Discalimer: I do not own Star Wars
Fate of the Force
The shining of a trillion lights permeated night on Coruscant. On a planet full of people, well over one trillion, their various live never allowed for total darkness on Coruscant.
Coruscant, along with the rest of the galaxy, was on the road to recovery following the latest war. There had been four wars in the galaxy in the last century, and each one of them had an influence on Coruscant of some description.
The Clone Wars, the brain child of the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious, had been fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, who had left the Republic and wished to start a war. The war began with the Battle of Geonosis, but it all turned out to be a trap organised by Sidious in order to lay waste to the Jedi Order and bring about the fall of the Republic, allowing the Sith to rise to prominence and take over the galaxy using the new Galactic Empire. Coruscant had sustained terrible damage during the final battles of the Clone War, when the Separatist warlord General Grievous had attacked the planet in an attempt to capture Palpatine, who used the attack to throw the Jedi off the tail of his Sith alter ego. Following the death of the leader of the Confederacy, Count Dooku, Coruscant watched in horror as the Jedi were exterminated across the galaxy. With their fall, the galaxy fell under the heel of Darth Sidious, otherwise known as Emperor Palpatine and entered a dark age.
Following the Clone Wars and the rule of Palpatine, the Galactic Civil War began. With the death of Palpatine and his henchman Darth Vader at the Battle of Endor, Coruscant became a source of contention due to its status as the homeworld of the Empire and the centre of galactic government for eons past. Ambitious Imperial leaders such as Sate Pestage and Ysanne Isard held Coruscant for as long as possible, but the planet once more received damage during the Liberation of Coruscant by the New Republic, led by heroes such as Princess Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The planet was further scarred when the Director of Intelligence, Ysanne Isard, had fled Coruscant in her private Super Star Destroyer Lusankya, killing millions in the process. The planet withered storms such as the trepidations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the return of Palpatine and the attacks of the Shadow Academy. The Empire was eventually forced into surrender and the galaxy entered a new era of peace with the leadership of a New Republic and the return of the New Jedi Order under Luke Skywalker.
However, what should have been an era of peace quickly changed into a time of savage conflict. Extra-terrestrial invaders called the Yuuzhan Vong arrived in the galaxy and attacked the galaxy, laying entire planets to waste and slaughtering billions. Noble heroes such as Chewbacca and Anakin Solo both fell in this conflict, and Coruscant itself was viciously attacked and bombarded by the Vong warmaster Tsavong Lah. The planet was totally changed during the Vong forming and was eventually reclaimed by the newly formed Galactic Alliance, and the warmaster was killed by the daughter of Han and Leia, Jaina Solo, while their remaining son Jacen killed the true Yuuzhan Vong overlord, Onimi. The Vong were forced to surrender and were exiled and the galaxy began to recover once more, being more unified than it had been in years.
However, the latest conflict, while the shortest of the last four major wars was also devastating. Jacen Solo, determined to save the galaxy from itself and provide a safe galaxy for his lover Tenel Ka and his daughter Allana to live in, turned to the dark side and became a Sith Lord while yet another civil war broke out, with Corellia and various allies seeking freedom from the Galactic Alliance. Things devolved, and long standing allies of the Alliance found their loyalties tested, such as Han and Leia, while many others, such as Mara Jade Skywalker, the wife of Luke and mother of Ben, was killed by her nephew Jacen as his Sith sacrifice, allowing him to become Darth Caedus. The manipulations of Luke's former lover and Sith, Lumiya, made the war even worse as Jacen took command of the galaxy. Jacen was eventually killed in battle with his sister and the war ended with his death. However, the fact that his family, who were the champions of both the Vong War, the Galactic Civil War, and their forefathers who were two heroes of the Clone Wars, failed to stop him, raised many eyebrows, especially considering the terrible things Caedus had done in the pursuit of peace. Rumour had it that Chief of State Natasi Daala, a former Imperial warlord, was considering bringing charges of gross negligence and dereliction of duty against Luke Skywalker, Jacen's uncle and the leader of the New Jedi Order.
