Jacno's Revenge [AU]

[Jacno]

There are a couple of things I should say about this story before I post any of it.

First: I began writing this, creating characters, history, etc. almost a year ago. I dropped the ball after posting a few chapters on this site and, due to a few different reasons (one being my computer crashed and I lost almost all of my work), quit working on the story altogether.
Except I couldn't let the lead character go. With regular access to a computer, the project seemed worth picking back up. I've been working on it almost every day now for the past month and a half. The overall story is pretty much the same, but events and characters have changed some.

If you want to see the original posts from the story it's here:
http://galacticsenate.com/showthread.php?t=11440

Second: The first one lists Gran Moff Tarkin as the commander of the Star Destroyer. He was supposed to be a clone, yadda yadda- scratch that idea (overused).

Third: I knew virtually nothing about the Extended Universe (namely the Yuuzhan Vong) when I started this story, and I feel that it's not worth trying to sync it up, so keep in mind that this is AU. Takes place when the Solo twins are somewhere between 21 and 24.

Fourth: If you like it, hate it, want to tell me mistakes I've made, please please please comment. Even just through private messages, I don't care what you have to say. Really. If I don't like your comment, I'll just ignore it. Seriously, though, I have about 2 friends who like StarWars (not counting my girlfriend) and neither of them are into EU stuff. So I haven't really gotten to share this with many people, and I want some feedback.

So thats about it (I hope). The next post should be the first bit of story.

Enjoy!

[Jacno]

Prolouge
LORD PA'JAS' STAR DESTROYER – Near the edge of the Endor System

The first thing X2-784 saw as he and his three troopers came around the curve was X5-431 and the pilot walking side-by-side. As he finished coming around he could see the four other stormtroopers behind them.
Immediately he knew he didn’t trust the stranger. Pilot’s uniform or not, this was no pilot. The thermal blanket he had wrapped around himself gave him an almost Jedi-like appearance, which made X2 very nervous.
He stopped walking, having decided to size him up before getting too close.
“Lord Pa’Jas requests the guest leave any of his weapons with the escort before entering the bridge.”
X5-431 nodded and waved his hand to signal it was OK.
X2 still didn’t feel like everything was all right. There was something strange about the stranger. Who would be stupid enough to think they would be able to walk into the Lord’s bridge cloaked in a thermal blanket? It was so thick it was hard to tell how big he was, but he was taller than any Imperial pilot he had seen.
Aren’t those thermals blaster-proof? The thought came and went quickly. It sort of made sense to have blaster-proof blankets, so he didn’t dwell on the thought.
The lieutenant he’d brought along stood next to him.
“What do you think, sir?”
“I have a bad feeling about this, lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir, I do too, sir.”
There was no way for him to express the bad feeling he had in words, and he wasn’t insane enough to tell Pa’Jas he killed a possible ally because he felt like he needed to vomit.

About 20 meters down the hall, in clear sight of X2 and his men, X5 walked next to the pilot. The four troopers behind them lagged behind a little, feeling uneasy about the situation. They didn’t know how to explain why they felt as if they were about to vomit, either, but they didn’t like the feeling at all. X5 had no hesitation in his step. He didn’t notice the other troopers steadily slowing pace or that X2 had stopped moving towards them. He simply walked along, lost in thought.

X2 saw the man dressed in the pilot's uniform stop walking. He watched X5-431 snap back to reality and turn to face the man. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. The lieutenant and his two troopers knew also, and they aimed their blaster rifles, ready for the first wrong move.

“Sir, the bridge is just around the curve.”
“I know.” The stranger smiled underneath his helmet. “I’ve been on a Star Destroyer before, sir.”
“Yes, yes, I know, but we need to keep moving.”
The man had moved both of his hands underneath the blanket to hold it closer to him; X5-431 only just now noticed this.
“Let me see your hands!”
He raised his blaster, the four troopers behind him finally made sense of what was happening. They raised their blasters, wishing their worst fears to be false.

The blanket was thrown off and behind the pilot; the troopers behind him only saw the black mass of the blanket as it settled over their heads and arms. One began firing his blaster in a panic, uselessly, straight into the blanket.
X5 barely had time to register what happened before he saw a green flash. He saw Jacno duck, and could almost make out the sound of blaster fire. It sounded muffled, must have been coming from underneath the blanket still. The ceiling of the hallway was all he could see now, and he began to feel lightheaded. Then the burning sensation came.
Starting at the right side of his waist and slowly creeping up and across until it ended below his rib cage on his left side. He hit the floor with a clatter of armor, but he didn’t feel the impact. He saw the red trails of blaster fire flying by. Flying in both directions now. Jacno must be in between the two groups of troopers.

What did I get hit with? It had just occurred to him that he had no idea what Jacno could have used against him. Look at the injury. See what kind of blaster he used.
He couldn’t move. He screamed at his head to lift itself off the floor but none of the muscles listened. The black dots swimming around his vision were moving slower now, but they were bigger, too.

Damn, what a horrible place to die.

Seven Years Ago:
NEW JEDI TEMPLE - Coruscant

“…And so, as you can clearly see, your attempt to have me killed has failed miserably.”

As Luke Skywalker entered the Jedi Council’s chamber he looked around the room, watching his fellow Jedi Masters’ faces. The holographic image in the center of the room was not new to him. His sister, Leia Organa Solo had witnessed the very same message earlier with her peers in the Senate and had replayed it for him.

The figure in the hologram was wearing a dark cloak, the hood of which shadowed his face. Yet every Jedi on the Council. though they had never once seen his face, knew exactly who it was.

“I was almost flattered, at first, when I met your assassin. Then I realized how unworthy of an adversary he was. I’m actually quite disappointed, if not insulted.”
The image expanded to show the assassin the Republic sent to kill the cloaked figure. The assassin was on his knees, a bind-fold over his eyes and a thick cloth tied into the mouth, preventing him from speaking. Also in the image was the corner of a control panel, probably on the bridge of a ship. On the edge lay a blaster, a very large blaster. As soon as the blaster came into view each Jedi in the room knew exactly what was going to happen.
“This man attempted to kill me, and my partners, but not before he would have brought them before you, where they would surely be tortured for information about my business associates, my personal acquaintances, and myself.”

Luke took his seat, directly in front of the hologram. He rested his chin on his fist and waited.

“Therefore, I am going to kill him. Not simply because he works for you, but even more simply because he actually made an attempt at my life.”

The cloaked figure extended a hand towards the blaster, which almost instantaneously flew off the control panel and landed in the palm of his hand. He placed the barrel of the blaster at the base of the assassin’s neck.
A bright flash filled the image and the hologram wavered slightly. When the image came back the body of the assassin was lying on the floor, only halfway in the image. The cloaked figure dropped the blaster on the floor.

The Jedi Masters, now all present and giving the hologram their full attention, could hardly believe the cloaked figure had the audacity to murder an agent of the Republic in front of not only the Jedi Council, but also the Galactic Senate.

“Now, in regards to dealing with you and your attempt at my life. I have plotted a course for the uncharted region of the galaxy, and plan on beginning my journey as soon as I send this message. By the time you will receive it, I will have already left charted space. Look for me all you like, but you will not find me. Attempt to intercept me, and you will find that I will not be stopped.”

The cloaked figure paused in his speech, almost waiting for something. After a moment one of the Council members turned to Luke.
“One of us must attempt to intercept him! If he is leaving from Tato-“
“I’m not done yet.” The holographic figure was speaking again, interrupting the Jedi in mid-sentence. The Council turned their full attention back to the message.

“I will return to Corsucant in the future. When I arrive back in charted space I will give the Republic a symbol of my return. Something big, something not even the most weak-minded fool could miss. And when I arrive back on Corsucant, I will be expecting a worthy challenger: the Jedi Council’s best swordsman. If I win the duel then the Republic must grant me amnesty for my alleged crimes. If I loose the duel then I will have been slain.”

The hologram blinked and turned off.

[Darill Cyllem]

Oooo... this looks to be a good, long fan fic! I hope you'll share more. It's all very mysterious so far and my interest is sparked.

[Jacno]

Chapter One: Discoveries
GOVERNMENT DISTRICT - Coruscant

In the days of The Old Republic, the capital city on Corsucant had been a thriving metropolis of commerce, entertainment and politics.
It was the galactic seat of power, stretching to cover every square mile of the planet's vast surface.

Travel from one side of the city to the other was made effortless by continuing advancements in technology. Communications were such that everyone kept in contact without any trouble.
Such amenities allowed for entire districts to rise up and grow with one sole purpose; there was the industrial district, where all manner of goods were produced and prepared for distribution throughout the galaxy; on the opposite side of the planet resided everything else: political buildings, military installations, living quarters, and all forms of entertainment existed in fairly large pockets.

In the center of all this lay the most well known tribute to the way things used to be: the Jedi temple.
Few remember exactly how it happened, rumors and legend run wild in the lower levels of the city; in bars, late at night, the ex-soldiers would reminisce about the days of the Old Republic. Few variations of the story have much in common, but they all agree that the Jedi were betrayed and handed over to the rising Empire, facing death.
One would think that such a story of peril; betrayal and suffering would evoke feelings of despair and remorse. But to the people of Coruscant the charred ruins of the once majestic Jedi Temple were an icon: a symbol of how things used to be. It conjured feelings of peace and security in such uncertain times.

A little over twenty years ago, the galaxy had been thrust back into turmoil with the reappearance of Grand Admiral Thrawn. This was but one in a series of apparent resurrections of great Imperial leaders. Through the use of cloning technology, the Emperor himself had made several feeble attempts to seize power yet again.
After years of war, the cloning trend had seemed to come to an end. But in the past two years, and at an increasing rate, the Galactic Republic found itself facing yet another enemy; a mysterious Sith Lord who seemed to control the last operational Star Destroyer. Under this leadership, the lone star destroyer had continued to evade the Republic fleet as the Sith rallied support from powerful crime lords and star systems still far outside the influence of the Republic. However, there had not been any sign of this threat for a few months.
The new enemy had been lying under the radar for quite some time. Sporadic sightings and rumors of activity had kept the Republic's leaders quite busy following the trail, until recently.

On a remote sensory observatory, near Coruscant's political district, a young man raced down the corridor leading to the Military Officers’ Building. Ensign Fred Calloway could see his goal at the end of the hall. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, and he allowed himself to slow his pace subconsciously.
Twenty meters away, the lights above the double doors were green, indicating clear passage. His heart beat quickly, almost in rhythm with his feet as they pounded on the ground, as he ran: every muscle seemed to scream in protest. It had been a long time since he found it necessary to exert himself to this extent. His mind raced in panic as he replayed the rapid procession of events leading up to this moment.

An hour ago he had been sitting in a rather comfortable chair in the deep space monitoring room. On any ordinary day, Ensign Calloway's shift would be long, boring and uneventful. Staring at a computer screen for 12 hours a day was tedious at best. Every so often, he would give the scanners a new trajectory to search.
Most deep space observatories recorded data with more scientific value, but this array was being utilized for a far different purpose. Ever since the last great battle between the Republic fleet, and the “Last Star Destroyer”- as it was now most commonly referred to- every station in the galaxy had been set to search the stars, day and night for any sign on an Imperial battle cruiser.

But then, a soft beeping on a monitor behind him was the initial indicator that today would not be the same as every other day.
The alert had come from a permanently stationed satellite orbiting Endor. Nothing ever happened in the Endor system. With a feeling of foreboding, Calloway moved slowly towards the main monitor. A brief analysis of the probe's incoming data stream was enough to allow him to discover that a ship passing just on the edge of its scanning range was giving off Imperial signals.

