A/N: Marsk- Leslie Nielsen! :-( (And don't call me Shirley…) :P

Part X

For five seconds, there was a total, horrified silence in which everyone stared blankly at the calm, mildly saddened chiss male; everyone save Kyp, who whirled around in his seat in time to see Jaina rise slowly to her feet, eyes wide and blank, face deathly pale. For a moment, he thought she was going to start yelling- and then she began shaking.

"Corran!" he barked at the stunned man who was seated beside the young woman. The sound of his voice accomplished two things; first, Corran Horn jumped to his feet and pulled Jaina against him as she shook and the devastation poured off of her in the Force. Second, the rest of the room exploded in an uproar of outrage, and a quick glance at Luke showed that he was too shocked to attempt to quell it. Instead, Saba Sebatyne stood and pounded her tail heavily against the floor, attempting to restore order among the suddenly unruly gathering of Masters. "Corran, get her out of here," Kyp shouted over the din. "Find Jacen, he was roaming about outside a few minutes ago."

Her legs seemed barely able to function, but Jaina allowed Corran to pull her away, one of his arms firmly around her shoulders, probably to prevent her from collapsing in her grief-stricken state. Once she was out of earshot, Kyp spun back to the screen and raised his voice above the remaining hubbub.

"Aristocra, that was unforgivably tactless and cruel," he bit, a hard and cold edge firmly established in his voice.

The red eyes hardened further. "My apologies," he said silkily. "I was led to believe that I was conferring with the Master's Council."

His tone snapped Luke from his reverie, and he looked around as Kyp responded icily. "Do not attempt to deceive a room full of Jedi; you knew damn well that she would be invited to this meeting, given her personal interest in the matters of the Ascendancy."

"Peace, Kyp," Luke muttered wearily, holding up a hand. "Aristocra, I sincerely hope that…" he trailed away, eyes becoming distant and unfocused… and then Kyp felt it too, like a hammer to the side of his head.

"Leyla," he murmured under his breath, putting his head in one hand as though to help ease the blow that accompanied the force of her pain.

"Mara," Luke choked out. "Where…?"

"I'll find her," the holo of Mara Jade Skywalker disappeared.

A solemn quiet had fallen once more over the chamber, and Cal Omas seemed to again be shocked into spluttering silence. "Aristocra," Luke finally managed again, rubbing at his temples as he spoke, and Kyp was also still trying to keep the emotional turmoil at bay, "please excuse if this question offends; but why do I have the feeling that this 'accident' was nothing of the sort?"

"The Chiss are above such tactics when dealing with political conflict, Master Skywalker," Mitt'royvr'yni had apparently lost much of his own composure following Kyp's onslaught. "Do not attempt to sully our society with your conspiracy theories of political assassinations and the like."

"You said it," Kyp muttered, earning a quick look from Luke that was more warning than admonishment.

"My apologies then," Luke said evenly, eyes never leaving the cold, red ones of the chiss male. "It just seems unfortunately coincidental that three leading advocates for reform are suddenly… and conveniently… neutralized at once like this." Kyp could read the pain in his eyes as he said it, and he again attempted to pull his own awareness in close, to ward off the emotions registering from Jaina and Leyla… Jacen's shock was beginning to seep through too, and Leia's devastated realization as she probably sifted through the range of pained feelings that were sudden barraging every Jedi around…

"I wonder if you can relay to us the condition of the rest of the family?" Luke finished calmly.

The Aristocra eyed him curiously. "Even if there were a plot against the reformists, you wouldn't need to fear for Syal Antilles Fel, nor for young Wynssa; were you aware of our customs and social structures, you would know that you cannot marry into a dynastic clan; you can only be born into it, and Wynssa forsook her claim to her Fel heritage among us when she joined the Imperial Remnant."

Kyp's blood ran cold, and Luke shot a glance his way before haltingly speaking again, testing the waters… "Aristocra, I sincerely hope that is not any sort of a warning or threat directed towards my great-niece."

