A/N: This is going to be my last Star Wars story for a while, so I hope you enjoy it. All types of feedback are welcome. Flames don't bother me (we all need a little criticism once in awhile).
CHAPTER ONE: BIRTHDAY'S ARE HIGHLY OVERRATED
When Luke Skywalker asked Zekk to come by his home late one night, Zekk had assumed it would be some routine mission he was being sent on, like traveling undercover to some of the core worlds to see how far Yuuzhan Vong control had reached. That was what a lot of Jedi missions had consisted of in recent weeks: landing on a planet, accompanied by a group of Tsirran and see how bad the situation there was before reporting back to Intelligence on Courscant.
Of all things, he had certainly not been expecting the Jedi Master's offer of a top priority mission.
"Does the council know what you're planning?" Zekk asked him.
"No, they don't," Luke replied, letting a small boyish grin show. "Not yet, anyways. Fe'y'la along with the rest of the Senate are still worried about the Tsirran – even though they've helped tip the scale back in our favour. If Fe'y'la knew I was planning on involving the Chiss he would go out of his way to make sure the Jedi were driven off Courscant,"
"It's that narrow mindedness that's going to destroy the New Republic," Zekk commented.
Luke chuckled. "The Senate wouldn't see things from your perspective. They think they're protecting the people of the New Republic,"
Zekk snorted but instead of commenting further on the subject, asked, "why do the Chiss suddenly want to help? The war's been going for nearly two years and they haven't said a word until now,"
"They know if the Yuuzhan Vong destroy the New Republic, their next target for conquest will be to force those in the Unknown Regions into submission. The Chiss are too proud a race to admit it openly, but they know their chances of survival will greatly increase if they fight alongside us instead of waiting for the New Republic to crumble,"
"So what's my role in all this?" Zekk asked curiously.
"The Chiss have set up a small military base on Dantooine. You would be going alone, of course, unless you feel there's someone else who should be brought onboard this mission," said Luke, a knowing look on his face.
Zekk didn't rise to the bate. "No, there isn't,"
"That's fine, because I have something else in mind for the others. Now, back to your mission," said Luke. "You'd be taking a small, nondescript craft to Dantooine. Once there, you'll give the proper code transmission that General Antilles has set up for both sides to prevent any imposters from infiltrating the small base they have set up there. A Chiss escort will take your down to the surface, where you'll begin negotiations with Baron Sontir Fel himself. Tell him the situation exactly how it is, and make sure he knows who the Yuuzhan Vong will come after next when they're done with us.
"The Chiss are an extremely stubborn and proud race, Zekk, and I don't know how well these negotiations are going to go. Baron Sontir Fel only agreed to come to Dantooine as a favour to Wedge. But right now we can't afford not to try and make amends with the Chiss. Any help they will offer is better then what we had going into the negotiations with them,"
"Are you sure you picked the right person for this?" Zekk said doubtfully. Being a Jedi had taught him a lot of useful skills, but one thing he had never had any practice in – and similarly had no like for – was diplomacy. That's all he needed: to be remembered as the one who screwed up a meeting with the Chiss and ended up costing the New Republic the war.
"Don't doubt yourself, Zekk. You've seen what the Vong have done first hand. And like so many others, their destruction has affected you personally. The Chiss are warriors, and as much as I hate to admit it, so are the Jedi. They will respect you for that, more then they would any politician the New Republic could send, and you can use that to your advantage. I know it's putting a lot on your shoulders, but take a day or two to think about it and then get back to me,"
Zekk left the apartment shortly after that, wondering how he would fit in with a bunch of beady-eyed Chiss. Stories of the late Grand Admiral Thrawn came to him, and he marveled at how a species who created such a monster could be a potential ally. But Master Skywalker was right. Any help was better then no help at all. Things had gone too far for them to picky about who they asked for assistance from, so he pushed his own personal opinion of the Chiss aside.
Master Skywalker had wanted him to think about it before he made any final decisions, but Zekk already had his mind made up as he boarded the turbo lift. He was going. Luke Skywalker had handpicked him for the assignment, and he had no intention of letting him down. And besides, with nothing tying him to Courscant, why wouldn't he go?
This was by far the best birthday Jaina Solo had had in a long time. True, the war was still raging on, and yes, her and Ganner's relationship was far from perfect, and then there was the tension in the room between her brother and Tenal Ka that had been building for weeks now, but she tried to forget about those factors. Nothing short of an apocalypse could ruin her good mood.
Her parents had finally broke down and bought her her own ship for her eighteenth birthday. Her mother had given her the "we think you're responsible enough" speech before Jaina had gone running to inspect her gift.
She was already planning what modification and repairs she would get to work on once the small gathering with her friends was over, which was any time now.
After the birthday cake, her parents had respectfully taken off for the evening, dragging Threepio with them, leaving Jaina alone with her brothers, Ganner, Tahiri and Tenal Ka. Lusa and Raynar had left a short time ago, with both having to catch a shuttle back to the Thul Merchant Trading fleet that night.
Jacen was opening his last gift, which happened to be a very expensive looking jacket from Tenal Ka,"
"Thanks," he said to her. "It's great,"
"I am glad you like it,"
The conversation seemed forced and awkward. Ganner broke the awkwardness when he spoke.
