Chapter Fifteen

They traveled along through the dense forest all through the night and into the morning. Several of the men holding them captive dozed off, and Jaina was constantly looking towards Ganner to see if he was going to make a move. But he was silently staring into space, looking completely relaxed. Jaina, on the other hand, was a wreck.

Although she had been released from her handcuffs, the men were keeping a very close eye on her. Too close, she thought. Ganner may not have realized it, but some of the men were definitely interested in her for reasons other than holding her prisoner. She wanted badly to just whip around and knock a few of them in the nose, but she resolved not to act until Ganner told her to.

They arrived in the outskirts of what appeared to be a city after nearly twelve hours of traveling. How the men had managed to find her and Ganner, Jaina wasn't sure. They had been so far away from the town...which in itself wasn't much to look at. The stone buildings blended into the forest surrounding them, as most of the trees had not been cleared. The road was made of packed dirt, and there were few people in sight. It seemed as thought the people, like the city, wished to stay hidden.

It was the middle of the afternoon when the speeders finally slowed to a stop. The men grabbed Ganner violently and led him off to a dark building. Jaina was ordered to follow the leader.

"We need to check this one out," he muttered to an official looking man who approached them after a moment. The man nodded, and the leader grabbed her wrist. "This way, sister."

Jaina rolled her eyes and followed the man down the dusty street for several minutes. As they neared the center of the city, it began to look more populated. Here and there a child was running or trying to climb one of the huge trees that towered over the buildings. People stared at Jaina as she was led to what she assumed to be some type of government building. Unlike all the others around, this one had a domed top that was reddish-colored and was adorned with small silver stripes.

"Jackson, good to see you!" A loud voice boomed as they entered the main hall, which was surprisingly bright and decorated with ornate woodcarvings. "How was your hunting--" The man who approached was large and round, with a long graybeard, and wore black pants that showed off his bulging belly. He stopped short and looked at Jaina. "Jackson? Who is this?"

Jackson--the man finally had a name--beamed back at the other man. "This? Steffman, this is what I was hunting!"

Steffman returned a puzzled look. "I thought you were off looking for hornswath. She--she isn't a hornswath."

"She's with the Peace Brigade, or so she claims," Jackson continued. "I've got her companion out at the prison. They're the ones that escaped the Najeme--"

"Jackson!" Steffman threw up his hands. "Why would you bring them here? We don't want trouble! The Najeme already are trying to get us to join their..." He paused. "You know...and no one wants trouble around here! We're trying to stay out of this."

Jaina was soaking in the conversation. What exactly was going on here?

"I just thought--" Jackson continued.

"You don't ever think," Steffman scoffed. He shook his head. "Next thing you know, we're going to have a pack of Jedi running around here, looking for the one you've got in jail."

"You want me to release him?"

Steffman sighed. "No. Like I said, we don't need any Jedi running around here. The folks here wouldn't like it. Not one bit...we'll figure out what to do with him later." Steffman finally turned and looked at Jaina. "And how did you get mixed up in this?"

Jaina tried to recall the story Ganner had told. "The Jedi kidnapped me. He thinks I'm with the Peace Brigade," Jaina said, and saw Steffman shudder at the mention of them. "But really," she continued, trying to think of an organization Steffman might appreciate, "I was trying to recruit him...for, the, uh, New Republic Military."

"You're in the military?" Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why did he think you were in the Peace Brigade then, huh?"

"Well, uh, you know...the Jedi aren't so happy with the New Republic government right now, and I was following him around. But I let my guard down, and he found out...and kidnapped me. He just assumed I was with the Peace Brigade...you know, since I was following him...and even if I told him otherwise...I just started to go along with it to make him happy." She looked at the men, and sensed that they completely believed her story. She was better than she thought. And to throw a little something more into the mix: "You know, I didn't want to upset a Jedi. I don't like them much myself."

Steffman gave a sigh of relief. "Cause trouble, that's what they do," he responded, and Jaina knew she had gained his trust. "We'll leave him in there, for a while," he said to Jackson. "Until I figure out what to do. Just make sure you get some of those--what are they called?--ysalamani?"

"Ysalamiri," Jaina said, and as she spoke the words she shuddered. Without the Force, escape would be much harder...

"Yeah, some of those," he said, looking at Jackson again. "Go, take care of that...and no more Jedi hunting, ok?"

Jackson nodded and hurried quickly out the door. Steffman sighed again, and turned to Jaina. "And you--what did you say your name was?"

Jaina paused for a moment, then responded, "Lieutenant Jaina Lehada," she said, using her real first name in case Ganner ever called her that. With the ysalamiri there, there would be no way for him to know otherwise. And the Lehada...well, she wasn't happy about that name popping out. But it was the first one she could think of that wasn't well known to be related to a Jedi. It would have to do.

"Lieutenant Lehada," Steffman said, "You are welcome to stay in our city for as long as you would like. Unfortunately, our communications have been blocked by the Najeme because--" He caught himself, and then continued, "So you won't be able to contact a ship anytime soon to come get you. I apologize." Jaina nodded. "But all we have here is welcome to you." He glanced at her jumpsuit, which hadn't been washed in days. "We'll put you up in the diplomat's quarters...and get you something new to wear. Damn Jedi treated you poorly, I can tell." Jaina nodded again, her heart aching for Ganner. "Follow me, and we'll get you settled."