Jaina rolled out of her bunk in the cabin, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She made her way to the front cockpit where she could hear her father and Jag talking in hushed tones. As soon as she entered they both turned around guiltily.

"Oh, that's not suspicious at all." She said sarcastically.

"We were just going to wake you, actually. It's about twenty minutes before we revert to real-space. You hungry?" Jag offered her some nerf steak and milk.

"How can you think of eating at a time like this?" She asked indignantly.

"Well," Han said, "If there's going to be a fight at the end of this, which I suspect there will be, then we're going to need all the strength we can get. So eat up."

"I'm not hungry. Now what were you guys talking about when I came in?"

Jag sighed. "We were just saying that maybe it's too early to get our hopes up, when this could be a total dead end."

Jaina shrugged. "Who said I had my hopes up?"

Han shifted slightly in his sheet and Jag became fascinated by the engine readings.

Jaina sunk into the navigator's chair behind Jag. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you actually smiled during breakfast this morning," Jag said. "First time in a long time."

"You have been feeling happier lately, Auntie Jaina," Allana piped up from the back of the cabin.

Han spun in his chair. "You're supposed to be taking a nap."

Allana sighed and said, with the air of someone talking to an idiot, "Granpa, I'm too old to take naps."

"Allana, what was Auntie Jaina just doing?"

Allana shuffled her feet and said nothing.

"Exactly. Now, I want you to go work on your history on the sim until we decant. Okay?"

"Fine."

As soon as Allana had left, Jaina leaned forward and asked, "Why are we letting Allana come? This is too dangerous."

"She's the Chume'da of the Hapes cluster, and a powerful Force-user. Her life is already dangerous." Han shrugged. "Besides, she's going to be on the ship the whole time."

"You're planning to leave her on the ship alone? That's not a great idea." Jag put in. "She might wreck the place."

"I'm not going to wreck the place because I'm not staying here!" Allana had returned, or, more likely, had been outside the cabin door the whole time. "I want to rescue Davin too, you know." She stood defiantly, with her hands on her hips.

"I know you do, Sweetie." Said Han. "That's why we need you to stay on the ship and keep it waiting for us. You know, in case we have to get out in a hurry."

"Fine." Allana spun around and stormed out of the cockpit.

~O~

Five minutes later, when the Falcon left hyperspace, Allana was still sulking in her room.

Stupid Grown-ups, She thought. They get to have all the fun.

Yes, they do.

Allana sit bolt upright, shocked that someone had replied. "Hello?" She said, glancing nervously around her room. "I-is anyone t-there?"

Oh, I'm not here, child. I reside on the planet below.

Wow! Really? I can't wait to tell Auntie Jaina!

Why? Said the voice, a deep presence echoing through her mind. So they can tell you you're lying? And make sure that you stay locked away in here while they get to rescue your cousins?

Allana shook her head. You're right. They're too mean to know about you.

Hmm. The voice rumbled with pleasure. It'll be our little secret, right?

Right.

~O~

Ben spun to the side so he could watch both of them at once. He ignited his lightsaber, the blue glow spreading outward, pushing the sinister red glow back into the recesses of the cavern. He took a breath, and charged. After they had exchanged a few blows, Ben quickly realized that the girl, Alyah, was barely a threat. She had a poor grasp of dueling strikes and her movements were so obvious that, even without the Force, he could tell where she was going to strike next. The boy, on the other hand, fought with a ferocity and skill Ben hadn't seen before. And he had a different style of fighting, too. Instead of the fluid movements Ben was used to, his opponent used short, hard strikes, probing with his saber until Ben was forced back into the cavern wall.

The cavern filled with the sound of blades clashing as they struggled for dominance of the fight. Ben knew he had to keep both of them in front of him, but Alyah was subtly working her way around to his left side. He tried to keep her in the corner of his eye while he fought with the boy, but he could tell he was starting to lose the fight.

Without the Force, Ben couldn't tell when and where the next blows would come from, but neither did the boy.

