Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any of these characters (though like many people I wish I did). They are all the property of George Lucas, or Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta.
Author's Note: This story is part of my continuing NJO AU series (which I have yet to come up with a title for). It takes place about two months after the events in my last story "The More Things Change…"
CHAPTER ONE: ATTRACTIONS AND DISTRACTIONS
It was unusual for the jungles of Yavin Four to be peaceful. The sounds of the native wildlife could be heard could be heard scurrying about on the ground or rustling in the leaves of the massassi trees. But for Jaina Solo, this particular patch of the jungle was quite serene – for the moment, anyways.
"What time is it?" Ganner Rhysode asked from where he was lying on the jungle floor.
Jaina lifted her head off his chest and narrowed her eyes in suspicion at him. "Why? Do you have a hot date or something?"
He chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know? Actually, it's because Master Skywalker wants me to fill in for him for his beginner lightsaber fighting technique course. He thinks I can learn something from it," he said, his tone full of doubt.
"Maybe he's right,"
"I figured you'd say that,"
A few hours with a bunch of younger students who were just learning the basics of how to handle a lightsaber, might teach Ganner a thing or two about patience. Like she was one to talk about patience. It didn't take much to get her going. A trait she had undoubtedly inherited from both her mother and father. Ganner, however, probably wouldn't mind showing off his saber skills and having a bunch of Jedi-to-be's in awe of him.
"We should probably get going anyways," she said to him. There was no need for Jaina to look at her chrono to know that they had been out there for hours. And as much as she was growing accustomed to her 'outings' with Ganner, she knew the longer they stayed out, the greater the chance there was of someone stumbling upon them and realizing there was more then just a morning run going on between them. Already there was talk of the two of them as an item throughout the Great Temple that housed the Jedi Academy.
Having everyone think – or at least at one point everyone had thought they were just going for an early morning jog, gave the two of them an excuse to spend time alone together. It hadn't started out like that, of course. Jaina had kept up with her morning runs, and Ganner had continued to join her on a more frequent basis. One thing had led to another and before either of them realized it, the running had stopped altogether, replaced by long, passionate make-out sessions in the secluded jungle.
Jaina would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't seen it coming. After he had kissed her that first time there was no denying the attraction she felt towards him – maybe even before that. They had decided to be only friends, but that agreement had not last too long. They had grown closer then ever in recent months and that must have been what prompted Ganner to go and kiss her again. After that, there was no turning back. It was not as if they had actually agreed to be a couple or Ganner had professed his love for her. For that matter, she was not even sure herself if they were in fact a couple. They did spend a great deal of time together – but that was no different then from before. They had started kissing more in past weeks, but did that automatically mean they were dating? Not that that would be a bad thing. She only wished she knew if Ganner felt the same way, or if for him their outings was a way for him to pass the time until the next one came along and caught his eye. From the bits of gossip she had heard around the Academy, he had never taken an interest in a serious relationship before, so what made her think she could be the one to change his mind?
"What's the hurry to get back?" Ganner's voice cut into her thoughts.
Wasn't he just the one who had said they should head back? "The first reason being that I'm starving," she said, moving off of him. "We should really think about eating morning meal before we come out here,"
"And the second reason?"
"The second being it's getting harder and harder to explain to everyone why we come back from hours of running through the jungle without looking as if we've broken a sweat,"
She went to get up, but Ganner quickly turned and knelt over her on all fours to keep her from moving. A mischievous glint was evident in his hazel eyes. "There are other ways to sweat, you know,"
She knew he was joking – unless he didn't value his life too much. Nevertheless, it was his way of pressing her buttons to get her going. "You're too much, you know that?"
His handsome face just centimeters away from hers, he said, "what? Did you think that just because we started – " he paused briefly and then continued, " – hanging out more I would lose my sense of humour?"
The hesitation in his voice was unmistakable. He had been about to say 'dating' but caught himself just in time. Even Ganner did not want to presume they were a couple – or maybe he didn't want to commit himself to her by admitting it openly.
She tried not to let it bug her. "No, but I thought at least your jokes would start to be funny,"
"Ha, ha," he said, pretending to look hurt. He moved to get off her but Jaina grabbed the front of his shirt to stop him.
"I know I said we should get going, but that doesn't mean we have to leave right this second," she said in a playful voice.
Ganner grinned and leaned back down to kiss her.
She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and their lips met. It started slowly, but it did not take long for it to turn passionate. Before they could get carried away, Jaina pulled away from him.
"We should really get going now," Ganner said, reading her mind.
Jaina did not argue. She sat up and brushed stray leaves and other jungle debris off her clothes and hair. Ganner stood up and did the same. They made themselves as presentable as possible before beginning the trek back. The last thing either of them wanted when they got back was a bombardment of questions as to why they looked as if they had spent the morning rolling around on the jungle floor.
As they began the walk back, Ganner did something he hadn't done on any of their previous outings: he reached out and took her hand – and did not let go until they reached the praxeum.
Alone in his quarters, Zekk sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed meditating. Attempting to meditate might have been the more accurate word for it. Today was one of those days where he couldn't concentrate enough to get anywhere.
Master Skywalker was the one who had suggested the idea to him originally. He had explained to Zekk that meditation was a way of clearing your mind of jumbled thoughts and helping to put things into perspective. It made you look deep within yourself to find answers to questions you had previously been looking for only on a conscious basis. If you opened yourself up to the force completely, letting go of everything else, the meditation would act as a guide, showing the individual the whole picture from every imaginable angle.
Zekk had been taught the basic mediation skills back when he had been a student at the Academy, but he had never saw a real reason to keep it up. Looking within himself for answers he would come to eventually seemed pointless. It was the things that he didn't know, however, along with other uncertainties in his life that had led him to the path of Jedi meditation.
