Judicar detached the refueling hose from the tiny porthole in the Solo Quest II, wrapped it around one arm a few times, and promptly walked over to the hose's station where she hooked it back up. As she did that, Jacen closed the porthole while still maintaining his sister within his field of view.

When she returned to him, he said, "Step aboard the ship and proceed to the cockpit." He followed her up the Quest's open landing ramp all the way to their stated destination. There, he ordered, "Stop," just as she reached the cockpit, then commanded, "Sit down in the copilot seat and buckle up your crash-webbing."

Once she was locked into her seat, he said, "I will be back in about... fifteen to twenty minutes." He turned to leave.

"Tell Mom and Dad I said hi," Judicar called back.

Jacen said nothing in return, nor did he falter in step as he left the ship. He chose the prow of the Quest so that he could keep an eye out on Judicar while he waited for their parents to arrive.

Five minutes later, the Millennium Falcon touched down where the Jade Shadow had vacated its spot well before Jacen and Judicar returned from their brief visit to Kenth Hamner's office. Once that happened, Jacen warily allowed Judicar to leave his sight as he stepped around to the side of the Quest so that he could get a better look at the Falcon's matte-black hull.

It didn't take long before the YT-1300's boarding ramp touched down upon the hangar's deck so that Han and Leia could step out and meet Jacen. The Knight could see his mother's Noghri bodyguards, Cakhmaim and Meewalh, shadowing them as they, too, stepped off from the ramp; C-3PO remained aboard the ship, Jacen figured, given the droid's absence.

"Hi, Mom," the Knight said. "Dad. How was Chandrila?"

Despite the impatient look on Han's face, Leia gave a small smile and said, "It was a relaxing vacation, Jacen. Your father and I picked up a few souvenirs, and we even gave Threepio a-"

"Where is she?" Han practically blurted.

"Dad, please, don't," Jacen intoned.

"I wanna see my daughter, Jacen," Han said as he moved toward the Quest. "I wanna see how she's doing, and you can't-"

Jacen stopped his father by placing a hand on his chest.

"Take that off me, son," Han muttered as he locked eyes with Jacen.

"Han, enough of this," Leia said as she abruptly cut in between the two men and separated them with her own hands. "When Jaina's ready to see us, she'll be ready to see us. And Jacen will let us know when that will be," she added emphatically.

"Do I look like if I care if Jaina's ready to see us?" Han retorted. "I wanna-"

"She's still Judicar, Dad," Jacen interrupted. "There's been no change since the last time you two saw her."

While Leia's expression dropped into defeated resignation, Han stared back at Jacen with incredulous disbelief.

"Still?" Han asked.

Jacen nodded. "If there was, I'd let you see her. But right now, it's still not enough."

Han's posture deflated into one that mirrored Leia's.

"I'm sorry," Jacen said sincerely.

Han closed his eyes, bowed his head, and shook it in disappointment. Then he locked gazes with Jacen again and asked, "If that's the case, why'd you even bother waitin' for us instead of goin' to wherever Hamner's got you goin' now? No doubt he's already given you another assignment."

"He has," Jacen confirmed evenly. "I just didn't wanna be rude and blow you guys off."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Jacen," Leia said.

"Yeah," Han tacitly agreed. "We do barely see you anymore, even after this war."

"This Lost Tribe of the Sith is still very much a threat," Jacen stated. "But each day, we're gettin' 'em. In fact, I finally got Lady Rhea. I told you guys about her; elusive, but not anymore."

"Captured?" Leia asked.

Jacen shook his head. "Dead," he said with only mild regret.

"That's too bad," Leia said. "Wasn't she one of the Lost Tribe's highest..." She trailed off as Han abruptly turned away and headed back to the Falcon; Cakhmaim and Meewalh moved swiftly out of the way to allow him to board the ship.

When Leia looked back from her departed husband to her son again, she said, "I hope you don't take that personally, Jacen."

"I don't blame Dad," Jacen responded. "I wish I was able to get Jaina turned around from the dark side... instead of just being a glorified prison warden for her." He sighed as his voice cracked a little.

"Every day, Mom," he began morosely, "I honestly feel like I'm wasting my time with her. I sense no trace of regret or remorse from her. Just a continued sense of self-preservation; Jaina knows she has no other viable options. After all, what could she do if she could escape? It'd only be a matter of time before the Jedi Order had her hunted down again; and then she'd have to face the death sentence for everything she did on Coruscant and especially..."

He turned away from Leia and placed both hands along his face in frustration; he couldn't bring himself to say "Errant Venture," even though they both knew that that was what he was going to say. And that was not only because of the massacre of the thousands of people that Jaina had killed there, but also because of the one person aboard that ship whose death had struck home to the Skywalker-Solo clan: Mara, Jacen's aunt, Leia and Han's sister-in-law, and Luke's wife.

"You let us know if anything's changed, Jacen," Leia said. "Your father and I will be waiting."

Jacen heard her footsteps as she walked back to the Falcon. He released another sigh before he turned and headed back up the Quest's ramp.

