Chapter 14-Revelations

Still thirty-five days until Myrkr…

Tenel Ka stood, unobserved, in a shaded corner of her balcony watching Allana play catch with her grandfather on the lawn below. Prince Isolder, although now 60, was still in excellent shape and loved to play with his granddaughter, something he had never been allowed to do when his own daughter was younger. Ta'a Chume had forbidden it, calling it "un-princess like", and he was never in the mood to fight his mother on this issue. However, Tenel Ka thought that Allana could deal with such frivolities, she had plenty of time to learn to be a princess; but she only got one crack at being a kid. The young queen allowed a smile as she heard Allana shriek with laughter as she tried to tackle her grandfather. Abruptly, the door behind her opened and she quickly turned her head to deal with the intrusion into her personal time. Danni looked chagrined when she saw the piercing look that the red-haired woman gave her, "I'm sorry Your Majesty, the security guy said that I could come on out." She started to back out through the doors.

Tenel Ka's look softened, "No, please stay. I did not realize the time; and please, call me Tenel Ka." She walked over to the center of the balcony and leaned up against the rail. Immediately, Allana saw her and gave her a big wave. "Hi Mommy! I'm playing catch!" She paused, pointing at Danni as the blonde woman made her way to the railing. "Who's that?"

"Now, what did we say about pointing, young lady?" asked Prince Isolder, with a bit of a smirk. Looking up at Danni, "You must be Danni Quee. Catch." And he tossed the oblong ball towards the two women up on the balcony.

"Father…" Tenel Ka cried, exasperated, as she ducked to the left. With the grace of a cat, Danni took a quick step to the left, stuck out her left hand while spinning a quarter turn, and caught the ball single-handedly, cradling the ball to her chest. Seeing Tenel Ka's look of surprise, she merely shrugged. Looking down into the gardens again, she chirped, "Good evening, Your Highnesses."

Prince Isolder flashed his hands in front of him, indicating that Danni throw the ball back. She grinned, and flipped off her shoes. "Oh, you'll get it back, but you're going to have to work for it!" Isolder looked at her dubiously. Danni laughed, "Okay Mister Doubting Isolder, give me a 10-meter out."

Still looking unconvinced, Isolder took a few steps closer to the balcony. He turned away from the balcony, looked over his shoulder, and assumed a relaxed sprinter's stance. "Okay, honey, I'm ready when you are."

Danni held the ball in front of her with both hands and yelled, "Go!" She took a couple of quick steps backwards and bounced on the balls of her feet, watching intently as Isolder sprinted up the grass. Quickly, she estimated where Isolder would get to the ten-meter mark and make his cut to the right. After she counted nine steps, she fired the ball four paces to his right, the ball whistling through the air. Isolder hit the ten-meter mark, and cut to the right. As soon as he made his move, his head turned around to look back at Danni and saw that the ball was about two meters away and coming fast… at his head. He got his hands up just in time, catching the ball and stumbling in the process. Isolder went about another two steps before diving down to the grass and rolling over onto his back.

Allana looked up at Danni from in awe. "Can you teach me how to throw like that?"

Danni gave her a big smile and a wink, "Sure thing, sweetie." Seeing Tenel Ka's stunned look, she shrugged and said drily, "I was the only girl in my neighborhood. If I wanted to play with anyone, I had to play with the six neighborhood boys."

Isolder had gotten up. "Hey, we've got an intramural team representing the Palace, if you're interested." He gave her a quick smile, "Do you want to come down here and play with the two of us?"

Tenel Ka answered before Danni could, "Sorry father, Danni and I have some issues to discuss. Next time, perhaps."

"I'll hold you to that." He lobbed the ball to Allana, who caught it with two hands. Okay sweetie, I'll bet that you can't make it to those trees before I tackle you!" He started toward Allana, and she ran toward the tree line, screaming in delight the entire way.

Watching them go, Tenel Ka looked pensive. "She is much more fun-loving than I was at that age-she reminds me so much of her father." Danni stepped up to the rail, unsure of what to say. She could feel the loneliness coming from Tenel Ka, but did not know her well enough to help. Instead, Danni nodded and took a page from the 'Solo Book of Etiquette': Try for levity. She looked over at the Queen Mother, now dressed in a sleeveless navy-blue empire-waist blouse, khaki Capri pants, and sandals, her hair released from it's elaborate braid from earlier. "I feel a tad overdressed," Danni said sheepishly. She was wearing the same outfit from before, and had even worn more stylish heels that matched her burgundy blouse.

Tenel Ka gave her a shrug. "I invite members of the staff over for dinner once every couple of weeks or so for an informal dinner. I always tell them to dress causal, yet they never do. So, I gave up." She gave Danni an appraising gaze, "At least you're not wearing a gown; one of the women from Protocol wore one last time." Danni smirked. Tenel Ka walked over to the table at the back of the balcony and poured two glasses of wine from the bottle that had chilled there for the last twenty minutes. Scooping up the goblets between her fingers of her right hand, she returned over to the railing. Danni met her halfway to relieve her of one of the crystal glasses. Hapes' Regent nodded her thanks, and the two women walked back to the railing. Tenel Ka took a sip of the red wine and said casually, "I apologize for being curt earlier. I try not to let information of a personal nature be discussed in the Throne Room."

Danni gave her a quick nod as she sipped her drink. "Anhaje mentioned the recording devices."

"Ah. We try to make sure that we 'discover' them about once every three or four days. Any longer than that, and they would not think that we were trying." She paused, taking another sip. "There has not even been an assassination attempt in fifteen months."