After months of roaming around the galaxy, having no more figured out what to do with the path his life was taking then when he had left Yavin Four, he decided to turn the search inward – at Master Skywalker's suggestion.
The Jedi Master sensed how frustrated Zekk was at having slipped down the dark path a second time. Zekk didn't know what he needed to do to keep himself away from the dark side or even if he would be able to resist the temptation if the opportunity arose again.
Mediating was not as easy as it looked. The first few times he had tried it he had found it impossible to clear his mind completely and focus on the force and only the force. How could he be expected to concentrate on something he couldn't see? But he could feel it, and was able to work out the problem in time.
He had not come across any answers yet, but he was not any worse off then when he had started. At least now it helped him to find a certain peace within himself when he did it. Today, though, was not one of those days.
His lack of concentration brought one word to mind: Jaina. She was usually the reason when he couldn't concentrate on doing something.
It was going on two months since his return to the Academy, but she was still treating him like he didn't exist. There was the occasional 'hello' or nod of the head in his direction, but that was the extent of their conversations. It was his fault things were the way they were between them. He was the one who had refused her offer of help and then left. He had never expected her to welcome him back with open arms – he had never expected her to be involved with someone else either.
Ganner and her were so blatantly obvious it made him want to retch. The way they would fight over the stupidest things to try and keep anyone from finding out there was more then just friendship going on between them. Stupid, Zekk was not. It did not take a team of the brightest New Republic scientists to figure out what they were doing every morning together alone in the jungle. It certainly wasn't running that was for sure.
He supposed that was his fault, too. If he hadn't left, Jaina and Ganner never would have gotten together. He could not even fathom a guess as to what she saw in him. Ganner Rhysode was a self-important, cocky Jedi Knight who was way too old for her. A point he had made to Jaina and she had bluntly told him to mind his own business. He would, for now, but if he ever found out that Ganner had hurt her, he would –
He quickly ended that thought right there. Great, just what he had wanted – to start the day off with jealousy and anger. Two extremely powerful dark side emotions. He needed to learn better control. Either that or have Ganner Rhysode shipped off to the Unknown Regions. The latter seemed much more appealing.
When he heard the knock at his door, he was grateful for the interruption. He was not getting anywhere with his meditation that morning. He was only making himself more frustrated then he already felt.
The centurion girl, Lusa, was standing there when he opened it.
"Hi, Zekk," she began in her rich voice. "There's a call for you in the communications room,"
"Peckum?"
She shook her glossy-haired mane. "No, I think it's someone from Courscant medical. He seemed anxious to speak to you,"
That was odd. He certainly didn't know any doctors on Courscant. He better go answer the call and find out what he or she wanted with him.
He thanked Lusa for coming to get him and set off at a brisk pace for the comm room. He got the uneasy feeling that he should be worried. Worried about what, though?
It was a short distance to the comm room, and that feeling of a knot forming in the pit of his stomach only increased with every step he took. He tried to shake it off but could not.
Before he even made it inside the communications room he could make out the voices of several other Jedi holding conversations with different beings in different sectors across the galaxy. He sat down at one of the empty consoles where the New Republic logo was flashing and keyed in his authorization code. The logo disappeared instantly, replaced by the face of a middle-aged human male with a reciting hairline. The insignia on his lab coat clearly showed he was a member of Courscant Medical.
"Hello, Zekk," the man greeted him in a pleasant voice. "I'm doctor Ian Gellic,"
That didn't help Zekk much. He still did not know who this Gellic was and why he would be calling him. He had no family on Courscant. Everyone he cared about was with him on Yavin Four. Everyone except –
"Zekk, I'm afraid I have some bad news,"
Gellic's pleasant voice was gone now, replaced by the grim tone that came from years of having to give families 'bad news'.
"What is it?" Zekk said, he hadn't even realized his knuckles were turning white from gripping the chair so tightly since he had sat down.
Gellic looked extremely mournful when he spoke next. "There was an accident at Bilbringi," he began in a grave voice. "Peckum was running supplies to the refugee world when the Yuuzhan Vong showed up. Peckum took as many people as he could and tried to escape. His ship was severely damaged, but fortunately a couple of the refugees he picked up were experienced pilots and the ship managed to escape into hyperspace,"
"How bad is it?" Zekk asked. The panic in his voice was evident.
"Most of the passengers on board died from injuries sustained in the attack. Peckum survived," he told him. He hesitated momentarily before adding, "but it doesn't look good for him, I'm afraid,"
But he was still alive. That was what mattered. "Where is he?"
"He's being kept in the critical care wing of the medical ward inside the Imperial Palace," Gellic informed him.
"I'll be there as soon as I can,"
Gellic nodded. "We can send a shuttle for you this afternoon,"
"I have my own ship,"
The doctor looked uncertain. "Zekk, it may not be a good idea for you to fly right now. You're still in shock –"
"Look," said Zekk, cutting him off impatiently, "You worry about Peckum. I can take care of myself,"
Then he ended the transmission before the physician could argue with him further.
He noticed now the numb feeling inside of him that had refused to go away since his conversation with Gellic had begun. It only got stronger as the reality of what he had been told sunk in. He felt like he was in some kind of daze and could not remember how he had made it from the comm room to the hanger bay. He had flown the Lightning Rod so many times it didn't matter he was barely conscious of performing the preflight checks before soaring out of the hanger bay. He hadn't bothered to pack anything or let anyone know where he was going. That would have taken too much time. He could send a transmission to Master Skywalker once he was in space.
If he took one of the shortcut hyperspace routes he knew of, he could be reach Courscant before its nighttime cycle.
One thought rang clear through his mind as he cleared Yavin Four's atmosphere: hang on, Peckum, I'm coming.
More to come soon!