two of you is that as long as you are guided by me, you will not fall into arrogance or mistrust. And that is why you won't fail.

Danni took yet another moment for herself before saying, "But I feel so guilty for simply allowing this to go by. I feel so bad about not doing anything to stop it."

This is how the way things are, Sekot said. Even I don't like it. But we must yield to it, or else all will unravel.

"I understand."

"I know you do."

Danni spun around on the floor quickly, and she found the form of Jacen Solo standing before her. She pressed herself to her feet and stared at the man before her; only she knew that it was just a mere projection by Sekot. It was the younger Jacen that Sekot last saw more than a decade earlier; even if Danni didn't know that this was a projection by the sentient consciousness of this planet, she would have known that something was off, given that Jacen should be older by now.

Danni collapsed into more sobbing, allowing Sekot's projection of Jacen to catch her in his arms, comforting and consoling her in her time of need.

And that projection did more than for her later that night.

~o~

The next day, Danni woke up in her cot with only a mild sense of disappointment to find that the projection of Jacen was gone.

But he could return, should she need him.

For now though, it would do. She only needed to get past this grief first. And Sekot seemed to know what she needed anyway.

Thank you for that, Danni communed telepathically.

You are welcome, Sekot replied. Her tone in Jabitha's voice betrayed no emotion as to what she thought of the previous night.

So, I am to continue with my duties today, Danni followed up lamely.

As it is expected, Sekot answered, her tone unchanging.

Pushing herself out of the cot, Danni reached for her underclothes and her robes and put them on. She then proceeded to step out of the grashal, ready to face her responsibilities once again.

THE END.