TRICKSTER GRENADE

Chapter 5

It was going to be a very long month. During the week, it wasn't quite so terrible; Jaina was at Praxium after school, which kept her and Jacen from fighting for at least three hours of the day. Anakin, the most social of the four kids, was in mourning for his friends, and Han and Leia restricted comm and datapad chat time severely. Only Jarik was happy about it; he had his own three ring circus on call. The three older kids vied for his attention and he was loving it.

When homework was done, the kids would sit down and play sabacc or seven card comet, making it clear that these games were No Parents Allowed. The battle lines had been sharply drawn. At meals, there was virtually no talking. Attempts to ask their children about their day, their schoolwork, anything, really, were exercises in futility. Eventually, Han and Leia gave up, and talked to one another. Even Jarik, who literally never stopped talking, aligned himself with his siblings. Despite being innocent and free from all punishment, Jarik made sure Han and Leia knew which side he was on.

When the four weren't in cahoots, they spent their time arguing and, as befit Skywalker-Solo children, doing so loudly.

It had been a week into the grounding and it was the weekend. It hadn't been as horrible as Leia and Han had imagined.

It had been worse.

"How are we gonna get through three more weeks of this?" Leia moaned, flopped out on the bed.

"Drink heavily," Han quipped. "It's what I do."

"I'm seriously considering it. Starting at breakfast."

"It's always 1700 somewhere in the galaxy."

"Seriously, Han, this is horrible."

"You're proposing we let them go unpunished?" Han's tone was sharper than he'd intended.

"I'm not saying that at all!" Leia snapped at him.

"What do you think we should do, then?" Han's anger was rising.

"I don't know!" Leia shouted back. "If I had some answers, don't you think I'd have said something?!"

Han was still angry, but he'd gone quiet.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm not trying to take this out on you."

"I know," Leia said wearily. "Even Jarik's drawn his line in the sand."

"Maybe we should get away next weekend, let Chewie deal with 'em," Han suggested.

"Chewie's a pushover for 'em."

"Yeah, there is that." Han sighed. "Luke and Mara?"

"You really want to inflict them on Luke and Mara?" Leia asked.

"They know how to clamp down," Han offered.

"They're also back on Yavin."

"They coming back here anytime soon?"

"I think we're being punished as much as they are," Leia complained. "I don't know what to do, really."

"Call your brother."

"You think Mara and Luke deserve this?"

"Who cares? They know how to be strict, and they're not us," Han said.

Leia sighed. "I'll comm him. But not tonight. I just want to go to sleep and when I wake up, the month's over."

Han just groaned.

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The next week was, if possible, even longer than the first.

By week three, everyone was climbing the walls, parents and kids both.

"I've gotta get outta here. Jag's on leave this weekend. I've gotta see him!" Jaina said to her twin, keeping her voice uncharacteristically low.

"Yeah, well, good luck with that one," Jacen said, and actually demonstrated some sympathy for his twin. "I do everything they want for six months, and we do one little thing and now we're grounded for ten more days! It's mostly Anakin's fault, anyway. If he'd done like he was told, none of this woulda happened."

"We've gotta get out of here."

"I wish."

"Jag says he really has to talk to me." What Jaina didn't say was, I've got a really bad feeling about this. Jacen felt it as well, but didn't say anything, either.

"Yeah, well, you try seeing nobody for six months and not go crazy."

"Quit it, Jacen. You screwed up on that one."

"I know, I know. Don't remind me."

"Can you cover for me?" Jaina asked.

"Whaddya mean?" Jacen demanded.

"I just need a few hours. I've gotta see him."

There's someone I gotta see, too, Jacen said to himself. And it's not Bix. Over the month, his cravings for synth stim began to re-emerge. He needed to get down to the lower level where he'd purchased it last. He needed to get down to the dealership where the Huraloks sold 'stim. It was scary and creepy down there, but he wasn't about to stick around. Get in, pay up, get out.

"You know Mom and Dad are gonna hear the security system. It's like they know what we're doing even when they're crashed out."

