From her seat in the comfortable plush chair to which she had been escorted, Jaina had looked around the spartan office for the fifth time in the past hour before the door behind her slid open. She craned her neck around and saw two Columi males hover in via their repulsorlift chairs; she tracked their progress until they had settled themselves behind the two desks to which she had been facing.
Jaina waited for one of them to start speaking, and that wait lasted for a little more than a minute before the Columi to her left said, "You know, if you're going to pass yourself off as a nobody named Noonya Niazh, Miss Solo, couldn't you try to at least get a wig? Or dye your hair or whatever it is you vain human women do?"
She smirked. "I didn't think that would work, so I didn't bother. I know how smart you Columi tend to be. Especially you two."
"It's good you're not insulting our intelligence to our faces, at least," the Columi to Jaina's right piped in.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that we'll just forget about the duplicity you pulled on our intermediary at the Red Ronto," the left Columi added.
"I wasn't exactly in the mood for drawing attention to myself then," Jaina countered evenly.
"Fair enough," the left Columi replied. "Now about why you're here. You told our intermediary that you know about our enterprise in this part of the Chiloon Rift because you looked into a magic pool, isn't that correct?"
"I did tell him that, yes," Jaina answered flatly.
"So why don't you tell us how you really found out?" the right Columi intoned.
"What, you didn't already look into your own company to find any potential leaks and the like?" Jaina retorted.
"We did," the left Columi replied patiently, "and we've found no evidence of any such leak."
"Then I hope you'll indulge me," Jaina said confidently, "if you gentlemen were to play along with the idea that what I told the intermediary was true. At least for a while."
"You better not be wasting our time," the right Columi said.
"Trust me, I won't," Jaina replied.
"Then proceed, Miss Solo," the left Columi allowed.
"This same magic pool, which is called the Pool of Knowledge, by the way," Jaina began, "told me not only what you, Marvid and Craitheus Qreph, were doing in the Bubble of the Lost, but also what you were trying to achieve: you want to gain Force-powers of your own. Ambitious even for you, given the number of your accomplishments that are both legitimate and, shall we say, less than aboveboard. Yet, for all of your combined intelligence and resources, neither of you have been able to figure out how to enter the mysterious monolith upon which you had placed what you call Base Prime."
"And you're here to tell us you know exactly how to do so?" the right Columi, Craitheus, retorted.
Jaina nodded enthusiastically. "Indeed, I do. It's quite simple, really: all you need is another Force-user to cooperate with you. You get that Force-user toward the gate that leads into the monolith, and bammo, it opens up and you go inside. From there, mysterious shadow beings—and that's really all I know about them from the Pool of Knowledge—will come along and give you those Force-powers you so desire. And from there, you get to go on with your larger criminal enterprise of taking over the entire galactic economy while being super-powered Force-beings who make Palpatine and Vader look like mere ants in comparison."
"Assuming that everything you said was true," the left Columi, Marvid, said, "that still leaves one question: what's in it for you, Miss Solo? Why do you want to help us? Is it merely to keep yourself out of the hands of the Galactic Alliance authorities and their Jedi lapdogs?"
"If I said yes, and you didn't ask any further questions about how I came to know about your actions and intentions, gentlemen," Jaina replied, "would you be willing to grant me asylum?"
Marvid and Craitheus were silent for a moment as they levelled their unreadable alien gazes upon Jaina. Then the left Qreph said, "There are plenty of other places in the galaxy where you could hide out and not get into anyone else's business, especially our own. Why are you here, in the Bubble of the Lost, specifically, Miss Solo?"
Jaina grimaced. "I'd rather not say."
"Not good enough," Craitheus said. "You tell us right now, or I'll have our Nargons enter this room and kill you where you sit."
With her lightsaber in pieces because of how she smuggled its component parts to pass them off as metal braces along her arms and legs, and with the purple crystal that acted as her blade's focus dangling on a string around her neck, all Jaina had to rely on to repel the Qrephs' reptilian Nargon guards was the Force. But she knew that even with her power, she could be easily overwhelmed, and she didn't come this far just to be gunned down by some cyborg lizards.