The galaxy was deeply scarred by the various wars that had shaken it, but nothing was more scarred than the Skywalker/Solo family. Losing their much loved companion Chewbacca during the early days of the Yuuzhan Vong War had broken something in the group, and had nearly destroyed the marriage of Han and Leia, due to his grief over the death of his friend, and his unconscious blaming of his son Anakin, who Chewie had died trying to save. Following that, Anakin sacrificed himself to stop the Jedi killing creation of the Yuuzhan Vong, the voxyn, at Myrkyr, and his loss devastated the entire family, and sent his sister to the dark side, especially when her twin brother Jacen was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and incarcerated for a year. The family slowly recovered, despite the fact that Jaina's close relationship with pilot Jagged Fel fell through and the fact that the girl Anakin had loved, Tahiri, was trying to consolidate two different personalities due to Vong shaping. During the Dark Nest Crisis, Jacen and his long term friend Tenel Ka had become lovers, and she had given birth to a child called Allana. It was his desire to protect them that originally sent Jacen to the dark side and left him open to Lumiya's teachings. As part of his ascension to the Sith Lord, he killed his aunt Mara, further devastating the family. His cousin, Ben, who had deeply loved Jacen and had idolised him, eventually found this out and turned on him, after enduring torture at the hands of Caedus. Caedus had also turned Tahiri to the dark side by promising her another chance with her lost love. The entire family was devastated by the events, especially when Jaina had no choice but to kill her own brother. Due to an Imperial plot, Han and Leia then adopted their granddaughter Allana, trying to fill a void left, but it was clear to most of their friends that the most recent war in particular had devastated the family, despite bringing them closer together and fixing Luke's relationship with Ben due to their being united in their grief over the death of Mara.
And observing all this were four forces. One was a force of light, and they had watched impassively from afar, and now, they knew that they had to act, especially considering their recent losses. As such, one of them was even now on Coruscant and just waiting for the right time to act.
Another force was powerful, ancient and dark, even more malevolent than Palpatine, Caedus or Vader had ever been, and it sensed the weakness of the galaxy and the Jedi Order. Its prison had been broken, and it was now preparing to unleash itself on the galaxy. And it sensed that it's time was close, where it would finally escape its final shackles and devastate the galaxy.
One of the threats was situated deep within the Unknown Regions, and was a relic of the Yuuzhan Vong War. A fleet of ships awaited orders and the opportune moment to strike, and once again unleash the devastation of war upon the galaxy, and it too perceived that its time was closing in on the Jedi and the Alliance.
And the final threat was hidden by the miasma of dark energy on the planet Korriban. A new order was rising, under the leadership of a new leader, which threatened to challenge the Alliance, destroy the Jedi and once more bring the galaxy back to a state of tyranny and plunge it back into darkness
While these four forces prepared to make their move, Chief of State Daala was preparing to make her own move against the Jedi Order, which had sat complacent since the end of the Second Galactic Civil War, and end their free reign from government affairs, and also bring the charges against them that she so longed to, due to the death of her old friend Gilad Pellaeon during the war at the hands of Tahiri, and the fact that the Skywalker/Solo family had allowed one of their own to turn to the dark side and once again plunge the galaxy into bloody chaos.
XX
A small, triangular ship was approaching slowly Coruscant, and had been cleared for a landing. It was red and white, a fighter from another time, and its occupant was looking out musingly at the planet below him as he approached a planet he had not set foot on in decades. It was imperative that he succeeded in what he had come here to do. The entire galaxy depended upon it. And as such, he had to get to work. Gunning his engine, he headed for the planet surface.
XX
A residential apartment had its light dimmed as Coruscant slept. The apartment was set at the top of a high tower, and the only one moving about was C3P0, the Solo family's loyal golden covered protocol droid. As he dealt with various details that he didn't want Han getting in the way of, the three other occupants of the house, Han and Leia Solo and their granddaughter Allana slept.
