Chapter 19

"Master Solo? Jacen?" A timid voice came from the door to the training room. Jacen was meditating cross-legged, trying to stay in the exact middle of the room. Floating a metre and a half off the ground with his back to the door, he spun himself around to see Karth standing at the door looking slightly worried.

"Yes, Karth, please come in," Jacen extended his legs, and resumed a normal human stance. He quickly tucked an object into his robe before Karth could see it. "How is your injury?"

"Oh, good," Karth said, pointing to the bandage. "Bit of bacta, plus whatever you did to me seemed to help. Still working on those healing trances, too."

"Good to hear," Jacen said approvingly. "What can I do for you?"

"I was…Well, I don't quite know where to start," Karth now seemed more agitated than Jacen first suspected.

"Were you looking for advice on healing trances?"

"No, no," Karth dismissed his suggestion. "I have the basics pretty good and I just need to practice, but it was when I was in my healing trance. I…" His voice trailed off.

"You think you had a vision," Jacen said. It was not a question.

"Yes," Karth looked slightly relieved. "Do you know of any Jedi on a planet full of really good looking people with really nice buildings?"

"One or two," Jacen responded. "Can you describe this Jedi?"

"Well, she was really really good looking. Umm…by human standards, anyway," Karth said, slightly embarrassed with talking to another man after his time in close quarters with Jaina and Nelani, although he was still deeply troubled and uneasy. "Red hair, green eyes, great body, but she only had one arm. Well, one and a half. She looked really important too. I think I've seen pictures of her before, but I can't place her. Oh, and her lightsaber was shaped like a giant tooth."

"I know who you're talking about," Jacen said. He smiled slightly at the memories he shared with this particular Jedi and turned to hide the smile by pretending to examine one of the training weapons. "Go on."

"Well, I…I saw her die in...In your arms."

"What?" Jacen whirled around without even trying to hide his shock. "Explain."

"The, the planet she's on, it's going to be attacked by the Sith," Karth elaborated. "They'll kill her and take the planet over. That was the rest of the vision."

"When is this going to happen?" Jacen demanded.

"I, I didn't get the exact date, but it, it feels pretty urgent," Karth stammered. "I almost felt like taking the ship over and setting course for her, but I don't know where she is!"

Jacen flicked his finger towards the comm panel on the wall and made his way to the door. "Womprat, drop out of hyperspace immediately and set course for Hapes. Prepare to redline the engines and try to raise Master Skywalker on subspace."

-! #$%^&*()

"Master, we have a problem," Jacen's voice rang clear over the holonet display despite some background interference distorting his image. His impatience was as tangible as his greeting was short.

"What is it, Jacen?" Luke asked.

"First, I'm sending you a data file with what I learned from my contact. Second, Karth had a vision of Tenel Ka being killed and the Sith attacking Hapes. I'm going with all possible speed to help out but I fear we won't be enough. We'll need ships and ground forces."

"Understood," Luke already started keying orders into his computer. "I'll see what I can do."

"Master, I fear there could be more to this than just the attack on Hapes," Jacen said carefully. "Other planets may be in danger."

"It is likely." Luke stopped his typing and pondered for a moment. "Most of our resources are on their way to Coruscant now for relocation. We're quite tied up. Even Ossus is largely undefended with only half the Alliance fleet and three squadrons of fighters."

"They picked the perfect time to attack," Jacen shook his head. "Master, when he returns to the Order, you should look at Karth."

"Why?" Luke asked. "It's not exactly uncommon for Jedi to have visions."

"How many Jedi do you know of have had visions?" Jacen asked.

"Yoda, Leia, yourself, and I," Luke supplied.

"No," Jacen said. "Only us and mom. Yoda looked into the future, but did not have visions like we have had. The only other Jedi I know of who had visions like us was Anakin Skywalker."

"How do you know that?" Luke's face went white. "This is the first I've ever heard of that."

"Trust me to have learned a few things in my travels, Master," Jacen said impatiently, mentally cursing himself for letting that fact slip. "I don't know what these visions mean, but Karth must be examined more closely when he returns."

"Understood," Luke was annoyed at being snubbed but was too professional to let his curiosity create more delays in a situation like this. "Proceed to Hapes. I'll rustle up some help."

"May the Force be with you, Master. And thank you."

After the transmission ended, Luke sat back in his chair to contemplate what Jacen had told him.

"How could Jacen know Anakin saw visions?" Mara asked, slipping into Luke's office.

"You heard all that?" Luke asked.

"These doors aren't exactly thick," Mara said wryly, taking a seat across the desk from him.

