***
Pain, fear, extreme anguish, and terror swirled around Jaina, completely covering her, drowning her. She was curled up into as tight a ball as she could manage, tears streaming down her face, despite the fact that her eyes were squeezed shut. She ached and burned all over, and nothing she could do could shunt away the hurt. Then, as quickly as it had come, the misery and anguish fled. She was vaguely aware of Jag looking down into her eyes through a hazy shroud of tears. He was kneeling down beside their bed; how she'd gotten there, she didn't know, and her emotions were too scrambled to even try to sort things out.
"Arryn." he breathed, "Are you ok?" His hazel eyes shone with worry for her.
"I," Jaina started, her voice faltering, "I."
Tears spilled down her cheeks unchecked again, and Jag gathered her into his arms, murmuring soothing words. Jaina collapsed into his embrace, her tears soaking into his tunic. She curled up against him, sobs wracking her shoulders uncontrollably.
Jag was worried. *I've never seen her this shaken up before.* he thought, rubbing her back comfortingly. He waited until he thought she'd calmed down enough before he asked her again, almost afraid of making her cry again.* And that's the last thing I want to do, to make her cry or recall something painful. *
"Arr." he whispered, "Arr.what happened?"
She turned a tear-streaked face to him, her bright blue eyes welling with tears. "I." she sniffed, "I.don't know, Jared."
He waited patiently for her to continue.
"Jare.it was like.I wasn't even here.I was watching through someone else's eyes, and feeling their pain," She finally had control of her voice, and a few tears slipped past her guard and trickled down her cheeks. "Every nerve exploded with pain, and."
Jag's heart almost broke at her sad expression; the corners of her mouth turned down slightly, and tears trickled down her cheeks, and she looked so broken, so helpless that Jag's heart went out to her. *I'd give anything to stop her from hurting, and to make her smile and laugh again. *
He gently caressed her cheek, swiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks. "Don't cry." he whispered. "Everything will be fine."
Jaina struggled against a new wave of tears, pulling away from Jag like she'd just been stung. Her bottom lip trembled. "How can you say that? You don't even know if you'll live to see tomorrow!"
Jag sighed, his fingers combing through her tousled blonde hair. "No. No, you're right, I don't know that, and I shouldn't have said that. But, I know that having you here with me is good enough for now, and I don't need to worry about tomorrow."
She buried her face in his neck, throwing her arms around him. They stayed in that embrace for several long moments, until curiosity got the best of Jag.
"Arryn?" he whispered.
"What?" she said softly, pulling away from him just enough to be able to look him in the eye.
Jag shifted slightly. "What was that from?"
She managed for a moment not to look extremely depressed, and instead, she looked reflective. "I think.I think it was from my bond with Kyp."
Jag drew a sharp intake of breath. "He's hurt?"
Jaina shrugged miserably. "I don't think it was him. I think was picking up on his sensing someone else's agony-but there would be no reason why I should have felt it from Kyp instead of from that Jedi."
She stiffened in Jag's arms suddenly.
"What?" he whispered.
Tears sprang up in her eyes again. "On Hapes, I couldn't sense Jacen.I just felt the other Jedi and what they were sensing from him,"
"So," he said quietly, "It was something from Jacen?"
Jaina nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks again. "They're hurting my brother, Jag," she said, not even caring that she hadn't called him by his alias and had just compromised security. All that mattered was her brother, and he was in Yuuzhan Vong hands, at their mercy, all because she'd left him behind. "They're hurting him terribly. I," her voice broke, "I've got to do something!"
"No," Jag said.
Jaina looked up at him, looking at him like he'd just betrayed her to the Peace Brigade.
"No," he repeated, "No, *we've* got to do something."
***
Jaina's blue eyes widened. "You really mean it?" she gasped.
He nodded. "I really do."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "You have no idea what this means to me!"
Jag smiled, tightening his grip on her slightly. "I can't let you go alone," he whispered, "And you know I'd follow you, wherever you will go. We'll get Jacen back, Jaina, whatever it takes, we'll get him back."
"Thank you, Jag, thank you so much," she whispered, her throat thickening. She rested her head on his shoulder, and they stayed that way for awhile, until Jag carefully picked up, rising, and gently set her back down on their bed. She shot him a questioning look.
