As soon as Jacen felt Jaina drop out of the battle-meld, his ship took a major hit in the rear that dropped his shields from sixty percent to thirty. So, with that literal jolt back to reality, Jacen banked hard to port and did his best to try to shake his sole clawcraft pursuer, which was now more difficult than before given that two new clawcraft squadrons were launched from a different hangar bay from the Star Destroyer that wasn't holding Lowbacca. As a result, Tahiri, Alema, Tesar, and the remaining Killik swarms all became too preoccupied with these fresh squads to help Jacen, and it wasn't long before his tail was joined by two new clawcraft who added their own lasers to the mix.
At times like these, Jacen really wished that he had his sister's piloting skills, or at the very least an invisible starfighter, so that he could better dodge the projectiles that were just barely missing him. As it was, it was taking all of his relatively limited skills as a pilot to make sure his shields didn't drop to zero. But all of these gradual grazes from the near-misses were steadily chipping away at his shields, and some were even getting through and blasting holes in the Solo Quest's outer hull. Jacen had a really bad feeling that it would take a minute, maybe two, of this rapid set of barrages before his shields were gone completely and then he would be engulfed in a ball of flame that would end it all.
After surviving the Yuuzhan Vong War, it seemed ignoble to die over something like a border conflict that had gone out of control, even if he was doing his duty as a Jedi in helping defend these poor Killiks. It was a selfish thought, he knew, but one he had despite himself; still, he hoped that his fellow Knights and at least some Killiks could somehow make it out of this even if he couldn't.
But just as his shields had been reduced to five percent, all four of the clawcraft chasing Jacen suddenly broke away and began zipping back to the Destroyer from which they dropped out.
Quickly, Jacen checked his sensors to see if there were any other Chiss fighters who were headed for his direction. Not only did he find that none were, but all of the remaining clawcraft had broken off from their own dogfights and pursuits to join Jacen's former pursuers back to the same Destroyer.
What? Tesar conveyed through the battle-meld. Why are they retreating?
Because they have Jaina and Zekk, Tahiri replied. They ended this before when they captured Lowie and because they sustained heavier losses since they weren't as prepared then. But now that they have Jaina and Zekk, they're going to want to see what they have to offer what Lowie couldn't give them.
We should go after them then! Tesar cried. We have to save all of them now!
No, Alema stated.
What?! Jacen and the others responded in shock.
We have lost too much today, Alema replied. As much as I hate the Chiss, I say we follow their example and fall back, especially when we have more reason to.
Indeed, many more Killiks had died than in the skirmish in which Lowie had been captured, and all of the Knights' ships had been damaged in some way or another. If they were to fight another day, they had to take this opportunity that the Chiss were giving them and return to their respective bases—in other words, their homes—so that they can get patched up, refueled, and resupplied with more proton torpedoes and shadow bombs.
Tahiri spoke up in the battle-meld. But Jaina and-
They knew the risks, Alema cut in. If we go in as we are now, we'll only end up being captured just like them, if not worse.
You're not the leader of this group, Tahiri replied. Jaina is.
Jaina was, Alema pointed out. You felt her drop out of the battle-meld just like the rest of us, Tahiri. Now that she's in the enemy's hands, someone has to take charge and make sure everyone else sees reason. But if the rest of you want to waste your lives and your ships on a doomed mission to save Jaina, Zekk, and Lowie, be my guest. I know for a fact that the Killiks and I won't be, at least not until after we've regrouped and compensated for our losses.
Jacen gritted his teeth in frustration. As much as he hated what Alema said, he knew that she was right, and he felt Tahiri and Tesar begrudgingly agree, too. Jacen pounded his ship's steering yoke with both fists before he communed, Okay. We'll pick this up later.
Tahiri and Tesar both conveyed similar sentiments through the meld. So, with that out of the way, the four Joiner Jedi turned back to Jwlio with several Taat dartships, while the ones from the other nests promptly returned to their own moons.
Joining them on their return trip to Jwlio was the Jade Shadow, and Jacen felt Uncle Luke reach out to him through the Force.
And when he did, he knew that Luke was only talking to him; no one else in the meld knew about this.
Jacen was just fine with that.
They're all okay, Jacen, Luke said. Mara and I can feel it.
But what about what Jaina said about Lowie? Jacen asked. You said-
We can talk about this later, personally, Luke interrupted. Rest assured, though, no harm will come to Jaina, Zekk, or Lowie as long as your parents and Master Sebatyne are aboard that Star Destroyer. Now can you meet us outside this system?