Han Solo had originally been a smuggler for people such as Jabba the Hutt before he had agreed to take his brother-in-law, Luke Skywalker, and the Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi to Alderaan. From there, he had rescued a princess, and had become a leading member in the Rebellion against the Empire. After the defeat of Warlord Zsinj, he had married Princess Leia, and together they had three children, Jacen, Jaina and Anakin. After that he had still fought against the embittered remnants of the Empire, and had redeemed Kyp Durron from the dark side and had fought against his cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo and his plans for Corellia. After the signing of the Bastion Accords, Han had then been thrown into the Vong War. He lost his best friend, Chewbacca, who died to save his son Anakin, and that hurt his relationship with his kids, Anakin in particular who believed Han blamed him for the Wookiee's death and with his wife, who he didn't see for months while he had mourned his friend. They had then lost Anakin during the mission to Myrkyr and Jacen had been captured by the Yuuzhan Vong while Jaina had turned to the dark side. Jacen led the galaxy to victory over the Vong and the galaxy had entered a time of peace. However, Han's belief that the Corellians should be independent split the family, and his remaining son Jacen had turned to the dark side and had had to be killed by their daughter Jaina. Now, he and Leia took joy in raising their granddaughter, Allana, the child of Jacen and the Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka.
Princess Leia Organa Solo was the daughter of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Naboo's Senator Padme Amidala. When her father turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader, Leia and her brother Luke were split up and hidden from the gaze of the Empire. Leia was raised by a colleague of her mothers, Bail Organa, and Leia grew up to become a leader in the rebellion. Forced to watch as her planet was destroyed by the first Death Star, she became a leader of the New Republic after the death of Palpatine, and led the New Republic through various crises such as the Black Fleet Crisis and the Almanian Uprising. She eventually retired from politics before the Vong War, and endured the loss of Chewbacca and her son Anakin, and was the only one who believed that her son Jacen was still alive after he was captured by the Vong. With the end of the Vong War, Leia stood by her husband when he decided to support Corellia. When her son Jacen fell to the dark side, she considered him her greatest failure. Following the end of the last war, she adopted her granddaughter Allana and raised her at the wishes of her mother Tenel Ka.
Allana Solo was the daughter of Jacen Solo and his Hapan Queen lover Tenel Ka. Conceived during the Dark Nest Crisis, she was a target for her spiteful grandmother Ta'a Chume before a brain haemorrhage rendered her brain dead. She grew up in the Hapan court and loved Jacen's visits to see her. When Jacen fell to the dark side and became Darth Caedus, he started to scare Allana as the war progressed. When the Jedi rescued her from her clutches she met her grandparents for the first time, and after an Imperial attempt on her life which she was saved from by her father, she was adopted by her grandparents to protect her from the Hapan nobles.
However, while two of the occupants of the house slept soundly, one did not. Leia was thrashing around in her sleep as dreams disturbed her rest.
"Mom, wont you help me?" a voice asked her desperately.
Leia looked around to see her son, younger than he was when he had become Darth Caedus, but he still had the same feeling of sadness he had had since the end of the Vong War. He was still full, still whole, and he was still Jacen, her little boy, not the tyrant he had become in the name of ensuring peace throughout the galaxy.
"Jacen...what?" Leia asked, fighting down the wave of tears that materialised.
This was the boy she loved, not the Sith Lord who he became, not the murderer who killed innocents and murder one of her best friends and tortured her nephew and forced her daughter to kill him, this was Jacen, the boy who had loved to play with animals, the boy who had spent a lot of his time trying to get Tenel Ka to laugh, the boy who had loved to get into mischief with his sister. And now that she saw him, the keen pain of loss she felt, and also guilt, ripped through her, and she had trouble staying on her feet.
"Mom, help me!" he called urgently.
"Jacen, you're..." Leia said softly, not wanting to hurt her child.
But then a dark spectre appeared behind him, one wearing a triangular headdress and with piercing green eyes.
"Lumiya!" Leia spat angrily.
Lumiya was an apprentice to Darth Vader, and had infiltrated the Alliance and had made Luke fall for her before revealing her true colours and getting shot down. She had presented several threats before she had disappeared, and had returned to make the Second Galactic Civil War worse. She had been the one who had lured Jacen to the dark side, believing he was destined to be a Sith Lord, and he had become Darth Caedus not long after Luke had killed her in a final duel when she had taken the blame for killing Mara.
"He's mine now Leia..." Lumiya purred evilly.
Leia ignited her lightsaber while Lumiya reached out to Jacen, and took his shoulder and started dragging him backwards. He looked at Lumiya as if he trusted her, but then he looked to Leia with panic and fear in his eyes.