He immediately delivered the news to the commanding officer on duty. The officer looked at the monitor, and told Ensign Calloway to find Admiral Han Solo and give him word personally. Ensign Calloway’s first idea was to go directly to Solo’s office. A quick search on the Officer Database told him where the office was, and how to get there. A nice little jog he said to himself before leaving the Galactic Command building. Thirty minutes of non-stop running later he felt differently about the distance between the buildings on Coruscant. As he stared up at the building's towering facade, He began to contemplate what he would say.

Forty levels above him, Admiral Solo sat in his comfortable office talking with a young woman in Jedi robes. "Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore. You need to realize that. I-"
"Yes, well, you'll always be my favorite daughter, you know."
"You mean your only daughter. And as such, one would think that her father might be a little more understanding when she says that she wants him there for her birthday. It is only in a few days, and Jacen and I haven't seen you and Mom for months. And now you’re leaving! On some stupid errand for the consulate that can be handled by some Senatorial lackey!"
"Jaina, you know that it’s more than that. By accepting this mission I am-"

Suddenly, Jaina held up her hand for silence. Tilting her head to the side, she listened to the door. Her Jedi senses tingling, she spoke: "Dad, something's wrong."
Calloway slowed down a little as he got close to the doors, not sure how the office would be laid out, he didn’t want to be running when he got inside. The doors opened silently and Calloway’s shoes squeaked as he came to a stop just inside. Admiral Solo’s secretary looked up from her computer.
“Is Admiral Solo here?”
“Yes, sir, but he-” Ensign Calloway didn’t wait for her to finish before bolting for the door behind her desk.

The door hissed open and Calloway stopped on the carpet inside. Han Solo sat behind his oversized desk, decorated with medals, and pictures of his wife, Leia Organa Solo, and his three children: the twins Jacen and Jaina, and their younger son Anakin. Calloway's face was red and covered in beads of sweat. He was breathing hard, having just run a few kilometers without pause. He stood just inside the door.
“Ummm...” Calloway searched his brain to find the words he was looking for. "Am I interrupt-?"
"Sit down, Ensign." Standing still for a moment, in a state of shock, Calloway took in his surroundings. How did he- and just then he spotted the answer. Jaina Solo was standing in partial shadow on the other side of the room. She stood in beauty and grace, watching his every move. Every stupid move...
"Errrr...Admiral, Sir..." His eyes never left the face of the Jedi. Jaina was quite breathtaking, and ever since he had come into contact with her a few months ago, she was always on his mind.
"Admiral, I need to speak with you...." An afterthought told him that he was at a disadvantage, being caught off guard like this, and perhaps if Jaina were to leave, he could regain the use of his limbs, "Alone..."

"Whatever you have to say to the Admiral, you can say in front of me, Ensign. The Senate has faith in me and my abilities, and so does my father." Throwing one of the famous lop-sided Solo grins towards her father, Jaina stepped out of shadow, sweeping around the desk to be seated. As she moved forward, both chairs in front of the Admiral pushed themselves back, welcoming the pair to sit in them.

"Well, sir, I was... I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business, you know, going about work like I usually do. Only, there was nothing usual about today, I mean, normal, Sir...I was-"
"Take a deep breath, Ensign, and get to the point." Admiral Solo was obviously amused with how flustered the young man was, knowing full well it was all due to his daughter.

"Sir, today, while on my shift, a satellite in the Endor system picked up a signal not recognized on Republic channels. It was Imperial."

"DAD! Dad, come back! Why can't I go with you? I AM a Jedi knight, you know. I can help. I'm sure it would be alright with Uncle Luke." There was a great deal of frustration in Jaina's voice. Moments ago, she and Han were quietly discussing plans for her twenty-third birthday when news came of a star destroyer being spotted in the Endor system. Now, racing along the landing platforms, Jaina screamed after her father, trying desperately to reason with him.

"Jaina, you can't. You and your brothers are headed back to Yavin in a few days. Besides, what are the chances of the ship still being there by the time we exit hyperspace?"
He did have a valid point.

"Now, I need you to go home and tell you mother where I have gone. Say goodbye to your brothers for me if I am not back in time to see you off." Jaina crossed her arms, rolled her eyes and pouted in protest. As she spun on her heel to leave, without even saying goodbye to her father, Han called after her, "Don't you want the Force to be with me?"

Jaina darted a glance back over her shoulder just in time to see her father's warm smile and hear him say "I love you," before the loading ramp to his ship sealed air tight.

Chapter Two: A Hollow Shell
Near the edge of the Endor System

In the old days, the fall from hyperspace was, at its best, a little jerky. But in newer models of large star cruisers, the inertial dampeners had been perfected so that the transition between sub- and lightspeed was perfectly smooth.

As the sensor array came online, and swept the immediate area, Han Solo gave orders to his bridge crew. "Scan the area for that ship. We have to find them before they find us." Just then, sirens wailed as the sensor grid detected what it had automatically classified as a threat. A star destroyer floated lifelessly in orbit around a giant planet in the Endor system. There was no energy signature coming from the star destroyer, making Admiral Solo wonder if there was anyone aboard.

“Admiral, we are not detecting any power signature from the ship. It’s completely dead. Not even- not even their life support is online.” Han turned to look at his lieutenant who was giving him the report. “Our fighters are preparing to launch as soon as we get within range.”
“Good, good.” Solo nodded. “Make sure our pilots don’t think this is going to be an easy battle.” The lieutenant nodded once and turned to leave. "I’ve got a very bad feeling about this." Solo turned away from the bridge windows. If only he could be climbing into the Millennium Falcon right now, Chewbacca at his side, like the old days.

Recently, Han had begun to notice how much things had changed since he had been a younger man; he was beginning to slip, and starting to lose his edge. Times are changing; we’re all getting older. He didn’t like the thought of getting older, or the limited mobility in his left arm. Han thought back to the day that a TIE pilot had shown him this truth. That day, He and Chewie were piloting the Falcon with one objective: Take down the star destroyer.

During the battle, the Falcon had taken a direct hit near the shield generator, causing the shields to go offline. Chewie had gone back to try and repair them when a second blast hit the same place on the hull. Chewie had been severely burned in the electrical explosion, and Han almost completely lost control of the ship. Fearing complete loss of control of his ship, he saw that his only choice was to fly to the nearest Republic ship and crash land into the hanger. The impact threw him against the control panel, shattering his left collarbone. Irreparable nerve damage... A scowl spread across his face as he thought back to that day.

Both had recovered beyond doctors’ predictions. There was something to be said about being stubborn, though neither had made a complete recovery quite yet. Listening to the doctor, Han remembered thinking to himself; this is it. It's all over. Everything I've worked so hard for. Gone. No longer able to pilot the Falcon.

Han was given a choice: He could retire, and have enough compensation to be set for the rest of his life, or he could take a less physically demanding job, one with no piloting and more leadership. He would hardly set foot on another operational starship for the rest of his life. But that was before he had recovered so well.

“Launch our ships.” The words came over the ship’s loudspeaker. “Prepare to engage the enemy Fighters.” Han watched as a hundred of the Republic's newest ships sailed past his Cruiser, headed for what he was sure would be an epic battle, one which he was not part of.
In one of the Republic's newly modified X-wing's, Lieutenant Ryan Dek sat in his cockpit. For weeks, he and his men had been running simulations of this one encounter. And now, as the seconds crawled by, he found himself quite anxious. The order to sound off came over the comm. "All units; check in." Lost in his reflections, Lt. Dek barely heard the other leaders' response.

"Blue Leader, standing by."
"Gold Leader, standing by."
"Red Leader, standing by."

When the final unit had responded, a second call came. "Move into attack formation. Be ready for them- it could be a trap." Slowly, the fleet of Republic ships moved toward their target, each pilot opening up his senses to be more aware of his surroundings. Something is wrong here- definitely wrong.

As the distance between squadron and the star destroyer closed, the leaders decided to take a more casual approach in hopes of luring out the enemy's defense. Circling the star destroyer, and close enough to see detail, Dek peered into the windows of the ship- darkness.
"No light coming from inside," Dek called into his helmet, "I can't see anything."
The ship hadn’t moved, nor did it give any sign of life. He couldn't make out any signs of new blaster fire, nor could he see any outward indicators of why the ship had completely lost power.

Then, suddenly, Admiral Solo's voice came over the comm. "Lt. Dek, I want you to take a few of your men into the landing bay. Stay sharp, and report back your findings."

I knew it. He had been afraid of this. Taking what few men were under his command into the belly of an enemy star destroyer did not sound like the makings of a good plan to him. And if it is a trap? But Dek knew the answer to that. He knew the Admiral would do what he could to recover them, but officially they would be considered lost.

A vision of a memorial service rose to the surface of his mind as he pictured the look on his wife's face when she received the metals for her husband’s last heroic act. With a deep breath, Dek forced himself to concentrate on the immediate task at hand. "Red Squad, prepare to enter the Star Destroyer. Follow my lead." Dek took his position in front of his men, not knowing what they would find once onboard.

To Dek, getting themselves into the hangar bay without encountering any resistance seemed all too convenient. No matter how he tried, he couldn't shake the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. As his ship touched down on the glossy floor of the bay, his sensors indicated that the artificial gravity on the entire level was offline. But other than that, all readings were normal; there was a breathable atmosphere with no sign of toxins or abnormal levels of carbon dioxide.

As the dome of the pilot's cabin lifted, exposing Dek to the stale air, his ship's artificial gravity generators shut down. He popped off his safety harness, and floated weightlessly above his seat. Adjusting his trajectory by kicking off of his seat, Dek shot himself towards the nearest control panel to try his hand at reestablishing normal gravity.
After playing with the panel’s wires and flipping a few buttons, he and his crew fell instantly to the floor.

Across the room, the Green squad was already taking their storm positions at the entrance of the hangar bay, preparing to sweep the ship in search of anything or anyone that might provide them answers. Dek moved towards the front of the group to be the lead man. He glanced over at his partner, who, holding his breath, prepared to open the blast doors. As he did so, all the men were caught off guard by the foulest smell any one of them could ever remember encountering. It was stale, heavy and sickening: obviously caught between a state of confusion and repulsion, the men did not have to look far for the source of the putrid smell of decay.

Standing on the bridge of the Republic Command Cruiser, Han Solo listened intently to Lt. Dek's report in shock. "They were all dead, Sir. All of them. Some slashed, others stabbed, body parts scattered everywhere. Burn marks all over the walls. Looks like a nightmare over here, Sir."

"Do you have any thoughts on whom, or what might be capable of this?" Solo, however disgusted, couldn't help his curiosity. What sort of sick person could-
"Well, Sir, I can only think of one weapon capable of producing such clean cuts through flesh, and even through the control panels; a lightsaber, Sir."
"A lightsaber? No Jedi could be capable of this."

Just then, Admiral Solo's second in command came forward with a growing look of concern over his face. "Admiral, Sir, we've just received an urgent communication from Coruscant. It seems that a ship has been detected en route to Tatooine. It's an Imperial TIE Bomber."

[Jacno]

Chapter Three: Homecoming
TATOOINE

Sharoaq NaTali sat in the sliver of shade provided by the doorway of his hut. The light from Tatooine’s dual suns reflected off the sand, making everything in view almost painful to look at.
He picked up a bipod and clipped it onto the barrel of his sniper rifle. He placed the legs on the top stair and pulled the butt of the blaster to meet the front of his shoulder. Closing one large black eye, he peered through the sight, slowly scanning the horizon for womp-rats.

He heard footsteps coming around the side of his hut, and picked up the weapon, turning it to face the direction of the footsteps.

