Over Yuuzhan'tar, formerly known as Coruscant
"Well, my young friend, what do you say?"
Harrar looks at Khalee Lah, who is standing next to him and has been silently following the Villip conversation with his father.
"That's…" the young commander struggles for words. "I never thought that of him."
Harrar is amused by the Warmaster's son's barely contained bewilderment, but he hides his amusement behind a mask of seriousness, for nothing else is appropriate or expedient at this point. "What did you never think of him?"
"That he throws away everything he fought and lived for."
"Does he have that?" Harrar asks and turns away to put the Villip back in the niche where it sleeps and spends most of its communicator life. "Isn't Tsavong Lah still a warrior? Doesn't he still want our people to find a new home?"
"By betraying Shimrra? The Overlord is the voice in which Yun-Yuuzhan speaks to us!"
"Tell me one thing, Khalee Lah. Did Yun-Yuuzhan let us capture the twins?"
The young warrior shakes his head.
"But he certainly helped you free Tenel Ka and our warriors on Dathomir."
"It's undeniable," admits Khalee Lah. "But what happens now? Our people are divided and Shimrra will certainly confront and punish Tsavong Lah."
Harrar goes to the window and gestures for the commander to follow him. Outside, the star of Coruscant shines, and in its light the multicolored rings that the Yuuzhan Vong have placed around the planet they now call Yuuzhan'tar fade.
"The fate of our people is being decided out there, not here on Yuuzhan'tar," explains the priest. "It is only a matter of time before Shimrra must decide whether he will bow to this decision or resist it until his death. It's up to people like us to make sure that day comes quickly. Namely, by doing what regular guests who have come to stay do – like your father did recently."
Khalee Lah's maa'its wander back and forth indecisively, then Harrar sees a flash of something in them. "We should oppose Shimrra?" the warrior asks him.
"Each of us will do it in our own way," Harrar replies. "I will stay here, but a different fate awaits you."
Khalee Lah's right hand closes into a half-open fist. "You mean I should join my father?"
Harrar averts his gaze from the oval window of his gem ship and looks at his interlocutor. "Is that what you want, Khalee Lah?"
"I won't disappoint my father again! I swear by…"
Harrar raises his hand. "Not so stormy, Khalee Lah. The infidels have enough explosive devices lying around that actually work," he pauses, "and that would be a real shame."
"I will not fail, even if it disgusts me to even look at these technical things."
Harrar touches his upper arm. "You have already defiled yourself with it. So it can't get any worse."
"If my father is right and our people get a new home like this, I will do my part."
Harrar allows himself a smile. "A noble goal, but what about the smaller things you'd like to do?"
Khalee Lah ponders. He's ticked off the Tenel Ka topic and can't think of anything else he would do in the galaxy after Shimrra's elimination other than hunt, but that's too trivial - far too trivial.
"Didn't you once want Tenel Ka to fight on our side?" Harrar ventures.
"But she doesn't want to know anything about me."
"First of all, I didn't ask that. Secondly, you both are now on the same side. And I'm sure the only reason Tenel Ka is silent is because she feels the same way you do right now."
"How do you know?" Khalee Lah's voice sounds reserved when he asks this question, but the priest doesn't miss the fact that his yellow maa'its have gotten a bit bigger.
"My young friend, as I told you at the beginning, I have discussed and planned this matter with my superiors. So far you have done a very good job with this plan. Now it's time for you to make a good impression on Tenel Ka too and bring her something for this purpose."
The commander's face visibly brightens. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking and what I have in mind?"
Harrar nods. "I'll make sure Nen Yim comes with you."
Khalee Lah falls to his knees in front of the priest. "I cannot tell you how pleased this makes me, Priest Harrar. May the gods always smile upon what you do and bestow favor on your endeavors so that they may succeed."
The priest hides his embarrassment at this homage behind a gracious smile. "Tenel Ka is not yours yet, but with Yun-Txiin's* help she will soon be."
Three days later on Hapes in a top secret laboratory
"There we have it," says Nen Yim after she has taken the formerly frozen eggs of Ta'a Chume and fused them with sperm, the origin of which the Queen Mother keeps top secret.
"And now I'm going to put the whole thing back in your place and you have to stay in a tilted position with your head down for two hours so that everything can grow properly in the uterus."
"Thank you, Master Shaper. It's weird enough that I'm still carrying a child at my age, but my daughter-in-law..." she makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. "And I can't burden Tenel Ka with that now. So once again it's all up to me to ensure Hapes stays strong."