"True," Luke said quietly. "I don't know. Maybe he met someone who knew Anakin when he was a Jedi."

"What if he met Anakin himself?" Mara suggested.

"What?" Luke asked. "No. My father's been dead for thirty years."

"You said you saw him on Endor, with Yoda and Obi-Wan," Mara said. "Maybe he's come back."

"Impossible," Luke dismissed the idea immediately. "Obi-Wan told me he had to join the others and couldn't come back."

"What if he lied?" Mara shot back. "What if he was just waiting for the right time to come back? Jacen did say he heard Anakin's voice a few years back, long after Anakin was supposed to have gone 'to join the others.' And did you notice he once tried to call our apprentices 'padawans?' That's Old Jedi Order terminology. Plus he seems to have mastered every lightsaber form Palpatine ever told me about the old Order using, and the only one Palpatine ever feared. Where else could he have learned that from? I'm starting to think Anakin isn't the only one he has seen."

Luke considered her words in silence for another moment.

"Now's not the time for this," He said finally. "I need to organize a defence force for Hapes. Mara, can you find Corran and Kyle and tell them get their squadrons together? I'll issue orders to have their fighters prepared and contact the Republic to ask for help."

"Sure," Mara said. "But don't think I'll let you drop this, Farmboy."

"Don't worry, I think you already won," Luke smiled at her. "I'll talk to him when he gets back from Hapes. You always make too much sense."

"Can I get a recording of that?" Mara asked, standing up. "I mean, for the next time I tell you to do something."

"Get out of here," Luke said with a hearty chuckle.

"Yes, my slave," Mara winked. "But before I go, Tresina just arrived from Velmor."

"Excellent," Luke said. "Please have her report to me immediately."

-! #$%^&*()

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

-With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian-

-Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, Hours before the Mandalorian Battle of Hapes-

Tenel Ka is in danger and we're racing to help her out. I haven't been this nervous in years. I…I don't know what to think. I haven't talked to her in years. I don't know if she's seeing someone or… Who am I kidding? She's the queen of sixty-three planets. I'm sure she'll find someone better than me. I just don't know what to make of this. I'm going to see her, and I don't know if she'll even survive. Maybe my going there kills her. Could I be responsible for her death? Visions are always so unclear.

-Long pause-

I love her. That's all I really know. I have to go, no matter what happens.

-End-

-! #$%^&*()

The Solo Quest punched through the Transitory Mists amid an entire fleet of unknown ships of all sizes ranging from small fighters to something that looked like an inflated disk-shaped Imperial Star Destroyer.

"Sithspawn!" Jacen flicked the internal comm system on while taking the ship into a dive, narrowly missing the engines of one of the freighters. "Jaina, get up here! Karth, Nelani, get to the turrets!"

He sensed the attack of several fighters and performed another gut-wrenching manoeuvre at top speed while activating the combat systems. Jaina stumbled into the cockpit grabbing anything bolted down to prevent herself from being thrown about.

"Where do you want me?"

"Where I'm sitting," Jacen responded activating the defensive auto-pilot built into the ship's navicomputer and vacating the seat. "I'm going to take Eriana, Astro, and Womprat with me to defend Tenel Ka on the ground. Drop us off, then stay on board and join the Hapan defence."

"Are you sure?" Jaina asked jumping into the pilot's seat and disengaging the auto-pilot. "It's your ship."

"Of course I'm sure! You're the best pilot in the sector and your students aren't in any shape to fight right now." Jacen stumbled as she took a sharp turn. "Just take good care of her."

He fell into the communication seat, leaving Jaina to fly the ship. He issued orders to the occupants, telling them to either prepare for ground or space combat. Next, he called the Fountain Palace and informed them of his approach. After a brief argument about authority, Jacen sent a message to Tenel Ka through the Force to get her to intercede on his behalf, and closed the connection just as the Quest was approaching the outer atmosphere of Hapes. He extracted the assassination protocol chip from the side pouch of the captain's chair and whispered "May the Force be with you" to his sister before he made his way towards the boarding ramp. Eriana, Womprat, and Astro were already there waiting for him in full combat gear. While Astro did not wear any armour, Eriana was dressed in her traditional Jensaarai armour modeled after a Bha'lir, and Womprat had affixed a regenerative shield module and a secondary energy pack to his frame. Jacen entered the antechamber and closed the door to the hallway.

"Womprat, open up. I have got a present for you," Jacen held up the assassination protocol chip. "Just don't forget who your boss is."

