Some time later the Widowmaker sent out a few scout ships along with one from the Jade Shadow. In no time at all, the searchers returned, and the news was not good.

"Dovin basals," Luke revealed to the small group of Jedi sitting quietly in the common area of his wife's ship. "Saba says the whole area is seeded with them."

"What are we going to do?" Danni inquired, a hint of worry showing on her young face.

"Good question," Luke answered. "These findings prove that the Vong have already been here and are probably planning on coming back. Why else would they leave behind so many mines?"

Everyone frowned. "So in other words, we're sitting ducks," Mara interjected. Luke nodded slowly. A cloud of despair descended upon the group, and no one spoke for several moments.

"This one could destroy the mines one at a time," Saba Sebatyne suggested.

Mara shook her head. "That would take days or even weeks if the numbers are as high as you estimated. No, we need to move faster."

Again silence consumed them until Danni seized Jacen's forearm and announced, "Wait!" He noticed the twinkle in her eye and couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She was beautiful.

"What is it, Danni?" Luke asked.

Danni paused and looked around at her five companions. "It's just a thought, but we've successfully jammed the big yammosks plenty of times, right?" They all nodded. "So why couldn't we somehow jam the basals long enough to get out of here?" She studied their faces waiting for a reaction. Luke continued to mull it over for a few moments first.

"Elaborate," he urged.

"Well," she started with a deep breath, "if I can get my hands on one of the basals, I may be able to tweak it a little, somehow use it against its brothers."

Jacen started nodding slowly. "That just may work," he maintained, casting a furtive glance at his uncle in hopes the man would understand Jacen's reference to his 'Vongsense'. "I'd like to volunteer to help you, Danni," he offered.

"Sure. I'd love to have your help," she smiled in acceptance. "The only problem is that we'll need a large enough area in which to put the dovin basal, and no place here on the Jade Shadow will do."

After sitting mutely throughout the discussion, Tekli, the Chadra-fan Jedi healer spoke up. "Perhaps we can persuade our Imperial friends to lend us the space we need," she suggested.

Luke snickered, and the others looked at him in confusion. Usually he showed respect for his Knights' opinions, tried to encourage them to think and share their ideas. "Sorry," he apologized once he realized they were staring, "but I'm still finding it difficult to put 'imperial' and 'friend' in the same sentence. Old habits die hard, I suppose," he added with a shrug. "Okay then. Danni, just let me know exactly what you need, and we'll get this show started."

She jumped up from the sofa, eager to get started. "I'll go make a list right now!" The young scientist turned to leave, and Jacen noticed a glimmer of barely restrained excitement glittering in her emerald eyes. This was something she lived for--- solving impossible puzzles using nothing but her head.

Saba stepped up to face Luke. "Master, this one wishes to hunt the dovin basal."

"Sounds great, Saba. I'm sure Captain Yage might choose to send some of her own pilots to assist. You can use my X-wing, but remember, we don't want to destroy it. It has to be in one piece, or Danni's idea won't work."

"Yes, Master Skywalker," she said, her ferocious teeth bared in a reptilian grin.

Soon everyone was gone except for the two male Jedi. Luke sat down on the sofa next to his nephew and exhaled loudly. "So, you think you can use your new 'senses' to make this work?"

"Yeah," Jacen assured him. "Yes, I do. And besides, what's the point in being so 'gifted' if I can't use it to help the ones I care about?. and whomever else might be tagging along."

They both chuckled, and Luke patted Jacen on the back. "You've become quite a man, Jacen. I'm very proud of you, just like everyone else in our family. Your father can't stop singing your praises to everyone he meets, and your mother. well, I don't think I've seen her this happy in years. The future holds amazing things for you. I can feel it."

Jacen gazed into his uncle's lined face. "Me, too," he muttered softly. "Me, too."

An understanding passed between the two men then, one that was unspoken. one that said each knew the changing of the Jedi guard was not far removed and that Jacen had some major part to play. Finally, Luke stood to leave.

"Well, then, I'm off to contact Captain Yage and arrange things for Danni. You'd better get to work, too. She's a woman with a mission, and I get the feeling she's not going to rest until she conquers this challenge."

Jacen nodded in agreement as he stood. "Yeah, she is pretty amazing, isn't she?"

