See disclaimer in prologue. It's not to hard to figure out that I don't own anything that you recognize. It's been so long since anything was added on here and I'm not sure what made me decide to start adding again, but here we go anyway. Someone please review and tell me what you think. :)

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CHAPTER 9

On board the Rock Dragon, Tenel Ka and Miri saw the Lightning Rod take a hit from the star destroyer and go spinning away from them. They didn't seem to be making any attempt to regain control.

"Lightning Rod, are you all right?" Tenel Ka asked over the comm. "Zekk, Jaina, are you there? Lightning Rod, please answer!"

There was no response.

Jaina didn't remember climbing the ladder. She just found herself pounding on a door that refused to open. Hull breach. Finally, she managed to override the safety locks and braced herself against the doorframe as the door whooshed open.

There was a rush of air into the room, escaping quickly through the large, jagged hole in the transparisteel. Jaina noticed distantly that the ship's artificial gravity had stopped functioning. She pushed herself inside, holding onto the walls to keep from being sucked out into space.

Maya was in the gunner's seat, unconscious, and barely held in place by a restraining belt that looked ready to snap. Jaina floated over to her, releasing the belt. Maya didn't stir when Jaina pulled her out of the seat. She used the seat to propel herself back into the hall, where the artificial gravity brought them gently down to the floor. The door closed behind her, sealing off the breach and stopping the flow of air.

"Maya? Honey, wake up. Please wake up," Jaina said urgently. Maya suddenly seemed so small and fragile. Her jade green eyes opened slowly, and focused on Jaina with a worried expression.

"Jaya?" she said hoarsely. "I'm sorry."

"Lightning Rod, come in," Tenel Ka said, simultaneously dodging fire from the star destroyer and trying to hail the Lightning Rod. "Zekk, Jaina, my friends, where are you?"

"I'm here," came Jaina's voice over the comm. The relief in the Rock Dragon was almost tangible. "Guys, we've got to get out of here. Zekk and Maya are hurt, and I don't think the Lightning Rod can handle any more damage."

"We didn't find Nova," Miri confessed. There was a pause.

"Nova's here with me," Jaina said. "We found her on Nar Shada. That slimy Hutt was keeping her and some other children as slaves."

"Get going, then," Miri said. "We'll follow you out."

"All right," Jaina said. "See you when we get home."

A few moments later, the comm came back on.

"Okay, I seem to have a small problem," Jaina said. "The hyperdrive's blown. I'm stuck here."

Jaina allowed the Lightning Rod to keep spinning. If she appeared helpless, she could probably survive a little longer. She had to save Zekk and the children. She couldn't save the ship.

The Lightning Rod only had one escape pod, and that not big enough for all of them. She would have to think of something else.

"You have to leave us," she told the others. "Just save yourselves. There's no other way."

"We're not leaving you!" came the indignant reply.

"I said leave!" she repeated.

"But—"

"I don't care! Just go!" She flipped off the comm.

"Jaya?" Jaina looked down at her cousin in the chair beside her. "Will we die?"

"No, Maya. I won't let you die," Jaina replied.

She knew what she had to do.

"Jaina? Jaina! Dammit, Jaina, will you answer the comm?"

Miri glanced at Tenel Ka in surprise. She had never heard the warrior woman swear before.

This was bad. Very bad.

"Maya, I want you to sit here and be very good and still and quiet," Jaina said, putting her cousin down inside the escape pod. "Do you still have my diary?" Maya nodded. "If I don't make it, give it to Zekk, okay?"

"But, Jaya—"

"No buts, Maya Jain. This time you do as I say."

"O-okay," Maya said, her eyes starting to tear up.

"Good girl," Jaina said. "I'll be back in a minute."

She went to get Zekk. She wished he was awake so she could say goodbye to him. She dragged him as gently as she could to the escape pod.

