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Chapter Eighteen
Twilight arrived on Haven amid a hail of fire.
Smoke poured from the interior of the Jedi enclave, rising up in thick, noxious clouds that blocked out the light from Haven's only moon and dimmed the glow of the Hapes Cluster's many stars. It wasn't true night, but it was probably as close as Haven would ever come to total darkness.
Artificial light suddenly split that darkness as half a dozen troop transport pilots flipped on their ships' floodlights. Those lights illuminated the gray duracrete landing strip in front of the enclave's hangar bay, as well as the row of prisoners – some of them gagged, and all of them bound and on their knees – waiting to be taken away. The children, most in their nightclothes, were shivering in the cool air.
Darth Ferrus stood behind the row of prisoners, waiting for his master to arrive. He exhaled slowly and watched his breath condense in the harsh white glare of the floodlights. Next to him, at the exact same moment, he heard his brother let out a breath.
Must be a twin thing, he thought, listening to their strangely synchronized breathing for a few more seconds, then straightening up as he noticed a new set of lights overhead: the glow of the Master's incoming shuttle.
One of the children closest to him began to whimper. Ferrus thought about telling the kid to suck it up, that his crying wasn't going to change what happened next, but he decided it wasn't worth the effort.
"It's going to be okay," one of the Jedi – the Healer, Ferrus thought – murmured to the whimpering child. "The Force is with us. Everything's going to be okay."
He felt the change in his brother's presence the way some people felt the change in atmospheric pressure before a storm.
"Don't lie to him," Darth Festus said, every syllable laced with acid. "Don't tell him everything's going to be okay when you know what's waiting for him. It's not going to be okay, and the Force isn't with you."
The Jedi looked up over his shoulder at Festus and stared at him for several seemingly endless seconds. "I'm sorry for what happened to you." His gaze shifted to Ferrus. "To both of you."
Ferrus found himself unable to form a response as he looked into the Jedi's woeful eyes. His twin, on the other hand, had no such problem.
"It's a good thing our master wants you alive for now," Festus said, a slow and terrible grin spreading across his face. "Otherwise, I'd show you just how misplaced your pity is."
The Jedi Healer stared up at Festus, but said nothing more.
Air gusted around them as the Master's shuttle landed in the no-man's-land between the troop transports and the prisoners. The ramp lowered, and Ferrus exchanged a sideways glance with his twin. Festus pressed his lips in a thin line and shook his head a little. It was their first time leading a mission like this, and things hadn't exactly gone as planned.
Darth Krayt emerged from the shuttle, accompanied by one of the oldest and most trusted of his Lessers, a white-haired human man named Sivren, who acted mainly as the Master's personal aide and as an intermediary between the Sith and their military forces. Ferrus had never known anyone with less facial expression than Sivren. Well, except maybe Darth Satrus. Force, he was glad Satrus wasn't here. Creepy bastard.
He felt a sharp mental prodding from his twin and resisted the urge to shoot Festus a glare. Their master strode across the divide, stopping in front of the line of captured Jedi. Sivren hung back a few steps, tapping away at his datapad.
"What happened?" Lord Krayt said without preamble, eyes sweeping over the prisoners.
"They knew we were coming," Festus said. Though his voice was steady, Ferrus sensed the faintest tremor of uncertainty through their bond. "One ship made it out."
Lord Krayt was silent, still examining the captive Jedi. He walked a few paces down the line, slowly. Then he turned and looked back at Ferrus and Festus. "And Skywalker's apprentice?"
There was a brief spark of rage from Festus, one that he smothered almost instantly, maintaining his composed exterior. "She wasn't here, my lord."
Their master studied them both for a moment, and Ferrus had to force himself not to shrink under his gaze. "My information placed her here," Lord Krayt said, his voice quiet, maybe dangerously so. "Are you saying you let her escape?"
It was possible that the princess had been on the fleeing Jedi starship, Ferrus knew. But as they'd torn through the base, his brother had insisted – angrily and more than a little violently – that she wasn't there at all. That she might never have been there to begin with.
