CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"What did you tell them?"

Leading Jacen down the corridor of the Polar Wind, Shawnkyr glanced back over her shoulder. "I instructed them to calculate the most likely destinations using Kyrrtol's primary as a gravity center for a propelled jump."

"Do you think they bought it?"

"I think they are not inclined to question my judgment."

"Right. So you're sure we're the only ones who –"

"You ask too many questions."

He laughed. "Sorry."

She stopped at a closed portal and entered a code on the wall panel. The indicator light flashed green, the door swished open, and she waved him ahead. "Apology accepted."

"Impressive," he said, taking in the formal office. "I wouldn't have thought – Oh."

"Correct." Shawnkyr walked around the desk. "In light of Ambassador Fel's… unapproved leave –" she took a seat in its chair "– I have decided to make unapproved use of his office."

"Sounds fair to me."

"I am delighted you agree."

He sat down opposite her. "What are we going to do?"

She settled her hands in front of her on the desk. "Unless you know the override codes for the Shadow's com silence…"

"No," he said into her pause. "Sorry."

"Then we have no way of sending a warning to them directly, by conventional means or through the Force."

"Unfortunately." Jacen leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hand over his face. "The estimated hyperdrive rating of that ship was fast, but not too fast. Maybe we could just outfly them there and warn Jaina and Jag that way?"

For a moment Shawnkyr tapped the desk pensively with her fingertips. "The combination of the distance and their head start is problematic. Even the fastest of the clawcraft would not make it to Kyrrtol in time."

"An X-Wing, though?"

"With aggressive astronavigation plotting, it might be possible."

"Then I'll go."

She looked up sharply. "You?"

"What? I can do it."

"No, no," she said, shaking her head. "I do not doubt your piloting. But I was under the impression your fighter's hyperdrive is out of commission."

"Well, it is. But I'm sure I can borrow –"

"The other Jedi will need their own fighters in case combat is called for."

He frowned. "You're right."

"Perhaps we could –"

"Wait!" He shot forward in the chair. "I can take Jaina's. It's just sitting down there collecting dust, if you think about it."

Shawnkyr only raised an eyebrow.

Against his will Jacen's gaze found the small holocube off to the side on the desk, from which a small image of his twin sister smiled back at him. To Jag's eyes the grin no doubt was a sultry greeting; to Jacen, in this moment, it was a predatory smirk. She's already going to have my hide for getting to fly Jag's clawcraft first… "Forget I mentioned it."

"Mentioned what?"

He chuckled. "You really have been hanging around with Jag too long."

She nodded in bemusement. "I was afraid of that."

"If getting a warning to them isn't feasible," he said, "how about we just go after them?"

"Go after them?"

"Sure. Why not?"

She rose to her feet and paced toward the far wall. "We do not know what opposition, if any, we could encounter."

"I suppose not. But how bad could it be?"

She spun around. "Bad enough."

"Come on. You really think so?"

"Any number of groups could present a serious threat." She reached the desk and paced away again. "For all we know this is an operation of the Vikovan military."

"You really think Iliana would risk that?"

"No," she admitted quietly. "But there is no doubt that gangsters and pirates operating in this region are heavily armed. So are several mercenary organizations that have yet to disband from the war. Even simply a team of bounty hunters might give us trouble."

"We have to take the chance," Jacen said.

"If we had a better idea of who we were dealing with, perhaps it might be possible."

"Don't be so pessimistic. We'd have the Polar Wind and the clawcraft, plus the Jedi –"

"Even if it were not an absurdly great risk," she said, cutting him off, "I still could not give the order. The Polar Wind must remain at Vikova."

"Oh, right." Jacen sighed, defeated. "In case the Achebians attack again."

For just an instant she hesitated, and if he didn't know better he'd have thought he'd caught her off guard. "And sending any smaller of a force would be unwise. Realistically we lack any capacity to mount a rescue operation."

"All right." He took a deep breath, looking to the Force for clarity. There was always another answer to be found. "Someone else will have to rescue them for us."

Shawnkyr stopped at his side, just a bit closer than he'd expected. "We cannot reveal the significance of the Kyrrtol system. I already have breached a confidence by even telling you."

He'd never noticed how tall she was – until right now, when she seemed to tower over him. "I understand."

"Nevertheless, I imagine we could plausibly explain away Kyrrtol as a transit point toward Chiss space."

"Jag was hurrying back for… some ambassadorial duty, real quick like… and Jaina tagged along to spend some time with him."

She nodded slowly, and paced away. "It might work."

"So if we have an explanation for why they'd be ambushed at Kyrrtol, who can we contact that can get there in time?"

"And with enough firepower."

"Yeah." Jacen furrowed his brow. "Not the Alliance."

"No. Spread too thin as it is, and too far away."

"The Chiss?"

She tilted her head. "Without Ambassador Chu'itha blowing our cover?"

"Oops. I forgot about that."

"Then it is a good thing I am here to back you up."

"Too bad you weren't with us last night to fix up that crazy plan of ours."

"Agreed."

He flashed her the trademark Solo scowl, but she only held out her hands as if to dare him to disagree. Which he couldn't – the plan was pretty crazy. With that thought, inspiration struck. "Hey, I've got it! Karrde could probably do it."

"And what," she said, reaching the desk and sitting down across from him again, "gives you the confidence he has sufficient resources nearby to achieve this?"

"Ah…" Jacen had a sudden, terrifying vision of Mara, Jaina, and Talon Karrde cackling with evil glee as they ripped him limb from limb. "It was just a guess."

Shawnkyr leaned forward and propped her elbows on the desk. "A guess?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Well, I don't know for sure."

"But you know he has at least some assets nearby?"

"Umm…"

Shawnkyr leaned even closer. "Who do you fear more, Jacen? Talon Karrde, or your aunt and your sister?"

Too easy. "The ysalamiri," he explained in a rush. "It was Karrde's people who got us the ysalamiri for the Shadow."

"Of course." She chuckled. "I should have known."

"Look," he said anxiously, "you can't tell him I –"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I did not tell you about Kyrrtol's significance, and you did not tell me about Karrde's presence in this sector."

"Right." He sighed in frustration. "But we're getting really low on options."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"We have to do something, Shawnkyr. We can't just leave Jaina and Jag out there on their own."

She nodded, then snatched the holocube into her palm. She held up the small box and pondered the images inside. "You know, Jacen, there are times I rue the day your sister entered his life." She spun the cube in her fingers, appraising each image in turn. "And there are times I wonder how he ever existed without her."

"Which is it right now?"

Her twinkling red eyes glanced away from the cube to meet his gaze. "Do you really want the answer?"

"On second thought, no."

"Very well." She returned the holocube to its spot on the desk. "Regardless, it is safe to assume that I will bear the full brunt of Jag's wrath should we fail to prevent any harm coming to her."

"Yeah, and it's safe to assume I'll never hear the end of it from my dad if I can't figure out a way to save her either."

Abruptly she sprang to her feet. "You, Jacen Solo, are a genius!"

"I am?"

"Yes," she said, striding briskly toward the door and waving him to follow. "Now, come on. We have a transmission to make right away."

"All right, all right," he replied, hurrying after her as she disappeared into the corridor. "But what'd I say?"