Always I: Dejarik - Chapter Two
Jaina woke slowly, her body sluggish and unresponsive. When she opened her eyes, a surge of adrenaline and realization shot through her body. Nightsisters! They had… Were Tenel Ka and the kids safe? Was Jacen…?
The darkness surrounding her was impenetrable. Stretching out with the Force, she tried to discover the identity of her companion in the gloom. Jacen. Jaina let out a sigh of relief. She’d know his Force signature anywhere, even as battered as it was. Her arms ached as she reached out to the side, feeling around for him.
A soft moan directed her hand and she rolled over, checking her twin through the Force for injuries. She fought off the sudden wave of pain he was feeling as consciousness came rushing back. She bit her lip and moved closer to him, taking one of his shaking hands in hers. “Jasa?”
His head thrashed about before he seemed to realize that her hand was in his. “Jaya. Y-you okay?”
She bit her lip and felt around her belt to see if she still had a light on her. The only thing she found was her chrono, but it cast a dim, blue glow. “I’m alright. Nothing to write home about.” Jaina raised the watch so that she could scan her brother. The sight caused her to wince. His head was sticky with blood, and any old wounds had reopened when the electricity raced through him. His veins were too obvious.
Jaina screwed her eyes shut. She was losing another brother. Taking a shuddering breath, she reopened her eyes. Keep it together, Solo. Distract him. “What do you think they’ll do to us, Jasa?” she asked softly. Maybe it wasn’t an Ewok-and-candy type subject, but she couldn’t think of anything else. Besides, in their situation, anything else would sound absurd.
Jacen’s whole body twitched as an after-effect of the Dark electricity and he shook his head. “I - I don’t know, J-Jaya.” The nerves in his system were still not responded to his brain’s commands, making him stutter. He felt as if he’d been thrown into an ion storm without a ship.
The two were quiet for a few moments before Jaina whispered, “She said Brakiss wants us alive. What do you suppose she meant by that?”
She thought she saw him shrug, but it was hard to tell as he trembled.
Jaina’s bottom lip trembled as she felt her brother’s life force weaken and she snuggled deeper into Jacen’s side, all ideas for conversation flying out of her head. Grateful for her proximity, he held her close, forcing his arms to fold about her.
“J-Jaya?"
“Mm-hm?”
“Promise m-me something?”
Jaina drew back enough to see her brother's face, his features barely visible even up close. “What?”
“Live for me?”
Jaina sat up straight in denial, her calm flying in every direction. “No! I won’t! You're going to live. You have to. If you don't, it-” she felt the tears begin to stream down her face and she took a shuddering breath. It wouldn’t happen again. It couldn’t. “What's the number one rule of being a Jedi, Jacen? Never die. If you-die,” her voice quavered but she pushed on, “it'll totally screw up the escape plan.”
Jacen offered a small, weary grin. If he meant to reassure her, he failed. “Guess you'll have to use that - that brilliant mind of…yours to f-find another way out.”
She wiped her tears away viciously as she scoffed. “Of course. I’ll just slip past Brakiss and his thousands of henchmen, all without backup-”
“But you will have ba-back up,” Jacen argued, shocking Jaina into silence. “You'll have - Zekk.”
Jaina's eyes shuttered. “Zekk's gone, Jacen. End of discussion.”
He ignored her pessimism as his mind began to recover from its shock. “You used to believe you could t-turn him back. What if - you were right? What if it's your...I don’t know...destiny to save him?”
Her lip curled in distaste, but memories clawed for her attention.
As he held his red, glaring lightsaber out, she saw blood on his hands. “I’ll never turn, Jaina. You can’t make me. Join me.”
Jaina stifled the images as best she could. “What if it's my destiny to die and rot here for my stupidity?” she retorted bitterly.
Jacen looked surprised, almost hurt. For a man who had more than a buzz going on in his brain, his next words were remarkably clear. “Your love isn't stupid, Jaina,” Jacen said, pleading for her faith. “Love never is. You should have admitted to him that you love him, but you're getting your second chance.”
Jaina snorted. "Oh, and you're the one to talk? At least I have the whole enemy excuse. Everyone knows you and Tenel Ka are way past the friendship stage, but neither of you will get over your own stubbornness and just admit it. Don’t preach to me about declaring my love. You have more than your share of the idiot gene when it comes to love.”
Jacen was quiet for several minutes. “Jaya?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you tell her?”
“Could I tell her that you're an idiot? Sure - I mean, I don't know why she wouldn't already know, but-”
Jacen sighed in exasperation and looked up at the ceiling, palms up, beseeching. “What did I do to deserve this?” he moaned.
Jaina smirked. “That’s a good question. You've always been such a juvenile delinquent-”
“Oh, please. At least I never put paint in Mom’s make-up.” The playful banter, which had been such a big part of their relationship, was a comfort for both, even as they were well aware of the fact that death was drawing close, eager to bring home one of the Force's darlings.
Once again, Jaina leaned against her brother, mindful of his injuries. “I'll tell her you love her, Jasa; I promise.”
The next time Jacen spoke, his voice was tinged with irony. “You know, I should have known this would happen.”
“That what would happen?”
He gestured around the room with a shaky hand. “This. The Force kept prompting me to tell Tenel Ka that I love her. But I kept putting it off… Stupid, I know, especially with everything that’s going on. Guess it's a good thing I carry this around, huh?”
Jaina looked to see what Jacen held in his slightly trembling left hand; it was a small holodisc. He looked at her, a plea in his eyes. “I'll give it to her,” she said, hoping it wouldn't be the first time she had to break a promise of this importance to him.
She took the disc and sighed, before looking up with a smirk. “We never could do anything separately - not even the whole falling-in-love thing.”
Jacen raised an eyebrow, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Jaina! You never told me you love Tenel-”
Jaina rolled her eyes. “Of course I don't lamu head,” she replied, pausing to tug Jacen's dark, shaggy curls. “But I'm in love with a Sith Lord, and that's just about as bad.”
Jacen's laughter rang out in the small prison cell. “Almost, but not quite,” he agreed.
----
The Darkest Knight watched through narrowed eyes as Commander Depuit came into his quarters and saluted sharply. “Commander,” Onyx said softly, voice filled with waiting menace.
The man swallowed visibly. “My Lord, the Emperor commands your presence.”
Lord Onyx nodded once, stiffly. “Very well; return to your post, commander.”
The blond man saluted once more and hurried away as quickly as possible. Depuit was not Force-sensitive, but even he could feel the Darkness of the Sith that radiated from Lord Onyx.
It was the Darkness that killed failures, sometimes even mere annoyances, and Depuit knew that Lord Onyx could be even more ruthless than his master. He avoided the Sith apprentice like a plague.
Why, again, did I choose this job over being a merchant? the commander wondered with resignation.
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Please R&R :)
-Erin