CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

"It won't work," Jag said. He still sat in the chair where Iliana had restrained him. Binders held his wrists behind the back of the chair and his ankles together. For good measure another binder wrapped around his waist.

"Of course it will," Iliana replied from her position seated at a communications console. Moments earlier she had transmitted a message to the Chiss, informing them that any attempt to capture her or rescue Ambassador Fel would result in his immediate execution.

"Nothing will dissuade them from the plan."

"We shall see." She rose and turned away. She conferred with her advisors for several minutes before they filed from the room. A pair of Vikovan guards took up positions to either side of the door, but otherwise Jag and Iliana were alone.

He fought the urge to do something. He had no means of escape and no weapons. Iliana was too focused on the consoles, and on barking orders in her native tongue into the communications stations, to fall for simple distractions like taunts or shouts.

All he could do was wait.

A moment later the running chrono on one of the display screens caught his eye, and Jag's mind went to work. Quickly he considered what had transpired since the Vikovans had jammed his comlink and estimated how long that had taken. Then he calculated the length of the shuttle's descent and an infiltration into the palace. After accounting for the mandatory Solo shenanigans, he was done. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Jag watched the chrono run. When his countdown expired he said, "Iliana."

She didn't look up from the console she was watching, but only trained her blaster on him.

"Jaina's alive."

Iliana looked up. After a long, stunned silence she said, "That's impossible."

"Think again. And I doubt your reunion is going to be pleasant."

"It can't be. I made certain –"

The high-pitched whom of a rapidly moving lightsaber announced Jaina's arrival through the bunker's open door. A single stroke of her purple blade cut down one guard, who collapsed in a lifeless heap. A wave of her hand blasted the other guard backward across the room, where he crashed over a command console and flopped limply to the floor.

Iliana spun and opened fire, at first only a pair of shots, as if she actually expected the laser bolts to strike home and kill a Jedi. Jaina swung her lightsaber and deflected the shots aside. For an instant Jag wondered if he should heave himself to the floor in case the bolts ricocheted off the walls – but of course Jaina had directed them into one of the consoles, which exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke.

Jaina kept charging, and Iliana kept firing. The purple blade repelled shot after shot until –

"Ah!"

His heart skipped a beat when Jaina screamed and her lightsaber winked out. Even as the handle clattered to the floor, though, Jag realized Jaina hadn't stopped charging toward Iliana. His heart soared again. She wasn't about to let the loss of her weapon stop her.

Iliana, however, was still very much armed, and she was taking dead aim at Jaina…

Jag didn't think. He simply acted. With every bit of strength he could muster he lunged – chair and all – at Iliana.

It wasn't graceful, but it worked. She screeched in rage as he slammed into her and drove her to the floor. He tried to pin her down, but that was turning out to be a difficult prospect in his current state. Then again, he hadn't exactly planned what he was going to do after he knocked her over.

Iliana wrenched herself around beneath him. She couldn't get free, but she did manage to point her blaster right at his head.

"Not my man!" Jaina yelled.

Another screech accompanied the blaster's disappearance. Jag rolled to try to keep Iliana pinned, but in the process only succeeded in plopping himself unceremoniously prone on the floor. He heard the scuffling of feet and incoherent grunts of effort. A twist of his shoulders spun him enough so he could check on Jaina.

She was doing just fine. One hand held a thick fistful of Iliana's long blonde hair; the other was latched to the wrist of Iliana's blaster hand. Iliana tried to take a swing with her free hand, but Jaina hopped away with all the skill of a fighter well versed in messy brawls. Iliana lunged, trying to aim the blaster at Jaina, but instead she only sent them both tumbling to the ground amidst more wordless growls.

Jag tugged at his wrists and wrenched at his ankles, but nothing he did seemed to make any progress toward ridding himself of the binders. Then he tried contorting his shoulders to wiggle his arms out from around the back of the chair, except the binders were too tight and the angles too awkward. He hissed in frustration and attempted to rise to his knees.

In the meantime the two women continued their enthusiastic melee on the floor. A mighty kick sent Iliana sprawling. Jaina bounded to her feet and reached for her holstered blaster. Just as she drew it, though, Iliana swung her leg in a vicious sweep that Jaina barely managed to leap over. That distraction gave the tall blonde time to spring up and throw another kick that knocked the blaster from Jaina's hand.

A heave of effort drew Jag up onto his knees and an elbow. A push and a lunge created a pain-filled hop, but it moved him forward.

Then he realized he had nowhere to go.

"Yee-ahh!" Jaina yelped as the two women slammed to the floor yet again with the much larger Iliana on top.

The Vikovan's advantage didn't last. This time Jaina had a firm grip on both of Iliana's wrists. She kicked out with both feet and held on, propelling Iliana into a full heels-over-head flip that crashed her flat on her back. Never releasing her hold, Jaina pounced atop her foe. Jaina leaned down hard to keep the blonde trapped, then smacked Iliana's weapon hand against the floor until the holdout blaster finally skittered away – in the opposite direction from Jag.

Jaina glanced over to him. "Any help here would be great."

"And what exactly," Jag demanded as he prepared himself for another hop, "do you expect me to do?"

"Die!" Iliana shrieked, for which she received a backhanded blow across the face.

"There!" In between throwing and blocking punches, Jaina was indicating something with entirely indistinct flails of her head.

Jag scanned the floor as best he could. "What? Where?"

"Over –" Somehow Jaina was pinned beneath Iliana again. "– there!"

"I don't –"

"My saber," Jaina gasped, pushing with both hands at Iliana's forearm over her throat. Her brown eyes flicked, just for an instant, toward the same general direction as before.

