It was only after the first hyperspace jump out of the Gyuel system that Jaina had decided to tell her parents over the comm why Jag had allowed her, Zekk, and Lowbacca all go. From there, they decided to contact Luke and Mara, and they agreed to rendezvous in a different system where they could speak discretely about what to do from there and not worry about any eavesdroppers, whether they were Killik or Chiss.
At this point, Jaina had no choice but to follow the Millennium Falcon into hyperspace. Before he released her, Zekk, and Lowie into Han, Leia, and Saba's custody, Jag told Jaina that one of the conditions of the three Knights' freedom was that none of them could contact any of their friends, whether they were Killiks, Jedi, or other Joiners, in the Gyuel system; had they or anyone else aboard the Falcon attempted that, not only would they be fired upon, but the Chiss would begin an outright barrage on the moons of Qoribu instead of simply leaving. And even if they were to contact the Qoribu-based Killik forces from outside the Gyuel system, the moon barrages would begin in earnest still.
Of course, that meant that the Chiss were free to attack Yoggoy; then again, at least it would have been better than having all those moons and Yoggoy be bombed from orbit.
Before leaving, however, Jaina did attempt to reach out through to her friends on Jwlio anyway, though it was through the Force rather than by comms. Unfortunately, the feeling of loneliness and isolation that she received in return, which manifested as soon as she had decided not to kill her own mother aboard the Guardian, persisted; all she could feel were the presences of her parents, Master Sebatyne, Zekk, and Lowie. The latter two Knights also conveyed their own sense of a morose disconnection from the Taat hive mind and from the rest of the Colony; so the three of them couldn't even contact the Jedi or any of the Killiks to even say hello, let alone inform them of the danger that was brewing for Yoggoy.
Hence, for a little over two hours, Jaina was left to stew in her own frustration and anger in her StealthX's cockpit as her ship hurtled through hyperspace on the same course that the Falcon had taken. And as time passed, she found that the frustration and anger at being disconnected from the Colony was compounded by the betrayal that she felt from Jag because of his torturing of Zekk.
She couldn't believe the fact that he would be able to do that; the man whom she loved, who fought at her side against the Yuuzhan Vong, who had been so righteous, selfless, and duty-bound to the cause of good, was so at odds with the man she had seen today.
Yet, at the same time, a part of Jaina knew that it had been within Jag's character to resort to torture to get what he wanted. Raised within the strict Chiss society, he had ascended through their military's ranks even as a teenager, which was no small feat considering their species' xenophobia, bred, in part, by their isolation from the wider galaxy. To be molded in a society like that could make anyone who could thrive in it as cold and ruthless in their actions as it could make them noble and heroic.
When Jaina really thought of it, the same man who risked his life time and time again during the Vong War with his bravery and stoicism could also easily be a man who could resort to tactics that the likes of Grand Moff Tarkin or even Darth Vader would find acceptable. With this thought in mind, Jaina began to feel sick that she could ever fall in love with somebody like that.
But what did that say about her? Just as Jag served the Chiss Ascendancy with his actions, whether they were heroic or underhanded, Jaina served the New Republic, the Galactic Alliance, the Killiks, and the Jedi Order in ways that made her feel as if her soul had been gradually chipped away into a sliver of what it had once been when she was a teenager, well before the Vong ever invaded the galaxy. If that was what she felt, was that also how Jag felt?
Jaina had seen a good man there, from all the way back to when they met over Ithor to the last time they saw each other before he had to return to the Unknown Regions following the war's end. She supposed that a lot could happen in the years between then and now (after all, so much happened in the few years in which the Vong War happened). But when she had looked into his eyes in that interrogation cell hours earlier, she saw very little of the man she once loved.
At the end of the hyperspace jump Jaina's StealthX dropped out next to the Millennium Falcon into a system several parsecs from Yoggoy. All that was here was a dying blue dwarf star and some cracked, lifeless planets in the distance that looked as if they bled out pieces of their rocky compositions into space at a relatively slow rate.
Jaina didn't even wonder what could have happened to destroy these planets at some undetermined period in the distant past; ahead, the Jade Shadow and Solo Quest waited for them.