There was a reason he bought this property, and it wasn’t because of the rumored historical significance- not that anyone on this planet cared about the history of anything.
The moisture farm wasn’t very far from Anchorhead, and in the other direction, Mos Eisley was just a slightly farther trip. The fire damage, as well as its nearly forty-year abandonment allowed him to acquire the farm for a very reasonable price.

The footsteps belonged to a very tall figure, much taller than the Rodian bounty hunter. Sharoaq squinted at the figure, keeping his rifle aimed at the center of the mass approaching him.
“Stop there!” He spoke in his native tongue.

The figure stopped, removing the hood of his dirt-stained cloak.
“Relax, NaTali, I have only come to ask a question.” The figure spoke in Rodian as well.

“You did not come on a speeder, or I would have heard it. Did you walk all the way from Anchorhead just to ask me a question?”

“I walked from Mos Eisley- it is a question not to be taken lightly. I am hopeful that by walking here you will see that we are to be taken in the most serious manner possible.”
Sharoaq lowered his rifle, “Very well, then, ask your question.”
The figure nodded. “You have heard, I assume, that Lord Pa’Jas’ Star Destroyer has been discovered by the Republic.”

The Rodian nodded.

“And you remember, of course, a favor asked of you seven years ago?”

[Jacno]

Chapter Four: Capture
TATOOINE - Just outside orbit

Jacno’s TIE bomber dropped out of hyperspace just outside orbital range over Tatooine. Of the many ships orbiting the planet at that very moment, one in particular struck a panicked note in Jacno’s thoughts.
Uh-oh! Republic ship- Big Republic ship!
He considered, for a moment, turning around and making a run for another planet, but decided there was really no need to draw even more attention to himself, so he simply cut the engines and all non-vital power. Then he waited.
Please work, please work…

He watched the Republic ship orbiting, knowing it would only be a matter of time before they saw him on their scanners. Once that happened, he knew, he would be shot down. Blown into a trillion small pieces and scattered throughout the vacuum of space. The pieces that didn’t burn up in the explosion would probably wind up in orbit around Tatooine.
Then I’ll wind up as splatter all over someone’s ship.

Less than an hour later, five Republic fighters roared out of the hanger on Admiral Solo’s cruiser. The TIE bomber had been spotted moments ago and, like the star destroyer they had just encountered, seemed lifeless at first. However, unlike the star destroyer, the life support systems were still running at minimal power.

Han had given the order to bring the bomber into the hanger. If it ran, his pilots would disable it. If it fought, his pilots would be forced to shoot it down. He didn’t want to have to shoot the TIE down- he needed to know what happened aboard the star destroyer.

Jacno saw the fighters spilling out of the hanger. Cursing under his breath he flipped the power back on.
Don’t shoot me!

The engines hummed as they powered up, Jacno transferred all the power from the weapon systems to the shield generators.
Maybe I can…

Jacno decided to make a dash past the cruiser and into the atmosphere. If he could land outside of a city he could loose any Republic soldiers following him in the city.
The engines roared- protesting suddenly being set to full power. Jacno could see the fighters in front of him. They were coming directly at him, refusing to budge.
Don’t shoot, don’t shoot…

The fighters split their formation and streaked past the TIE bomber, their engines leaving temporary scars of light across Jacno’s vision. The Republic fighters circled around to follow the TIE bomber. Jacno aimed himself directly at the bridge of the Republic cruiser, hoping to deter the fighters from firing.

Aboard the cruiser Han’s first officer came to stand by him on the bridge.
“Should we use the tractor beam yet, Admiral?”
“Not yet, General. We’ll wait until his systems are disabled.”
The TIE bomber hurled itself along a direct path towards the bridge. Solo waited, assuming he knew the move that the pilot was about to take. The maneuver he had perfected in the Falcon.

Jacno pulled up on the yoke, clearing the bridge by more than he meant to. The fighters behind him pulled in a little closer. Damn, too soon! I hate flying!

He was not a particularly good pilot. Especially when it came to fancy maneuvers and dogfights. He was good enough to get from point A to point B in the fastest possible way. Usually that involved letting the computer plot a course through hyperspace for him, while he sat back and relaxed.

In his rear sensor he saw the lead fighter lining itself up to take a shot. No! No! Don’t shoot me, damnit! He felt helpless. He was going too fast to dodge effectively, but his kship was too slow to get out of range.
Even before the sensors cried out with a warning, he knew the fighter had shot. Less than a second later he felt the TIE shudder and then take a great leap to the left. A glance at the systems monitor told him his right wing had been separated from his ship.
Great… That’s just great…


Han couldn’t physically see the TIE bomber, but all the sensors he could see were telling him that his fighter pilot hit his mark. The TIE had been disabled, and was being pulled into the cruiser’s hanger with the use of a tractor beam.
“Sir, the TIE bomber should be in the main hanger in 2 minutes.”
Han turned to the captain and nodded.
“Thank you, Captain. Prepare to take the pilot to a holding cell for the trip to Coruscant.”
“Yes, sir.”
The captain saluted, turning on his heals to leave the bridge.

Now, maybe we’ll get to the bottom of this…

Chapter Five: Escape
GALACTIC PRISON COMPLEX - Coruscant

Jacno sat on the floor of his holding cell, his back against the wall. Waiting there, staring up at the chair he had graciously been provided, his mind wandered to the memory of the last time he had been locked up.

The conditions of his cell were considerably different last time; the water trickling down the walls formed puddles on the floor, and the only light source was ten meters down the hall and flickered constantly but with no consistency.
No, this cell was very nice, and if he didn’t have more important things to attend to, he wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to leave.

Down the hall a door hissed, and he could hear footsteps approaching. Only one pair, though. No escort this time? When Admiral Solo had paid him a visit shortly after he had been moved into this cell, there were three soldiers who all seemed to be very displeased with Jacno. The kind of soldiers who could break him in half with their little fingers.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Jacno had joked to himself at the time, while being pinned against the wall by one of the soldiers. However, it had been a very long time since he had an opportunity to escape, and he was beginning to weigh the option of facing the three muscle-bound soldiers and an aging Admiral.

As he silently discussed the plausibility of success with himself, the force-field blocking the doorway buzzed and powered down. He looked up, fighting the urge to bolt for the open doorway. Through the doorway came a man wearing a Jedi’s robe. The hood was up and cast a shadow across the wearer’s face. Jacno didn’t need to see a face to know exactly who this Jedi was.

“Luke Skywalker? Wow! What an honor!” He forced himself not to smirk. Just play innocent. Even a Jedi Master can be fooled.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Luke pulled the hood down, staring down at Jacno, who remained seated on the floor.
“So, I thought I’d be getting another visit from the Admiral.”
“Yes, well Admiral Solo was convinced that not even I should give you a chance.”
“I’ll consider myself lucky, then.”

Luke nodded. “After the things you said to him, you should consider yourself very lucky.” He motioned to the chair. “Please, sit.”
“I am.” This time he couldn’t help but smile just a little. “It’s actually pretty comfortable down here, too.”
Luke bowed his head slightly. “Very well, then. I do have some questions I would like you to answer.”
“Am I really a TIE pilot? Obviously not. What’s my name? I’m not going to give you an honest answer.”
Luke sighed to himself. “What were you doing in that TIE bomber?”
“Ever heard of the Sith Lord, Pa’Jas?”
“Yes.”

Jacno nodded. “Good, then I’m sure you know he has ties to many criminal organizations, also.” He paused for a moment, giving the Jedi a change to put the pieces together. “I’m a spy for one of these organizations- no I’m not saying which- and I was told to make sure Pa’Jas didn’t… get too close with any other crime lords.”

“And he did…” Luke started, thinking he was on the right track.
“No, I did my job well- little sabotage here, a little food poisoning there- but just two days ago we had an unexpected visitor. He claimed to be a TIE pilot from Thrawn’s fleet, but I think everyone knew he was just an imposter.”
Thrawn’s fleet? Does Thrawn have a new clone, with a fleet already?” Luke interrupted the man in front of him. “Is this Thrawn out there now?”
“No, he said he had crash landed, I think on Endor, about twenty years ago?”
Luke nodded. Seems about right.

“So, this imposter pilot lands, flying an A-Wing with TIE Interceptor wings welded onto it. What Imperial pilot would do something like that? No, I knew this guy was not good from the start. Some stormtroopers escorted him to the bridge, but about fifteen minutes after they left someone called over the loudspeakers,” Jacno cupped his hands over his mouth to best imitate the loudspeaker, “There is a Jedi on board! All troopers prepare to engage the Jedi!”
Luke watched as Jacno slowly stood up, his back still against the wall.

“At that point I knew I had to get out of there. There is no way I’m going to die on a damn Star Destroyer. So I took the TIE Bomber because it was the only one that could get me home in one trip.”

“Who was the Jedi?”
“He wasn’t one of your boys?”
“No.”
“Ah, I figured he was.”
“Who was it?”
“All I know is that he told the stormtroopers his name was Jacno.”

[Darill Cyllem]

Am enjoying the plot :)
Hope you keep posting!

[Nightvision90]

amazing Janco keep it up

[Jacno]

Thank you, guys!
I have now posted past the plot point where I stopped posting last time.
I'll celebrate by adding a new chapt. tonight!

enjoy?

[Jacno]

[Well, as it turns out, I forgot to post the end of chapter five.. so here's the rest instead. Sorry!]

Luke raced down the hallway leading to the Jedi Council chamber. He could see most of the Council was inside, waiting for him, already.

He stepped inside and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

“There is a problem…” He said hesitantly. He waved his hand at the holograph controls and the lights in the room dimmed. A holographic image appeared in the middle of the room, casting a blue glow on everything.

A cloaked figure stood in the holographic image.

“I’m not done yet.” The holographic figure stated. The Council turned their full attention to the message.
“I will return to Corsucant in the future. When I arrive back in charted space I will give the Republic a symbol of my return. Something big, something not even the most weak-minded fool could miss. And when I arrive back on Corsucant, I will be expecting a worthy challenger: the Jedi Council’s best swordsman. If I win the duel then the Republic must grant me amnesty for my alleged crimes. If I loose the duel then I will have been slain.”

The hologram blinked and disappeared.

“Are you trying to say that the man we have in captivity is Jacno?”
“No.” Luke held out a hand to calm the Council. “The man we have in captivity witnessed Jacno’s return, and says Jacno is the one responsible for the slaughter on board that Star Destroyer.”

A small Jedi stepped forward. “Let me go with you tomorrow to speak with him. As the only Jedi to have encountered him, I believe I may be able to sense whether or not the man downstairs is indeed Jacno.” Several of the Council members nodded.
“Better just to be sure.”

The next morning, Luke, accompanied by the small Jedi Master, approached the doorway of Jacno’s cell. The force-field buzzed and powered down, allowing them into the room.
Inside they saw the man lying on his side, facing the wall. The smaller of the two Jedi Masters looked up at Luke and shrugged.
“I don’t think it’s him.”

Luke walked over to the young man lying on the floor and rolled him over. It was not the same man he had talked to yesterday. Whirling around he shouted “The prisoner has escaped!” He and the other Jedi ran from the room and down the hall.

Meanwhile, about two floors above his former cell, Jacno ran down the hall, wearing a Republic prison guard uniform. Where the hell is the exit in this place? He was lost, and running out of time.

He slid to a stop, and ran back a few feet to an emergency exit hatch.
Alarm will sound…
Alarm…
He stood in front of the release lever for a moment, scratching his head. This is a fantastic plan. He mused to himself, pulling the lever.

