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Chapter Nine: Reunion
Somehow, things had fallen back into routine at the apartment over the next few days. Mystiran was out of the bacta tank and under orders to take it easy for the next few weeks. Jaina and the rest of her squadron were on leave – Jaina getting longer than her squadron because she was about to participate in Tenel Ka's wedding. Things had been going smoothly and continued to do so - until they started to get bored and incredibly lazy. This was shown when Jaina noticed a message blinking on the door.
"Kionne, get the door message."
"No Master you get the door message."
"Zekk, get the door message."
"I'm eating."
"Marin?"
"I am Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the Fourth!" Marin laughed insanely.
"Okay… umm, I'll go get the door." Jaina got up and went to the door. She pressed the button when she was about halfway across the room. The image of a very familiar, grizzly old man appeared on the floor.
"Uhh…this thing on?" He coughed. "Well, I'm in town for a bit and I heard that Zekk was staying with you, Jaina. It's about time you two got together." Jaina blushed and thought, Why does everyone think we're together just because we live in the same apartment? "I was wanting to have a chat with the boy. I'll be staying at Pilot's Lounge motel. Just send him along if he wants to talk. Bye."
"Was that who I think it was?" Zekk had approached Jaina from behind when he saw the person in the message.
"Yep, should we not get dinner for you?" Jaina asked.
"Sure, don't wait up."
"Like I would."
"Love you too, Jaina. See ya guys tomorrow." Zekk grabbed a jacket before heading out the door.
XaXaXaXa-
(The streets of Mon Cal)
It only took Zekk a few minutes to find his way around. After all, his skills to navigate the unknown hadn't slackened in the least. It was currently raining banthas and Ewoks, but Zekk still stuck to walking. A little rain wouldn't hurt him. His thoughts drifted to the man he was going to meet. He hadn't seen him in a year or two. As a matter of fact, Zekk rarely had been able to find a chance to keep in touch with old friends. Probably because he kept himself so busy all of the time.
There weren't too many people on the walkways. The only ones out there were under umbrellas or crowded under various awnings in front of stores. He ambled along whistling to himself while looking out for the docking bays. Ah hah, there they were!
It wasn't that hard to find The Pilot's Lounge Motel. Its name said everything, so all Zekk had to do was find the docking bays and he found the motel. He walked up to the building and entered. The entranceway had a repulsor coat rack and there was another door leading into what must be a bar area, judging by the amount of noise being muffled. The door was extremely old fashioned, one of those wooden ones that you had to manually open.
Zekk's jacket was soaked through and his hair was plastered to his neck. Grumbling obscenities at the rain – nevermind that is was his fault that he was wet – Zekk took off his jacket and gave it a good shake before hanging it on the coat rack. He retied his hair before entering the room. It was loud and smoky, crowded with beings of different races. It also didn't smell too good seeing as there were a bunch of different species crammed into a small, smoky common room.
Somehow he managed to fight his way through the crowd and found his way to the reception desk. There was a loopy-looking Twi'lek male behind it. He gave Zekk a toothy grin, showing off very pointed teeth, as he approached.
"What can I do for you?" the Twi'lek asked. Only, since he was drunk, it came out more like: "Wha ca do fa ya?"
Zekk blinked. "Have you seen an old man in his late sixties, with kinda long, grizzly hair?"
"Does he pilot a ship called the Thunderbolt and goes by the name of Peckhum?" the Twi'lek asked. His words were still a drunken slur but that's what it translated to… at least that's what Zekk thought it translated to.
"Yeah!"
"Nope, can't say that I have."
"What? But you just said –"
"Bob! Didn't I tell ya not to get behind the sithin' counter while I was using the 'fresher?" A burly man came in view with rolled up flimsies in one hand. He was shaking it at the Twi'lek threateningly. "Bad boy! Go to yer bar stool right now!" The man whacked the Twi'lek on the head with the flimsies. He turned to Zekk. "Sorry 'bout that, he don't mean no harm. So, what can I do fer ya, sonny?"
"Could you tell me if a man by the name of Peckhum is here?"
