Leaving for California in three weeks! But don't worry; this story will be finished before that happens. I'm pretty sure that there's enough time for a couple more chapters.

Also, thanks for the reviews, I love reading them.

And so the meeting commenced. Most of the Gungans broke up into small, quiet groups, talking and taking refreshments from the tables. Jar-jar was tempted to sweep an entire load of food into his gullet, but sadly, his duties entitled him only to take what his mouth could contain.

After excusing himself from several Gungans whose questions seemed a bit too prying, he swam away to the hiding place which Anakin and Mansa Musa had dubbed their Base. It was close enough to keep an eye on Jacen, yet far away enough to make sure that they were safe.

Anakin glanced over his shoulder in greeting. "Any news about him?" he asked, hurrying over. "We just re-did our plan; first we're going to find my uncle, and then we'll bring him back to negotiate for Jacen."

Jar-jar quickly decided that telling Anakin the news of his brother's torture might not be such a good idea. After all, it was always possible that Master Luke might become exceedingly angry with the Gungan race for this. For all he knew, Luke could down with a horde of other people to exterminate their existence from the waters.

"No new news, nothin' good. But they'vesa been planning to contact your unca', too. Maybe we should wait and see what they do first."

"Okay, then you and Mansa can stay to spy. But I really need to get Tahiri back to the surface first."

During the conversation, Tahiri was busily polishing the extra lightsabers, which Jaina had obtained by swimming back to the surface and grabbing them from the ship. According to her report, Ben had been in the flusher and hadn't heard her escape over the noise of the sewage system working.

She finished off the second one and looked up at the two. "He doesn't mean that," she said to Jar-jar. When Anakin turned to stare at her, she met his gaze with an equally challenging one. "I'm fine, and I can stay down here if anything happens. We should be more worried about what's going on in the palace, anyway. There only needs to be two people or so going back up to find Master Luke. That can be either Anakin or Jaina coupled with their cousin."

Mansa Musa stuck his head between his father's and Anakin's face. "Jaina is ready to be goin' Ani!" he said. "Tahiri's stuff is already in a sack. Now all you need to do is be following her to safety.

"Um…" Anakin glanced at his sister, who had indeed packed up ans was already waiting at the edge of the cavern. He tried once more to convince Tahiri. "It might be a good idea to go," he reasoned. "You've been through a lot."

"But not enough to bring me down." She ran over and pulled her knapsack away from the pile. "It takes a long time to stop me from getting into the middle of the action."

The boys glanced at each other and sighed. "Okay. Jaina, will you be able to manage the ship?" His sister shot him a haughty glance. "What do you take me for, some lacy-dress wearing girl? Of course I can manage." She tucked her breather into her mouth. "See you later, then," she added, and pushed herself out into the open.

Darkness, pain. That was all Jacen felt. He had been beaten, and his back now throbbed with pain. Also, they had taken away his lightsaber, smashing the hilt before his eyes. Now it felt as though something else had been taken out of him, as well.

Was this the path of a Jedi, that you were tortured for doing something which was supposedly right? What kind of person would even allow himself to fall into this kind of situation, too? Sometimes, it was scenarios like this that made him wonder about the path that was before him.

As soon as he got out of this mess, he was heading to Mrs. Degrasimo's place. She always knew how he felt, somehow. That was a lot more than he could say for his own father.

Half of his feelings were true distress, and half of the, were basically just sulking. But he didn't have time to figure this out for himself. The door suddenly opened, flooding the dim room with light. Before his eyes could adjust to it, two rough hands pulled him to a standing position, forcing him to walk in front of them. He groaned inwardly. No doubt they were taking him before this Boss Nass person. Jacen had never been a fan for Monarchy.

Strangely, though, they led him down to a small, slightly warm chamber buried under the bedrock, where at last he was given over to the mercy of a mustachioed Gungan.

"Sit," he ordered. Jacen tried to get comfortable on the small stool that he had been given. His back still hurt, so he leaned against the sponge. It was a mistake. No sooner had his back hit the absorbent material that it squirted a speeder's capacity of water all over the room.

"Clumsy human!" his interrogator shouted, trying to mop up the water with a rag. "Never, ever do that again, otherwise you won't be going through me again, ya hear?"

"I wasn't planning to, anyways," Jacen muttered under his breath. "Now tell me why I'm here, or I'll-"

"I'll what?" the Gungan leaned over and stared at him intensely. "Yousa are completely defensing-less and unarmed. Your weapon was taken away, and for a good reason too; otherwise somebody might be hurtin. Wesa wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

"Since when has your primitive race begun to major in Psychology?" Jacen retorted.

"Actually, theysa haven't. I was raised aboveground."

"It figures. You act as snotty as the other ones I've seen."

His interrogator's temper flared, but he forced himself to keep up a good façade outwardly. No need for the Jedi to think that he was gaining an advantage. Time to play a few mind tricks of his own.

"Am I really that bad? What about yousan killing of my kind, mercilessly slaying da Gungans who were simply trying to keep prisoners from escaping?"

"Those prisoners were my brother and friend. What would you do, stand by and let them endure the torture that I went through? No…" he shook his head and turned away. "I would never let it happen if I could help it."

"You would do anything to hurt the person who did it?" the Gungan asked softly. Jacen turned away, but nodded.