The emergency alarm sounded throughout the hallways, Luke and the lieutenant with him looked at the red light above their heads.
“Sir!” A private saluted Luke and the other officer. “The alarm indicates someone just entered the emergency exit hatch!”
Luke looked at the lieutenant. “Seal off all possible exits from the hatch, do not send any men into the hatch, and detain anyone who comes out of any exit.”
Both officers saluted Luke and ran down the hallway to the control station.

Jacno could hear the clatter of footsteps approaching the emergency exit hatch. It sounded like there were at least twenty men.
Twenty, maybe twenty-five, all armed with standard issue blaster rifles- plus the pistols. He turned his attention away from the open hatch, to the other hallway. He had to get to the armory- he would seem even more suspicious if he didn’t have a weapon.

Any guard walking the halls during a full alert without any sort of firearm would cause more than a little suspicion.

Inside the armory Jacno found exactly what he had hoped to find- his standard-issue Imperial blaster pistol. The same one he had left lying on the floor of that Star Destroyer while he was escorted to the bridge. The same one he spent three hours searching for before he left.

I knew I should have just left it in the A-Wing.
In retrospect the thought came easily, but at the time, he thought he would be going directly against a Sith- in which case this particular blaster would have been handy.

Luke entered the armory and looked around. All of the cameras seemed to be operating normally and none of the blasters seemed to be missing. There was no sign of the escaped prisoner.
“He took his blaster, sir.”
“What kind of blaster was it, private?”
“Standard issue Imperial, sir. There were a few things odd about it, though. First thing we noticed; there was no energy cartridge. Second, there were three small knobs near the back of the barrel. They looked very similar to the adjustment knobs on a lightsaber, sir.”

A holographic image of Luke stood in the center of the Jedi Council’s chamber.
“The prisoner was, without a doubt, Jacno.”
“Then what we feared is true? He has returned, and displayed his power by slaying an entire Star Destroyer, along with a Sith who has evaded capture for over two years.” The Council mumbled to themselves and nodded in agreement.

“I will begin searching nearby buildings as soon as I finish here. In the meantime, I suggest you begin to prepare, he may be on his way to claim his challenge.”

[Jacno]

P.S. My favorite chapter so far is next!

[Jacno]

Chapter Six: The Meeting
GOVERNMENTAL HOUSING SECTOR - Coruscant

Jacno looked at the keypad laid out in front of him. It was sleek and efficient, not unlike the whole turbo lift system itself. The words above it read "Governmental Housing Unit 713", but to Jacno, it was shelter, complete with shower, clothing, and food.

But which floor. As he reached out his hand to push a button at random, he noticed a card identification system. Well, I guess I won't be able to just march into any suite I want.
Jacno began to inspect the keypad, looking for a way around this particular obstacle.

Well, maybe I could just... He reached out his hand to just pry it off the wall, but the rounded shape of the machine prevented his fingers from getting a good enough grip. I guess I can just wait for some idiotic politician to come and swipe his card.
Just then, he heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. Jacno looked around for a place to hide, and he immediately glancing upward, a grin spread across his face.

Below him, Jacno listened in disgust as a Nubian Senator playfully complimented what he could only assume to be his young mistress. Womanizer. But as much as he hated it, he could see why. The woman was dressed in no manner to be seen in public, especially in the company of a senator.

This is why he hated politicians; it seemed to him as if those with the people's best interests at heart always get mixed up in the very things they seem to be against.

Lost in this train of thought, Jacno had hardly noticed that the lift had come to a stop. Once he realized he wasn't moving anymore, he looked around for some indicator of where he was. The ceiling of the shaft was only a few meters above his head.

Top floor, very nice! He pulled a lightsaber hilt from a hidden pocket of the TIE pilot uniform, and felt with his other hand for the seal between the doors. Trying to work his fingers into the crevice to open the door was no use. With a flick of the switch, the blade came to life.

He had set it shorter than usual, roughly half a meter long. The hum was barely audible over the thundering of the repulsarlift generators. Touching the door seals with the tip of his blade, he made a small notch just big enough for his fingers to grip. Waiting just a moment for the metal to cool, he stashed the lightsaber back into his pocket. Once cool enough to touch, Jacno slowly pried the doors apart. He was only able to open them a foot or two.

Placing his hands on the outside of the doors, Jacno hoisted himself up off the top of the lift. Squirming to escape from the confined elevator shaft, he heard the lift engines roar to life below him. Standing just on the other side, Jacno searched for a button to close them and suddenly saw the lift drop out of view of it's own accord.


Some forty floors below, a young woman with dark hair and brandy brown eyes waited impatiently for the lift. Today was no day to mess with Jaina Solo. Between arguments with her mother and the recent departure of her father, she was not in the best of moods.

Leia Organa Solo was a woman of a privileged background, who was used to a more refined way of life. Her beautiful gowns were one of the things she was known for, but not so much as her elegant hairstyles.
"Sweetheart, I just don’t understand why you have to be so difficult.”

Her Alderanian heritage made her partial to tight buns and rich curls, something that her daughter had never shown much interest in. "It would only take a few minutes for you to do something with your hair, once you learned how." Jaina just rolled her eyes and gave a shrug of her shoulders. She was used to her mother constantly picking at the plain way she presented herself.

Jaina had always identified more with her father. She had a knack for fixing things, and inventing gadgets, using any junk that she came across. Admiral Han Solo, one of the best fighter pilots the Republic had, had taught his daughter everything he knew.

As the lift doors finally opened, Jaina came back to the present. Stepping inside, her mother swiped her identification card through the slot provided, and the lift automatically began speeding upwards towards their penthouse suite.


A loud clatter resonated through the hallway as a card identification panel hit the highly polished floor. Immediately snatching it up, Jacno jammed the wires that he had torn out of the panel into the wall. Accidentally touching a bald wire, he snatched his hand back and cursed the whole system under his breath. He pressed the I.D. panel back into the hole in the wall where it belonged. Slowly removing his hand, the panel tilted slightly, but remained in place. He gave a triumphant nod to the panel and turned to the open doors.

Inside the suite he punched the door controls and the doors closed with a quiet hiss behind him.

Shower… Shower... He walked to the nearest doorway and looked through. No bathroom that he could spy. If I were an expensive suite for a senator where would my bathroom be?

The next doorway was a bedroom, not a bathroom. A nap would be nice. There wasn't time for a nap, though.
He went into the bedroom, the bed was made to perfection, and a desk in front of a window had books stacked on top of it.

Jacno stopped at the foot of the bed. He resisted the temptation to pull the sheets off and throw them about the room. He walked over to the desk and looked at the book on the top of the stack. There was nothing written on the outside, no indication as to what the contents were. He opened it. The first page was filled with sketches of a small rodent.
"Aww, how cute." Smirking, he flipped through the rest of the book. More sketches of various animals.

"Animal lover..." He tossed the book onto the bed, opening the next one in the stack. This book had scribbled notes next to all of the sketches.
Are animals becoming popular all of a sudden? Didn't see that one coming. Before we know it even the Jedi will have animal sidekicks.

He set the second book back on top of the sack, then turned around, spotted the book on the bed and picked it up. He set it on top where he originally found it. After making a small attempt to fix the bed sheets and left the bedroom to continue his search for the shower.


Leia and Jaina Solo had both been silent since they got on the lift. Leia had glanced occasionally at Jaina, wanting to say something, but hesitant to start another debate.

The lift doors swished open.

Jaina noticed the outer doors opened slower than the lift doors. The motors groaned softly, too soft even for Leia to hear.
"Mom, is there something wrong with the lift?"
"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"The motor sounds different than this morning."

"You can hear something like that?" Leia had always been impressed with the level of ability that her children possessed. "Alright, I'll call maintenance this evening."

The two stepped off of the elevator. Something in the back of Jaina's head was telling her that something was amiss. Unable to put her finger on it, she decided to dismiss it.

"Jacen will be home late, but still in time for dinner this evening. Make sure you’re ready." Jaina returned her mother’s words with a half-hearted smile.

Jacen Solo was Jaina's twin brother. They had always been close, sharing adjoining quarters, training together, they even had the same circle if friends. But lately, Jacen and Jaina had begun to drift apart. It wasn't as if they didn't have the same goals, or shared various points of view, but this drift was caused by something a little more troublesome, in Jaina's mind.

Jaina had always been told that a strong attachment to one person was the path to the dark side; attachment leads to jealousy, and jealousy leads to hate. Jaina had been very worried about Jacen.
Lately, he had been making more and more frequent trips to visit the Hapes Cluster. Jaina supposed it was to visit their long time friend, Tenel Ka. She remembered a time when they had made these trips together, but more often than not, she would be left by herself to tinker with some new technical toy, while Jacen and Tenel Ka were off doing who knows what.
The two of them had always shared a special sort of bond, but things had definitely begun to change, and Jaina wasn't sure how much she welcomed it.

As she walked up to the door opening to her side of her and Jacen's adjoining quarters, she slid her card to open the door. Stepping through, she touched the pad behind her to close it. Instantly, she took in the heavy smell of the sonic shower.

Did Jacen just shower? But Mom said... "Jacen?"
There was no answer.
"I thought you wouldn't be back 'til later. Well, anyway, Mom said for us to be ready for dinner."

[Continued next post -->]

[Jacno]

[Chapter Seven continued]

She walked into her room, and over to her desk, then picked up a broken power cell she had been working on. Her hydrospanner was in the drawer. Jaina began to walk to the other side of her bedroom. The drawer slid open, her tool rose from its resting place, hovered a moment and placed itself next to the machine. A freighter heading for the industrial district came to rest just outside her window, putting her whole room in a blanket of darkness.

While rummaging for spare parts, Jaina began to slip off her Jedi robe. A strange sensation overwhelmed her, and she stopped before her robe had reached her elbows. Quietly she slipped it back to her shoulders and moved her hand to rest on her lightsaber hilt. Whirling around, she knew that it wasn't Jacen. But she wasn’t sure whom to expect.

At the threshold of her bedroom, leaning against the doorway, a man stood silhouetted by the light from the den. She couldn't see his face, but he was tall and athletic. Her first thoughts were overwhelmed with intrigue, Jaina unhooked her lightsaber, but waited to ignite the blade.

Forcing herself to focus, she realized that she couldn't sense a threat from the intruder. In fact, she couldn't sense anything at all: surprise, panic, malice. Nothing. He was completely invisible in the Force. Her mind raced for something to say.
Who is...Wha...Where did he come from?

The freighter's engines roared as they pushed the massive ship past her bedroom window. Jaina's Jedi training took over, causing her to grip the hilt of her lightsaber tighter, and slowly move into a defensive stance. As the sun flooded back into the room, she watched with intrigue as the light past over the stranger.Wow...

She could see him better now. He balanced on his left leg, his right foot propped up on the doorway. He was wearing Jacen's black pants, with boots that had obviously just been polished. Jaina concluded that she must have walked in while he was getting dressed, because he didn’t have a shirt on.
She struggled for something to say, but couldn’t even mumble.

He held his hands behind his back, as if hiding something behind him. His black hair, still wet from the shower, fell forward into his face. But they didn't obstruct Jaina's view of his dark and smoldering eyes. As they swept over her, she felt exposed, as if they could see right through her defensive mask. When their eyes met, she felt even more uneasy, but couldn’t look away.

"How did you get in here?"

Without warning, he turned his back on Jaina and strolled out of the room. Taken aback, Jaina tried to call after him, but the words seemed to catch in her throat.
"Hey-"

With no response, he sidestepped out of view.
"Hey! Come back here!" Jaina yelled.

Still no response. She stormed out of her bedroom only to find him sitting on the back of her favorite chair. His right foot on the arm of the chair, his left in its seat, His arms rested on his knees, and he leaned forward in a completely relaxed manor.
What is he doing?

