A hand smacked Kyp on the wrist as he reached out to tear a piece of meat off the still-cooking carcass. He looked grudgingly up at Anja as she shooed him away from the food.

"Keep your dirty hands off until it's done cooking! I'm not going to go through all this trouble to keep you alive just to have you die from contaminated food," She warned him, sounding motherly.

"Look, woman, at least YOU got to eat something last night!" He growled back, rolling his eyes. "And there's no contamination with this food! Although, if you want it smothered in hawk-bat droppings then I think that can be arranged!"

"Would you two just SHUT UP?" Jag asked impatiently. "Ever since our group got back together I've heard nothing but shouting and complaints from the both of you! First you criticize each other on the best place to hunt. Then you nearly come to blows over who was going to carry the animal back, even though the majority of us agreed that Anja was capable of doing it if she so desired. Now you're arguing about when it's time to eat and it's really wearing on my nerves!"

"Awwww, but it's been fun hearing them dish out insults at each other," Jaina called from the bushes in a cheerful voice as she gathered edible vegetation for that evening's salad.

"I don't know how you can enjoy all that whining!" Jag exclaimed with frustration.

"It's easy when you grow up in my family," Jaina quipped, winking at him playfully. "So, what happened between you two last night?"

Both Kyp and Anja froze, both balking like a tauntaun caught in a beacon of light. They exchanged nervous glances before muttering that nothing had occurred, but their hesitation gave Jaina all the information she needed.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice lively with laughter as one corner of her mouth rose up in a smirk.

"Yes, we just said that nothing happened!" Kyp snarled defensively.

"I don't believe you," Jaina said, almost singing. "You keep on acting as if something went awry last night."

"Yeah, I had to spend the entire evening with this loser," Anja laughed. "That's what went awry."

"No, I agree with Jaina. I think there's more to it than that," Jag commented, getting to his feet to join in the debate.

"What's so ambiguous about two people who are fed up with each other's company? Why must there be more to it?" Anja protested.

"Because I'm noticing a difference in the level and frequency of the bickering," Jag observed thoughtfully. "And because you look guilty."

"Pfft! Guilty!" Kyp scoffed in disbelief, dismissing the Colonel with a wave of his hand. "Fel, you really need to lay off the spice."

"Oooh, look, the food's ready," Anja said quickly, eager to end the discussion and get to eating.

"Great!" Kyp said, rubbing his stomach excitedly. "Let's eat!"

"Evasive, aren't they?" Jag whispered with amusement.

"Definitely evasive. I don't think we're going to get anything out of them the conventional way," Jaina mumbled out of the corner of her mouth.

"What course of action do you suggest?" Jag asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I think it's time we played dirty," Jaina said darkly, winking at him once again before leaving to bother Anja. Jag smiled slightly, his eyes twinkling keenly.

~*~*~

Ch'aanlei hovered edgily outside the door, pacing along the bright white corridor as he wrung his hands on the fabric of his cloak. What was taking so long? Ch'aanlei thought they surely would have reattached his brother's arm by now, but he continued to pace as time wore on.

He recalled, with grim satisfaction, the murderous look in his father's eyes when he caught sight of Chaser in the crowd. If not for the king's remarkable powers of self-restraint, Chaser would be in the same position as his younger brother: struggling to stay alive. But murder wasn't an option for Noaa'lan Narundi, despite his dismal family history. Arresting the youth for spice dealing, in front of a stunned crowd, sufficiently quenched whatever thirst his father had for justice; even if it was vengeful justice.

It was quite a shame, he realized. The boy had started out at Narundi Academy with a most promising future. He had an opportunity, with his full scholarship, of which most children from his background could only dream. He was the apt pupil and the star athlete from the inner city, cast into a world quite different from the one he knew as a child. It was only too unfortunate that fate roomed him with the one young man that would change all that.

Ch'aanlei wasn't sure if Chaser wasn't already into spice when he arrived at Academy, but he knew his own brother. He didn't have to infer much to know that Brodey was instrumental in corrupting his young friend. If his father only knew half of what he'd discovered about the boy. . .

He snapped to attention as the door to the operating room swung open and a man dressed in a white tunic and pants stepped out. Ch'aanlei immediately recognized him as the healer in charge of his brother's surgery, and he could tell from the grave look on his face that all was not well.

"Is he?" Ch'aanlei croaked, not daring to even utter the next word that came to mind. It stayed inside, catching painfully in the back of his throat.

"He's alive," The healer replied seriously, his face never changing its expression. "But I regret to inform you that the surgery was unsuccessful. We were forced to amputate what was left of his lower arm."