"Mommy, help!"he cried, tears in his brown eyes.
"Jacen...I will save you!" Leia promised as he and Lumiya got further and further out of reach.
Lumiya gave an evil cackle.
"No you wont Leia...you've already given up on him. And so he had no one left but me. You wont save him from me. This was his choice. But you made it so much easier for him to make it. And now...he is...MINE!" Lumiya rasped gloatingly, and they disappeared from sight, with Jacen still crying for his mother as they were swallowed by shadows.
"No!" Leia yelled.
And she suddenly jerked awake, sweating. Leia panted in shock, trying to return her breathing to normal as she recovered from her dream. This was the third one this week, it was getting ridiculous.
Leia looked down at Han, who was snoring loudly. Leia rolled her eyes. Typical, he never did wake up until morning. She wondered if she should one day set off a thermal detonator to see if it would wake him up. Sighing irritably, Leia got on her slippers and left the room, checking to see if Allana was sleeping alright in her own room. Confident everyone else was asleep, Leia headed to the kitchen, intent on making herself a cup of hot chocolate to help her sleep.
The dreams had been sporadic at first after Jacen had been killed by Jaina. They had just been dreams about him being killed by his sister, and sometimes ones where he killed her. There were also ones were Jacen morphed into Palpatine, while Ben had been present and had turned into Vader.
But recently, the dream she had just had had been the norm. Dreams where something got to Jacen, or he was begging for her help, and she couldn't or wouldn't give it. Leia sighed as she stared into her mug. Perhaps this was guilt. Her subconscious was crying out to her as Jacen, the last child she had lost, and was making her feel guilty for not trying to save her child. Jacen was always the one out of the three she had been closest to, well, he had been closest to her out of her and Han, and he had once been like her in so many ways. And now her guilt was coming to get her.
There was a whirr of servos from behind her and she turned to see Threepio approaching.
"Oh Mistress Leia, did you have another dream?" he asked sympathetically.
Leia sighed and looked at the droid. He had been through so much in their family, and he had always been at her side bless him. And he genuinely cared for the entire family. And due to him doing things like the ironing so that Han wouldn't tease him for being a housewife droid during the middle of the night, he knew about her dreams, and curiously, Leia always felt better after talking to him.
"Yes Threepio. Another dream about Jacen. This time, Lumiya was there, and she dragged him away from me, all the while, he was crying out for my help." Leia said sadly as she sat down in defeat.
These dreams had been disturbing her for weeks, and in the last week they had become nightly.
"I'm sorry that these are disturbing you mistress Leia. Would you like me to send for a doctor?" Threepio asked, and Leia shook her head.
"No thank you Threepio. They're just bad dreams, and my guilt over raising a Sith Lord torturing me. There's nothing we can do except hope that they go away." She said sadly, sipping her chocolate.
Threepio looked at her, wishing he could help his mistress. He had made enquiries, but he wasn't sure if she would go for it, and there was a good chance she would be offended. But he was only trying to help and stop his mistress having these bad dreams so she could get on with her life.
"Well mistress Leia...I made enquiries, and if I may make so bold...I took the liberty of provisionally booking an appointment with a counsellor." Threepio said hesitantly.
Leia laughed slightly as she looked at her faithful droid.
"You think I need a shrink?" she asked in amusement.
"Well mistress Leia, I see that you haven't had any sleep, and it purely out of concern for you that I have done this, but it seems to me something over the fall of master Jacen and his death is making you lose sleep and is possibly putting your health at risk. I'm only concerned for your well being my lady." He said earnestly.
Leia grinned.
"Oh alright Threepio, I'll go to see the shrink, if only to stop you worrying. But not a word to Han, Luke or Jaina, or I'll never hear the end of it. And under no circumstances do you tell Ben, because if you do the entire Order will know by tomorrow teatime." She warned.
Threepio did seem pleased.
"Very well mistress Leia, I'm so glad that I could be of assistance. His name is Dr Jempa, and he comes quite highly recommended." He said happily before tottling off.
Leia smiled to herself as Threepio left. He was only concerned for her. But considering everything she had been through over the years, the fact that she was only now seeing a shrink was actually quite remarkable. If Han found out, he would be insufferable. But, if seeing a shrink stopped these dreams about Jacen and perhaps helped her deal with everything else, it was worth a shot.
