Chapter Nine

"You're a hard person to find these days."

Tahiri looked up from where she was seated on a mat, stretching in preparation for her morning training session with Master Horn. If she looked surprised it's because she was. Jacen Solo was the last person she'd expect to be looking for her – especially this early in the day.

"Jedi training keeps me busy," she informed him.

"I wanted to thank you for Valc. I asked Anakin to pass on the message to you but considering your situation I'm not surprised he didn't tell you."

"You don't owe me any thanks. I wasn't able to cure you," she said, choosing to ignore Jacen's comment about his brother. It was hard enough being away from Anakin that talking about him just made her feel even worse.

"That doesn't change the fact that what you did was amazing. I received a lethal dose of that virus. I should have turned completely within minutes but you kept the virus at bay long enough to get me into carbonite. If I had changed completely I probably wouldn't be standing here."

"I'm glad everything worked out for you, Jacen. I guess that's the one thing we can thank the Yuuzhan Vong for because even with the right training I don't think I would have been able to do it."

"So you've stopped trying to heal people?"

Tahiri nodded. "It draws too much on my Yuuzhan Vong side and I lose control," she responded, suppressing a shudder as she remembered what happened the last time she had used her powers on Dagobah.

"Perhaps that's because you haven't found a way to balance your Yuuzhan Vong and human halves," Jacen said intuitively. "The reason you have an ability to heal – or rather, absorb other's pain and injuries – is because of your shaping. It makes sense that you have to draw on that side of you in order to do what you do. When you draw on it too much your alter ego comes to the surface and takes over. If I remember correctly you were okay when you helped Alema on Dathomir but I felt a darker side of you when you tried to save me on Valc. The only differences between those situations is the infection was in a much more advanced state in me than it was in Alema."

"Master Horn said something similar, but It doesn't matter anymore," she said dismissively. "With all the side effects that come from using my ability I've had enough close calls to know I shouldn't be trying to play god."

"Maybe I could help you."

Tahiri blinked, her surprise emanating through the Force and the espression on her face.

Jacen allowed himself a brief smile at her reaction. "I know that Master Horn has tried to help you but maybe he's not the right teacher for your abilities. He's a great Jedi Master but he doesn't have the same affinity for living creatures that I do. I think that's important for what you're trying to do."

"Why would you want to help me?" Her tone was unintentionally suspicious, but she was very curious to know why Anakin's brother would want to help her with anything.

"I know your impression of me is probably largely shaped by my relationship with Anakin. I'm trying to work on our... issues but it's not easy. I just want to return the favor - you helped me and now I'd like to do the same for you."

Tahiri mulled over his words before saying, "I'm leaving on a mission with Master Horn tomorrow but I'll give it some thought."

Jacen inclined his head. "I'll be ready when you are."

By the time Master Horn appeared for their training session, Jacen was long gone. His offer to help her, however, was still very much at the forefront of Tahiri's mind.

[*[*[*[*[*[

Anakin rummaged through the small refrigeration unit in the kitchen of his parents quarters looking for something to eat. There were not a whole lot of options.

"Mom and Dad running late?"

"Yeah," Anakin responded, without turning around to face his older brother. "They called just before you got here. They'll be at least another twenty minutes."

"If you find something to eat, I'll have whatever you're having."

From the refrigeration unit, Anakin pulled out two Almakian apples, tossing one to Jacen.

"I know I didn't agree with you at the time but it was the right call to go to Valc."

Anakin took his time chewing a mouthful of apple so he didn't have to respond right away. He found once he swallowed, though, he still didn't know what to say.

"What happened to me wasn't your fault, Anakin."

"You wouldn't have even been down there in the first place if it wasn't for my idea," Anakin countered.

"I know I haven't exactly been your biggest supporter but you are a good leader, Anakin. And even good leaders lose people under their command. You can be reckless and fool hardy, yes, but you always act with the best intentions. What?" He saw Anakin fixing him with a strange look.

Anakin shrugged. "I was just wondering if you were really my brother Jacen or a Yuuzhan Vong in disguise. I can't remember the last time you complimented me on anything."

"I think you were fourteen," said a new voice.

Both brothers turned to see an amused Jaina standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Glad to see my two favorite brothers talking instead of butting heads over philosophical ideals."

"We're your only brothers, Jaina," Anakin remarked wryly.

"What Anakin said," Jacen echoed.

Jaina grinned. "Wow, now you're agreeing on things. Maybe you're both Yuuzhan Vong in disguise."

At that, Anakin and Jacen rolled their eyes in the direction of their sister.