"I'm sure Jaina's happy that the annoying tradition of opening presents is over so she can get to work on her own gift,"
She shot Ganner a look. "I'm in no rush,"
"Oh, come off it, Jaina," said Jacen, seeing through her act. "We've only had to listen to you whine about wanting your own ship since you could see over the Falcon's controls, so you better be excited about it,"
"Does that mean you'll clean up here, while I go play with my ship?"
"Well –"
"Thanks, Jace. I owe you one," she said quickly and stood up.
"I never agreed to anything,"
His protest was useless, because Jaina had already left the living area for her bedroom. She was frantically searching for her toolbox when she felt her younger brother's presence in the doorway.
"Have you seen my tools?" She asked absently, rummaging around in one of her drawers. "Never mind. I found them," she said, standing up and turning around.
"Here," Anakin said to her. In his open palm he held a tiny, holo recording tape.
She regarded him curiously. "What is it?"
"It's a birthday gift from Zekk. He asked me to give it to you,"
It had never crossed her mind that Zekk would even bother with a gift for her. You don't usually give things to people you aren't on good terms with. After staring at it for several long moments, she took it from Anakin and shoved it firmly in her pocket, before her curiousity could get the better of her.
"I'll see ya later," she said to him, then stepped out into the hallway where Ganner was waiting. Seconds later they were gone; the holo recording in her pocket already forgotten.
Jacen had never realized how washing dishes could be such a tension builder. While his sister was off making use of her new ship, he was stuck in a kitchen with the one person he used to think it was impossible to be uncomfortable around. At least one of us is having an unforgettable birthday, he thought bitterly.
"I don't know how things got like this," he said out loud.
"Like what?" Tenal Ka said drying another dish.
"Like this," Jacen said emphatically. "We can't even be in the same room together. I don't even know what to say to you,"
"You do not have to say anything, Jacen,"
He stared at her. "I lied. I do know how things got like this: by us not saying anything. By not telling each other how we really feel,"
Before Tenal Ka could respond, his grip on the plate he was holding faltered and it fell to the floor, shattering instantly. Jacen swore as he bent down to clean it up.
"Hey, what's going on in here?" Came the voice of Han Solo, who strolled into the kitchen.
"Nothing, dad. I just dropped a plate,"
He picked up on the irritation in son's tone, and understood he had walked in on a private conversation.
"Where's your brother and sister?"
"Jaina's working on her ship and Anakin's somewhere with Tahiri,"
"Why don't you two get out of here? We'll get golden rod to clean up the mess. You know how he likes to feel important. You're only eighteen once, right?" Han said with his usual lopsided grin.
Jacen cast a look at Tenal Ka and she nodded. They left the apartment, agreeing to ride the turbo lift up to the garden level.
"You were right earlier, Jacen," she said, being the first to break the silence as they stepped out of the lift. "Our failure to be honest with each other is causing us to drift apart,"
"So what are we going to do about it?" He asked her as they walked along a path overlooking exotic trees from Bothawui.
"I think we need a break from each other," she said in a voice so low Jacen was sure he had mistaken what he had heard.
"What?" He practically shouted, and grabbed her arm more roughly then he had intended to.
"Are you telling me you haven't thought of it?" She questioned him. "I have," she admitted softly.
He let go of her arm and looked away from her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Jacen, I love you, but I think this is what we need right now,"
"Breaking up isn't going to fix what's wrong," he said stubbornly.
"I never said I wanted to break up. We both just need some space to sort things out,"
"What if we got married?"
It was Tenal Ka's turn to look as if she hadn't heard right. "We both know getting married is not the solution. Would you have even brought up the subject of marriage if we were not in our current situation?"
"No… I suppose not," he admitted at last. "How long is this break going to last?"
"I don't know,"
He walked away from her and settled down onto a nearby bench. He ran his fingers through his thick brown hair, a habit that he had not grown out of whenever he was nervous or restless.
"I did not come to this decision over night. I have been thinking about it for some time now," she said, following him over to the bench.
"Since Belkadan,"
Tenal Ka nodded.
The ship ride to Belkadan had triggered an argument between them that had led to accusations on both their parts that neither could take back afterwards because it had been the truth they had spoken.
Tenal Ka knelt down in front of him, taking his hand in hers. "It is the right thing to do, Jacen. You know that as well as I do,"
"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean I have to like it, does it?"
"You are entitled to be upset,"
Despite the situation, Jacen laughed, but it had no real laughter in it. "Of course I'm upset, but you seem to be taking this perfectly fine, as if your telling me you're leaving on a trip and will be back in a few days,"
He saw her cringe at his words, and knew it had been a cheap shot, but he didn't want to be the only one suffering.
"Do you want to see me cry, is that it, Jacen? You don't think this is equally hard for me,"
Now she did look about to cry and he regretted his earlier comment. "No, that's not it – "
"I should go," she said and turned to walk away.
"No, I'll go," Jacen said quickly and stood up. He may have said some harsh things, and he maybe he should have handled the situation a lot better, but she wasn't going to be the one who got to walk away. He walked away from her, and was grateful when she didn't try and get him to stop. The only time he turned around to look up at her was when he was in the confinements of the turbo lift. And not even the sight of her tear streaked face made him hesitate in closing the lift doors and feeling the need to get as far away from her and everyone else as fast as possible.