CHAPTER EIGHT:  REUNION

          Jaina Solo ran hard through the thick massassi tree filled jungle.  Not because she needed the workout or because she was running from some horrible danger, but simply because she was enjoying how difficult it was for the person running with her to keep up.  She was trying to teach him a lesson after he had not so bluntly said he could wipe the jungle floor with her any day.

          "How's it going back there?"  Jaina yelled over her shoulder.

          "Just fine," Ganner wheezed.

          Jaina grinned.  Apparently, Ganner was not in the top-notch shape he claimed to be in.

          "Hey, Jaina," Ganner called to her, "maybe we should take a short break.  You know, so we don't get dehydrated," he added.

          He sounded like he was ready to collapse and Jaina did not want to see that happen.  She had no desire to carry his sweaty body back to the Academy.  So, even though she could keep going, she pushed her way through the dense foliage until she came to the clearing where the lake was.

          Ganner was barely able to drag his tired body over to the water.  He crouched down at the edge of the lake and began splashing water onto his face.

          "Can you go on?  Or should we head back?"  She wanted to hear him admit she was in better shape then him.

          "Of course I can keep going," he replied, beginning to get his breath back.  "I just need to cool down first,"

          Jaina raised an eyebrow and grinned at him mischievously.  "Cool down, eh?"

          Before he could figure out what she had meant by that, a cluster of water molecules were lifted into the air and dropped on top of him, soaking him right through.  He jumped to his feet the instant the freezing water came into contact with his skin.  He looked down at his drenched clothes, which were clinging to his skin and dripping water onto the ground, making little puddles by his feet.  Not to mention his boots, which were filled with water and made little squishing sounds every time he moved his feet.  He had wanted to cool down – but not like that.

The sound of laughter filled his ears as he squeezed the excess water from his shirt.  A few months ago he would have accused her or doing that just so she could see him with a wet tee shirt on.  Her reaction to that comment would have amused him to no end, but their relationship had moved past his annoying her for his own personal amusement – at least most of the time.

          "I guess I asked for that," Ganner said to Jaina, who had her laughter under control now, "but I think it's only fair that I return the favour,"

          Her laughter ceased the second she felt her body being lifted into the air and catapulted into the middle of the lake.  Sputtering, Jaina came to the surface, pushing her long, wet hair out of her eyes.  When she looked over at Ganner, she saw him at the edge of the water, bent over laughing.

          "All right," Jaina grumbled, as she began swimming back to shore, "we're even now,"

          Ganner looked quite satisfied with himself for using her own trick against her.

          "Would you give me a hand?"  Jaina asked innocently when she reached shallower water.

          Without thinking, Ganner stepped into the water and held out his hand.  The instant Jaina seized his hand he realized his mistake, but it was too late.

          Using all her strength – and a little help from the force – she pulled Ganner into the water beside her.   That wiped the smirk off his face.

          Sitting down in the water, which came up to just above his waist, he said, "I can't believe you did that, Jaina.  That's got to be the oldest trick in the book,"

          "And you fell for it," she said smugly.

          "Whatever happened to 'we're even'?"

          "I guess I changed my mind,"

          "That's too bad," Ganner said, his tone full of regret as he brought his hands up from under the water and started splashing her with it.

          Jaina brought up her hands in a futile attempt to block the water and jumped up.  Using her feet, she kicked water at him until he had no choice but to get to his own feet unless he wanted to drown.  She cupped her hands in the water, mercilessly splashing it at him.

          "That's not fair," Ganner complained, "you're still one up on me,"

          "What are you going to do about it?"  She challenged.

          "This," he grabbed her waist and was ready to throw her back into the water when he caught sight of someone standing by the edge of the lake.

          "Am I interrupting something?" 

          Jaina turned her head to see Jacen, who was not even trying to hide the amused grin on his face.  She knew what he must have thinking, seeing them standing there in the lake, soaking wet, with Ganner's hands wrapped around her waist.

          "N-no," Jaina stammered, "we were just – you know, uh –"

          "Cooling off," Ganner finished for her, removing his hands from her body, "from our run,"

          She hoped Jacen could not see the bright pink her cheeks were turning.  Unfortunately, Ganner could since he was standing right in front of her.

          "Well, if you two are finished you're little water fight," Jacen said, his grin broadening even more when he saw the look of embarrassment on his twin sister's face, "you might want to come to the landing pad,"

          Jaina asked, "Why?"

          "Because Anakin's back,"

          "He is?"  Jaina said, sounding both surprised and relieved.  When he had taken off from Courscant days ago, she had expected him to be gone for quite a while.  He had a lot of issues he had to work out concerning Tahiri's death. It was a good sign then if he had decided to come back to the Academy so soon, wasn't it?

          Sloshing her way back to shore, with Ganner following, she said, "how did he sound?"

          Jacen shrugged.  "I dunno.  But he was acting weird?"

          "Weird?"  She really hoped he had not gone and something extremely un-Anakin like and stupid.