I've gotta surprise him. Ben thought desperately as he dodged and parried strike after strike. Do something totally unexpected. But what?

The answer came to him when his opponent switched stances and opened up his right knee. Ben immediately locked his blade against the boys and held it, staring into his eyes.

Suddenly and without warning Ben snapped his left leg toward the boys right, and was satisfied by the snap of bones and a cry of pain. He use the distraction to break right towards the force-field. As he was running, however a wave of pain sliced across his back. He grunted with pain, but his momentum kept him going out of the blades reach. Fortunately, it had only grazed him.

"Karick!" He heard the girl scream. "Are you all right?!"

"Fine," growled Karick. "I'm fine. And now, Skywalker, you've made it personal."

"Funny," Ben said, his teeth clenched together as he fought the pain in his back, "I thought it was already personal. After all you did go to great lengths just to trap me here."

While he spoke his mind raced furiously. Okay. Keep stalling for time until you can figure out a way out of this. Wait. If I can use the Force, I'll be able to defeat them easily.

Karick was still talking. "We trapped you entirely due to strategy. But now I am going to sever your head from your body and use your skull as a cup."

Ben shook his head mockingly, casually starting to circle Karick. "Well, I'm pretty sure that's against Galactic Alliance health laws." He dodged a thrust from Karick and hit the boys blade with all the force he could. He batted it away from him and ran across the cave, avoiding Alyah's weak swing. He came to a halt at the far wall, spun and stood ready.

"Run all you want, Ben." Said Alyah. "Nothing can possibly help you now."

"No? What if I do this?" With that, Ben sliced the head off the Ysalalmiri he had maneuvered himself next to.

It felt as though he had been submerged in ice-cold water. The Force flowed through him, igniting every sense and refreshing his wounds. His energy renewed, he leapt into the air, doing a flip over Karick's head.

When he landed, he held his lightsaber in a high block and locked eyes with Karick, daring him to charge.

"Oh." He heard Alyah say. "Oh, you shouldn't have done that." She reached out and gestured with her arm. A flat slab of stone flew across the room towards him. He reached out to stop it, but it was then that he realized who the real threat was. Alyah's power burned bright in the Force, so bright that his attempts to stop the stone faded quickly. It whipped into his knees, which broke with an audible crack.

A wave of agony washed over him as he crumpled to the ground, his legs crushed by the stone. Pain screamed through his body, racing its way from his legs to his brain. His vision started to blacken around the edges, and he used the Force to keep himself from passing out. Dimly, he heard Alyah saying, "Not a smart move, Ben. I was going to let Karick have you, he wanted to so badly. And he would've too. Eventually. But then you had to kill that poor little lizard, and well, I had no choice. Sorry about that, Karick."

"Oh, it's no problem. Now Ben and I can spend even more time together." Grinning evilly, he drew a vibroblade from his utility belt.

Alyah shrugged and backed away. "Whatever. I'll be in the front cave."

Karick leaned over Ben and tickled his nose with the blade. "I'm going to make you scream so loud, Ben Skywalker. So loud."

Ben smiled weakly up at him. "I... doubt I'll feel... anything. Too much... pain everywhere... else."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben could see Vestara standing with her hands against the force-field, tears streaming down her face. He winked at her, and she stared back at him incredulously. Before he could signal her his plan, a lance of white-hot pain spiked through him and blood started trickling from his arm.

"Hmm. Not enough blood," Karick said. "I must've missed the vein."

He sliced his knife closer to Ben's wrist, and blood spurted from the wound. Ben groaned, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he tried not to scream.

Karick nodded with satisfaction. "Much better. Now, what next?"

He slowly ran the blade through Ben's chest from shoulder to hip. The cut was shallow, but it burned like hellfire. He bit his lip so he wouldn't cry out. Suddenly Ben shot his arm up and grabbed the blade, wrestling with Karick for control of the knife. Karick had the obvious advantage, and the blood on his hand made Ben lose his grip. He fell back to the dusty cavern floor.