As soon as he returned to the cockpit and sat himself down in the pilot seat, Judicar asked, "You didn't tell 'em I said hi, did ya?"

"Did I say you could talk?" Jacen retorted. He didn't take his eyes away from the Quest's startup sequence.

Judicar sneered for a moment but remained silent before she returned her gaze to the viewport before her.

But once the Quest's engines started humming, Jacen gritted his teeth and air hissed out through the gaps there. He turned to look at Judicar and asked, "Is there really no regret in all your being for what you've done?"

Judicar looked him in the eye. "Are you telling me I can talk now?"

"Yes, I'm telling you you can talk," Jacen said angrily. "Now do so!" He emphasized that by smacking his artificial palm on his ship's dashboard.

Judicar gave a grin that looked like a grotesque parody of their father's. "Well, in that case, Jacen, if I do say so myself, you sure gave that dashboard a good spanking. Try it again, I'm sure you'll make it come alive and she'll squeal like a-"

She stopped abruptly as soon as Jacen levelled his artificial hand near her.

"Don't think I won't do it," he intoned.

Judicar tilted her head up at him. "Oh, I know you can. I haven't forgotten. I'm lucky I still have all my teeth after last time."

She was referring to the end of their previous fight aboard Centerpoint Station mere months ago, which had ended with Jacen beating her to within an inch of her life. Had Leia not been there to stop him, Jacen might have even gone through with killing Judicar then and there.

To this day, Jacen hadn't forgotten about that either, and, internally, it shook him to the core of his being every time it erupted as so much as a stray thought in the months since. For Judicar to even passively refer to that event made Jacen feel really uncomfortable for reasons that he didn't want to explore... at least so long as the Lost Tribe of the Sith was still out there.

He placed his hand back upon its respective armrest and he looked back out through the viewport. "Until I say so," he said without looking back at her, "you will not speak again. You need not respond except through your compliance."

Judicar's response was, as expected, pure silence.

And when Jacen was satisfied with her compliance, he took control of the Quest and began guiding it out of the Jedi Temple's hangar bay.

Minutes later, once they were out of Shedu Maad's atmosphere and soaring down the debris-filled corridor that would take them out of the system's gravity well, Jacen felt a psychic nudge coming from Judicar.

He stiffened in place and put an immediate halt to their journey before he levelled a suspicious glare at her.

"I told you never to do that," he reminded her through gritted teeth.

"Sorry," she replied insincerely. "I just wanted an excuse to talk."

Jacen's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "About what?"

"About the mission we've been assigned."

"You know I don't have to tell you anything unless I think it prudent that you need to know."

"I get that. It's just this time..."

"What?"

"I woulda thought that Hamner woulda given us a break. Or at least you a break, after finally getting Rhea and all."

"That's Master Hamner to you," Jacen intoned.

Judicar rolled her eyes in annoyance. "We both know you don't actually like him that much."

"Whether I like him or not is irrelevant. He's the acting Grand Master of the Order and he should be-"

"Respected? Don't gimme that poodoo, Jacen. And don't kid yourself, either. Jedi like you hates that the Order is now nothing more than a specialized task force for the GA, whether it's fighting the Chiss or hunting down the Lost Tribe."

Jacen's eyes widened in fear. "How do you know that?"

"Through our twin bond, of course," Judicar replied coyly.

Jacen gritted his teeth again. "I never felt you there; not after I took you in as your guardian. And making yourself small through the Force wouldn't have..." He trailed off as his expression slackened with intense irritation. "You didn't actually know, did you?"

Judicar gave a half-grin in response. "Still predictable, Jacen. I don't need to feel you through the Force to know you at this point."

He looked away from her and resumed piloting the Quest through the debris-filled corridor.

"Oh, what, you're not gonna tell me to resume my silence or something like that?" Judicar asked.

Jacen said nothing.

"Ah, I see," Judicar said knowingly. "Givin' me the silent treatment, eh? Alright then, I get it. In that case, let me make a few guesses as to what we could be doing next. We're tracking down another High Lord of the Lost Tribe, yes? No? Alrighty. How 'bout we found a whole fleet of 'em? That right? Maybe not? Okay. Ooh, how 'bout it has nothing to do with the Lost Tribe at all this time? Are we gonna go after pirates? We're goin' after pirates, aren't we? No, that's too dull for us Jedi. Oh, wait, I know. We're gonna be heading to Denon itself, yes? Cal Omas thinks there's a big litter problem there and we need to clean up the streets, quite literally! Oh, that would be really exciting! Yes! So worth our talents! You know, I could really see you being the poster boy for, like, a children's holodrama series to clean up after yourself. Yes, I can see it now! The opening would go, like, 'Here's Jedi Jacen, kids, and he'll-'"

Judicar seized up in pain as she felt an intense electric shock run through her system. It lasted for several seconds before she slumped in place as the shock passed.

"Remember," Jacen said without taking his eyes off from the path ahead, "only I know where the button for your stuncuffs is aboard this ship."

Judicar regarded the thin metallic bracelets around her wrists with disdain; they were Jacen's primary method of control over her should she ever get out of line.