Danni coughed, almost spitting out her wine. "Wow, that's got to be some sort of record!"

Tenel Ka arched her right eyebrow, her grey eyes twinkling. "Almost." She became more serious. "So, now that we are no longer in danger of being recorded, what was the full nature of your vision about Jedi Solo?" Tenel Ka emphasized the last portion of the comment to ensure that she knew that Danni left quite a bit out at their earlier meeting.

Danni grimaced; she had hoped that the Queen Mother wasn't quite so smart. "How 'bout I show you instead." She gave Tenel Ka a knowing look. "However, I'm out of practice projecting through the Force. I'll just push my memory of it to the front of my mind where you can access it."

"Are you sure?" Tenel Ka was uncertain that this would work. She didn't feel like she could trust Danni enough to forge such a link; after all, they had only met an hour ago.

"No." Danni shook her head, answering honestly. "But, words fail to properly describe the story. Perhaps you'd get a better feel for it if you actually see it."

"Okay; we will give it a try." As they looked each other in the eye, Tenel Ka cautiously reached out through the Force. She could feel Danni's apprehension and her mental barriers shot up as Tenel Ka entered her mind. Tenel Ka sent thoughts of reassurance through their forming bond. As Danni got used to the sensation of someone else being in her thoughts, her mental barriers started to ease down. Tenel Ka gently moved through her mind and gasped as she found Danni's vision. It had only been ten years, but she had forgotten how desperate hand-to-hand battles were when you were fighting for you life.

O O(_)O O

"I'm sorry, Nelani." The man said as he ran the young woman through. As Danni's memory faded, another one quickly bloomed…

They were on the bridge of a Star Destroyer-firing at what looked like the Millennium Falcon. The scene changed again; this time they were watching a forested planet burn. A new scene; they were in another lightsaber duel, this time with Mara Jade. They were in an X-wing with a little girl. Another lightsaber duel…

O O(_)O O

Danni gave Tenel Ka a huge mental shove out of her thoughts. Both women had slumped against the railing, gasping for breath. Danni found that her hands were shaking as she tried to take a sip of wine. Trying to regain her composure, Tenel Ka risked a glance at her, "You neglected to mention how it ended."

Still shaking slightly, Danni continued to look out over the gardens as she took a deep breath and held it for a time. Exhaling, "This is different. It changed after Nelani died." She turned to face Tenel Ka and risked taking a sip of wine. "Before, I saw the galaxy starting to catch fire. This ending is new." Tenel Ka nodded, finishing her glass of wine. Realizing that she needed to fill her glass again as well, Danni took Tenel Ka's glass and walked back to the table.

Tenel Ka watched her, and as Danni stared to refill both glasses, "Who is this Nelani?" Concern filled her voice.

As she finished pouring, Danni turned, a wine glass in each hand. "According to the records at the Jedi Temple, she is assigned to the Lorrd system." Making her way back to the balcony, she held out Tenel Ka's glass to her. "That is my next destination. I wanted to stop here to see if you knew anything about why Jacen would be out there."

Tenel Ka took the offered glass and shook her head. "As I said, Jacen and I aren't as close as we once were. I still hope that we can repair what we once had." There was more than a hint of sadness in her voice. "Will you let me know what you find?"

Danni nodded as she took another sip, hiding her grimace at the tone in Tenel Ka's voice and what it implied. Suddenly, she knew whom Jacen and Sekot meant with the 'complicated' statement. Danni wondered what the younger woman knew about her own relationship with Jacen. "For you, yes."

"Why are you doing this?"

Danni almost gave her the same flippant answer that she gave to Jaina, but quickly decided against it. The blonde woman got the feeling that the Queen Mother knew that things were amiss, but could not find the best way to address it. Jaina just could not be bothered. Sighing, she opted for telling the truth. "Jacen saved my life once."

Tenel Ka gave Danni an understanding nod-Jacen had told her all about rescuing Danni from the Vong, and she tried not to think about the two of them together in that stylus ship. As the Queen forced that image out of her mind, her friend continued, "I've done a lousy job of thanking him over the last 10 years; with me hiding from life out in the Unknown Regions." Danni sighed again, until now it really hadn't occurred to her that was exactly what she was doing: hiding. She had insisted that it was research, but she was lying to herself; she never felt comfortable being around people, it was easier to be on some far-away planet. A new feeling of 'what-might-have-been' washed over her. "After I had this vision the first time, I knew that he needed saving. I…" she gave Tenel Ka a look, "WE… have the chance to prevent whatever this future is."

Tenel Ka started to feel real affection toward the astrophysicist. "I am sorry for not being able to accompany you to the Lorrd system." Danni merely shrugged. Tenel Ka reached out and gave Danni's left hand a squeeze. Trying to put as much affection in her voice as she could, "I thank you, Danni Quee, from the bottom of my heart for stopping here. It is good to know that someone else cares."

Danni allowed a small, sad smile as she nodded once. Great, I just had to go and find the one person who loves him more than I do.

Her comlink beeped on the table behind them. Tenel Ka walked over and thumbed on the switch, "Yes."

"Your Majesty, an Ensign Kenara Do'ma has arrived. Shall I allow her in?"

"Yes, Sergeant, show her in." She deactivated the comlink. "Our dinner guest is here." She smiled warmly at Danni, " I have an interesting Ensign whom I would like you to meet."

Following the Queen back into the Palace, she could still hear the unmistakable shrieks of delight from the little girl on the lawn.