"You, umm... You shouldn't put your feet on people's... On other people's furniture..."
Stupid, stupid! Nice, Jaina, She couldn't believe she had just said that out loud. Some threat that was...

A beam of sunlight reflected off a passing ship lighting up the room, and Jaina saw the glint of metal underneath a wadded-up shirt in the chair. Her eyes dropped from the stranger to the glint. She narrowed her eyes, trying to inspect the object.
"What’s your name?"

Her eyes darted back to the stranger.
"Me?"
He looked like he wanted to laugh at her, but he just nodded.
"Yes you."
"You're in my room."
"Oh, really? I'm sorry, I didn't know that."
Jaina was beginning to get frustrated.
"So what’s your name?"

He asked like he needed to know. Jaina was hesitant, but for some reason still felt obligated to answer.

"Why do you need to know?"
"Well, if I'm going to take you out to dinner, I'd like to have your name." He smiled, knowing exactly the effect his comments would have.

Jaina ignited her lightsaber, the blade extending towards the floor with a crackle, and then calming to a soft hum. The deep violet blade cast its glow across the carpeted floor and on the folds in her robe.

"I'm a Jedi Knight... So maybe you should tell me your name first."
"If you tell me your name, I'll tell you mine."
Don't tell him, don't tell him! She almost cringed as she spoke "Jaina. Jaina Solo."

"Solo? As in-?"
"Han Solo's my father, yes."
The stranger nodded, reached in between his legs with his left hand and picked something up from underneath the shirt.
"I'm Jacno."

Jaina lifted her saber, shifting her weight to a more defensive stance. The fingers of her left hand wrapped around the hilt of her lightsaber as she tilted it forward slightly. What did he just pick up? She wished she hadn't looked away from the glinting object before.

"Well, Jacno, I think it's time for you to leave."

He spun around on the back of the chair and put his feet on the ground, now facing away from Jaina. Coming around the chair he held his left hand forward, displaying the object he had picked up.
He held it gently, almost as if he didn't know the full potential it had as a weapon.

A gasp almost escaped Jaina's lips.
Jacen's lightsaber?
She almost had to keep herself from panicking. Holding up the lightsaber hilt, almost as if examining a new toy, Jacno rotated it in his hand. Spying the button, a look of mild amusement spread across his face.
With a teasing smile, He touched the switch, bringing the emerald green blade to life.

Looking amazed, Jacno waved the lightsaber back and fourth in front of him, taking in its low hum and streaking light as if for the first time.

Jacno raised his eyebrows and, looking past the blade, redirected his gaze to Jaina.

"I'm a Jedi Knight." Jaina wanted to feel as confident as she sounded.
"And?" Jacno really did not seem to be concerned with Jaina's Jedi status. "I'd still like to take you out." He took a step forward and Jaina took a step back.

"Tell me something."
“No."
"Yes."
"What?"

Jacno took another step towards Jaina and she stepped back. "Why are there guys clothes in your sister's room?"

"Wha- I don’t have a sister..."
"Well who's room is that?"
"My brother..." Jaina paused for a moment, wondering if she should mention that Jacen was a Jedi Master.
"Your brother?"
"Yes, Jacen, he’s a-"
"He's in love with the furry little animals, that’s what he is."

"He's a Jedi Master." Jaina had almost been backed against the wall; she took a step to the side to avoid Jacno from getting closer.
"So are animal sidekicks standard issue for Jedi Masters now?" Jaina wasn’t sure at all what to think about Jacno now.
What is he doing here?
They began to circle around the room, on the opposite walls.

"If I were to sign up to be a Jedi, would I get to pick my critter?" His left hand held the saber by his side, taking small, casual steps. Jaina squared her shoulders to him and kept her eyes locked on the lightsaber he carried.

He breaks into my home, steals my brothers clothes-

"When you become a Master, what animal would you choose?"

-Insults my brother, insults the Jedi order-

"I think I'd pick you."

What! Insults me!

"Yeah, you're pretty cute."
"Excuse me?"
"Though you don't seem to be one for conversation."
"You don't know me!"
"You won't talk to me! Though I'm not sure how much talking I'd want you to do."
"That's it!" Jaina bent her knees, tensing the muscles in her legs. She closed her eyes, preparing to leap across the room.

"Wait."
"Wait?" She opened her eyes, and saw Jacno standing still with an arm extended, his hand held out, palm facing her.

"How old is your brother?"
"He’s my twin..." Why does he want to know how old-
"You guys are the same age and he is a Master and you aren't?"
"You don't know anything about me!" Jaina yelled, and immediately regretted it.

They had been circling the room slowly, and Jacno now stood by the window at the back of the room. Jaina stood up straighter and took a step towards Jacno. She held her composure as she took another step.
"There’s something holding you back from being a Master, isn't there?"

Jaina’s steps got wider.
This has to end.
Jacno began to circle the room again, keeping his eyes on her.

"Or, maybe, someone?"
"There isn't anyone who-"
"Oh, that's sad."
"-Could convince me- "
"You've never had anyone, have you?"
"Get out!"

They stood less than three meters apart now, the only barrier being Jaina's favorite chair. Jacno shook his head. "I can't."
"Don't push me." With a slight flick of Jaina’s wrist, the chair between them skidded across the room. It crashed into the couch, sending the couch into the wall with a solid thud.

Jaina returned her hand to the hilt of her lightsaber.
Jacno smiled and nodded once.
"Impres-"
The doorbell chimed. Both heads snapped to the side to look at the door. The doorbell sounded again. Jaina sidestepped to answer the door.

"That's my Uncle Luke."
"I can't be here when you open that door."

Jaina furrowed her brow at Jacno as she backed to the door.

"Uncle Luke and I don't agree with each other."

[Nightvision90]

this is amazing jacno

[Jacno]

Chapter Seven: Threats

A slight wave of Jaina’s hand was enough to cause the doors of her suite to slide open. She let out a small sigh, almost in unison with the hiss of the pressurized hydraulic operating system. There, standing in front of her, was Luke Skywalker.

As she lifted her gaze to meet his, she saw what she thought were the remnants of worry and deep concentration on the Jedi Master's face. But almost before she could positively identify it, the intensity was replaced with his warm smile.

"Hello, Master Skywalker. How are you? Ummm... Would you like to..." Jaina's voice trailed off as she looked over her shoulder for a moment, "...come in and sit down?" Though she was craning her neck to its fullest extent around the corner, she could see no sign of him. What just happened? Snapping her full attention back to Luke, she smiled and stepped aside to allow him to pass by.

"Thank you, Jaina." Through the Force, Luke could sense Jaina's agitation. He gave her a curious look, reaching out to her feelings. "Is everything okay?"
"What? Yeah! Sure! Why wouldn't it be?" Lying had never come easy to her, not even as a child, and lying to a Jedi Master was next to impossible for any young knight, blood relation not withstanding. "I just… I’ve been a little distracted today."

"Do not let trifles lure your mind elsewhere. Focus your attention here, now, where it belongs." Almost as he spoke, the Jedi Master's expression seemed to contradict his words. Now inside her quarters, her Uncle uttered a small warning as he too began to scan the room, "But be mindful."

“Yes, I know.” Luke smiled in reply.
“Jaina, there was an incident this morning with the prisoner.”
Jaina nodded.

“A man escaped, he may be very dangerous, even to you. As far as we know he has not harmed anyone yet, but I am worried it will only be a matter of time before he hurts an innocent person.”

“I think- I’m not sure…” Jaina paused, collecting her thoughts. “What does he look like?”
Luke held out a holopad, flicking it on; an image of Jacno appeared, rotating slowly.
Jaina nodded.

“His name is Jacno, but he probably won’t tell you that. He generally doesn’t give a straightforward answer.”
Tell me about it. Jaina frowned a little bit.

“I wouldn’t take anything he says too lightly, either.” Luke looked down the hallway into Jacen’s room. He was looking for Jacno, she could tell.
“So Jaina, I followed him into the Senate Housing complex, and since he seemed to know where he was going, I came straight to your mother’s room. He’s hard to follow; I’ve been having a difficult time detecting his presence in the Force.”

There was a loud clatter outside, in the hallway. Luke whirled around to face the door. Stepping outside, he and Jaina saw the card identification panel next to Jacen’s door rocking back and forth on the floor. Jaina glanced in the direction of the turbo lift, just in time to see the outer doors close.

“Uncle Luke!” She pointed down the hall, Luke turning towards the lift doors also.
“Jaina, stay up here, with your mother.” Luke began to walk to the lift. Jaina grabbed his arm.
“Uncle Luke,” she looked up at him, her concern displayed obviously on her face, “I don’t think he was going to hurt me.”
“Perhaps,” Luke nodded, “but your next meeting could be different.”

Han Solo sat on the couch in the suite he shared with his wife, Leia. She rested her head on his shoulder while they watched Jaina pace the floor in front of them.

“I don’t understand how he got up here.” Leia said quietly, still concerned for her family’s safety.
“Dad?”
“Yes, Jaina?”
“Luke said he threatened us.”
“Yes, he did, he most certainly did.” Han frowned, remembering the exact moment.
“What exactly did he say?”
Han looked at his daughter. Wishing he didn’t have to relive the incident out loud, he knew he must.

-24 hours earlier-
Jacno was pinned against the wall of his cell. His face was beginning to turn red from the lack of oxygen, and his chest burned. The energy to struggle had left his legs; which were hanging lifelessly. He tried to focus on Admiral Solo’s face, burning the image into his memory.
“Let him breathe.”

The two hands holding his neck let go, and he fell to the floor. His wrists were still being held against the wall, pulling his chest tight and making it difficult to catch his breath. Punishment, he could only imagine, for breaking that one captain’s arm as he was escorted to the brig aboard the Admiral’s flagship.

“Do you feel like telling me anything now?” Solo leaned forward, but not so close as to put himself within biting range. He truly believed Jacno would not hesitate to take a bite at his nose.

Jacno struggled to lift his head, taking in deep gulps of air.
“A warning, Admiral, a warning is all I have.”
“Oh? A warning of what?” Han smirked and stood up straight.

“This is no way to get answers, Solo.”
“Apparently not-“

“This is how you get your family killed.”


Luke stepped into the reception hall of the Senate Housing Complex and walked to the security desk.
“Captain,” Luke set the palms of his hands on the surface of the desk. The guard snapped to his feet and saluted the Jedi.

“Master Skywalker, sir?”
“Captain, has anything unusual happened since you came on duty?”
“There is an alert out, sir, about the escaped prisoner. No sign of him here, thankfully.”
“Unfortunately, Captain, I believe he was just upstairs. He has either already left or he will be leaving shortly.”

“Sir, didn’t he-“
“Threaten Admiral Solo’s family? Yes.”
“-And they are-“
“They are fine Captain.”

The guard sighed with relief. The Solo family members were some of the nicer people he talked to during his shift.

“I’d like to wait here, if you don’t mind, to make sure he doesn’t leave unnoticed.”
“Of course, sir!” He pulled a chair from under the desk for Luke to sit on, if he wished.

Luke walked behind the desk and sat down next to the guard, who picked his holopad up and resumed the word game he had been playing. Luke thoroughly scanned the room back and forth, inspecting every person who walked through, reaching out to them in the Force.

[Jacno]

Chapter Eight: Rumors
MOS EISLEY - Tatooine

“If what you are saying is true, then why is he not here?”
“He is here, just not here.” S.E.J. hissed, leaning forward and poking the top of the table.
“Then where exactly?” The Bith crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.
“I’m not exactly sure, all I know is that the Lord Pa’Jas is on Tatooine, and he is the only threat to the Sith Lord.”