Thus, with very little hesitation, she said, "I'm pregnant."
Now both the Qrephs looked at her in obvious confusion.
"That still doesn't explain why you're here," Craitheus said. "You could still-"
"It's the time dilation," Marvid interrupted.
"What?" his brother asked.
"Think about it, Craitheus," Marvid said. "Miss Solo here wants to use the time dilating effects of the Bubble to pass the time of her pregnancy more quickly for the rest of the galaxy once she leaves."
"Why would she do that, though?" Craitheus asked.
"I'm right here, I can answer for myself," Jaina interjected irritably.
The Qrephs returned their attention to her. "Why are you in such a hurry to bear your infant?" Marvid asked.
"Because, gentlemen," Jaina said, "despite the enormity of what you're setting out to do, there's a threat out there that's greater than either of you can even imagine."
"That being?" Crathieus asked.
"An immortal, nigh-invincible ancient Force-entity known as Abeloth," Jaina explained, "who intends to wipe out all life in the galaxy and replace it all so that they are all her. In other words, the biggest narcissist in the galaxy is loose and in time will come even for you and undo everything you've done."
"So let's get this straight," Marvid said. "Putting aside the ridiculousness of your claim about this Abeloth, as well as the absurdity of this Pool of Knowledge, for the moment, you mean to tell us that you're here to give birth to your child as soon as possible under the safety and security we can provide. Thus, once that child is born, you can go back out into the wider galaxy, presumably rejoin the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance in countering and destroying Abeloth. And in return, you get to justify to us your being here by facilitating what we want. Have I got your intentions correct, Miss Solo?"
"You have them correct, Mr. Qreph," Jaina replied in a professional tone.
"Well, then, I have two questions for you," Marvid went on. "First, even assuming that your presence can open up the gateway into the monolith beneath us as you claim, how can we be assured that my brother and I won't simply be securing our doom instead of our attainment of the Force? And second of all, even if we do live through this and get what we want, why shouldn't we just kill you anyway instead of release you back into the rest of the galaxy with your child? You would be one giant liability should you ever be caught by GA authorities or by the Jedi or anyone else; you could very well inform on us out to get a more lenient prison sentence for the crimes you're known to have committed."
"Well, I wanna address your last question first, Mr. Qreph, since that obviously concerns me more," Jaina said with a mild tinge of fear. "You see, I'm more than willing to stay here in Base Prime to raise my child for as long as you two need to make your galactic takeover. And with the Force-powers you'll have gained, you'll be able to do so faster than you can imagine, and by then, you won't have to worry about me being a liability to your plans. I imagine you'll have practically bought out the entire GA government by then, and the Jedi won't stand any chance fighting you. So whatever I can say that might tarnish your reputation in a court of law won't carry any weight any way, thus negating the need to kill me."
"What about this Abeloth?" Craitheus asked. "You were going on about how she was such a cerebral threat mere moments ago."
"While I'd prefer to rejoin the Jedi in their hunt for Abeloth," Jaina explained, "I've already made sure that my uncle and his Order can find the only weapon that can kill her. So if I can't join them, I'm more than happy to remain here. Again, for as long as it takes for you gentlemen to secure your galactic takeover."
"That still leaves my first question," Marvid said. "How do we know you're not lying about what we'll find when we pass through that gate?"
"You really think I'd be stupid enough to risk the lives of my meal tickets?" Jaina asked. "I know we humans are imbeciles compared to you Columi, but give us some credit! If I were leading you gentlemen into a deathtrap, I imagine that wouldn't go over well with your Nargons, who'd probably gun me down before I had a chance to defend myself. Besides, who'll pay for me and my baby if you guys are gone? You know, things like food, water, milk? I doubt any of your underlings, like the intermediary aboard the Red Ronto, who'd take over GET after your deaths would be persuaded into helping the woman who would've killed their CEOs.
"Gentlemen, I want to make it absolutely clear. Like you, I'm only in this purely for self-interest, only my ambitions are a lot more personal than yours. I've already forsaken my teachings and heritage as a Jedi; I wouldn't even try to help you if that wasn't the case. All I want is just to make sure that I can give birth to my baby; that's it. You can go on and ruin the galaxy for yourself afterwards, assuming Abeloth doesn't do it before you, I don't care. So all I ask is for a little less than nine months in this Bubble in exchange for a few minutes of giving the both of you this great power that I don't really think you deserve anyway."