It didn't take long for the Falcon and Shadow to dock with each other; Jaina, for her part, didn't bother to hail the latter ship, as she knew she wouldn't be on speaking terms with Mara. She doubted she could have parked her StealthX in the Shadow's docking bay anyway given that it only had enough room to carry Luke's X-wing, so Jaina had no reason to say anything over the comm or through the Force.
As if to counter that thought, said X-wing rocketed out of the yacht's bay to hover in place a few dozen meters away before Jaina received a hail.
"Jaina, my X-wing has been slaved," Luke said. "You're now clear to dock. Meet us in the galley; we think we may have important information."
Jaina sighed before she replied. "Copy that. Coming in."
Minutes later, Jaina was the last one to enter the Shadow's galley. Everyone else—her parents, Luke, Mara, Saba, Jacen, Zekk, and Lowie—were all seated and gathered around one of the tables. A vacant seat, which Jaina noted was far from Mara, was ready for her.
As Jaina took her seat, and made sure not to make eye contact with her aunt, Luke announced, "I want everyone here to know that we've contacted Yoggoy and let the Killiks know about the pending Chiss invasion. We would join them, but first, we need to get some other news cleared out of the way." He looked to his nephew and said, "Jacen, share your hypothesis."
After Jacen explained his theory that the Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk—the very same Dark Jedi who kidnapped Raynar Thul from the Baanu Raas eight years earlier—were somehow behind the Killiks' push toward the Chiss' territory, Jaina looked at him in askance.
"How'd you discover this?" Jaina asked.
"Indirectly," Jacen said, "through a Killik we'd captured aboard this ship; she'd sneaked aboard and we have reason to believe that it was done through some Force-meddling. Now, after I was cut off from the Colony when I tried to warn them about the impending attack on Yoggoy, I remembered about Plo and Welk from my flow-walking there."
Jaina raised an eyebrow at her brother's statement that he had been cut off from the Colony, just as she, Zekk, and Lowie had been. Could it have been because he had willingly separated himself from them to join Luke and Mara out of the Gyuel system? She didn't ask that question and allowed Jacen to go on.
"At first, I wondered why I didn't wonder about their fates when I saw them, especially since Raynar never brought them up, but then I realized that even as I remembered them, my time with the Killiks made me forget to question their fates."
"How so?" Leia was the one to ask.
"I think it's the same reason that I and my fellow Knights have all been influenced into fighting the Chiss for the Killiks," Jacen posited. "There's something about their physiology that makes us and other Joiners part of their hive mind. I think Cilghal will be better able to find that out when we come back to her with our Killik captive, but for now, I think I can say that I didn't wonder about Plo or Welk because they didn't want me or any of the other Knights to think about them."
Lowie roared with a mixture of fear and indignation over this assertion.
"Lowie's right, Jacen," Zekk said. "That's a pretty big leap in logic there." His tone indicated that he, too, didn't much like the idea that he and the other Knights were being manipulated into doing some Dark Jedi's bidding, even if he tried to mask it with his skeptical response.
From his and Lowie's Force-presences, however, Jaina sensed that they shared her newfound sense of violation. All this time, they and the rest of their friends back on Jwlio had their minds subtly twisted and shaped like clay by two Dark Jedi who betrayed them when they were in the middle of fighting the Yuuzhan Vong over Myrkr nearly a decade before.
But now wasn't the time for the three of them, and Jacen, to break down over this, especially when they had to plan their next step in actually defeating those Dark Jedi. So for now, Jaina and her fellow Knights who were present kept their Force-presences and facial and body expressions as reserved as they could; there would be time to console each other over this later.
"But let's say it's true," Luke said. "Where could they be hiding?"
"It might not be Yoggoy," Jacen said. "If Raynar has the ability to call on me, Jaina, Zekk, Lowie, and the others through the Force from different parts of the galaxy, then we have to assume that Plo and Welk, if they are controlling Raynar, are just as powerful, if not more than him."
"So how do we start looking for them?" Mara was the one to ask.
"Thiz one haz an idea," Saba spoke up. "Although it will mean that Cilghal will not be able to get her handz on a Killik."
All eyes turned to her in expectation.
"Thiz Killik you have captured," Saba said to Jacen. "Can you say that you recognize its nest by itz appearance?"
"I've seen others like her before," Jacen said, "but I never asked about her nest while I was with the Colony. She wouldn't even tell me that."
"Perhapz then," Saba suggested, "her nest is the same as Plo and Welk's."
. . .
