Chapter 9 – Running Scared

Sitting in the back of a cab, Kenara watched the city roll by as she thought about something Jason had said in passing a day earlier: 'I had friends once. It was kinda nice.' Everyone had friends or family, didn't they? It was as if he was admitting that he had driven everyone away on purpose. Who does that? With a start, she realized that they had been stopped for a few moments and that the cabbie was looking at her expectantly.

Embarrassed, Kenara smiled politely as she gathered he belongings and opened the door to the speeder, digging some cash out of her purse as she did so. She froze when she saw the face on one of the twenty-credit chits—the visage of the Queen Mother. Absently, she handed two twenty-credit chits to the cabbie as she continued to stare at the third one in her hand, mentally comparing her memory of a spinning little girl in a yellow sundress with the image in her hand.

Without looking up, Kenara commented, "Keep it."

Taken aback, the cabbie was clearly hesitant to accept a seventeen-credit tip. "You sure?"

Still fixating on the Queen Mother's tiny portrait as if it would offer up answers, Kenara climbed out of the cab and waved nonchalantly, "It's fine. Thanks for the ride."

The cabbie continued to look at her confusedly. "Are you okay, miss?"

Kenara finally looked up and smiled, "Yes, fine. Thank you."

Still not quite believing her answers, the cabbie sighed in frustration and started to drive off. "If you say so. Have a good night."

Kenara returned her attention to the chit in her hand. "Good night," she whispered absently. There was no doubt about it, the picture of the little girl that Jason had showed her on the Olympic definitely had more than a passing resemblance with the Queen Mother. This could mean many things, but only two seemed likely at first blush: One—Jason had illicitly gotten a picture of the Chume'da from somebody and was passing it off his daughter. Why, though? Why would someone go to such trouble to have a picture of a 'pretend' family? Two—Jason really was the princess's father. Thinking back, Kenara remembered Jason's obvious reluctance to share his picture with her; it was if she was prying his deepest secret from him. In hindsight, she could now recognize Jason's change in demeanor once he agreed to show her the picture. He became more animated, friendlier, more…open. It was as if the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders when he shared his secret; as if he wanted someone to know that he loved his little girl with all his being. With this insight, it occurred to her that she, a lowly ensign in Her Majesty's Navy, knew something that only a handful of other people in the entire galaxy knew: the identity of Princess Allana's father.

After placing the money back into her handbag, she grabbed her luggage and headed up her sidewalk to her modest townhouse, still lost in thought about what this revelation meant. For starters, Kenara could not figure out how it could have happened. How does one of the most-watched women in the galaxy meet someone like Jason Naberre? The Queen was infamous for her reclusiveness, attending only the rare event—so when did the two of them meet?

Furthermore, the Queen would know the furor that would arise if word leaked that her daughter turned out to be half-Coruscanti, so why did she take the risk? Tenel Ka was in her twenties when Allana was born, so Kenara had to assume that the little girl was planned. Still, though, why? There were dozens of Hapan nobles that were still shamelessly throwing themselves at the Queen, what did she see in Jason Naberre that was so special? Opening the door to her home, Kenara shook her head at sure obtuseness of entire situation. Was it love? While not much of a royal follower, she knew that the Queen Mother had not been romantically linked to anyone in years, not since…

Kenara stopped dead in her entryway as the truth slapped her across the face…the Queen had not been romantically linked to anyone since Jacen Solo.

Hurriedly, the brunette Naval officer went to her kitchen counter and started a search for 'Jacen Solo images' on her computer terminal. Fortunately for her, Mr. Solo was famous enough that there were hundreds of images to choose from. Scrolling down to find more recent holos, she pulled one up from a few weeks prior, where the GAG Colonel had attended a fundraiser of some kind, looking quite dashing in his black tuxedo. Shaking her head at her appraisal, Kenara concentrated on his face. Jacen Solo had darker hair than Naberre's, and his ears were slightly smaller, but there was no question his eyes were same color as Jason Naberre's. Something was off, though; the 'Jason' she got to know over the last couple of days had more life in his eyes than this image of Jacen Solo.