XX
Leia slipped out of the apartment, telling Han that she was going out shoe shopping. As such he had immediately given a whoop of joy, as because he was forewarned it meant that he did not have to go, and happily proceeded to play the Xbox with Allana, who then of course proceeded to beat him soundly.
Leia left early in order to buy a new pair of shoes, which she actually did need, and then headed to the place where she was to meet the counsellor. Trepidation was high in her stomach as she approached the office, not sure how she felt about talking to a complete stranger about her problems. And also, the fact that Jacen had been widely vilified following the end of the war in the media, it meant that her counsellor was very likely to be very resistant to her problems, and probably even more of a hindrance than a help. But, she had promised Threepio she would go, and if it did give her a chance, she would take it. She owed it to herself. After sacrificing so much, including her two sons, for the greater good, she felt that the galaxy, and the Force, owed her a little something in return.
She entered the room, and saw only the receptionist, a small mousy woman with red curly hair and glasses smiled at her.
"Ah hello there. Go right through, Dr Jempa is waiting for you." She said kindly, nodding through.
Leia smiled sweetly as she went past, then leaned against the desk.
"I'll give you a hundred credits not to tell anyone." She said conspirationally.
The woman smiled.
"Dont worry I'm bound by the law not to tell anyone about who's here. I take it you didn't want your husband to take the mick?" she asked shrewdly, grinning as she did so.
"No I didn't. My daughter would also find it hilarious, and if my nephew finds out the entire Jedi Order will know by sundown. So thank goodness you're bound to secrecy. But if this helps me get a night's sleep, I'll try it. And besides, I owe it to my protocol droid." She said with a wink.
"You're welcome. Go on through." The woman said and Leia headed on through.
Leia entered the room to see it was modestly appointed. Rather than the long couch she had expected, the room actually had several comfy looking armchairs.
Leia then looked at the occupant of the room. He was an aging Whipid, with long white hair receding from his forehead. He had a fierce look in his eyes, but at the same time he managed to look quite friendly and kindly. One of his tusks had been sheared off, leaving only a small stump behind, and looking at it, Leia suspected the accident that had claimed it was involving either a vibroblade or worse.
"Ah, Princess Leia, welcome to my humble abode. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said, and shook her hand, quite gently for someone so large and intimidating.
"Thank you for seeing me Dr Jempa. This was my droids idea...but I really would like a to sleep the night again, so here I am." Leia said, putting down her shopping as the aged Whipid sat in a comfy looking chair behind a desk.
"Please." He said, indicating an armchair that was facing him and was also closest to the table.
Leia sat in the chair directly opposite the Whipid, and he settled into his chair.
"We shall get started as soon as Betty comes through with the tea." He said soothingly.
Leia sat in silence. He seemed nice enough, but the proof was in the pudding. And she sincerely hoped that what Betty had said about them being unable to say anything due to an oath was true. And she also hoped that Jempa would be able to help, because she was incredibly tired and could really use a good sleep.
Betty came in with a pot of tea, milk and sugar, with two cups and a plate of chocolate digestives. As she left, Jempa poured the tea, and gave Leia her cup and he sat back, peering at her intently while sipping his tea.
"So Princess, what can I do for you?" he asked.
Leia sighed as she sipped her tea. Now that she was here, it didn't seem like such a good idea. But, she had promised Threepio, and she really did need a good nights sleep.
"Well firstly, please call me Leia. And I suppose I'm here because I keep having...dreams." she said.
Jempa sat forward in interest.
"Indeed? Dreams you say? What sort of dreams are they?" he asked interestedly, making some notes.
Leia looked at him, and found herself relaxing. He seemed like someone she could trust, and Leia decided to give it a stab.
"Well they're about my son...Jacen." she admitted sadly, looking at Jempa for any sign of what he felt about her sons fall to the dark side.
"Ah I see. Well firstly we must ascertain what these dreams do. Are they threatening? Is he Darth Caedus in these dreams, or is he the son you raised and loved?" Jempa asked shrewdly.
Leia looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to know that sort of thing. He was good.
"Well in the dreams, he's the little boy I loved, not...not the man he became." She admitted.