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten that either," Judicar growled.

. . .

When she had exhausted herself through the screaming and rantings that involved vengeance against Jacen Solo, Darth Judicar, and the entirety of the Jedi Order, Vestara finally allowed herself to collapse to her haunches along the wall that was directly facing her quarters' locked exit. There, she tucked her knees up to her chin and began sobbing quietly as she let her grief for Lady Rhea's death begin to overwhelm her. As that happened, she found that it was suddenly compounded by the old yet still powerful feelings she still felt for her mother Lahka's death during the Jedi and Galactic Alliance's raid on Kesh months before.

Vestara still remembered that day as if it were yesterday. On that morning, Kesh's capital city of Tahv was its usual prosperous self, even if it was somewhat primitive compared to most of the rest of the galaxy.

But by midday, several Star Destroyers and other capital ships belonging to the GA dropped out of hyperspace. The ChaseMaster frigates that were in orbit of Kesh almost immediately opened fire on the enemy capital vessels, though, within minutes, those that didn't already flee or touch down on Kesh to pick up the planet's citizens were blown into debris that smoldered down through the atmosphere.

Ves's father Gavar was among one of the ChaseMaster commanders who brought his vessel down to try to save his wife, their servants, and even Ves' pet uvak, Tikk.

Unfortunately, by then, the GA dropships that had been launched past the Lost Tribe's defensive screen of the planet discharged their platoons of soldiers, several of which were led by Jedi.

From her position aboard the bridge of the Khai Pride, Gavar's ChaseMaster, Ves had watched helplessly as a GA platoon had fired upon her home.

Her mother was among those killed.

Though they made it out of there by the end of that day, Ves had spent that night crying in her quarters aboard the Pride as she did now. But this time, she didn't even have the private comfort of her father being there with her. And she didn't have as strong of a Force-connection to him as she would have liked, so she couldn't even...

Her thoughts were cut off as the door to her confining quarters opened. There, the female Jedi Master who helped bring her here mere hours ago entered.

Ves instinctively stood up, as if she were challenging the Jedi, even though she didn't have either her lightsaber or shikkar with her.

"Hello," the woman said calmly. "My name is Jedi Master Tionne Solusar. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself when we met back in the hangar bay. You didn't seem to be in quite the mood for a calm chat. I hope I'm not intruding."

"It wouldn't matter if you were," Ves replied defensively.

"Very well then," Solusar said with an agreeable nod. "So I take it that you wouldn't like to come out and introduce yourself to the other students?"

"Students? You mean Jedi students?" Ves retorted scornfully. "I have no use for them."

"Use, you say, Vestara? Now why should you see them as useful?"

Ves looked back at Solusar hatefully. "Look here, Jedi, I know what you're up to. You think you can just kidnap me and make me into one of your affable dogs and you can just 'cure' me of all my years of being a Sith? Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'd rather die."

"Oh, would you now? Is that what your High Lords would want from you?"

"You know nothing of what they want from me."

"Perhaps I may not know, but I can hazard a few guesses. Like blind loyalty and obedience?"

"As if the Jedi aren't more guilty of that."

Solusar gave a wistful grin. "I can assure you, we're much more open-minded and tolerant than you may have been led to believe, Vestara."

"Open-minded and tolerant, huh? You mean how open-minded and tolerant you are of having vermin who can't access the Force run the galaxy into the ground? Yeah, that's something I can't wait to see," Ves concluded sarcastically.

Solusar shook her head. "I take it, then, that you would like to spend a little bit more time in here by yourself?"

"What do you think, Jedi?"

The Master looked disappointed. "Well, until then..." She trailed off as she leaned over to just out of Ves's view and came back with a tray full of food and a water bottle. "Here's your breakfast." She set the tray down inside the quarters and closed the door on Ves.

The girl continued to sat there for several minutes until her hunger and thirst finally got the better of her and prompted her to approach the tray.

. . .

Ghespos stepped through the airlock that connected his ship, the Ol' Reliant, to that of one of the several airlocks that led into the mysterious station in which he now found himself. When he did, he found several members of various alien species looking back at him, standing in single file several meters to his left to several meters to his right.

"You are Ghespos, correct?" the male Gotal who stood before him asked.

"Uh, y-yes, I am," the young light-skinned human man answered even as he remembered that he left his blaster back aboard his ship.

"You seem frightened, Ghespos," the Gotal observed. "Why should you be frightened?"

"Oh, uh, no reason," Ghespos replied warily. "It's just that, um..."

"It's all a bit unusual, isn't it?" the Gotal ventured.

"Well... yes," Ghespos said. "I mean, uh... I got the call from one o' my buddies over at Drescus, and he said there was good money in it, so I thought-"

"Yes, yes," the Gotal said. "And paid you will be, my friend... as we all will be paid in one way or another."

Ghespos gulped nervously as the Gotal and the other aliens advanced upon him.

Minutes later, his battered and bloodied corpse was left behind as the aliens took the Ol' Reliant and soared away from Sinkhole Station.