For this chapter, I just opened up the Star Wars atlas and randomly chose a system in the general area where the war was taking place. It just happened to be Vendaxa.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Galactic Alliance Star Destroyer Dragon's Claw
Vendaxa system
No matter how hard she tried, Jaina Solo could not stop herself from worrying, and that just caused her to slowly pace in a lazy circle around a relatively small section of the hanger floor. The last few days had just been hell, filled with little more than half-baked ideas that resulted in another pilot getting blown out of the sky, and another one being shot down on a planet overrun by the enemy. Not only that, but the missing pilot in question was her best friend.
And constantly worrying about it is not going to help you rescue him any quicker, Jaina berated herself. Nor will going into battle completely pissed off, so do yourself a favour, and call the hell down!
Jaina stopped in her pacing to take a deep breath. Amazingly, she actually felt herself calm down a little. She was here simply to greet their latest guests, and it would do no good if she were all worked up over something that she could do nothing about for the moment.
Almost as if bidden, the sleek vessel that she was waiting for, the Jade Shadow, flew up into the Star Destroyer's hanger, passing easily through the energy field protecting it from the vacuum of space, and set down gently on the deck. The vessel powered down, and the ramp dropped. Jaina drew herself up straight, and she felt a genuine smile break out on her face as she saw the two figures make their way down the ramp.
Decked out in Jedi robes, Luke and Mara carried themselves with an air of confidence, honed by many years of being both Jedi Masters, and figureheads of both the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance. Through it all, their love and affection for their family continued to shine.
Jaina stepped forward into Mara's embrace. Luke hung back for a second to let the two women have their moment, then stepped forward to give his niece a hug of his ow. The two had been a great influence on Jaina. Luke had been her instructor at the Academy on Yavin 4, and Mara had taken her as her apprentice shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong attacked. The two of them had developed a close sisterly relationship, and during that war, they had undertaken quite a few missions together.
Pulling back, Mara looked back at her niece. "You're looking good, Jaina."
Jaina gave a wan smile. "I wish I felt good too. Things have not been going that well for us lately."
Luke nodded. "We heard about what happened at Naboo. It would be a shame to lose Zekk. He was one of my best students."
"Not to mention Jaina's special friend," Mara added slyly with a wink to her husband.
"Aunt Mara!" Jaina cried, a blush rapidly spreading across her face. While she was embarrassed, she was still grateful that her aunt's light ribbing had managed to make her feel less crappy than before.
Luke shook his head, not bothering to hide the wide smile. "Come on," he said to the two women, "let's go meet up with the rest of the family." He placed one arm around his wife, and the other around his niece, leading them up to the bridge.
As they walked, Jaina decided to change the topic. "So, how's Ben going?"
"He's fine," Luke answered. "Corran and Mirax are looking after him and a bunch of other kids at the Maw."
"Probably the best place to put them actually," Mara added. "The Kilrathi don't know where it is, and even if they do, there's a chance they may not know it's surrounded by a bunch of black holes. No wonder Daala kept her base there for so long."
Jaina chuckled, seeing an opportunity to get back at Mara for her previous remark. "If I were you guys, I'd probably be less worried about the possibility of a Kilrathi attack, and more about your son acting around the Horn's daughter."
"Jaina!" Mara admonished. "He's only seven years old!"
"And she's eleven," Luke added. "That's four years older."
Jaina snorted. "Oh come on! It seems pretty obvious that Ben has a crush on Jysella. Besides, your father was five years younger than your mother."
Luke gave a dismissive wave. "Speaking of romance," he said, "I understand Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of the Hapes Consortium arrived recently. Have she and your twin brother been spending any time together recently?"
"Are you kidding?" Jaina chuckled again as they reached the lift. "She arrived a few hours ago, and she and Jacen disappeared together almost immediately afterwards. They haven't been seen since."
Jacen Solo had only just started to doze when he was snapped back out of it by a sharp knocking on his door. Grunting softly, he called out, "Who is it?"
"It's me, numbnuts!" a feminine voice came from the other side, which Jacen instantly recognised as belonging to Tahiri. "We're about to have our little pow-wow and they want us all in the briefing room." Judging from the underlying tone in her voice, it was apparent that Tahiri knew all too well what she had interrupted when she knocked on the door.
"I'll be there in a few minutes," Jacen replied.
"Don't you mean 'we'?" Tahiri replied with a giggle. Jacen was about to reply, but the receding footsteps indicated the young woman had already started to leave.