"Goodbye, Zekk," she said. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you can because this is the last time I will get to say this. I love you, Zekk. Always have, always will." She kissed him on the lips. "Sorry about your ship." She dragged him inside, arranging him as best she could in the cramped area. She kissed him on the forehead, lingering only a second, before turning to go get Nova and the others.

Jaina opened the door to the rather odd sight of three small children sitting perfectly still and silent on the bed.

"Come on, kids, it's time to go," Jaina said. They all got up.

"Is something bad happening?" Nova asked.

"No, nothing too bad," Jaina replied with a catch in her voice. "Daddy and Maya just got hurt a little bit, and I need you to take them back to the Rock Dragon, okay?"

"Yes, Lady Misery," Nova said.

"Your brother is waiting for you on Dathomir. You'll probably get there before I do, so tell him that I love him very much. And the same goes for you. And Nova—" She bent to speak into her ear. "Call me Mommy."

"Miri, Tenel Ka, are you there?"

"We're not leaving," Miri said.

"I'm about to release the escape pod. Get it and go."

"You got it," Miri said. She and Tenel Ka waited until the tiny pod started to spin away from the larger ship, then, dodging fire from the star destroyer, they raced over to it. As soon as they heard the hollow thump as the pod attached to the hull, Tenel Ka took the Rock Dragon into hyperspace.

Jaina watched them go.

Zekk and the children were safe. Now it was time.

She corrected the ship's spin, pointing toward the star destroyer. At least she could cause some damage before she went.

Jaina slowly began to accelerate. If she could just get enough speed…

She was going to die anyway. She might as well go out fighting, and maybe she could take Kanyen out on the way.

Ten seconds to the point of no return. Maybe three more before she hit. The rest of her life was now thirteen seconds long. Lucky number thirteen.

Her speed was climbing. She choked back a sob. She wasn't ready to die, not yet, but this was how it had to be.

"Goodbye," she whispered.

This was the end.

As soon as they were safely in hyperspace, Miri and Tenel Ka ran to open the escape pod. The door rose slowly and they gasped. Not only were Nova and Maya inside, but there were two other children they didn't know. Zekk lay unconscious on the only bench in the pod and Jaina…Jaina was nowhere in sight.

It was then that they noticed that Maya was crying.

"Maya, where's Jaina?" Miri asked gently. Maya struggled to make sense through her tears.

"She said I had to go. I had to protect Nova. And I had to make sure Zekk got help." She was shaking and her words were becoming incoherent. "But she's going to die, isn't she?" Her gaze locked with Miri's, fearful. "Really die! I should have stayed! I could have helped her!" She collapsed against the back wall of the pod and slid to the floor, sobbing hysterically.

Tenel Ka and Miri exchanged glances.

"There is nothing we can do for Jaina now," Tenel Ka said quietly. "We are locked on course for Dathomir." Miri nodded reluctantly. "I'll take care of Zekk and you see if you can calm Maya. I think there is something else wrong with her."

"Okay," Miri agreed. Tenel Ka raised her voice slightly.

"Nova? Will you and your friends help me with your daddy?" Nova looked from Tenel Ka to Miri and back to Maya. The girl's cries scared her but she had been nice, and Nova wasn't sure if she should leave her.

"Come on, Nova. Maya will be fine and your daddy needs you." Nova considered this and decided that even if she wasn't sure who these people were, they seemed very familiar and she was somehow sure she could trust them. Besides, her daddy needed her. She nodded her agreement to Tenel Ka.

"Come on," Nova said. "Let's help my daddy." The children followed Tenel Ka, who carried Zekk with the help of the Force, careful not to hurt him.

Miri stood and looked Maya over for a minute. The girl's sobbing had not lessened. If anything, she was becoming more distraught. Her knees were pulled up, tucked under her chin, with her arms wrapped around them. Her cries shook her whole body. It reminded Miri of herself not long ago.