“What about the girl?”
“What girl?”
“The princess- the one who has yet to be found.”
S.E.J. groaned and rubbed the side of his face. “What about the princess?”

The Bith leaned forward, looking to either side. “Is she with him?”
“If she is alive, I imagine she would be.” S.E.J. paused, seeing this was going nowhere. “You must remember- she was never given any training for surviving in our environment- she was probably captured and killed within a year.”
“I suppose… But what of the rumor of his capture?”

“The truth of such rumors would only explain how the Sith has not been attacked yet.”
“If he has been captured, then the Republic will soon know where to look for Lord Pa’Jas, and we will have to face the Republic Army, as well as Jedi!”

“You forget- he has faced a Jedi Master before. Not only did he survive, but he was victorious.”
“Yes, yes, we all remember quite well the events on Mustafar." The Bith sighed. "He is imprisoned on Corsucant, not fighting one Jedi Master. Escape means facing the entire Jedi Council, as well as the Republic Guard.”
“He will escape, somehow, and he will come here to kill Lord Pa’Jas. We have to be ready.”


Chapter Nine: Promise
SOLO TWINS' SUITE - Coruscant

Jaina splashed her face and looked in the mirror. She didn’t think the man she met just a few hours ago meant her any harm. I did ignite my lightsaber first, but… She couldn’t remember exactly what transpired in her quarters.

She did know that she was completely unable to sense him through the Force. Even when she tried to reach out and find him, she felt nothing. Luke had often told her that powerful Jedi could mask his or her presence in a crowd, but she had never heard of anyone being completely invisible to detection.

What bothered her the most was how dumbfounded she must have looked, watching him just stand in her doorway. She had stumbled over her words- words, which, she barely managed to think of to begin with. He was attractive, certainly, but that couldn’t have been the reason for her behavior. He wasn’t that attractive.

Jaina looked into her reflection’s eyes, swearing her next encounter with Jacno would be different.
He threatened my family. He wouldn’t have made that threat if he didn’t mean it- would he? He didn’t have Jacen’s lightsaber, either. In fact, Jacen and Anakin, who were together in the Hapes Cluster, hadn’t even gotten word of the Star Destroyer yet.

Jaina buried her face in a towel, patting it dry.

She dropped the towel when she heard a very faint clicking sound. It almost sounded like-
She reached for her lightsaber but a hand grabbed her wrist and spun her around before she could get her hand to her belt.

The first thing she saw was the barrel of an Imperial blaster pointed at her forehead. Behind the blaster she could barely make out Jacno’s face in the low light.
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, he jammed the barrel of the blaster against her tongue. She tried to pull her head back but couldn’t go far because of the mirror.

“Don’t say anything. I don’t want you to yell. I don’t want you to whisper. I don’t want to hear anything from you.” He spoke at just above a whisper, his teeth clenched together. “This will be much faster, and I won’t have to hurt you or your parents if you just stay quiet. Got it?” Jaina nodded, glaring at him.

“Good.” He pulled the blaster out of her mouth, but aimed it at her forehead again.
He let go of her wrist and took her lightsaber, tucking it into his pants pocket.
“I know what Skywalker said, and I overhead your father’s story from yesterday. I said exactly what he told you. Skywalker, however, has a slightly more exaggerated view of me.”

Jaina almost protested, but remembered not to talk just before the words came. He pressed the barrel of the blaster to her forehead.
“Ah- remember, don’t say anything.” She nodded silently.

“As far as the potential of innocent people- such as your brothers, or yourself- being harmed because of me… Well, let’s just say that isn’t how I like to do things. I have somewhat of a history with the Jedi Council. Basically, they don’t like me, and I don’t like them in my business.”

Jaina felt helpless to escape, but couldn’t understand why. She could easily fight him without her lightsaber, and was sure she could move faster than he could.

“How do I have a history with the Jedi Council, let alone your Uncle, without you having ever heard of me before? Well maybe you should ask your Uncle- let him talk about one of his most embarrassing moments on the Council.”

Jaina simply stood there, glaring at him.

“What’s my point? My point is that when I threatened your family, I knew the reaction it would have. I knew it would get Solo and his lackeys away from my cell. I knew if Luke talked to me, I could convince him I wasn’t the person he needed to worry about. That would provide me with a much better chance of escaping.”

He lowered the blaster, tucking it into the back of his pants.

“I don’t intend on hurting your family- not even Skywalker- and I definitely don’t intend to hurt you. I have to get off this planet- I have things to do elsewhere.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Jaina whispered. “Why didn’t you leave hours ago?”
“I’ll get to that when the time comes, but for right now, just don’t tell anyone you saw me again, OK?” He smiled and winked. “They might think there’s something going on between us, and we certainly wouldn’t want that.”

With that he hit the door controls and stepped out of the bathroom. The door hissed closed behind him. Jaina’s gaze dropped to the floor where she saw a small, dark object. She kneeled down and picked it up. An energy cartridge… She turned it over in her hand, checking the charge. …Full…But when did he-

She set the cartridge down on the tile as gently as she could, the slight impact making a very familiar and faint click.

[Darill Cyllem]

Jaine should've kicked him on his way out... heehee. Joking, only joking!

[Jacno]

Jaine should've kicked him on his way out...

I actually really wanted Jaina to fight back, but in interest of chapter length, and to keep Jacno calm and peaceful (had Jaina struggled he would have been forced to hurt her), I had to betray Jaina's character just a little...

[Darill Cyllem]

I think it still works, though - she's just so surprised, and afterwards wonders why she didn't react more strongly. So, i think it still is pretty consistent with Jaina overall. Doesn't mean i wasn't rooting for her to kick him though... just in the shins, you know - nothing vital....
:wink:

[Nightvision90]

I agree with Darill Jania should have kicked him

[Jacno]

I think it still works, though - she's just so surprised, and afterwards wonders why she didn't react more strongly. So, i think it still is pretty consistent with Jaina overall. Doesn't mean i wasn't rooting for her to kick him though... just in the shins, you know - nothing vital....
:wink:

yeah, he could probably use a good, swift kick in the privates...

[Darill Cyllem]

The only question remaining then is who gets to do the honors.... :lol:

[Nightvision90]

The only question remaining then is who gets to do the honors.... :lol:

I say Jania

[Jacno]

Chapter Ten: Proposition
CORUSCANT

Jacen stepped into the cool night air, taking in a deep breath as the doors hissed closed behind him. There was no one on the walkway, which suited him just fine; he would rather be alone with his thoughts.
It’s unusually peaceful tonight. Jacen looked to the sky, walking to the railing and wrapping his fingers around the metal pipe.

“That is quite an impressive sight.” The voice came from behind him- almost startling him. He looked back and saw a man silhouetted against the light reflecting off the old Jedi Temple. He narrowed his eyes and turned around fully- trying to get a better look at the stranger.

“The Temple, I mean. It’s impressive that something that represents so much can just be destroyed like that.” The stranger snapped his fingers. “That temple was built long before certain planets knew how to travel through space. Then it was just destroyed?”

Jacen stood next to the man, now. He was a little bit taller than Jacen, but slouched over, his forearms resting on the top of the railing.
“The Empire destroyed it, because of what it meant.”

“That’s just it, though. If it really meant so much, the people wouldn’t have allowed it.”

“They didn’t, or have you forgotten about the Rebellion?” Jacen turned to look at the ruins of the temple, the light from spotlights reflecting off the metal surface, making it the brightest object in view.
“Oh, sure, the Rebellion. A hodgepodge of species, that for the most part, resided outside Republic-controlled space. The Empire’s rule stretched further than Republic regulations, you know.”

It wasn’t often strangers struck up conversations with Jedi, and this particular stranger had an odd choice of topics.

“The former members of the Galactic Senate did not join or support the Rebellion until the Senate itself was eliminated.”
“What is your point?”

“At some point the people of the Republic lost faith in the Jedi Order. Why that happened I cannot say- I wasn’t around for that- but I can say that the people’s faith seems to have been restored, at least here.”

Jacen looked at him, studying his face. It was too dark to see his face very well, but Jacen could make out his eyes. They were dark, almost inhuman. “Do you not believe in the abilities the Force gives the Jedi?”

“No, no. It’s not that at all. I died once, years ago. A man with great control of the Force was able to bring me to life again. I believe the Force gives great power to those able to summon it. There are problems, however; one being that the Jedi are not the only ones capable of controlling the Force.”

Jacen nodded. “You mean the Sith.”
“Exactly.”
“That is one problem, but what other problems do you think there are?”

“While the Sith may be considered evil by the now free peoples of the galaxy- there are those who are at a level of cooperation with such evil. You see, those who quest for power are more satisfied at simply having people behave, rather than obey particular laws.”

Jacen narrowed his eyes, looking past the old temple, at the freight-ships and cargo transports still crowding the sky above the industrial section.

“Take a bounty hunter- Bobba Fett- for example. The Empire realized the threat Solo was, and therefore would stop at nothing to have him put in a position that would prevent him from causing further problems. The Old Republic- as well as the current- would never cooperate with Fett. The Empire, however, saw no problem in allowing Fett to take Solo, because they believed he was safely under guard.”
Jacen turned his head towards the stranger.

“Don’t alienate those who do not do not wish to be part of your Republic, they may prove to be powerful allies against a common enemy.”
“You speak as if you have great experience in such things. Tell me, where are you from?”

This time the stranger smiled, looking at Jacen.

“I was born on Naboo, and raised there until the death of my parents. Since then I have traveled the galaxy, keeping company with some decidedly unsavory characters- except for a delightfully adventurous princess.” The stranger took a step back from the railing.

“There are criminal organizations which would gladly work hand-in-hand with the Republic, so long as their operations would go unhindered, to defeat any enemies which may prove threatening to both.”
“Why should the Republic cooperate with criminals? It has done a fine job of removing the final traces of the Empire on its own.”

“What of the latest threat? The mysterious Sith Lord whom has eluded capture for nearly two years.”
“What about him?”
“A single man- not even a Jedi- managed to get on board that Star Destroyer and kill every last stormtrooper on board.”

“I know this. He killed the Sith, as well as his apprentice.”
“Not the Sith Lord, but the both apprentices. There were two. The master escaped, but not before an encounter with the bounty hunter.”
The two looked at each other for a moment before Jacen began to speak.

“You know-“
The stranger held up a hand, silencing Jacen.

“My father used to tell me that even those whom I had no respect for had an equal chance to prove their worth. Given the chance, most people would attempt to make up for a lifetime of crimes with one action. Do you believe this is true? If forgiven for all their previous sins, a criminal may risk their lives against a single Sith Lord?”

Jacen nodded. “If they are not afraid of a Sith Lord, I suppose that would be a very tempting offer.”
“Maybe the Galactic Senate would agree to such terms?”
“It is a possibility. What are you suggesting?”

“Very soon you will be contacted by a criminal organization with information regarding the Sith Lord. A small group of criminals will be ready to seize a compound, where the Sith is currently residing. They will be doing so because they believe the Republic will be willing to forgive them for their crimes. If the Republic is unwilling to grant amnesty, then the siege will not happen, and the location of the Sith shall not be given to the Republic.”

The stranger turned his back to Jacen and began to walk towards the door leading inside.
“Tell me one thing.”
The stranger did not look back, but stopped.

“How was it that this ‘bounty hunter’ was able to kill both of the apprentices without having any ability in the Force himself?”

The stranger smiled, though Jacen couldn’t see it.

“Travel to the uncharted regions and you will encounter beings faster, stronger, and far more fearsome than any Sith or Jedi has ever known.”