"I've got to call my dear uncle, inform him of our change in plans." He answered, walking towards the small comm unit in the corner of the room. He dropped down in front of it, not exactly thrilled to call up his uncle and tell him they were aborting the mission. *Please be understanding,* he silently pleaded,* Don't make this too hard, Uncle. *He keyed in all the possible encryption codes he could manage for the holocomm transmission. On an impulse, he picked up another data card of encryptions, and slid it into the unit, just as an extra safety precaution.
Moments later, the image of a tired Wedge Antilles appeared, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "General Antilles here, and there had better be some good Sithspawned reason for calling at this hour."
Jag winced, forgetting the time conversions. *It's not even that early, though, really,* he thought. "General, I thought you'd be interested in a mission recap."
Wedge did a double take. "Jag?"
Jag nodded. "Like the costume? Your wife created it."
"It's different. You were saying? A 'mission recap'?" Wedge asked.
Jag hesitated, glancing at Jaina before nodding again. "Change in plans. We found our contact, we're done with our portion until the rest of the team checks in, which none of them have. And."
"And?" Wedge repeated.
"And, well, Jaina had a vision from the Force. It's not even really a vision, she balled up in pain, and cried for nearly twenty minutes, nonstop, here, but not here. You know what I mean?"
Wedge's eyes narrowed. "I'm thinking I don't like where this conversation is heading."
Jag sighed. "You won't. It was from Kyp, who was receiving it from Jacen."
Wedge shook his head. "No. I am sorry, send my regrets to Jaina, but we can't have her dashing off to save her brother. It's far too dangerous. Right now, they may torture him, but they won't kill him, not until they get Jaina, and force them to kill each other. He's safe for now, and so is she. No."
Jag sighed heavily again. "I'm afraid I can't take no for an answer. I told her we would do something, and I won't go back on my word. I can't bear to watch her go through this much pain, General."
"No. Listen up, Colonel," Wedge spat, putting as much venom into his voice as he could, "You are not to let Jaina Solo leave Corellia. Those are your orders. Understood?"
"They have been heard, processed and ignored, General. You should issue other orders; you know we won't follow any others. You may as well give us your approval." Jag returned just as icily.
Wedge glared at him, apparently considering Jag's words. After a moment's pause, he continued, "You. Are. Not. Going. To. Let. Jaina. Solo. Leave. Corellia. Until. I. Have. Given. My. Express. Permission."
Jag matched his glare to Wedge's. "And that's where you are wrong, General. She outranks you. I take my orders from her. And if you are not going to consent to our new mission, then I have to go."
Wedge opened his mouth to protest, but Jag silenced him with a hand. "General, you are hundreds of lightyears away, and you can't stop us. This may be insubordination, but so be it. We are going to save Jacen Solo, and nothing you can do will stop us."
Wedge stared at him, unbelieving this was his nephew, the Imperial who took orders and fulfilled them, who never disobeyed a superior, even if he didn't agree.* Seems we have suceeded in turning him into a Rebellion-style pilot. I just wish, for once, he hadn't turned Rebellion on us yet.* Wedge swore under his breath. "Very well, Colonel, it appears you can look forward to house arrest upon your return to the fleet. You are staring a court-martial in the face. And if you return without Jaina Solo, you are staring an execution in the face."
Jag narrowed his eyes. "You can't execute me for that."
Wedge raised his eyebrows. "I never said I would be the one executing you. I can guarantee the Skywalker-Solo clan who would be performing your execution. So, I recommend you return with Jaina Solo alive, Colonel. Otherwise, I don't recommend returning at all."
***
As Jag slipped into bed, Jaina turned to him, lying on her right side, resting her head in her right hand. "I overheard your exchange with Wedge. I'm sorry."
He shrugged. "It's ok, really."
"No, this is all my fault. You've never fought with him, have you?"
"Not really."
"And you are staring a court-martial in the face. You should stay here; I'll save my brother. And if I can't.the galaxy is a better place without me."
Jag shook his head. "Don't even start, Arryn. I'm going with you and that's that."
