If you want to save Tahiri, Master Skywalker, Luke heard the entirety of Gorog say in his mind, you might want to pay attention to the battle at hand.

Luke hesitated. It had been moments since he felt Alema's individual presence fade into unconsciousness, which allowed the rest of the Dark Nest hive-mind to direct their telepathic efforts against him. Thus, he had no reason to think that what they were saying about Tahiri was true.

Yet, when he allowed a part of his concentration to focus in on the former Jedi's presence, he could, indeed, feel that her presence was on the verge of flickering out. Begrudgingly, he ceased his mental battle with Alema and Gorog so that he could open his eyes and look out through the viewport.

Ahead, the nestship that carried Alema, Tahiri, and Lowie was being bombarded by attacks from the Galactic Alliance fighters—all of which still remained in this battle so far—and the remaining Empire of the Hand TIE fighters and bombers.

Quickly, Luke activated the fleetwide transmission. "Attention, all task force ships! Ceasefire on that nestship! I repeat, ceasefire! We have two Je-" He cut himself off when he remembered that Tahiri wasn't a Jedi anymore, and that it was agreed that her identity as Saharis Dhreat would be maintained. "We have two operatives aboard! I repeat, we have two operatives aboard!"

On the comm, a masculine voice with whom Luke was familiar said, "Master Skywalker, this is EH Squad Commander Pois Rekka. We're aware that Jedi Lowbacca and Miss Dhreat are aboard the nestship. But Admiral Hesklon gave us explicit orders to fire on it if they were not to report back after ten minutes."

Luke's jaw dropped before he replied. "Why? Why did he think it would only take them ten minutes to-"

"Master Skywalker, now is not the time to ask these questions," Rekka's voice replied with great strain; it was obvious that it was because he was in the midst of a dogfight rather than whatever impatience he had for Luke. "We have a battle to win and a Joiner queen to kill!"

"Colonel Jesta, you still there?" Luke asked.

"Still here, Master Skywalker, and I concur with Commander Rekka's orders, just as Captain Gushko did. I wish we could explain more, but like the commander said, we have a battle to win."

Luke's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He could maybe understand why Hesklon would give such an underhanded order, but for a GA captain like Gushko to agree to it, and behind Luke's back? He was aware that there was some anti-Jedi sentiment that lingered within GA territory, but this was unacceptable, he thought. The Grand Master of the Jedi Order knew he was going to have quite a talk with those two when this was all over.

But until then, he said with gritted teeth, "Understood, Commander Rekka, Colonel Jesta. Carry on." He deactivated his end of the transmission before he reached back through the Force for Tahiri.

Tahiri, you have to escape the nestship as soon as possible! Luke communed. I don't know how much time you still have!

Can't... leave... Lowie... behind, Tahiri's voice returned weakly. Luke could tell that she must have been severely wounded if her presence felt that fragile in delivering that statement.

He reached out to locate Lowie's presence, only to find an absence aboard the nestship. For a moment, he was confused as to how that could be. Could Lowie be cloaking himself for some reason?

He's... gone... Master Skywalker, Tahiri's voice explained.

A sinking feeling occurred in Luke's gut before he asked the former Jedi, He's dead?

He should... get a... proper cremation, Tahiri replied.

Luke closed his eyes and bowed his head in grief for the latest Jedi death on his hands. It was made all the worse with the simultaneous realization that this was yet another loss that was an indirect result of the tragic Mission to Myrkr nearly a decade ago. Now the only survivors of that fateful endeavor were Jaina—if Mara's words were to be believed—Jacen, Tahiri, Raynar Thul, Tenel Ka Djo, and Alema.

And if Tahiri didn't get out of there soon, she would be yet another casualty of that mission's fallout, whether it was by succumbing to whatever wounds she sustained or by this strike force's attack on the nestship.

Tahiri, leave him! Luke urged. You can't strain yourself or you'll only die, too! Just go! Go!

Master Skywalker... please... I... I... I have... I have to!

No, you don't! He's already gone! We can have a memorial later; just don't add yourself to it! Please, Tahiri! Live to fight another day!

Tahiri's reluctance was palpable through her connection to Luke. But after a few seconds, she said, Fine.

Good, Luke returned. I'll see if I can hold off the strike force long enough to rescue you. Just hang on and make your way to the nestship's hangar bay.

I'll try, Tahiri replied.

Luke reactivated his end of the fleetwide transmission. "Commander Rekka, Colonel Jesta, is there any chance you can hold off your attack on the nestship long enough for me to get Miss Dhreat off?"

There was a long pause before Rekka's voice returned with, "You have five minutes, Master Skywalker."

"You concur with that, Colonel Jesta?" Luke asked with an edge of bitterness that he couldn't help but seep into his tone.

"I concur, Master Skywalker," Jesta replied with the same harried tone as before.

