CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: CHOICES
The operation on Borleias had been shut down. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that it looked like it had never existed in the first place. By the time New Republic forces had made it back there, the entire complex had been torched to the ground. Nothing but the word of four Jedi and the living proof of nine humans, several of which carried symbiotes inside them that, thus far, the best specialists the New Republic had no idea how to remove.
Jaina knew the operation on Borleias was far from dead. She found it unlikely that the Yuuzhan Vong would stop after one try. As for the moment, however, they had no leads to follow and no information whatsoever that gave a clue as to where the facility might have moved. For all they knew, it could be happening on a Yuuzhan Vong worldship.
They had managed to save some lives in the process, and even those that were implanted in symbiotes had not fallen completely under its power. A team of doctors had come up with the idea of using a sort of antiseptic drug that numbed the creature inside, giving the host the ability of free will. There was still the question of removal. The symbiote seemed to be attached to vital organs and for the moment there seemed no way to remove it without killing the host.
Zekk was recovering in the med center. Jaina had only been to see him once since he had regained consciousness. It wasn't as if she was avoiding him – not completely anyway – there just always seemed to be some meeting she, Lex and Ganner were being called to since their return. Everything they had seen on Borleias both the New Republic council and the military wanted to know. After the first few days though, she was beginning to feel like she was reading from a script because she had to keep repeating herself.
The meetings where the only times she had been unable to avoid Ganner, but she always got out of there as soon as it was over so she wouldn't have to talk with him. She didn't care if she appeared childish because he deserved it.
He had been leaving her messages like crazy, and she had yet to respond to any one of them. She had managed to avoid talking to him altogether until he finally cornered her in the training room in the Imperial Palace a week after their return from Borleias.
"Mind if I join you?" He said uncertainly.
"As a matter of fact I do," she said tersely, and headed for the door.
"You can't avoid me forever,"
"And why can't I? You deserve it," she said, unleashing her temper on him.
"You're right, I probably deserve it. All I ask is that you hear me out,"
"There's nothing you have to say that I want to hear," she said sharply. "You made me believe Zekk was dead when you knew all along what he was planning. Were you hoping that if we escaped he would be left behind? Do you really hate him that much?"
He stared at her, saying nothing, giving Jaina her answer. She went to walk passed him, but she stopped to say, "whatever we had, it was over when we landed on Borleias,"
"No, Jaina, it was over long before Borleias," Ganner corrected her. Jaina looked at him stunned and he continued, "he's the one you're in love with. I thought if I waited long enough you would get over him, but I was a fool for thinking that. I can see now that's never going to happen. I'll never be anything but second best to you Jaina,"
"And that gave you the right to go and do what you did?" She shot at him.
"No, what I did was wrong, I know that. But it helped open my eyes to the truth: you don't love me and you never will,"
"This isn't my fault, Ganner,"
"No, it's mine. I knew that from the moment I got involved with you. But I won't make the same mistake again. Good bye, Jaina,"
He left the training room without another word to her, leaving Jaina feeling like that would be the last time she ever spoke to Ganner Rhysode.
It was late that same night when Jaina heard a knock on her door. With her parents off on another diplomatic mission and her brothers still away, she was the only one around to answer it.
She knew who it was long before answering, but that didn't keep the surprise from showing up on her face when she opened the door.
"Surprised to see me?" Zekk said with a grin.
"Yeah. I mean nobody told me you were being released,"
He continued to grin. "Jedi don't make great patients, so they were more than willing to get rid of me,"
"I meant to come by and see you," she told him.
He waved his hand dismissively. "It's okay. I'm not one for hospitals much myself since Peckum,"
"Do you want to come in?"
He scratched the back of his head. "I probably shouldn't,"
She noticed for the first time the bag slung over his shoulder. "You're leaving," she said simply.
"But not in the way that you think," he said quickly, knowing how Jaina's mind worked. "Your Uncle is sending me on a mission,"
"But you just got released from the med center," she argued.
"Yeah, well, this mission is kind of important. I'm going alone, but I could always use a co-pilot," he said, raising his eyebrows at her.
It was his way of asking her to go without having to come out and say it.
"I can't go with you, Zekk,"
"I know," he said, no trace of disappointment in his voice. "I never expected you to say yes, but it was worth a try. I'll be back," he promised. "It might take a few weeks but I'll be back,"
He left without a good bye and was nearly halfway down the hall when he stopped and turned back to face her.
"Did you ever get my birthday present?"
She had completely forgotten about it. "Anakin gave it to me but I never got around to opening it,"
"You should," was all he said before disappearing down the hall.
Jaina walked into her room and opened the drawer where she had shoved Zekk's gift. She had never given it more than a fleeting thought before, but now that he had mentioned it, she figured there was no harm in looking at it.
She stared at it, recognizing his handwriting scrawled on to a piece of paper stuck to a small, square object. The note read:
I finally managed to track down Raynar and get him to make you a copy. I hope you like it,
Zekk
More curious then ever now, she unwrapped the gift. It turned out to be a holo chip. Staring at it closely, she walked out of her room and into her mother's office, where she put it in the holo player in there and turned it on. She fell back into a chair and watched it.
It was the night of their graduation from the Jedi Academy. Raynar's parents had given him a holo cam as part of his graduation present. She remembered it all as if it had happened the other day instead of two years ago. Raynar had been insistent about getting their last night together on Yavin Four on his holo cam. When Lusa wasn't distracting him, he had spent the majority of the night filming her, Jacen, Tenal Ka, and Zekk.
Watching herself now, she realized just how young she was then. It wasn't that long ago, but she felt she had done a lot of growing up since then – and that was largely due to the war. She felt a pang of sadness watching it. Not one of them had known that not too far into the future their home would be invaded by a murderous race. They would never be able to go back to those days.
She continued watching for a while longer; seeing herself and Zekk, wading together in the lake and splashing water at each other.
She shut the holo player off after that scene and sat in silence. She would have never looked at it if Zekk had not said anything, and now that she had she almost wished she hadn't. It brought back what Ganner had said to her that day in the training room. It stirred up too many old feelings that she had spent nearly a whole year trying to bury.
She sat there for a long time before coming to a decision.
Zekk wasn't in his apartment. Jaina had checked inside thoroughly for him, before rushing back through the upper levels and into the Imperial Palace. From there, she found the nearest turbolift and rode it up to the docking platform where she knew the Lightning Rod would - hopefully - still be docked.
She could see the ship in plain view when she stepped out of the lift, and it's owner was almost inside.
"Zekk wait!" She shouted to him and ran hard for the ship. He didn't seem to hear her. The hatch was closing...
"Zekk!"
The hatch stopped closing and the Lightning Rod's captain appeared on the boarding ramp.
"Jaina," he said, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I've changed my mind," she said, trying to catch her breath.
He regarded the travel bag slung over her shoulder and eyed her doubtfully. "Are you sure? Because an hour ago you said you couldn't,"
"That was an hour ago. This is now. I want to go with you,"
There was a long pause until Jaina said, "Zekk, I don't know what's going to happen with us, but I know I have to go with you now,"
"What about Ganner?"
He had to bring him up. "This doesn't have anything to do with him. It's about me and you,"
She watched him think it over carefully before finally saying, "does this mean I have to let you fly?"
"Only if you want this to be a pleasant trip," she said coyly.
"I have a feeling this going to be a very interesting trip," he said, taking her bag and leading her up the boarding ramp.
Jaina had no doubt that would prove to be true.