Chapter Forty-Five: The Soul Switcheroo
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They planned to meet at 1600 hours, in Kip's hospital room. Zekk was ordered to stay in the Solo quarters until then, lest someone recognize him, people who knew of his return to the Light side still being scarce. His job was to be completely and utterly bored as he helped Krista with paperwork. When he complained, Jaina merely smiled and told him she'd make it worth his while. He got quiet after that.
Jaina went straight to Kip's room, but bumped into Garik before she reached it. When she explained what she planned to do, he insisted he come along – "Someone has to keep you out of trouble," he informed her. She made a face and told him she wasn't a kid anymore, but hooked her arm in his in the next moment.
Once in Kip's room, Jaina asked Garik to take care of Kip's doctors. Meanwhile, she chatted with a particular ghost, mapping out the afternoon's unusual events. Wary but accepting, Garik came upon Jaina talking to no one, and waited until she had done. He then informed her that the doctors weren't being very open-minded about everything, so they would simply have to lock the door during the switch. They spent the rest of their time talking while Jaina monitored Kip's energy levels.
Cerasy had kidnapped Sanar in order to make sure that the now former slave (Devnos having, of course, freed her the moment the chip was out of his head) didn't do something drastic. After Cerasy had made sure that the alcohol level was minimal, both ordered drinks at a bar, and alternately argued and talked. Sanar almost burst into tears twice, and Cerasy embarrassed herself four times in order to cheer Sanar up.
Well, what are friends for, anyway?
Kyp paced as quickly and nervously as he could in the River, and waited for new life. His thoughts never strayed far from prophecy, the Sildar, and the woman who both hated him and would help him more than any other.
It's a strange, topsy-turvy galaxy out there.
At 1600 hours, it was time.
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"You ready?"
Jaina pulled her hair back in a pony tail, and released her breath slowly. "I think so. We just have to wait for Sanar now. Where did Cerasy take her, anyway?"
Zekk shrugged. "I think she said something about cheering her up."
"Oh, stars," she moaned, "if Cerasy got her drunk, I will kill that bounty hunter. Sanar needs to be able to see straight, at least. Cerasy knows that."
"Sanar also needs to stop crying before she breaks a blood vessel in her eye," Garik said, entering the conversation.
"I thought you didn't agree with using alcohol to solve problems," she shot back.
"Alcohol does nothing but kill brain cells," he agreed, unruffled. "But some people don't agree with me. Besides, Cerasy will watch out for Sanar; she shouldn't come back with more than a buzz."
"I can't believe I just heard you condone that," Jaina told him, smirking.
"Yes, well, I really don't mind, Solo."
"Jaina," Zekk interrupted. When she turned back to look at him, he asked, "Do you even know what you're doing next?"
She smiled. "Are you crazy? Of course not."
He sighed. "Right."
Garik rolled his eyes. "Did you expect a different response?"
"I hoped."
"Foolish."
"Unbelievably so."
"Oh, stop being so pessimistic, you two," Jaina said, rolling her eyes. "I'm a Solo. I think on my feet."
Garik was about to reply when the door was thrown open and Cerasy, quite melodramatically, stepped through. "I brought her!" The this-week-red-haired bounty hunter's right hand reached back out into the hallway, and returned a moment later, dragging Sanar in.
Jaina raised an eyebrow. "You're late."
"Like you're the one to talk," Sanar retorted, although Jaina had been speaking to Cerasy. "You'd be late to your own funeral."
"Sanar…" Jaina grinned. "I skipped my funeral. I was never late. There's a difference – one very much thanks to you, I might add."
"Don't remind me."
So, Sanar was right back to being the snarky woman Jaina had met nearly a year ago. If nothing else, her defences were back in place, which was the most Jaina could hope for after Devnos' death. Still…
While Zekk propped Kip up on the pillows, and Garik locked the door, Jaina sidled up to Sanar, asking quietly, "How are you feeling?"
Expectedly, Sanar's face shuttered, but Jaina read the lingering grief. "Butt out, Solo."
Jaina stuck her tongue out at Sanar. "Not a chance."
Sanar made a face at her.
"As much as I love to see you two back to normal," Zekk remarked, "and although I know you two get a kick out of pretending you hate each other – "
"Hey! What are you trying to say?" Sanar challenged.
Zekk smiled serenely in her direction, but didn't press the friends issue. Particularly when Jaina whispered that Sanar wasn't ready for that kind of public display yet, and it wasn't like they were friends, really, anyways – just sisters. "Could we start this…thing…today?"
" 'Thing'," Jaina snorted. "How technical of you, Zekk."
