The next day, the first thing that Jacen and Danni did was take a shower that lasted several minutes, as they fell into another bout of passionate love-making there. Then, when that was done, and they were otherwise clean, they dried up, dressed up, had breakfast, and went out to tour La'okio. During this time, they fell into idle chitchat that led to quite a few laughs between them.

"Wow," Danni said at one point, "even as a kid, I have to ask, how is it that you found any of these jokes genuinely funny?" Her tone was mirthful, and still laughing ironically from the joke that Jacen just told.

"What, you don't think the joke about the TIE fighter screaming for its mothership is genuinely funny?" Jacen countered just as playfully. "To this day, it still makes me giggle without irony."

"Let's just hope that if our child gets your sense of humor," Danni said, "he doesn't think that being a stage comedian is a good idea."

"He?" Jacen asked. "How do you know the baby isn't a she?"

"Well, after you poured your heart out to me last night," Danni explained, "I dreamed of our child. The baby is going to be a boy, Jacen."

"Well, that's good," Jacen commented offhandedly.

Danni raised an eyebrow with a wan smile. "Anything wrong if it had been a girl?"

Jacen chuckled. "It's good either way, Danni, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, I was just messin' with ya," Danni said.

"I figured," Jacen replied. "What do you think we should name him? Or, since you're the one taking care of our son on a regular basis, what do you think he should be named? I'm fine with whatever you choose to name him."

"What about Nom Anor Quee?" Danni asked, not even bothering to restrain her playful laugh.

"Now, you see, that's a bad joke," Jacen said. Danni broke out into some more laughing. "No, but seriously, you thought of any names?"

Danni shrugged. "Haven't given it much thought. I was hoping you might come up with it."

"Me? Why me?"

"Why not?" Danni countered. "I guess I'd just like to let you have a decision about what our son should be named."

A moment of silence fell between them as Jacen thought about it. "How about Miko?"

Danni looked at her lover, all traces of mirth vanished, replaced by stunned contemplation. "You mean as in Miko Reglia?"

Jacen nodded, just as serious as Danni. "He endured the torture brought about by the Praetorite Vong with you, and he sacrificed his life so you and I could escape Helska Four. I think it'd be nice to honor him like that."

Danni slowly looked away from Jacen as she chewed it around in her head.

After a few moments, Jacen asked, "So what do you think?"

"I'll have to think about that, Jacen," Danni said. "Because on the one hand, I do think it's a good idea to honor Miko like that. On the other, I'm not sure if I want that kind of reminder about what Da'Gara and his people did to him and I."

"Fair enough," Jacen said in a genteel tone. "I was just making a suggestion."

"It's okay," Danni said. "I'll just have to think a little more about it, is all."

"All right. So, uh, I was wondering that since, on the sixteenth of next month, we can see each other again."

"That sounds like a good idea," Danni said.

"Only you might have to leave Zonama," Jacen said.

Danni looked at her lover. "What for?"

"Well, not for too long, anyway," Jacen clarified quickly. "It's just that, on the twenty-first of next month, Jaina and Jag are having their wedding, and I was thinking-"

"That I could be your wedding date?" Danni finished for him.

"Would you?"

"I don't think anyone on Zonama will mind if I'm gone for a few days," Danni said.

"Great," Jacen said with a satisfied smile. "Oh, hey, here's another joke for you. What do you call the person who brings a rancor to dinner?"

"Someone who's trained the rancor to behave at a dinner party, like a Dathomiri witch?" Danni asked.

"Oh, c'mon, you're ruining the joke!" Jacen replied playfully.

"How is it possible to ruin any of your jokes?" Danni replied.

"You were supposed to say 'I don't know,'" Jacen said.

Danni sighed in mock resignation. "I don't know, what do you call a person who brings a rancor to dinner?"

"The appetizer!"

At first, Danni's now blank expression lightened into a smile until she started to laugh. "I don't know why I find these funny on any level, ironic or not. I really need to get my sense of humor checked out by Tekli or someone."

"Nah, it seems all right to me, just as the rest of you is," Jacen said.

"If I was an airhead, Jacen, I would have swooned at that," Danni said.

"Can you swoon for me anyway?"

Danni then pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and said, "Oh, Jacen, take me into your arms now."

"No problem," he said before smoothly pulling her in for a kiss.

And in his grasp, she melted as if she were the kind of woman that she was just mocking.

When they pulled out of the embrace, Jacen flashed her another trademark Solo grin. "And that's how my dad managed to get a smarter woman like my mom."

"Jacen, if our son has that level of charm, all the women in the galaxy will be chasing after him, and there's nothing we can do to stop that," Danni said.

Jacen shrugged. "I can defeat a deformed genocidal Yuuzhan Vong by achieving the entirety of the Force on my side, end an entire war, and create chemical concoctions from both within me and around my environment, but I don't think even I can stop women from chasing our child."

Danni tilted her head. "Wouldn't that be another disaster for the galaxy?" she retorted.

"Oh, well," he said. "So, I gotta ask, what is it exactly that you're researching here on Zonama?"

"Quite a variety of things, Jacen," Danni answered. "In fact, it's what makes me doubt if I can ever leave this planet of my own free will."

"Oh, yeah? What are these things you're researching?"

"Well, for one thing, how the engines work. Usually, in typical starships, hyperdrives are made out of a certain titanium-chromium compound. However, after a few months of research, I found that wasn't the case with Zonama. It, instead, has some kind of carbon-lithium compound in its place. To this day, I still don't know how that's possible, or how the planet's null quantum field generators can help stabilize this planet when it goes through hyperspace, but I'm still working on finding out."

"Why don't you just ask Sekot about this kind of information?" Jacen asked.

"At one point, I did," Danni replied.

"And?"

Danni shook her head. "Speaking through Magister Jabitha, she told me that I had to find those answers for myself. Through my own scientific methods."

"That kinda sounds like Sekot to me," Jacen admitted. "Wanting people to discover things for themselves and all. Any other projects you're working on?"

"Well, a little side project that my Yuuzhan Vong assistants are helping me with is trying to find a concrete biological connection between their species and Zonama itself," Danni explained. "While we've discovered several biological similarities, we haven't found the one that would explain how it, as the offspring of the original Yuuzhan'tar, could bring the Force back to them."

"Sekot's been doing that fairly well so far, isn't it?" Jacen asked.

"For some, it has," Danni said. "We've gotten several volunteers from those who have achieved the Force, whom we've conducted DNA sampling from, such as in saliva, hair follicles, and some skin cells. Nothing too painful, just some microscopic pickings that don't even leave a pinch on them. We don't want any of them to regress back to their savage ways, now do we?"

"No, we wouldn't," Jacen agreed. "How long do you think this might take you, at least?"

"If I'm lucky?" Danni asked. "Probably the next decade or so."

"I see," Jacen muttered.

Danni sighed. "Yes, I know. Which means I won't be returning to the galaxy with you anytime soon. But, hey, like we said, make the best of the time, eh?"

Jacen smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we should definitely make the best of the time."