See disclaimer in prologue.
AN: Hey guys, here's the next installment. I hope there are actually some people out there who are reading this and enjoying it at least a little bit. Someone informed me that I wasn't accepting anonymous reviews so no one could review if they weren't signed in. I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that the settings were that way. So if anyone was going to review and didn't because of that, feel free to review now. In fact, please please review. I want to know what you think.
CHAPTER 4
Maya liked being a runaway and a stowaway. It was even sort of exciting. She wasn't really running away, though; she had left a note:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I'm going with Zekk. I just have a feeling he mite need me. Sorry I didn't say bye but I new you would stop me. I'm almost a Jedi, rite? Anyway, do you NO Jaina's gone? I no it in my head but my haert mite need some confinsing. I saw that in a holovid one time and it's realy true.
Love,
Maya
P.S. Tell Aurie & Des Happy Birthday for me.
She wouldn't be a stowaway for long, either, because Zekk would know she was there as soon as she came out. And by the time she did that, they'd be in hyperspace so he couldn't take her back.
*
Jacen's news brought plenty of confusion. It didn't occur to them to call Zekk or anyone else; everyone assumed someone else had and it never occurred to them to check.
The TIE's computer didn't tell them anything, but that didn't really matter, did it? Jaina was alive, and she could tell them how to get to Nova.
There were problems with Luc, however, that they had to assume were the same for his twin. His memories were partially blocked, and he now believed in everything the Empire stood for. He was also much more strong-willed than he had been before he left; for example, he wouldn't let anyone touch his little white lightsaber, and eventually the adults had stopped trying to take it away from him. They just hoped that whatever damage had been done to him, and presumably to Nova as well, could be reversed.
*
Nova was hiding under Lady Misery's bed, hoping Lord Elbow-head wouldn't find her there. There was a box beside her. Nova opened it. There were lots of things inside. There was a book. Nova couldn't really read it yet, but she recognized her name, Luc's, and a few other little words. She put the book in her pocket and kept looking. There was a multitool. She took that, too. Nova figured it was all right to take this stuff if Lady Misery couldn't come back to get it. Besides, it might help her.
She found a lightsaber. She didn't have room to turn it on under the bed, but she put it on her belt by hers. If it was a real one, she might need it. There was some kind of coat or something. Nova didn't know what it was so she left it alone. At the very bottom, there was a comlink.
She could call for help! But who could she call? She didn't know anybody.
Remembering something, Nova looked at the book again. On the last page, there was a pocket with a piece of flimsy inside. Written on the back of the flimsy was a set of comm codes. She didn't know whose they were, but she could call them and find out.
*
"What were you thinking? Didn't I tell you to stay on Coruscant?" Maya stared Zekk right in the eyes as he yelled at her. "What if I were going somewhere dangerous? You made a promise, you know!"
"Yeah, well you made some promises too," Maya said in a quiet but furious voice. The two of them were so intent on each other, they hardly noticed that the comm was receiving a message. Zekk hit the button to accept, still giving his complete attention to what he was telling Maya.
"Hello?" said a little girl's voice. Stopping in mid-sentence, Zekk turned to stare, even though it was only a voice message. "Is there anybody there?" He leaned close to the microphone and hit the respond button.
"Hello? Hello? Who is this?" he cried. Maya stared at him, wondering what in the universe was going on.
"I'm Nova," the little girl said. "Who are you?"
"Nova!" Zekk exclaimed, sitting down very hard in the chair. "This is your daddy. Are you all right? Where are you?"
"Daddy!" Her voice sounded amazed. "I knew Lord Elbow-head was a big fat liar! Are you my really real daddy?"
"Who's Lord Elbow-head? No, never mind. Nova, baby, where are you? I'm coming to get you but I need to know where. Are Mommy and Luc with you?"
"Everybody went away, Daddy," Nova said in a small voice. "Um…I don't remember what system this is."
"That's okay, Nova," Zekk said. "Are there any planets near you? Can you see any?"
There was the sound of something heavy moving across the floor, then a long pause.
"There's a little planet a long way away. It's kind of yellow. There's more, but I can't see them."
"Okay, Novalee, that's great," Zekk told her. "Can you see anything else?" There was no sound for a long time. "Nova?"