Festus was taking the whole Vjun thing pretty personally. Not that Ferrus really blamed him. They'd both nearly died, after all. He tried not to wince as he thought of the still-fresh lightsaber wound across his abdomen. A few centimeters deeper, and he might never have gotten back up. To top it all off, he'd been knocked out by that weakling Ames, and with only a few punches, too—
He realized, with a start, that the Master was staring right at him. Ferrus swallowed as inconspicuously as he could, but there was little moisture in his throat, and the smoke was making it hard to breathe.
"No, Master." His brother's voice was perfectly even, betraying not a trace of the roiling fury that had become a near constant since Vjun. How the hell did he manage it? "She wasn't here," Festus insisted.
Lord Krayt folded his arms over his armored chest. "So you say." There was a coldness in his tone that Ferrus wasn't sure he'd ever heard before, at least not directed at either of them. "But you can't know for sure, can you, my young apprentice? Because you foolishly allowed some of the Jedi to escape."
That last wasn't a question, and it definitely didn't require a response.
Festus was silent, and Ferrus allowed himself to wonder why Skywalker's apprentice was suddenly so important to the Master. She was just a girl, the daughter of a dead traitor, and she didn't even seem particularly powerful or skilled. He had to be missing something there.
"Well," Lord Krayt said, looking down at the prisoners once more, "let's see if you managed to capture anyone useful." He walked over to the Jedi Healer and stopped in front of him. "You. What's your name?"
The Jedi remained silent, staring up at the Master of the Sith.
Lord Krayt sighed and shook his head. "Very well," he muttered. Then he raised a hand toward the Jedi, and the man doubled over, groaning as if under extreme pressure. On either side of him, the children drew back in horror; more than one of them began to cry.
"Orion Tivas," the Master said softly, ignoring the noise. "A fairly skilled Healer, I see…" Lord Krayt tilted his head to one side and smiled slightly. "So, it was Jysella Horn who escaped. How noble of you to sacrifice yourself for her, even if you couldn't save everyone. A true Jedi… although I suppose you would have done it anyway, wouldn't you? Love is irrational like that, I remember well."
The Jedi Healer grunted something unintelligible as he looked up, still trembling from the force of Krayt's invasion. "You… won't find her," he said through gritted teeth, gasping in pain. "You won't find any of them."
"You think not?" Krayt twisted his hand, and the Jedi let out another pained gasp. "Your mental shielding is impressive, I'll grant you. But I've broken far greater minds than yours, so unless you have a death wish or a desire to spend the rest of your short life trapped by your own insanity, I suggest you stop struggling so much."
The Jedi shook from the effort of fighting off Krayt's attack, and then he fell forward on the ground and let out the sort of scream that Ferrus had grown accustomed to hearing on Vjun, echoing from Doctor Mezzon's laboratory. A few of the children screamed, too, and then all was silent.
The Master lowered his hand. "Thank you, Orion Tivas. You've been very helpful."
The Jedi lay on the ground, hair drenched with sweat and tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered between sobs. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Ferrus looked away from the Jedi, thinking he might catch his brother's eye; but Festus was staring straight ahead, his expression and his presence in the Force unreadable. Not again, he thought. Festus didn't close himself off from their bond all that often anymore, but Ferrus still couldn't help bristling every time he did.
Lord Krayt raised a hand in the air, motioning over his shoulder for Sivren to join them. His aide stepped forward quickly. "My lord," he said in the clipped manner Ferrus usually associated with the Sith Empire's military forces. He wondered if Sivren had been a soldier once, before joining the ranks of Lessers. That might explain the lack of emotion. "I have word from Lord Dominius. He thinks he's found another enclave, the one at—"
"Bakura." Lord Krayt turned just enough to glance sidelong at the Lesser, a small smile visible beneath the line of his mask.
Sivren looked up from his datapad; if he was surprised at their master's foreknowledge, he didn't show it. "Yes, my lord. Lady Varice was able to track one of their couriers back to Salis D'aar."
Lord Krayt stared down at the Jedi Healer, whose sobs had quieted to a muffled whimper. "The Jedi has confirmed it for us. Alert the fleet. The next target is Bakura."
Sivren hesitated a moment, eyes scanning the datapad, then shifting up once more. "My lord, it seems Eradicator's medical bay conversion is complete. If you no longer have need of the Jedi, the doctor says he's happy to take them off your hands."