"Thank you," Luke said with some relief. He then poured speed into the Jade Shadow's sublight engines for the nestship with Tahiri aboard, which was now having its GA-EH attackers back off as they focused in on only fighting the dartships, Joiner vessels, and other nestships.

. . .

When Jacen opened his eyes and his vision cleared, he saw his mother looking down at him worriedly. That worry, however, was soon replaced by a small, relieved smile.

"Hi, Jacen," she said. "How are you doing, son?"

"I'm... very tired," he said after a moment.

Leia nodded. "The anesthetic is definitely working, then. You're aboard the Falcon and we're taking you to a medstation far from any of the Chiss-held systems. Your ship's been slaved to the Falcon, so don't worry, we're taking it with us."

"How'd you... find me? Through... the Force?"

Leia's lips firmed as she hesitated to respond. "Well, not exactly. Oh, I used the Force to locate your presence once we entered the Coruscant system, but before that, well... your father and I didn't tell you this because we thought you might take it personally..."

"What?"

Leia sighed, as if in defeat. "We had a tracking device placed aboard the Solo Quest II just in case we feared anything might happen to you."

"A... tracking... device?"

"Yeah, sorry about that, kid. But you can't tell us not to be parents, even if you are all grown-up."

Jacen couldn't help but give a Solo grin at that. But that grin only lasted for a few seconds before his expression changed to one of worry. "Where's... Jaina?"

Whatever hint of a smile on Leia's face dropped as emotional weariness fell upon her. "We couldn't find her. You were our first priority, especially after we found you like this." She gave a brief wave over to the stump of Jacen's arm, which had a bacta patch over the wound. Just above it, he was hooked up to an IV, which was pumping him the sedative that kept him numbed to the pain of his lost arm and other wounds.

He regarded the bandaged stump for a moment before he asked, "Jaina... escaped. Didn't she?"

"We detected an X-wing leave the planet before we took off with you. But once we left the atmosphere, the fighter jumped into hyperspace. We couldn't track its coordinates." She looked away for a moment before she regarded her son again. "Jacen, are you sure that was Jaina?"

"Mom, I fought her." The edge in his voice seemed to have overcome whatever soothing effects the anesthetic had over him. "It was her, I know it." Then the sedative retook its hold on him as he continued with, "Or... rather... who she is... now."

"But, Jacen, I couldn't sense her. Are you sure it wasn't an illusion, like a Sith who might have mastered Fallansssi illusions like you and your uncle or-"

"It wasn't an illusion, Mom. It was Jaina! She's changed! She's changed for the worst! She killed the World Brain! She killed so many innocent people down there! She's a Sith, Mom! I saw it in her eyes! She... she..."

"Calm down, Jacen, please," Leia said as she carefully placed a hand along one side of his face. "Please. Just... be calm."

"Mom, please, listen. Aunt Mara... she... she knows. She knows that... Jaina... has... gone dark."

"What's goin' on here?" Han's voice said from behind Leia.

She turned to regard him; he stood at the threshold of the Millennium Falcon's medbay door with a worried expression that was similar to hers.

"Dad," Jacen said weakly. "Jaina... needs... to be... stopped."

"Rest, Jacen," Leia said as she sent calming sensations into her son through the Force. "Just rest."

"I... I... I tried to kill her," he said more to himself than his parents. That horrifying realization stuck with him just before he passed out.

. . .

"You're sure that Alema Rar escaped, Master Skywalker?" Hesklon asked Luke.

The two of them, as well as Kyp Durron, Kyle Katarn, Captain Gushko, Colonel Jesta, and Squad Commander Rekka were all once again meeting in the war room of the Thrawn's Vindication. It had been a day since the GA-EH triple assault on the Ufesha, Kelska, and Gerdrush systems, which saw Ufesha taken back following the Dark Nest's retreat. Unfortunately, it had come at the cost of three GA X-wings and several TIE fighters and bombers being lost. Moreover, Kelska and Gerdrush had been fortified by Gorog's forces, which prompted the remnants of the task forces in those systems to retreat.

In summary, of the seventeen non-Jedi GA fighters that were sent out to those systems, only six came back, with all of them being X-wings. And while it was a relief for Luke that Kyp, Kyle, and the Jedi Knights who were with them were all part of that retreat, it still didn't counter the loss that he felt for Lowbacca.

"Yes, Admiral," Luke replied. "She escaped. I felt it through the Force. She must have taken an escape pod and transferred to one of the nestships that left Ufesha, as I stated in my report to you immediately after the battle."

"Which means the Dark Nest is still a threat," Gushko stated bitterly, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"So you were unable to pinpoint which nestship Rar escaped on, Master Skywalker?" Hesklon asked.

"Unfortunately, Admiral. At the time, I was in the middle of rescuing Saharis Dhreat from the nestship which Alema was aboard, and which Jedi Lowbacca had been lost. Again, as I stated in my report."

"It's a tragedy, what happened to Jedi Lowbacca," Hesklon said evenly, "just as it was a tragedy for the people I lost in these battles, Master Skywalker. Same for Captain Gushko, Colonel Jesta, and Commander Rekka here."