Jaina's eyes started to fill with tears again, but she blinked them away. She leaned over and kissed Jag, long and slow. "Thank you, Jare. no one else cares." she breathed, pulling away.
She could see him half-smile. "You're wrong," he said, "We aren't going to be the only ones going. I bet you a million credits, Kyp will find out, and he'll end up coming, too."
She sighed. "You are probably right."
"Probably?" Jag arched an eyebrow.
"Well, ok, you are right." Jaina conceded.
"Much better." Jag grinned, leaning forward to kiss her again. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Love you, Arr. and don't you ever forget it, or doubt it."
She smiled. "I won't. I love you too, Jare."
***
Kyp Durron was covered in a sticky sheen, his breathing hard. *If that wasn't the most excruciating thing I've ever felt through the Force, then I don't know what is.* He shuddered to himself, trying to calm shaky nerves and a queasy stomach. *I bet every Jedi in the Known Galaxy felt that. *
His eyes widened as he realized he sent his agony over his Force bond with Jaina. *Jaina? Jaina, I am so sorry. *he sent.* I should have shielded. Are you ok? *
He sensed almost a mental shrug from her. *It's all good.*
*I don't think it is. *
He sensed another mental shrug from her. *Fine, you're right, it's not good. But, I'm going to fix that. You'll see. *
Kyp frowned, wondering what she meant. Realization dawned on him, and his eyes widened. *You aren't going after him, are you, Jaina? *
*I'm trying to sleep, Kyp. Leave me alone.* With that, she shut herself off from him, and he knew she was going to go try and save Jacen.
She can't go.* She'll get herself killed or worse-captured.* Kyp thought. *Well, I'm coming, too. Whether she likes it or not.'* He began to pack his small duffel bag, stuffing it with his spare clothes, and his weaponry.
***
ok, all I'm sorry for taking forever with the updates! I was out of town! Oh, and for those of you who think I take too long to update, go to the theforce.net's fan fiction forum, and I update there almost every day.and the story is a lot longer there.if ya do go to TF.N 's forum, it's The Battle At Hand, and go to page 9. That's where this part ends. Just in case you'd rather read it there, of course. :D
Pain, fear, extreme anguish, and terror swirled around Jaina, completely covering her, drowning her. She was curled up into as tight a ball as she could manage, tears streaming down her face, despite the fact that her eyes were squeezed shut. She ached and burned all over, and nothing she could do could shunt away the hurt. Then, as quickly as it had come, the misery and anguish fled. She was vaguely aware of Jag looking down into her eyes through a hazy shroud of tears. He was kneeling down beside their bed; how she'd gotten there, she didn't know, and her emotions were too scrambled to even try to sort things out.
"Arryn." he breathed, "Are you ok?" His hazel eyes shone with worry for her.
"I," Jaina started, her voice faltering, "I."
Tears spilled down her cheeks unchecked again, and Jag gathered her into his arms, murmuring soothing words. Jaina collapsed into his embrace, her tears soaking into his tunic. She curled up against him, sobs wracking her shoulders uncontrollably.
Jag was worried. *I've never seen her this shaken up before.* he thought, rubbing her back comfortingly. He waited until he thought she'd calmed down enough before he asked her again, almost afraid of making her cry again.* And that's the last thing I want to do, to make her cry or recall something painful. *
"Arr." he whispered, "Arr.what happened?"
She turned a tear-streaked face to him, her bright blue eyes welling with tears. "I." she sniffed, "I.don't know, Jared."
He waited patiently for her to continue.
"Jare.it was like.I wasn't even here.I was watching through someone else's eyes, and feeling their pain," She finally had control of her voice, and a few tears slipped past her guard and trickled down her cheeks. "Every nerve exploded with pain, and."
Jag's heart almost broke at her sad expression; the corners of her mouth turned down slightly, and tears trickled down her cheeks, and she looked so broken, so helpless that Jag's heart went out to her. *I'd give anything to stop her from hurting, and to make her smile and laugh again. *
He gently caressed her cheek, swiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks. "Don't cry." he whispered. "Everything will be fine."
Jaina struggled against a new wave of tears, pulling away from Jag like she'd just been stung. Her bottom lip trembled. "How can you say that? You don't even know if you'll live to see tomorrow!"
