~8~

Into Hyperspace


The next two days passed in a heady blur, as the academy buzzed with excitement over the impending mission. Everyone was pulling their weight double-time, each student preparing in the best ways they knew how.

Dave could be found in the hangar bay at all hours of the day and night, tuning the Jadesaber with Jaina and sometimes Luke or Mara at his side, dictating instructions, rattling off procedures and tests and improvements that had to be performed until the ship had been stripped down, reassembled, and then had a running over with the fine-toothed comb of Luke's mechanical scrutiny.

Anakin and Tara had ransacked the laboratory and stocked the Jadesaber with all the portable medical supplies they could cram into the back of the ship's cargo hold. There were Bacta Buckets – an invention of Tara's for smaller injuries – and boxes of other small treatments, as well as a collection of battery-operated monitors, flasks and test tubes, and a large store of batteries. Tara's instruments were packed in her bag of belongings, while Anakin smuggled a datapad and several styluses into his case for his own amusement.

Jacen moved himself into the kitchen, preparing and drying an immense store of rations for the crew of the Jadesaber as well as an army of several hundred more, while Lilandra pored over vast numbers of history texts, searching for any information on Terapinn or the people who had inhabited it for twenty years.

Through it all, Mara haunted the hallways, barking orders and carrying things to and from her ship's cargo hold until the only things that remained to be packed onto it were its crew of seven eager young adults and their two guardians.

As the second day drew to a close, the anticipation had escalated to a fever pitch, until the common room was full of students who had nothing better to do with their time and energy but to sit around discussing the mission.

Lilandra sat on the window seat, restlessly kicking her foot against its side as she pressed her forehead to the warm glass. Dave and Luke were out there with the Jadesaber, which had been moved onto the landing pad that afternoon and now sat gleaming in the brilliant glow of a fiery Yavin sunset. Luke had come in earlier, just after dinner, to announce that the group would be departing at midnight. This had displeased some, but Lilandra didn't mind. At least she wouldn't have to bother with falling asleep and then being grumpy upon her awakening. Midnight was no problem for Lilandra, who had stumbled through the last few days on little more than four or five hours of sleep a night.

She was almost looking forward to sleeping on the Jadesaber. In space, there was nothing to distract you but your own thoughts, and travelers were advised to keep those to a minimum. People had been known to be driven crazy on long flights in the past, with nothing to keep them from reliving their worst memories as the uncomfortable blur of hyperspace streaked past the viewscreen at a nauseating speed. It was easier to curl up and go into a warm hibernation until your feet were returned safely to the ground.

As Lilandra watched Luke hoisting Dave up onto the hull of the Jadesaber with the aid of a flimsy-looking scaffold, she found her thoughts turning again to her sister.

Kerryna had not been seen since the morning of the meeting, when Lilandra had seen her fleeing for the roof of the academy. She had gone to Ker's apartment later that afternoon, but her sister had not answered her frantic knocking. Lilandra had written her sister's odd behavior off to a little bit of resentment at being left out of the proceedings, and yet …

Her further isolation left much to be considered. But as Lilandra watched through disbelieving eyes, Kerryna herself slipped quietly from her first-floor apartment window, and headed over to the unused doorway in front of Leia and Han's corner suite. Barred and boarded, the enclave contained only Jaina's woven hammock, which was suspended a few feet off the ground and nailed to the brick wall. It was the shadiest outdoor nook to be found on the academy grounds, but Jaina owned that corner. It was doubtful that she would be pleased to find Kerryna lounging in her hammock.

As quietly as possible, Lilandra unlatched the common-room door, and sauntered out into the stifling humidity of the evening. It was time for her to have a chat with her brooding older sister.

Kerryna was sprawled in the hammock, dressed all in black, a pair of mirrored shades perched jauntily on the end of her upturned nose. She held a cup of water in one of her long hands, and Lilandra saw her pop something white into her mouth and chase it down with a deep drink as she approached.

The trees at the edge of the landing pad began to whisper among one another, passing secrets unknown along the row, and a sudden breeze stirred the sheet of paper Kerryna held in her other hand: Lilandra's copy of the galaxy map.

