Chapter 4 – Early morning run
The clock above the corner bank read 6:04 as Jacen jogged by, the sky turning pink on the eastern horizon. Turning the corner, he saw three men mercilessly kicking a body on the ground and abruptly stopped. Hearing his footsteps, the largest of them turned around as the shortest man gave one last kick to the person on the ground.
"Turn around, hero, this isn't your business."
Jacen sighed. "I'm afraid that it is." He might be a lousy Jedi, but he still was an officer of the law and could not just turn away.
The big man flashed an evil smile as he casually flipped his rounders bat, "I was hopin' you'd say that."
Smirking, Jacen reached down for his lightsaber, but could not find it on his belt. Confused, his smirk turned into a puzzled one and he looked down, only to find that that not only was his lightsaber missing, so was the lower half of his right arm.
The big man chuckled humorlessly as he took two steps forward, "Looks like you've got a real problem there, Hero." Before he even finished talking, he was swinging his bat at Jacen's midsection, surprising the Jedi with his speed.
With reflexes borne from practicing against some of the fastest beings ever to yield a lightsaber, Jacen bent over backwards, the tip of the metallic weapon just missing his chin, and immediately counter-attacked with a Force-aided (and left-handed) punch meant to catch the man in the throat. Unfortunately, his aim was off and he only managed to punch the man in the upper chest, the giant of a man stumbling backwards.
Jacen immediately took a step forward to seize control of the fight, but was staggered by a blow to his right temple, followed immediately by one to his right ribcage. So focused had he been on the bigger man, he had forgotten about the other two gentlemen and was now paying the price. Turning to meet the new threat, Jacen was about to lash out with the Force when the first man landed a blow to Jacen's left kidney, knocking him to the ground.
As Jacen scrambled to his feet, one of the other men got him in a choke-hold with an arm around his throat and pinned Jacen's arm behind him. Jacen continued to struggle, but the man simply tightened the pressure on his throat and Jacen was forced to stop.
"Too bad you've only got one arm, Hero." The big man said, "We might have had ourselves a fair fight. As it is..." he shrugged slightly, "….well, we're just going to have an old-fashioned whuppin'." He nodded at the man holding him, "Keep him upright."
Jacen really had no idea how long his beating lasted, nor could he keep track of the number of ribs and facial bones the big man either broke or fractured. All he knew was that he eventually found himself on his knees, spitting out blood and fractured teeth. After wiping his chin, Jacen struggled to rise to one knee, earning a respectful chuckle from the big man.
"You certainly are brave." He commented, raising his club one last time. "So long, Hero."
There was a flash of green light, and Jacen bolted upright in bed.
Throwing off the covers, Jacen grabbed a fizzade from the 'fridge in the cabin and took a long drink. This was the third time now that he had had that dream, and Jacen felt more and more helpless every time he had it. Grimacing, he forced himself to walk around the small cabin in an effort to relax.
After a few minutes, Jacen found himself looking out of the cabin's porthole window, re-thinking his Plan Alpha. Sighing to himself, he was forced to admit that the cornerstone principle of his plan relied on the Queen Mother keeping more or less to her usual routine, but that could not be helped. Any inquiries as to what her plans were for the next couple of days would only raise suspicions, and he knew from experience that a suspicious Tenel Ka was a tenacious Tenel Ka. If Jacen roused her suspicions, he would have to wait weeks for a new opportunity, and he was not sure he could muster the courage for a second attempt.
Jacen glanced at the chrono by the bed and saw that it was after 0400. Nodding to himself, he decided that it was probably safe to go get something to eat. If the passengers on the Olympic acted anything like they did on Coruscant, he knew that even the most ardent partygoers run out of steam about 0330 and would start turning in. Getting up, he stuck his head out the cabin door and noted that the hallway was silent as a tomb. Chuckling humorlessly at his prediction, he closed the door and headed forward to try to find something to eat.
Apparently even luxury liners close down most of the restaurants during the late hours, Jacen mused. His only two options were a bistro in 'coach' and a 'first class' lounge. Not wanting to mingle with any partygoers who might be still loitering in the lounge, he opted for the bistro. After finding it, he noticed, unsurprisingly, that it was not very busy; the clientele included a handful of staff members on a meal-break, and a young Bothan couple who Jacen guessed were on their honeymoon, given the looks they were giving each other and the way they were blatantly ignoring everyone else. Jacen smiled slightly at the pair as he followed a young waiter to a booth in the corner.