Miri checked the girl over from a distance. She didn't want to get too close, yet; she was afraid that Maya would hurt herself. The young girl had a few bruises and scratches on her arms, but Miri could see no other—

A patch of blood at the edge of Maya's hair caught Miri's gaze. She walked over and knelt down in front of her young cousin.

Maya's head was down but she looked up when she felt a hand brush her hair. Miri gasped. There was more blood than she had thought.

"Maya, honey, does your head hurt?" Maya nodded, holding her breath to keep from crying, not wanting Miri to think she was a baby. Miri stroked her cheek affectionately.

"It's okay," Miri said gently. "You cry if you want to. It doesn't bother me." Maya shook her head as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks. "You know…" Miri continued. "Even my boys cry sometimes, and you know how boys are." Maya's eyes widened in surprise. Miri smiled. "They do. Even though they think they're getting too big for their mama to comfort them."

Maya was relieved to hear that she wasn't a baby, but her thoughts were elsewhere and she was lost in them until a pain shot through her arm as Miri shook it.

"Maya?"

"Ow!" Maya cradled her arm.

"What is it, sweetie? Does your arm hurt too?" Miri asked, concerned. Maya nodded rapidly. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," Maya said, looking up at her. It was then that Miri noticed that she wasn't actually looking at her, but over her shoulder and her eyes didn't seem quite focused.

"Oh, no," Miri groaned.

"What?" Maya asked anxiously.

"Maya, grab my hand," Miri said, holding up her hand.

"Why?"

"Just do it, please." Maya tried, and she did it, barely. Her hand skimmed the left edge of Miri's and she latched on.

"Why did I do that, Miri? Why?" Maya asked, her voice on the edge of hysteria. "I reached right for your hand!" Her eyes filled with tears once again. "What's wrong with me?" Miri squeezed her hand.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You just got hurt and that's not your fault. We'll fix it. Come on," Miri said, standing. She looked down at the beautiful little girl slouched so pitifully on the floor, and wanted nothing more than to hold her tight and protect her at all costs, but she knew that Maya would not allow herself to be held by just anybody. "Is it all right if I carry you?" Maya nodded, and held up her arms. Miri slid one arm under the child's knees, and the other behind her back. She lifted her slowly, careful not to jostle her. Maya's hurt arm curled against her chest, and her other lay across Miri's shoulder.

"Do you hurt, honey?" Miri asked, carrying her into the hallway.

"Not very much," Maya replied slowly. Her head started to droop. "I don't feel very good." Her voice was almost a whisper. "I want my mama."

"Don't worry, sweetie," Miri said. "We'll take you back to Coruscant, and you can see your mom and dad, and your sisters. Won't that be fun?"

"Okay," Maya said, leaning her head on Miri's shoulder. Her eyes closed. Miri was reminded that, no matter how mature Maya acted, she was just a little girl, not that much older than her own children. They all tended to forget that sometimes. There was no way Maya should have been allowed to come on this mission.

The little girl shifted slightly, burying her face in her arm. Miri looked at her fondly for a moment, and then, she remembered something.

She couldn't let her go to sleep.

"Maya? Maya, honey? Wake up. Don't go to sleep," Miri said, shaking her just a little.

"Why?" Maya asked groggily.

"Just do this for me, okay? Don't go to sleep."

"I'm tired," Maya said.

"Please, Maya, do this for me," Miri said urgently. "This is very important. You have to stay awake."

One second to impact. Jaina shut her eyes, waiting... The next instant she was thrown from her seat. Am I dead? she wondered.

No. The ship was not moving. But what had stopped it?

With a jerk, the Lightning Rod started moving again, slowly, toward the star destroyer's hold. Oh, I see, she thought wildly. This is a nightmare. I'll wake up any second. She tried to pull away from the star destroyer, but her controls would not respond. Any second now…

The Lightning Rod landed with a slight scraping sound, and the engine cut off. Jaina was trying desperately to start it again when she felt a touch in her mind. Then it was more than a touch; there was pain, and then there was nothing.