Suppressing another groan, Jacen looked down at the figure that was currently sharing his bed. She had also been awoken by Tahiri's actions, but had remained lying down, and at least looked as though she had not been bothered that much.
Even after all this time, Tenel Ka still managed to take Jacen's breath away. Her muscular but feminine physique, the smooth haunting beauty of her face, her slate grey eyes and her long flowing red hair. Everything about her caused his breath to catch, and he wondered how he had managed to get so lucky in winning the heart of such a beautiful woman.
"You are stalling for time, Jacen," Tenel Ka chastised. "I believe they want us in the briefing room as soon as possible."
Jacen gave a soft chuckle and a slight grin in response. "Sorry, it's just so hard to keep focused on such a task when I'm constantly being distracted by something as beautiful and breathtaking as you."
Tenel Ka gave a derisive snort, but there was no mistaking the ghost of a smile on her face as she sat up, clutching the sheet around her naked torso. She would never have admitted it out loud to anyone, but she often found herself wondering how she managed to have such a handsome and wonderful man as her beloved. His rugged good looks and enchanting brown eyes alone were enough to captivate her.
The two young Jedi set about putting their clothes back on. For the most part it was done so in silence until Jacen spoke up. "So, have the nobles been causing you any more trouble?"
"Not as much as we thought," Tenel Ka answered as she continued to redress in her lizard hide armour. "Although my grandmother is still managing to make her opinions known, even from her imprisonment."
"If you ask me, it's not really much of an imprisonment," Jacen commented.
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Tenel Ka's grandmother Ta'a Chume had attempted to assassinate her daughter-in-law; Tenel Ka's mother. Fortunately, the Jedi had managed to arrive in time, and the Queen Mother's life had been spared. Ta'a Chume had been apprehended for her crime and placed under house arrest ever since then. It was considered by many to be a sham of a sentence, as by Hapan law, even verbally threatening the Queen Mother was grounds for immediate execution. But since the perpetrator had once held that revered position, she had gotten off light.
Not only that, but her so-called 'house arrest' was more like a permanent vacation in a five-star spa resort. Ta'a Chume could not go anywhere outside, but given the facilities she was afforded, it was doubtful that she would even want to. She had access to mud baths, spa treatments, massage therapists, and the finest food and beverages in the Consortium that were still sampled beforehand by experienced taste-testers.
Even today, both Jacen and Tenel Ka bristled at the very thought of it.
"Do you think she's up to something?" Jacen asked as he finished dressing and clipped his lightsaber to his belt.
"This is my grandmother we are talking about," Tenel Ka replied, as she too finished dressing. "She is always up to something." Ta'a Chume was someone who could act all normal and polite in every situation imaginable, and yet her mind was like an insidious machine; it was always operating, always coming up with plans, as well as plans within plans, all of which served only to benefit her and her goals. She was someone who was never meant to be trusted, even in the best of times.
Tenel Ka finally clipped her own lightsaber to her belt. Most Jedi usually constructed the hilt of their weapons out of metal tubes or cylinders, and the weapons of the Solo twins and most of their friends were no exception to this. Tenel Ka's lightsaber was different. Before becoming the Queen Mother, Tenel Ka's mother had been a Nightsister; a warrior woman of the planet Dathomir. It was here that the ferocious rancor creatures had originally come from before gradually being spread across the galaxy. However, the Nightsisters had tamed the beasts, and used them as war mounts. Tenel Ka's great-grandmother had kept one as a pet, and after it died, she had sent two of its teeth to her. Both were roughly the size, shape and weight of a lightsaber handle, and so the young Jedi princess had used one as a hilt.
Unfortunately, this was the lightsaber that had malfunctioned, and resulted in her left arm being accidentally cut off, by Jacen, of all people. When she had used the other tooth to construct her new weapon, she had taken the time to do so properly, and that was the lightsaber she used now. Not only that, but the focusing crystal that was installed in it was a near-prefect one taken from a Hapan tiara. In addition to being a fine weapon, it was a perfect combination of the warrior princess's two heritages.
Jacen exited the door first, and then took a few seconds to look both ways down the hallway before ushering Tenel Ka out. The two of them made their way to the bridge, trying to look as formal as possible, even though both of them had a wish to at least hold each other's hand while they walked. But they had to keep up appearances. Though everyone who was close to them was well aware of the true nature of their relationship, and some of the other people stationed on the Dragon's Claw either knew or suspected, that still did not mean that they needed to add more fuel to the fire.