"Bad idea. Or are you trying to make me mad?" Karick chuckled. "Of course, Skywalkers aren't known for their common sense."

"Just... trying to... buy some time.." His vision was going black, but he had almost reached is goal.

Karick laughed out loud. "Time for what? What could you possibly do to get out of this?"

~O~

Vestara had watched the whole fight with growing horror, helpless to do anything. She'd completely lost hope when Ben had gone down, but then he had winked at her. It took her a while to realize that he wasn't going insane, but had been trying to tell her something. She had watched as his deactivated lightsaber had inched its way across the floor towards the force-field generator. Unfortunately she couldn't reach it with the Force, because the ysalamiri above her was still alive. She had to stand there and watched as it sporadically moved towards her. It started to creep towards her again, but stopped as Karick slashed Ben's other arm.

"Hmm." She heard Karick say. "You know your problem, Ben?"

Ben spat blood at him. "I'm being tortured be a naïve Sith apprentice who has no idea how to hurt people? Now my uncle, he was tortured by Darth Vader, and from what he's told me, this is ticklish compared to that."

"No, your problem is that you are far to handsome. But I can fix that." Ben flinched as Karick cut a jagged line down his cheek, from his eye to his chin. He felt his vision darkening again, this time due to blood loss. His lightsaber was almost to where he wanted it. He drew on the Force again, but he knew it wouldn't be long before he lost consciousness.

Calm. Vestara thought. I am totally calm. Empty of emotion. No anger, no hate, I'm just going to do what has to be done.

She closed her eyes and listened, she heard Ben's ragged breathing, heard Davin's whimpers as he woke from his nap, heard the buzzing of Karick's vibrodagger, and the crackling of the force-field.

Finally she heard the snap-hiss of Ben's lightsaber igniting. Vestara snapped her eyes open and watched as the blade destroyed the generator. With a pop, the field vanished. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had cleared the Force-barren circle and was washed in the glow of life that was the Force. She used it to summon Ben's saber to herself. By now, Karick had half turned and was reaching for his own blade. Clear of any feelings, she ran him through. The shock was permanently etched on his face as he slowly tumbled to the ground.

Alyah ran into the cavern, a look of priceless surprise on her face. Vestara leapt through the air towards her, but Alyah rolled under her, and was at Ben's side before Vestara could even register the change.

Alyah smiled triumphantly. "Make one more move and your precious boyfriend is dead." She held her red blade at Ben's throat. The red light made his face look even paler than it already was. His eyes were closed, and Alyah obviously thought he was unconscious. She knew better. Ben was sending her a weak mental countdown through the Force.

7...6...5...3...2...1

Ben grabbed Alyah's leg and pulled it towards himself, sending her toppling over onto her back. Before she even hit the ground, Vestara was at her side, lightsaber at the ready. It didn't really matter though, because Alyah's head had hit the ground, knocking her out.

"Oh," Ben said, his voice quiet and strained. "I wasn't...planning...on...that."

Vestara rushed over to him, kneeling on the ground beside him. She immediately started ripping pieces off her tunic.

"Wow, Ves." Ben said, with a weak smile. "Is this really... the right... time for... that?"

"Oh, shut up," she said, her eyes starting to fill with tears again.

"Hey..." Ben reached a bloody hand up and wiped the tears off her cheek. His hand was trembling. "I'll... be...fine."

"What if you're not?" She whispered.

He closed his eyes, and she knew he was slipping away. "I will... be." He took a long shaking breath. "I've...got you...watching over me."

"I-I love you." She spoke so quietly so could barely hear herself. It didn't matter. He had already slipped away into the painless black of unconsciousness. She used the pieces of tunic to bind the cuts on his wrist and face. The one on his chest was too long, so she ran to the back and grabbed a screaming Davin. She took his blanket and bound it around Ben's chest. Then she sat back and rocked Davin, trying to soothe him while she figured a way to get them all off the planet.

She heard a noise from behind her and turned just in time to see Alyah race out of the cave.

