Chapter One

A Necessary Sacrifice

Soon then?

Soon.

Tahiri's soul was on a different plane entirely. All she could feel was the force, radiating off of Anakin as he leapt and twirled in some sort of sadistic ballet of blazing light. He was so bright it hurt to look at him and she could feel the pain rolling off of him in waves as he sustained yet another wound to his torso, and then to his leg. Blood was running from his mouth and yet he looked so at peace, so utterly calm. His eyes were luminous and piercing, a single stubborn strand of hair hanging over his brow as usual. She watched her childhood friend with fear and admiration as he once again willed them all to go, leave him behind and destroy the queen once and for all. Her common sense willed her to run, but her being had another plan in mind.

Raising her lightsaber, Tahiri broke away from the group, sprinting towards Anakin with a shout that was a mix of both a dry sob and a battle cry. If Anakin's light was to be extinguished, then hers would to. Master Ikrit had always said that the pair was strongest together, and their deaths would be no different. She blatantly ignored the protests of her team as she willed her blade into the throat of an enemy advancing on Anakin. Perhaps she was being reckless, perhaps she was endangering the entire mission and in that case the very Jedi Order but in that moment, she didn't care. All that mattered was Anakin, spinning in unison beside her as they cut down enemy after enemy.

She felt his presence reach out to her then through the force, comforting her with a wave of emotion and she sent it back to him. And then suddenly, they became one, for light was soon engulfing Tahiri and illuminating the both of them in a spectrum of yellows and whites. They were unified through the force, forging a permanent bond that she knew not even their impending death could weaken.

And then she realized what it meant and she knew that Anakin did as well. They were fulfilling their prophecy. This was what Maser Ikrit had foreseen; "Together you are greater than the sum of your parts," And for the first time on their mission, Tahiri felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps all was not doomed.

"Go!" Anakin's voice was hoarse but she knew it wasn't directed at her. "Destroy the queen Jacen!"

Tahiri felt the anguish rolling off of the strike team as they looked on at the battle waging before them, however she also sensed a new found determination within Jacen at Anakin's words.

"Come on," Jacen's voice carried to his team. "Let's go."

"We're not going to abandon them Jacen!" Jaina's voice was thick with suppressed emotion and defiance.

"If we don't go now, their sacrifice will have been for nothing!"

"They're not dead yet," Jaina growled at her twin. She attempted then to sprint towards Tahiri and her brother but Anakin, sensing her approach, force pushed her back with a careless wave of his hand in between blows.

"Go now or you'll never make it," He yelled. Jaina stared on at him in shock and Tahiri guessed from the look on her face that Anakin was sending her some sort of message through the force.

"Come on," Jaina breathed, ushering the others away from the battle.

"What about Anakin?" Alema protested. Tahiri tried to ignore that her own name was left out of the plea. She had never liked Alema and her disdain was based on more than just the twi'leks displays of affection towards Anakin.

"Just go!" Anakin shouted over his shoulder.

Jacen broke away from the crowd then and Tahiri was certain he was disobeying Anakin's orders, but instead he stopped and raised a hand towards them.

"May the force be with you!"

Tahiri give me your lightsaber, she felt Anakin tell her through the force.

"What?" She voiced her shock.

"Trust me,"

She surrendered her lightsaber to Anakin and watched in surprise as he tossed both his and Tahiri's to Jacen's outstretched hand.

Anakin gave Jacen a reassuring nod, which his older brother returned.

And then the team took off.

Anakin turned to Tahiri then, a small smile standing out on his face plastered with blood and grime. He took her hand as the Yuuzhan Vong seized the opportunity to advance on the defenseless duo.

Trust me.

His words rang again in her head, and she nodded. They stood amongst the carnage, clasping hands and Tahiri closed her eyes, waiting for death to claim them.

However then something miraculous happened.

As they stood helpless, hands clasped and eyes squeezed shut, the aura around them began to glow, casting an immersive light across the Yuuzhan Vong forces who gaped at it in fear. The force completely consumed Anakin and Tahiri and became their shield. They were untouchable.

Together you are greater than the sum of your parts.

Anakin squeezed her hand in reassurance and she opened her eyes and gasped at the sight before them. It was as though time itself had frozen. The Vong forces stood motionless, eyes unblinking, in a semi circle around Anakin and Tahiri. Small particles floated around them, like tiny sparks of light, passing through them as well as the Vong, like apparitions. The force. They were seeing the force.

The force was in them and around them and binding them and Tahiri hadn't felt more at peace in her entire life. It was luminous and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh in astonishment.

"Are we dead?" She whispered, glancing up at Anakin who seemed just as amazed as she was.

