Chapter Five
Tendrils wrapped around ribs and organs. Jolts of pain raced through the tendrils. Screams echoed through his brain; whether they were his screams or someone else's, he did not know. He began to feel anger, distress, anxiety and hatred surrounding him. It dulled the pain in his chest. The swirling emotions threatened to overtake him. His vision turned into a swirling chaos, sucking him into an emotional abyss.
Brown eyes snapped open. He took a deep breath, and then another. The pain in his chest disappeared but pain did not bother him; it was the screams.
Jacen slid from the bed in his cabin and sat on the floor in a meditative state to work to center himself. His empathetic nature was both a blessing and a curse. He knew exactly what he had been dreaming of. The group of slaves Jacen had worked so hard to keep alive were being slaughtered by low ranking warriors. The Vong were under strict orders to leave Jacen alone. A small Twi'lek girl had ran to him and gripped his hand, blood oozing from her head, arms and hands. She pleaded for help, but there was nothing he could do. He was trapped; forced to watch the slaughters by his captors. Nom Anor had had Jacen secured to the ground with blorash jelly and living restraints. Jacen was unable to free himself.
He had felt each one die, each individual's agony.
Jacen reached deep into the Force, searching for unattainable peace. He tried to wrap the threads of the Force around him to make a protective cloak, but nothing worked.
He opened his eyes and stood. Peace would not come tonight; it rarely did. He grabbed his boots and shoved them on. He left his room and walked through the hold and into the cockpit. He paused in slight surprise when he saw Jag and Telma seated in the co-pilot and navigator chairs, respectively. He slid past them and sat in the pilot's chair.
"Good evening, Jacen," Jag greeted with a nod. "Telma and I were just discussing the information the scientists on Csilla had gathered about the slave seeds."
Jacen unconsciously rubbed his chest were his seed once resided as he responded, "How does their report match your experiences?"
"Oh, the facts seem close enough. I'm curious to see what type of research is at the base, though," Telma said. "Who leads the research?"
"Danni Quee," Jacen answered. "She was a Yuuzhan Vong captive at the start of the war. She'll be excited to talk to you."
"Is Tahiri assisting her?" Jag asked.
"She usually only helps if Danni hits a bad snag; mainly when there's a language barrier," Jacen explained.
Jacen glanced at the countdown on the console. They would be arriving at the first entrance of the Maw soon. They'd already made two stops to ensure the ship had not been followed.
"There has to be a way to use this information to fight the war," Telma mused.
Jacen shrugged, "If you have any ideas, let Danni know. They're always looking for new plans."
Jacen tuned out the rest of Telma and Jag's conversation. He closed his eyes and reached out to his sister to wake her. He had made the trip into the Maw countless times, but he knew Jaina would rather pilot them in. It would also act as a small release from the anxiety she was currently feeling.
In addition, Jacen knew he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't execute the route perfectly.
"Ben!" Davin shrieked as he ran down the ramp. Ben put his hands on his hips and gave Davin a scolding look that could only be attributed to Mara Jade Skywalker. Davin skidded to a halt and smiled sheepishly at his cousin.
"We can't run, Davin," Ben scolded.
Davin mumbled an apology and then Ben hugged him. Behind Ben, Tionne and Kam Solusar and Han and Leia stood waiting.
"Grandma Leia! Grandpa Han!" Davin said, scampering towards his grandparents.
Almost immediately, Ani escaped from Jacen's grasp as he walked down the ramp. Determined not to be forgotten, Ani greeted Han and Leia enthusiastically.
Two blond-headed blurs raced through the group. They crashed into Jag's legs as he stepped off the ramp. Syal and Myri Antilles gave loud, joyous squeals as they greeted their lost cousin. Jag hugged them and led them back down the ramp.
It took twenty more minutes for the greetings to end and the ship to be unloaded. Leia and Han had been overjoyed to see their son-in-law alive and well.
It was late afternoon by the time the Fels were able to settle in their temporary quarters. Exhausted from the day's activities, Ani fell asleep on the couch within moments of sitting on it. Jag moved her to one of the bedrooms.