"I can try to override it," Jaina said.

"I just gotta get out and get some air," Jacen said to Jaina. She's way too preoccupied with Jag to care what I'm up to, he felt from her.

"Okay, then. Let's do it," Jaina says.

Jacen had a pocketful credits. , and once Jaina saw Jag, and she promptly forgot about his twin. He quickly made his way to the lifts. It was the weekend, and sentients of all kinds filled the streets, thus earning its title of the World That Never Sleeps.

Being out here made him realize how much he missed Tenel Ka. He had talked to her a few days ago. Only after homework was complete did Leia and Han allow use of their comms and only for two hours. They were put in the safe at night, but Anakin figured out the combination. All that was needed was for Han and Leia to head for bed.

The express lifts to the Lower Levels made Jacen's ears pop, as was common to many sentients. The crowd was mixed; some desiring to go slumming, others who lived it by default, all different sentients. The lifts were almost as packed as they were during the time when most individuals got done with work.

Jacen was uneasy and anxious but eager to get some relief. His parents drank to relax, he reasoned. Why shouldn't I do what I like? He'd had one night out. Just because Anakin and Jaina had messed up...

He was finally in the Lower City. The Lower City was not for the faint of heart. And what Jacen was about to do wasn't either...

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Jaina raced into Jag's arms, holding on like she would never let go.

"I missed you so much," she said, kissing him hard.

Jag's manner was surprisingly cool. He seemed distant.

"I got my orders," he said quietly.

"Where?"

"I'm stationed to Tatooine."

"For how long?"

"It's a year, Jaina." He stared into her amber eyes. "It's a year."

"Well, we can text comm and visit each other, can't we?" Jaina had a feeling about where he was going and she didn't like it. She was determined to fight.

"Jaina. I think we should break it off for now," Jag said bluntly.

"We should WHAT?!" Jaina had forgotten about keeping her voice low.

"I'm gonna be really busy, Jay. When you join the Navy, you'll know."

"You're gonna be too busy to just, well, even talk to me?" She was fighting back tears.

"I'm part of a garrison."

"Oh."

"Jay, I think you're a great girl. Maybe someday we can get it together. But not now."

She looked up at him. "Fine," she hissed between her tears. "Now get the fuck outta here and don't ever talk to me again!"

"It doesn't - "

"You just told me it did. Get lost. And fuck you, you fucking fuck."

"Jaina, please, let's talk about this."

"Oh, NOW you want to talk. You had your chance. Go!"

Jag walked away.

Jaina sat for a long time. She hoped Jacen hadn't gone far. If she ever needed her twin, now was the time.

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It was late, but the same nasty Huralok that Jacen had encountered months before was there, and he was as unpleasant as he ever was.

"You again. Your kind always comes back," the creature sneered.

Jacen tossed his credits on the table and ordered the Huralok to get him his synth stim and he'd get out of the way.

"You been clean?" the Huralok asked.

"Yeah."

The Huralok laugh. "This stuff's a trickster grenade. You say only this once, you think you're safe, and then, it explodes on you. Don't worry, I count on twerps like you to keep my business going." The Huralok's laugh was anything but friendly.

The transaction completed, Jacen rushed out into the streets. He needed to find a secluded spot in order to do a quick snort. He'd left his smoking tube at home.

He finally located a spot in the alley behind the Glow Spider, opened the bag, and began rubbing a piece of the substance into powder to be snorted. He shuddered in anticipation of the rush that was headed his way...

Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm. Jacen looked up, and saw that it was CoruSec.

"Empty your pockets," the officer demanded.

"I don't have anything!" Jacen protested angrily. He'd barely had the chance to snort it up.

"You came out of the Huraloks," the officer's partner said.

Dejected, Jason handed them the glassine package that held his precious quarry.

"ID, please," the first officer instructed.

"Uh...I don't have it with me."

The other officer brought out a pair of binders.

"Your name?"

"Jacen Solo."

"Jacen Solo, you're under arrest for the possession of an illegal substance..."