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Chapter 16: Don't Give In

A ball of blue flame streaked toward the surface of the planet. For all of those who observed this, it just looked like an escape pod had malfunctioned and ejected from a ship, but for those who knew what was happening, the anticipation of it all was too much to bear.

Kyp Durron watched in horror as Jaina Solo's escape pod plummeted to the surface of Gallinore. He could remember his own experiences in escape pods, especially ones that were entering the atmosphere. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. He could remember the amount of sheer heat that radiated inside the small cockpit of the pod. He could remember not being able to breathe, being scared out of his mind. And it took a lot to scare him. He wished that he could contact Jaina somehow. He opened himself to the Force, searching for his connection with Jaina and-

Jag Fel sat in the small cockpit of his clawcraft, watching helplessly as the one person in the galaxy that he was madly in love with plunged to certain death. He wished there was something he could do, but he didn't have any Force capabilities and- Wait! There was something he could do! He remembered when he had checked his scanners a while back, while looking for Zekk's ship, he had seen a few larger ships. Hapan Battle Dragons, if he wasn't mistaken. They had to have tractor beams! He flipped the switch to hail them.

A wave of torrential heat swept over Kyp. He could connect with Jaina again, but the heat inside the escape pod was becoming unbearable, even for her.

Don't give in, Jaina, Kyp sent to her. We'll get you out of there.

You better hurry up because I'm roasting in here! Jaina screamed back.

Meanwhile, Jag had managed to get the Battle Dragon to use its tractor to try to capture Jaina's pod. The massive ship tried to maneuver its way to the tiny pod. Jag held his breath.

Breathe, Fel. I'll get out of this just fine.

Jag blinked. Jaina had just contacted him again. He tried to think of something to say to her, but then he thought better of it. She couldn't possibly understand what he would be trying to say to her.

Wanna bet? Jaina's amused voice said in his mind.

Jaya, you can hear me? How? Jag's thoughts sounded confused.

Jaina mentally sighed. I've heard of this happening before, but it's really rare. Usually those who have no Force abilities shouldn't be able to do this, but I think it's because we're so close.

She could feel Jag smile at this. That's what I figured, he said. Just hold on, I've got a Battle Dragon coming after you.

Kyp sat in his X-Wing, confused. He knew that something was happening between Jaina and Jag, but he didn't know what.

The Battle Dragon maneuvered to get within tractor range of Jaina's pod. It managed to get a hold of the pod just before it entered the atmosphere of Gallinore. Kyp and Jag both docked on the ship just after Jaina's pod was recovered. Jag jumped out of his clawcraft and raced over to the pod. Jaina climbed out and faced Jag. He spared not even a moment for hesitation and swept Jaina up into fervent, wanting kiss. He broke away from her and held her close to him, drawing in and memorizing her scent. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to let her out of his sight ever again, but Jaina pushed away from him. He looked deep into her brandy eyes. They looked different. They looked more uncertain, more frightened.

"What is it Jaina?"

"Zekk. He's going to come back for me. I know he will. And when I was on the ship with him, I had a vision." Jaina's face crossed with more fear and anger than Jag had ever seen.

"What happened in the vision?" Kyp asked.

Jaina turned to face both Kyp and Jag. This time, when she spoke, her voice had dropped quite a few decibels in volume. "He raped me," she intoned, the panic apparent in her voice.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Zekk sat in the cockpit, wondering where he had gone wrong. He knew that Jaina hadn't wanted to be with him, well, at least, not at the moment. But when she had learned of their location, she had gone into a semi-trance state. He didn't know what she was seeing, but he knew that when her vision was over, she was more frightened of him than she had ever been. There was no way that she would ever be his unless-

No, he couldn't do that. That would definitely be touching the dark there. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. He had already kidnapped her once, who's to say he couldn't do it again?

* * * * * * * * * * *

"And you're sure it was just a vision?" Jag inquired.

"Yes, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean that it can't happen." Jaina whispered.

"It's not going to happen. We won't let it." Kyp told her.

"That's right." Jag said as he turned to the commanding officer. "Take us to Hapes right away."

The officer saluted, "Yes, sir!" And with that he strode away.

Jaina turned to Jag. "Why are we going to Hapes?"

Jag smiled down on Jaina. Then he took one of her hands into his own and caressed her face with his other hand. "Because, my love, if we're going to be married tonight, then I know you'll want Tenel Ka there."

Jaina's face broke out into a wide grin.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Zekk watched as the Battle Dragon jumped into hyperspace. Jaina's thought betrayed her. They were going to Hapes. And she was going to be married, tonight. With Tenel Ka and Kyp there. Resigned, he pulled up the coordinates for Hapes from his navicomputer. He was not going to let this happen. He had left Jaina once, returned for her, and lost her again. Maybe third time's the charm, he thought before making the jump to Hapes.