Frowning, she returned to the list and tried to find a holo of Jacen Solo with the same hint of mischief that she had seen. Scrolling through the multitude of images, she stopped suddenly. There. Oddly, it was another image of Jacen Solo dressed in a tuxedo. He does look dashing all dressed up. Pushing the thought aside, she studied the image for a moment. The holo was cropped so that image was off-center, Jacen's left arm at an angle, and just visible passing through the crook of his elbow was the deep blue satin glove of some lucky woman who remained off-frame. Forcing down her sudden jealousy at the unknown woman, Ensign Do'ma refocused on his eyes. Jacen was turned slightly away from the camera, clearly talking to whomever he was escorting, but there was no mistaking the sparkle of mirth in his eyes and the warm smile he was sharing with his lucky date. The same sparkle that she had seen onboard the Olympic. Kenara found herself smiling at the holo, smiling at his obvious zest for life. There was no question in her mind that Jacen Solo and Jason Naberre were the same person, and he had just sneaked on to Hapes. Why?

Kenara drummed her fingers on the counter top as she absently used this new picture as a baseline for another data search, trying to come up with an answer. Turning to lean against the counter, she thought back to their conversations and remembered that Jacen had admitted to seeing his daughter fairly regularly. The Princess was much too young to go out on her own, so the Queen obviously did not mind that he came to Hapes. If she did not mind him coming to see them, would not flying your own ship and landing at the Palace be more convenient? Something important was hovering just out of reach. Frustrated, Kenara headed up to get ready for bed, leaving her suitcase standing at the base of the stairs.

As Kenara brushed her teeth, Jacen's comment: This will probably be my last trip to Hapes echoed in her head. Even now, two days later, she could almost feel the sadness in his voice. Thinking back, his obvious pain was more than simply not being able to see his daughter or the woman he loved, it was as if he knew something bad was going to…

Kenara stopped in mid-brush, toothpaste dripping out of her mouth as a horrible thought occurred to her: Jacen was going to try to assassinate the Queen Mother. Her imagination ran wild as Jacen's visage popped into her head, an ugly sneer on his face. If I can't have her, no one will. He was a Jedi, so getting into the Palace unobserved would certainly be possible. Once he got to the Royal Apartments, it would not be that hard for Jacen to kill his former lover.

Kenara made a move for her comlink to call the authorities before stopping mid-turn. Something about this scenario just did not sound right: if half of the stories she had heard about the Queen's fighting abilities were true, it was doubtful that even a Jedi could get into her chambers and murder the Queen without there being a huge scuffle, one that would bring every guard in the Palace to her room. Furthermore, when the two of them had spent an afternoon talking politics, he never seemed bitter about his ex, and was almost beaming with pride as to what the Queen had accomplished. More than anyone, Jacen would know what would happen in the power-vacuum that would result with the Queen's death: Hapes would be thrown into chaos and possibly return to the barbaric policies of Ta'Chume. And what about the Chume'da? Would he kill her too? Kenara shook her head; his love for his daughter seemed authentic, as did his fondness for the Queen. Whatever Jacen had planned, it was not regicide.

Kidnapping? As she washed her face and wiped off the bathroom counter, she reflected on this. Once Jacen sneaked into the Palace, he could grab his daughter and steal one of the Queen's ships to make a run off-planet. Making her way to bed, Kenara turned off the lights and climbed into the bed as she tried to run through various scenarios where this might work, each scenario becoming more outlandish and absurd. If she were a betting girl, she would place better-than-even odds on there being some sort of tracking device on the Princess, whether it be a bracelet, a barrette, or something sewn into her clothes. And where would they go? The Queen Mother was also a Jedi, and she owned the third-largest fleet in the galaxy; a galaxy that suddenly got much smaller if you were on the run from the entire Hapan Navy. No, whatever he had planned was much simpler, something that did not require him to leave in a rush.