"Bye, Daddy, I have to go! Lord Elbow-head's here!"
"Nova? Nova!" Zekk shouted, but there was only silence on the other end.
*
"Who were you talking to just now?" Lord Elbow-head asked.
"My daddy," Nova told him. Lord Elbow-head frowned.
"I thought I told you that I am your father," he said.
"You're a big fat liar then, Lord Elbow-head," Nova retorted.
"I don't think you know what you're saying, Lady Nova," he said, walking closer.
"Stay away from me!" Nova yelled, turning on Lady Misery's lightsaber. It had a button, and it was purple. She liked it. She liked it even better when Lord Elbow-head stepped back. Then he turned on his own lightsaber. It was red, and it was longer than the purple one. Nova was afraid, but she held up the purple lightsaber the way Lady Misery had taught her.
Lord Elbow-head tried to hit her, but Nova was fast. It also helped being so much littler than he was. He was better, though. He knocked the purple lightsaber out of her hand and it went out. But as soon as that happened, Nova turned on her white one. Lord Elbow-Head laughed at her.
"You think you can beat me with a practice saber? Ha!"
"I can," Nova said, hitting him in the knee. He almost fell, then caught himself and tried to hit her again. Nova tried to block with her lightsaber, but Lord Elbow-head was stronger. He knocked her second saber away, too, and put the end of his just in front of her heart, which was now beating very fast.
There was one more thing she could do. She concentrated hard on lifting and moving. Her practice saber rose up and hit him in the head.
"Nice try," he said, batting it away, and lunged. Nova screamed and shut her eyes. Then something heavy hit the floor. The purple lightsaber left its place in the air beside him and went to her hand. She called her practice saber to her and put it on her belt. Then she picked up his red lightsaber off the floor and put that on her belt, too. She left his arm on the floor where it was.
Lord Elbow-head was on the floor, staring at his arm. It wasn't connected to his shoulder anymore. He didn't try to stop her. She took the turbolift to the hangar bay. She took the last remaining TIE fighter down to the planet, making a rough landing that left the TIE fighter broken, but the girl unharmed. When she was there, she started to cry.
*
Zekk stared at the Lightning Rod's communicator in complete shock. Nova…His little girl…
"Zekk? Is she okay?" Maya asked hesitantly.
"I don't know, damn it!" he snapped, spinning around to face her. Maya jumped back. Zekk softened at her frightened look. "I don't know," he repeated quietly. "And you still haven't told me why you are on my ship when I specifically told you to stay on Coruscant." Maya's furious defiance returned.
"Because I want to be!" she shouted, "Though I don't know why!" She turned and fled the room.
After a minute, Zekk followed her. He found her curled up on her bed.
"I don't like the fact that you broke your promise, but I'm willing to get over it because I would have done the same thing." Maya stared at him for so long that he sat down beside her. Finally, she spoke.
"I—I know it's not your fault that Jaya's…dead," Maya said, fighting tears. She sat up. "You were just protecting us. I just needed somebody to be mad at. I thought that if I was mad then…"
"Then it wouldn't hurt so much?" Maya nodded and burst into tears. "Rusty, you know better than that. It didn't work, did it?" Maya shook her head. Zekk opened his arms and Maya willingly crawled onto his lap for a comforting hug. She clung to him and sobbed.
"I hate whoever took Jaya away. I hate them!" Maya said when she could talk again. "I know Mommy and Daddy say I shouldn't hate anybody, but I do!" Zekk studied her carefully before deciding whether to lecture or answer honestly.
"Yeah, me too," he said, choosing the latter.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"What are you going to do about Nova? She said everybody went away, so Luc must have escaped somehow." Or he's dead, she added silently.
"I don't know what we're going to do," he said, choosing not to enlighten the seven-year-old that there were other possibilities besides his son getting away. "I guess we'll have to go on to Dathomir and see if they know anything. Nova's call came too fast for me to trace it." His mind raced with thoughts of what could be happening to his little girl.
"You love her a lot." It wasn't a question.
"She's my baby," he agreed.
"We'll find her," Maya said, smiling confidently at him.
*
Lando Calrissian walked into the med center on Alderaan Station. His best friend's daughter stared at him as if trying to think of who he was.