Nen Yim smiles mischievously. "For now you should just stay here and then we'll see."
The master shaper leaves the laboratory. Prince Isolder is standing at the door because he has another task for the Yuuzhan Vong. With his speeder he takes Nen Yim back to the royal palace and there to his terminally ill wife. Teneniel Djo sits at the window and her brown eyes with the striking copper cast look dull out of the window.
"Hello, dear," Isolder greets his wife.
No reaction.
"She has been through a lot," says Isolder to Nen Yim. "A year ago, three quarters of the Hapan armed forces were destroyed at Fondor."
"Our fleet was also severely affected at that time," replies the master shaper in a slightly rebuking manner.
"But my wife felt the loss of so many Hapans so much that she lost her child - it was supposed to be our second after Tenel Ka grew up. An heir to the throne."
Nen Yim raises her eyebrows. "But you have a daughter."
Isolder shrugs his shoulders. "Tenel Ka is not interested in the throne, but rather nurtures her Dathomir heritage on her mother's side."
"And you allow something like that to happen?"
"Everyone is free to choose their fate," says Isolder. "I had chosen a wife of Dathomir back then and you can be sure that the throne of Hapes will never be left empty, even if it will no longer be mine and Teneniel Djo's children who sit on it."
"Then you must love your wife very much," says Nen Yim and places leeches on Teneniel Djo's neck and forearm. The tests take a while, then Nen Yim looks at Isolder seriously.
"She has long since overcome the depression of child loss," explains the shaper, "but the cause of her illness is... poison!"
"My mother! How could she!" exclaims Isolder.
"But you are her husband, whatever that term means," Nen Yim retorts angrily. "How could you watch your wife suffer all this time? Didn't you ever have her properly examined?"
"Yes, yes. My mother sent a doctor over regularly," Isolder asserts, "but I wouldn't have expected her to be so mean."
Nen Yim doesn't let up. "But why, as a Jedi, did Tenel Ka not notice anything like that? You were both here with her the whole time! And then Priest Harrar has to come and bring this dark intrigue to light."
Isolder folds his hands limply in front of his lap. "Well, the war."
"Without the war, Harrar and I wouldn't be here at all," says Nen Yim, destroying also this excuse.
"Can you do something about the poison?"
"Of course I can," replies the master shaper. "But can you protect your wife better in the future?"
"I will hold my mother responsible for this betrayal," promises the Prince Consort. "And I swear it on all sixty-four worlds of Hapes!"
Nen Yim smiles. "Don't swear too soon, Prince Consort, otherwise all of your sixty-four worlds could soon belong to the Yuuzhan Vong. And can I then save you from your mother's wrath…?"
"It's nothing. I thank you, Nen Yim…and I will thank Priest Harrar as well later."
Isolder leaves the shaper and goes to his daughter. "Tenel Ka, how are you?"
"I feel a bit alone. At first I was really annoyed by this idolization of Khalee Lah, but since he left two months ago, I've missed this warrior."
"Just this warrior, my daughter, or is there something else too?"
"Well, yes," Tenel Ka clears her throat, "with the horn on his forehead, Khalee Lah on Dathomir could almost pass for a Night Brother, but the Night Brothers were so infested with the Dark Side. Mother Augwynne might be irritated if I showed up at the Singing Mountains with one of those. And then those yellow Maa'it eyes."
"You don't like him? After all, he freed you from the clutches of the Nightsisters and brought you home safely."
Tenel Ka plays with one of her four red braids. "Well, I think Jacen Solo would suit me much better. I also feel that Jacen likes me."
"You know, Tenel Ka, at first I also wanted to marry another woman, Jacen's mother, before I decided on your mother. And Teneniel Djo initially had a crush on Luke Skywalker - do you believe that? And then she, who controls the Force so well, married me - me, Prince Isolder, a man completely insensitive to the Force.
"Father, what are you trying to tell me?"
"Um, nothing at all," says Isolder and leaves.
Tenel Ka doubts. Did her busy grandmother send her father over because she wanted to manipulate someone again? Jaina Solo in her place would have asked Isolder about it immediately, but Tenel Ka doesn't want to do that to her troubled father. So she looks out the window, perplexed.