"Mama?" Davin asked from the couch.
"Yes, sweetie?" Jaina asked from the small table in the room.
"How long will you and Daddy be gone?"
"I'm not sure," Jaina answered slowly.
"Ben says his mommy and daddy visit lots," Davin said as he slid off the couch and walked over to her. He climbed onto her lap. "Will you visit me and Ani?"
"Of course," Jaina told him. She kissed the top of his head. "We will come see you as much as you can."
Davin nodded and said, "I'll take good care of Ani."
"I know you will," Jaina said with a smile. "You're a good big brother."
Telma followed Jacen through the Jedi base. After awkward introductions to the Solos and the Jedi, Jacen had insisted Telma meet someone.
They approached a plain, grey metal door. Jacen pressed the intercom and a second later, the door opened. Jacen led Telma into an odd-looking room. The carpet was green and soft. A purplish blob sat in one corner of the room. It looked alive. A droid was slumped in one corner. A strange glow was coming from another corner.
"Jacen!"
A young woman with long, curly blond hair appeared in the room. She embraced Jacen tightly. As she pulled back, Telma could see three vertical lines on her forehead. She also noted that the woman was barefoot and had a tattoo winding around her right wrist. It looked like some type of snake; its head ending on her middle finger tip around the nail.
"Tahiri, this is Telma. She's a doctor who was with Jag," Jacen introduced, "Telma, this is Tahiri Veila."
"I take it he's told you about me?" Tahiri responded as she shook Telma's hand. Her sleeve rode up slightly, showing that her tattoo wound up her arm.
"A little," Telma said.
"I got your message, Jacen," Tahiri said to Jacen. "I assume you don't know what all Telma saw. Just describe everything you remember to me, Telma. I can probably identify it. Oh, Jacen, how are Ani and Davin? Did Davin remember Jag? How does Ani do with him?"
Telma shifted her gaze from Jacen to Tahiri. She'd never heard someone talk that fast. Jacen had only told her that the Yuuzhan Vong tried to turn Tahiri into one of them by placing false memories in her mind. She had experienced something that sounded like a split-personality disorder. He had explained that the two parts in her brain had fought each other and somehow had combined.
Jacen burst out laughing, "Tahiri, slow down."
Tahiri grinned, "Sorry."
"Everyone's fine, don't worry," Jacen reassured.
"I'd be interested in identifying what the Vong used," Telma told her.
"Yuuzhan Vong. We can talk about it now, if you want, or we can do it later," she answered.
"I suppose now would be fine. I don't have anything to do until we leave," Telma responded.
"Have a seat," Tahiri said, pointing to the lumpy object. "Let's get started."
The clash of lightsabers sizzled through the air. A blue blade connected with a green blade. Half a second later, the green flipped away from the blue to connect with another green. A snap-hiss was heard as another blade joined the fray, this one violet in color. The violet blade met the blue one.
Jysella Horn breathed heavily as Jaina knocked her to the floor. She sprang up, only to be intercepted by Tahiri's green blade. Jaina had gone after Jacen. After a series of attacks, Tahiri knocked Jysella's blade from her hand. Tahiri gave Jysella a mock-salute with her lightsaber hilt, which Jysella returned as she stood up. Half of Tahiri's hair had fallen out of her band. She pushed it out of the way to watch the activity on the other side of the room.
Jacen and Jaina were locked in a fast-paced duel. Their green and violet blades created a whirlwind of color. They were evenly matched, it appeared. Jaina used a more aggressive, tactical fighting style while Jacen's was more fluid and almost artistic. Jacen swung low; Jaina intercepted. Jaina twisted to attack his side and Jacen leapt out of the way. They continued the dance until Jacen found Jaina's blade stopped at his neck and Jaina found Jacen's at her hip.
They distinguished their blades and clipped them to their belts. Brother and sister walked over to Tahiri and Jysella.
"You've gotten better," Jacen told Jysella.
Jysella smiled wryly, "I would hope so. Dad sparred with Valin and me like crazy when he was here."
"How is Valin?" Jacen asked.