"'Course I can, it's my job. Now, jus' give me a couple o' minutes and I'll have him located fer ya." The big man called over a Wookiee that had been sitting at the bar. He said something to him and then the Wookiee took off. A few seconds later the Wookiee came back and then left. Hidden by the Wookiee's height was…
"Peckhum!" Zekk shouted as he ran forward. Peckhum gave a shout in return and caught Zekk in a bear hug.
"Well, look at you boy! How long has it been since I've seen you?"
"I think the last time we saw each other was on Corellia, about ten standard months ago, when I went to go pick up something for Master Skywalker." Zekk blinked. He hadn't thought it was that long since he had seen the man who was a father to him.
"Wow, that long, eh? Who'd a thought that in only ten months you'd actually get that girl and manage to keep her? So when's the wedding and am I invited?" An instant flush appeared on Zekk's cheeks.
Peckhum was steering Zekk to a booth near the back of the room before he could correct him. The table had a half-finished, glowing blue drink on it, obviously where Peckhum had been sitting before. The old man sat down and waved Zekk to the seat across from him. He took a sip from his drink and glanced up when Zekk cleared his throat.
"Well, ah, you see, the funny thing about that is… Jaina and I aren't together." Zekk was sprayed by a mouthful of glowing blue liquid.
"What do you mean you two aren't together! If you aren't then why the Sith are you guys living together!"
"Well, it all started when Marin got us stranded on Commenor and then Jaina and her apprentice were sent to retrieve us. Jay and Kionne found out that we didn't have a place to say so they forced us to say with them."
"Interesting." Peckhum stroked his beard. "So, I'm guessin' that things have been going good for you."
"For the most part, yes, but I'm now part of Jacen's wedding."
"That's right. It was on the news last night and they sent me an invitation."
The two chatted like this for most of the night. Zekk didn't arrive home until 200 in the morning. When he did, Zekk collapsed into bed without a second thought.
XaXaXaXa-
(Four days later)
The next few days were anything but relaxing. They had to scramble to get ready for the trip to Hapes. They had waited to the last minute to do everything. Jaina was finishing off the last minute arrangements for her squadron. Zekk had to get some reports done for the Chief of State, but other than that he only had to pack. Kionne and Marin had to only wait for their masters.
Finally, about two hours before they had to leave, they were ready. Currently, everyone (Tenel Ka, Jacen, Zekk, Jaina, Lowie, Kionne, Marin, Tahiri, Mystiran, and Alaric) was waiting for the transport from Hapes to come. This would take a while, seeing as they were two hours early.
Jaina had started a game of sabacc with Al and Jacen while Kionne watched. Zekk and Lowie were having a heated discussion over who would win the smashball tournament and Mystiran was busy complaining about Tahiri's constant fretting. Tenel Ka was the only one who did not show her impatience and started to meditate. Time crept by and soon they had ran out of things to do.
Jaina, who was the victor in the sabacc game, suddenly sat up. "Tenel Ka, what ever happened to the Rock Dragon?"
"The Rock Dragon is in a spare hangar I believe. It has not been flown in a few years," Tenel Ka responded.
Jaina grinned. "Really? Then I guess it'll be needing a tune up, eh?" Jaina's grin was expanding by the second. "What do you think, Lowie?"
The Wookiee growled his agreement. He started to vocalize something else but was cut off by the arrival of the ships. All of them seemed confused except for Jacen and Tenel Ka.
Jaina was the first one to voice her opinion. "Jace, why is the transport here early? I thought they weren't going to be here for another thirty minutes."
"We're not going to leave for another thirty minutes," Jacen corrected. "The transport is here so we can load all of our stuff on and settle in."
"Wow, Hapan tech!" Alaric exclaimed. He was nearly sprinting towards the ship. "I always wanted to get a look at it!"
Mystiran looked up from where he was sitting. "Uh oh, I think Al's going to disassemble the ship if we don't hurry."
"He wouldn't do that… would he?" Kionne asked. A loud crash from inside the ship answered her question. They looked at each other before they all rushed on board.