A red-scaled arm suddenly appears in front of her face, the multi-jointed fingers tipped with long, black claws. The young Jedi lets out a scream. She is all alone in her room and since her father left, Tenel Ka has found it to be oppressively quiet, so that she would have heard any sound of someone entering immediately. But she didn't notice anything else either. And that's exactly what annoys her so much about Khalee Lah. You just can't feel the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force to be forewarned, and that makes her uncomfortable. One has to be constantly on guard against them, especially against experienced warriors who not only sneak up silently from behind, but also...
Tenel Ka spins around and the turquoise blade comes to life.
"Surprise!" Khalee Lah kneels in front of her and with both his normal hands holds out this red scaled separated forearm.
"Khalee Lah, you fucking idiot!" screams Tenel Ka. "I could have killed you!"
"I know and I apologize for my surprise intrusion."
Even without the Force, Tenel Ka knows that the warrior is not at all sorry for taking her by surprise again. She looks at the red-scaled arm in Khalee Lah's equally clawed hand. The length of the arm would fit well on the stump of her left arm... but she swore to everyone that it would stay that way.
"Tenel Ka, I offer you this betrothal gift," comes Khalee Lah for the purpose of his renewed visit to Hapes, "a radank arm, like the one my father wears. That means, actually, my father had a radank leg implanted on his right elbow because his arms are so thick and so long that a radank's arm would be too thin and too short for him, but for you it's just the right fit!"
"An engagement gift," Tenel Ka murmurs, then her voice becomes clearer. "So this is supposed to be a marriage proposal?"
"Yes, I found out about your mating customs," explains Khalee Lah. "Just as this Radank arm will fit your left arm stump, so you will fit me, Tenel Ka. Do you want to be my wife?"
Tenel Ka thinks. She imagines her grandmother's shocked face and can see how her father will defend this choice. She briefly thinks about Jacen Solo, but really only briefly. "Yes, I do."
Khalee Lah stands up and hugs Tenel Ka. The claws of the radank arm tickle her back.
"It's a good thing that there's a shaper here on Hapes these days who can implant the arm on your upper arm." His yellow Maa'its glow. "And then we'll honeymoon on Dathomir."
"But you Yuuzhan Vong have occupied that." Defiance takes over Tenel Ka's voice. "I don't like honeymooning in occupied territories, even if the Commander there will generously grant us freedom of movement after we freed her warriors."
"I almost forgot," says the warrior and holds out a piece of flimsiplast. "The Yuuzhan Vong hereby return Dathomir as the 64th world to the Hapes Consortium and you will then officially be the Queen of Dathomir again."
"Me?" Tenel Ka wonders.
"…Oh, well…I mean…your mother then…"
Tenel Ka looks skeptical.
"…or your grandmother," Khalee Lah tries a third attempt.
Tenel Ka laughs. "No, definitely not."
With these words she pulls Khalee Lah close and gives him a kiss.
༺༻
Prince Isolder and Nen Yim stand at Teneniel Djo's bed. The official Queen of Dathomir sits and eats from the table that stretches over the bed, just from the bliz eggs that her husband himself has made her an omelette with.
Isolder gently strokes Teneniel Djo's red-brown hair. "You haven't eaten so much in a long time, darling."
Teneniel Djo eats the last bite of bliz omelette. "And I'm still hungry." With these words she reaches for another roll of it.
"It will take about two more weeks before Teneniel Djo will be back to her old self," promises the shaper to her husband, who still cannot believe his luck.
"What do you think, darling?" Isolder says lovingly to his wife after she has finished her breakfast. "Do you have enough strength yet to go to Tenel Ka and her fiancé to wish them a safe journey?"
Teneniel Djo stands up. "Yes, I'll manage."
As they go to the spaceport, they even catch up with Ta'a Chume, who, accompanied by the priest Harrar, also wants to say goodbye to her granddaughter.
Ta'a Chume turns around when she hears footsteps approaching and stops in shock when she sees her originally doomed daughter-in-law running... quite quickly and energetically. "What happened?"
"Maybe I should ask that instead," replies Teneniel Djo. "You had me poisoned and the shaper here found out and can prove it!"
"I thought Nen Yim was only here to give me new offspring," says the Queen Mother venomously.
Isolder grimaces. "Don't make it worse, mother."
Harrar smiles. "Performing a multi-layered agenda has always been one of my strengths. Tsavong Lah is now doing much better without shaper help and Teneniel Djo is doing the same with shaper help. Soon there will be no more war between the Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong, and then the true Queen of Hapes can become pregnant again without worry. And your granddaughter too, ideally after the radank arm has grown."
