CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
"You should get out of there, Jag."
"We have time."
Jaina glanced at the tactical display, which showed the movement of a Chiss armored speeder through the city. "Jacen and Shawnkyr aren't that far from their target. It's too risky."
"There is still a possibility to avoid bloodshed, Jaina."
Stifling an urge to snap, Jaina bit her tongue for a minute. Literally. Ever since learning of the Chiss plan, and how they had used him to forward their goal of obtaining a foothold in Vikovan space, Jag had been unsettled. Well, perhaps not all the time, she thought, recalling their trip home in the Shadow. Still, there was something that made him uncomfortable about his whole unknowing role.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," she mumbled.
"As always, the lady is right."
"Huh?"
"No matter how this happens, it will be bad."
"Jag –"
"She's coming," he whispered.
"Be careful." Blast it! There was so much more she needed to say. "I love you."
"I know."
Jaina double-checked the progress of Jacen's team. "You're pretty tight –"
"Greetings, Your Grace."
"Jag." Iliana said his name with the compassion of an old friend. Then there were muffled sounds and the hint of lips pressing close to Jag's hidden earpiece.
"That better be your cheek," Jaina grumbled as she switched off her own earpiece.
She hated this. There was nothing worse than sitting by while everyone else had all the fun – well, hopefully Jag wasn't having too much fun – but this was the best plan they had.
Jaina was "officially" dead, just as the pirate had told Iliana. Jag had returned from his "secret mission" to conclude his Chiss duties. The Vikovan leader had been briefed by Ambassador Chu'itha on the tragedy and informed that Jag would be returning to Chiss space for a period of mourning. Jag's goal in meeting her was to play on Iliana's sympathy and convince her to sign the treaty before any unnecessary bloodshed.
Jaina thought the whole ploy was a fool's gambit. Iliana was too slick and too crafty to be maneuvered into anything she hadn't planned to the letter. That was the whole reason the Chiss had kept Jag in the dark about his part from the beginning. If Jag had known Iliana's interest in him had been an anticipated necessity of the Chiss scheme, he would never have been able to pull the deception off. It was Jag's innocent participation that had sold the Vikovan leader on his genuine nobility.
To be otherwise was not in Jag's nature. Jaina wasn't even sure he could pull this short charade off –
The transmission light from the assault team blinked, and she flipped over to their channel in time to catch Shawnkyr say, "Standing by."
"Copy," Jaina answered, then jumped back to Jag's frequency. She listened for a moment, and decided the sounds of Iliana fawning all over Jag were entirely more frustrating than missing a good fight like Jacen was about to enjoy. Warning Jag wasn't going to help either. He knew exactly how much time he had; it was his plan, after all. Jaina switched back to the assault team. "Commence Operation Guillotine."
"Commencing," Shawnkyr replied.
Then Jaina was left in silence. For the first few seconds she felt a cool chill take root in the base of her spine and begin to crawl its way up. Inhaling, she fought it off momentarily. When it wouldn't stop, though, she clutched the closest reminder of Jag. Deep in the chest pocket of her jumpsuit, the ring Jag had kept hidden on the Shadow now resided close to her heart. Perhaps it was a wee bit wrong to have concealed the ring from him, but then again Jag could have asked. For now, the love that resonated from the simple orichale ring was the one thing that could still her heart.
After a long, drawn out release of breath, Jaina rose and walked the short distance through the tight confines of the Chiss shuttle high in orbit over Vikova. "We're on."
The officer seated at the navigator's station rose and followed her into a small control room. A second blue-skinned humanoid emerged through the far bulkhead. Each of them took a seat. With Chiss efficiency, the task of monitoring the assault team's progress became a carefully timed initiative of brief reports and succinct analysis.
Jaina let the pair drone on, registering their feedback with her subconscious Jedi abilities while her mind wandered back to the Vikovan palace, and Jag. Without thinking she flipped to his channel, some part deep down hoping to hear Jag making his exit.
"There is nothing I can offer to persuade you to stay?" Jaina's back stiffened at the seductiveness of Iliana's tone. "An alliance," the Vikovan vixen finished.
"Ah," Jag said in reply.
Ah? Jaina shut her eyes and imagined a good, hard Force slap landing upside the back of his head.
"The Vikovans and the Chiss," Iliana purred. "Our alliance."
She heard Jag swallow. He was nervous; Jaina could feel it. And it wasn't concern for the timing; it was about Iliana and more so about Jaina personally…
Then Jaina knew. "Why that simple-minded, bubble-brained, silver-tongued, man-stealing daughter of a –"
The assault team's channel blinked suddenly. Jaina flipped her input over to catch one word from Shawnkyr. "Offensive."