Jempa nodded and sipped his tea.
"Very well. How long have you been having such dreams?" he asked.
Leia thought about it.
"Well, I've been having dreams about Jacen since the end of the war, but only recently have they become like they are...him begging for my help." She told him, feeling a block on her heart unwind as she talked about her problem to the aged Whipid.
Jempa sat back and steepled his fingers.
"How do these dreams make you feel? What happens in them exactly?" he asked.
Leia sipped her tea.
"Well in them Jacen's more like he used to be...young, loving, sweet...and he's begging me for my help. In the other ones, he's just been steadily getting away from me, and I couldn't catch up with him no matter what I did. Sometimes Anakin, my son who died during the Vong War, has been with him, and he's been pulling him upwards. But last night's one was different. This time it was Lumiya, the one who made Jacen into a Sith. She dragged him away...and all the while he was begging me to help him." She explained.
Jempa nodded dolefully.
"Indeed. How do these dreams make you feel exactly?" he asked curiously.
Leia got up and walked around a little bit. Talking to this old Whipid was actually a lot easier than she had imagined it would be. So, figuring she was committed, she went on.
"Well...I feel sad obviously, because regardless of what he became..." she said nervously.
Jempa looked at her kindly.
"My dear girl, I know all about Jacen, and I know he was not always the evil tyrant he became. He was once a fine young man, and a fine young Jedi. What he became is immaterial to me. I shall remain objective on the entire affair." He said soothingly, but there was a flicker in his eyes that made her think that he wasn't exactly telling the truth about being objective when it came to her formerly dark son.
"Well...aside from that, I feel...guilt." she said hopelessly, deciding just to play it by ear and see if Jempa would later become less than objective to the situation.
Jempa nodded compassionately.
"A common emotion upon the death of a child. You feel guilty because you could not save him, like you feel guilty that you could not save Anakin." He said.
Leia shrugged.
"I suppose it could be survivor's guilt." She admitted, thinking that would explain a fair bit.
She felt guilty because she had outlived two of her children, two of her sons. She was still alive, when her two youngest kids, one of whom she had always been the closest to, were dead. She had survivor's guilt. But...now she came to think of it, that didn't explain her dreams.
"But, that wouldn't explain my dreams..." she said slowly and turning to face him, and Jempa clapped his hands in delight.
"Excellent! Now we get to the heart of things. You notice that while you do possess a certain bit of survivor's guilt, it is not that guilt that is making you have these dreams about Jacen. So, together, let us figure out the true cause of your guilt." He said excitedly.
Leia smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"You enjoy your work don't you?" she asked, sitting back down and smiling at the counsellor.
"Indeed I do. So together my dear lady, let us cast ourselves into your mind, and see if we cant find the root cause of all your troubling dreams." He said kindly.
Leia thought about it. It was to do with the fact that her son had fallen to the dark side. And the fact that he had died while doing it. And no matter what Jaina said, Leia didn't know if he could have been, even for a moment, the boy she had loved.
"Well, it might be because I think he died as Darth Caedus, rather than Jacen. Jaina says he was alerting Tenel Ka to a threat, which is something Jacen would do, but I'm not so sure. I would like to think he died as Jacen, but at the same time that would mean admitting that..." Leia tailed off, her throat becoming constricted with sadness.
"That you failed to save your son?" Jempa said musingly, and Leia nodded, tears in her eyes.
And no matter what way she looked at it, she had failed him. She had failed to save him from the dark side, and she had failed to save him from death. As such, she had failed him completely.
"Yes. I failed to save him from Lumiya, and he fell to the dark side and I failed to save him from death, and his own sister killed him. And now, looking back on it, if that is the thing that is giving me these dreams..." she said softly.
"Yes?" Jempa encouraged.
"Then perhaps we all should be having them." She stated boldly.
Jempa smiled in delight.
"Indeed. And what makes you say this?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye, that looked suspiciously like pride.
Leia got up again, and leaned her head against the cool class of the window as she looked out at the Coruscant cityscape. She wondered if what she was about to say was true, and if it was, should she really be telling it to Jempa? But, ever since Jacen had fallen, a small part of her had acknowledged this fact, and had been afraid to voice it, because she knew that if she said it out loud, it would open a wound across the entire family.