Ferrus felt his hands curl into fists at his sides. I'll bet he is, he thought bitterly. Was it too much to ask that Mezzon take a break from his constant need for butchery? Weren't there more important things to worry about, like winning the damn war? How the hell was his grotesque, pseudo-scientific nonsense going to accomplish that?
Something pressed against his senses, a discreet mental nudge as his connection to his twin was restored. He glanced over and saw Festus tapping one finger against the side of his head.
Too loud, came the admonishing whisper of thought.
Ferrus narrowed his eyes but didn't respond.
Lord Krayt looked back at the prisoners for a few seconds, frozen in what Ferrus might have thought was indecision, if he didn't know his master better than that. Then he sighed and turned away from the Jedi, waving his hand in their direction. "Take them away."
Soldiers appeared suddenly from all sides, jostling the prisoners to their feet. Ferrus and Festus moved automatically to assist.
"Not you two."
Ferrus stilled, as did his brother. They didn't dare exchange a look in that moment; they'd both heard the sharp, icy edge to their master's tone.
Lord Krayt approached them slowly, head bowed, as though lost deep in thought. "Capture all the Jedi," he said quietly before lifting his chin to look at them. "You failed to achieve your objective. I gave you one simple task, and you failed."
Neither one of them spoke. It would be futile to argue with the Master.
"You will have time to reflect on your shortcomings during your next assignment." Lord Krayt leaned forward, just enough to level them with his relentlessly penetrating stare; and Ferrus felt his final words like an unyielding fist around his heart: "Don't fail me again."
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The displaced Jedi and their allies made it to the edge of the Unknown Regions intact, arriving at the coordinates Myri had given them just before the jump. Tahiri looked out at the black expanse of space around them, leaning forward in her seat apprehensively.
"It's not like Booster to be late," she said.
The comm crackled with Ben's voice. "You're sure you got the time and location right?"
Myri's reply was devoid of her usual good humor. "Yes, I'm sure. You wanna question my intel, Skywalker?"
"Guys, look." Tahiri glanced down at the navicomputer, then back up at the viewport as a red Star Destroyer came out of hyperspace above them.
"Told you," Myri muttered.
Tahiri waited for the younger Antilles to hail the Errant Venture. A moment later a familiar and very welcome voice filled the cockpit.
"My friends," Tekli said, "we are relieved that you are safe. Apologies for the delay, but we received an emergency signal from Jysella and had to take a detour. You're clear to come aboard."
The freighters docked first in one of the forward hangars while the X-wings made their way to one of the smaller bays.
"Meet you on the bridge," Ben said.
"Copy that," Tahiri replied as Deekmawr completed shutdown procedures. She leaned back in her seat and sighed. She was having trouble remembering the last time she'd gotten some decent rest.
After a few more seconds, she rose and followed the Noghri guardian down the ramp, reuniting with her friends from the other freighters. Valin's relief was palpable as he came down the ramp of the Daybreak, holding both his children by the hands.
"She's here," he said, and Tahiri didn't have to ask who he meant. His fear for his sister had been a rough current beneath his otherwise steady composure since they left Zihrent.
"She and Tekli are probably on the bridge with your grandpa," Syal said.
Tahiri nodded in agreement. "We should get up there and figure out what went wrong. Deekmawr and Matabakh can take care of the kids for now." She turned to the Noghri, who bowed their heads. Matabakh held out her hands, and Valin's children reached out tentatively to take them. Together they made their way back toward the freighters, while the Jedi Council members, the Antilles sisters, and Ulin headed for the bridge.
When they reached it, the doors to the bridge were wide open, and Tahiri immediately recognized Booster Terrik's massive figure; standing next to him, tucked against his side, was Jysella. Even though she hadn't doubted Valin's senses for a second, it was still a relief to see her friend with her own eyes.
Jysella broke away from her grandfather and ran into Valin's arms. Tahiri watched the reunion for a moment, this one more desperate and sorrowful than the one on Haven only days ago.
"What happened?" Valin asked, holding his sister close.
Jysella's eyes were shut tight, but Tahiri noticed a few tears slips from beneath her lashes. "They came right before nightfall, right after I felt your distress. Orion, he—" She pulled back and wiped her eyes quickly. "We didn't have much time. They were in the enclave before we could gather everyone. I took the ones I could while Orion held them off."
Valin ran a hand over his sister's hair. "You did what you could, Jys."