"A radank arm?!" shouts Ta'a Chume. "Your shaper is going to give my granddaughter one of your organic implants?!"
Harrar nods slowly. "Three Flitnats with one stone. It's happening right now."
Ta'a Chume's green eyes behind the red veil begin to flutter. "But why? Tenel Ka never wanted to…!"
"It is a betrothal gift from the warrior who saved her from the Nightsisters on Dathomir," the priest explains.
The Queen Mother's voice drips with contempt. "Actually, I could have guessed it. At that time, my own son wanted to marry the pacifist Leia – a woman devoid of any dowry."
"That's so unfair, mother!" says Isolder angrily. "The Empire had destroyed Leia's home planet!"
Ta'a Chume continues unmoved. "And now my granddaughter has chosen a robber baron who is just as homeless and barbaric, whose only home he knows is a ship – like a pirate!"
"We Hapans are descended from pirates, mother," Isolder reminds her.
"And I'm at least as barbaric as Khalee Lah," Harrar chimes in again. "And yet we were good enough to be welcomed by you here on Hapes two months ago and to do the dirty work - eliminating your enemies, Queen Mother!"
"If I had known this beforehand, it would never have come to this," admits Ta'a Chume. Then she smiles at Harrar. "I had to be strong all these decades to protect Hapes. All alone – surrounded by incompetent dilettantes and malicious envious people."
"You have always lacked trust in those who are supposed to be close to you," says Teneniel Djo. "But maybe you just weren't a good instructor, since you clung so tightly to all your dirty little secrets."
Ta'a Chume lets out a sigh. "It was at least good that a man of God visited me at least once in my life, in whom one can confide without worry, since his patron saint obliges him to the utmost secrecy."
Isolder's gray eyes widen. "You made a confession before Harrar, mother?"
"A complete one, my son."
The Prince Consort crosses his hands in front of his chest. "But, with all due respect, that's not enough. You will stand trial for the attempted murder of the queen herself. And until then...
"…I would like to at least say goodbye to my granddaughter."
It is his mother's last wish before starting prison and Isolder cannot refuse her, as Tenel Ka and Khalee Lah are already in sight and are quickly approaching. Ta'a Chume gives them a reserved look from behind her veil, her green eyes lingering on Tenel Ka's new arm. "What will your Jedi friends say?" she says pointedly.
"I can definitely do a lot of things with the claws that Luke Skywalker can't do with his artificial hand," replies the young woman. "But I doubt Luke Skywalker would want a hand like that now."
Ta'a Chume's gaze becomes enigmatic and Tenel Ka senses the mockery in the Force before the words are even spoken. "Then I hope for your sake that your Jedi friends accept your fiancé as well as your new arm."
"That's enough for now… farewell, mother." Isolder waves to two guards who accompany him and Teneniel Djo to take Ta'a Chume away.
"And I wish you two all the best," he turns to his daughter and his future son-in-law.
Teneniel Djo hugs her daughter and shakes the warrior's hand.
"What are you going to do now, Harrar?" Khalee Lah asks the priest in Basic, so that no one feels excluded or even suspects betrayal.
"I will fly back to Shimrra's court with Nen Yim," explains the priest. "There are still things that need to be done before our people can be completely freed from this burden that currently rests on them."
Isolder smiles sarcastically. "I'd rather not talk about the burdens we've had to bear so far. That is truly the most clever and elegant way of describing your invasion that I have heard to date."
Harrar's dark eyes look caught. "We Yuuzhan Vong love sportive circumlocution."
Isolder's gaze softens a little and he holds out his hand to Harrar. "Then I wish you good luck at home, Your Eminence."
Harrar's three-fingered hand grasps the Prince Consort's. "Thanks, I'll need that. But I hope I will get support soon."
There's a note from the author here, because I found it simply impossible how Teneniel Djo's character was handled in the NJO book series. I know Teneniel Djo from "Courtship of Princess Leia" by Dean Wolverton and the character had already grown on me. I know she appears in other books that came out after this book and before New Jedi Order. I don't know these books, but I still think that Teneniel Djo is treated rather carelessly in this book series. Her tragedy is mostly described from a distance and is dealt with quite briefly and as if casually, brrr! Why all this actually? Just so Tenel Ka can take a throne she doesn't really want? Teneniel Djo doesn't deserve that.
Yun-Txiin – The goddess of love in the Yuuzhan Vong's god's pantheon