Ch'aanlei breathed a surprising sigh of relief. It wasn't as bad as he had expected. "There are options for him, right? He has the option of a prosthetic device, doesn't he?"

"A prosthesis is a definite option," The healer agreed, nodding. Gravely. "However, some people do have moral objections to the implantation of such devices. It's best that I consult with the patient and the patient's family before proceeding to the next step."

"All right, I'll take you to my father," Ch'aanlei muttered, winding through the labyrinth of hallways to the waiting room.

"Your Highness," The healer said, bowing low as Noaa'lan got shakily to his feet. Through the force he could sense the older man's anxiety burning like a supernova. He sought quickly to extinguish it. "The crown prince is in stable condition and I'm glad to say that he has an excellent chance of making a full recovery. However, the damage to his arm was beyond repair. The only viable option was amputation."

Noaa'lan looked regretful but understanding of this news, nodding as the healer continued.

"I came here to ask if you had any objections to the implantation of a prosthetic arm to replace the old one. It's our most recommended option for younger patients with these types of injuries. Here's what it will cost," He explained, showing the king a sheet with figures. "I'll just need your signature of consent, along with one from the patient."

"Is he awake?" Noaa'lan asked, perking up.

"No, not yet," The healer replied, his shoulders sagging. "The cocktail of spices he took are challenging even the best of us. I was going to ask if you might lend us a hand with purging him of the toxins."

The king's eyes narrowed and a look of grief mixed with disgust crossed his previously stern face. Ch'aanlei waited in anticipation, his breath caught in his throat.

"No," Noaa'lan mumbled bitterly, his eyes growing dark. "I refuse to expend my energy to cleanse him. I refuse to send him the message that his actions have no consequences. It's his time to learn from all the pain."

~*~*~

Brodey woke sharply, the familiar throbbing and dizziness coursing through his skull and down toward his extremities. His skin tingled and burned like it was searing under flames. His vision clouded as the universe began to swirl around him, and he cursed as he collapsed onto the floor, thinking of the khaki pack he'd left behind in the clearing.

That wasn't the most horrible thought floating through his mind. Dying from dehydration sounded like a pleasant alternative to living with the knowledge that his father could have prevented these years of torture, but didn't. The unsympathetic old man had turned his back on him, had loathed him, in his moment of dire need. Brodey lay sprawled on the floor, half-propping himself up on arms that trembled under the weight of his grief.

"He's awake," Sir'tesé whispered, tapping her uncle on the shoulder. The old man stirred slightly but then resumed his slumber, leaving Siri to deal with the menace that was her cousin.

What she found was the complete opposite of what she expected. She hoped to find him snooping or planning an attack on his captors; anything to have an excuse to yell at him. Instead, but not to her disappointment, she found him on the floor, making strange noises that sounded somewhere in between a sob and a cough.

"What the Sith?" She hissed in disbelief as she noticed, upon closer inspection, that he was fully drenched in sweat.

Through his tunnel vision Brodey could barely make out the figure standing above him. As it was, Darth Vader himself could be standing before him and he wouldn't care. His world was one roiling ball of agony with nothing existing beyond.

Sir'tesé approached him cautiously, still not sure what to think of the situation. Some small portion of her brain still suspected him of something devious, but the strange choking sobs sparked her curiosity. She couldn't help but investigate the cause of his odd behavior.

"Hey!" She said gruffly, stooping down to get a better look at him. "What's wrong with you, besides the obvious?"

Brodey glanced up at her with bleary, tearful eyes, momentarily forgetting about the painful twists his stomach was suffering. Her question forced his thoughts back to the unpleasantness of the dream, and the sobs became more frequent.

"Why are you crying?" Sir'tesé demanded in a frustrated tone. Not only was the boy annoying, but he was also mad as mynocks! "We're not going to hurt you or anything. You know that, right?"

Brodey continued coughing through his tears, shaking his head at her, "No, I know that," He sobbed. "It's just. . ."

"What? You need to tell me what's wrong, or else I can't help you!" She insisted, reaching out to touch him gently on the forearm.

"You, help me?" He laughed scornfully. "Now why would you want to do that? Not even my own father wanted to help me, because I'm nothing but a lousy, disgusting, DISAPPOINTING spice addict!"

The confession abruptly opened the floodgates in Brodey as he broke down into a flurry of sobs and dry heaves. His stomach lurched painfully, reminding him that he hadn't eaten now for over a day. He was too miserable to care.