Kenara lie on her back staring at the ceiling, hoping in vain that her mind would stop racing enough for her to fall asleep. This will probably be my last trip to Hapes. Try as she might, Kenara could not get those words out of her head. The way he had said it had such finality to it: Jacen seemed to know that he would never come back to Hapes. She pursed her lips, as a strange thought occurred to her. Perhaps she was looking at his statement from the wrong angle; instead of meaning that he would never come to Hapes again, what if Jacen meant that he would never leave Hapes again? From the way he talked about his ex, and the way he talked about his daughter, that should bring nothing but joy to Mr. Solo. For him to sound as depressed as he did meant…

Kenara jerked upright, covering her mouth with her hand. Jacen had no plans to leave Hapes because he fully planned on dying here. A small gasp escaped her lips as she caught on to Jacen's plan. He was going to see his daughter and his friend one more time and then he was going to end his existence.

Leaping out of bed, she flipped on the lights as she almost ran into her closet, quickly grabbing a pair of stretch pants, an old t-shirt, and a pair of running shoes. Kenara was in such a hurry that it did not occur to her that rushing to the Fountain Palace at 0530, with only a vague plan on how to tell the Queen that Jacen Solo was planning on committing suicide, was probably not the best idea. Rushing down the stairs, she grabbed her wallet off the kitchen counter and turned to leave, freezing as she caught an image on her computer screen.

Turning back to take a closer look, she saw that it was the same picture of 'chipper' Jacen that she had seen earlier, but this time the image was not cropped. On his left, her arm intertwined with his, was the Queen Mother dressed in a stunning blue satin gown, a small smile on her lovely face. While some part of her mind was processing that they did make a lovely couple, Kenara focused more on their eyes. They were sharing the same look that she had seen her mother and father share on many occasions, a look that she hoped to be lucky enough to share with someone: the look of undying affection. It was not the lovey-dovey look that she had seen some of her friends give their boyfriends, this look was deeper, more connected, more…understanding. Checking the time stamp, she saw that the picture was taken around three years ago. Thinking back, she vaguely remembered hearing some hubbub in the press at about that time that the Queen was dating. The excitement soon died off when the 'striking couple' had only been seen together at two events. What happened? Hapes happened; political pressure had sent the two of them underground like two lovers from a bad holodrama. Slamming the computer shut, Kenara Do'ma turned to leave in a huff; she was tired of seeing Hapan culture chew up otherwise loving relationships. Kenara would not allow her Queen to be forever alone like her three aunts were, like both her grandmothers were. Not if she could help it.

So focused on her new crusade, it was only after her front door clicked closed did she realize that the keys to her speeder were still on the kitchen counter next to the computer and right next to her house keys. Crap. Her parents had a key but lived out in the country. The young ensign started jogging, her mind made up; she would call her parents after talking to the Queen Mother. Hanging her head, she realized that her trip to the palace was now going to take a bit longer. Luckily, it was only five kilometers or so to the Palace from her condominium, and she could run with the best of them.

After a couple blocks, Kenara became lost in thought about how best to convince the Palace Guard to let her talk to the Queen. So lost, in fact, that she almost missed a muffled, yet unmistakable, sound of a breaking window. Stopping mid-stride, the young woman strained to try to hear anything else. There. From the back of the house on her right came another tinkling sound, as if someone was clearing a windowpane of shards. For a long moment, Kenara thought about ignoring the sounds and moving on. Before she could take a step, one of the core values of the Hapan Navy leapt to the top of her thoughts- Integrity First: Doing the right thing every time. First and foremost, she was a Naval Ensign; she had volunteered to protect Hapes from all threats, foreign and domestic. To ignore this would be to insult centuries of proud Naval heritage.

Taking a deep breath and steeling her resolve with bravery she did not really feel, she started in direction of the sound. As she crept around the side of the house, she heard whispering, but could not decipher what has being said. Cringing, she stopped. Whispering implied two or more people, and she did not think that she could take on a group. All thieves are cowards and will run when they are found out. Kenara remembered hearing this once in junior high from a police officer that had been giving a talk about law enforcement careers. As she took a quick peek around the corner, she found herself hoping that the long-forgotten officer was right.