Jysella shook her head, eyes not quite focusing as she looked up at her brother. "It should have been me. He's not a fighter; he barely even— and I just left him there, and the children…"
Valin held her tight, trying to whisper words of comfort; but they both looked up as Booster strode over and placed a hand on his granddaughter's shoulder.
"Whether it should or shouldn't have been you doesn't matter now," he said, in as gentle a voice as Tahiri had ever heard him use. "What matters is that Orion made a choice to save you and those kids, and now you have to honor that choice by being the best damn Jedi you can be."
Jysella wiped her eyes again and gave Booster a weak smile. "I will, Grandpa."
Tahiri cleared her throat. "I'm glad you're safe, Jysella, and I'm sorry to interrupt." She turned her attention to Booster. "We need to get to Zonama Sekot. It may be a risk to have so many of us in one place, but of all the enclaves, Zonama Sekot is the safest."
Booster nodded. "I have the latest coordinates; we can be there within—"
"Sir," a voice called out from the crew pit. "We've got another priority signal coming in."
Booster turned abruptly toward the crew pit, deep lines etched in his forehead as his eyebrows furrowed. "From who?"
"Bakuran Defense."
The older man uttered a string of Huttese obscenities under his breath as he moved toward the bridge's holotransceiver, a raised, disc-shaped device wide enough to accommodate nearly a dozen people around its perimeter. "Bring it up here," Booster ordered.
A less-than-life-sized figure appeared above the holotransceiver, wreathed in pale blue light. Tahiri's stomach sank as she realized who she was looking at. The Jedi and their allies surrounded the table and watched in silence as the message began to play.
.
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Ben popped the canopy of his X-wing and pulled his helmet off with a sigh of relief. He looked across the hangar bay for Anakin and spotted him two ships away, going through the exact same motions. A ladder was brought over to the side of Ben's ship, and he used it to climb out. When he reached the deck, he made his way over to his grandfather.
Anakin was still sitting in the cockpit of his X-wing. Ben looked up at him and raised both eyebrows. "Should I give you two a minute?"
Anakin shook his head, a faint grin on his lips. "I like these new ships."
"They're like forty years old."
Anakin made an amused sort of noise as he stood and swung his leg onto the ladder, beginning to climb down. A few steps from the bottom, he hopped off and landed solidly on the deck in front of Ben. "You really don't like flying, do you?"
Ben frowned. "What makes you say that?"
Anakin's smirk was more than a little annoying. "I don't have to use the Force to see how relieved you are to have your feet on solid ground again. Well, solid metal, anyway."
"I'm relieved because we got away from the Sith and no one died, not because I don't like flying. There's a difference."
"Sure," Anakin said.
Before Ben could think of a retort, Elias jogged over to them. "Crew chief says the others are in the forward hangar, but we can meet up with them on the bridge."
Ben nodded. "Find out where they're taking the kids, and you and Anakin go join them. I'll head to the bridge, see what our next move is."
Elias and Anakin hesitated a moment, then left him to go find the younglings, leaving Ben alone in the middle of the bay. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong still. Yes, they'd gotten away from Zihrent in one piece, but how had the Sith found them in the first place? No holotransmissions had gone out from the secret base or been received, so there was nothing for the Sith to intercept. It was possible that Jacen might have known about Zihrent through Aunt Leia, but Ben didn't think so. What, then? He'd destroyed the homing beacon before they travelled to the base, so that wasn't it. Had the enclave on Bakura fallen without them knowing? Could the Sith have ripped the information out of Gren or Malinza? No, he didn't think they even knew about Zihrent, at least not its name or precise location. And if something had happened to Gren, his brother Orion would have sensed it before the Sith ever reached Haven.
Ben was still puzzling over what had happened when he arrived on the bridge to find Tahiri, Valin, Tekli, Karanya, Ulin, Booster Terrik, and the Antilles sisters standing in a circle around a holotransceiver that had just finished a transmission.
"What was that?" he said as he approached. The grim set to their faces and their shock and sadness in the Force hit him hard.
Tahiri opened her mouth to respond, then shook her head and pressed the replay button. Ben felt a jolt of recognition as a slender, raven-haired woman appeared in miniature before them. Her sharp, mismatched eyes watched something beyond the projector field for a moment before turning forward.