"Good. He really likes working with Master Skywalker," she answered. Valin was was apprenticed to Luke Skywalker. With the low number of Jedi Masters available, Luke had offered to take on Valin.
The four exited the practice room. Tahiri and Jysella walked off towards their separate rooms. Jacen and Jaina walked down the corridor.
"Glad to see you haven't lost your edge," Jacen commented.
Jaina glared at him, "What do you mean?"
Jacen smirked, "Nothing."
"Do you want me to go beat you down?" Jaina said, stopping in her tracks.
"You lost," Jacen rebuffed.
"No I didn't," Jaina scoffed, and then said, "You're baiting me."
Jacen shook his head, "And you're using your 'Mom' tone."
Jaina rolled her eyes, "Anyways, Telma told Jag that Tahiri was able to fill in some of the blanks for her. They've put together a fairly in-depth report for Danni and her team."
"They're up to something," Jacen stated.
"No argument there. Whenever Ani and Davin aren't hanging off of him, he's talking with Telma," Jaina explained. "It's a little frustrating, actually."
"You are just annoyed that you don't know what's going on," Jacen pointed out.
She gave him an exasperated look and then glanced at her wrist chrono. "I've got to go. The kids should be finishing up their first lesson."
"They've already started?"
"I wanted them to have their first class when I was here. Davin can be a little stubborn," she explained.
"Zekk can handle it. After all, he had years of practice dealing with you." Jacen ducked as Jaina move to slug him. He twisted out of the way and rushed down the hall laughing.
Jag sank down wearily on the standard military issue bed in his and Jaina's room. Getting the children to bed had been overly eventful. Both Jag and Jaina had to promise that they would still be there in the morning. Each mournful look Ani had given Jag broke his heart. It was unfair, he knew. He had hardly had time to get to know his children before he had to leave again. He knew he had to. He and Jaina had to help end this war. Based on the information he'd learned, the breaking point would come soon. Jag knew they would need an edge if they wanted to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong.
Jaina entered the room. She sat down on the other side of the bed. He felt the thin mattress sink slightly as she lay down. He settled down next to her, and then pulled her close. Heavy silence filled the room. She began to run her fingers along the thin scars on his arm. He couldn't remember where each came from. Immature amphistaffs, villip vines, lambet casings, whippings, injuries and more had created a disorganized set of lines across his body. Jaina's fingers had ran over each scar the first night they'd been together after his return. She'd had her own new markings as well. There was a small circle on her right shoulder from welding burn; a thin jagged line on her left index finger from broken glass; a thick mark on her left knee from crashing in a staircase; and diamond-shaped splotch on the back of her hand from a burn.
Their physical scars paled to the mental and emotional scars. Jag could remember each being that had died. Odds were high that their families, if still alive, had believed they were dead. How could they not? Even his family had held little hope for his return. Hope was exhausting. It brought so much disappointment and despair when it did not follow through. You could only hope so long before it wore you down. The slaves did not hope for rescue. Many wished for death. Many wondered why they had been spared death, only to perform tasks to help the enemy. There were some slaves who still held their inner fire. They wanted to escape, to stop the fighting in any possible way.
Jag wanted to capture that essence. As his father had told him years ago, once you fight for so much of your life, it's all you know. It becomes like breathing. Jag did not want Ani and Davin to grow up like that. He knew that within most of the millions of Yuuzhan Vong captives a fighting spirit remained. Beings like Telma, ones who had lead normal lives until the war, were everywhere. Jag was no fool. He'd been born into a strong legacy. Baron Soontir Fel was known throughout the galaxy as the best TIE fighter pilot. His children would be held to that image. For once, that concept of birthright was abolished by this war. The death of Anakin Solo had shown the galaxy that death knew no bloodlines. It took from everyone. It didn't matter who you were: Solo, Skywalker, Jedi, Hapan royalty, wealthy; none were protected.
The spirit of the galaxy wasn't just in the military or the Jedi. It wasn't in the politicians. It was in the people fighting day to day, hour to hour, to survive.
Those were the people who would win this war. The question was, Jag thought to himself, how would they do it?
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