Mitt'royvr'yni's lip curled. "As I said, Master Skywalker- you can only be born into a clan… and among the Chiss, bloodlines are very important." His gaze drifted around the room until it finally settled over Kyp. "I trust we understand one another, Master Durron?"

Some of those in the room understood, some didn't. It didn't matter. "Your point is well made, Aristocra," Kyp responded stiffly. "If you'll excuse me…" he pulled himself to his feet numbly and forced himself to walk steadily from the chamber, finally falling sideways against a cool stone wall after the door slammed shut once more.

He couldn't think, could barely breathe as he leaned against the temple wall. Hurrying footsteps forced him to focus, however, and he looked up as Jacen came careening back down the corridor, skidding to a halt when he saw the older Jedi Master.

"Where is she?" Kyp asked, voice finally cracking under the grief twisting through him; he couldn't even tell how much of the grief was his own, and how much he was still retaining from Jaina and Leyla.

"Medical," Jacen gasped, catching his breath. "Master Horn is still up there with her, I'm going to meet my parents in the lower hangar, they'll be here any minute…"

Kyp waved him on and then went in the opposite direction, towards the medical center near the middle of the temple complex. Later, he was never sure how he made the walk, he couldn't remember it at all; vaguely aware of punching buttons on the turbolift, he suddenly found himself standing outside the small room where he and Jaina had argued in front of Cilghal, just weeks ago now, but feeling as though a lifetime had passed…

The door opened and Corran admitted him, concern etched on his face. "Cilghal sedated her a bit," he murmured under his breath. "To try to calm her down…" Kyp blinked in surprise at the Jedi healer, not having even noticed her absence during the meeting downstairs. Then he turned his attention to the bed, and his heart caught in his throat.

She looked almost childlike in her helplessness. Small already, the image was heightened by the large cloak which she was clutching around herself as she lay curled on her side, fingers unrelenting as the tan cloth twisted in her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her face was red; Kyp suspected that she had been gasping and sobbing, until the sedation took effect. "Jaina," he murmured, but there was nothing to be said.

Her world had just come crashing down around her. What was he supposed to say?

X-X-X-X

Vulcor found her first. It was early evening on Ossus, and she had been wandering the grounds around the temple with Ben, judging by the fact that he found them together. She was kneeling on the ground, her head clutched in her hands, crying and shaking, wailing incoherent noises that may or may not have lent him a better clue as to what was wrong if he could have deciphered them.

"What is it?" he demanded, kneeling beside Ben, who had his arms wrapped around his cousin, but looked lost and helpless as to how to make it stop, how to get her to stop crying. "What's happened?"

But Leyla just continued sobbing and her head shook back and forth, her hair whipping around her face with the motion.

"I don't know!" Ben cried. "She just… collapsed. Jaina… Jaina's hurt I think…" but Leyla again shook her head and tried to speak through her tears, but failed epically once more.

Vulcor did not know what was wrong, but he knew that sitting out in the evening forest air wouldn't help fix the problem; scooping the crying girl into his arms, he set a quick pace back towards the temple, relieved to see Mara come flying out of the building as they were approaching. "Master Skywalker!" he called, but she was already heading their way, had clearly felt the young girl's distress much as he had.

"Mom!" Ben dashed up to her. "Something's wrong with Leyla…" he trailed away at the grief displayed on Mara's face as she came even with Vulcor. "Mom?" he whispered.

"It's Jag," she murmured. "Come on," she summoned Vulcor forward, leading them back into the building. "We'll take her to the infirmary."

X-X-X-X

Corran excused himself when Jacen returned with Han and Leia; both of the newcomers had red eyes, and Leia seemed to tremble as she slowly approached the bed where Jaina had finally ceased crying, but was lying in the curled position still, arms wrapped around her stomach, eyes closed. Kyp sat beside her, but no words of comfort had been found in the ten or so minutes since he had arrived.

"She… she's sedated?" Han choked out.

"Yes," Cilghal said gravely. "A low dose; enough to calm her, not enough to send her into unconsciousness."

