Chapter 4

It was a large box, about a half-meter taller than Jaina. It was plain and square, giving n hint to what was inside. And Jaina was dying to find out.

It was a present from her uncle and brothers. It had arrived only a half-hour before, and Jaina had run straight to the port to pick it up. She had not been informed that it weighed considerably more than she could carry and could not fit in a hovercar. So there she was, with no was to transport it and unwilling to leave it. If only she knew what was inside…

Nodding to herself in sudden decision, she unfastened the latches that held the door closed. It took a few minutes, but she finally managed to pry open the door. Inside was the last thing she had expected.

It was a droid, heavily plated and armed, like a guard droid. On its belt hung two lightsabers, along with several blasters. Jaina ran a hand along its chestplate, wondering what her uncle expected her to do with this. Surely he didn't think she needed guarding. Impulsively, she jerked one of the blasters from the holster on its side and examined it. she realized suddenly that its highest setting would have no more power than to give minor burns.

It was a practice droid.

It was a less-than-subtle hint that her Jedi training was to continue, even though she was lightyears from the closest Jedi. She was expected to practice with this, substituting it for her siblings. A sudden thought occurred, and she rummaged around in the crate, looking for a different item. And there it was. A practice remote. It would fire lasers in rapid succession, testing her lightsaber skills.

Elated, Jaina continued to examine the package. In it was also a holorecorder, and that was more precious to her than all the others combined. She gingerly removed it from the crate and set it on the floor. She knew she made for quite a sight, sitting like a child on the floor of the hangar bay, but she didn't care. She depressed the button on the recorder excitedly.

Uncle Luke, Jacen, and Anakin appeared on the screen, smiling. "Well, I guess you know by now that we fully intend to help you further your training, despite the distance," Uncle Luke said. "It was Anakin's idea, but we all agreed whole-heartedly."

"I know how much being a good Jedi means to you, Jaina," Anakin said. "I hope this helps make up for everything, even if just a little bit. I tried to get them to let me send a torn-up speeder bike for you to fix, too, but they wouldn't let me."

"We miss you Jaina," Jacen said. "Things aren't the same without you. Not five minutes go by that I don't wonder how you're doing. I hope you're okay. I know you're strong. You can handle this."

"We're proud of how well you've done," Luke said. "Know that. We haven't forgotten you, and never will. We love you Jaina. May the Force be with you."

The message fizzled out. Jaina ran a tired hand through her hair. She missed them terribly. Maybe she could convince them to let her go visit…

She pushed the thought aside as she saw security approaching her. "Do you require assistance?" they asked.

Jaina stood. She began to shake her head, then stopped herself. "As a matter of fact, I do. Can you have this transported somewhere for me?"

"Where do you want it sent?" the red-eyed Chiss asked.

Jaina bit her lip, unsure. There was nowhere to put it in her apartment. What was she supposed to do with it? She remembered abruptly that Spike Squadron had their own gymnasium. It was a long shot, but…maybe he would let her use it, just until she found another place.

"Take it to the Spike Squadron work-room."

Jaina wasn't home. She wasn't at his parent's. He even checked with Vyqtouria Aberschez. She hadn't seen her in two days. Jag had no idea where she was, and the fact she hadn't informed someone of her whereabouts perturbed him.

He had been given very specific orders to keep track of her. He was supposed to make sure she stayed out of way. How was he supposed to do that when she kept running off?

Frustrated, he sat down on the couch and tried to think of any place she might have gotten off to. Why did she insist on doing this? Why did she have to worry him this way? His brain took a sudden u-turn and examined his previous thought. Worry. Was he worried? No. No, of course not, he was just concerned with making sure he completed his orders correctly.

His comm beeped. "Fel," he said, raising it to his lips.

"Security reports that there has been an intrusion in your Squadron Headquarters."

"An intrusion?"

"Yes, have you authorized any personnel to be there after-hours?"

Jag sighed wearily. He didn't have time for this. "No. I'll go check it out."

"Very well, Colonel. Call if you need backup." The administrator clicked off the connection.

Jag stood. If only crisis's would come one at a time.

Jaina looked at the empty fitness center. It was the perfect place to practice. She had looked for a good ten minutes for the light breakers, but hadn't found them. That was okay. She didn't need to see to practice. She reached out with the Force and pulled one of the safety lightsabers from her battledroid's belt. It would deflect lasers and lightsabers, but wouldn't cut her or the droid. She knew she could deflect blows well enough, but didn't want to harm the new droid.

It was perfectly outfitted for lightsaber combat. It had twenty-different saber techniques programmed into its memory, and a roughly human build that would imitate most bipedal creatures' capabilities well. She adjusted her grip on the lightsaber handle, then ignited it. She swung it experimentally, and when used to the grasp took on a defensive stance. She reached out it the Force and flipped the ON switch on the back of the droid's neck.