          "He wanted me to bring Kam and Tionne to the landing pad, and to make sure everyone else was there,"

          "He wants everyone there?  That is pretty weird," she agreed.  Their younger brother was not the kind of person who liked big crowds, and she was almost sure a quick trip to wherever it was he had gone would not change that.

          "Well, whatever's going on, we'll find out when we see him," Jacen said, breaking Jaina away from her thoughts.

          She and Jacen had long ago stopped trying to figure out their younger brother.  Maybe if they understood him better, they would know why he wanted all their friends, plus Kam, Tionne and everyone else to meet him when for weeks he had wanted nothing to do with anyone.

          At least the humid air would help her and Ganner's clothes become somewhat drier by the time they reached the landing pad.

          The landing area was filled with trainees and Jedi Knights by the time she, Jacen and Ganner got there.  A ship was just touching down as they arrived.  She could see her Uncle and Tenal Ka standing near the edge of the landing ramp.  They must have been one of the first ones there.

          Jaina frowned deeply as she instantly recognized the make a design of the craft landing.  She would know that beat up freighter anywhere.  She shot her twin a glare for conveniently having forgotten to mention that the Lightning Rod was the ship Anakin was on.

          Jacen held up his hands in a defensive gesture.  "I didn't know.  Honest,"

          She let it go at that.  It was not as if an advanced warning would have made much of a difference anyways.   

          Ganner lightly touched her arm.  "What's wrong?"

          "Nothing's wrong," she said, "that hunk of junk is Zekk's ship,"

          She watched his calm expression turn itself into a scowl, but he said nothing.

          "What's Anakin doing with Zekk?"  Jacen said, somewhat confused.

          Tenal Ka had finally managed to make her way over to her friends.  She nodded to them in greeting and turned to watch the ship like everyone else.

          Jaina saw the landing ramp descending.  "I think we're about to find out,"

          That was when they noticed the strange, pinkish goo attached to the ramp.  Her mind immediately raced to the conclusion that they had been attacked by Yuuzhan Vong but had managed to escape.  She hoped Anakin wasn't hurt.

          Thankfully, though, when she saw Anakin descend down the ramp he looked unharmed – but he was smiling!  She had not seen him smile since before it had happened.  She did not understand why he looked so happy until she saw a second person emerge from the ship. 

          Jaina felt her jaw drop in shock, along with everyone else present, when they got a look at the person who was standing beside Anakin.  Kam and Tionne were the first to come out of the shocked state, running towards Tahiri and throwing their arms around her.  Kam Solusar's usual stony and complacent demeanor was nowhere to be found as he hugged his thought-dead adopted daughter.  Tears of joy and disbelief filled Kam and Tionne's eyes.  The one word they kept repeating over and over was how.

          Jaina herself found she was still too stunned to speak, and so was everyone else it appeared.  Even Tenal Ka, who was never phased by anything, was staring wide eyed at the Rod's lamp, gripping Jacen's hand tightly.

          As soon as she saw her Uncle make his way to Tahiri, Jaina shook herself out of her stunned state and made her way to the Lightning Rod.

          Everyone else that had come to investigate, were now pushing their way towards the docked ship.  Word traveled fast because by the time Jaina had made her way to her brother, anyone who had not been outside initially had found their way to the landing field.  Tahiri was surrounded by Jedi who were hugging her and crying.

          Anakin grinned when he saw his sister.

          "Anakin, how?"  Was all Jaina could manage to say.

          "It's a really long and complicated story that you're going to have trouble believing,"

          No more trouble then she was already having.  "What happened?"

          "I think I better let Tahiri explain it.  It's even too strange for me to understand," Anakin admitted.

          They watched as Tahiri was being led back to the praxeum by Luke Skywalker, Kam, Tionne, and the hoards of Jedi that had come outside.  Tahiri could barely be seen, surrounded by the swarms of different species who were questioning her, wanting to know what had happened.

          "It was by accident, Jaina, but I found her," Anakin said, his ice blue eyes sparkling with joy.

          She put her arms around her brother and gave him a hug.  He sounded completely different then the last time she had spoken with him.  He had been so angry and depressed, but now, she could see and feel how alive he was again.  When she pulled back, Anakin looked down at the dark patches on his shirt and then back up at his sister.

          "It's a long story," she said, momentarily forgetting her clothes were still wet, and now so were Anakin's, but he did not seem to care.

          She heard movement coming from inside the ship, and then she saw him, standing at the top of the ramp, looking down at her.  His hair was really short.  A look she had never seen on him before, but he was still the same old Zekk.  The same guy that had broken her heart more times then she cared to remember, and the same person she would have been perfectly fine never seeing again.  But there he was, staring at her as if he had a million things he wanted to say to her, but could not find the words to say them.  Jaina never gave him the chance to speak.  Averting his gaze, she said to her brother, "I'll meet you inside,"

          She turned down the ramp and headed after the crowd taking Tahiri back to the Academy.