Jacen walked into the Shadow's guest cabin, where the Killik looked over at him, still strapped down to the bed.
"You're hungry again?" Jacen asked after the door closed behind him. "Well, I suppose I could deliver another meal from the galley. Then again, I guess I could just let you get it for yourself."
The Killik chattered in confusion. Then Jacen walked up to the bed and undid the straps holding the insectoid down. Once she was free, the Killik sprung up on its legs and regarded Jacen with suspicion and skepticism. It chittered a question.
"Why?" Jacen asked. "Because we have no further need of you. It's clear you won't tell us what we wanna know, so keeping you prisoner is pointless. And we Jedi aren't killers, so we really have no choice but to let you go."
Another question emanated from the Killik's mandibles.
"Yes, really." Jacen then spread an arm out for the door. "You'll get no resistance on the way out. We even have a ship ready for you to take back home. So go."
Several seconds of tense silence passed between Jacen and the Killik, and they each stared into each other's eyes.
It was only after Jacen casually blinked did the insectoid decide to jump off the bed and skitter out of the room.
Several minutes later, after the Killik had filled itself with food and water from the Shadow's galley, she headed for the docking bay where a StealthX awaited her. From there, the starfighter took off and rocketed through hyperspace.
From the Shadow's cockpit, one of the long-distance sensors registered a persistent ping that was getting further and further away from the yacht's current position. Luke and Mara were the ones to see this.
"Am I the only one," Mara said, "who thinks it's funny that we bugged a bug?"
Luke gave her a slightly amused smile. "Not at all."
. . .
Since her StealthX had been sacrificed to let the blue-black Killik use it to return home, and thus potentially lead the Skywalkers, Solos, and their allies to Lomi Plo and Welk, Jaina decided to join her parents, Saba, C-3PO, Zekk, and Lowie aboard the Millennium Falcon for its next jump to hyperspace. But she was stopped from entering the YT-1300 at the Jade Shadow's airlock by Luke.
"I've just spoken with your parents," Luke said. "They agreed that you, Zekk, and Lowie all need to return to Ossus right away."
"What?" Jaina asked incredulously. "Why?"
"Wherever Plo and Welk are," Luke said, "we can't have you endure the risk of exposure to whatever influence that they had on you three, whether it's through the Force, something in the Killiks' biology, or some combination thereof."
"What, you think that if we encounter them, they're gonna make us turn on the rest of you, Uncle Luke?" Jaina asked.
"We don't know enough about the Killiks still," Luke said. "It's a possibility we have to consider."
"But if Plo and Welk are so powerful, you're gonna need all the help you can get! If they can-"
"This is not up for debate or negotiation, and time is of the essence. The Jade Shadow will follow the stolen StealthX before we lose the tracking signal, and if we need help, we'll call for it."
"Any number of things could happen, though, Uncle Luke!" Jaina argued. "You could get your comms jammed, or maybe you run into some kind of mass shadow, or-"
"As I just said," Luke interrupted sharply, "this is not up for debate. You'll be taken back to Ossus and be looked after by Master Cilghal; even if she can't find out anymore about the Killiks from you or your friends, we can at least be sure that you won't be susceptible for Plo and Welk's influence."
Jaina looked like she was about to argue some more, but she promptly shut her mouth and sagged her shoulders in defeat. "Fine. I'll let Zekk and Lowie know."
"Thank you," Luke said.
Jaina was about to turn back to the Falcon, albeit much more reluctantly this time, when she was again stopped; this time, it was by her mother, who sidled up next to Luke.
"Jaina," Leia said, "do you wanna tell me why there's tension between you and Mara? I sensed it in the galley during the meeting."
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Jaina asked. She nodded over her mother's shoulder, prompting Leia to look behind her to see Mara approaching them.
"Goodbye, Uncle Luke," Jaina said before she turned and walked out through the airlock and into the Falcon. There, Han, Saba, Threepio, Zekk, and Lowie were all waiting.
Leia looked back to the adult Skywalkers. "Okay, what was that about? Mara, why didn't she say goodbye to you like she should have?"
Both Jedi Masters were silent for a long moment before Mara said, "Because I slapped her."
Leia's face fell into shock. "W-what?"
As Luke stayed silent, Mara explained the incident that occurred on Jwlio between her and Jaina.