O O(_)O O

As they entered the Royal Apartment, Danni noticed a young brunette with bright blue eyes looking extremely out-of-sorts at standing in the entryway to the Royal residence. As soon as she saw the Queen Mother, the young Ensign immediately snapped to 'attention'. Tenel Ka smiled warmly, noticing that unlike earlier guests, Kenara Do'ma actually followed her advice, wearing a pair of dark dress pants and a bright blue pinstriped blouse. "As you were, Kenara. Thank you for coming."

The young woman's smile lit up the room, "Thank you, Mum." She cocked her head and her smile turned mischievous, "My folks think that I'm on a date with somebody…" she made quote marks in the air, "…'unsavory' and just didn't want to tell them."

Tenel Ka shot her a knowing look, and replied drily, "I can call them if you wish."

Laughing, Kenara replied, "Nah, I'll just steal some utensils instead."

Danni could not help but laugh at the slightly irreverent Hapan Naval Officer, earning a dry look from the Queen Mother, "Kenara, allow me introduce Danni Quee."

As she made the introduction, her father entered the apartment from the kitchen entrance, Gadell and Anhaje in tow.

Seeing his daughter's inquisitive look, Isolder replied with a small chuckle, "Etienne made corndogs and the princess wished to eat downstairs."

Shaking her head slightly, Tenel Ka addressed the small group, "Well, I think that is everyone. Because the weather is so nice, we well eat outside." With that, the Queen Mother turned and led the group out to the patio, making sure to properly introduce Danni and Kenara to everyone as they sat down at the large wrought-iron table.

Ducking around the kitchen staff as they laid out a couple of pots of jambalaya and étouffée, Gadell nodded across the table at Danni, "I heard that you did some fighting in the war."

"Yeah." Letting out a resigned sigh, Danni continued, "I flew with the Wild Knightz for a..."

"…You flew with the Wild Knightz?" Kenara interrupted excitedly, her blue eyes wide with surprise.

The older woman scowled in confusion, "You've heard of the Knightz?" Kenara was the first non-Jedi Danni had met that had ever heard of her squadron.

"Of course. The Knightz are famous; you guys helped change the course of the war." Seeing Danni's continued confusion, Ensign Do'ma smiled earnestly, "I was a military history minor in college, and my emphasis was the period of the Clone Wars forward."

Danni nodded politely, acutely aware of just how old she felt knowing that some of her exploits were taught in a history class at some unnamed Hapan University.

To her immediate left, Isolder somehow sensed her dismay and chuckled drily, "Welcome to my world." Hearing her humorless chuckle, the Hapan Prince poured some red wine into her goblet, talking as he did. "What was it like, flying with such a famous squadron?" Kenara winced at his emphasis, and Isolder shot her a friendly wink.

At almost a decade later, Danni could now look back with a certain amount of pride at what they had accomplished, how she helped beat back the Vong advances. At the time, however… "Scary." Across from her, Gadell gave her a knowing look while next to him Kenara only looked at her in confusion. Exhaling, she continued for the benefit of the younger woman, dishing up some jambalaya as she did, "The Vong aren't stupid, they realized pretty early on that we were trying to capture one of their yammosks." As she passed the dish to Anhaje, sitting on her right, her eyes focused on places long gone. "It started to feel like Saba and I became their target number one every time we flew into battle." Danni paused, finding herself once again in the backseat of her blastboat, "I was under no illusions what would happen to me if I got captured again." Even now, the thought of enduring another round of Vong torture made her shiver reflexively. Looking at the young Hapan air traffic controller she continued quietly, "I was so scared that I used to get the shakes before a mission. After the mission, the adrenaline withdrawals would cause me to get the shakes again." For years, she used to hide her tremors from people; now she was old enough to not care what people thought-fighting the Vong scared the hell out of her then, and it scared the hell out of her now.

"Do you still get them?" Gadell asked, not unkindly.

Danni tried to affect nonchalance, "Occasionally."

Commander Vessau nodded, "Me, too. I still have trouble watching a fireworks show." He shrugged a 'what-can-you-do' shrug and flashed a small, vulnerable smile; one that she recognized was meant for her alone.

For a long moment, the only sound was that of metal scraping against porcelain as everyone reminisced about the cost of the last war. Finally, Anhaje looked over at Kenara, "So, how does a military history student become an air traffic controller?"

The brunette woman smiled as she put down her wine goblet, "Well, that was actually a concession to my father. Mom encouraged me to follow my dreams and was excited about my decision to be a Music major and history minor. Dad…" Kenara shrugged nonchalantly, "…Dad was a bit more pragmatic and wanted me to have a backup in case the other two didn't work out. So-o-o, I found a school out on Terephon that had both an Air Traffic Control program and a Music program."

Isolder offered a solemn nod, commenting drily, "Your father sounds like a smart man."

Shooting her father a 'leave her alone' look, Tenel Ka asked, "Do you still play?"

Kenara nodded as she took a bite of her étouffée, "I do." Swallowing, she continued, "I'm a drummer in a local Transitory Mists cover band."

Both Isolder and Tenel Ka perked up at the mention of their favorite band; the Mists were of Isolder's generation and he used to (badly) sing their Crazy on You to Tenel Ka when she was an infant to get her to calm her down during those late night/early morning screaming sessions that infants are so fond of. Because of that early exposure, or perhaps in spite of it, his daughter had picked up his love of their music. Narrowing his eyes, "Aren't you a little young for the Mists?"

Ensign Do'ma snorted as she took another bite, trying not to spit it out. Shaking her head as she swallowed, "Mom says the same thing, but good music never goes out of style."

"No, it certainly doesn't." The older man replied, giving his daughter a wink and smirking at the affectionate sparkle in her grey eyes as she tried to hide her embarrassed smile.