His question revealed more than he realized. If Luke had any doubts at all about Jacen's feelings for Danni Quee, the young man's words along with the dreamy look in his eyes quickly laid those to rest. So then, his nephew was falling in love.

"Yes, she is," Luke answered. "And what are you going to do about it?"

The question took the younger man completely by surprise. His mouth gaped open, and Luke laughed out loud.

"Jacen, life is too short and too uncertain to waste. Live while you can."

With that final statement, the Jedi master was gone leaving his nephew behind to digest the full meaning of his words. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ready to go?" Jacen asked from the doorway of Danni's stateroom. She clicked shut the latch on her lab case and took a deep breath.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she affirmed with a hint of uncertainty.

Jacen narrowed his gaze and entered her room. "What's wrong? And if you say nothing, I'll know you're lying."

"I just.," she paused. "I just don't feel very comfortable around those people. I'm glad you're coming with me," she beamed.

"Me, too," he answered with a lopsided grin. With a bit of a struggle, Danni tried to heft an overstuffed duffel bag, but failed and it plopped to the floor. "Here, let me get that. With all my finely sculpted manly muscles, this shouldn't be a problem." Jacen easily picked up the bag, tossed it over his shoulder, and then offered her a roguish wink.

Danni laughed out loud. "Oh, please!"

"What?" he asked as he followed her out the door. "You don't think I'm manly?" He was answered by even louder laughter, and he finally joined right in.

"You're manly enough, I suppose," she teased over her shoulder enjoying the pink spreading across his face. "I'm just glad you finally shaved off that scraggly beard."

"What was wrong with my beard?"

"Nothing was wrong with it. I'm just not fond of facial hair." They stopped at the entrance to the common area, and Danni looked up into his eyes and crinkled her nose. "It's too scratchy."

"Scratchy?" he repeated incredulously. "Only if you touch it." He paused for a moment. "Are you planning on touching my face any time soon? Because if you are, just let me know and I'll be sure to shave ahead of time."

She dramatically placed her hand on her heart. "You'd do that for me?" she asked in feigned disbelief.

"Anything for you, sweetheart."

Now where had that come from?, Jacen wondered. It was as if his father's spirit had possessed his body and taken over his mouth. However, as he observed the embarrassed expression on Danni's blushing face, he found he was actually grateful to have a little of his father in him.

"This one is ready to go."

Jacen turned to see Saba Sebatyne standing in front of them and looked at Danni in confusion. "Did you know she was coming with us?"

"Uh-huh. I asked her to," Danni explained.

Jacen leaned over and tried to whisper. "You do realize that Imperials are a bit prejudiced toward non-humans, right? They probably won't be comfortable with this."

Danni grinned conspiratorially. "I know. Saba and I discussed it, and she agreed to come along. It will make the Imperials squirm a little, but I'm just glad I won't be the only one who's uncomfortable."

Realization of her underhandedness slowly dawned on Jacen. "You are sneaky, Danni Quee," he accused. "I like it!"

"Oh, I'm full of surprises," she added with a wink.

I'll bet you are, Jacen thought to himself. I'll bet you are. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` The trio made their way across the tunnel that had been set up to connect the two stranded ships. Danni felt her chest tighten as they neared the end, the stress of facing more Imperials a fear she couldn't quite shake. Having two of her friends along helped ease the panic a bit.

Especially Jacen.

She glanced over while he wasn't looking, and an instant calm washed over her. There was something so soothing about his presence that had existed since he'd first come into her life. No words could explain it. It just was.

Studying his profile as they walked, she noted just how much he had truly changed. Gone was any trace of the teenage boy she had met in the icy bowels of Helska 4. Now his jaw was square and strong, not so unlike his father's. No roundness of youth remained in sight, only the sharp lines and edges of a grown man. His brown hair was still worn a bit long, but shorter than when he had first returned from Coruscant. Danni decided she rather liked the unkempt look with its streaks of blond scattered throughout. Jacen Solo was really very handsome.

And that thought troubled her.

Several years ago, it had been easy to dismiss her feelings for him as what a captive might feel towards her liberator. That and the fact that he had only been sixteen to her twenty-one put any romantic interest out of the question. And she had been content with that.

But now.

"Here we are," Jacen announced snapping Danni out of her internal debate. "Ready?" he asked the other two. They nodded, and he proceeded to push the button that would open the hatch.