Sithspit. It wasn't like her to turn her back on an enemy, even one that'd been knocked out. She placed Davin next to Ben and raced after Alyah.

Outside, she stopped. Alyah was nowhere to be seen. She reached out with the Force, but the girl must've been hiding herself. Just then, a pebble bounced onto her head. She whipped her head up and saw Alyah climbing the cliff-side.

Two can play at that game, you shaka. Vestara flipped up to the next ledge and started climbing. The fact that she hadn't just been in an exhausting fight gave her a marked advantage over Alyah, and soon she was closing in on her foe. With one last burst of energy Alyah threw herself over the top of the cliff in a roll, but Vestara was right behind her. They stood, panting, and faced each other.

"I know you won't kill a defenseless person in cold blood," Alyah taunted. "It goes against your precious Jedi code. But you're not much of a Jedi are you?" Now they were circling each other. Soon Alyah had her back to the drop. All Vestara had to do was push the girl in the Force, and she would topple over the edge. But she couldn't, wouldn't, kill her with the Force, and Alyah knew it. She smiled mockingly, and stepped backwards off the precipice.

Vestara was stunned for a moment, until Alyah rose up again, this time on top of a large orange orb.

Vestara muttered some choice Keshiri curse words under her breath.

Ship let loose a burning ball of plasma and she threw herself to the side. The heat singed her as it flew by, and when she stood again, Ship was already flying away over the plain. Suddenly red turbolaser bolts flew out of nowhere and struck Ship. Vestara cried out with joy as she saw the Millenium Falcon swooping down to land She hurriedly descended back to the ground and met Jaina as she jumped off the ramp of the low-flying ship.

"Have them bring a medkit and a stretcher!" Vestara yelled over the noise from the ships repulsors. "And hurry!"

Jaina yelled something into her comlink as she and Vestara ran back towards the cave.

Jaina hurried to Davin and scooped him up, pressing himself so tightly it looked like she would never let go. It was only then that she noticed her cousin.

"Oh, Ben," she said, stroking his blood-soaked face with one hand. "What did you do to yourself this time?"

"He picked a fight with wrong Sith."

Jaina looked shocked. "Sith? There are Sith behind this?!"

"I figured you knew when you opened fire on Ship."

"Ship was here? Is that who Jag was firing at? I had no idea. I was in at the boarding ramp by then. Anyway, how did you and Ben know to come here? We only just figured it out ourselves."

"He came to rescue me," said Vestara bitterly. "This is all my fault."

Jaina shook her head like there was too much information going in and she was trying to process it all.

"Wait. They captured you too?"

Vestara nodded. "Here, help me get this stone off him. I couldn't do it by myself."

Together they reached out and floated the stone across the cave. Jaina gasped when she saw Ben's legs. The were totally decimated, his bones poking out through his skin in multiple places. Blood matted his pants, sticking them to his lacerated legs.

"How did this happen?" She asked with shock.

"Two sadistic and totally evil Force-users decided to drop a rock on him and then torture him." Vestara was trying to be calm, but she was on the verge of tears again. She had to look away. Jaina was staring at her, which made her more than a little uncomfortable.

"What?" She finally asked. Jaina backed away from her slowly. "I was just wondering... how you got away from them with barely a scratch."

Anger flooded through her as she realized what Jaina was insinuating. "What?! You don't think I would ever do this to Ben, do you?" Hot tears raced down her cheeks, retracing their previous tracks across her skin. "What is wrong with you people?! Why does everyone think I'm still some evil Sith! I-I'm not going to do anything to hurt anyone, why does no one get that?" Her voice had gradually risen until she was yelling. "I thought you at least trusted me, even if you didn't like me. Wh-why-" But she couldn't continue. The tears were coming too fast, and she curled her knees to her chest, sobbing.