"Unfortunately…" Kenara was continuing, missing the by-play between the Queen and her father, "…our lead singer just left to be a Project Manager on Phelope so we are out of luck at the moment."

"Really?" The Queen Mother asked, shooting Anhaje an inscrutable look as she did. Turning her attention back to Kenara, "I know of a couple of people here at the Palace who might be interested in auditioning."

As Kenara was telling the Queen that her band practiced every Monday, Danni and Gadell shared a confused look; they had both caught Tenel Ka's look with her secretary and were trying to puzzle out what it meant.

O O(_)O O

About an hour later, after the dinner plates had all been removed, Anhaje got up to excuse herself, nodding at the Queen Mother as she did, "Thank you for letting us join you for dinner, Mum." Getting a nod in reply, the brunette headed for the double doors leading to Tenel Ka's office.

Catching the hint, the others at the table also stood to excuse themselves, and the Queen made it a point of warmly thanking Ensign Do'ma for joining them for dinner as the remaining dinner guests made their way back into the Royal residence-making it obvious that she wished to speak to Danni last.

After making a couple more moments of friendly chitchat with the Air Traffic Control Officer, they finally said their 'good nights' and Gadell escorted the young woman out. Just as Tenel Ka was turning to talk to Danni, Anhaje re-entered the apartment through the 'hidden' door coming from the 'Throne Room'. Pointing at the comlink in her hand, the secretary explained, "You've got a call on your private office line."

After indicating to Danni that she would still like to have a word, Tenel Ka followed her secretary into the narrow passageway linking the apartment to her office. Once the door closed, Anhaje handed her boss the comlink, commenting as she did, "It's Colonel Solo."

Giving the brunette a confused scowl, "Why is he calling my office line?" She had given Jacen her private 'work' number years ago as a way for him to contact her without having to explain himself to the main exchange operator. Thinking hard, she could only remember two, maybe three, times when he had actually used it.

Anhaje shook her head in response, "He didn't say, but he referred to himself as 'Colonel Solo'." She nodded at Tenel Ka's deepening scowl, "My thoughts exactly; he never refers to himself as such; at least not to me."

The Queen Mother pondered this for a long moment, replying vacantly, "Not to anyone…" she shook her head again, "…at least not to anyone in the Palace." Shrugging, she moved the comlink closer to her ear, stopping half way. "Oh, before I forget, can you…"

Anhaje smiled knowingly and interrupted, "…already done."

Giving her friend a wry smirk, "Thanks." Flicking off the 'mute' button, she finished raising the comlink to her ear as she watched Anhaje leave the narrow passageway, "Colonel Solo, this is a pleasant surprise…"

O O(_)O O

"Mommy! Mommy! Can you…?" Danni heard a plaintive cry and the five-year old girl with red hair came running around the corner, now wearing a frilly white and blue dress instead of her tank top and denim shorts of before, and was visibly trying very hard not to cry, her lip trembling. Tenel Ka's daughter stopped short when she saw that Danni was the only one in the room.

"I'm sorry, honey, your Mommy had to answer a call. She'll be back in a couple of minutes." Danni said in her best attempt at a "mommy" voice, kneeling in front of the little girl. "I can probably help, though. What seems to be the problem?" She could see the indecision in girl's eyes, her fostered reluctance to talk to strangers losing to the fact that her head really hurt.

Tentatively walking toward Danni, Allana's lip still trembling, she pointed to the back of her neck and mumbled, "Hurts." She stopped, just about an arms reach away.

Danni smiled, "Well let's take a look, shall we?" Slowly, Allana turned around, backing up slightly so that she was closer to Danni. "You know, I don't think that we've been properly introduced. What's your name?"

"Allana"

Danni looked over the offending area. "That's a pretty name." she said smiling, "Oh, I see. How'd you get all that hair stuck in your zipper?" Allana answered with a small shrug. "That must really hurt." An even smaller nod. "You are such a brave little girl to not cry." Danni said as she tried to figure out the best way to attack the tangle of hair in the offending zipper. "Okay, hold very still." She could see Allana visibly tense, drawing in a deep breath. Danni carefully grasped the caught locks in her right hand and gave a slow couple of jerks down on the zipper with her left. "There we go. How'd you manage to get your hair caught?" She asked, as she wrapped her arms around Allana in a small embrace.

Without turning around, "I was trying on this dress to wear for tomorrow and I wanted to be like Mommy and do everything one-handed. " Danni allowed a small smile at this admission. "But when I was trying to reach the zipper, my hair got caught, and I tried to use my other hand and even more got stuck, and I got mad and I gave it a big yank." It all came out in a rush. "And I ripped the zipper and now Mommy is going to be really mad for ruining this dress." At this, the tears started to come in earnest.

Danni put her chin on the top of the little girl's head. "That's not true. Mommy is going to be really proud of you for trying to be just like her. " Taking a second look at the zipper, she noticed a tear in the seam. "Besides, it is just a little rip." She grimaced at the lie; it was actually pretty big, but Allana didn't need to know that. "I'll tell you what, you and I can take it to a seamstress tomorrow. Mommy won't even have to know. Deal?" Another small nod, followed by a deep breath to stop the sobs. "Deal. Okay, let's dry those tears." Danni said softly, turning Allana around to face her. "There we are." Danni gave her a big smile and used her thumbs to carefully dry the tears from Allana's pretty grey eyes. Except that Allana's eyes weren't grey like her mother's eyes, they were more of a grayish…brown. Danni's eyes widened in shock as she realized what those eyes meant. Suddenly, Jacen's comment from weeks earlier made sense, 'It's too important.'