"Well, Jaina," he said cheerfully. "We've finished all the tests, and you're completely up to the trip to Dathomir."
"What's on Dathomir?" she asked.
"Almost your entire family," he replied. "Both of your brothers, your sisters-in-law, and all the kids." Jaina considered that. All of them?
"So, I'm healed?" she asked finally.
"Yes," he said, nodding confirmation. "And don't worry. The baby's doing just fine. Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant?"
She just stared at him for a very long moment.
"I'm what?"
*
Jacen and Anakin watched as the Lightning Rod set down in front of them. The ramp lowered and out walked Zekk, followed closely by Maya, who looked both apologetic and defiant, as if challenging anyone to ask what she was doing there, while apologizing for it before they could ask.
"Zekk!" Jacen cried and rushed forward to greet him. Anakin followed more slowly, though he was no longer out to kill.
"Jacen," Zekk said, returning his former brother-in-law's hug and wondering what Jacen was so excited about. He looked at Anakin. "Did I miss something?" he asked, with a questioning glance at Jacen. Anakin laughed, finally releasing the last of his anger.
"Let's just say…you missed a lot."
"I did? Like what?" Zekk asked, curious now.
"Well, for starters," Anakin replied, "Jaina's alive."
"What? But how? I mean…"
"Jaya's alive?" Maya exclaimed, unable to resist interrupting the adults' conversation.
"Yes, she's definitely alive," Jacen said, smiling at her. "The TIE she was in was protected with quantum armour. Anja and Tahiri found her while they were working on Alderaan Station."
"Then she's okay?" Zekk was barely able to contain his excitement. "Where is she?"
"Lando is bringing her here on the Lady Luck. Anja and Tahiri are coming, too."
"We have even more good news," Anakin put in. "Your son is here."
Zekk felt his jaw drop and could do nothing about it. "And—Nova?" Anakin's grin faded.
"No." It was barely a whisper. "We don't know how to find her." Zekk let out his breath and then forced something resembling a smile to his face.
"But Luc is here?" he asked. He felt his heart stop when the others didn't lose their serious expressions. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's fine…physically," Jacen explained. "Come on, you can see for yourself." He reached down and ruffled Maya's hair affectionately, neatly avoiding Zekk's eyes; then the four of them started back to the village proper.
"Do you know who had them? Who was behind this from the beginning, even while he made us trust him?" Anakin asked, gritting his teeth. He spoke in a tone that suggested to Maya that it was something she wasn't supposed to hear, so she tried to listen without looking at him.
"Who?" Zekk's voice was equally tight, though he didn't seem to be trying to hide his words from her.
"Kanyen," said Anakin. "Everybody's best friend, Kanyen. He was planning it from the time we met him. He was probably behind whatever split up you and Jaina, too."
"So, the whole time the guy was becoming our friend, he was plotting ways to steal my wife and kids?" He refrained from saying "I told you so," but even Maya heard it in his voice. "Why? What does he want with them?"
"He wants to rebuild the Empire. What else? Jaina's the granddaughter of Anakin Skywalker, so he figures that she's the perfect person to play his Darth Vader," Jacen said furiously.
"And, with Luc and Nova being the most recent 'Jedi Twins,' he figured they'd be the perfect heirs," Anakin finished.
"Damn him!" Zekk cried. "Why didn't we see it coming?"
"You did," Anakin said softly.
"I saw him falling for my wife. I saw him being a jerk to my friends when they were too nice to notice. I didn't see kidnapping, murder and galactic domination!"
"We didn't see it because he didn't want us to," Jacen said. "He gained our trust. That was all he ever wanted from the rest of us. Willing allies to lead astray."
"And the bastard still has Nova," Zekk said, clenching his fist. "She must have somehow gotten away from him, though. She found a comm and called the Lightning Rod, but she couldn't tell me where she was. I was hoping someone here would know something."
"We don't know much more than you do. The kids couldn't tell us, and Luc's borrowed TIE was programmed to wipe its memory banks if the pilot didn't punch in a certain code on leaving hyperspace," Anakin said.
"Speaking of Luc…" Jacen added. "You know that Kanyen did something to Jaina's memory to make her think she was evil."
"Yeah," Zekk said hesitantly.