Casting a quick look to the nearest Chiss, Jaina indicated he should respond. Orders spewed out in a mixture of Chiss and Basic, and seconds later the displays showed the secondary extraction team speeding away from its hideout. Things apparently were not going to be as easy as any of them had hoped, and that bode poorly for everyone.
Luckily, the extraction team vehicle met no resistance in the city – or if it did, it rolled right over what opposition was met. In less than a minute, the flashing light denoting the Chiss military transport reached the red square marking the Vikovan prison.
"Blade to Base, ready for extraction," Shawnkyr barked in Jaina's ear.
"Copy, Blade," Jaina replied, all the while watching the extraction team's video feed of Chiss warriors blasting down targets on their way through the prison entrance. "They'll be through any second now."
"Copy, Base."
There was nothing left for Jaina to do, and in her Force bond with Jacen she sensed that the situation wasn't quite Solo bad – at least not yet. Her thoughts reverted instantly to Jag and the predicament that would now be confronting him after this latest turn of events.
When she first clicked over to Jag's channel, she heard only silence. Her heart sank. Then came a scuffling of feet and muffled speech. The best Jaina could make out was, "Code Blue."
"Fortunate indeed … -dor Fel." Iliana. "You … -rayed the … -ong woman."
Jaina's danger sense was practically singing.
"As always, the lady is right. I will not fight you." Hearing Jag's voice made Jaina's heart soar.
As always, the lady is right. Jag had said that to Jaina – earlier, when she had offered her father's infamous prediction. This time she said, "I've got a really bad feeling about this."
Jaina could hear a feminine cackle. "… does not seem, Ambassador …" It was nearly impossible to make out Iliana's words, but the malice was unmistakable. "-at… choice is yours to –"
SCREEEEEEEEEE!
"Son of a –"
Jaina snatched her earpiece and threw it to the ground.
"– Sith!"
Four red eyes appraised her curiously, then the offending device. One of the two Chiss operators had to have been on the receiving end of the same feedback, but both remained as impassive as if they had just heard a Mon Cal opera.
"They're jamming us," she said, eliciting only a blink from the nearest blue-skinned alien. "Do you have a fix on him?"
"We tracked the Ambassador from the reception hall into turbolift one-three-two. The lift descended –"
"Transfer the data to my console," Jaina ordered.
The Chiss tapped away at his console. "Done."
A three-dimensional image appeared on Jaina's heads-up display detailing the palace layout. It spun and highlighted the public area where Jag had met Iliana. His location was indicated by a green dot. A green line traced a path into the turbolifts. Halfway down the shaft, a red dot flashed, signifying a loss of signal.
Jaina shot out of her seat, calling the earpiece back to her hand as she went. She crossed the distance to the shuttle's cockpit in a matter of seconds. "Take us down."
The pilot didn't even turn his head. "Our orders –"
Thhhhrrummmm.
"You've got new orders."
As expected, the hot end of a purple lightsaber blade got his attention. Without so much as another word from the pilot, the shuttle dove so fast for the planet below Jaina practically toppled backwards. Instead she used the Force to settle into the navigator's position as she extinguished her blade.
While she waited for the nav computer to generate a suitable landing site, Jaina popped the earpiece back into place, just in case. In that time a plan formed in her mind. She keyed in some data and transferred it to the pilot's console. "Take us to these coordinates."
"Yes, Knight Solo."
"Open the ramp. All I need is a touch and go," she said, then started out of the cockpit.
"But –"
She stopped. "You're going to be in enough trouble for breaking orders, Lieutenant. Don't get yourself killed on top of it."
"Of course," the pilot said matter-of-factly. "Twenty seconds to drop point."
"Don't worry. I've got some pull with the Ambassador," she said with a wink and salute of her lightsaber before dashing out of the cockpit.
And pull she did have. This whole escapade was keeping Jaina from the one thing she had discovered to be truly right in her life. Her love for Jag and his in turn for her was pure and sacred. Perfect. What she had wanted after leaving the Unknown Regions was to cement that truth in her life, in their lives. But Jag hadn't been ready, and Jaina hadn't pushed it.
In her heart, their partnership was already alive and real. What needed to happen next was a formality, but Jaina wanted it more than anything. As the wind from the opening boarding ramp buffeted her and the palace rose up to meet her, she realized that Iliana's petty power play was all that stood between Jaina and total happiness. It was hard not to hate the Vikovan space hussy in that moment. Jag was in danger because his noble sensibilities wouldn't permit him to take advantage of a truly evil person. And Jaina believed beyond a doubt that Iliana was just that – evil.
Suddenly, Jaina felt like she was going to be sick.
"Jaina? What's wrong?" Jacen's voice immediately soothed her sickening fears. He might be able to help.
"She's got Jag and I gotta get to him."
"Jay, you're breaking up."