Tenel Ka's comment from earlier that evening came back: She reminds me of her father. Danni felt her anger rise, she had been nothing but honest, why had not Tenel Ka and Jacen been the same? Everything Jacen Solo tells you is a lie. She put that thought aside for the time being, as Jaina's words jumped out in her memory: Jacen doesn't have 'crushes'. Danni pondered the memory for a second. Jaina did not seem to say that in a knowing tone of voice; she just seemed to be commenting on the fact that Jacen only fell hard for a girl. Hard indeed. Instinctively, Danni realized that Jaina did not know about Allana; and that if Jaina didn't know, odds were pretty good that no one knew.

Picking up on Danni's very visible anxiety, Allana scowled. "What's wrong?"

Shaking her head, "I'm sorry, honey. I just assumed that your eyes would be green." Danni replied, trying to cover her earlier shock.

Allana looked down at the floor, "I wish that my eyes were green. I'd be prettier with green eyes, like yours. Mommy always seems sad when she looks at my eyes." Her lip started to quiver again.

With this, it dawned on Danni that Allana didn't know who her father was, either. The blonde woman started to tear up. "No, Allana. Your Mommy and I both think that brown eyes are the prettiest. Well…brown-ish, in your case." Danni sighed and raised her left hand to wipe her eyes. "Mommy is just reminiscing about when she was a girl and didn't have to be so serious all the time. She sees herself in you."

Allana looked into Danni's face again, giving her a tentative smile. "Really? You both think that brown-ish eyes are prettier?"

Danni gave her another big smile. "Yep. We've both thought that for a very long time. We'd better get your pajamas on, though, before your mommy sees you out of bed. That will make her mad." Danni stood up.

"That is a fact." Allana said with a smirk, echoing her mother's phrase, as she took Danni's hand and started to lead her back to her room.

Well, they weren't kidding when they said it was complicated.

O O(_)O O

Danni had just finished tucking the Hapan princess into bed when Allana's attention turned to the door at the scientist's back. "Hi Mommy! Ms. Danni was telling me about how Jedi Jacen rescued her from the…" she scrunched her pretty nose, "You-zan Vong." Danni smiled at the girl's pronunciation and gave her hand a small squeeze before getting up off of the bed. As she did, Allana voice filled with awe, "Did you know Jedi Jacen was so brave?"

Tenel Ka gave her daughter a sad smile, never taking her eyes off of the scientist-Danni knew. As she made her way to Allana's side to kiss her daughter good night, she said softly, "I did, sweetie. Jacen is one of the bravest men I know." Her daughter's beaming smile stirred new feelings of regret that she quickly buried. Ruffling Allana's hair, "Good night, Princess."

O O(_)O O

Tenel Ka waited until the two of them had made it into the living room before she grabbed Danni's arm. Using he iciest voice, "You will not mention her father to anyone else."

Sighing sadly, as if she expected this her friend's reaction, Danni replied earnestly, "Tenel Ka, do not do this. She needs to know who her father is."

"That is 'Your Majesty' to you, and I will not be lectured on what Allana needs by the likes of you."

"I will lecture whom I need, your Majesty", Danni sneered, "especially since the rancor that you mother used to ride exhibited more forethought.

"GET OUT!" Tenel Ka screamed, her right hand flashing to slap Danni across the face. Tenel Ka had not fought in anger in years; only sparring against remotes and, on occasion, Jacen, but she was still impossibly fast.

With a hair-trigger reflex, Danni's left arm flew up fast, fist clenched, and intercepted Tenel Ka's blow about a foot from her face. The strike hit Danni's arm below the wrist and slid down to her elbow. Tenel Ka's grey eyes flew wide with surprise. No one was faster than Tenel Ka.

Danni winced. Crap, she hits HARD! "I am not a dishwasher on the royal yacht that you can cower into obedience, nor am I the ditzy star-gazer that you assume me to be and that you hate, deep down. But, I am not leaving until you hear what I have to say." Danni growled back.

The door to the royal residence flew open. Gadell Vessau's eyes moved between Danni and Tenel Ka. "Your Majesty, is everything alright? "

The Queen Mother lowered her hand to her side. "Yes, Commander. We just were discussing our difference of opinion." Tenel Ka said in her coldest voice, never taking her steely gaze off Danni. "Please, come in. Ms. Quee here would like to offer her advice as to how best raise a princess. Seeing as she has one herself." Tenel Ka added, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sure. Stay-It will save her the trouble of having to call you back to arrest me. Danni really did not want to have this conversation if front of the Queen's security chief, but didn't see anyway around it. "My parents divorced when I was little. I didn't have any siblings, so it was just my mother and I. My father worked as an auditor for the Commenor Revenue Service and was mostly away, but he always called at least once a week. It was comforting to know there was someone else out there who cared." Danni gave a slight smile as she thought about her childhood. "Tenel Ka, you are taking that away from her. Right now, she doesn't have anybody who loves her for her. Everyone here likes her for what she is: the daughter of the Queen Mother. She thinks that Jacen stops by because he is a friend of her Mommy. Let her know that she has a Daddy who comes to see her; that she matters to someone outside the palace. Please…don't make her be as lonely as you are." Danni looked at Tenel Ka sympathetically.

Vessau piped in, "Tenna, have I not been saying these same things for years? Well, except for the lonely comment, I mean." He looked at Danni out of the corner of his eye and gave her a wry smile.