"Looking back...we could have done a lot more. We knew he was going dark, and...we could have done more to try and save him. Fair enough, a fair bit of it was up to him, and he was too powerful and clever to fall to the dark side unless he really wanted to, but...a certain part of me thinks he hated what he felt he had to do, and maybe wanted the chance not to do it...and we didn't give it to him." Leia admitted, her secret fear finally coming to the surface.
"You don't think you did enough to try and save him, you feel you and your family as a whole could have done more to save Jacen from falling to the dark side?" Jempa asked.
Leia nodded sadly, tears in her eyes.
"Hmm. I must admit, that is a fair judgement." Jempa said.
Leia started. It was one thing to admit it herself, it was quite another thing entirely to hear the counsellor say it. What did this guy know about the Force, and the redemption of people who had fallen to the dark side? Leia could feel anger rising in her. Yes, she knew in her heart that the family hadn't done all that much to try and redeem Jacen, but this counsellor had no business telling her that.
"Excuse me?" she demanded angrily.
Jempa leaned back and looked at her keenly.
"I have watched your family for a very long time Princess. I watched your father, and I watched you and your brother, and I've also watched your three children and your nephew. And when I saw Jacen sliding towards the dark side, I was surprised by the lack of effort to try and redeem him." He said.
His voice wasn't harsh or critical, but it wasn't sympathetic either. In fact, if there was any emotion in his voice at all it was disappointment rather than anything else.
"What do you know about it?" Leia asked defensively.
It was one thing to admit it within the family that they all could have done more to help Jacen, but this counsellor wasn't even part of the family, and who was he to judge on how well they had tried to save Jacen?
"You forget, I have been watching you for years my dear lady. Your brother redeemed Darth Vader, one of the most evil Sith Lords in history. I just expected that your family would work harder to redeem one of their closest members, rather than just sit back and let them fall." Jempa said slowly.
Leia looked at him angrily.
"We...it's none of your business." She said angrily and picked up her bags.
Jempa nodded dolefully.
"Very well. I can see that you are angry. Come back tomorrow if you wish. We still have a lot to talk about." He said as she headed for the door.
"Dont count on it." Leia said waspishly and slammed the door as she left.
Jempa leaned back and smiled. He had rattled her cage, and despite her less than polite exit, he knew she would be back. When she calmed down and admitted that he had a point, she would be back. And then they could get on with the serious job of saving the galaxy.
His holo flickered to life to reveal his female counterpart.
"How did it go?" she asked.
Jempa smiled.
"We connected. We got on quite well, and she admitted she could have done more to save Jacen. But when I agreed she got a bit irate and stormed out." He said simply, filing his nails as he did so.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a good sign? Surely if she's so angry about the truth..." she said, sounding uncertain.
"Dont worry my old friend. We'll get through this, and I suspect she will be back, armed with an apology as well." He said confidently, knowing that he had chosen the right one to attach to.
"I hope you're right." She said, sounding worried.
"How's it going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in concern.
"It's getting harder. The earthquakes are getting worse. We're running out of time." She said, looking scared, and her holo rocked a bit.
"Just hang in there. Eventually Leia will find the strength to do what must be done, and then we can go about saving the galaxy." He said certainly.
"Good. May the Force be with you my dear." She said kindly, smiling at him as she vanished.
"And you." He said, as the holo flickered off.
Jempa leaned back. Leia was the only one who could do this, and the only one who could lover her son enough not to let his plan bother her. All he had to do was guide her to the right path. And soon.
Well here we are, the first chapter. I'll admit now that not much happens in this section, but the action starts to come along in the next segment of the story.
Is Leia right to feel guilty over Jacen? Could the family have done more to save him before he fell? Will Leia perform as Jempa expects? Who is Jempa talking to? And what is this threat the two of them are worried about?
All will be revealed soon!
I hope you enjoyed this, and be warned...there's lots of family bashing later on as I personally believe that they didnt do enough to try and save Jacen. Fair enough, you could understand Luke not trying as he killed Mara, but the others just sat back and let him fall and were all too eager to sanction Jaina's mission to kill him. In other words, there will be lots of me venting in coming chapters ;)
But aside from that, please read and review!