Jag sighed, his fingers combing through her tousled blonde hair. "No. No, you're right, I don't know that, and I shouldn't have said that. But, I know that having you here with me is good enough for now, and I don't need to worry about tomorrow."
She buried her face in his neck, throwing her arms around him. They stayed in that embrace for several long moments, until curiosity got the best of Jag.
"Arryn?" he whispered.
"What?" she said softly, pulling away from him just enough to be able to look him in the eye.
Jag shifted slightly. "What was that from?"
She managed for a moment not to look extremely depressed, and instead, she looked reflective. "I think.I think it was from my bond with Kyp."
Jag drew a sharp intake of breath. "He's hurt?"
Jaina shrugged miserably. "I don't think it was him. I think was picking up on his sensing someone else's agony-but there would be no reason why I should have felt it from Kyp instead of from that Jedi."
She stiffened in Jag's arms suddenly.
"What?" he whispered.
Tears sprang up in her eyes again. "On Hapes, I couldn't sense Jacen.I just felt the other Jedi and what they were sensing from him,"
"So," he said quietly, "It was something from Jacen?"
Jaina nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks again. "They're hurting my brother, Jag," she said, not even caring that she hadn't called him by his alias and had just compromised security. All that mattered was her brother, and he was in Yuuzhan Vong hands, at their mercy, all because she'd left him behind. "They're hurting him terribly. I," her voice broke, "I've got to do something!"
"No," Jag said.
Jaina looked up at him, looking at him like he'd just betrayed her to the Peace Brigade.
"No," he repeated, "No, *we've* got to do something."
***
Jaina's blue eyes widened. "You really mean it?" she gasped.
He nodded. "I really do."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "You have no idea what this means to me!"
Jag smiled, tightening his grip on her slightly. "I can't let you go alone," he whispered, "And you know I'd follow you, wherever you will go. We'll get Jacen back, Jaina, whatever it takes, we'll get him back."
"Thank you, Jag, thank you so much," she whispered, her throat thickening. She rested her head on his shoulder, and they stayed that way for awhile, until Jag carefully picked up, rising, and gently set her back down on their bed. She shot him a questioning look.
"I've got to call my dear uncle, inform him of our change in plans." He answered, walking towards the small comm unit in the corner of the room. He dropped down in front of it, not exactly thrilled to call up his uncle and tell him they were aborting the mission. *Please be understanding,* he silently pleaded,* Don't make this too hard, Uncle. *He keyed in all the possible encryption codes he could manage for the holocomm transmission. On an impulse, he picked up another data card of encryptions, and slid it into the unit, just as an extra safety precaution.
Moments later, the image of a tired Wedge Antilles appeared, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "General Antilles here, and there had better be some good Sithspawned reason for calling at this hour."
Jag winced, forgetting the time conversions. *It's not even that early, though, really,* he thought. "General, I thought you'd be interested in a mission recap."
Wedge did a double take. "Jag?"
Jag nodded. "Like the costume? Your wife created it."
"It's different. You were saying? A 'mission recap'?" Wedge asked.
Jag hesitated, glancing at Jaina before nodding again. "Change in plans. We found our contact, we're done with our portion until the rest of the team checks in, which none of them have. And."
"And?" Wedge repeated.
"And, well, Jaina had a vision from the Force. It's not even really a vision, she balled up in pain, and cried for nearly twenty minutes, nonstop, here, but not here. You know what I mean?"
Wedge's eyes narrowed. "I'm thinking I don't like where this conversation is heading."
Jag sighed. "You won't. It was from Kyp, who was receiving it from Jacen."
Wedge shook his head. "No. I am sorry, send my regrets to Jaina, but we can't have her dashing off to save her brother. It's far too dangerous. Right now, they may torture him, but they won't kill him, not until they get Jaina, and force them to kill each other. He's safe for now, and so is she. No."
Jag sighed heavily again. "I'm afraid I can't take no for an answer. I told her we would do something, and I won't go back on my word. I can't bear to watch her go through this much pain, General."
"No. Listen up, Colonel," Wedge spat, putting as much venom into his voice as he could, "You are not to let Jaina Solo leave Corellia. Those are your orders. Understood?"