Danni caught on: Gadell wasn't here to forcibly remove her from the palace; he was here to help her case. Tenel Ka wanted to be talked into this, but needed further convincing that this was the right course of action. Danni recalled her early days as a young scientist. She was always asked to go to the big fundraising events when she worked for Ex-Gal. To be fair it was partly, well mostly, because she was young, pretty, and smart. But it was also because Danni had a knack for knowing when donors wanted to give, but just needed the right argument to convince them. It was time to stay on the offensive.

Sitting sat down on the couch, to convey a less confrontational air, Danni continued sadly, "No one on Coruscant trusts him any more. Jacen has become withdrawn, aloof, and, I dare say, calculating. Even Jaina isn't close to him and I never thought that would happen. His family needs to know WHY he has acted so strangely. They'll come around as soon as they knew he was only protecting Allana. This burden is too big for four of us to bear."

Tenel Ka walked over to the double doors leading to the balcony and looked out over the gardens below, giving her time to think about what Danni said. With anxiety etched into her voice, "If we tell them, then soon everyone will know. The danger to our daughter will increase a hundred-fold."

"No." Danni said authoritatively. "Han and Leia would never betray your confidence. They know the stakes all to well." She paused, "Jaina grew up with the threat of kidnapping and death hanging over her, Jacen, and Anakin from the time they could walk. They would never let anything happen to Allana. Nor will I." Danni said with a quiet calm. "You said yourself that Hapes is not the cesspool of intrigue that it once was and people still remember Jacen as a hero from the war. I don't think that they would begrudge you for falling for him, even if he is a Jedi." Tenel Ka had half-turned at the window and gave her a small smirk. Danni returned it with a larger smile of her own, though her heart was breaking. She could feel Tenel Ka's love for Jacen, even as the other woman was trying very hard to keep her emotions sealed up. Danni realized that she was sabotaging her own chances with him, but she could not let her own feelings interfere with doing the right thing. Allana needed Jacen in her life. Until he and Tenel Ka determined where they stood, relationship-wise, Danni would content herself with simply being their friend.

"I believe Ms. Quee" Vessau piped in winking in Danni's direction, "is correct. Hapes has come a long way. The plotting now is only at a simmer, something undertaken almost as a hobby. We will keep Allana's father a secret from the palace at large a while more, of course, but I think that it will be safe to reveal that fact soon enough." Gadell walked over to Tenel Ka, taking her hand in both of his. "I've only met the Solos once in passing, but I do not believe that they would leak this information to anyone." He caught Danni's eye and smirked; they were going to wear down Tenel Ka on this.

Tenel Ka's grey eyes looked from one to the other. "Don't think that I haven't caught on to what you two are doing. Teaming up on a poor, worried mother." Her voice filled with exasperation.

Danni opened her mouth to reply, but Vessau jumped in. Looking around the room, "I would hardly consider you 'poor'. And I think that you knew what you were getting into when you invited the me to stay."

Tenel Ka raised one eyebrow, "I wonder. However, if we let this feline out of the bag, as it were, who else do we tell?"

Danni smiled inwardly, she, with Vessau's help, had convinced the Queen Mother. Just as in fundraising, the next step was always assuring the client that her time and money would be well spent. In this case, she had been thinking on the 'who' since she had started this conversation with her initial outburst. "Jag, obviously, as we cannot expect Jaina to keep it secret from him. I trust Tahiri implicitly, except she seems to be persona non grata for the time being."

Tenel Ka gave Danni a measured look. I wish my advisors could think that quickly. "Anyone else?" She wanted to know if Danni had really thought this out; if she knew the slippery slope that this could be. Once you let the information out, you start to think 'well, person X already knows; so I might as well tell person Y or Z'. Tenel Ka was afraid letting too many know too soon. Even in the current climate, if some of the Hapans found out, it could get pretty ugly, pretty quickly.

Looking at Tenel Ka, Danni took a deep breath; she knew whom the red-haired queen was referring to. "I am unsure what to say about Luke and Mara. I doubt that they would betray your desire to keep this as confidential as possible. But..." Danni exhaled loudly, "...I don't trust them." She looked away and stared into the fireplace. "I haven't trusted them since..."

"Myrkr." Tenel Ka finished softly.

Danni nodded slowly. "Myrkr. I hate that Master," she said the title derisively, "Skywalker let a seventeen-year-old kid talk him into giving the okay for what everyone knew would be a suicide mission. I hate that Anakin felt this insane need to prove himself to his father and his uncle: prove that he was not his grandfather. I hate that all of you were unwilling to let any of the others down; once Skywalker" again, she sneered at his name, "gave his go-ahead to Anakin, you were all going on that damn mission." Danni's voice increased, "I hate that I could not talk Skywalker out of it. I tried so hard; I used every argument that I could think of to get him to stop. I argued that the team was too big; I yelled at him that the Vong would torture all of you; I pointed out that no reconnaissance had been done of Myrkr. I launched into a tirade every time that I saw him-I tried so hard, that he started going out of his way to avoid talking to me. That is why he would not allow me to even fly on the shuttle with Calrissian; I would have continued these arguments for the entire flight."

Danni only vaguely noticed that Gadell had moved to sit down by her on the sofa. "I even badgered him to launch a rescue mission a few days after Lando had returned. I almost had Saba talked into defying Master Skywalker and going anyway to get you." Tears started to form in the corner of her right eye. Angrily, she wiped them away with her left thumb. "We could've found another way to defeat the voxyn. I could have found a way. I beat their war coordinators, I could have found a way to neutralize the voxyn."