"Are you trying to say something, Admiral?" Kyp asked tersely.

"Kyp, don't," Luke said.

"No, no, Master Skywalker," Hesklon said as he folded his arms across his chest. "I do have something to say. But it's to you, not Master Durron."

"Then say it, Admiral," Luke said just as evenly as Hesklon.

"Why did you decide that Miss Dhreat was so important to save, Master Skywalker?" the admiral asked. "From what I understand in your report, you had known that Jedi Lowbacca was already dead. So why did you think that it was necessary to convince Commander Rekka and Colonel Jesta to call off the attack on the nestship that had Rar and give her her chance to escape?"

"Because Miss Dhreat didn't deserve to be a sacrifice just to eliminate Gorog, Admiral," Luke said. "We Jedi don't carry that mentality, even to those who aren't part of our Order."

"Ah, yes, of course," Hesklon said contemptuously. "The Jedi Order's vaunted sanctity for life. Funny how you kill when it suits you, yet you're unwilling to make a necessary sacrifice such as that."

"Is this really a conversation you want to be having right now, Admiral Hesklon?" Luke asked tersely.

The two of them stared at each other from across the barrier of the deactivated holographic projector that separated them for a long while. At the end of it, Hesklon said, "No, you're right, Master Skywalker. This is an inappropriate time. It would be wise to return to the matter at hand, which is to determine where Rar retreated to. Unfortunately, due to the lack of any solid leads, it would take some time before we can locate her."

"Since neither my fighters nor Colonel Jesta's were able to track the hyperspace jump points for any of the nestships from the Ufesha system," Rekka chimed in, "we have no idea where Rar could be right now even if we did know which nestship she escaped on."

"Of course, we'll look into any and all possible hyperspace dropout points from the Ufesha system, won't we, Admiral?" Gushko asked.

"Yes, we will, Captain," Hesklon said. "It may take some time, but we will do so." He returned his gaze upon Luke. "If no one else has anything to elaborate, would it be safe to say that this meeting is now over?"

"I concur, Admiral," Gushko said.

"Agreed," Rekka followed.

"Agreed," Jesta said.

"I have no objections," Luke said. "Master Durron, Master Katarn?"

"No, Master Skywalker," Kyp and Kyle said simultaneously.

"Good," Hesklon said. "Master Skywalker, could you meet me in my office immediately?"

"By all means, Admiral," Luke said diplomatically. It was all he could do to hide the resentment that he had built against Hesklon since the Second Battle of Ufesha.

Minutes later, when it was just the two of them in Hesklon's office, and the admiral took a standing place in front of his desk instead of sitting behind it, he said to Luke, "You start, Master Skywalker."

"I beg your pardon, Admiral Hesklon?"

"Say your piece. What you were unwilling to say in the war room. I know you have it, so just get it out now."

"Very well. In the briefing we had before we made those assaults, you deliberately left out the part where we were given a time limit on how long we had to neutralize Alema aboard her nestship."

"Yes, I did," Hesklon acknowledged with a nod.

"And you did that because you knew we would have objected. That you weren't willing to spare anymore time than you thought necessary to kill her or pull her back from the dark side of the Force."

"You're right; there is only so much time I could have given with how many of my people I would have been willing to sacrifice. Even Captain Gushko and Colonel Jesta agreed, and Commander Rekka would have followed orders even if he had personal objections. So is that all or are you going to try to give me a moralizing lecture about how we must do everything we can to preserve the sanctity of life or something like that, Master Skywalker?"

"No, Admiral Hesklon, I don't think I will."

"Good. Now it's my turn to say my piece. I know that Saharis Dhreat is Tahiri Veila."

The Grand Master's eyes widened at that sudden revelation. "What? How?"

Hesklon turned and headed behind his desk, from which he pulled out a small recording device. He pressed a button on it, and then the entirety of the conversation that Luke had with Tahiri in her quarters aboard the Vindication played out, much to the Grand Master's dismay.

When the recording finished, Hesklon said, "Now I've tolerated your little charade with Miss Veila so far, Skywalker. But know this: if you ever try to tell any of my forces to pull back from eliminating a threat as serious as the Dark Nest again, even at the cost of a Jedi or a former Jedi like her, I will tell them to turn on you and the rest of your Jedi. Is that clear?"

"Very, Admiral," Luke said begrudgingly. "So may I assume, then, that Tahiri is safe for now?"

"None of our medics in the Vindication's medbay will hurt her," Hesklon reassured him, the fire in his voice quenched. "She will be nursed back to health. The last I heard, she was making a remarkable recovery from her stab wound."

"That's good to hear. At least."

"Then if you have nothing more, you may return to your ship. I'll let you know when we've found a trace of Rar's presence. Good day, Master Skywalker."

Luke stayed in place for two seconds longer than necessary before he turned and left Hesklon's office silently.