He blew her a kiss. "Just keeping things relaxed, darling."
Sanar pretended to be sick. Jaina heard her mutter the words "heroes", "stupid" and "love", among others.
Oh, this would be fun.
/Not now,/ Zekk chided, and she started just a little. Normally she would have felt him even before he touched her mind, but she'd been distracted.
/Sneak,/ she muttered back. /Fun ruiner. I just want to poke her a bit. It's too easy. And, besides, it'll get her mind off—/ Jaina winced.
/You can needle Sanar later. Help Kip and Kyp first./
Sighing, Jaina nodded. "Fine."
Sanar, Garik and Cerasy stared at her. "I hate it when you do that," Garik finally said, exasperated.
"Can't you talk out loud, like normal people?" Cerasy pleaded.
/It's creepy,/ Sanar informed Jaina and Zekk haughtily, using her connection to speak to them at the same time.
Jaina smiled. /Whatever you say, Sanar./ At Sanar's startled expression, Jaina idly wondered if Sanar had even realized she had used telepathy.
/Shut up, Solo. It was purely intentional. I am in perfect control of my abilities./ Now that Sanar was concentrating, leaving her instincts out of the conversation, mental static cut up her words, though Jaina caught the gist of it.
"Solo…!"
Jaina looked up to see Cerasy tapping her foot impatiently. "Again. That's really annoying."
"Sorry, Cerasy," Jaina murmured, batting her eyes.
Garik checked the door and then his watch. "The doctors will be back in to check soon, so if you want to get this over and done with, without an audience…"
Jaina sobered quickly at the reminder. "Right." Rolling up her sleeves, she pulled up a chair next to Kip's bed, and proceeded to stare at him. "Umm…"
Sanar rolled her eyes, but Jaina could feel the grin the other woman was trying to hide. "Cast out, Solo."
"Well, obviously," Jaina replied without anger. Closing her eyes to distractions, she crossed her legs, finding it more comfortable – more contained. Hands that she was sure belonged to Zekk dropped on her shoulders, reassuring.
Breathing out, Jaina centred her thoughts on Kip. Focusing, pinpointing, in on Kip, and on Kyp, who hovered, unseen, nearby. Kip was fading more than she had expected, and it was increasingly difficult to feel the difference between Kip and a comatose animal.
As Kip flooded her senses, Jaina stretched further, to the shadow beyond him, to that which had made him: Kyp.
Kyp's visual similarity to his once-alive body was an illusion; when he was not taking ghost form, he had no such restrictions as a body. In adherence to the delicacy of the soul switch, however, Kyp had shrunk to as compact a bundle as possible, which now blazed like a miniature sun against Jaina's senses.
Squinting ineffectually against Kyp's soul, Jaina carefully tugged it forward, shivering at the feel of a soul – one that had been touched by death, and something…more – in her 'hands'.
Far away, she felt Zekk squeeze her shoulders, very gently, and she smiled to reassure him.
Refocusing on Kyp, she led him forward, pausing her tugging when that tiny sun hovered over Kip's chest. Away, she heard Sanar's gasp, and Jaina grinned; Sanar had given into her curiosity and poked into what was happening.
/Am I doing it right?/
Sanar became louder, more distinct, in Jaina's mind. /By your standards or mine, do you mean? Because, personally, I wouldn't mind if Kyp was just suckered into oblivion./
/I'll take that to mean things are going according to plan, then,/ Jaina replied, smirking.
Sanar grumbled.
Jaina turned her attention to Kip, now, puzzling him out. Kip was not answering her mental hails, and she didn't know how to—
Quite unceremoniously, light—life—drifted up and out and along Kip's body, and Jaina recognized it as a soul. Kip's soul. Just as quickly, it vanished—
/Goodbye, Jaina Solo. Well met./
—and Kyp's soul spread, stretched, and then finally sank into its new home.
Jaina blinked.
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The air beside Kyp shimmered, but no one saw.
Fog, which defied all laws of the universe by being a focused column except for the top part, appeared in the shimmer.
Then, a glint, long and sharp, slid through the air, but no one noticed.
Whispers; mutterings; faint and then increasingly loud exclamations. Undirected, these sounds were beyond human ears, and no one paid attention.
Ever so slowly, the fog formed the perfect shape of a sword, which ran nearly the entire length of Kyp's body; it appeared to become more solid, and the fog-sword hovered a moment longer before it sank closer to Kyp.
In a violent movement, hidden by Kyp's body, the sword became real, and it wooshed deep into the blankets, almost underneath Kyp. The metal gleamed death; the hilt, so deep gold that it was nearly bronze, watched everything.
Avenge us.
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.Tjz