The Qrephs fell silent again as they warily regarded Jaina. Then Marvid said, "If you would please excuse us, Miss Solo." Both Columi then floated out of the office on their repulsorchairs; only when the door slid shut did Jaina release the breath that she didn't know that she had been holding as soon as she had stopped speaking.
Still, the anxiety lingered with her for the few minutes in which she was left alone in the office. That feeling practically cemented itself in her gut when the door finally slid open again and the Qrephs floated back in to return behind their desks.
Yet more silence filled the gap between the pregnant human and the two Columi before Marvid said, "We will grant your request, Miss Solo."
"Thank you," she replied with a relieved smile.
"Your thanks mean nothing to us," Craitheus said. "We'll take you to the gate. And if what you say is true, only then will you have our gratitude."
"Or what passes for it," Marvid said casually. "But if we're really happy after this, we might even give you a job for us; you could be quite a useful mercenary, given your skills."
Figures they wouldn't allow her this out of the goodness of their hearts, Jaina thought. Then again, as a semi-redeemed Sith—which was what she thought of herself, anyway—she knew she had to take what she could get, especially with businessbeings as ruthless as the Qrephs.
"Enough," Craitheus snapped. "Let's just get going, shall we?"
"Sooner the better," Jaina said as she stood up from her seat to follow the Qrephs out the door; they were almost immediately joined by six Nargon bodyguards who promptly separated their employers from the human. And as if they didn't look deadly enough, each of them carried a standard issue blaster carbine across their torsos.
Several minutes and a turbolift ride later, Jaina, the Qrephs, and the Nargons approached the closed gateway into the mysterious monolith upon which Base Prime was stationed; moments after that, Jaina was only five meters from the gateway when she stopped as the giant door started to rise up. And as it opened further and further up, she and the others saw what was on the other side: a lush jungle with a giant stream several kilometers away and a bright sun shining down upon the foliage.
"Looks promising enough so far," Craitheus commented neutrally; it seemed like that was his most civil tone, Jaina decided idly.
"You three," Marvid said to a trio of Nargons, "are to come with us. The rest of you, stay here; if she is the only one who comes back, shoot her."
"Are you sure you want to share this power with your underlings, gentlemen?" Jaina asked.
"What are you talking about?" Craitheus inquired impatiently.
"Those mysterious shadow beings I mentioned earlier," Jaina said, "they won't discriminate as to who they'll provide this power. Then again, I guess there is a benefit to having Force-enhanced Nargons working for you; too bad it'll make 'em less loyal in the long-run."
"Now you're really lying!" Craitheus exclaimed as he hovered mere centimeters from Jaina. "Our Nargons are loyal to us to a fault! No way could their conditioning be broken!"
"If you really wanna take that gamble," Jaina said, "be my guest. Like I told you, I don't really care; I just wanna make sure you gentlemen don't get mad at me for not informing you of what Force-enhanced Nargons might do."
"What did the Pool of Knowledge tell you about this?" Marvid asked.
"You believe her fully in this now?" Craitheus asked his brother incredulously.
"So far, everything she's said has more or less made sense, Craitheus," Marvid said. "I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt at this point."
"This is on you," Craitheus stated.
"I know," Marvid countered before he returned his full attention upon Jaina. "Well?"
"All that the Pool showed me was that the Nargons tend to get angrier with the Force," Jaina said, "and they tend to make a lot of unwanted destruction. Like mining equipment, office space, little things here and there that go a long way in crumbling the foundation upon which GET was built. Now, sure, they can be taken care of, and with the powers you'll be able to gain, it'll be super easy, barely an inconvenience. But, really, I imagine you gentlemen would rather like to have this power just for yourselves."
The Qrephs looked among the Nargons, who stood in place as still and silent as statues; it had been as if they hadn't heard the conversation between their employers and the pregnant human. Of course, as Jaina sensed, the Columi brothers knew better; even with the control that they had over the cybernetic reptilians, the Nargons were no doubt keeping their anticipation, or anxiety, from their body language to make sure that their employers would reconsider taking any of them through the gateway with them.