"This is Malinza Thanas on Bakura, sending a message to my fellow rebels and to the Jedi Council. The Sith Empire has blockaded the planet and is sending troops to the surface as I record this. We will attempt to repel them, but I fear escape is no longer an option. We need—"
The transmission cut off there, and Malinza Thanas disappeared. An eerie silence followed, punctuated by the hum of equipment and the electronic staccato of keystrokes drifting up from the crew pits.
Booster broke that silence first, shutting off the holotransceiver as he did so. "It's a trap," he said in his usual blunt manner.
Across from him, Ben rubbed a hand over his jaw and shook his head. "Of course it's a trap," he spat out. He was starting to feel like his whole existence was a series of traps. He looked around at the others gathered on the bridge.
"Do you think they know about the enclave?" Karanya asked.
"Not necessarily," Syal said. "Bakura's been a hub of rebel activity for some time now. I'd be surprised if it wasn't on the Empire's short list of targets for conquest."
Valin didn't look convinced. "The timing is pretty suspicious, though."
Ben glanced over at Tahiri, who was staring at the place where the hologram had been. "Booster," she said, "can you give us a conference room with access to the HoloNet?"
The older man nodded. "Sure can. Myri knows the way and can take you to it. Meantime, I'll get us underway to Zonama Sekot."
Ben and the others followed Myri as she led them off the bridge and down the corridor to a modestly-sized conference room; she stayed outside with Syal and Ulin as the Jedi crossed the threshold. Ben was a little surprised when Tahiri turned and beckoned for the three non-Jedi to join them.
"This doesn't just concern the Jedi," she said. "Your input and expertise are what's needed now."
Myri and Syal sat down between Tahiri and Valin, while Ulin took a spot next to Ben and Tekli. Once they were all seated, Tahiri activated the holotransmitter. It took a couple of minutes, but the image of Danni Quee Dreiz appeared in the empty space between Jysella and Karanya. The weariness in her face said it all.
"I take it you've seen Malinza's transmission?" Tahiri said.
"Yes," Danni replied. "I tried to contact Gren at the enclave on Bakura, but I couldn't get through."
Ulin cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat. "They've probably blocked or disabled HoloNet access to all of Bakura. Subspace comms might be intact, as long as the Empire hasn't taken out any of the relays that serve that sector. We can try to contact them through those channels."
"No," Ben cut in. "If the planet is under a blockade and threatened with invasion, Gren has probably already moved the enclave's occupants and gone dark. But we should monitor all of our frequencies in case he does try to make contact."
"I can do that," Ulin said.
"What about Malinza and the Bakurans?" Jysella interjected. "Their fleet is no match for Krayt's."
"Theirs isn't," Myri said, looking over at her sister, "but the combined Rebel force might be able to break up the blockade."
A hush fell over all assembled. Ben's skin prickled; when he looked down at his arms he saw his hair standing on end. "There hasn't been a combined offensive against the Sith since Coruscant," he said quietly before turning toward Syal.
There was an angry but determined glint in Syal's eyes. "It can be done," she said. "It won't be easy, but we have the resources to go up against the Sith fleet. With Bakura under siege, I don't think we have much choice." Syal looked from Myri to Ulin. "I need you two to get in touch with the Corellian rebels, the Mon Cals in exile, the Wookiees – any rebel cell that we've had contact with in the last year – and tell them we're organizing a response to the Bakuran blockade. We'll arrange a conference at eighteen hundred hours to discuss the plan."
Ben was impressed. He knew Syal had taken a higher position in the resistance after she and Myri earned their bloodstripes defending Corellia, but he hadn't realized just how much authority she had. He looked at Myri and smirked. "You've been keeping us in the dark," he said.
"Compartmentalization of information," Myri corrected, tapping a finger to her temple. "You can't give up intel you don't have."
"It's a good thing the Sith have never thought to capture you."
Myri laughed. "Let them try."
"Do you think they'll really be willing to send ships to Bakura?" Danni asked.
Syal and Myri nodded in unison. "Yes," the elder Antilles said. "Bakura is one of the last systems standing in open defiance of the Empire. They won't want to lose it."
Tahiri had been quiet for most of the meeting, but she spoke up now. "While you talk to your rebel contacts, we need to discuss what to do about the Jedi trapped on the surface."