"Anyways," Jaina continued, her grinning broadening. "I didn't mean to interrupt your bonding moment but Jacen you have a call on the holonet. There's a Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium looking to speak with you."

"Tenal Ka?" He croaked, his mouth suddenly very dry. "How did she know?"

It was Jaina's turn to roll her eyes. "You've been out of carbonite for days and haven't gotten around to calling her so I took matters into my own hands. If she seems a little upset that you didn't tell her yourself just be glad she's hundreds of light years away and can't actually hurt you. She's waiting for you in mom's office."

Face flushed, Jacen left the kitchen heading in the direction of their mother's office.

With Jacen gone, Jaina turned her attention to her younger brother.

Under her scrutinizing gaze, Anakin felt like he was about to be cross-examined in a courtroom. He decided to fend off the two questions that she wasa about to ask him. "No, I'm not fine and no, you don't have to worry about me."

"I know you like to keep everything bottled up inside but if you want to talk I'm here to listen," said Jaina, her tone sympathetic.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Have you talked to Tahiri?"

"No. It's not like I haven't tried either. She's even dampened our Force bond to the point I can barely feel her through it."

Jaina's heart went out to him. She could hear his suffering in his voice and what leaked out through the Force – that was until he tightened his mental barriers again.

"I meant what I said about helping you guys," Jaina continued. "I know Rogue Squadron is heading to Hoth for a few days but after that we'll refocus and figure out what to do next, okay?"

Anakin nodded but his expression didn't change. It's not that he wasn't grateful for Jaina's help but it was hard not to take a defeatist approach to the whole thing. If a Jedi Master who specialized in visions couldn't help – aside from saying the only way to make his visions stop was for himself and Tahiri not to be around each other – it didn't bode well that there would be other options available for them to explore.

[*[*[*[*[*[

Danni Quee was a scientist. Originally, an astrophysicist, most who knew her now probably had no idea that had been her field. Since the Yuuzhan Vong had entered the galaxy she had become one of the foremost experts on the invading aliens and their biotechnology. Her degree in Vongology – as some of the other scientists liked to tease her good-naturedly about – made her the best person to conduct a follow up examine on Jacen Solo to ensure there were no remnants of Project I71A in his system. No less important, her examine was also to ensure the mysterious cure that had been administered to him had no side effects.

Although not a doctor, she now understood their grumblings about how Jedi made the worst patients.

"Is all this really necessary?" Jacen asked her, from where he was lying on his back on an examination table. "Dr. Tamburino already ran every medical examination she knew of on me and everything came back normal."

"Humor me," was all Danni said to him.

"If that's what you're looking for, I've got a few jokes I could tell you."

Danni felt the beginnings of a smile form on her face. "From what I've been told, that would probably have the opposite effect."

Jacen pretended to look hurt and Danni laughed.

Jacen remained silent for the rest of her medical scans of his brain and body. He was probably right in if there had been anything to find it would have turned up in the tests that had been run on him once he had been removed from carbonite. But 'probably' left room for a margin of error that didn't sit well with the former ExGal scientist.

"There, all done," she told him. "See, that wasn't so bad."

Jacen sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the table. "So if these tests of yours come back negative, that means I get a clean bill of health?"

She nodded. "Even if there's something dormant in your system we should be able to see it. Our ability to detect Yuuzhan Vong organisms and just about anything else they use has greatly improved. In fact, there's a number of experiments we're running on samples of their biotech we've collected to see if we can engineer a way to use them to our benefit."

Jacen arched an eyebrow. "Really? Sounds impressive."

"It is – I mean, it will be if anything turns up. Right now we're just running lab tests and other experiments. Most of it though, is just theory at this point."

Jacen locked his eyes on Danni. "I'd like to see what you're working on."

"Sure, let me show you," she responded instantly.

[*[*[*[*[*[

Helmet in hand, Jaina strode across the Ralroost's hanger bay. Rogue Squadron had just returned from a simple recon of the nearby Core systems to see whether the Yuuzhan Vong had expanded their infiltration beyond Coruscant. For the moment it seemed like they were focused on Vongforming Coruscant and not on conquering nearby planets. That meant the Galactic Alliance had time to evacuate some of the nearby Core worlds.

Thanks to the negotiations her mother had worked on with the Imperial Moffs and Grand Admiral Palleon, the Imperial Remnant was willing to lone several of its older model Star Destroyers to aid with the evacuations. They were even going so far as to provide one of their more unpopulated worlds as a safe haven for refugees.

Even with her mother's skills as a diplomat Jaina hadn't been expecting all that much support from the Remnant. Apparently Anakin's mission to Valc VII to retrieve the data necessary to manufacture a vaccine for Project I71A had gone a long way to helping their cause. That, and the Moffs had demanded full disclosure on all discoveries made by the Galactic Alliance – both military and scientific.