"He turned his back on me," Brodey cried, trying to force the words out as his lungs shuddered from lack of air. "He could have prevented these attacks but he chose to let me suffer instead."

Siri didn't know what to say to that, but she reacted in the only way she knew how. She threw her arms around his cold, clammy shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. She didn't care if this was the awful cousin who put insects in her hair or held her head under water until she almost drowned. Something in his pitiful whimpering appealed to her motherly instincts, and she couldn't help herself.

~*~*~

"So," Jaina began, approaching Anja after they'd finished eating.

"So," Anja nodded, unsure of what she was nodding about. "So, what?"

"Look, I know that something is going on. I can tell just from observing the way you and Kyp are acting. Now, you can tell me now and save yourself the aggravation or I'll keep on bothering you about it until you tell me," Jaina said in a lulled voice, crouching down next to where her friend sat.

"Way to threaten her, Sticks," Kyp drawled, immediately attentive. "Why can't you just let it go?"

"Because I know 'it' exists!" Jaina insisted. "And I know it's something big. Sooner or later you're going to have to tell me, so why not now?"

"Un-kriffing-believable," Kyp cursed with a shake of his head.

"She's right, Kyp," Anja said uncomfortably. "She is going to find out eventually."

"Can I speak to you for a second?" Kyp interrupted, his dark eyes ablaze.

"Sure, why not?"

"In private!" He growled as he pulled her by the arm to a place out of Jaina's earshot.

"Kyp, what is your problem?" She asked, equally impatient as he. "There's no way I can hide being pregnant! Especially when I'm not a jedi but the child I'm carrying probably is!"

"Any being that exudes a life force can be detected by a jedi. It isn't limited to force-sensitive children. Plus, jedi senses aren't developed at this stage. You've only been pregnant for a day!" Kyp informed her.

"Two days," She hissed through gritted teeth as she shot him a meaningful look.

"Regardless, it's going to look awful suspicious to Jaina," He shot back. "I suggest that you wait until we can figure things out."

"I hear some awful heated whispering going on over there," Jaina sang with a smug smile. "Are you so sure that you have nothing to tell me?"

"I do have something to tell you," Anja declared. "I'm PREGUMFFTMMN!" She cried, elbowing Kyp in the gut as he clamped a hand down over her mouth.

"What did she say?" Jaina asked, her eyes going wide.

"Nothing. She said nothing," Kyp muttered, winded from the constant struggle. He yelped suddenly as Anja bit down hard on the flesh of his palm, releasing her for a split second. It was all the time she needed.

"Kyp!" Jaina cried in outrage as she stalked over and gave him a hard smack on the shoulder. "Brodey's kidnapped and here you are, screwing around and impregnating his girlfriend! How could you?"

"I don't know!" He yelled back. "And you know why? Because somebody thought it would be cute to inject me with serum that made me so delirious that I forgot almost everything from last night! So, until I get some hard proof otherwise, I'm going to listen to Anja when she says that NOTHING HAPPENED."

"If nothing happened then why are you so guilty?" Jaina challenged frigidly, placing her hands on her hips.

"Because he doesn't know what he did," Anja said, throwing her arms up in the air, and then added. "And because he doesn't trust me as much as he says he does."

"Oh, whatever!" Kyp shouted at her. "Even if it is a delusion, it's the only thing keeping my stomach lining intact. So, Anja dear, I suggest you stop right there!"

"Now who's threatening Anja?" Jaina chimed in. "Wouldn't want to upset her in her delicate condition, now would we Durron?"

"Jaina, don't push it," Kyp snarled, turning on her and pointing a finger in her face. "I'm not in the mood."

"Obviously you were last night," Jaina laughed, enjoying his reaction.

"You know, I don't have to take this!" Kyp boomed back in her face. "I don't have to deal with any of you! I'm going for a walk. When I can stand to look at any of you, maybe I'll come back!"

"Kyp, you're not going anywhere. You know our situation," Jaina said, seriousness returning to her tone.

"Screw your situation," He cussed, spinning on his heel and storming off down the path from whence they came.

"Hope he cools off soon, because I don't want to run across any Vong with only one jedi," Anja mumbled. "Not that I don't have faith in you."

"Why did you sleep with him?" Jaina asked, staring down her friend.

"I didn't," Anja stated, an appalled look on her face. "I thought I made this very clear a number of times."

"Then how did you get pregnant?" Jaina asked, puzzled.

Anja responded with a meaningful lifting of both eyebrows, indicating that the answer was completely obvious.

"Oh!" Jaina shouted as understanding dawned on her. "When?"