Myri and Syal took the hint, standing from their chairs and moving toward the door. "We'll meet back here at eighteen hundred hours to discuss our plans with the other rebel leaders. I think you all should be a part of it as well."
"Thank you," Tahiri said.
Syal jerked her head in the direction of the door. "Come on, Ulin. We've got work to do."
Ulin was staring down at the datapad in his hands. "Before we go, I think there's something you all should see. I've been trying to slice Bakura's HoloNet to see if it had been cut off or not. Turns out the Sith didn't disable it; they've been blocking outside access and broadcasting this message to all of Bakura." He held up the datapad so the others could see.
The image was fuzzy at first, but when it cleared up Ben recognized a mask made from vonduun crab and eyes that glowed yellow from behind it.
"People of Bakura," Darth Krayt said, his voice lowered an octave but still recognizable to Ben. "My quarrel is not with you. You have among your population a group of Jedi fugitives. Return them to me, and my forces will leave your world in peace. Keep from me what is mine, and I will be forced to continue this blockade indefinitely. The choice is yours. Thank you for your cooperation."
There were a few seconds of static before the message began to repeat itself. Ulin shut off the feed and set the datapad on the table.
"Well," Valin said, voice solemn. "I guess that answers the question of whether they know about the enclave."
Ulin stood up and patted Ben's shoulder. "Sorry, kid." He joined Syal and Myri as they exited the room. The remaining members of the Jedi Council looked around the table at each other, but Ben kept his eyes on the holotransmitter in the center of the table.
He hadn't heard that voice out loud since Ziost; it didn't paralyze him the way it did in his nightmares, but he could feel his hands getting clammy, his throat thick. The voice was every bit as calm and patient as he remembered it, both from their last encounter and from his days as an apprentice.
"Ben?"
Tahiri's voice pulled him from his thoughts, and after blinking a couple times he realized everyone was staring at him wide-eyed. There was something besides concern in Tahiri's expression, though, and Ben's heart sank as he recognized her suspicion.
She'd heard the voice, too, and she knew.
For a single second, Ben wished he could run far away and not have to explain anything or deal with the repercussions of his choice. Then that second passed, and he let out the breath he'd been holding. Time to come clean at last.
"It's him," he said. "He's alive."
While Tahiri had clearly understood his meaning, the other council members weren't so quick to catch on. Next to him, Valin shifted in his seat and addressed him gently. "Who's alive, Ben?"
The name came out a whisper. "Jacen."
There was disbelief and denial at first, followed by shock and anger when they realized that not only was it true, but that Ben had kept it secret from them. He listened to their questions, their accusations – you didn't tell us, how could you, you never said, what gave you the right – but inside, all he could hear was the wind whipping in his ears as he trekked across an ancient city on Ziost…
.
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The citadel rose from the planet's surface, a colossal, crumbling mountain of Sith history and artifacts. The dark side was strongest here, and for the first time since arriving on Ziost, Ben was afraid. He spent an hour wandering the citadel, searching for some sign of the Sith's return, feeling the feral predators that stalked him from the shadows.
Finally, he was forced to admit that Myri's information was correct and that Darth Krayt's new order of Sith had not returned to claim Ziost.
Why, then, did he still feel drawn to it, as though it held some terrible secret that needed discovering?
The wind whistled in his ears as he climbed a ruined staircase leading into an old temple. The last few steps were missing; he leaped across the gap and landed in front of the cavernous temple entrance. He passed under the stone archway, entering a darkened interior that no amount of sunlight seemed willing to penetrate.
Even with the Force to guide him, the darkness became too much for him to bear, so he pulled out his lightsaber and activated it. The green blade cast an eerie pall over the inner sanctuary; Ben hadn't realized he'd come this far. He was about to turn back when he noticed a piece of black cloth draped across the front of an altar. Everything around him was decaying and slowly becoming rubble, but the piece of cloth was fully intact. Then the cloth moved, and he realized a pair of pale hands was reaching out from under it, clinging to the altar like a lifeline.
"You seek the One Sith," a deep voice rumbled from beneath the cloak. "Well, here I am." Even though his presence was hidden from the Force, Ben knew without a doubt that this was the mysterious Sith Master, Darth Krayt.