You want me to leave the group? Jacen asked.
Are you willing to do that? Luke asked as an answer.
Jacen's first thought was to say no; after all, his friends were all here and he agreed with Alema that Jaina, Zekk, and Lowie needed to be saved. But once Jacen actually stopped himself to really think about the answer, he realized that ever since he came here, he had been having a consistently uneasy feeling around the Killiks. Though he did care about them and had even found himself sharing their thoughts and feelings at times, which wasn't too dissimilar to the battle-meld he shared with his fellow Knights, he also found himself sensing this undercurrent of darkness among them. He couldn't quite place it, but he found that it seemed to be strongest with Jaina and Alema, and it had a good, if not as powerful, grasp on Tahiri and Tesar, too. Aside from himself, he found that this vague darkness was weakest in Lowie, Tekli, and Zekk.
When Jacen was done with this internal assessment, he finally sent back to Luke, Alright; just send me the coordinates. Do you want me to tell the other Knights?
Do you feel comfortable with that idea? Luke asked, again as if it were an answer.
Honestly, no, Jacen said, though he did feel a pang of guilt for leaving Tekli behind with Tahiri, Tesar, and especially Alema. Still, he also felt that no harm would come to the Chadra-Fan if he left her behind, given her role as a medic for Taat and even the marooned Chiss who ended up crashing on one of Qoribu's moons after a battle with the Colony.
Then here are the coordinates, Luke responded. A moment later, Jacen's navcomp received said coordinates.
Thank you, Uncle Luke, he sent.
The warm feeling that his uncle conveyed through this connection assured Jacen of his trust and of Jaina, Zekk, and Lowie's safety as Luke promised. But as the Solo Quest and Jade Shadow banked away from Qoribu's moons to a point that would safely lead them both out of the Gyuel system, Jacen dug beneath that assurance and found a fearful doubt about why Jaina felt that Lowie was being tortured while Luke sensed that he was in a Force-hibernation.
Considering Jaina's attitude lately, Jacen had a feeling that his sister's judgment was severely compromised.
. . .
A pair of stuncuffs were locked onto each of Jaina's wrists and they had each been locked against a table leg in the interrogation room in which the Chiss had placed her. She sat in silence for two long hours in the dimly-lit spartan room, staring ahead and, aside from her consistent breathing, not moving a muscle.
By the end of those two hours, the room's door opened and Jaina found a lack of surprise within herself when she saw Jagged Fel walk inside. Without a word, he sat himself down in the seat opposite her and laid a datapad on the desktop between them with military precision.
The two of them locked eyes and didn't say anything to one another for ten whole seconds before Jag finally asked, "You're wondering right now why you can't use the Force, huh?"
"Something to do with these stuncuffs?" Jaina asked back.
Jag nodded. "After the Vong War, the Chiss Defense Force's scientific branch came up with a way to neutralize a Jedi's ability to use the Force through cuffs like those."
"How prophetic of them," Jaina replied wryly.
"Oh, they didn't need any premonitions from the Force to have the vision to come up with something like those. Even with the Jedi allying with the Ascendancy by way of the Galactic Alliance against the Vong, the Phalanxes considered what might happen should relations between our peoples collapse in the future; and what special precautions were to be taken if we found ourselves in need of taking a Jedi alive."
"Today's friend could be tomorrow's enemy." Jaina summarized his statement succinctly.
"Indeed. And for quite a while, I thought that my superiors were being too paranoid. After all, why would an organization like the Jedi Order turn against a righteous government like the Chiss Ascendancy?"
"Righteous, you say? What's so righteous about trying to starve out a displaced people and make 'em go away?"
"It's within our rights if they're within our territory."
"How selfish of you, then."
"That's not my call, nor is it yours to get involved in something that has nothing to do with the Jedi Order or the Galactic Alliance."
Jaina opened her mouth to retort, only to hold back; she had been about to tell him about Raynar Thul, or UnuThul as he was now known, who was once a Jedi before he was kidnapped by the Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk from the Yuuzhan Vong worldship Baanu Raas over Myrkr eight years ago. Instead, Jaina scowled at Jag.
When the latter saw that the former wasn't going to respond, he said, "You've killed quite a lot of Chiss lately, Jaina. The Defense Force needs to know why."
"So this is their nice way of asking?"
"Believe me, it is."