Just then, Jag and Han ran into the cave, carrying medical supplies. Jag raced over to Jaina and held her and Davin in his arms, while Han immediately began tending to Ben. Misinterpreting her distress, he said to Vestara, "Hey, he'll be all right, Kid. We've just got to get him to some bacta." Vestara wiped her tears away and helped Han bandage Ben with the new supplies.

~O~

Allana was still in her cabin. She had been talking to the voice the whole descent, except when her granpa had come in to warn her to stay on the ship. As if she hadn't heard the first time. No one understood her, except for the voice. It agreed with her about everything. She should be allowed to help rescue the baby.

Yes, you should. Said the voice. But I have an even better idea...Why don't you come with me. We can go somewhere else, and you can do whatever you want!

I don't know. She sent back. Maybe I should stay here.

I'll take you places you've never even dreamed of, with no adults to tell you what to do!

Allana smiled, that sounded like a wonderful idea. She quickly packed her bags and put a few other things in place so no one would notice she was gone.

They thought she wasn't smart, but she would show them.

She lowered the boarding ramp and stepped out onto the dusty dirt that covered the planet.

Come.

She followed the voice until she came to a small rocky outcropping, she rounded it and found herself looking at the strangest ship she had ever seen. A gaping hole opened in the side of the round sphere, and with only a slight hesitation, she stepped inside. The hole sealed itself after her, and she found herself standing in a a small, round chamber. A pretty girl smiled at her.

"Hi!" She sounded really nice. "We're going to have so much fun, Allana!"

"No grown-ups," Allana asked suspiciously.

The girl shook her head. "None." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Alyah, by the way."

~O~

Ben was bandaged as well as they could without proper medical assistance, and he was floating on the hoverstretcher. Han looked around as if checking to see if they had forgotten anything. Shrugging, he pushed Ben out of the cave and up the boarding ramp of his beloved ship. Jag and Jaina followed, Jag holding his son to his chest with one hand, the other around Jaina's shoulder. Vestara stooped to pick up Alyah and Karick's lightsabers and then followed the others out of the cave.

~O~

In a few minutes they had Ben secured in the Falcon's med bay. Vestara sat by his side, nervously clutching his hand and keeping one eye on his vital signs. Han did a comm check to make sure everyone was buckled in and ready for takeoff. Everything went smoothly until he came to Allana.

"Allana?" Silence. "Allana?! This better be your idea of a joke!"

Vestara watched Han run past her in the corridor. She got up and followed him to Allana's cabin.

He pressed the open button repeatedly, but it was locked. "Allana! Are you in there?!"

Her voice replied, sullen and petulant. "No!"

Han relaxed. "Next time you answer me when I call you. You understand?"

"No!"

Han shrugged and headed back to the cockpit. Vestara stood at Allana's door a while before asking. "Don't you want to come see Ben and Davin?"

"No!"

Vestara furrowed her brow, something was wrong. She felt the ship take off and blasting through the atmosphere.

"Why not?"

"No!"

Vestara worked for a minute to open the door, but she already knew what she would find.

~O~

"Well, we're on our way home," Han said as Vestara walked into the cockpit, where Jaina and Jag were sitting with their baby. "Let's see if we can get there without anymore problems developing."

Vestara sighed, "Captain Solo, you need to hear this."

She held out what looked like one of his voice-triggered recorders.

"Allana," she said. "Are you okay?"

"No!"

Han face went pale, and he started frantically pressing buttons.

"Damn. She's gone. No human life signals on the whole planet."

"What!?" Said Jaina. "That's not possible!"

Vestara closed her eyes, wishing she had something better to say. "Ship. Ship took her."

She could see the struggle in Han. He wanted so badly to find Allana, but he also knew that Ben had to get to a hospital as soon as possible.

"We'll find her," Jag said. "As soon as Ben is better."

Han clenched his hands on the controls, and then began entering coordinates.

Don't worry, Allana. Vestara sent the message out to the stars, even though she knew Allana couldn't hear her. Wherever you are. We're coming.

~O~

To be continued.

Look for my next (and final) installment in the Hands of Fate trilogy, Redemption. Coming soon!