"Iliana's got Jag. If she knows about the strike team she might try to kill him. We've got to hurry!" Had she just said that? Iliana couldn't. She wouldn't. Jaina glanced out the open door, wondering if fear or the insane decent was making her so nauseous. She didn't have time to be sick; the shuttle was seconds from the drop site.
"Slow down," Jacen said. "Repeat."
"Will you listen to me for once you lame-brained Bantha behind! Iliana's got Jag. Who knows what she's going to do. You and I have to get to him!"
Jaina had no intention of letting her horrible prediction come to pass. She jumped from the shuttle, landing on the palace roof softer than a tuskcat on the hunt.
Her lightsaber was sizzling before the first laserfire left any of the guards' blasters. She batted each volley away, redirecting some at her attackers as best she could. Her feet were swift, though, and she was gone before they realized it. Crashing through a roof entry door and flying down stairways, Jaina reached a level she recalled had access to the proper set of turbolifts.
She saw no one along her way except some palace staff, who had no intention of crossing a wild-eyed Jedi on a mission. Soon she was pounding on the turbolift controls, demanding the blasted thing come to her floor. It only took a few seconds to realize the overrides were activated.
"Fraggin' frag!" Stomping her heels, Jaina released her momentary frustration in a hopping storm. Then her Skywalker sensibilities kicked into gear. "Going to have to do this the old-fashioned way I guess."
With a swipe of her hand through the air, she visualized the control panel popping off the wall, and it did. Reaching into her belt, Jaina extracted her multitool and extended the blade. A couple of seconds were all it took to rewire the controls, and the doors to the empty shaft whizzed open. One down. Next she used the metal tip to test the leads at the same time as she felt the panel's function parameters through her connection to the Force. A carefully timed and precise order of taps on the leads summoned the lift into motion. Jaina grinned. Two down.
She could feel the turbolift hurtling through the shaft. Sticking her head inside, Jaina glanced up and saw it plummeting from above. Only then did she realize that the lift wasn't going to stop. Drawing her head out of the shaft, Jaina inhaled and reached into the Force. Timing was everything. Jumping too late would leave her in an endless freefall –endless until she smashed into the bottom of the shaft.
Now! the Force told her just as the rush of moving air brushed her skin. Jaina leapt even when her sense of sight told her there was something in the way. The lift passed in an instant and the opening was free as she somersaulted and flipped. Falling for a few seconds, she wondered if perhaps she had jumped a split second too late.
Thump.
Jaina bent her knees, but the landing on the roof of the turbolift car was soft because it was plunging at close to freefall speed. She bent her knees again, and locked onto the Force as the lift slowed abruptly. Slicing her lightsaber into the durasteel beneath her feet, Jaina split her focus while she could. She reached for Jag, and felt nothing…
Clang!
A circular section of the lift's roof had fallen after she completed the cut. Jaina winced. She had let her attention slip, and made more noise than she should have. But the Force told her to wait rather than charge ahead. Just then the car slowed to a complete halt. The lift doors slid open, and two blaster tips eased into the empty car below her.
She waited.
Finally both Vikovan guards tiptoed underneath her, one staring at the roof section laying on the floor and the other pointedly glancing up at the opening. In his mind, the second guard saw nothing until Jaina allowed it. By then it was too late. A tremendous Force shove smacked the guards headfirst into each other, and they slumped to the floor.
Jaina jumped into the lift, her blazing lightsaber ready for action. Her instincts were right, though. All she found was a narrow, empty corridor that led to a lone door. A door that led to Jag!
She sprinted down the corridor's length and drew on the Force. An intense burst of concentration coupled with a swipe of her free hand compelled the door to open against all its failsafes. The effort should have affected her immensely, but the thought of Jag waiting just inside was more than enough compensation.
As she burst into the bunker, Jaina's danger sense flared. She struck left with her lightsaber and took down one Vikovan. Her hand waved right and sent a second crashing over a bank of controls.
In the center of the room Iliana spun, a small blaster in her hand. She fired twice, but Jaina batted them away as she charged. She sent them wide because Jag was there, behind Iliana. The risk was too great.
Iliana was undaunted, firing again and again. Jaina kept coming, her feel in the Force allowing her to block bolt after bolt. Until –
"Ah!"
A red bolt seared Jaina's sword hand and she dropped the lightsaber. Somehow she had misjudged. And it appeared Iliana intended to hit her mark once more. Jaina rolled, trying to get a sense of her weapon or Iliana.
She felt nothing.
What she heard was a woman screech and the rumble of bodies, the clatter of furniture. As Jaina struggled to rise despite her wounded hand, she saw Iliana trying to wrestle out from under Jag, who was still tied to a chair. The Vikovan leader swung around her blaster and took aim at him.
Jaina jumped, grabbing for blonde hair and pulling for all she was worth. "Not my man!"