dfg: Sorry for the delay. Here's more.
SmartStar247: Not to give anything away, but yeah, I think you'll like this one, then. :)
Chapter Two
Jaina wasn't screaming.
The silence echoed around her as she lay limply on the floor, unable to even gather the energy to gag at the stench of the filth on the floor. The pattern of her breathing didn't even change as the sound of light footsteps began to approach. She knew, even without the Force, that it was Vergere who approached her. It was the only sound that she had heard besides her own screams for an interminable amount of time. Jaina noted the lessening of light as Vergere stood over her.
"Stand." The word was spoken without anger or insistence, but was full of a powerful conviction that her command would be obeyed.
Jaina didn't twitch a muscle.
"I will not repeat myself, Jaina Solo."
Jaina remained unmoving. The Fosh looked down at her with something that coming from another being might have been pity. "This is why you are unworthy, Jaina Solo. You abandon your goals so easily, preferring instead to lie helplessly on the ground." She gave a strange laugh. "Your twin would be proud of you."
Jaina flinched, a flash of rage burning across her face. Vergere took a step closer. With surprising strength and speed that Jaina wouldn't have expected from her, the former Jedi Knight pulled Jaina up off of the ground and flung her sharply back against the wall where she slumped into something that approximated a standing position.
"From now on, you will do what I say."
Jaina met Vergere's alien eyes blankly. "Why?"
"Because you must become worthy. It is your destiny." Jaina didn't respond. "Your destiny cannot be denied. You have far more to do than die at the hands of the Tsavong Lah."
A flicker of interest shown in her eyes for a moment. It was the first time that Jaina had shown any outward signs of interest in what was happening to her. But then the brief spark of interest was gone, and Jaina stared back at her with defiance, clearly visible in her features.
Vergere wasn't upset by Jaina's unresponsiveness to what she had to say. Instead a slight knowing smile flickered across her face. "Very well, Jaina Solo. If you will not listen to me, then perhaps there is still more that the Embrace of Pain has to teach you. Pain is not punishment. Pain is life. Do not fight against it. Accept what it has to teach you."
The Fosh walked away without a backwards glance as Yuuzhan Vong warriors walked past her into the room, lifting Jaina up casually and dragging her back towards the Embrace of Pain.
Jacen Solo lay on the med bunk, groggily returning to consciousness. Faces and light blurred together and voices swam in and out of his hearing. He struggled to find one steady thing in all of the confusion and found it a moment later. A single strong presence, muted by fear, grief and a hundred emotions that many people didn't even believed she possessed, held together only by a determination that she would not leave her friend.
Slowly, focusing on his constant, Jacen began to pull himself back to consciousness. It was a tedious process that seemed to drag out into forever, but he remained focused and patient. Gradually scattered words became sentences and then conversations. Flashes of light and color transformed into faces and med droids.
"Mom." It was a croaked whisper barely loud enough to be heard, but it caught Leia and Tenel Ka's attention immediately.
With two quick steps Leia had moved from the chair that she was sitting in to stand beside her son. She sat down on the side of his med bunk quickly and scooped his larger, rough hand up into two of hers, cradling it tightly to her chest.
"Jacen..." She exhaled the word in a breath of desperate relief.
He tried to reassure her, but couldn't seem to make his lips move. He watched in frustration as Tenel Ka stood beside his mother for a moment, looking down at him, with a strange combination of emotions flickering across her usually unreadable face. She met his eyes suddenly and for an instant he felt an almost electric connection flare between them in the Force. In an instant, it was gone as suddenly as it had come, so suddenly that Jacen wondered for a moment if he had imagined it.
"I must go," Tenel Ka spoke abruptly. She addressed her next words to Leia, but never took her eyes off of Jacen. "I will inform Captain Solo that Jacen is awake. While I am on Hapes, there are matters that I must attend to." She spun sharply on her heel, the dark blue cloak that fitted over her Dathomirian armor whirling behind her as the sound of her boots clicking against the stone floor faded as she walked quickly away.
He stared after her, until he felt a warm, wet drop of liquid on his arm. His gaze turned immediately to find tears spilling down Leia's face. Jacen swallowed and concentrated, forcing his muscles to work. "I'm okay, Mom."
The words seemed so inadequate. What could he say to her? He could never bring back her youngest child or her only daughter. He reached out towards her clumsily with the Force, offering her the only support that he could and the only words that he could find. "I'm sorry." The words were torn out of him, and filled with anguish. He could feel the tears began to stream down his own cheeks, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I couldn't save either of them."
Leia seemed to crumple in front of his eyes, sinking back into herself. Jacen hated himself for it, in an instant, and hated that there was nothing that he could do to make it better.
"Hey, what's going on in here?" Han's loud almost cheerful voice, echoed sharply off of the walls, suddenly sounding harsh against the painful silence of the room. For an instant, Han stood in the doorway, frozen by the scene before him. Then the moment was broken and he stepped quickly inside and stepped to Leia's side, wrapping and arm around tightly around her shoulders. "Hey, son," he said as he caught sight of Jacen and realized that he was still awake. A rare flash of sentiment appeared on his father's face and he reached a hand down to rest on Jacen's shoulder. "You're looking better, kid."
Han's smile tightened into a thin line and he bent his head down to lean over Leia's shoulder. Jacen couldn't here what he said as he whispered softly into Leia's ear, but he could see his mother's reaction. Her anguish seemed to be somewhat assuaged by her husband's presence and her back straightened almost imperceptibly. Silence reined as no one was sure what to say.
After taking a deep breath, Leia was the first to break the silence. One of her hands left Jacen's, dropping to her side and immediately was engulfed in Han's supportive grip. "Anakin chose to follow the will of the Force," she said, her voice shaky, "What happened to him was not your fault, and your sister," her voice grew so soft that Jacen could barely hear her. "Your sister is not gone. Jaina is strong, but there is nothing we can do to help her now."
The wave of shock that rolled off of Jacen at his mother's words was almost tangible.
Jagged Fel climbed out of his clawcraft, the rays of the Hapan sun shining brightly off of the tight angels of his clawcraft and paused. There was a strange sense of sadness within him that had been following him for days, since he had briefly spoken with his father before journeying to Hapes. His father's words still echoed in his mind, telling him of Leia Solo's valiant exhortation to continue fighting and mentioning in the casual way of imparting facts, that one of her sons—the youngest—was dead and that her daughter was also feared dead.
Hearing that Jaina Solo was presumed dead had shaken Jag far more than he had expected. She was an excellent pilot, certainly, but he had seen pilots die before, pilots that he knew far better than he knew her, and still something within him was saddened to hear about her.
Jag dropped the remaining foot to the ground and then straightened sharply as he saw the official approaching him across the small landing field. He pushed the thoughts aside, and pulled his helmet off of his head. Taking a deep breath, he snapped to attention as he prepared to meet the official. He didn't have time to dwell on odd inconsistencies at the moment. He had to prove to his father that the Chiss must join this war. That was his purpose and that was what he must focus on.