The Sith stood and turned slowly to face him, and by the green-white light of his saber, Ben saw a man he knew all too well. A man who should have been dead.
"Hey, Ben," Jacen said with a sad smile. "It's good to see you again."
He wasn't sure how long they stood there staring at each other in the gloom. It felt like ages, though it might only have been seconds. Jacen opened his mouth to say something else, but as soon as he did Ben turned and ran out of the temple. He vaulted across the gap in the stairs, landing with enough momentum that it sent him tumbling down to the bottom of the staircase. The predators were venturing closer to him now, but he hardly noticed. He was running again, sprinting out of the citadel and across the arid plain.
When he finally reached the rocky outcropping where he'd stashed his ship, he realized two things.
First, that Jacen hadn't attempted to chase after him.
And second, that just before he turned to run away, Jacen had uttered two words:
"I'm sorry."
.
.
It wasn't until Tahiri placed her hand gently on top of his that Ben realized he had a death grip on the edge of the table. He looked up into her green eyes, heart still racing from the memory.
"Let go, Ben," she said. He released the table and took a long, deep breath to calm himself.
"I'm sorry," he said when he was able. "I shouldn't have kept it from you. As members of the Council, you had a right to know."
Most of the anger in the room had dissipated, replaced now by confusion and sadness and guilt.
"How did he survive?" Tekli asked. Ben saw unshed tears in her eyes; he wondered if they were for all the Jedi who had died in vain or if they were for the boy she had once been friends with.
"I don't know," Ben replied. "He only said a few words before I got out of there."
Danni spoke next. "Has he been Krayt from the beginning? How long ago did you see him?"
"It was when I went to Ziost, about three years ago. I don't know if he's always been Krayt."
"Three years?" The look on Karanya's face was one of horror. "You've been living with this burden for three years?"
Ben nodded. For a minute he really thought Karanya was going to leave her seat and envelope him in a hug. He was saved by Jysella's question.
"So now that we know Krayt is actually Jacen, what are we going to do?"
"We carry on as before," Tahiri said, her strength filling the Force around them, calming their minds if only for a moment. "We come up with a plan to get Gren and his Jedi off Bakura. We work with the rebel forces to break through the blockade and free the planet. But first and foremost, we get the younglings who are here with us to Zonama Sekot, where they'll be safe."
Danni looked surprised but not at all upset. "We're happy to shelter them here," she said. "Booster has our coordinates, if you—"
"We're already on our way," Tahiri interjected. "Sorry, but we didn't have time to ask."
"Of course. I understand."
"Good. Now, we only have a few hours before our conference with the rebel leaders. Let's come up with an exit strategy for our stranded Jedi."
The look Tahiri gave him before returning to her seat told Ben that once all of these meetings were over, the two of them were going to have a very long conversation.
.
.
"That was some pretty impressive flying back there."
Anakin looked up at Elias and cocked his head to one side. "Thanks," he said as he gently readjusted the child who'd fallen asleep in his arms. Dolan was draped across his lap, sleeping so deeply Anakin wasn't sure anything short of an explosion would wake him. Davin was propped up against the wall next to Anakin, head beginning to drop onto his elbow.
"They've really taken to you," Elias said, gesturing toward the twins. "They're usually only like this with Tahiri and Ben."
"They had a rough day," Anakin said. He didn't want to admit to himself how glad he was that they were no longer avoiding him. "They were probably too tired to care where they fell asleep."
"Maybe." Elias sat down on Anakin's other side, careful not to bump Dolan's outstretched legs. "So, where'd you learn to fly like that anyway?"
How much truth to reveal? That was the balancing act he had to maintain anytime he talked to someone other than Ben. Luckily there wasn't too much to conceal when it came to his piloting skills.
"I taught myself, mostly."
"Most of us are self-taught, too; I'm nothing special, though. Not like an Antilles or a Solo or a Skywalker." Elias nodded toward the twins. "These two could end up being the best starpilots in history with their lineage. They've got blood from all three, plus a helping of Fel genes for good measure."
"Antilles… any relation to those two sisters?"
Elias smiled a little. "Yeah, Syal and Myri are technically as closely related to Davin and Dolan as Ben is. They were Jag's first cousins."
"Jag?"
"Jagged Fel. Davin and Dolan's father."