"No. Just…" He trailed off, searching for the right words. "One with the force. But not permanently," They stood in silence for several seconds, basking in the light before Anakin pulled Tahiri along with a slight tug of her hand. "Let's go,"

"You knew that would happen. You told Jaina and Jacen through the force. What is it?" She asked as she followed behind him. "How long will it last?"

"I think the force is giving us an escape route. Together. I don't think we're meant to go yet, not like this anyway" He seemed to be talking more to himself than her and she smiled at the habit.

They moved in a slow fluid motion, sprinting but barely making any speed, They had no idea how much time was passing or if it was passing at all, only that the force seemed to be guiding them somewhere safe.

And then the particles of light began to cease to exist around them, and the levity of calmness Tahiri had been drowning in began to strip away.

It was over.

"Where are we?" Tahiri tried to calm her shaky voice but being back in reality was like a slap in the face and she wanted nothing more than to be engulfed in the force again. From the look on Anakin's face she knew he shared her yearning.

Anakin's eyes widened as he took in their surroundings. "A Vong frigate ship," He replied.

"Yuuzhan Vong," Tahiri mindlessly corrected.

"Right," He muttered, making his way to the front of the ship. "Gotta love the force. Okay so we've got a way out. Now we just have to round up the team and get away from here. I can sense them, they're somewhere nearby. Tahiri you think you can fly this thing?"

"Does a rancor eat meat?" She replied coolly, following in his wake. He turned towards her with a famous Solo grin, but Tahiri immediately noticed it looked more like a grimace. She wondered why she had been numb to the pain rolling off him before.

"You're still wounded," She breathed, reaching out to place a hand on his torso. He winced and she drew it back, her fingers coated in blood. "Go into a healing trance, now."

"But-"

"Anakin Solo, now is not the time for you to get suddenly talkative. I'll send a message to the team. Forget the blasted Queen, we're getting out of here alive," She crossed her arms and glared at him. She had previously been so supportive of his quest, back when she believed them to be invincible. Now she saw the whole fiasco as a suicide mission.

He held his hands up in surrender. "You win."

She leaned forward, her face centimeters from him. "As usual," Remembering her promise, she brushed her lips against his. It was a small kiss, but she knew it was paining him to keep his balance. Besides, there would be time for more once they made it off this bantha rock.

"You need to shave," She smiled as his three day growth brushed her chin.

"I think I'll do that after our skins are saved," Anakin proceeded to lower himself onto the floor of the ship, crossing his legs and bowing his head.

Tahiri felt him drift into a healing trance, and her worries were put at ease, at least for the moment. Now she had to attract the attention of the strike team.

The battle meld was still working, she could feel the delicate strings pulling her to her friends, so she knew it wouldn't prove difficult to draw their focus. She also knew however what the consequences would be if she failed.

She reached out through the force and felt their presence, like Anakin had said, close by. In fact she could pinpoint their exact location. They were radiating distress and panic and Tahiri tried to sooth them with a wave of calmness.

Anakin and I are safe. We're in a Yuuzhan Vong Frigate docked directly left of you. Forget the Queen and let's get out of here.

She could sense first their surprise, and then their acknowledgement and Tahiri, glanced towards Anakin who had awoken from his trance, no doubt feeling the weight of their presence approaching.

"Those fractured ribs aren't going to repair themselves," She reminded him anxiously.

"Not until I know we're safe."

"How perfectly you," She muttered affectionately.

Jaina was the first onto the ship, her eyes wide and alert as her gaze went from Tahiri, then to her younger brother in shock. She was followed soon by Lowbacca, Zekk, Ganner, Tenel Ka, Tekli, Alema, and Tesar. No one questioned how or why Anakin and Tahiri had gotten away from the Vong and onto the ship.

Anakin voiced Tahiri's concern before she could even string her words together.

"Where's Jacen?"

"He went after the Queen," Jaina replied. "We got separated. There was no time to go back for him," She sounded so detached, so completely devoid of emotion as she relayed the information to her brother. Tahiri didn't pretend to be close with Jaina, but she knew that when the elder Solo child went into battle, she closed herself off completely from reality. She wasn't entirely sure it was healthy but she supposed everyone had their own way to cope.

But Jacen? Tahiri felt her knees go weak as the loss rolled over her. While Anakin had always been closer than family to Tahiri, Jacen had always seemed like the older brother she never had.

She felt Anakin's pain and guilt flow over him and almost cringed when he immediately suppressed it. He was like his sister in that way, though she couldn't ignore the tears that reddened his eyes.

"Did he…destroy it?"

"Fact. I felt the life leave the Queen." Tenel Ka interjected. "Our mission is complete,"

Anakin nodded solemnly. "Then let's go. Tahiri?"