[Nightvision90]

amazing Jacno

[Jacno]

Chapter Eleven: Departure
SOLO TWINS' SUITE - Coruscant

Leia stood in the den of Jaina’s suite, waiting for her daughter.
“Come on, Jaina, your brothers and father are waiting across the hall!”
“I’ll be just a minute, mom.”

Leia pushed the main door controls. With a hiss the doors opened and she gasped, stepping back. “Jaina…?”
Jacno stood just outside the doorway, holding a blaster pistol in each hand- both were aimed at Leia. He stepped inside, keeping the pistols pointed at her chest.

“What, mom?”
Leia glanced towards the doorway to Jaina’s bedroom, then looked back at Jacno; almost asking permission to call her daughter into the room. He nodded slowly, understanding.
“Jaina, come out here please.” Sensing the fear in her mother’s voice, Jaina pulled her robe on, and stepped out, into the den. She gasped when she saw Jacno, blasters still aimed towards her mother.

“What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Then leave!”

“Well there’s a bit of a problem.”
“Yeah, there is. You’re not leaving and you’ve got two blaster pistols aimed at my mother!”
“I’m not so sure that’s really my problem- her problem, maybe, but not exactly mine.”

Leia looked back and forth between the two, wondering why Jaina hadn’t just cut him down with her lightsaber yet.
“Though, if I were you,” he looked at Leia, “I’d be happy for anything to get me out of politics. That’s just me, though.” He looked at Jaina, moving one arm to aim the blaster at her. “Missing something?”

Jaina narrowed her eyes, just moments ago she’d realized her lightsaber was not in her bedroom, and Jacno was the one she had immediately guessed the culprit was.
“I’ll return it if you do something for me.”
“No.”

“Get me and my ship off of Coruscant and safe passage to where I’m going and you’ll get your lightsaber back.”
“No.”

“You realize I could kill both of you right now?”
“You won’t do that.”
“What’s stopping me?”

“You wouldn’t be able to leave the planet if you did. Not to mention you already said you weren’t going to hurt anyone. If you hurt either one of us, that would make you untrustworthy, and then why would I expect you to return my lightsaber?”

He nodded. “You’re smart. I like that. Though I don’t think you realize how badly I want to get off this planet. I want your help because I don’t want to have some overly-dramatic space battle as soon as I leave orbit. If you’re on the ship with me, they won’t shoot me down. If you’re flying, we can out-fly anyone who may chase us.”
He smiled.
“Do that much for me and I’ll be happy to give you your lightsaber back.”

He turned to Leia. “I have a request for you, too. Grant us clear passage out of orbit and into hyperspace-”
“Or…?”
“- And I’ll let you have your daughter back.”

She looked at him in astonishment. Did he really expect her to give into his demands? Moreover, did her really expect to kidnap a Jedi Knight?
“Why don’t you put your weapons down and then we’ll talk?”

“Well that sounds like a great plan!” Jacno released the energy cartridge from the blaster aimed at Jaina. He tucked it into a pocket on his flight-suit, sliding the blaster into its holster. “So, now, since I put one away, can I get half of what I want?”

“Yes.” Jaina stepped forward, “I’ll go with you. I’ll take you to wherever you want to go.”
“Good.” He smiled. “That takes care of step two.”
“Step two?” Leia felt like she had missed something.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“What about step one?”
“What about it?” He looked at her, lowering the blaster just a little.
“What is it?”
“Oh, that. Well step two is leaving the planet.”
“So what’s step one?” Jaina asked, getting nervous.

“Getting to the ship.” With that, Jacno reached out and grabbed Leia’s left wrist, twirling her halfway around. Her took her other wrist and pulled her back against his chest, squeezing her wrists together with his hand. Jaina instinctively reached for her lightsaber, but found it still missing.

Jacno pressed the end of the barrel to the side of Leia’s head. “Don’t worry, Jaina, she’s just leverage. I don’t intend to hurt her. I’m a man of my word- ask Luke. Just ask him: ‘did Jacno keep his promise?’ and Luke will say: ‘yes, he did.’”

Leia struggled against his grip. “You’re not a man of your word. You’re nothing but some low life criminal. You’ll be lucky if you make it down the hall.”

Jacno leaned his head closer to Leia and pushed the blaster harder against her temple. “You’re one to talk, Senator. After everything you’ve put me through you’re the lucky one. If it weren’t for your husband I’d have finished my business and would probably be in paradise right now. The only thing I have any real concern about on this damn planet is your daughter. Luckily for you, she’s concerned about her family.”

He turned so they were both looking at Jaina. “How amusing; the only thing keeping me from blowing this entire planet into itty-bitty pieces is your daughter? She looks a lot like you, too. Were you that pretty when you were her age?”

Jaina frowned, glaring at Jacno. Leia shook her head.
“Can we just go, then?”
“I’ve been waiting for someone to ask that.” Jacno swung them around, and marched Leia out the door.

“Come on, Jaina, it’s time leave this corrupt world.”


Jacno, still holding Leia hostage, and Jaina walked backwards along the bridge leading to the ship Jacno had chosen to take. Han, Luke, and several Republic soldiers were following them, blasters raised and ready to fire upon Han’s command.

When they got to the ship, Jaina waved her hand and the ship’s rear hatch slowly opened, a ramp extending to the floor. Jacno backed up the ramp first, pulling Leia after him. Jaina followed them into the ship. A moment later the ship’s engines rumbled, coming to life. Han approached the hatch and saw Leia coming down the ramp.

In her hands were the two blaster pistols Jacno had been carrying, as well as the cartridges for the blasters. A soldier took the weapons from her, inspecting the cartridges.
“Sir.” He held them up for Han to see.

There was no charge in either.

The small group on the landing platform turned as the ship’s repulsarlifts hummed, lifting the ship off the surface. It lurched into motion away from the platform as Han lead his wife along the bridge.

“She knows how to take care of herself, hon. we’ll see her again soon.”

[Nightvision90]

awsome once again

[Jacno]

I'm so close to the end of writing!
It's pretty exciting to actually see a lengthy project to the finish.
Every element of the story is coming together really well, better than I expected. And you guys are still just scratching the surface!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Darill Cyllem]

We look forward to seeing more! Get posting, boy!
:nahnah:

[Jacno]

BAH!

[Jacno]

Chapter Twelve: Loose Ends
MOS GNAVIN - Tatooine

T’Yesh sat at the bar in what she suspected was the worst cantina in the worst city on the worst planet in the known galaxy. Even Mos Eisley- which was considered by many creatures, criminal and law-abiding alike, to be a constantly growing city of the lowliest criminals traveling through the sector- was a far friendlier place.

Yet T’Yesh was here. Moreover, she almost seemed to fit in.

She had been to Mos Gnavin once before, and had not hated the experience nearly as much as she loathed what she was going through this time. She was waiting, and she hated it more than anything else she had ever done.

There was a man sitting next to her, saying something about the speed of his ship. He was bragging, of course- bragging to her. She shouldn’t have taken her helmet off. If she hadn’t done that no one would have noticed her. They would have just thought of her as another bounty hunter.
“So what do you think, darlin’?” The man next to her leaned closer, smiling.

T’Yesh barely turned her head to look at him, her glass hovering near her lips.
“No.”
“No?”
“Definitely no.” She glanced past him, at the door, wanting this experience to be over with.

“Now, darlin’, I don’t think that’s the right answer.” He started stand up, one hand slowly moving for his blaster.
“Yeah, yeah,” she waved her hand, motioning for him to leave. “Just go ahead and find some other ‘darling girl’ to impress.”

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of her chair and onto her feet, shoving the barrel of the blaster into her side. “Why don’t you just go ahead and come with me? It’s so much easier that way.”

“Can I finish my drink first?”

“Make it quick, darlin’.” She poured the rest of her drink into her mouth. This’ll make it easier…

She turned to face him and smiled a little.
She swung the glass into the hand holding the blaster, spitting her drink in his face. He let go of her wrist, stumbling back and lifted the blaster, pointing it where she was standing. She stepped aside as he fired, the blast hit the cantina wall, leaving a scorch-mark. T’Yesh reached forward, grabbing him by the hair, and slammed the side of his head onto the top of the bar.

She let go and set a couple of coins on the bar next to him. She turned around to see every customer in the cantina looking at her. The man groaned- barely conscious.

“Well, what do you know? If it isn’t the little princess.”
T’Yesh turned around to see a tall woman standing a couple of meters away, a blaster pistol at her hip, and a long range rifle strapped to her back.

“What brings you to such a place as this?”
“I’m looking for you.”
“Me? Why me?”
“I need to-”
“Oh! I know! You want me to kill you, to end your miserable life of hiding.”
“No, I-”
“I don’t know of any other reason why you would be looking for me.”
T’Yesh took a step forward. “Jacno is back.”

An hour later, T’Yesh sat across a table from four young women, none of which had much good to say about her. The cantina was nearly deserted now; two of the women had managed to kick almost all of the patrons out.

“So he’s back, huh?”
T’Yesh nodded.
“Meaning he’ll come here sooner or later.”
She nodded again.

“I suppose it was he who slaughtered that Star Destroyer?”
“If that’s true, then where is he? It should have only taken him a day or two to get here from Endor.”
T’Yesh was afraid this would happen. The women were questioning her honestly in the matter.

“He’s gone to other systems to enlist help.”
“No!” One of the women stood up, knocking her chair over, pointing at T’Yesh.
“He hasn’t returned, she just can’t let him go, and so she’s going to try to carry on without him!”

“He has returned!” T’Yesh leapt to her feet, also, slamming her hands down on the tabletop.
“Show us the hard evidence he has returned, or, better yet; have him tell us himself, and we’ll pledge our assistance.”

T’Yesh looked at the women in front of her briefly, before storming out of the cantina, shoving a half-drunk Abyssin out of her way.

[Darill Cyllem]

I'm liking T'Yesh. Favorite character by far up to this point. :)

[Jacno]

Chapter Thirteen: A Past Life

Jaina stepped through the doorway of the ship’s cargo hold. Jacno was sitting with his back to her, a box open in front of him.
“Where’s my lightsaber?” Jaina snapped.

“Did you point us towards Geonosis?”
“Yes. Now give me my lightsaber.”

Jacno took a bite out of a small, round fruit, holding her lightsaber above his head. She snatched it from him and clipped it to her belt. He closed the box and stood up, facing Jaina. As he took another bite of the fruit Jaina realized what it was.

“Hey!”
“Hi.”
“Where’d you get that?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes honestly!”
“Your suite.”

“Why? Those are really expensive!”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I took them from your room instead of buying them.”
Jaina huffed, more annoyed that Jacno didn’t seem to think stealing was a big deal than she was mad at the actual act.
“The way I look at it, I brought enough of them to feed both of us, so it would be as if you had me as a guest for dinner or something.”
With a sigh and a shake of her head, Jaina turned around, heading for the cockpit again.

A moment later Jacno came into the cockpit and sat in the co-pilot seat, handing Jaina a fruit. She reluctantly took it from him, holding in both hands. He took another bite from the fruit, the seed made a quiet crunch as he bit into it.
“Um… You’re not really supposed to eat the seed…” Jaina looked at him as he chewed the piece of seed.

“They’re edible, so why not?” He took another bite from the large seed.
“It doesn’t taste good, that’s why.”
“So you just throw it away?” A piece of fruit fell out of his mouth, and he caught it in his hand, tossing it back.
“…Yeah…”

“Maybe these things are so expensive because everyone throws the seeds away, so no more get to grow.”
“No, actually it’s because they come from Hutt-controlled space.”
“I know that. I’ve had to steal shipments of these before. I wouldn’t know what it was if I hadn’t worked for a Hutt.”