"Acknowledgement: Understood, Master," A small compartment opened up on the droid's body shell revealing a memory chip reader. Jacen insert the chip into the slot and several lights on the droid's casing went from passive green to ominous red. A faint whining of charging capacitors rang out.

"Announcement: Master, I do believe all systems are fully functional and are ready to blast some meatcans!"

"Good," Jacen said, holding onto a support bar to steady himself against the movements of the ship while addressing his companions. "Our objective is simple: We protect Queen Mother Tenel Ka from the Sith and the Mandalorians. If you can do that and protect the Hapans as well, all the better – but our main priority is Tenel Ka. Without her, the entire Hapes Consortium could fall to the Mandalorians by Hapan law and we'll lose one of the GA's most powerful founding members.

"Womprat, stick to the Mandalorians. The Sith might be too much for a droid, even one designed by a Sith. If you can, find a good vantage point and blast them with your sniper scopes. Aim for known weak points in the armour. Astro, look for any Sith sneaking around the Palace. Eriana, you and I will defend Tenel Ka. They'll likely send the Sith after her. If there aren't too many, break off and take on the Mandalorians."

Jacen could sense they were nearing the ground, so he punched the button to lower the ramp. They were still several kilometres from the surface.

"And finally," He shouted over the noise of the wind, "Do not listen to Tenel Ka if she tells you to leave her alone. If you thought Wookiees were stubborn…"

-! #$%^&*()

"Ready," Han returned to the pilot's seat and put his headset on. "Meewahl and Cakhmaim, ready for some action?"

Two low purrs indicated alertness.

"Good," Han said. "Don't forget to turn the turret until after I say so."

Han slowed the Falcon down and aligned it fifty metres from the crippled skiff so he could see inside the cockpit.

"Hail them," Han ordered.

"What about the stalkers?"

"They won't attack until we dock," Han pointed out. "Until then, we're not a sure kill. And we need to kill another two minutes."

"Jedi skiff, this is Leia Organa Solo aboard the Millennium Falcon responding to your distress call. Please respond," Leia sent, unable to argue with Han's logic. A few moments later she repeated it and was greeted with a hissing sound.

"It iz good to see a familiar ship," Saba's distinctive Barabel voice transmitted. "Oxygen iz low over here. We need to evac immediately."

Leia looked at Han, who returned some body language suggesting her crazy for thinking they should do as Saba suggested.

"Initiating docking procedure," Leia transmitted. Han started pointing at the chrono frantically and held up a finger with emphasis. "Be advised we need one minute to prepare our hatch for deployment."

"Pleaze hurry," Saba urged. "We sense great danger nearby."

"Understood," Leia put the comm into standby.

"Way to blow it…"

"She's just looking out for us," Leia stopped him. "I'll prepare the hatch."

"Not yet, Captain," Han said sarcastically, watching the chrono. "Wait for it."

He held up five fingers and slowly lowered them one at a time. When he ran out of fingers, a bright ball of fire appeared behind each of the asteroids Han indicated had an enemy, and Han flashed a satisfied smile.

"Now we can go."

"Not yet," Leia played with some controls on the sensor array and marked a target on the HUD. "Third target dropping out of hyperspace. Weapons armed and shields hot."

"Sithspit," Han rammed the throttle to max and set a course directly at the enemy ship. "Weapons free, shields full to front!"

The sensors told Han it was a heavily modified skipray blastboat.

Doesn't anyone use stock ships anymore? Han thought. They're so much easier to blow up.

"Meewahl, aim half way down the central spine," Han directed. "But don't hit it until we're right on top of them!"

"What are you planning?" Leia asked, taking shots at the Skipray with the new forward-mounted blasters. Han was still racing at the Skipray at full throttle, intently staring out the viewport past the angry red bolts of energy diffusing across the front shields.

"Now, Meewahl!"

At the last second, Han flipped the Falcon onto its side and equalized shields as the Skipray shot past. A moment later the Falcon rocked hard from the other ship exploding.

"What was that?" Leia asked as Han set a course for Saba's ship.

"Had Meewahl hit the torpedo tubes," Han said, finally bringing the Falcon on top of Saba's skiff. "The ship was remote piloted. Whoever was piloting it didn't care how beat up it got. They wanted to fly it into us."

"Why'd you fly so close to a ship trying to crash into us?"

"Engines were tweaked for speed, they could've hit us no matter what and I need to be inside their shields to hit the target," Han said absently, locking the Falcon into position. An explosion-scarred crate floated by the front viewport marked:

mal Detonators – Ha Care

"See what I mean?" Han pointed at the crate. "That would've been an even bigger boom. Now put that Force of yours to use and haul that in, will ya?"