"I hate that that mission cost us so much, and returned so little. That mission," Danni said coldly, "cost us Alema and Raynar, even though we didn't know it yet. It cost us Tesar, and almost cost us Jaina." Danni's was seething with years of pent-up anger. Her voice was at a low yell now, "I hate that Skywalker cost us our best tactical thinker in Anakin. I hate that it cost us Jacen, who had become a kind of moral center, a center that I fear that is never going to come back." Tenel Ka nodded sadly. Danni continued softly, "Jacen's not as fun-loving, and the scars…." She trailed off, her memory from seeing Jacen's scarred chest again playing in her mind.

Danni looked Tenel Ka in the eye, "I hate what that mission did to you. What it did to me." Her lips started to tremble, and tears started again, harder this time. Danni's voice contained as much pain as Tenel Ka had ever heard from a person, "I hate that I failed all of you. I tried with every fiber of my being, and I could…. Not. Get. You. To. Stop." Her whole body trembled with barely controlled sobs. Vessau reached over and gently took her right hand, pressing it softly to his lips. Danni offered him a slight smile, and wiped her tear-soaked green eyes with her left hand. Taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I've let my personal feelings get in the way of good counsel." The objective scientist in her was embarrassed by this display.

As a tear rolled down her face, Tenel Ka remembered that the last time she had cried was when she still thought Jacen dead. Walking over to the table that sat in front of the patio doors, she spoke quietly, "You did not fail us. We had all cheated death so much that we thought ourselves invincible." Tenel Ka wiped her tear away. She caught Danni's eye and spoke in her most sincere voice. "You used your emotions to generate a logical argument. I could use someone like you on my staff." Danni smiled politely.

Tenel Ka leaned back against the table, "I agree, we shall only reveal Allana to four; five, if we can find Tahiri." She gave Danni a rare smile. "What Jacen told me once is correct; you are the smartest person that he knows. " Danni smiled; she knew that Tenel Ka was apologizing about not telling her that she had seen Jacen regularly over the last five years and the wall of mutual apprehension between the two dissolved.

For a long moment, nobody said anything. Finally, wanting to leave the Queen Mother with her thoughts, Gadell and Danni both got off the couch to excuse themselves. Tenel Ka gave them both an absent-minded nod as they passed by on the way to the door, clearly still wrestling with the decision she had just made. As they reached the door, Tenel Ka called out, "Danni, can you stay a while longer?" They both turned back and saw an almost pleading look on the Queen Mother's face.

Danni nodded, "Certainly." She looked over at Gadell and whispered, "Thank you."

He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze, whispering back, "No, thank you. You did all the heavy lifting. I would've never been able to convince her myself." He bowed graciously toward Tenel Ka, saying as he did, "Good evening, your Majesty." With that, he turned and left through the ornate door of the Queen's residence.

Tenel Ka turned and started to fill two glasses with healthy amounts of desert wine from the decanter on the table. "Will you join me for another round?"

Danni smirked as she pointed out, "I think that decision has already been made." The red-haired woman only shrugged as she once again held two wine goblets in her right hand. Taking one of the proffered goblets from the Queen Mother's hand, Danni quipped, "You're pretty good at that. You should ask the pub down the street if they need a serving wench." Tenel Ka only shrugged again and smirked as she made her way to sit at the far end of the couch, the end that Danni herself had just vacated. Taking a sip, Danni nodded appreciatively as she followed the Queen and sat on the opposite end of the couch, tucking her feet underneath her. She watched as the young queen swirl her red wine around in her crystal goblet, clearly lost in thought.

Not taking her eyes off of her wine, "I don't hate you." Tenel Ka said softly, as she finally looked over at Danni. "If anything, I was jealous of you."

Danni snorted derisively, "Jealous?" She shook her head. "Trust me, no one gets jealous of me. Most think that I some sort of clueless brainiac."

The younger woman's grey eyes sparkled as she shook her head. "From the stories I have heard, anyone who thinks you clueless does so at their peril." She paused, taking a sip of her wine. "I always knew that if you had managed to steal Jacen's heart, you were someone to reckoned with."

Letting a smile grow across her face, Danni opined, "Coming from you, that is rare praise indeed!" Her smile slowly disappeared, and her tone became softer, "I didn't steal his heart, though; I just sort of…borrowed it for a time." She looked earnestly at her new friend, "I think his heart always belonged to you." She caught the queen's small smile.

Danni wrinkled her brow, looking a tad perplexed. "So, tell me about this jealousy. Is it my naturally curly hair?" Danni was pushing the back of her hair up over the top in her best 'coy beach-model' look.

Tenel Ka snorted, almost spitting out her wine, as she looked over at Danni. The blonde-haired woman only wiggled her eyebrows at her. After Tenel Ka had regained her composure, her tone became thoughtful. "You could offer Jacen something that I could not; freedom to travel, freedom to explore. At the time, I could not dare leave or the throne would have been forfeit." She looked embarrassed. "I hated Hapes, I hated being Queen Mother. I would have given anything to go."

The astrophysicist did not know what to say. "I'm sorry. You certainly deserved to go." The queen only gave her a shrug. "It was an interesting trip. Especially going to Csilla." Danni was staring into the fireplace, clearly lost in her memories.

The younger woman did not interrupt her reverie, knowing that Danni would eventually continue. "After we arrived, Baron Fel's daughter, Wynssa, became our escort for the duration of our stay." Danni smiled at the recollection. "At first, I was not terribly impressed." Tenel Ka gave her a knowing smile. "She must have been fourteen, fifteen years old, at the time."