"What are you doing?" Lilandra asked, trying to sound casual and uninterested as she entered the shade of the doorway.

"Looking at your map," Kerryna answered plainly, pushing her shades up on her forehead.

"Where did you –?"

"You left it in the common room last night."

"Oh."

Lilandra paused for a moment to regroup. It was hard to talk to Kerryna sometimes – twenty-three years with the Empire had left her with a lingering habit of talking quickly, never being one to waste a moment of her own time. It made her sound always as though she was in a hurry, or bored with the conversation, which was highly intimidating. Lilandra had thought she was used to it by now, but her sister's tendency towards succinctness sometimes caught her off guard.

"Any particular reason you're looking at my map?" Lilandra asked.

"Nope," Kerryna replied, still not looking at her.

The trees suddenly rustled loudly, plainly disagreeing with her.

"Ker, what's bothering you? You've been acting really weird lately."

"I told you, it's nothing. There's nothing."

Kerryna looked up, fixing Lilandra with an intimidating stare. "Go on, get away. Don't you have to pack or something?"

"I've got time," Lilandra said shortly, not budging.

Kerryna sighed impatiently. "Listen to me, Little – you just go on your adventure and take care of yourself, and I'll worry about me, alright? Sound good? You can't take care of everybody all the time, Lil."

"By the Force," Lilandra moaned. "You sound like mom … pick one," she added, catching her mistake.

Kerryna arched one delicate eyebrow. "Yeah, well, as your senior, I'm entitled. Show a little respect."

"Show a little love!" Lilandra cried, exasperated. "I'm the one showing a little concern! You're just sulking about because you haven't been invited into all the excitement yet."

Kerryna closed her eyes. "Please. If I'd wanted to go, I would've asked. I'll leave the heroic rescue operation in your friends' capable hands, thanks."

Lilandra was slightly off-put by the sarcasm in her sister's voice. "You really don't have faith in the Jedi yet, do you?" she said, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

"I'm getting there. I just disagree with the way you're all haring off into danger yet again."

"Who says it's dangerous?" Lilandra asked, taken aback. It didn't seem that anyone had considered that their little mission might actually involve some risks. "We're just doing the right thing, that's all."

Kerryna stared at her.

"Listen to me, Lil," she said. "What you're doing is a good thing, but it's not necessarily the right thing. There's a difference, you know."

Lilandra frowned. "I understand that there are probably a lot of things we've forgotten to guard ourselves against, but can't you just be happy for once that we're doing our best to make peace? It wouldn't kill you to try."

The two women glared at each other for a moment, but it was Kerryna who folded first.

"I'm sorry, Lilandra. Just … have a good time. Relax. You're on vacation. Don't go biting off more than you can chew."

She fell silent for a moment, examining the map. "Remember, though – a Force-flicker and a crumpled map are nothing to change your beliefs over. Promise me you'll remember that?"

There was a suggestion of desperation in Kerryna's voice that Lilandra found completely unnecessary, but she nodded anyway, and turned to leave, facing the Jadesaber, which gleamed with its surface set aflame by the bold orange of sunset.

"Bye, Ker."

"See you later," Kerryna replied with a halfhearted wave. "Don't talk to strangers."

Lilandra looked over her shoulder, smiling, and shook her head before sauntering off towards the hangar bay to torture someone else.

Kerryna watched her go, taking note of the younger woman's energetic, confident stride, from the suggestive sway of her hips to the loose swing of her arms and the careful placement of each foot, perfectly aligned alongside the other.

Strange life she must lead, Kerryna thought, bringing her eyebrows together behind her glasses, which she returned to her nose. She never stops trying to read between the lines, never gets enough of trying to be big all the time … she doesn't understand that it's okay to be small.

Kerryna sighed, and turned the map over in her hands, fingering the thickly inked corner of it where Terapinn was a dim splash of white, appearing almost as a misprint, insignificant.

For one terrible moment, Kerryna had the urge to scream after her sister, what are you doing?

But the notion passed, and she felt only a sense of urgency that she knew she had to obey.

"Lil!" she called weakly, waving the map wildly when Lilandra turned on her heel and gave Kerryna an impish gaze.