But after another long and silent moment of consideration, the Qrephs looked back at Jaina so that Marvid could say, "Very well." He looked back at the Nargons. "You will all stay here. But the order still stands that if she is the only one to cross back through that gateway, shoot to kill."
"You still want me to come with you?" Jaina asked. "As I just said, those shadow beings won't discriminate. If they can give you gentlemen power, imagine what they'll do for me."
"Yes, but as you pointed out," Craitheus said evenly, "you have no reason to betray your 'meal tickets.' So if you are made more powerful than us, it stands to reason that you won't do anything to us unless we provoke you."
"And we, in turn, have no reason to provoke you, Miss Solo," Marvid added.
"And if I don't comply, the deal's off?" Jaina asked.
"Precisely," Craitheus answered.
Jaina sighed as if in defeat. "Well, if you insist."
As the Qrephs sidled up on either side of her, they walked toward the gateway; Marvid passed first, then Jaina, and, finally, Craitheus. And just when they found themselves on a rocky abutment overlooking the jungle foliage beneath them, a blinding white light that seemed to have come out of nowhere engulfed their vision, causing them to flinch and close their eyes.
Once the light was gone, the three of them opened their eyes again and found themselves in a lichen-covered valley next to a mountain. And facing them directly was the mouth of a cave from which whispered voices emanated.
"What is that?" Craitheus asked Jaina in obvious panic. "What's happening?"
"These are the shadow beings I told you gentlemen about," Jaina said. "Get ready for the power they're about to give."
Mere seconds later, what seemed like a legion of dark flying wraiths appeared from the cave mouth and floated above Jaina and the Qrephs' heads for several seconds, their hushed whispers much more pronounced but still unintelligible.
Then the wraiths descended and encompassed the trio.
Power! Power! Power!
These were the words that rang in Jaina's ears as the wraiths' darkness eclipsed her vision. Yes, she wanted power; it was something she had always wanted to one degree or another throughout her life. And had she still been a Sith, she would have gladly taken it all and used it against the Jedi in what was, in retrospect, nothing more than a misdirected, childish temper tantrum that had ended and ruined so many lives unnecessarily.
But now, when she was nothing more than a mother who wanted for her child to be born, there was only one thing that she needed this power for: to secure the Qrephs' allegiance to her. There was no way she could allow them to have this kind of power and hope that they would simply honor their word of letting her stay on Base Prime for the nine months that would pass inside the Bubble of the Lost.
So, as she took the power that the wraiths were freely giving to her, she used that power, in turn, to take from the ones who were effectively "feeding," for lack of a better term, the Qrephs.
And slowly but gradually, the wraiths around the two Columi fluttered away, taking from them the Force-power that they so briefly tasted, as they congregated and darkened around Jaina, who, in turn, stepped slowly away from Marvid and Craitheus.
The latter looked away from the dark tornado that blocked Jaina from their view and regarded his brother in fearful disdain. "I told you she couldn't be trusted! I knew she was keeping something from us!"
Before Marvid could come up with a rebuke, the tornado dissipated as the wraiths split off from each other and returned to the cave where their indiscernible whispers became much more hushed.
And Jaina, with her eyes completely blackened, as if they were doused in ink, regarded the Qrephs with a victorious smile.
"Oh, don't worry, gentlemen," she said slyly, "this is only temporary. As will this."
Then, from both hands, that dark power ejected itself from her and rushed in through the Qrephs' pores. The Columi brothers stiffened in place as that power slithered into their minds and took hold of what was there.
Once that dark power was gone from Jaina's being, the same blackness that was in her eyes appeared in the Qrephs' for a few brief seconds. Then the blackness faded from their eyes before they asked in unison, "What is it that you wish from us?"
Jaina smirked, knowing what power she had over them now. "Just to make sure you gentlemen honor your promise."
Minutes later, they passed back through the gateway with none of the waiting Nargons there the wiser about the dark hold that the pregnant human had over their two employers.