"So if I get to cooperate and answer your questions, Zekk, Lowie, and I can all be executed much more quickly?" Jaina snorted derisively. "Tell me that's not your incentive."
"The Ascendancy is willing to grant you and your friends leniency if you tell us who is behind this Killik expansion," Jag said, maintaining his cool military composure. "We will let you all go if you comply."
"And whoever's behind this will be the one to take the fall?"
"Precisely."
"And what'll happen to the Killiks? I don't suppose you'll let them live in the Gyuel system peacefully."
"That's for my superiors to decide."
"So if your superiors think they need to wiped out from the face of the galaxy, you'll just go along with that, Jag?"
Jag's eyes narrowed. "I don't have to answer that."
Jaina scoffed. "No, of course you don't. You can just hide behind your orders like the coward you are."
Jag's nostrils flared, but he still didn't break his composure otherwise. "How much torture do you think you can resist, Jaina?"
"My mom was tortured by Darth Vader himself. If I'm my mother's daughter, then I think I can take anything you can throw at me."
"Alright then," Jag said neutrally. "Let's assume you're correct; our expert interrogators do everything to you short of killing you and you still won't break. Can you say the same for Zekk or Lowbacca?"
Jaina's eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in fury. "You wouldn't," she growled. In spite of her earlier belief that Lowie was being tortured—regardless of whatever Uncle Luke told her—she honestly didn't think Jag had it in him to torture her or either of her friends. If she thought he was bluffing about whether or not he'd be willing to torture her or allow her to be tortured by someone else in the Defense Force, she had much less doubt about whether or not the same could apply to Zekk or Lowie.
"I might not. But I can't say the same for any of the other officers aboard this Star Destroyer."
"You'd let that happen to them?" Jaina asked in angry disbelief. "After everything you went through with us?"
"That was a long time ago, Jaina. As you've clearly demonstrated, things can change."
"Clearly," Jaina growled again.
Once again, they held each other's gaze for several seconds before Jag pressed a button on the datapad and spun it around so that Jaina could look at it right-side up. Displayed there was a list of what Jaina recognized to be Chiss names, translated from their native tongue, followed by serial numbers and images associated with the names. They flashed by at five-seconds intervals, as Jaina said they were being played in a looped recording.
"These are all the good men and women who died because of this border conflict, Jaina," Jag said. "Take a good look at each of them. If you didn't have a hand in killing them from your invisible starfighter, their deaths are on your hands regardless simply for your involvement in this system."
Jaina looked away from the 'pad and sneered at Jag. "You think showing me this is supposed to make me sympathetic for your losses?"
"Empathetic, Jaina. From one soldier to another, I'm trying to make you see what you and your friends have aided. And don't tell me you don't feel anything other than disgust for these people. I know you; you're better than that. We fought side by side for years against the Vong, working alongside many other people of various different species, including the Chiss. So I know there's something in you that knows that what you've done is wrong and I'm trying to give you a chance to atone for that."
Jaina looked at him with disgust. "Like you said, that was a long time ago. And if I were to show you a list and set of pictures of every single Killik who died in this border conflict, and tried to use the same rhetoric on you, you really think that would work?"
"Fine then," Jag said. "You leave me no choice." He pressed another button on the 'pad, and the viewscreen switched to that of a live recording of Zekk being strapped down on a table in what appeared to be a medbay.
He was clearly conscious but inert as if he were drugged. Jaina also saw that he had a set of electrodes attached to his forehead. Surrounding Zekk were a pair of Chiss in labcoats, one of whom held a datapad in his hands while the other held a commlink to his side.
Jag brought up his commlink and pressed a button there before he said something in Cheunh. In response, the Chiss with the commlink brought up his own to his mouth and replied in the same language. Jag said one word, the Chiss said one word, and then the latter's counterpart pressed something on his own 'pad.
A second later, Zekk's body began to spasm in pain from the electrodes on his head.
"No!" Jaina exclaimed. "Stop it!"
"Tell us what we want to know, then," Jag replied firmly.
Jaina's eyes flashed back to the viewscreen; the shocking on Zekk only stopped for a few seconds before it resumed, and this time she could hear him screaming. She then looked back between Jag and Zekk for several seconds before she said, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you what you wanna know!"
Jag spoke into the commlink again. Then the Chiss with his own comm said something to his counterpart, who, in turn, shut off the electrodes completely.
"Go ahead," Jag said to a defeated Jaina.