"What?" Lil yelled back impatiently.

"Come here. I have something for you."

Lilandra jogged reluctantly back over to the hammock, shaking her head in exasperation.

"What?"

"Here." Kerryna dug in her pocket for something. "It just occurred to me that you might need this. You know, just to keep you grounded."

Mystified, Lilandra extended her hand to take the small, round object Kerryna held out to her.

It was a ring, silver, and doubled-banded. The two small, interlocked circles were carved with an ornate design, presumably the writing of an ancient language, lost to the modern galaxy but copied for an air of opulence about the piece of jewelry.

"A ring, Ker?"

"I've had it forever," she said. "I... don't need it anymore, but I thought you might like it."

Lilandra eyed her suspiciously. She had tossed off her explanation dismissively, but there was a definite hint of sadness in her voice that made Lilandra hesitate.

"Why? I mean, why now?"

Kerryna pressed her lips together. "I know you like that girly-girl stuff, and you're going to be living on the fly again for a while now, I guess … now you can have your fun, wherever the hell it is you're going."

Lilandra smirked. "Thanks, Ker. You always know what to get me."

Kerryna gazed up at her for a moment longer, studying that face that was a younger copy of her own, before she spoke again.

"You know when you were small, when all your little friends would dress up in their mothers' clothes and pretend to be princesses, you would do the same, except you'd pretend to be a judge. Not a princess. A judge."

Lilandra gave her a strange look, smiling at the memory just the same.

"Just because I'm not there doesn't mean I'm not watching you," Kerryna winked. "I'll know if you misbehave."

"You really freak me out sometimes, Occot, you know that?" Lilandra grinned.

Kerryna winked with her other eye.

"But that's pretty special," her sister added. "Try not to hurt yourself."

"Aw, get the hell out," Kerryna laughed.

Sticking her tongue out at Kerryna, Lilandra turned on her heel again and headed for the Jadesaber.

"I won't miss you!" she called over her shoulder.

"Love you, too!" Kerryna replied, waving lazily.

Lilandra hugged her arms around herself as she reached the common room door, shivering in the fan's sudden blast but feeling warmed on the inside as she realized that, joking aside, Kerryna had meant her words.


That night, at five minutes to midnight, under an inky sky splashed with silver, the mission crew boarded the Jadesaber, subdued into silence by the magnitude of what they were about to do.

Luke and Mara manned the cockpit, taking the first flying shift and the first hyperspace jump, while Jaina, Anakin, and the others strapped themselves into the jump seats in the corridor between the cockpit and the lounge.

Lilandra sat across from Jaina and Dave, beside Anakin and Tara, feeling strangely isolated.

Luke came into the back to check that everyone was secure, and then addressed the group.

"Here's how it's going to go," he informed them quietly. "The first jump will take us six hours and drop us somewhere around Bimmisaari. Anakin and Jaina will take over for the second short hop to Bothawui, and Mara and I will handle the jump to Tatooine, where we'll land to refuel. After that, it's just a few short hours to Terapinn."

Everyone nodded, and Luke smiled. "Good stuff. Let's get this show on the road."

He vanished back through the circular passage to the cockpit, sealing off the door, and moments later, a vibration started up beneath the floor – the Jadesaber was ready for liftoff.

Lilandra felt a pang of jealousy as Dave leaned over and kissed Jaina lovingly on the mouth as she leaned back in the jump seat and shut her eyes.

You've got the whole galaxy to love, she reminded herself.

But it's not the same, another voice put in. You're the only single woman on this mission. You have a divine human right to be jealous.

Lilandra closed her eyes, shutting out the soft yellow glow of the globe lamps mounted on the wall, concentrating on the feeling of lift, the sensation of flight, of moving ahead.

Someday soon,*she promised herself to end the argument between her head and her heart. Someday soon I'll make an effort to meet someone.

The minutes passed in silence, and gravity began to press down upon Lilandra's chest. A minute or two more, and the lamps upon the walls began to flicker before finally going out as the Jadesaber gave a great lurch, throwing Lilandra against her restraints and then back into the couch cushions again. They had made the jump into hyperspace; they were on their way.