Upon feeling Jaina and Garis disappear from Csilla entirely, Jacen knew that they were transported, most likely by Garis, elsewhere. With his twin connection to Jaina, Jacen scrambled to feel where she was.
He felt darkness and evil in his soul, a very familiar darkness and evil. But as he tried to find out where this place was, he lost the connection to his sister after less than a minute.
"What happened?" Tahiri asked when she saw that Jacen had broken out of his concentration.
"I lost Jaina," he said.
Tahiri's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "You mean she's dead?"
Jacen shook his head. "No. Not like that. I would know for a fact if she was gone. It's something else entirely... I think she's been placed in an ysalamiri field."
"Then we'll never find her," Tahiri said in a despairing tone.
"I think we still can," Jacen objected. "Right before our connection was cut, I felt the place she was at. It was familiar, but I couldn't place it. All I have to do is just try to remember why it was so familiar."
He then looked to the deck of the Solo Quest's cockpit and struggled to comprehend what the place had been, relating what he felt to one of his previous experiences.
In the past three months that he had been searching for Garis with Nelani, they had visited a number of Sith worlds, such as Ziost, Dromund Kaas, Zigoola...
"Korriban!" Jacen said. "Jaina and Garis are on Korriban!" He sighed angrily. "These Sith tricked us; they made Nelani and I think that it was long abandoned. Clever, very clever."
He turned to the pilot console, dropped the Quest out of hyperspace into an empty system, and began plotting coordinates for Korriban.
"Wait, Jacen," Tekli said.
Jacen turned and looked at the Chadra-Fan with impatience. "What?"
"Why would these Sith kidnap Jaina and allow her to remain alive?" Tekli asked. "Why didn't they simply kill her?"
Jacen was silent for a moment as he processed what Tekli was trying to tell him.
"They're luring us into a trap," he stated.
"But if they want to lure you into a trap," Tahiri said, "why not keep the connection between you and Jaina open?"
"So they wouldn't make it so obvious," Jacen said. "If they did keep the connection going, then even I would have been suspicious. Well, now that we know it's a trap, I think we can be better prepared for it."
"Oh, really?" Tekli asked. "And how so?"
Jacen opened his mouth to answer the Chadra-Fan, only to realize that he didn't have a clue. By now, if Garis had been able to master the Aing-Tii teleportation method as well as Jacen had, then Garis had no doubt shared that ability, along with all the others that Jacen had taught Garis, with all those other Sith.
And Jacen would lose his advantage of having all those abilities over his enemies.
"We have to alert the Jedi Order," Tahiri said.
Jacen looked at her as if she were crazy. "We can't. If the Jedi Order is under scrutiny because of Garis framing me for Pellaeon's murder, you don't think the Galactic Alliance military is gonna be monitoring any communications between the Jedi Temple and the Solo Quest? And even if communications between the Temple and the Quest could be encrypted from either end, the military could just crack it. They have those kinda resources, in case you forgot, Tahiri."
"Oh, I kept that in mind," Tahiri said. "Which is why I have this with me." She then took out what looked like a green version of a commlink from her pants pocket.
"What is that?" Jacen asked.
"Something I also have," Tekli said as she took out a similar device from her own pocket. "It's an organic commlink, obviously Sekotan-made, that can reach from one side of the galaxy to the other without a HoloNet relay or a comm station that we would have to set down on a planet or space station for; you know, so you won't have to set the Quest anywhere that will attract attention to the man who seemingly killed Grand Admiral Pellaeon."
"So long as the owner knows the comm code of the person they're calling, these work, Jacen," Tahiri elaborated. "Just give me Master Skywalker's comm code, Jacen, and we're set."
Having his uncle's comm code memorized from so many communiques with him, Jacen gave Tahiri, and Tekli just in case, a string of numbers that the female human then keyed on her Sekotan commlink.
After a few moments, Luke Skywalker's weary voice came from the other end. "Hello?"
"Master Skywalker, this is Jedi Knight Tahiri Veila with Jedi Knight Tekli," Tahiri said. "We have departed from Zonama Sekot because we have a lead on Jacen Solo. He is on the world of Korriban with an army of Sith on his back. Let the rest of the Order and even the Galactic Alliance know about this so we can put an end to this threat."
As she spoke, Tahiri sent an impression through the Force that traveled with the frequency that sent her voice to Luke. Hence, the elderly Jedi Master knew what she was really saying; they were onto Garis Boric, and they knew where he was.
"Thank you for this information, Jedi Veila," Luke said. "I will alert Chief of State Omas and Admiral Kre'fey about this. Hopefully, they'll believe me that the Jedi Order wasn't responsible for Admiral Pellaeon's death. I'll let you know about whether or not we can carry out this operation the next time I call."
"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Tahiri said. "Jedi Veila out." She then signed out.
"You know," Jacen said, "this may be what the Sith want."
Tahiri and Tekli were both silent for a moment as they processed what Jacen just said; and they didn't know what to say when they realized that Jacen may have been right.
.
"Chief Omas, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is here to see you."
Cal Omas reached over to hit the reply button on his office desk console. "Send him in, Vollan."
Moments later, Luke Skywalker walked into the office in his typical tan Jedi robes.
"Have a seat, Master Skywalker," Omas allowed.
Luke complied with a regal manner; given the tensions between the Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance given Jacen Solo's murder of Grand Admiral Pellaeon, the government was naturally suspicious of the Jedi. And given the fact that Skywalker and his ilk were Rebel veterans who fought Imperials like Pellaeon, it wasn't much a stretch for the mainstream media to paint the Jedi Order and their non-Force-using allies as unwilling to unite a government that was once the Alliance to Restore the Republic with the Galactic Empire.
"I presume you're here to tell me about the communication between you and Jedi Knight Tahiri Veila?" Omas asked before he gave Luke the chance to speak.
"So you have the military listening in on communications ingoing and outgoing from the Temple after all," Luke said in a neutral tone.
"I think you understand why," Omas replied.
Luke gave an acknowledging nod. "Makes sense given that blockade that Captain Harfard gave me such trouble crossing just so I could see you." The Jedi Master pointed to the window framing Omas, which had the view of the Jedi Temple being surrounded by a police cordon in the distance.
"For all that you've done for the Rebel Alliance, the New Republic, and this government, Master Skywalker," Omas said, "I'm going to give you and the Jedi Order the benefit of a doubt and allow your Jedi to investigate Korriban. But I hope you won't mind if you accept a military escort."
"More to watch out for us if we try anything funny than to actually help us, Chief Omas?" Luke asked.
"I see you know the name of the game, Master Skywalker," Omas said evenly after a moment.