Chapter 4: Is This Right?
Jaina tore at the Embrace, trying to free her brother. She clawed at the vines over and over, eventually turning her hands raw to the point of bleeding. Reluctantly, she stepped back and sat down, taking the break to fall into a healing trance. Her connection to the Force was not diminished to the point where she could not manage a simple healing trance. When she awoke, the scene she awoke to was almost the exact same as the one she had left. The only key difference was that Jacen was out of the Embrace for the moment. Jaina rose and rushed to her brother's side.
"Jasa, can you hear me?"
Jacen's eyes fluttered open. The hazy brown pupils tried to focus on Jaina's face, but to no avail. Jacen was in a semi-conscious state.
"Jasa! Answer me!"
Jacen opened his parched mouth to speak, but the words would not escape his throat. Jaina took a couple steps back from Jacen, all the while dragging him with her. Once he was out of reach of the Embrace, Jaina set to work on putting her twin into a healing trance. She almost laughed at the irony of it all. Usually, it was Jacen who had to help Jaina into healing trances. And despite Jaina being older than Jacen by only a few standard minutes, it was usually Jacen who came to her rescue, not the other way around.
Come back to me, Jasa, she thought. You'd better come back. I can't do this alone.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Across the galaxy, the exact same thought was being echoed by Tenel Ka.
Come back to me, Jacen, she thought. You'd better come back. I can't do this alone.
Tenel Ka stared out of a window in the palace, surveying the preparation of the Hapans in the assault on Yuuzhan'tar. The Hapan fleet was strong and well-prepared, but Tenel Ka couldn't help but think that she was sending her people to their deaths.
Am I really doing the right thing? Going after Jacen like this? It feels right, but, Force knows, this seems so wrong…It's madness, really! Maybe I should just call the whole assault off. Jacen is strong enough and Jaina is resourceful enough. The combination of their skills is enough to escape the Vong. But is enough enough? Will they really survive this?
Tenel Ka drew a deep, steady, cleansing breath. She needed to push such thoughts and doubts aside. Jacen and Jaina were going to live through this. Jacen was going to come back to her. Of this she was absolutely certain.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Jacen awoke from the healing trance to find his sister staring at him.
"Didn't think I'd let you go that easily did you?"
Jacen almost laughed. Here they were: captives on Yuuzhan'tar, not a friend in the galaxy among them, and Jaina still made attempts at levity. That was supposed to be his job! Instead, Jacen flashed his sister an imfamous Solo grin.
"So what's the plan?" he asked.