"On it," She was glad to pilot the ship, if only to distract her from the present. "You get back into your trance. Now."

He nodded solemnly and she felt him slip away once again. It troubled Tahiri slightly that she had not felt Jacen's demise but it was too late to dwell on it. Their one chance of surviving was present, and they had to take it no matter the cost.

Jaina caught her on the shoulder before Tahiri could escape to the cockpit.

"Here," The older girl said lightly, pressing her lightsaber as well as Anakin's into Tahiri's hands. "Jacen gave them to me right before he left."

Jaina proceeded to follow Tahiri to the cockpit and the two girls set to getting the ship operational. There seemed to be a newfound respect hanging in the air between them, and it was slightly comforting.

Tahiri spoke to the ship in its native tongue and soon they were blasting away from Mykyr and all that they had left behind.

"We've got coralskippers," Came Ganner's voice from one of the gunner chairs.

"Jaina you get on the guns," Tahiri directed, swerving the ship into an evasive maneuver. She wasn't the best pilot but she knew Jaina was a skilled gunner and their only hope of getting out of this mess alive.

"You sure you can handle this?" Ganner's condescending tone came from over her shoulder.

"Well considering I'm the only one here who speaks Yuzhaan Vong as well as been in one of their ships before, I'd say I'm pretty qualified to handle this," She barked back.

"What about Anakin?"

"He's in no state to pilot," Came Tekli's small voice. "If he doesn't stay in his healing trance I fear we may lose him,"

Tahiri ignored the wave of anxiety rolling over her at Tekli's words. Now was not the time to panic especially when all of their emotions were linked in a battle meld.

A shot from a coralskipper shook the frigate then and Tahiri almost went flying from her seat, muttering a string of curses.

"Shoot them down!" She called to Jaina and Ganner.

"We're trying you schutta!" Ganner's tone was strained but playful and Tahiri smiled in spite of herself. Next came his whoop of triumph. "Did you see that?! I got two with one missile!"

"Don't get cocky," Jaina growled. "We've still got three more," The next three coralskippers were downed with relative ease, and the two gunners soon joined the rest of the team in the cockpit.

Tahiri surrendered the controls to the elder Solo who began to steer the ship easily as though it was as simple as breathing.

"Where to?" Ganner asked.

"Coruscant,"

"Makes the most sense I suppose," He agreed. "It'll give us a few hours more or less to pull ourselves together,"

The group dispersed then, flocking to other areas of the ship to meditate or simply sit in silence. Tenel Ka paused, eyes on Jaina as though she wanted to say something but then thought better of it, retreating deeper into the ship.

"You can go into a trance if you want. I've got it from here," Jaina offered to Tahiri after minutes of silence.

"Are you kidding? If anyone needs a trance after everything you've lost, it's you."

She immediately regretted her words as Jaina whipped around angrily to face the younger girl.

"He's not dead," She said strongly. "And once I get you all to safety, I'm coming back to save him,"

"Jaina that's crazy. You're not doing this alone. Anakin's obviously-"

"Jacen wouldn't even be gone if it wasn't for Anakin!" Jaina's voice was loud enough that she was sure everyone on the frigate could hear her.

"You can't possibly blame Anakin for what happened to Jacen," Tahiri protested, a swell of anger rising inside of her. "Jacen did the right thing. And if it wasn't for Anakin saving your skins, we'd all be dead. Or worse," She felt something cold and desolate rising inside her and she was suddenly filled with memories of her Yuuzhan Vong transformation. No. She wouldn't let her emotions get the better of her.

Without another word to Jaina, Tahiri fled from the cockpit, subconsciously pulling herself to Anakin whom she found out of his trance yet again, tears leaving clean streaks down his blood and dirt coated face.

"She's right," He mumbled. "I should have never ordered Jacen to kill the Queen."

Tahiri immediately dropped to her knees, pulling his head to her shoulder in comfort.

"She's wrong. You did the right thing. Thanks to you and Jacen, no Jedi will ever fall prey to those horrible beasts again. And we'll save him," She added as an afterthought.

Anakin looked up at her then.

"When did you grow up?" His laugh was somewhere between a choked sob and a chuckle.

"A while ago. You've just been too busy saving the galaxy to notice," She brushed his stubborn strand of hair away from his eyes.

"Well I notice now," He leaned forward to kiss her but she pulled away at the last second.

"Nope. No straining yourself until you're completely healed. Now am I going to have to knock you out to get you into a healing trance or what?"

AN: So this story is originally bydreckllyn but she has given up writing it and she has given me permission to continue it! I will be differing from where she had been going with the story but the first couple chapters will be the same or differ slightly.