Chapter 25

"Um, Master Obi-Wan…I think we have a problem," said Dearra, wrinkling his forehead. "I can't get the navicomputer to accept the coordinates to Dantooine." A small bang issued from the console and the whole display went black. "That couldn't have been good."

"Blast!" said Obi-Wan, who had come to look over Dearra's shoulder. "I think the circuit is fried. I could try to hotwire it, but there is the risk that I could damage the other systems in the process." Obi-Wan stood silent for a moment, deep in thought. He sighed and said, "Dearra, would you mind waking your sister? She could probably figure out the problem better than either of us."

"Sure thing." Dearra walked back to the bunks on the ship and gently shook Arryn's shoulder. There was no response. "Ar? Arryn? Hey, wake up. There's a glitch with the navicomputer that we need you to fix." Dearra looked closer at his sister and saw that her face was as white as a sheet. "Arryn, are you okay? Arryn?"

Trying not to panic, Dearra made his way back to the bridge. "Master Obi-Wan, Siri, um…is Arryn typically a deep sleeper?"

Obi-Wan rose from his crouched position near the navigation panel, a look of grave concern on his face. "No."

"She is not waking up, and she doesn't look very well." Obi-Wan followed Dearra, who gently prodded her again. "Hey Arryn, it's us. Please wake up!" Arryn was still.

Obi-Wan took her pulse. "It's weak, but still there," he reported to Dearra. He felt her forehead. "She's burning up."

"What should we do?" said Dearra, his voice hinting panic.

"I can still feel her Force signature, so she must be internally fighting whatever is attacking her. Get the med kit and see if you can break her fever. I'm going to contact Siri Tachi and Darsha Assant, the two Jedi on Alderaan."

"Do you think that the assassin got to Arryn, too?" asked Dearra, not wanting to know the answer.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Dearra." Obi-Wan looked him straight in the eye, a grim expression on his face. "Yes. I think Arryn's been struck. But I hope with all my heart that that is not the case."

A/N: I want to let you know the answer to a great question posed by Lady Kiara Skywalker about the ages of the Mindalen kids. Arryn is twelve in the story, Dearra is eleven, Eliana is ten. It was my intention for them to seem more mature than one typically is at that age- in the Star Wars universe, age seems to be irrelevant. After all, Padme was only fourteen in Phantom Menace, and she was Queen of an entire planet! Also, the Mindalen kids were sort of forced to grow up sooner than other kids, with Arryn being a Jedi and the other two supposedly in the spotlight (more or less) as Royal children.

As always, merci mille fois to my reviewers: JMOK, Lady Kiara Skywalker, Nelarun, and G-Anakin 13 (sorry for not mentioning you earlier!).

Quick Poll: Do you think Arryn's going to survive 'Destiny?' (I already know the answer, but just out of curiosity…  )