"That was why?" Leia asked in disbelief. "Because she brought up Palpatine?"
"It wasn't just that, Leia," Mara said, her tone even. "It was about her questioning Luke's leadership, about his competence, implying that he could lead the Jedi Order to ruin the same way Yoda led it to ruin under Palpatine's secret influence."
Leia's nostrils flared as she breathed in and out to control what she would say next to her sister-in-law. "You understand now that what Jaina said, it would have been part of the influence that these Dark Jedi held over her?"
"It could be," Mara said. Her tone still didn't waver.
"Do you think they could have influenced you into striking her?" Leia asked.
Mara took a longer moment than Leia to think about her response. "I'm not sure. Although, since I didn't spend nearly as much time among the Killiks as her... I somehow doubt it."
Once again, Leia breathed in and out through her nose. "Mara, as your sister-in-law, I love you, but you have to understand, if you hurt my daughter again... I will have nothing more to say to you." Through her Jedi calm, a greater, darker threat that stemmed from Leia's maternal instincts bled into her Force-aura and radiated through Mara's senses.
"I understand," Mara said.
Leia looked over to her brother. Luke had a mixture of understanding and disappointment in his facial and body expressions, and his Force-presence was reserved.
He didn't need to say anything.
"Goodbye, Luke," Leia said simply. "Goodbye, Mara."
Luke and Mara said their own goodbyes to Leia before she turned and walked through the airlock and into the Falcon.
A moment later, Jacen appeared behind his aunt and uncle, who turned to him.
"If you can bring the Quest over to dock after the Falcon's disengaged," Jacen said, "I'll be leaving there. But I won't be joining you wherever our former captive will be leading you." Like Luke's X-wing, the Solo Quest was slaved to the Shadow's controls so that the YT-2400 could be moved away for the Falcon to dock with the yacht. "I already let Mom and Dad know, so you don't have to bother telling them."
Both Skywalkers' confusion replaced the heaviness of their last conversation with Leia. "Where will you be going?" Luke asked.
"Wherever Plo and Welk are," Jacen said, "I'm willin' to bet it'll be fortified with an army of Killiks of their own. Which means you'll need some help."
"From the Galactic Alliance?" Mara asked.
Jacen shook his head. "This is likely something they don't wanna get involved with, or at least Cal Omas doesn't want to get directly involved with, if only for political reasons. No, I was thinking if Tenel Ka was willing to lend some Hapan ships to the cause."
"In that case, we'll let you know where the Killik takes us," Mara said.
Jacen nodded and allowed his aunt and uncle to return to the Shadow's cockpit.
Once there, they sat back down in their respective seats and Mara began working some controls to first close her ship's airlock door and then retract the umbilical that connected them to the Falcon.
"You know, I have to wonder," Mara said, not taking her attention away from her current task, "if that was Leia's response, what will Han's be?" After the Shadow's airlock sealed itself against the vacuum of space, the umbilical began retracting of its own accord.
"Whatever it'll be," Luke said, "I promise he won't a lay a hand on you."
"You're right, I'll be able to use the Force to knock him back." There was no mirth in her voice when she said that. She sighed before she asked, "Luke, are you sure I don't owe Jaina an apology?"
"Honestly?" Luke asked. "I think you do."
Mara sighed again. "Why didn't you push me to do that back on Jwlio? We could have prevented Jaina and Zekk from being captured, for one."
"Because I knew you weren't in the mood to be pushed, Mara," Luke said. "And, at any rate, what's past is past. We have to focus on the present and future."
"You sure we can't just call Han, Leia, and Jaina back here so we can get it over with?" Mara asked.
"That might be a good idea if we didn't have more pressing matters on our hands at the moment." He nodded back at the long-range sensors that told them that they were losing the tracking signal on the stolen StealthX.
"I hope it won't be too late when this is over," Mara said.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get the chance. I can feel it."
Luke felt no such thing; in fact, he felt dread at this coming mission to neutralize Lomi Plo, Welk, and whatever Killik nest they were a part of.
It wasn't long after the two ships disengaged from each other; after the Falcon launched into hyperspace, the Solo Quest had docked with the Shadow while Luke's X-wing was simultaneously parked in the yacht's docking bay. Not long after that, both ships disengaged so that the yacht followed their Killik quarry while the Quest diverged toward the distant Transitory Mists.