XaXaXaXa-
(Hapan system)
Jaina groaned when she saw the large fanfare that had been prepared for Tenel Ka's return outside of the hangar, along the street to Fountain Palace. She had a headache, courtesy of the drinks she had tried the night before. Zekk shot a grin her way. "Didn't I tell you not to drink so much?"
"Shut it, you. It was in celebration," Jaina said.
"Do you even remember why you were celebrating?" Zekk's smug grin was becoming very irritating to her. She tried to think back but her memory was rather fuzzy at the moment. "By the way, Jay, I don't think Al's recovered from the threats you gave him last night for his totally normal comment about your X- wing."
Jaina glanced at Alaric, who was hugging the transport screaming, "No, don't let the Goddess take away my computers! No, they're mine! Don't take away my technology!"
Jaina's eyebrow was raised and she wondered whatthe Sith she had done, but whatever it was, Jacen had done it with her, judging by the unhappy looks a newly dyed neon green Mystiran was shooting at them. Kionne was giggling and Marin was trying not to laugh as she walked past Mystiran and Alaric.
"Friend Jaina?"
"Yeah, Tenel Ka?"
"I believe that you wished to see the Rock Dragon, correct?" Tenel Ka asked. Jaina's lopsided grin was her answer. "Very well then, it is currently housed in the west hangar on the other side of the palace. After we get settled, would you like me to have someone guide you there?"
"Would I ever!" Jaina exclaimed. She would have said more but thena litter arrived to carry Tenel Ka to the palace. Her warrior friend frowned at the litter before accepting it. Jacen and the others had to walk beside it. People had gathered along the side of the street and filling the side walks in front of domed buildings, cheering for the return of their Queen Mother.
This is a lot for just one person, Jaina thought.
"You're telling me," Zekk muttered, shooting her a grin.
Jaina discreetly stepped on his foot. "Stay outta my mind."
"I will if you stop thinking so loudly."
She tried to step on his foot again but Zekk walked a bit faster to evade. He gave a small laugh and then, with some effort, managed to straighten his face. She stuck her tongue out at him after making sure no one was looking. After all, not many people could see her considering there was a Wookiee in front of her and she was surrounded by people all taller than her. How she hated being short.
Zekk must have caught on to her thought, because he mentally sent a message.
/Having height issues, oh vertically challenged one//
/Shut up! It's not my fault I got the short genes. My mom dwarfed me//
/That's true, you aren't much taller than Master Skywalker are you//
/Stop rubbing it in. /
/Awww, do I have to? It's fun//
/Zekk, can you please stop flirting with my sister? I think I'm going to be sick if you continue./
Jaina glanced over at her brother who was making faces at her. Jaina stuck her tongue out at him. Zekk nudged her and she straightened and then asked, "What?"
"You know, people are watching Jacen to make sure he's worthy for their Queen Mother, right?" Zekk said.
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, I don't think they're getting a very good image if you two are busy making faces at each other."
"Oh."
They stopped talking and the rest of the journey was in silence. As they approached the palace, Jaina heard several members of their party gasp at its magnificence. She couldn't help but grin. Aside from wearing a dress, this trip was going to be very interesting.
TBC-
Here's Chapter Nine, and I hoped you guys liked it!
Reviews:
GundamWingFanatic90: Hello there. And yes I plan to get started on chapter 9 of GT2tF soon. I'm just not sure when soon is. I think I explained everything to you over the phone didn't I? If I didn't, feel free to bug me.
Aramor, Lady of Mirkwood: I'm glad you liked it. Thank you! I hope you found this one just as entertaining!
DathomiranAuthorRoamer: Thanks, and don't worry about forgetting to review, happens to us all. Well, at least it happens to me as well.
California Mountain Girl:…gasps... I've read some of your stuff before and thought it was awesome! I never thought you'd be reviewing me! I'm glad you're back! Thank you! My J/Z stuff isn't that great. If you want really good, check out Trickster-jz, her name says it all. But I'll have to warn you, some of her stuff is sad.
Jaya: Thank you! It's great to find all these J/Z fans out there! I didn't think there were this many of us!