"Well, he did it to Luc, too," Anakin said with disgust. "I don't know if he did the same to Nova, but we have to assume that he did."
"We figured out that his memories can be pulled back by someone going into his mind to retrieve them," Jacen said. "All of us tried it with Luc, but he never spent enough time with any of us to have formed a strong enough emotional bond, and what with his memories being blocked he doesn't 'know' us well enough to let us in. It's not a conscious thing—he's as heavily shielded, mentally, as anyone I've known, and it's all completely instinctual. We can't break it, either, at least not without completely destroying his mind."
"Will he let me in?" Zekk asked.
"I don't know. There's only one way to find out, but I warn you it will be long and tiring work."
"I don't care," said Zekk. "I'll do whatever it takes."
*
Anja Gallandro sat with Jaina, talking, trying to find out what her old friend could remember.
"So, three kids," she said. "I'll bet the first two are tough enough to handle." Jaina shrugged, staring off into space. Anja felt odd with their roles reversed. When they had first met, Anja had been silent and withdrawn, and Jaina and her friends had tried to draw her out. Of course, that was back when she was on spice, and she hadn't exactly been there to make friends with them.
"I remember you," Jaina said softly, just above a whisper.
"You do?" Anja was surprised, but not displeased.
"I remember what you like," she continued, and Anja's friendly smile dropped at the note of danger in Jaina's voice. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, velker?" Anja flinched at the old nickname. "Or maybe it hasn't been so long after all. You're awfully energetic for someone your age."
"I'm twenty-eight, Jaina." Jaina didn't seem to have heard.
"You couldn't resist it, could you? It's perfectly understandable. We tried to make you quit right off. I can see now how wrong that was. Your withdrawals would have nearly killed you, if you had really quit. But you didn't, did you? Are you still on andris? Or have you turned to another spice by now?"
"No," Anja gasped, turning away.
"Just andris, then. Good for you." She smiled. It wasn't friendly at all. "My Lord Elbakni has a good-sized stash of the stuff. It's very valuable, you know. If you'd like some…I'm sure for a friend, my dear husband would hand it over cheap. Maybe even free. Just get me off this ship, and I'll take you to him. Come on, Anja—andris."
"Leave me alone," Anja said in a very cold voice, standing up. "Don't speak to me about this again." She left, trying to hide the fact that she was almost in tears. She never cried. But even after her old friend was far behind her, she could still hear the word, like an echo clinging to her ears. Andris.
*
Zekk saw to it that Maya was taken care of, then went off alone in search of his son. He found him practicing with a little white lightsaber in back of one of the buildings.
Even though he had been warned, the look of unrecognition in Luc's eyes was almost enough to make Zekk turn around right then and go away. Still, this was his son, and he had to be sure.
"Luc?" The boy let his lightsaber fizzle out as he turned to face the stranger coming to meet him.
"Yes, sir?" His tone was polite, with no real emotions behind it except maybe impatience to get back to his lightsaber.
"Do you remember me?" Zekk asked. Luc cocked his head curiously, then shrugged.
"No, sir."
"My name is Zekk Dallinger," he said, dropping to his knees in the grass to better look his son in the eyes. The name obviously meant nothing. "What's your name?"
"I'm Luc." Unlike most children his age, he didn't add a family name. Zekk decided not to press the issue.
"I noticed you practicing with that lightsaber," he said instead. "You're not half bad, son. Would you like a sparring partner?" Luc grinned, finally, at the sight of the blade that sprang, as if by magic, to Zekk's open hand.
*
"Jaina, can…can I talk to you?" Tahiri asked hesitantly from the doorway.
"Okay," Jaina said quietly. Tahiri walked into the room and sat down in a chair.
"Anja's freaked. Did you say something to her?" Tahiri asked, getting straight to the point instead of chattering as she had always done as a child.
"I'm sorry," Jaina said, sounding absolutely sincere. "I didn't mean to upset her. I just—well, she used to do spice, and I mentioned it to her, and she just freaked, like you said. I can't remember everything." She put a hand to her head. "That man who kidnapped me…he did something to me. He has ways to get at whoever he wants. For me, it was my children. For someone like Anja, he has a huge supply of spice. For you, maybe…information." Tahiri didn't need her Jedi senses to know that Jaina was laying out a trap. Her curiosity overcame her caution, and she took the bait.