"Then don't you think that since you have done the same to my brothers, it is just to let you go through the same punishment?"

Jacen jerked his head up, realizing only too late that he had led himself into this trap. Now they would expect him to give them information, or otherwise allow himself to be punished again. He didn't know how to talk himself out; he didn't know what to do…if only Mrs. Degrasimo were here. She would have seen through it, found a way out. But how in the world did he know that?

"Are yousa going to say anything?"

He immediately snapped back into reality. "Yes. First off, I feel that it was a chain reaction. You go after my brother, I go after yours. So now that we both know that, I'll cut straight to the point: I want to get out of here. Do you know what they are going to do with me? Is there anything I can do to convince them that I'm sorry?"

"Personally…I don't think there is." The Gungan examined his nails, under the pretense that he didn't really care. "However, if you could find a witness or someone to help plead for you, there might be hope. As the only people who saw you have either died or escaped, Boss Nass won't easily be convinced."

"My uncle." Jacen's eyes lit up. "I can contact him through the force; he can help me out of this. Will you let me?"

Now he was getting somewhere. His interrogator nodded his head twice. "You may, if it will help."

Jacen wasted no time in kneeling on the floor. He could hardly feel the pain as he crouched low-but before he could do anything, he turned back to stare at the desk.

"Just now, you were trying to convince me that I had done something wrong," he said, "And now it's as if you're trying to help me. What's up with you?"

The mustachioed Gungan smiled thinly and wrote jotted down several notes underneath his desk. "Let's just say…I have objectives of my own." His prisoner gazed at him for several more seconds before turning away, bowing his head as he made contact with his uncle.

The operation had passed about an hour before, and Luke was sleeping. His lungs were blessedly grit-free, and though it was through a mask, he could breathe again. Mara was watching over him, her mouth silent, but her eyes remaining steady.

Luke's silence was broken as the force brought emotions to his mind; fright, anger, and of course, the usual pain. Something was wrong, but where was it? Opening his mind to the force, he felt Jacen struggling to contact him. His presence was weak, though, and very far away.

'Jacen'…he grappled, tried to reach for something solid, but felt nothing but white sheets. Mara noted this and quickly called a nurse. "What do you think is the matter with him?" she asked. Seeing Luke's discomfort, she went in, tried to soothe him back to sleep. Yet she could not. For though his body eventually calmed and he fell asleep again, Jacen's thoughts were still imprinted in his memory. He could not forget.

After a long journey, the Millennium Falcon finally landed on a flat strip outside the ruins of the city of Taris. Han seemed to feel his gut clench as he saw his former Sabacc opponents already standing outside. He struggled to calm it. Who knew? He could be a couple of rats ahead of his number…or perhaps just a treacherous few behind.

"Thank goodness that you are back!" the first one greeted him. "We thought something sinister might have happened to you." Han was about to smile back when he suddenly realized that his welcome wasn't meant to be welcoming. Coughing, he straightened his back and resumed business.

"There are more than enough of your…hides in the Falcon", he explained. "Count them in your spare time, but first give us the credits. Right now I'm in a rush."

Lando had obviously chosen not to participate in the conversation, and was busily giving the second alien an overview of where everything in the ship was. Not knowing what else to do, Han tipped his head. "Well…"

'Well?"

"Can I have my money?" He was done with the greetings and the manners. If this guy didn't hand over the cash, he would blow his head through right then and there.

"Don't lose your cool just yet, Solo. Let's have a little drink first; and then after we settle the deal, I will give you the money." He seemed to be a bit too relaxed for his dealings, and somehow, some things just didn't fit. Nevertheless, Lando seemed to be at peace with the two, and came up to them, about to follow them into the building. Before he turned, he glanced back at Han expectantly.

There was pressure to join the crowd, and he couldn't resist. Just a chat and a drink, then the money and another burden gone. Simple.

So he allowed himself to be brought inside and coaxed onto a sofa. It was Womp rat pelt, no doubt. After picking up four thousand mammals of the same species, you begin to recognize the texture of their fur. Lando sat down besides him, and when a droid offered them some small glasses, they took them gratefully.

"You could give us our pay in advance, and then call us back if there's any trouble," Han suggested. "My wife…" he shuddered and stopped. His opponent gave him a knowing look.

"Yes, they are rather picky about such trivialities, aren't they?" he said smoothly, and then "Tell her you'll be late for a few more days."

"Will you be able to count them by tomorrow, at least?"

"Possibly…until then, you must stay with us. We have so many spare rooms…"

"Please." Lando suddenly stood up. "We've been working for over ten days, and it's about time that you gave us what you owe. Han's brother was almost killed over this deal, and he won't be happy if you don't offer compensation."

"Compensation?" the alien laughed. "Remember, my friend here won the Sabacc game. We alone have the upper hand."

Han began to feel uneasy again. "Yes, but-"

Lando suddenly fell to the ground. At first Han thought it might be a seizure or something to do with old age, but suddenly he felt the same sensation, pushing against his insides as though it were a large, sour lump. The next thing he knew, the contents of his stomach were on the floor, and his body was soon to be there as well.

"Clean up the mess, then take them away," the alien ordered, and as Han was dragged aside, he could still hear his opponent's silky voice flowing throughout…

"We alone have the upper hand."

Yup, I always end with cliffhangers, but then, that's what I always do. :P