"Why?" All eyes swung to Kyp. "She's hurting!" he cried. "Maybe the best thing to do would be to let her sleep for a few hours…"

Cilghal's eyes flickered over to meet Jacen's, and then both looked down at Jaina.

"What?" Kyp demanded. "What was that look for? What did I miss?"

"Nothing, Kyp," Jacen said wearily, avoiding his eyes. "It was my call; avoiding the pain for a few hours won't make it hurt less when she wakes."

Kyp stared at him. "You're a bad liar, Jacen Solo. I don't know what your reasoning is, but I disagree. Anyway," he forced himself back to his feet. "I need to contact Mara; I think Leyla has been sedated, I can't feel her too strongly anymore…"

Leyla…

He whipped around to stare at Jaina again. "No," he said dumbly. "You aren't…?"

"Kyp?" Leia put a tentative hand on his arm.

But the blood had left his face in a hurry, and he could feel the truth of his guess in Jacen's aura, and in Cilghal's… and the flicker of acknowledgement from Jaina's vaguely aware mind… "Oh, Jaina…" he sat heavily and pulled her hand into his. She squeezed it hard, and tears again began to slip past her lashes and spill over onto her cheeks.

"What?" Han asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

It was quiet for a minute, no one wanting to be the one to admit the real reason that Cilghal wouldn't drug Jaina too heavily… but then it was the mildly sedated girl who spoke, softly and brokenly.

"I… I'm pregnant."

X-X-X-X

When the transmission ended and the Aristocra's infuriatingly calm blue face dissolved back into nothingness on that half of the screen, most of the Masters sat in saddened silence; even those who had never met Jag knew Jaina, and her pain and grief affected them all profoundly.

It was Cal Omas who broke the somber silence, speaking softly and hesitantly. "Master Skywalker… I wonder if you shouldn't take immediate action to protect your great-niece…?"

"Mara is with her," Tionne put in quickly, tears shimmering through on her cheeks even in holographic form. "I'm sure she's fine for the moment…"

Luke held up a hand, forcing himself to think. "Kam, Tionne… tell Mara to get her on a shuttle to Coruscant as soon as is practical."

An uncomfortable silence met his words. "Master Skywalker," Omas put in slowly, "if the girl is to be a target- assuming the worst about the deaths of her father and grandfather of course," he flushed slightly as he caught himself flatly refusing to believe that it was an accident, "I wonder if that is the wisest course of action…?"

"She won't be a target," Luke said softly. "The Aristocra's words, cold though they may have been, were a reassurance, not a warning."

Omas blinked a few times. "I don't understand; he said that family legacies can only be inherited, and if factions among the Chiss are out to eliminate the Fel line-"

"Come now, Chief Omas," Luke chided humorlessly. "You cannot be so insulated against rumor and gossip as this- why do you think he directed his comments towards Kyp Durron? Leyla is a Fel in name only, not blood."

Some of the Masters knew this to be true already- namely Kenth Hamner and Saba Sebatyne, who had been present for the final confrontation with Wrynn, when he had tried to distract Kyp by speculating- correctly- about the relationship between him and Leyla. Others had heard the rumors and accepted them or rejected them with varying degrees of relative disinterest.

"Understood," Omas returned slowly, apparently blindsided by Luke's ready acknowledgement of what had so long been held secret or at least ambiguous.

"Chief, I imagine you have concerns to attend among your cabinet and in the senate, in light of these developments…"

"Of course," Omas murmured. "I'll leave you to take care of yours, Masters. I shall be in touch. Out."

When his visage disappeared, Luke slumped back in his seat, and his face appeared to have aged ten years in ten minutes. "Master," Hamner spoke lowly, "not to add to the concerns of the moment… but surely you realize that Chief Omas must have had a number of advisors listening in quietly to that transmission…" Luke just turned and eyed him inquisitively, silently asking his point. "By this time tomorrow, rumor will be acknowledged fact."

"Yes," Luke muttered wearily. "And by admitting the truth of the matter, it will guarantee that the Chiss never give a second thought to Leyla again."