Chapter Fourteen
Jag stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he stared at the beings in the large training room. Originally built to be a maintenance hanger, it had been transformed into a rudimentary terrain training ground. The idea was to train the former captives in military exercises to help boost their personal survival skills.

Moreover, it satisfied the heads of the military. They had expressed concern that civilians couldn't do a job meant for trained operatives.

The room shook as a sonic detonator exploded. The shock disrupted the piles of dirt, knocking onto beings who had fallen on the floor. Jag picked himself up and stumbled forward. Synthesized Vong threats sounded through small speakers.

Jag hated this training. It was unnecessary and melodramatic. If they were entering an infantry, it'd be practical. These beings were not. They were infiltrating slave dormitories, not destroying a damtuk or raiding a city. In addition, they had already been through the environment before.

Eli, a Rodian male, stumbled forward to meet Jag as he exited the training ground. He rubbed his left knee with one hand before speaking. "Do I pass?"

"The physical portion."

"Heard the psychological tests are a joke," Eli scoffed.

Jag shrugged, "I haven't sat in on a session in a month."

"Either way, it'll be easy," Eli said with a shrug. "I'll see you around, Jag."

Jag gave a small wave and glanced back out at the grounds. He heard footsteps behind him a few minutes later, but didn't turn. He could see his brother-in-law stop next to him in his peripheral vision. "Hello, Jacen."

"Jag."

Jag glanced at his brother-in-law. His arms were crossed over his chest. His jaw was set and eyes look agitated. Jag withheld an annoyed sigh. While Jag appreciated Jacen's assistance, the younger man's constant criticism and warnings drove him crazy.

"Still haven't managed to convince those in charge to stop this?" Jacen asked.

"No. I've managed to negotiate down training time requirements," Jag told him. He thought Jacen already knew that.

"I overheard Eli say he was going with the next group."

Jag nodded. He wondered what it was that Jacen wanted. He hated these circular conversations.

"He said he's prepared to die."

"Yes," Jag said simply, waiting for Jacen's rebuttal.

"Is that what they are trained to believe? They aren't soldiers or fighter pilots," Jacen ranted. "They have nothing. That's why they've been selected, isn't it? It doesn't matter if they die."

"You have no idea what you are talking about, Jacen," Jag snapped, patience rapidly thinning.

Telma ran up to Jag just then, ending the conversation between the two men. Jacen duck his head towards Telma and then left the chamber. Jag ignored his exit, grateful the exchange was over, and took the datapad Telma was handing to him. He glanced over the screen.

"You came up with a solution?"

"Finally," she replied with a grin. "Come on, Danni is waiting."

He found her sitting in the mess hall, poking at her lunch. He hadn't necessary been looking for her, but was pleased to see her. Her brown hair was pulled into a messy bun. Tendrils framed her worn face. Jacen could see a mild burn slightly hidden by the short sleeve of her shirt.

"May I?" Jacen asked after approaching her table.

"Oh, hi, Jacen. Go ahead," Britna said, looking up. She gestured for him to join her.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Oh, that. Training accident. It's nothing," she mumbled, stabbing a piece of meat on her fork.

"I didn't know you were going through with it," Jacen commented with surprise. She didn't seem like the type of person to undergo such a task.

"I haven't decided yet. I want to help, but the thought of going back there…" she trailed off, shuddering. "I'm not ready to die."

"What do you mean, ready to die?" Jacen asked with concern.

Britna pursed her lips. She picked up her glass of water and emptied it before responding. "We all know that if we offer ourselves back to the Vong, we are probably going to die. I'm not ready for that yet. I almost died already! I don't want to do it again."

"Are you being forced into it?" Jacen asked, irritation rising inside of him.

"Yes and no. A bunch of the other captives that stayed are pushing everyone to do it. Telma is developing items with Danni Quee to increase the success rate. You can't go to the refugee camp without hearing about the operation. I almost feel like a traitor for being indecisive," Britna explained. "But the people in charge tell us it's our choice."

Jacen hesitated, and then slipped an arm around her shoulders, "Don't let anyone tell you what to do."

"It's just so hard hearing it all the time," she said quietly as she slumped against him. "It's not like I can get away from it. I don't know what happened to my family. I'm not going to go one of those deathtrap refugee ships; that's just asking to die a long, slow miserable death.

"So many of the volunteers are ready to die. They think it's a necessary sacrifice to win the war."

Anger boiled in his veins. He understood the necessity of sacrifice. He hadn't forgotten Ganner Rhysode's sacrifice enabling him to escape Yuuzhan'tar. Nor would he ever forget Anakin's sacrifice to destroy the voxyn cloning tissue. A familiar stab of pain stabbed his heart. He took a deep breath and shoved the grief deep into his mind.