Jacen entered first, followed by Danni and lastly, their Barabel friend. He had to admit, he got a kick out of seeing the looks on most of the Imperial faces when Saba emerged from the hatch in all of her terrifying glory. Her massive size and dangerous appearance were rather intimidating. As isolated as the Remnant was from other species, Saba was likely the first non-human some of the younger crew members had ever seen.

Captain Arien Yage greeted them somberly, hands clasped behind her back in typical military stance. "Welcome to the Widowmaker, Miss Quee, Solo. and Jedi Sebatyne." It was a struggle for her to even speak Saba's name. "This is Dr. Soron Hegerty, comparative religion specialist and Dr. D'vin Ambross, our chief science officer." She gestured to a woman in her mid to late fifties who was tall and thin with a plain face and silver hair cropped close to her scalp. Her appearance was one of a person far too interested in everything else to worry about her own looks.

Dr. Ambross, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Although he, too, was above average height like his colleague, the rest of his appearance was impeccably well-groomed. Not a hair on his blond head was out of place, and his uniform was crisp and well-tailored to accentuate his svelte form. His tanned face displayed not one single blemish or scar, only a superbly trimmed goatee that clearly made him the most attractive male for miles around.

The man nodded acknowledgement to Jacen, but when he looked at Danni, his bright blue eyes lit up and his mouth spread into an unbelievably perfect smile. He raked a gaze over her petite figure, then offered his hand to her.

"Danni Quee," he drawled, "I've been looking forward to meeting you. You're much more beautiful than I was lead to believe. I'd like to offer my services while you're on board the Widomaker."

Jacen watched the scene with bitter distaste. Something about the man made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was the fact that he was still holding Danni's hand and she was blushing from his flattery. Or maybe it was something else.

"Ahem," Captain Yage cleared her throat. "Dr. Ambross will show you to the makeshift lab that has been constructed in our lower hold. Thanks to your pilot, the dovin basal mine is secured and ready for inspection." The way the captain managed to only make eye contact with the humans, while ignoring Saba wasn't lost on Jacen.

"That would be Saba here. It was her fancy flying that got the job done. Barabels are excellent pilots and ruthless hunters," he emphasized.

Several of the Imps couldn't hide their fright, and Jacen had to suppress a satisfied smile. However, Saba didn't even try to hide hers. She bared her sharp teeth for all to see, and only the two other Jedi knew it was her way of laughing at Jacen's pointed comments. The others didn't, and instinctively took a step back from the oversized reptilian warrior.

"Please let me know if there is anything else you require while on board," Captain Yage declared before snapping her heels together and spinning to leave.

"Thank you," Danni replied as the woman left the hold.

"Let me just get your bags from your assistant and we'll be on our way," Dr. Ambross offered. He walked over to Jacen and smiled that winning smile. Clenching his jaw, Jacen let the bags drop to the ground, then forced a smile of his own as he thrust his hand into the doctor's.

"Jacen Solo," he introduced himself while gripping and shaking the man's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you. I can get the bags. It's no problem."

Their eyes locked and the smiles faded. The unspoken challenge was already laid out before them. the gauntlet tossed. Heavy and uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"Pardon me," interrupted a new voice. All eyes turned to Dr. Hegerty. "I was hoping to have a word with you, Mr. Solo, if I may. I understand you have first hand knowledge of the Yuuzhan Vong and their religion."

Jacen regained his composure, and let Dr. Ambross's hand drop. "Dr. Hegerty, is it?" She nodded an affirmation. "I do know a little about the Yuuzhan Vong, and I would be happy to talk with you." Finally, his good sense was calming him down. The sudden testosterone rush had left him shaken. He'd never felt so possessive of anyone before. "Danni, will you be okay?"

"Um, I'll be fine, Jacen." She sounded a bit hesitant, but didn't want him to miss an opportunity to share his experience. "You go ahead. Really."

"I'll keep an eye on her, Solo," Dr. Ambross assured him. "Trust me. She's in good hands."

"Right this way, Mr. Solo," Dr. Hegerty encouraged. "I know where we can talk."

Jacen bit back a snarl as he watched Danni leave with another man. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach was new, and it took him a few seconds to realize what it was.

Jealousy.