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A/N: Comments are always appreciated. ;-) Hope you're all enjoying.
Part V
First, he was mad. Sitting alone in a holding bay aboard the anonymous New Republic shuttle, feeling bare and powerless against the effects of the ysalamiri, he had several hours to contemplate his anger. He just couldn't decide where to funnel it.
She had tricked him, that much was obvious. The entire setup… clearly she had wanted him to hear about her little rendez-vous on Terrik's ship, and had positioned Zekk to come and nullify his substantial Force powers when he was most distracted… when he was facing Jaina's… infidelity.
Strangely, he felt more inclined to be furious with Zekk, with the Fel whelp and… beyond all others… with Master Skywalker before he was angry with Jaina.
With Jaina, it was a heart-wrenching sadness he felt above all else. She said she missed him… had let him hold her, kiss her… where had he miscalculated? The Jedi didn't trust her, hadn't included her in their plans, and clearly she hadn't given him away the next morning when she woke…
So why would she betray him so… cruelly?
He was left to ponder this for the long hyperspace jump back to the Mon Mothma.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
"So Master Skywalker is acting unilaterally now?" Corran asked skeptically.
Mara huffed. "No- Jaina planned everything with Jag Fel and Zekk. Luke tagged along at the last minute."
"Without consulting the Council."
"Might I point out that it worked," Mara bit. "Maybe if we had listened to Jaina three months ago, we wouldn't have found ourselves in this situation. You've been awfully critical of the girl for a while now, Corran, let's say you give it a rest, eh?"
He looked briefly chagrined. "I just question some of her judgment," he muttered. "If she'd been thinking straight, she would never have involved herself with Kyp Durron in the first place."
Kyle Katarn attempted to be the voice of reason. "What does Master Skywalker intend to do with Durron when they arrive? Keeping him confined will be… difficult."
Mara nodded. "Zekk procured some ysalamiri for the operation. Tentatively… General Antilles has arranged for Luke and I to take over the officer's apartment that the Solos just vacated. With some quick modifications, we can keep him secure and comfortable in the second bedroom and easily keep tabs on him until we decide if a more long-term solution will be required."
"What sort of long-term solution?" Cilghal frowned.
"Hopefully none, but I won't speculate. Not yet, anyway."
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
Two Weeks Later
Luke tapped softly on the door to Jaina's quarters at precisely eleven hundred hours, just as she had requested. The door slid open almost instantly, and he stepped inside…
And his brows rose. She had packed and cleaned up everything, and was currently sitting and emptying out the last drawer of the small desk in the far corner of the room.
"Going somewhere?" he asked mildly.
For a long time, she didn't answer. Luke sat on the edge of the stripped cot and watched her sadly.
"Admiral Kre'fey needs tactical support over in the Borleias system; he has too many rookie pilots who haven't got the experience they need against coralskippers."
"What about the Goddess routine?"
She shrugged. "Once I'm gone, Wedge will hand Twin Suns over to Lowie. I can be a goddess from the bridge of the Ralroost. Deities are unpredictable, after all." There was a faint smile on her lips, but it didn't extend to her eyes.
Shutting the lid of the compact cargo case, she dropped it on the floor with a bang, and sat back and observed her uncle. "You know why I'm leaving, don't you?"
His eyes were sad and she looked away. "I'd guessed. I'm sorry." He paused and watched her closely, feeling the calm, but sad acceptance of what was to come. "What will you do?"
"I'll be fine on the Ralroost for a while. In a few months… we'll see." She took a deep breath. "How's Kyp?"
The turn of topic caught him off guard. "He's… okay. Still working out some of the anger, but I think he's starting to feel… understanding. He asks about you. Every day."
"What do you tell him?"
"That you don't want to see him. Once he understands why, he'll start to repent. And that's usually the longest phase."
"What's after repentance?"
He smiled softly. "Self-forgiveness. Acceptance. You can't expect others to forgive your actions if you are unable to as well."
She hesitated. "Do… do you think he'll be okay?"
"Eventually," Luke replied evenly. "Don't forget, he's been here before. This time though… it may be harder, without the spirit of a long-dead Sith lord to blame. Or maybe it'll be easier for him because he knows that this is of his own doing." He thought for a moment. "He talks to Mara a lot, he's still mad at me most of the time… and for all that they got under each others' skin before, she connects to him. He's very much in the same place she was when I met her."
Her eyes were wet, and she brushed away unshed tears hastily. "Well, I hope for Kyp's sake that he can forgive himself someday," she looked down, "because I don't know that I ever will." For a long time, they sat in the heavy silence that followed this proclamation. Despite the un-Jedi nature of what she'd said… Luke couldn't bring himself to chastise her for it. Not after everything. "I have a favor to ask of you," she finally spoke up softly.
"Jag?" he guessed.
Jaina flushed. "Yes. I can't… he'll ask why I'm leaving, and I just can't explain it, not now. He wouldn't understand."
"Don't sell Jag short," Luke admonished.
"Please," she whispered. "I just… he's been the best. I love him. And I don't want to repay that by dragging him into this. You can tell him everything when I'm gone, but it's for the best if we make a clean split of things now."
He may not have agreed, but he nodded anyway. "Jaina- take care of yourself, okay? If you need anything at all… you know Mara or myself will move planets to get there."
She smiled warmly and a little wryly. "How appropriate that you look out for my parents' child while they watch out for yours."
"Yes, well… don't forget to keep them updated of your relative whereabouts. They left worried about you."
"I'm fine," she murmured softly. "Thanks for your help, Uncle Luke- with everything."
And she was gone without another word.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
Jagged Fel stared at him blankly. "Gone," he echoed. "Just like that."
"I'm sorry; I'm afraid so. She asked me to explain to you-"
"Explain?" Jag demanded, displaying a remarkably unusual outbreak of emotion. "What could she possibly have sent you to explain?"
Luke pursed his lips and took the plunge. "Everything."
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
The Next Day
He couldn't stop himself from asking. "Master Skywalker?"
Luke turned in surprise. Kyp hadn't addressed him directly in the two weeks he'd been sharing quarters with them unless it was absolutely necessary. Mara was his main point of contact. "Yes, Kyp? Care to join me for a cup of caf, or tea perhaps?"
The younger man shook his head and, despite his worry-lines and premature graying, brought on by the recent war, he looked wide-eyed and young, much more innocent than Luke ever remembered him seeming.
He also looked nervous. "I… I can hardly sense Jaina anymore," he said in a rush. "Is she alright?"
The Jedi master observed his former pupil for a long minute, pondering what, if anything, he should tell him. "She is fine," he finally settled. "She left- yesterday. You don't sense her as well because she's too far away." Luke also suspected that she was specifically attempting to close herself off from Kyp, but had no way of knowing.
Kyp's face fell. The concern would have been endearing if he hadn't misused it so horribly earlier. "Is she coming back?"
Luke held his gaze steadily. "I don't know; I wouldn't concern yourself with it." Not for the first time, Luke wondered if Kyp suspected how much he knew… and then decided that it didn't matter. The point was that Kyp and only Kyp knew all of his failings, and it would be up to him alone to atone for them.
End Part V