Considering the direction the war was taking, it seemed a small price to pay in Jaina's mind. Not that she trusted the Remnant by any means. But they were desperate and when a group was willing to share military support that outmatched what the Galactic Alliance currently had available, she was willing to look the other way for the time being. She had never really understood the expression the enemy of my enemy is my friend until a few months ago.

Her attention was suddenly directed to Anakin, walking ahead of her. It wasn't hard to discern what – or rather, who he was looking at across the hanger bay. She watched as Tahiri and he made eye contact briefly, before Anakin turned away first and kept walking.

Without really thinking about what she was doing, Jaina altered course and headed for a small, nondescript looking ship.

"Going somewhere?" She asked the petite blond who was closing up a storage crate at the bottom of the ship's boarding ramp.

"Carratos," she replied. "There have been reports that Yuuzhan Vong agents may already be on the planet. Master Horn and I are going to check it out."

Jaina frowned. "The two of you are going alone?"

"It's not like there's a lot of Jedi to spare these days. Besides, if the Yuuzhan Vong are not acting out in the open that means they're not ready to annihilate or enslave the planet. We just need to see what they're up to."

"Sounds simple enough," said Jaina, "but we know how quickly things can go downhill."

"Says the person who's supposed to be setting up a research facility on Hoth."

Jaina grinned. "At least on Carratos you'll be warm."

"Not to sound rude or anything but I know you have better things to do than to make small talk with me," Tahiri said abruptly.

From everything Jaina knew about the young woman, she figured the direct approach would probably be best. "Anakin's completely miserable and I can see you are too."

"Did he ask you to talk to me?"

"No," Jaina answered truthfully. "You know Anakin, he likes to brood and suffer inside his fortress of solitude rather than talk about how he's feeling."

At Jaina's comment, Tahiri allowed herself a brief smile. "Yes, that sounds like Anakin."

"But he's not a droid," Jaina continued. "No matter how tightly sealed he thinks his mental barriers are things leak through. I'm his sister and we're close so it's not that hard for me to see what he's going through."

"His visions have stopped, right?"

"As far as I can tell," Jaina replied, nodding. "He told me you dampened the Force bond connection you two have. Are you sure that's safe considering the whole joined-soul thing or whatever it is that you have going on?"

"Anakin's not in any danger," Tahiri assured her.

"I wasn't just worried about my brother."

That caused Tahiri to go silent for several moments, clearly not expecting Jaina's comment."Master Horn's been working with the two of us for awhile now so our connection doesn't prevent us from being separated for long periods of time over great distances; like when I was on Dagobah. Learning how to dampen our bond was one of the things we worked on," she explained. "I never wanted this, Jaina," Tahiri continued before the older woman could try and make her second guess her decision. "I love Anakin. He's my best friend – my everything. But I was hurting him – I was causing his visions. I know I'm hurting him now but I was hurting him even worse before, even if he doesn't see it that way. Wouldn't you do the same if you were in my position?"

Jaina's silence was all the answer Tahiri needed.

"I volunteered for Carratos," she admitted to the older woman. "I need to put some distance between myself and your brother. Being here, it's too tempting to just be with him. We've never been separated like this before. Even when Anakin left the Jedi academy and I stayed behind we still had that closeness. It feels like I've lost a limb. It's gone but I can still feel it and it hurts."

"I know I can't fully understand what the two of you are going through because I don't have that kind of connection with anyone but I do understand in a way – if that makes any sense."

"What about Jag?"

Jaina found herself completely caught off guard by Tahiri's comment and it showed.

"It may not be obvious to a lot of people but you were different around him. I saw you kiss him on Durace. I wasn't spying," Tahiri added quickly at seeing Jaina's expression. "I just happened to stumble across the two of you."

"Jag and I are different," Jaina began, choosing her words carefully. "I knew from the start he was only here temporarily. Now he's gone and anything that might have been won't happen. I'm not losing any sleep over it." Jaina was grateful when Tahiri didn't press for more details. As far as she was concerned there was nothing more to talk about – and it unnerved her to no end that Tahiri, someone she wasn't close to at all, had observed the subtle changes in her relationship with Jag. "I've already told Anakin, I'm going to help you two in any way I can," she spoke again, turning the conversation back to their original discussion.

"Thank you," Tahiri said, her voice full of appreciation, "but I'm not expecting any miracles."

Tahiri's body language mimicked Anakin's when Jaina had said the same thing to him. It seemed like the two had already come to the same conclusion – that by changing their fate they were now destined to be apart.