"What kind of information?"
"Oh, about your family," Jaina said calmly. "Lord Elbakni has access to all kinds of information that most people never get to see. You never learned all you wanted to know about your parents. He could tell you." Tahiri hesitated for just a moment, then stood up.
"I just remembered that I have to help Lando do a thing now," she said. "Excuse me."
*
"Wake up! Everybody, wake up! Today's the day! Jaya's coming!" Nobody responded to Maya's excited chattering except Kassy, who muttered something and rolled over in bed. Maya tried again in the room all the boys were sharing.
"Luc, your mom's going to get here soon."
"The sun's not up yet," he said without opening his eyes. Maya looked out the window. Sure enough, it was pitch black. She checked the chronometer. It was 0430 Dathomir time, and nearly the same by Coruscant Standard. Feeling silly, Maya went back to bed.
By 0500 she was up again. She went to find Zekk. Even though they had just had the big fight on the Lightning Rod, he was still her favourite grownup, after Jaina. He was sleeping on the ship.
Maya entered her access codes and went up. Zekk was standing on the bridge, staring out the viewport.
"How come you're not sleeping?" Maya asked, standing just outside the entryway. She suddenly wasn't quite sure whether she should come in.
"I don't spend much time planetside," Zekk said without turning around. "I like watching a sunrise whenever I can." Maya stood there, feeling self-conscious.
Then she said in a small voice, "Today Jaya's coming."
Then Zekk turned to face her, and Maya was relieved to see that he was smiling.
"Have a seat, Rusty," he said, motioning toward the co-pilot seat. Maya was happy to obey.
"Are you excited, Zekk?" Maya asked after she sat down.
"About the sunrise?"
"You know what I mean," Maya said. "Jaya. She's coming today."
"I know, kid," Zekk said more seriously. "Yeah, I'm excited." With a sigh he turned back to the sunrise. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Do you still love her?" Maya wondered.
"'Course I do," Zekk said without taking his eyes off the viewport.
"Are you still in love?" Maya persisted. There was a long pause.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
*
"Hummm, thrummm, bazzzoommm!" Corrie waved a stick around, making lightsaber sounds.
"You know, you're doing that all wrong," Luc said lazily.
"What?" Luc laughed at his surprised look. He liked sneaking up on people.
"Your guard wasn't bad, but it wouldn't work too well against someone really good. Your attack, that was just plain sloppy. Lady Misery would have hit me so hard if she'd caught me messing around like that...If you were having a real fight you'd get your butt kicked."
"Nuh-uh!" Corrie protested.
"Watch this." Luc picked up a stick and held it in middle guard. "There's three guards. High—" he moved the stick up. "That blocks when they slash down at your head. High guard is dangerous, though, 'cause it leaves your body open. You usually stay in middle guard." He moved the stick down. "That'll block most sideways swings. Low guard is hardest." He moved the stick to that the end was pointed back at him. "It blocks jabs, but it's harder to move when you're like that. There's three basic attacks, too: jab, up and down slash, and sideways swing. Up slash is from low guard and stops all the way up in high guard—" Just then, Maya came running out of the Lightning Rod.
"You guys!" she yelled. "Here comes the Lady Luck! Jaya's here!"
"Really, Maya?" Corrie asked. "Oh, wait, I don't care. I'm getting a Jedi lesson, so go away."
"Ha, ha, that's so funny I forgot to laugh," Maya told him sarcastically. "Your mom says all the kids have to go inside, so get going."
"Fine, rancor-face," Corrie said. "Come on, Luc." Luc started to follow Corrie inside.
"Luc, wait," Maya whispered. "I have to tell you something.
"What is it?" Luc asked. He heard the door slam as Corrie went inside.
"Jaina—" She paused. "Don't you want to see her first?"
"Nope." He started to go.
"Come on, Luc, just come with me," Maya pleaded. "I don't want to go by myself. All you have to do is hide in a bush!"
"Well…okay," Luc finally agreed. He was a little curious about this Jaina lady…
*
The Lady Luck set down gently on its repulsors. Inside the safety zone, Zekk and all the others waited eagerly. Out of the corner of his eye, Zekk saw a flash of red. Maya, and maybe one of the other children, were trying to hide.