"For a jedi you sure don't pay too much attention to your surroundings," Anja commented, rolling her eyes.

"I was. . .preoccupied with other things," The young woman admitted, blushing slightly as she looked guiltily over at her boyfriend.

"No wonder we're stuck on this rock," Anja sighed.

~*~*~

"I just can't figure out why things went so wrong," Brodey muttered sadly, shaking his head as he leaned his back against the wall. "You know, between my father and me."

"Call it a hunch, but I think all the clothes you modeled, or the lack thereof, might just have something to do with it," She said, giving him a hard stare and an eye roll. "Honestly, did you think he wouldn't flip out on you?"

"I still had clothes covering all the important places!" He objected. "Besides, it was there even before all that. I remember the modeling contract being a tool in my quest to get his attention."

"Oh, you got his attention, along with the rest of the planet and most of the galaxy," She snorted, crossing her arms in front of her. "I don't care how toned your abdominal muscles are. It was still nauseating to watch, and not the first time that I was embarrassed to be your relative."

"Boy, you really know how to lift a guy up," He growled, giving her an unpleasant sneer.

"Watch it," She hissed. "I relieved you of the withdrawal symptoms. I can just as easily bring them about. So shut it, Your Highness."

Not another word escaped his lips for a full two minutes, but his eyes were locked with hers, glittering darkly like shards of ice in the night sea.

"Why do you hate me so much? What could I have done as a kid to make you despise me like this?" He finally blurted out.

"I thought I already told you enough to jog your memory," She said simply. "I guess I'll have to remind you of more, just to get it into your stupid head."

"Fine, let's take turns complaining," He said, smirking at her as he placed his arms behind his head. It only took a fraction of a second before he was writhing on the ground, clutching the tender ear that she'd twisted around with the force.

"First of all," She shouted loudly as anger replaced the annoyance in her voice. "You never shut that mouth of yours! Everything you say demonstrates how horribly arrogant and selfish you are! That's the part of you that makes me retch, even to this day!"

She kicked out suddenly, making solid contact with his flank and doubling him over. He saw a bright flash of pain through his squeezed-shut eyelids as the wind was knocked out of him.

"You think that you're entitled to have everything, especially a happy, carefree existence. And guess what? That's just not reasonable for the majority of living beings in the universe! Talk to your friend, the "Sword of the Jedi", and ask her if being a diplomat's daughter makes her immune to all the pain and suffering going on around her!" Sir'tesé snarled bitterly. "She'd tell you to shove it where the sun don't shine and mind your own business, because she knows what I already know very well. Tragedy and poverty and death don't care if you're a poor beggar or a bratty little prince in designer clothes. They treat everybody the same."

"Don't try and lecture me about those things like I've never experienced any of them!" He replied nastily. "And don't expect me to be cordial to someone who's done nothing but smack me around and insult me since I woke up. Right after you kidnapped me, I might add."

"I think that someone wants to vomit again, doesn't he?" She answered back with an equally vicious look. Brodey's eyes rolled back in his head as he felt the room twirling and tumbling around him.

"I think it's time for you to stop that," He heard his grandfather state in a calm voice. As quickly as it had started, the spinning came to an end. "He doesn't need a constant reminder of why you hate him. I didn't kidnap him so he could be your personal punching bag either. He's here for a specific purpose only. Find some other way to vent your frustrations."

"Yes uncle," She sighed in frustration.

"So," His grandfather boomed, looking down at him after she'd retreated to her chambers. "Have you given any thought to my suggestion?"

"A little," Brodey replied, staring up at the old man with hard, cold eyes. The hint of defiance in them put R'aa'nlan on high alert; he never should have let Siri be alone with the boy, even for a second.

"And?" R'aa'nlan asked, urging his grandson to cut to the chase.

"You need to learn to relax," Brodey said, smirking a little as he cocked his head to one side. "Have a seat. This might take a while to explain."

"Try to hurry it up," His grandfather muttered impatiently. He lounged out on the sleep couch, trying his best to look relaxed but coming up short. "I have sleeping to get back to."

The young man sniffed the air suspiciously, still staring at him in that same puzzling way and trying his patience, "Still having problems controlling your blood pressure?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," R'aa'nlan answered crossly. "Now get on with it!"

"Fine, fine. I'm willing to do whatever you need me to do on one condition," Brodey said in a low, serious tone.

"And what is this 'one condition' that you speak of?" His grandfather asked in a tired voice as he rubbed his bleary eyes with one hand.