It whirred and buzzed, and straightened its metal joints until it stood a good two heads taller than Jaina. It flexed for a few more seconds, then seemed to focus on Jaina. Quickly it grabbed its own saber ignited the blade. For a few seconds the only sound was the thrumming of the two weapons. And then the droid attacked.

It moved with lightning fast speed, and Jaina opened herself fully to the Force allowing it to flow through her. She saw the move before it happened, anticipated it, and planned a counterstrike before the blow ever touched her blade. She was in her rhythm, not even breathing hard as she ducked and slashed and leapt over the droid. After a while of this she began to wonder how far she would be able to go on just her own skills. Since there was no danger of being killed, she dropped her Force-awareness and began to parry and attack on her own.

It was a lot more difficult than she would have guessed. She found herself dodging more than attacking, and only managing to escape by centimeters. She still stayed alive though, and this gave her confidence. She grew more comfortable relying only on herself, and was relishing in being able to protect herself without the Force. When all the lights turned unexpectedly on.

After being in the dark for so long it stunned her eyes and made her lose focus. The droid's harmless blade passed unhindered through her midsection. Sensing it had achieved its goal, it retracted the blade and turned itself back off. Jaina turned around to see Jag standing in the doorway, frowning deeply.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped, marching towards her.

Jaina lowered her blade and met his gaze evenly. "I didn't think you'd mind if I borrowed your facilities for a few days. My family sent me this practice droid, and I have nowhere to put it."

"They're not my facilities. They're the Ascendancy's. You're lucky they called me before they sent in a squad of armed guards," he retorted.

Jaina raised her chin a few centimeters. "Are you saying I have to move it?"

"No; I'm saying you need to be careful before you break into a military facility, and that you shouldn't run off like this without telling anyone where you are."

"I don't answer to you," she came back with.

"You do if you don't want us fighting every second for the rest of our lives. There has to be a modicum of deference from each of us, Jaina. You expect to be able to take advantage of my rank because we're married but don't want to treat me with even a little compliance. That's hypocritical."

Jaina was silent for a few minutes. Her first reaction was to deny what he said, but she found it hard to deny the truth. He was right. "I'm sorry," she said finally. "I'll have it moved as soon as possible."

He shook his head. "I didn't say you had to do that. I just want you give me feedback every once and a while. You can't pretend I don't exist."

Jaina rubbed her eyes, suddenly very homesick and ready to go to sleep. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," he said. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm hungry."

Jaina plopped down on the couch with her take-out dinner, and reached automatically for the remote. "Hey," Jag said, "what are you doing?"

"Changing the channel," she said, flipping through the different Holonet stations.

"I was watching that!"

"No you weren't," Jaina scoffed. "You flipped back and forth every five seconds. Ooh, look one of your mother's holodramas is on."

Jag grunted unhappily. "Do you know how many times I've seen this? Come on, turn it back," he made a sudden grab for the control. Jaina jerked away, holding it as far from his grasp as possible, but the quick movement and her momentum sent her tumbling off the couch.

When she sat up, wiping the food off her jumpsuit irritatedly he was laughing so hard he was almost in tears. "Ha ha ha, go ahead, laugh. Yeah, real funny," she mutterd as she stood. "It's your fault anyway."

"My fault?" he laughed.

"Yeah. Trying to take the remote." She gathered the spilled foodstuff and plate off the ground and headed to the kitchen.

"What do you mean, trying?" he asked, his voice thick with humor. Jaina turned and looked as he waved the small black box in her direction.

"Oh, that's real fair. Knock me off the couch, spill food all over me and then take the remote," she said as she threw the cuisine in the trash.

As she came and sat back down he was still smiling amusedly. She crossed her arms, putting on her best angry face. After a few minutes where she refused to speak some of the humor left his eyes. "Are you really mad?" he scoffed.

Jaina refused to look at him.

He teased, "You can't be serious. You know that was hilarious."

She stared unmovingly at the projector.

Finally he sighed defeatedly. He reluctantly switched the channel back to the holodrama. "There. Happy?"

Jaina could hold a straight face no longer. A small giggle escaped. Then another. And then she was laughing uncontrollably, holding her side in hilarity. His expression was unamused. "Hey, that's not funny," he huffed.

Jaina nodded her disagreement, but was unable to form words. "Ah, you are so gullible," she said when she was finally able to talk.

"Gullible? I still have the remote don't I?"

Jaina turned to look at his grinning face. This time she couldn't pretend to care. "Touché. Shockball it is."