Should I make them go inside? he wondered. No. I'll let them stay…this time.
"The landing ramp is descending," Tenel Ka observed.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Zekk asked, unconsciously using Jaina's favorite expression. "Let's go!" The five of them walked forward, as Lando walked down the landing ramp. Jaina came behind him, followed by Anja and Tahiri, who were both handing back. At the sight of the woman he had loved for so long, Zekk broke into a run. Then he saw the look on her face, and stopped. It took him a moment to realise that he had not meant to stop moving. Everyone else was also frozen in place.
"Jaina?" Jacen choked. Jaina didn't move. The door on the ship slammed down, locking Anja and Tahiri inside. "Jaina!" Jacen repeated, and Zekk heard the pain in his friend's voice. A tiny breeze whipped past them, first ruffling his hair and quickly growing until everyone's hair and clothes were ripped about by the wind. Only Jaina was unaffected.
Zekk suddenly found himself able to move again, but the wind kept him from moving any closer. Rocks, dirt, and plants were ripped out of the ground and swirled around their heads. A group of three witches appeared from the village, and were knocked back by the wind.
"Jaina, please stop!" Zekk cried, fighting in vain to reach her.
"You do not understand," she shouted, and the voice did not belong to the woman Zekk loved. "I failed in my mission, but now I have another chance, and I am going to take it! You must all die, so that Lord Elbakni may rule as is his birthright!"
"Get back here!" a voice yelled faintly, and Zekk suddenly remembered that the children were watching. It was Luc who ran into the cyclone, barely able to keep his feet on the ground.
"Lady Misery, don't!" He shouted as loud as he could, but his voice was almost lost in the storm. Zekk watched in amazement as the winds died down around the little boy, although their strength didn't lessen anywhere else.
"Bannashi tanta aplu evilly midsu." Zekk heard the witches chanting softly, and saw that they had joined hands. Jaina's eyes almost had the look they used to, when she watched the babies sleeping. Tenel Ka whirled to face the witches, and was almost ripped off the ground.
"No!" she shouted. "Not that!" Jaina stretched out one hand, out into the tempest. The witches kept chanting.
"My son?" she said softly, and this time Zekk almost, almost recognized her voice.
"Bannashi tanta aplu evilly midsu!" There was a bright flash of light, and the winds suddenly stopped. Zekk fell to his knees, feeling oddly stretched.
Dirt and rocks and plants rained down. When it finally cleared, he found himself blinking hard to clear his vision, to no effect. Maya ran past him, to the witches.
"What did you do?" she screamed at them. Zekk realised that his vision was tinted turquoise. The turquoise dissipated, leaving a tint of navy blue, and Zekk stood up.
"It was a death spell," Tenel Ka said quietly, angrily. "It blows out shields until it gets to the person inside. I told you to stop." The navy blue dissipated, leaving a tint of emerald green, and Zekk managed to stop swaying. Anakin went to stand beside Tenel Ka, looking as threatening as a wounded rancor.
"She would have killed you all," one of the witches said. The emerald green dissipated, leaving a tint of orange-yellow, and Zekk began to walk.
"She was my twin sister," Jacen said accusingly.
"She was pregnant," Lando said hollowly.
"Why are you talking like she's dead? She's not dead!" Maya said frantically. "You can't let her be dead!"
As Zekk walked, the orange-yellow tint faded and he felt his own strength coming back to him. When he reached Jaina's side, there was no colour left but violet.
She was lying there, her eyes staring at nothing. She breathed, but not deeply. Zekk knelt beside her, lifting her head, gently touching her hair.
"I love you, Jaina," he whispered. "I always have, I always will. Anything I've done to make you not believe that, I swear I didn't mean it. Are you still here? Please don't leave me, Jaina. Please?" Soft footfalls came up behind him.
"Lady Misery," Luc whispered. "Is she Jaina too?"
As they spoke, the violet slowly pulled back into Jaina, drawing into her stomach, then diffusing throughout the rest of her. It brightened and was gone, and the world was back to its commonplace shades.
She moved. Her eyes opened.
"Yes," she said.
*