"That you don't make me turn my back on my friends in the process," He said simply.

"I'm listening," R'aa'nlan sighed, raising his eyebrows as he placed both hands behind his head. "How do you plan to manage them all at once?"

"Simple. You train me in whatever I need to know right here, in this galaxy, as I help out my friends. Then, once I'm prepared, I go back and take care of my duties to my family and the dynasty."

"You're quite the comedian," His grandfather scoffed. "Perhaps you don't realize the sheer volume of knowledge you're going to need if you want to have a chance in hell of defeating your uncle. I'm going to need to teach you nearly every trick I know in order to give you even the slightest amount of an unfair advantage. That's going to take a while."

"Tricks?" Brodey asked, confused. "Why would I need any tricks when I have the T'naa'lichi fighting skills?"

"Well, if you feel so confident in those T'naa'lichi fighting abilities then I'll take you to Kahl'aan right now!" R'aa'nlan laughed mockingly. "He's more than twice your age, a jedi master, and he's experienced a whole lot more than you have. He's also a Narundi and, while one of my favorite pastimes is making fun of your family, I will admit that being a Narundi does come with a guarantee that you can wield almost any force power and do a great deal of damage."

"Heh, that's not entirely true. My healing powers are worth squat!" Brodey snorted.

"That's because you're more T'naa'lichi than Narundi," His grandfather said with a wink. "And I'll bet that's the main reason why you never got along with your father."

"I guess you're right. Mother hardly ever got along with him either," Brodey answered, shrugging.

"Don't go saying that like it was fact, boy," His grandfather retorted cryptically. "There's a lot about your parents' relationship that you still don't understand."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Brodey challenged. The smirk returned to his face as an unspoken message, daring his grandfather to enlighten him with new information.

"First off, they got married because they loved each other and then lied about it to you later on," R'aa'nlan smiled, taking fiendish delight in being the message bearer. "I always thought they were being hypocrites and that you should know about it. After all the grief they put me through with their relationship, it's the least I could do to them."

Brodey stared at him with his mouth flapping open and a dead look in his eyes. Then he erupted, a fountain of obscenities of every shape and color. His shouts were loud and copious enough to wake the dead, or at least Sir'tesé. He saw her standing rigidly in the doorway when he'd finally quieted down enough to take notice of his surroundings, her face a mask of uninhibited malice.

"Whatever harm you're inflicting on him better be worth the hours of sleep I'm losing," She hissed at her uncle.

"Trust me, it's worth it. I just told him the truth about his parents," He laughed back.

"They lied to me, and they tried to talk me into an arranged marriage because it was the way things were for the crown prince ever since the beginning," Brodey mumbled, shaking his head as he continued to seethe. "And it was all a mother-kriffin' lie! And you! You're enjoying this just a little too much! What do you have against me that you had to tell me that?"

"Relax," His grandfather commanded. "I have nothing against you. I just don't like that your parents lied to you. There are many things that you don't know, things that can be used against you. I'm helping you out, so you don't lose your cool later when your Uncle Kahl'aan drops the seismic charge, so to speak."

"Why, there's more?" Brodey asked, flinching in alarm.

"Oh, there's plenty more! I know secrets about your family that could make you lose your lunch more than your silly little spice withdrawal. Did your parents ever tell you the story behind your conception?"

"Oh Gods, please don't tell me I'm illegitimate," Brodey groaned.

"You were conceived the night your parents got engaged. It also happened to be the same night that your father's mother was assassinated," R'aa'nlan said gravely. "It was the night that left an indelible dark mark on your uncle's soul. It was the angriest I've ever seen him because, of course, he learned to hide it after that point, along with his true intentions."

"Huh," Brodey said, dumbfounded. "I never knew all that. They never told me anything . . . that's a LOT of stuff to swallow!"

"Your little plan sounded easy enough, eh? Well, I never promised that I'd make it easy for you. Some of the lessons you're going to learn, the techniques I'm going to teach you, will stretch you until you're hanging onto your sanity by a mere thread. But it's all necessary if you want to redeem yourself and your dynasty," R'aa'nlan responded seriously, placing a hand on the youth's shoulder as Brodey held his head in his hands, grimacing.

"We need to go back," He said abruptly, his head snapping up.

"I was getting to that," His grandfather answered in a more cheerful voice.

"No, I mean now," Brodey snapped, racing into the cockpit and manning the controls. "Something terrible has happened."

"Hey, who gave you permission to fly her?"

"The Narundis were always the better pilots," Brodey snickered, pointing to the co-pilot's chair. "Have a seat."