Being the heiress to the throne of a kingdom consisting of sixty-three planets and moons, Tenel Ka was no stranger to being targeted by the tabloids. Nor was Jacen, as he was the son of two of the Rebellion and New Republic's greatest heroes, as well as the nephew of another. It was his sister Jaina who once commented that 'if you are famous, and you even sneeze in the wrong direction, the media will probably have a field day over it', and nobody could disagree with her. Therefore, even though their love was obvious to all but the densest of individuals, it paid to be discreet.
Not only that, but any of their enemies could use such a relationship to exploit any potential weaknesses. That was something that both Jedi understood all too well, and there seemed to be no shortage of potential enemies willing to do just that.
"Ah, you must be the great Master of the Jedi that I have heard so much about," Ralgha enthused as the Skywalkers approached.
Luke smiled and gave a slight incline of his head as he responded, Mara doing the same. "You have heard correctly. I am Luke Skywalker, Grand Master of the Jedi Order. This is my wife, Mara Jade Skywalker. She is also a Master within our Order."
"His mate, if you will," Jaina supplied, noticing Ralgha's apparent unfamiliarity with the word 'wife'.
"Ah yes," Ralgha continued. "I must admit the two of you certainly hold yourselves in a manner befitting most warriors. I have witnessed firsthand some of your Jedi in action, including your brethren," he indicated Jaina, "and I must admit that I am most impressed. You have trained them well. One of them even saved my life recently."
"Did they, now?" Mara asked.
"Yes, it was the one you called Valin Horn. We were attempting to transfer my crew over to your custody, and he dispatched a would-be assassin, slicing him open with your… Light Sabers, I believe they are called?"
"Lightsabers; just one word," Luke provided. "And yes, we do remember Valin. He was one of our most promising students."
"I appreciate the compliment, Master Skywalker," came a voice from off to the side; the accent clearly denoting the speaker as being of Corellian origin. Turning, the Jedi and the Kilrathi noble saw Valin Horn striding towards them. Coming up behind him was another Kilrathi. Jaina recognised him as Kirha; Ralgha's former retainer.
"Ah Valin," Luke welcomed. "How have things been going for you?"
"Could be worse," the yong man replied. He then added in a lower tone, "And it could also be a little bit better too."
"What do you mean?" asked Mara.
"Well, since I saved Ralgha's life, he seems to have found it to be an acceptable gift to hand over the services of his retainer here," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder to Kirha, "to me."
"I don't understand," said Mara. "Retainer?"
Ralgha chose to take it upon himself to explain. "In your culture, they would be considered servants. A clan of Kilra'hra, or commoners, will generally swear allegiance to a clan of Thrak'hra, nobles such as myself. For nearly my whole life, Kirha here has been my retainer; sworn in service to me. But after saving my life, I decided to reward young Valin here by turning over Kirha's services to him."
"Sort of like a Wookiee life debt," Luke deduced.
"Sort of," Valin grumbled. "Except in those, the Wookiees still have free will. With this guy, he can't do anything at all; even eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom without my say-so!" He glanced over his shoulder at his new Kilrathi servant. "No offence."
"None taken, Sire," Kirha replied earnestly. Valin just gave a frustrated sigh.
"And no offence to you," Luke directed at Ralgha, "but that does seem just a little bit extreme."
"Almost like what Palpatine did," Mara muttered under her breath.
"I understand your trepidations," Ralgha replied. "However, in theory, it is also a good way to ensure security. If a retainer does not show up to receive their orders, then the master will know something is wrong. And since they obey only their master, they cannot receive orders from someone else that may cause harm. I will admit, it is a harsh system, but it does have a few perks. Though I will admit, it probably would be better for the retainer to have just a little more free will."
"As interesting as this political debate may be," Jaina interrupted, "I believe we have more pressing issues to discuss; most notably, the retaking of Naboo."
"Yes, of course," said Ralgha. "I am sorry." Similarly, the two Skywalkers both uttered apologies. With that, the Kilrathi noble began leading the Jedi to the briefing room.
Valin was the last one to depart. "Come on, Kirha," he directed.
"Yes, Sire," the Kilrathi responded, following his new master.
"And please don't call me 'Sire'."
As an offhand note, that thing about Ben having a crush on Jysella Horn? When this was written, several fanfic writers paired them together. But then the official writers went ahead and changed her age in the FOTJ series, making her older. I decided to keep it the same because... why the hell not.
Another slight deviation from Legends canon is that, originally, Tenel Ka's mother was killed. This time, she survived. Also, I believe she was pregnant at the time, but I decided to leave that bit out.
By the way, that thing about the retainers? According to what I researched about the Kilrathi, that's an actual thing in their culture.