Ben hadn't said much about the father of Jaina's children, only that he'd died before the twins were born. "He was a pilot, too?"
"One of the best. He could keep up with any Jedi and flew circles around most. Probably one of the reasons Jaina liked him."
Anakin allowed himself a small smile at the thought, at the rightness of it. "So you knew them well? Davin and Dolan's parents?"
Elias made a dismissive gesture with one hand. "Nah, I was just a kid in the academy on Ossus. I knew them by reputation only. Met them a couple of times, but not much more than that. Tahiri, my master… she was really close with both of them, so I heard plenty of stories."
Anakin hesitated a moment before asking his next question. "Did you know Jacen Solo?"
Elias didn't answer at first. He looked away, staring down the hall for a few seconds as if he expected someone to be there. "No," he said at last. "I didn't know him. After what he did to the galaxy, to the Jedi… to his family? Makes me glad I didn't. He's been dead eight years, and we're still paying for what he did."
Anakin nodded slowly. He raised his free hand and brushed a few strands of hair out of Dolan's face. "I guess these two have a pretty complicated legacy."
"Yeah."
"And an even more complicated family tree."
Elias grinned. "Tell me about it. Do you have any idea what it was like after Ben and I became friends? Seemed like every friend and family member he introduced me to was some famous person I'd only ever seen on the HoloNet. People like Han and Leia Solo, and Lando Calrissian… I even got a few flying tips from Wedge Antilles, before Corellia…" He trailed off, shaking his head, and his presence felt suddenly grim. "You know one of the scariest things about this war? We've lost so many of our heroes, the people we looked up to, who we thought could face anything. The best swordsmen, the best pilots, the best strategists… and they died. They died bravely, but they still died. And now we're all that's left."
Anakin watched the other Jedi for a few seconds before a thought struck him. "How old are you?"
Elias glanced over at him, confused. "Twenty-three."
Anakin laughed a little under his breath. "Me too. And you know what? You crashed a Star Destroyer today, and you fought off whole squadrons in a decades-old starfighter. I think even your heroes would be impressed with that."
Elias shrugged and smiled down into his lap. "Thanks." Then he leaned forward and pushed himself up onto his feet. "Well, I'd better go see how Arden and Ames are doing with the rest of the little ones. You okay with these two?"
"Yeah," Anakin replied, gently touching a hand to Dolan's cheek. "We're good here."
Elias nodded. "It was real nice talking to you."
"You, too."
As Elias walked away, Dolan began to stir. Anakin withdrew his hand and watched as the boy slowly sat up.
"Where's Aunt Tahiri?" Dolan mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"She's in a meeting, I think." Anakin shifted a little so that Dolan could get more comfortable. Next to him, Davin's head dropped onto his elbow, and the boy settled in closer to Anakin's side.
Dolan looked over at his sleeping twin brother, then up at Anakin, a bit of wary suspicion darkening his bright green eyes. It passed quickly, though, and Dolan stared down at the floor. "Thanks for saving me," he muttered.
Anakin reached out to tousle his grandson's dark hair, and the stiffness in Dolan's presence relaxed a little. "You're welcome." He took a deep breath and bent his head to catch the boy's eye. "And I'm sorry about Tatooine. I didn't mean to frighten you."
Dolan shrugged but avoided his gaze. "I wasn't frightened."
He felt that denial like a vise around his heart. How many times had he tried to convince himself he wasn't afraid? How many Jedi had done exactly the same over the millennia? How many Sith?
"Even so," he said as gently as he could, "I am sorry."
Dolan nodded, then scooted over to sit next to Anakin. He didn't say anything more, and for once, Anakin didn't mind the silence.
Not long after, he sensed a familiar presence drawing near. Dolan perked up, and Anakin didn't miss the pure happiness that shot through the boy as he felt his cousin's unmistakable light.
Allana turned the corner and smiled at them, shaking her head as her eyes drifted to Davin's sleeping form. "You guys weren't tired, were you?"
"Nope," Dolan said with a grin. He climbed to his feet and strode forward to wrap his arms around Allana's waist. She embraced him for a moment, and Anakin could feel the simple contentment that filled them both. He also sensed her hesitation, and he realized – with a sinking feeling – that she came with news.
Their brief respite was over.
.