Ducking back around the corner, she was pleased that there were only two people, both hiding behind a shrub. From the looks of them, they did not seem to be very tall, so maybe she would be able to intimidate them into simply leaving. Standing up, she backed up a step and took a deep breath, trying to channel the voice of her drill instructor. "Hey, what's going on over there?" She was actually pretty pleased with how authoritative she sounded. Sergeant Yo'mot would be proud!

The brunette woman scowled when the expected sound of running footsteps did not materialize. Taking a deep breath, she rounded the corner and promptly froze. The 'shrub' that the other two were hiding behind was actually another person. He had been kneeling over to help clear away the shards from the broken window and was HUGE. Swallowing, Kenara willed herself to not sound afraid.

"I've called the police," she bluffed, trying to sound authoritative.

She could almost hear the mirth in the big man's voice. "Nah, you haven't." He pointed to his left ear; Kenara could only assume that he was pointing to a small earpiece. "You see, we're scanning the police frequencies, and they are quiet as a tomb."

From behind him, two 'smaller' men appeared, one wielding a nasty-looking club. Even being in the shadows as they were, 'Batman' (she had already given them names) saw her look at his club.

Looking down, he addressed the club as if it were a friend, "You like Natalie? She's a rounders bat wrapped in a couple of towels." He looked back up at Kenara, smiling. "She can break windows without much noise." His smile disappeared and there was no mistaking the menace in his voice, "And people."

Fear had rooted her to the spot, and her mind was whirling to try to find a way out of this. "I don't want any trouble," she tried, her voice sounding embarrassingly pathetic.

The big man only chuckled mirthlessly, "It's too late for that. We are going to have our fun with you and then kill you."

Frantically, she seized on the one thing that might save her from being Hapes' next murder victim: her job. Hapans had long been proud of their Navy; maybe these thieves had some sense of patriotism. Steeling her voice, "I'm an Ensign in the Royal Navy, it is a treasonable offense to harm me." Inwardly, she cringed at her comment. They had already committed one crime, and had planned on doing two more to her, the last being severe capital crimes. Somehow, she doubted the threat of treason would deter them.

'Mr. Shrub', as she had mentally labeled the tallest of the trio seemed to catch the irony in her comment and snorted in laughter. "You certainly don't lack courage; and I'm just as patriotic as the next guy." Kenara allowed a small breath of relief. "We'll just have our fun, then, and NOT kill you."

Mr. Shrub took a step forward and Ensign Do'ma finally did what she should have done when this whole conversation started: run. Kenara knew that she did not have the outright speed of the men chasing her, so she cut across yards and dodged between houses hoping to be able to stay ahead of them long enough to run them out of breath. In the back of her mind, she pictured herself an oryctolagus running from a vulpes as she ducked through a shrub and sprinted across a yard to a back alley.

Sprinting down the alley, she could hear someone crash through the shrubbery and the sharp laugh of someone, 'Batman' if she had to guess, as he cackled at her. "Nice move, Ms. Navy. We're still going run you down, though."

Another alleyway crossed hers, and she darted left down that one, only to see that opened up onto a main thoroughfare. Crap. The last thing she wanted is a long straightaway for 'Mr. Shrub' to be able to use those long legs to run her down. Kenara put on a burst of speed she did not know she had and turned right down the street, sprinting as fast as she could. Instantly, she recognized where she was. If she took the next left, it was only a half-block to the City Arboretum, and she should be able to lose them in there.

As she sprinted down the street, it occurred to her that Ta'a Chume was correct; fear is excellent motivation. Again, Kenara found new speed with the knowledge that she was now about a block to relative safety, half-a-block to the turn and then half-a-block to the arboretum. If she could get to the turn before they came out of the alley, they would have to slow down to try and determine which way she went, increasing her advantage. Like a swoop racer, she widened her turn, intending to hit the apex of the corner, and swing wide on the exit, allowing her to maintain as much speed as possible. As she started the turn, she risked a glimpse over her left shoulder to try and see her pursuers. Not seeing anyone, she allowed a small sense of relief before she felt a bone-rattling impact and her world went black.

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A/N: Thanks again to all those who are reading! Please review!