It was wrong, convincing others to die. The military did it all the time and Jacen didn't approve of that. When soldiers signed up, they knew what their fate would most likely be death. Civilians, especially ones who had undergone several trials, shouldn't be forced to make such decisions. The fact that his own brother-in-law was orchestrating this increased his anger. How could his sister stand for it? Jag was manipulating innocent beings!

"Jacen? I've got to go," Britna said as she pulled away from him.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he stood up.

"Thank you," Britna said, kissing his cheek. She then picked up her tray and rushed from the hall.

Jacen barely noticed his hand touching his cheek as he watched her retreat. He had to talk to Jaina.

"Jaina!" Jacen called. She glanced over her shoulder. She was kneeling on the hanger floor, cleaning her astromech. Jacen stooped under the X-Wing to stand next to her. "What, exactly, is your husband thinking?"

Jaina groaned. When Jag had described his plan to her, she knew Jacen would have a problem with it even though he had agreed to assist Jag. He wanted to make sure no "funny business" occurred. "Shouldn't you be having this conversation with him?"

"He won't listen to me."

"You think he'll listen to me?" Jaina asked, picking up a clean rag from her cleaning kit.

Jacen shot her a look, "Come on, Jaina."

Jaina sighed. She was not in the mood to fight with him, but knew he wouldn't relent. They were both far too stubborn to back down. She dropped her rag and rubbed her forehead as she said, "Okay, Jacen, what did he do now?"

"He's putting these captives through immoral tests and prepping them for their deaths. He's turning this into suicide missions. He's glorified sacrifice like-"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Jacen Solo," she responded, jumping up. Squeaker made a worried tone. She and Jacen disagreed about several moral issues, but this was inexcusable. "That's an unfair judgment and I will not stand for it."

Jacen closed his mouth and stepped back. Jaina's eyes blazed with fury. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Her eyes narrowed, "Not everyone can live up to your extreme moral code, Jacen. Jag understands the people he works with. Do you actually think that he would warp someone's mind? Do you think I would stand for it?"

"Jaina, I-"

"No, let me finish. My husband spends hours talking to his volunteers. He asks them where they came from, about their families. Those two operatives you helped, Nhla and Dirk, spent countless hours working with Jag. Nhla's daughter just got married a month ago. We witnessed the wedding," Jaina said. "They know what they are getting into. He is not manipulating them and the fact that you think that is not only an insult to him, but to me and our children."

Jacen was speechless. Jaina crossed her arms over her chest. She stared at him, unwavering. He finally averted his gaze, "I'm sorry, Jaina."

Jaina continued to glare at him. A simple apology wasn't going to make things right after his accusations. "I want an explanation. Now."

She watched as Jacen shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he responded, "I'm not one of your kids, Jaina."

Her eyes flashed, "Jacen…"

He finally gave in, as Jaina knew he would do. He usually gave in first when they argued, "I talked with Britna today."

A slow smirk appeared on her face. "You like her."

"What?" Jacen responded, looking baffled.

"You like her," Jaina repeated, not surprised of his cluelessness."You like her and you don't like her participating in this operation. I'm not sure why you are worried. The last I heard, she hasn't expressed any desire to join the program."

"I-I.." Jacen trailed off. "Jaina, I'm so sorry."

Jaina smirked. It all made sense. Britna had been burned the other day. Jacen must have found out and it triggered his protectiveness into overdrive. Britna had been apprehensive about joining. It didn't excuse Jacen's remarks, but Jaina at least understood his reaction.

She ran a hand through her hair, "Jacen, do you really believe what you said?"

"No, Jaina. I had no right to insult your husband," he responded sincerely. Jaina could not feel any deceit from him. She still wasn't happy about it, but was willing to let it go, for now. "Thank you."

She knelt back down to clean her astromech. She grinned to herself and then asked, "What are you going to do about Britna?"

"Nothing," Jacen responded quickly.

"You should tell her," Jaina advised, picking up her cloth. She smiled gently at Squeaker as she wiped his dome clean.

"There's nothing to tell," Jacen claimed, sitting on the floor next to her droid.

Jaina raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh."

"Drop it, Jaina," Jacen warned.

Jaina turned to face him. He was so difficult. "Whatever, Jacen."

Jacen stayed a few more minutes in silent contemplation before leaving. Jaina finished cleaning Squeaker shortly after he left. Most of her anger had subsided, but it still hurt. She hated that Jacen had had those thoughts about her husband.

"Hey, sweetheart."

Jaina turned and smiled. She wiped the last smudge of dirt from her fingers and put down the rag as Jag walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. "What are you up to?"

Jaina wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm meeting Kyp in fifteen minutes to spar."

Jag leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. She smiled as he pulled away. He pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Think I could persuade you to be a couple minutes late?"

Jaina grinned. She was grateful that they had been able to reclaim the flirty, playful attitude they had in their early courtship. "We wouldn't want to hurt Kyp's feelings."