“You worked for a Hutt?”
“Yep… that was a long, long time ago.”
“I’m guessing you were a smuggler for him, since you apparently stole fruit a few times…”
Jacno smiled, tossing the last piece of his fruit up and catching it with his mouth.
“I did a lot more than rob from other Hutts… I even killed one.” He winked.
“Oh? And which Hutt did you kill?” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice and the eyebrow she raised.

“You don’t believe me?”
“Well you have to understand… Hutts are usually very well guarded… It’s not like you can just waltz right up to them at any time you please.”
“I worked for one, remember? I was his best smuggler. I had up close and personal access to him day or night.”
“So, you were the best- and probably the highest paid- smuggler working for this Hutt?”
He nodded.
“Then one day you just… woke up and killed him?”
“Well not exactly. It happened about two hours before I went to bed.”

“Oh, wow, I was completely wrong! Now I understand your motivation.” Jaina nodded sarcastically, taking a bite from her fruit.
“I wanted to quit, but if I did, he would have let the Republic know how to find me. Considering who I usually got to steal from…”
“You killed him so the Republic wouldn’t find out that you were the smuggler stealing their shipments.” Jaina said it like she just solved a riddle.

“Right. The problem was that they knew that someone by the name Jacno was responsible, so I had to kill the guy who could point them to the right Jacno.”
“So how’d you kill him?”
“What?”
“How did you kill the Hutt?”

Jacno looked at the Jedi in the pilot seat. “Are you really asking that?”
“I am.” She nodded.
“Well, to be honest, I carved his head off with a lightsaber. Let his lackeys believe a Jedi had come to put an end to his business.” He shrugged. “It was messy, but so very worth it.”

Jaina nodded, wanting to hear more about Jacno’s past life, yet somehow nervous about what he may have done.
Nothing as bad as threaten my family and kidnap me, I’m sure…

“So how did you get your hands on a lightsaber?”
“Um, well, I made some.”
“Some?”
“Yes, some, as in more than one.”
“How? I mean- how’d you get the crystals?”
“I went to Ilum, found the ancient Jedi caverns, and got a box full of the crystals.”
Her jaw dropped slightly in surprise- not so much that he managed to find crystals, but at the number he was implying to have retrieved.
“Why so many?”

“Lightsabers get broken or lost from time to time, so why go look for a new crystal every time that happens when I can just get a bunch at the same time?”
It made sense. Jaina ran through the situation in her head. He could have dozens of lightsabers stashed away somewhere on this ship. He was crazy enough to attack an entire Star Destroyer alone, and skillful enough to actually make it out alive- not to mention he killed everyone inside.

He stood up and walked out of the cockpit, Jaina jumped up and caught up with him.
“Where are you going?” She asked, accusingly.
“Relax, we’re about to see some old friends of mine, I just want to clean up a little before we get there.” He took the fruit from her hand. “You gonna finish this, or throw it away?”
She said nothing, so he took a big bite and turned through a doorway leading to a bathroom.

She followed him until the door whisked closed in her face.
“Hey!” She shouted to the closed door.
“What?” Jacno’s voice was muffled from behind the door.
She hesitated, not really wanting to admit that she was curious about Jacno’s life.

“What?” He sounded almost irritated.
“I want to know more…” The door opened with a hiss, and he stood in the doorway, holding a towel around his waist.
“What do you want?” He sounded really irritated this time. She stepped back.
“I said I wanted to know more…”
“You heard pretty much the only important part. I really haven’t done anything else extraordinary.” He sounded calmer now, and the door closed again.

She heard the sonic shower start and, after standing outside the door for a moment, she turned to walk to the bedroom near the rear of the ship.


Chapter Fourteen: Geonosis
GEONOSIS SPACE

The small Corellian freighter dropped out of hyperspace just out of orbit over Geonosis and was quickly in the targeting computer of the Outlaw Fire.

Jacno looked at the beeping controls inside the freighter’s cockpit, rolling his eyes. The communication panel beeped and flashed a few lights.
“Corellian freighter, this is the Outlaw Fire, what business do you have in Geonosian space?” The pilot’s voice was muffled, obviously being spoken through a helmet.
“Can it, Slayr.” Jacno mumbled to himself.

Jaina stepped into the cockpit as the ship lurched again.
“What hell is going on?”
Jacno glanced back as Geonosis passed out of view.

“Well, remember how I killed that Hutt?”
“Yeah?” Jaina sat in the co-pilots chair and studied the console.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.” Jacno looked at her, Geonosis corkscrewing back into view.

“That’s it? We’ve lost shields because you killed a Hutt?”
“Well, it’s slightly more complicated than that…” The lights blinked and went off.
“Great, we lost main power…” Jaina sighed. “So much for whatever it was that you wanted on Geonosis.”

“Nothin’, Geonosis is a stupid planet with nothing of interest relating to it. Except that the Clone Wars started here. That was ages ago, though.”
Jaina stared at him as the comm. panel beeped and a woman’s voice came over the speaker.

“Crew of the Corellian freighter; prepare to transfer to the Outlaw Fire.”
Jacno hit the button allowing him to talk to the Fire.
“Hey Slayr, I missed you, babe.”

The only response was a groan from the rear of the freighter as the Fire lined up the airlocks.

[Nightvision90]

another amazing chapter Jacno. Cant wait to see what happens

[Darill Cyllem]

And Sam Slayr makes her entrance. Fantastic. I love her. Not that I'm biased....

[Jacno]

More Sam comin' right up after a word from our sponsors!

[Jacno]

Chapter Fifteen: The Outlaw Fire

Jaina stepped onto the Outlaw Fire, Jacno just behind her, to see a woman standing just a meter away, blaster pointed towards them. The woman was trim, square shouldered and square jawed, with fiery blue eyes.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the legendary Jacno; killer of Hutts and kidnapper of princesses.” She stepped closer to them, and reached out a hand. “Let’s have ‘em.”
“Have what?” Jacno shrugged, trying to sound innocent. Jaina glanced at him.
“You know what; just give ‘em to me.” The woman stepped closer.

Jaina looked back at Jacno, wondering if he was just going to give her whatever it was she wanted.

“You know, Slayr, I thought we were friends…” He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out two lightsabers and placing them in her hand. Jaina felt a nudge from Jacno, and he nodded in Slayr’s direction. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and set it in Slayr’s hand, next to the other two.
“The blaster, too- I didn’t get stupid since last time I saw you.”

Jacno pulled his blaster pistol from its hiding place in the back of his jacket and set it on top of the lightsaber hilts.
“Seriously, Slayr, I thought we were friends.”

“Creds are tight, Jacno, and since someone- someone who wasn’t a Jedi- carved up a Star Destroyer, with a lightsaber, the whole criminal underworld is a little worried you’re back.”

“Oh, yeah, that Star Destroyer thing was me…” He smiled a little. “But, Slayr, still, you know I have Credits stashed all over the galaxy. If it’s about that, I can pay you off.”

“You’re full of it, kid. The day you pay in full is the day the Core freezes over. You’re just looking to drag me into whatever ridiculous scheme you have going this time.”
He shrugged in response. “Whatever, it’s not my fault you don’t want to have any fun.”

Sam half grinned despite herself. “You’re hardly the one to show a lady a good time, kid. My idea of fun involves getting paid in full.”

“Okay. That I can’t really deny. So I’m going to take leak now.”
Slayr rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

The door of the Outlaw Fire’s cargo hold hissed shut and Jacno pounded on it with the palm of his hand.
“Slayr open up! I really, really have to go the bathroom!”
“I don’t think she’s going to let you go.” Jaina sat on the floor with her knees tucked against her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.

“Damnit.” He sat down next to her, patting her knee. “It’ll be OK, I think I can hold it.”
Jaina frowned. “Jacno, something is bothering me.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, first thing; you said there was nothing you wanted on Geonosis…”
“I know.”
“So why go there in the first place?”

“Um…” He looked up, thinking of something to say. “Sightseeing?”
“No.” She said sharply, not in the mood for lies.
“Sure, why not?”
“Because you’re up to something, aren’t you?”
“What could I possibly be up to that would involve Geonosis?”
“That’s my point!”
“What’s your point?”

Jaina jumped to her feet, whirling to face him.
“Jacno, what the hell are you trying to do?”
“Get away from the Republic. Oh, and whomever put a price on my head big enough-”
“No!”
“Um… Actually, yeah-”
“No, there’s more to it than that!” She turned around, rubbing her temples and taking a few steps away.
“Look, Jaina,” he climbed to his feet, “I promise I’m not up to anything that will harm the Republic. Or your family, Okay?”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you this time. I won’t believe you this time.”

Jacno groaned. “Oh, come on. Cut it out. There is no reason to be all dramatic about it.”
“Oh? What about the princess?”
“What princess?”
“Did you kill her?”
“I’ve killed a lot of people, Jaina. You’ll have to be more specific…”
“The princess!”
“What princess, Jaina?”
“The one from Naboo, she was kidnapped a long time ago, and she was found dead six years ago!”

Jacno plopped down on a crate, staring at Jaina, a blank expression on his face.
“Did you?” Jaina demanded, stepping closer to him.
He didn’t answer- but just looked at the floor.
“Jacno! Did you kill her!”
He jumped up, leaning his face close to hers. “No! No, I didn’t kill her!”

She stepped back, surprised by his outburst.
“There’s no way she could be dead.”
“She’s dead, Jacno.”
He shook his head and went to the comm. panel by the cargo door.

“Slayr, I really need to talk to you.”
“I’m not letting you out, kiddo.”
“Sam…”
“Shut it or I’ll-.”
“Sam, it’s about the princess.”

A moment later the door opened with a hiss, and Sam was standing outside, hand on her blaster.
“Come on.”
Jacno stepped out, waving for Jaina to stay put.

“Is that really Jaina Solo?” Sam hissed as soon as the door sealed shut.
“Yeah.”
“Are you stupid? You brought her on board my ship? She’s a Jedi! She’s the Chief of State’s daughter! She’s Han Solo’s daughter, for fierfek’s sake!”
He nodded. “I really need to know about her though.”

“What about the princess, then?” Sam snapped, feeling extremely irritated.
“Is she dead?”
Sam sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, I couldn’t say for sure. Last time I saw her she was with that Wookiee character.”
“When was that?”

“Damn, kiddo. What’s with the interrogation?” Sam sat down in the captain’s seat.
“Just tell me.”
“It was about three years ago.” She arched a single, thin brow in his direction. “I thought you didn’t love her.”
“I don’t- I just- Whatever.” He sat in the co-pilot’s chair and stared at the tiny orb that was Tatooine, slowly getting larger in the distance.

“So what are we going to do once we get there?”
“You’d better just tell the Solo kid, I don’t want her to try to hack me in half.”
He sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell her when we get there.”
“Tell her now,” Sam insisted.
“Why?”
“Because she’ll just guess herself otherwise.”
He stood up. “Time to bring me back.”

“Tell her, Jacno,” Sam repeated, the softness of her voice enhancing the threat she meant to deliver.

[Jacno]

Chapter Sixteen: Aubrey
MOS GNAVIN - Tatooine

Aubrey blinked, trying to clear her eyes. It had been a long day, and T’Yesh was nowhere to be found.
She’d better hope I don’t find her… Aubrey’s thoughts had barely settled in when she felt the barrel of a blaster pistol run up her back, along her spine. It came to a stop at the base of her neck.

Raising her hands, she smiled to herself, almost wishing it was T’Yesh.
“Hey, you’d better watch who you try to poke with that blaster…”
“Aub, I should hope I can poke you with whatever I want.”
The voice sounded so fam