This time Jag saw it. The glint of the lightsaber handle resting against the base of one of the consoles. And it was only a few hops away!

"Oof!" Jag sprang as hard as he could. He sucked in a deep breath and hopped again.

"Hurry it – ow! – up, flyboy," Jaina said.

He couldn't look back. He was concentrating too hard on his hopping. His latest endeavor ended up as more of a lunge-flop, but it still moved him forward. "Why don't you just –"

"I can't!" Jaina explained over the sounds of fists pummeling.

"What?" Now Jag did look over his shoulder. Jaina had a new fistful of blonde hair in her right hand, and was bludgeoning Iliana on the head with her left. An earlier blow had left a nasty red welt; the next tore a bloody gash under Iliana's eye. Jaina was really doing some damage, confirmed by the choice Vikovan curses spewing from Iliana's mouth. All the while the taller woman attempted to wrap her hands around Jaina's throat. "How is that –"

"Ysalamiri? Witchcraft?" In the form of dodging a punch, Jaina spared him a glance. "Does it fraggin' matter?"

"Not really," Jag said, and hopped.

Finally he was almost there! He didn't even bother to hop again; a couple of quick shoves with his elbows were all it took to slide his feet up to the lightsaber handle. He tested his mobility within the binders, then judged the distance to Jaina. Carefully he used the toe of his boot to roll the cylinder around until he had it positioned just the way he wanted. Now all he had to do was pretend this was all just another ballgame against Davin…

"Jaina!" he shouted, and flicked his ankles.

The lightsaber slid lengthwise along the floor like a rocket. Right on cue Jaina freed her hand and stretched, seizing the weapon and igniting its shimmering purple blade.

Iliana sprang back just in time to avoid the arcing swipe of the blade, then scampered to her feet. Jaina launched upright too, and surged toward her. When the blonde ducked to avoid the blade's next swing, Jaina's knee flew into her chin with a decisive kerthwack. Iliana slumped to the floor.

"Nice kick," Jag said, looking up as Jaina arrived over him.

"You too," she replied with a grin. She readied her lightsaber. "Now hold still."

"What? I thought you didn't have the Force!"

"Well, I don't. But this is –"

He saw a motion out of the corner of his eye. "Jaina!"

"Oh, calm down you –"

"Behind you!"

She spun just in time to use her blade to deflect the blaster bolts being fired by a Vikovan guard crouched behind the command console where he had fallen earlier.

"Get him," Jag said. "I'll wait."

"I'm sure you would," Jaina replied, ducking behind a console, "but it'll be easier if we do this together, don't you think?"

He scowled at her, but knew better than to argue.

"Don't move."

"As ordered."

The whistling thrum came disturbing close to Jag's ears on its way past, but the sound of a lightsaber blade shearing through metal was unmistakable. The next moment Jag was free, and hauling himself to hunch at Jaina's side behind the console.

Their eyes met.

"Go," she whispered.

Jag burst around the console and dove for the communications array. A blaster bolt whizzed over his back close enough to singe his uniform. Before the next shot came he was behind the array – right where Jaina's blaster had fallen.

He scooped it into both hands and popped up over the top of the array in a firing crouch. The Vikovan guard was shooting toward the command console again, where Jaina had stood up to draw his fire. Jag squared his aim and squeezed the trigger. His shot flew straight into the chest of the Vikovan guard, who collapsed with a dying moan. Jaina's lightsaber deactivated with a hiss.

"Jag…" The tone of Jaina's voice made his blood run cold.

He spun and stood. Jaina was standing behind the command console. So was Iliana – with her holdout blaster pressed against the side of Jaina's head.

Jag leveled his blaster.

Iliana sneered. "You wouldn't dare."

Jaina met his gaze. Her brown eyes said simply, I trust you.

Jag fired.

The next moment Jaina was in his arms, crushed against him in an embrace so tight he thought it might break both their ribs. He didn't hold her for long, though. He guided her with his hands until she stepped back so he could look at her. She was disheveled and exhausted. Definitely bruised. A little bloody, although he wasn't sure it was hers.

"Are you all right?" he whispered.

She gave him a little smile. "You should see the other guy."

He kissed her, long and passionately. The feeling was like no other. Flying. Soaring. Free. And he wanted this forever.

"Jaina…"

She nodded. "I was afraid I was going to lose you, too."

"Jaina, I…" He took a deep breath; just the thought that he might have missed his chance, their chance made him shudder. "There's something I… need to say."

She met his gaze curiously.

He had planned it all. Down to the last detail. Everything just the way he knew she would have liked it. "I wanted it to be perfect."

"Wanted what to be perfect?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this… Not here. Not this way. But I…" He shook his head. "I can't wait like I did on the Shadow last night. I have to do this –"

"What are you saying, Jag?"

"I'm sorry. Just know this isn't the way I planned it. I don't even have the ring." He took her hands in his. Only then did he realize they were shaking from fear of losing the one perfect thing in his life. That simple thought made it even more important to say the words now. "Jaina, will you marry me?"

At that very moment, her twin brother burst through the bunker's open door. "Sorry I'm late," Jacen said. "Did I miss anything?"

Jaina stifled a giggle and freed her hands.

Jag felt sick. Don't say no.

She looked at Jag, then her brother, then back to Jag.

By the heads of the Four Families, please say –

Her right hand went to his cheek, and she held up her left hand.

Jag noted the glint in her brown eyes, and the gentle, happy burst of love in Jaina's features. He might have been entranced by it, too, except the wiggling of her fingers caught his attention. His eyes darted to the sparkle of each wave of her fourth finger. The ring!

She had the ring on. His ring on. His mouth moved, but no words came out.

Jaina's answer. "Yes."