"They have been heard, processed and ignored, General. You should issue other orders; you know we won't follow any others. You may as well give us your approval." Jag returned just as icily.
Wedge glared at him, apparently considering Jag's words. After a moment's pause, he continued, "You. Are. Not. Going. To. Let. Jaina. Solo. Leave. Corellia. Until. I. Have. Given. My. Express. Permission."
Jag matched his glare to Wedge's. "And that's where you are wrong, General. She outranks you. I take my orders from her. And if you are not going to consent to our new mission, then I have to go."
Wedge opened his mouth to protest, but Jag silenced him with a hand. "General, you are hundreds of lightyears away, and you can't stop us. This may be insubordination, but so be it. We are going to save Jacen Solo, and nothing you can do will stop us."
Wedge stared at him, unbelieving this was his nephew, the Imperial who took orders and fulfilled them, who never disobeyed a superior, even if he didn't agree.* Seems we have suceeded in turning him into a Rebellion-style pilot. I just wish, for once, he hadn't turned Rebellion on us yet.* Wedge swore under his breath. "Very well, Colonel, it appears you can look forward to house arrest upon your return to the fleet. You are staring a court-martial in the face. And if you return without Jaina Solo, you are staring an execution in the face."
Jag narrowed his eyes. "You can't execute me for that."
Wedge raised his eyebrows. "I never said I would be the one executing you. I can guarantee the Skywalker-Solo clan who would be performing your execution. So, I recommend you return with Jaina Solo alive, Colonel. Otherwise, I don't recommend returning at all."
***
As Jag slipped into bed, Jaina turned to him, lying on her right side, resting her head in her right hand. "I overheard your exchange with Wedge. I'm sorry."
He shrugged. "It's ok, really."
"No, this is all my fault. You've never fought with him, have you?"
"Not really."
"And you are staring a court-martial in the face. You should stay here; I'll save my brother. And if I can't.the galaxy is a better place without me."
Jag shook his head. "Don't even start, Arryn. I'm going with you and that's that."
Jaina's eyes started to fill with tears again, but she blinked them away. She leaned over and kissed Jag, long and slow. "Thank you, Jare. no one else cares." she breathed, pulling away.
She could see him half-smile. "You're wrong," he said, "We aren't going to be the only ones going. I bet you a million credits, Kyp will find out, and he'll end up coming, too."
She sighed. "You are probably right."
"Probably?" Jag arched an eyebrow.
"Well, ok, you are right." Jaina conceded.
"Much better." Jag grinned, leaning forward to kiss her again. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Love you, Arr. and don't you ever forget it, or doubt it."
She smiled. "I won't. I love you too, Jare."
***
Kyp Durron was covered in a sticky sheen, his breathing hard. *If that wasn't the most excruciating thing I've ever felt through the Force, then I don't know what is.* He shuddered to himself, trying to calm shaky nerves and a queasy stomach. *I bet every Jedi in the Known Galaxy felt that. *
His eyes widened as he realized he sent his agony over his Force bond with Jaina. *Jaina? Jaina, I am so sorry. *he sent.* I should have shielded. Are you ok? *
He sensed almost a mental shrug from her. *It's all good.*
*I don't think it is. *
He sensed another mental shrug from her. *Fine, you're right, it's not good. But, I'm going to fix that. You'll see. *
Kyp frowned, wondering what she meant. Realization dawned on him, and his eyes widened. *You aren't going after him, are you, Jaina? *
*I'm trying to sleep, Kyp. Leave me alone.* With that, she shut herself off from him, and he knew she was going to go try and save Jacen.
She can't go.* She'll get herself killed or worse-captured.* Kyp thought. *Well, I'm coming, too. Whether she likes it or not.'* He began to pack his small duffel bag, stuffing it with his spare clothes, and his weaponry.
***
ok, all I'm sorry for taking forever with the updates! I was out of town! Oh, and for those of you who think I take too long to update, go to the theforce.net's fan fiction forum, and I update there almost every day.and the story is a lot longer there.if ya do go to TF.N 's forum, it's The Battle At Hand, and go to page 9. That's where this part ends. Just in case you'd rather read it there, of course. :D