"Something to drink?" The waiter asked as Jacen sat down.
Nodding, Jacen answered, "Chai, if you have it." The young man nodded and left to make a cup of the flavored tea.
After taking a quick look at the menu, Jacen put it at the edge of the table, shaking his head as to why he bothered to look—coming into the place, he had already decided on an omelet. If his years traveling around the galaxy taught him anything, it was this: it is pretty hard to ruin eggs.
Taking the cup of chai from the waiter upon his return, the one-time Jedi ordered a ham, cheese, and green pepper omelet. The younger man gave Jacen a bored look over his flimsi, "Hash browns?"
"Sure." Jacen answered as he handed the menu back to the waiter.
"Loaded?" Seeing Jacen's confused look, the waiter tried again, "The hash browns, would you like them loaded?" Jacen still had no idea what he was talking about, and it must have showed on his face. With an exasperated sigh, the young man tried a third time, "Onions, cheese, gravy. Loaded hash browns."
Jacen gave a half-shrug, "Why not. I'll spend some extra time on the treadmill." Shooting Jacen a whatever you say, buddy look, the waiter turned and left.
Shrugging off the waiter's demeanor, Jacen turned his attention to his data pad, pulling up a holozine article about the Battle of Vrogas Vos. He became engrossed in the author's hypothesis that the Empire hadn't really won that milestone battle, more that the Alliance had lost it due to arrogance and poor tactics. So engrossed, in fact, he failed to notice as a tall brunette walked up to his table.
"Would you care for some company?"
Startled, Jacen looked up from his data pad and chuckled humorlessly when he saw the Hapan Naval Ensign from the check-in line, now dressed in a red halter top and form-fitting white pants, a wry smile on her face.
"Sure." Jacen answered good-naturedly, gesturing to the seat across from him. As she sat down gracefully, "I give you high marks for persistence."
The young woman smiled, and Jacen noticed the sparkle in her blue eyes. Unlike many Hapans, it seemed the naval officer now seated across from him did not lack a sense of humor.
"Thanks!" Scowling, she continued, "Since you ditched me at the counter," Jacen smiled at her emphasis of the word, "I made it my mission to track you down to say, 'Thank you.'"
Shrugging noncommittally, Jacen replied, "I was hoping to remain anonymous."
The Hapan woman rolled her eyes, "So I gathered. Unfortunately for you, I like a challenge." She looked over to her right, trying to catch the waiter's attention. Seeing his nod of recognition, she turned her attention back to Jacen. "I figured that if it were me and I needed to hide from a pesky naval officer whom I had just upgraded to first-class, I would pick the slowest time of day and head to the restaurant in 'coach'."
Jacen hung his head as he fought the urge to laugh. Looking back up, he tilted his head, giving her a quizzical look, "You work for Fleet Intelligence, don't you?"
The young woman gave a small snort of laughter, and shook her head. "Nah, I hate doing paperwork. I'm just a lowly air traffic controller." Seeing that the waiter had come by, she looked up at the young man and nodded her head at Jacen, "I'll have what he's having. Chai and all."
Nodding in reply, the waiter jotted this down on his flimsi and returned to the kitchen. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Jacen and saw his disbelieving scowl. Shrugging, she explained, "I don't smell any caf, so I assumed that you were drinking chai." She looked at him expectantly, and saw his smirk. "And I know all about the 'chow hall rule': when in doubt, order eggs."
Jacen laughed, and the brunette woman smiled warmly, "See, that's not so hard. It's good to laugh, you know."
Jacen only offered a polite nod at the irony: seventeen years ago, he tried his best to make a certain Hapan laugh; now it was another Hapan returning the favor. Oddly, she had more luck than he had had. "I guess I haven't had much reason to laugh, lately."
She tilted her head fractionally, "Sounds depressing."
Jacen snorted, "You have no idea."
The brunette held her well-manicured hand across the table, "I'm Kenara, by the way, Kenara Do'ma."
Shaking her hand, "Jason Naberre. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Feeling's mutual." The brunette replied, leaning back as the waiter placed her cup of chai on the table. "So, what takes you to Hapes?"
Jacen fought a grimace as he looked down at his cup. Because he had not planned on socializing with anyone on the trip, he had not bothered to come up with answers to basic conversation. Not having any better story, he decided to run with Lando's First Rule of cons: If it doesn't cost anything, tell the truth. Lies are too hard to remember.
Sighing, he replied softly, "I'm on my way to see my daughter and her mother."
