Galaxy Far Far Away – Hapes - Present

As Jacen approached the palace on Hapes, he found himself much more nervous than he expected. Whether it was because he was scared that he wouldn't see Tenel Ka again or because he was afraid the hyperdrive he had obtained wouldn't work as expected, he couldn't be exactly sure.

He'd heard that the unknown was frightening. Well, this hyperdrive certainly could take him into the unknown. But it was his only chance of finding his family. He couldn't possibly pass it up. What would that do to him, not to mention all those under the cloned Sith Emperor? And what was his family doing now? There was just no way to find out for sure. All that was known for sure was that they were needed right here. And nobody had seen them in years, or expected to them ever again. But of course Jacen couldn't stop trying to find a way to get to them. He knew that if anyone in the Galaxy could do something to find them, it was him.

Tenel Ka came out of the palace before he'd even quite made it to the front steps. He wasn't surprised that she'd sensed him coming. Even though it had been a while since they had trained together at the Academy, there were some things that were never completely forgotten.

"Jacen! You were saying you'd found something important?" she said as she hugged him. Being patient was never one of Tenel Ka's strong points. In this case, though, it was all Jacen wanted to talk about. So, with his hands trembling, he opened his pack and pulled out the hyperdrive.

"It's this that's so important. It could be the only chance to get my family back."

Tenel Ka looked confused. "Is that a hypedrive? It doesn't look like any that I've ever seen."

Jacen took a deep breath. "It's a hyperdrive all right, but not a normal one. I had to go into the cloned Emperor's storage area to get my hands on this." Tenel Ka hated to ask how he had managed that one.

"You think it'll take you to where your family is?" Nobody knew where they were, except for the cloned Emperor saying they were "somewhere beyond the Galaxy where there were humans but no Force."

Jacen nodded. "It's programmed for somewhere beyond the Galaxy. That's what I know for sure."

"Do you have any idea where beyond the Galaxy? Can you ever make it back here?" Nobody ever went that many lightyears away, even with hyperdrive. Even whether there were any planets that could support life that far away was officially a mystery. Most suspected that there probably were many.

This was the part that worried Jacen, as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself. He really had no idea if the hyperdrive would work well enough and long enough to get everyone back. And did hyperdrives even work beyond the Galaxy? It was hard to tell what rules of physics might or might not change.

"I don't know. I just know that I have to try this. How else is anyone ever coming back home?"

Tenel Ka understood. "It's your family. I won't stop you from putting this in a ship and taking off." She suspected that Jacen would always be resentful of her if she even tried to stop him from something so important. Besides, she wanted everyone who had disappeared back herself.

"I knew you wouldn't try to stop me. I came here, though, to say goodbye. And to make sure you knew what happened to me if I'm not back soon."

"Thank you for telling me what your plans are," Tenel Ka said, and then seemed to take a moment to decide how she wanted to continue. "And I'm sure you'll make it back - with everyone – somehow. I'll wait for you." And she was sure she could wait a long time for someone as special as Jacen.

"That means so much to me," Jacen started, sounding like he might start to cry at any moment. "I love you, and you know I'll come back as soon as I possibly can. I just can't abandon everyone to whatever life they have now."

"And you shouldn't." As much as Tenel Ka hated to admit it, this was their best chance of seeing everyone who had disappeared again. It wasn't like she had any better ideas or the Emperor was planning on bringing everyone back anytime soon. "It's for the best, for you and for the Galaxy. And you could very well be back soon with everyone." It was certainly a good possibility. After all, what were the chances the hyperdrive was programmed somewhere other than where everyone had been sent?

"I'm trying to be optimistic," he said. "I have to be. I couldn't just give up the chance to see mom and dad, and Jaina and Anakin, and Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara, and.." he stopped, seemingly choked up.

"It's ok to cry, Jacen." Tenel Ka said as calmly as she could manage at the moment. "You've been through an insane amount of grief. And it's just me here." And the two of them just stayed there, letting their grief and worry through them until they managed to get by enough to keep on walking at least.

After a while, they went inside so they could talk some more and decide what ship the hyperdrive should be plugged into. "You know you can use any of the Hapan ships you want." Tenel Ka said as they headed towards the royal spaceport landing in the back.

"Don't they belong to your father?" Jacen asked, although he didn't exactly sound surprised.

Tenel Ka was sure that her father wouldn't mind one of the ships disappearing for a good cause. So she shrugged. "Technically, yes, but he spoils me rotten. And he wants your family back home as well."

"Thanks for letting me choose one, then." Jacen said, trying to stay as positive as he could.

Jacen's eyes grew wider as he reached the spaceport. "You have this many ships here at the same time?"

Ternel Ka had always been hard to impress. "You knew this is a wealthy system, yes?"

Jacen nodded. "Of course, but I've never seen anything like this. And I've seen quite a few spaceports."

"Should I give you some time to look around?" something about the way Jacen was acting made Tenel Ka think that he might want some privacy.

Jacen looked grateful to have some time alone with his thoughts. "Sure. I'll find you before I leave, though. I promise I won't just take off and let you realize I'm gone." And he meant it - he wouldn't leave Tenel Ka hanging. And there was one more thing he wanted to do before he was out of the Galaxy. It would feel good, and had become so right with all that had happened recently.

After Tenel Ka left, Jacen went carefully by each ship, taking his time until he found the perfect one. It was large enough to fit a small town inside, as well as being beautiful and well-maintained. Trying not to worry about what could happen if anything went wrong, he removed the hyperdrive currently in it and replaced it with the one he'd brought with him. It fit perfectly and Jacen had to admire this for a moment.

Now all that was left was to take it into space and turn the hyperdrive on. Theoretically, it should be easy to do. Theoretically, it should take him back to his family. He couldn't think too hard about what might happen if he couldn't'. It just had to, and that was all there was to it.

He went to find Tenel Ka, who was waiting for him and clearly planning out in her mind what to tell him before he left.

"You've got the hyperdrive into a ship?" she asked, somehow already knowing the answer.

"Yes, it fit just right," Jacen said. "There's nothing to do now but take off and see what happens."

Tenel Ka nodded, not sure what to say to that at first. "True, and even if it doesn't, you'll know that you did what you could to get everyone back home."

Jacen thought that Tenel Ka did have an important point there. He needed to be able to live with himself no matter what happened. Even if he did have to come back without finding everyone – not that he would dwell on that possibility too hard – this would help with that.

So the two of them went back to the spaceport and Jacen showed Tenel Ka the ship that he'd chosen. Tenel Ka looked at it approvingly.

"That's one of our best ones," she said. "It won't break down on you. I'm sure of that much."

"That's good to know," said Jacen, stepping closer to her. "And there's one last thing I have to do before I go."

Somehow Tenel Ka knew exactly what that was. "Oh there is?" she asked, enjoying the moment as much as she could.

Jacen smiled. "Yes, I have to say goodbye to you in just the right way."

The two of them kissed, tentatively at first, and then hungrily. Then didn't want to stop, but just enjoyed the feel of lips touching and the two of them being so close together.

When they finally stopped, Jacen looked into her eyes. "I wanted to have that to remember you by." They both knew they always would, no matter what happened afterward. They'd gone from being Jedi Academy rivals to being able to count on one another. And more importantly, have feeling for one another. There was no possible denying it after what had just happened.

He walked up the ramp, called out one last goodbye to her, and then he took the ship out of the hanger. Before long, the ship couldn't be seen from Hapan space anymore.