Danni took a sip of wine and then continued, "I'm sure that you can see where this is headed." Tenel Ka's smile only got larger; she did have an idea of where this was going. "Wyn became quite smitten with our young Mr. Solo." Danni chuckled as she took another sip. "She started to hang out with us all of the time." Danni paused and rolled her eyes at the memory. "What made it interesting is that Jacen never seemed to mind. I mean; I know that he knew; even Jacen isn't that dense." Tenel Ka let a chuckle escape, even as she tried to hide it.

"I think that is when I knew that I had fallen for him." Danni looked earnestly at Tenel Ka, "He never was condescending toward Wyn. She was trying so-o-o hard not to be an awkward teenager, and Jacen was so sweet. He always treated her respectfully: smiling at her flirtatiousness, listening to any ideas that she had during our search in the library." Danni smiled as she remembered. "He seemed to be telling her that it was okay to show your feelings. That she shouldn't be embarrassed by her emotions. He wasn't encouraging her, but he didn't discourage her either. He was just letting her express herself. He didn't even have to 'turn her down'; Wyn just sort of accepted that they would never be more than friends. Oddly, her and I got closer after that." She took another sip of wine. Her tone became contemplative, "That's when I realized that Jacen was a keeper."

The Queen Mother only nodded in agreement; she could feel Danni's love for Jacen, it was almost as deep as her own. Now what?

Danni continued, "Wyn has turned out to be a remarkable young woman. And, like me, she still has a bit of a thing for Jacen Solo." Tenel Ka almost let another chuckle escape. In mock seriousness, Danni gestured around the room and whispered drily, "You might want to install more security."

For several more moments, the two women sat in silence. "Did you and Jacen ever...?" Tenel Ka blurted before she could stop herself. She stopped, deeply embarrassed. It was a question that had been at the back of her mind for years, but had not really intended to ask. Not Danni, anyway. It is none of your business.

To say that Danni was taken aback would be an understatement. Shocked, or even flabbergasted might be a better word. It's none of your business! But, considering Allana was in the picture, maybe it was Tenel Ka's business. She should really be having this conversation with Jacen. Is she afraid of how many others he has been with? Has he been with anyone else? But, now that is was out there, she could not just ignore the question; nor did she feel she should lie about it. What's done is done. And I'm not the least bit ashamed of it. Danni nodded once, "There was a span of several months towards the end of the war and afterwards…" she left it there, only admitting to so much. Tenel Ka would have to draw her own conclusions. "Both of us had been through so much; Jacen especially." She could see Tenel Ka's neutral expression. "After Myrkr, I was so dead emotionally that I poured myself into my work. I was either in the lab or volunteering to fly another damn-fool mission: the crazier, the better. In hindsight, I think that I was daring the Vong to kill me." Her voice had become pained with the memories. "Neither of us really expected to live long enough to see the end of the war, and we both needed connect again with someone emotionally, physically. We needed to feel." The woman at opposite end of the couch only nodded.

Finally, Tenel Ka said softly, "I'm glad that it was you." She caught Danni's skeptical look. "Well, not glad exactly, but I'm happy that it meant something to both of you." The older woman gave her a small smile; Danni did understand what Tenel Ka was getting at. "You were there for each other when it mattered most." Her voice got softer, "I was stuck in this damn palace." Only then did Danni realize how much the Queen Mother had given up for Hapes. She reached for her friend's hand and gave it a squeeze. Tenel Ka squeezed back appreciatively, as she continued to stare into the fire.

Not moving her gaze from the fire, Tenel Ka said apologetically, "That was Jacen on the comm earlier; he is on his way here to discuss something."

Danni nodded, understanding that she was no longer able to stay at the Palace for the night. "I should be heading out to Lorrd, anyway. Thanks for dinner."

"You are most welcome." Tenel Ka's tone became serious, "Will you help me? With telling the Solos?"

The blonde's eyes softened, "Of course." She paused, frowning, "Although, you two are on your own with telling Allana."

The one-armed woman nodded, "Of course."

As Tenel Ka escorted the blonde woman to the door, "I will have one of the guards take you to your ship." Danni nodded her thanks as they made their way to the door. "I cannot thank you enough, Danni Quee."

The older woman smiled. "Don't thank me yet. We still have LOTS of work to do."

The Queen Mother only gave her a sad half-smile as she turned to the guard at the duty desk outside her door, "Sergeant, do we have someone that can take Ms. Quee back to the city spaceport?"

All three women knew that Tenel Ka's 'request' wasn't really a request. Nevertheless, Danni was impressed by the 'people skills' of the Queen Mother. She was always polite when talking to her staff, and always treated them respectfully. Smiling to herself, Danni thought about something her mother had told her once, "Someone who is nice to you, but rude to the staff, is not a nice person." Her mother had meant it as dating advice, to be used at restaurants; but Danni still used it when sizing people up.

The young Army sergeant replied as she picked up her comlink, "Certainly, Mum. I'll have someone here right away."

Tenel Ka shook her head, "I will escort Ms. Quee to the front door of the Palace-have her meet us there."

The young woman nodded, "Yes, Mum."

A/N: Again, I thank Hexterah for letting me use Anhaje and Gadell. As you've probably noticed, I dislike the menu of the 'official' SW. It seems everybody orders nerf steak, drinks Whyren's Reserve or Corellian ale, and has rhyscate for dessert. If we, on one planet, have millions of different recipes, I think it reasonable to think an entire galaxy might.

Okay, I allowed Danni to have one 'Mary Sue' attribute. In my biased opinion, there is nothing quite so sexy as a woman who can chuck a football. (Or drive a car with a manual transmission, but that's outside the purview of this story)

This concludes this week's over-large update. I'll get back to the regular Tuesday postings next week. As always: Thanks for reading!