"He'll get over it," Jag said huskily. He placed a kiss along her jawbone.

"You're in an awfully good mood," she observed. She bit her lower lip as he pulled her closer.

"Mhm," he responded. He caught her lips in a long, passionate kiss. Jaina clutched the back of his shirt as she opened her mouth to him.

They rested their foreheads together a few moments later as they regained their breath.

"You still have five minutes," Jag murmured a few minutes later.

Jaina chuckled as she stepped back, "You're going to have to wait until later."

"I wish I could," Jag said with a sigh. "I promised Telma and Danni I'd go to the lab, then I've have patrol."

"I thought the Dozen had tomorrow morning?" Jaina asked, arms still wrapped around his waist.

"The Aces are having mechanical troubles. Wes is giving Uncle Wedge hell over it," Jag explained. "They should be up and running by morning."

"I don't doubt it," Jaina responded with a chuckle, then sobered. "If the Aces aren't ready, you'll pull a double."

Jag grimaced, "I'll pass."

"Be careful," Jaina said as she laid her hand on his cheek.

"I always am."

"You want to do what?" Jaina asked with surprise. She was seated in the living area of Luke and Mara's quarters. She'd just arrived from her match with Kyp. Valin sat in the chair next to her.

Mara shot her a look, "You heard him. Your uncle wants to try to retake Yavin IV."

"You're insane," Jaina snapped. "Why do you want to do that?"

"Valin and I scouted the area. It's mainly a Shaper's complex. The fleet guarding the planet is small enough to be overtaken. The Vong have pulled out several troops," Luke explained. "Re-taking Yavin IV would increase moral."

"Plus we can save Sannah's people," Valin added earnestly.

"Sannah? From Yavin 8?" she asked.

"Yeah, she's suppose to undergo her changing and rejoin her people," Valin explained. Jaina then remembered that Sannah was a Melodie. When members of the species turned 20, they underwent a changing ceremony that turned them into underwater beings. "We don't know if any of her people are still alive, though."

"But why now?" Jaina asked.

"It's a system we can take. Yavin is the responsibility of the Jedi. You know how beneficial another system will be, regardless of strategic value. It's not all about the military, Jaina," Luke explained.

"Okay, I understand that, but why am I here?" Jaina asked. She wanted Yavin IV back almost as much as Luke did. It had been her home for years. She missed the humid jungles, the moss-covered ziggurats and watching Yavin set in the horizon. She knew the Vong had changed the planet, but she hoped that some of it remained. The entire world had already been living. She wished that the Vong liked it enough to keep it normal. She had never told anyone, but she wanted to show Jag, Davin and Ani the planet one day.

"I'm putting together two teams: one land and one aerial. I want you for it," Luke explained.

"Where do you want me?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair with clasped hands.

"In the air at first, but I have a feeling you'll be needed on the ground," Luke told her. "Corran is leading the aerial attack. He'll have more information for you."

"When are we launching?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning. I have it on good authority that the largest frigate is leaving the system. The rest of the Jedi are meeting us just outside the system," Luke looked apologetic. "I'm sorry it's such short notice."

"Don't worry about it," Jaina said waving dismissively.

"Thanks, Jaina. I imagine you need to make preparations," Luke said. Jaina stood up and said goodbye.

"I'll walk you out," Mara said, following Jaina. Once they were out of earshot, Mara asked, "I haven't had the chance to ask you, how's everything between you and Jag?"

Jaina smiled softly. Mara had asked her that question often. "We're doing much better, thank you. He's not going to like this, though."

"He'll get over it," Mara said with a knowing smirk.

Jaina furrowed her brow as a thought occurred to her, "I think a couple of Jag's agents are stationed there."

"Really?" Mara asked in surprise. "Why didn't Luke know that?"

"No idea. I'm not completely sure about that, but I'll find out."

"If that's the case, we need to redo the plans. Can you call him?"

"No, he's on patrol. I'll find Telma," Jaina said and rushed out the door. She wound her way through the residential hallways to the lab Telma frequented.

"Hey, Telma!" Jaina called as she entered the lab. She avoided the glares of the nearby scientists.

"Jaina! What are you doing here?" Telma asked as she looked up with surprise from a lab table she was working at.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I need some information and Jag's on patrol. I need to know if anyone was sent to Yavin IV," she asked.

"I…think so. Let me check," Telma responded. She turned back to the table and located a datacard. She inserted it into a datapad and scanned the screen.

"It looks like we sent two to Yavin IV a month ago," Telma told her. "Nichos and Stav. We haven't heard from them; no surprise there."

Telma pressed a few keys on the datapad. She removed the card, inserted another and copied the file. She handed it to Jaina, "Here's all their information."

"Thank you so much," Jaina said, tucking the card into her pocket. She left the lab in a hurry. She had to prepare for tomorrow.