Kenara nodded understandingly, hearing the pain in his voice. "I'm sorry." She replied, meaning it. Hapes was not an easy place to be a father; most of her friends had no contact whatsoever with their own fathers, and were flabbergasted that her mother and father were actually married…of their own volition.
"What happened?" she asked, instantly regretting her question when she saw the pain flash across Jacen's face. Shaking her head, "I'm sorry, it's none of my business."
"No, it's okay. We just sort of…drifted apart." Jacen replied softly and launched into the story of how he had met a girl at an Academy on some jungle planet; about how the two of them became fast friends, her serious demeanor the perfect foil for his whimsical one; how the two of them started becoming something more than just friends; about how the war forced them apart; about the joint-mission they both ended up on and about how they seamlessly melded together, even after more than a year apart; about how thoughts of her managed to keep him sane during his time as a POW.
Kenara listened on as Jacen described how his friend was forced to take over the family business when her mother died, and about how her extended family disapproved of him as a boyfriend; he talked about his five-year sojurn and how he had hoped that if he learned enough, became 'cultured' enough, her family would approve of him. Kenara smiled as he recounted the tale of him 'breaking in' to her estate to surprise her upon his return and how they, once again, picked up where they had left off…managing to conceive a daughter during their reunion; about how, for a while, it looked that he might be able to come to Hapes and become a 'real' husband and father, but something always seemed to come up, either with her work or with his. 'Next year' became two, which became three and then four…always with more limitations, both real and imagined, about when he could visit, and she could hear the desperation in his voice.
"Sorry." He concluded sheepishly as their waiter finally delivered their breakfast, "It does sound like a bad holodrama, doesn't it?"
Kenara smiled sadly, "Not at all. Pretty normal for Hapes, actually." Taking a bite of her omelet, she continued, "How often are you able to visit?"
"Not as often as I'd like." He paused slightly and she once again heard the pain in his voice, "In fact, this might be my last trip to Hapes."
Kenara could only nod sadly. There were times when she did not much like the society she grew up in. Often, she found that it was too hierarchical, too demanding, too superficial, too….Hapan. In fairness, some of Hapans prosperity was due to their hierarchical way of doing things—she just wished that there were a way to 'turn off' the hierarchy in personal lives.
"Do you have a picture of your daughter?" She asked, more as a way to deflect some of her own sadness than anything.
Jacen looked up sharply, alarmed by the question. Seeing his look, Kenara leaned back in her chair and raised her hands in defense, "Whoa, sorry I asked."
The GAG Colonel slumped in his chair, sensing through the Force that Kenara had no ulterior motives and was simply trying to cheer him up. After all, he had been talking up his daughter and her mother for the last half an hour—clearly he still was fond of them, and it would be disingenuous to say that he did not have a holo. Disgusted with himself for being so defensive, he dug his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a holodisk of his daughter, inwardly hoping that the Naval Ensign across from him was not a die-hard 'Royal-watcher'. Besides, most five-year-olds look pretty much the same. Don't they? Inwardly bracing himself, he thumbed the activation switch and the image of a red-haired girl with adorable curls wearing a pale yellow sundress flashed above the table.
"Nah, I'm just being paranoid."
Ensign Do'ma immediately smiled at the image: the girl was caught in mid-twirl, a huge, infectious smile on her face, her grey eyes twinkling in delight, and Kenara could almost hear the squeal of laughter and the Daddy, look at me! comment that surely came right before the holo was about the girl seemed familiar, but Kenara just chalked it up to the fact that she was sitting across from the girl's father.
"She looks like she has tons of energy." Kenara commented, looking up from the holo.
Jacen grinned as he switched off the holo and pocketed the device, "You have no-o-o idea. She seems to have two speeds: on and off." Shrugging nonchalantly as he took another bite of breakfast, "You'll never guess whom she got that from."
"I can only imagine." Kenara deadpanned, rolling her eyes. Taking a sip of chai, she nodded at the datapad on the table, "What were you reading when I sneaked up on you?"
It was Jacen's turn to roll his eyes, "An article about the Battle of Vrogas Vas. Turns out that Rieekan wasn't as good as we thought."
"Really?" Kenara replied, sounding surprisingly interested, "Do tell." For the next hour or so, the two of them talked military tactics and history, each buoyed by the other's enthusiasm.
A/N: A huge thank you to 'Guest' who reviewed the last chapter...hope you enjoyed this one as well! Thanks, also, to all who are reading.