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Reconciliation
By : LexiLupin
Category: Star Wars (All) > AU - Alternate Universe
Views: 3594 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars; I make no money.
Chapter List
- 1-Reconciliation
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Epilogue
- 5
- 6
- 7
Part VI
Jacen sat back in his seat with a relieved sigh, before he remembered one very important thing- Zekk was still with them, and he had not yet secured the cuff on his arm.
Standing and stepping past Jaina, who was now leaning back heavily in the large co-pilot seat, eyes closed, he approached Zekk, lips twisting into a cold grimace of fury even as he tried desperately to shove the feelings down, for Jaina if nothing else. Before he could even say anything, Zekk was passing him his lightsaber and the electric impulse cuff. "It's a low-security system," the black-haired teen muttered monotonously. "You only need to Force to latch or unlatch it, so anyone can do it except the person wearing it."
Nodding grimly, Jacen pressed the manacle around Zekk's wrist and felt for the small locking mechanism, clicking it into place properly on the third try, and allowing himself the slightest satisfaction at seeing Zekk wince as the small impulses were sent through his system. Making sure that the blade was locked off, Jacen then tucked the lightsaber into his pocket and stepped away in disgust. "I really hope Jaina doesn't regret this when she's more coherent," he muttered.
"She will," Zekk murmured softly back, turning his head away to stare at the back of the pilot's seat, where Lowie was doing the last systems' checks.
The young wookiee declared them set for the duration of the jump, which was just over forty hours, and swung his seat around to lock fierce gazes with Zekk, who flinched slightly but did not look away. He barked a harsh question, but Zekk did not understand the slightest bit of Shyriiwook. "Where's Em Teedee?" Jacen frowned, and Lowie reached into his belt and produced the small translator, growling a short but complicated explanation that Jacen attempted to follow.
"She… hold on. She… reprogrammed him?" he asked.
Lowie nodded and switched on the small, annoying droid- who was now more annoying than ever, they soon found out.
"Master Lowbacca!" his tinny voice reprimanded. "It is late and you are not in your room; you are violating the Shadow Academy regulations, and Mistress Tamith Kai will be most displeased!" Lowie growled a satisfied-sounding explanation, and the droid seemed momentarily dumbstruck. "You… stole a ship? Master Lowbacca! The Empire is your friend, why would you steal its shuttle?"
Jacen quirked a brow and nodded resignedly. "Don't worry," he reassured his friend. "You'll be able to fix him, and we'll get Artoo and Threepio to help, I'm sure mom, dad, and Chewie will be heading to Yavin once they hear…" he trailed away and glanced at Jaina, but her seat remained facing front, and he could not see her face.
"Fix me!" Em Teedee was oblivious to Jacen's sudden concern for his sister. "Master Jacen, I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with my programming, and my circuits are performing admirably."
"Uh-huh," Jacen grumbled.
Lowie barked his initial question, directed at Zekk, and the little droid was temporarily distracted by performing his given duty. "Ah, Master Zekk, Lowbacca wishes to know whether Lord Brakiss is to blame for your… oh dear… for your lowly behavior that puts you beneath all manner of galactic scum and villainy which Master Lowbacca can currently call to mind." Lowie growled. "Master Lowbacca, my circuits are simply not programmed to be so crude!"
"It's alright, Em Teedee, I get the picture," Zekk said softly, standing. "And to answer your question, Lowbacca- no. Brakiss may have planted the ideas in my head, but the final decision to act was always mine. I was simply too proud to admit to myself that Brakiss was using me for his own ends, so I convinced myself that I was serving my own purposes in my actions. I was… mistaken… though I did not see it until far too late." He shot a pain-filled look over the back of Jaina's chair. "Jacen, you really should set her up in the med bay before that pain-killer wears off."
"Where are you going?" the younger teen demanded sharply.
Zekk closed his eyes and sighed. "There are two cabins in the back, two bunks each. I'm going to get out of your way, feel free to lock me in if you'd prefer, but… I think it's probably best if I remain… unobtrusive… for the duration of the flight."
"On that," Jacen muttered, gently tilting Jaina's chair around to examine his sister's wellbeing, "we agree."
X-X-X-X
After settling Jaina into the med bay, where she'd quickly fallen asleep despite the stim-shot, Jacen retired to the cabin opposite the one Zekk had taken up and left Lowie in control of the ship to he could calm his mind, relax… and try to reach out to his uncle and mother, to try to tell them that they had escaped, that they could abandon the search…
He felt Luke's responding touch first, and he put all of his focus towards reassuring him that they were safe, that they were headed back to the temple. It was a level of communication that he had never truly accomplished with anyone, save Jaina, but he caught his uncle's flicker of confused but pleased comprehension before another presence brushed against his mind, and he started before recognizing his good friend, Tenel Ka. He grinned, realizing that she must have been on the hunt with Luke, and the thought gave him a warm, fluttery feeling inside that he quickly buried in light of more serious tasks.
Reaching out once more, he grasped at the connections he shared with his younger brother, Anakin, and his mother, though he was more skeptical of them understanding the message, since both were less trained in the Force than the twins and certainly than Luke. Nevertheless, he sent gentle waves of comforting vibes to them both, though without the responding touch like Luke had sent, he had no way of knowing if they'd been received or comprehended at all.
Once that was done, Jacen set about the more daunting task at hand- learning precisely what was wrong with Jaina. Physically, she was obviously well enough to move about of her own volition, despite the apparent pain she was in. But something about her felt wrong, and Jacen didn't think it had to do with the interaction of the two drugs Zekk had injected her with.
Before they arrived in the Yavin system, Jacen fully intended to learn precisely what had transpired between his sister and Zekk throughout the duration of her separation from him and isolation in Zekk's quarters- particularly, he needed to know what had happened the prior night. But that conversation with Zekk would need to wait until Jacen was more confident in his own patience and self-restraint. For now, he wanted to put forth as much energy as possible into learning about Jaina's state of wellbeing, both physically and emotionally, and so he once more sat back and relaxed against the wall, stretching out with his mind, probing for his sister's presence in the aft part of the ship…
And he almost recoiled at the pain roiling through her. She was asleep, of that he was sure, but the pain relief seemed to have worn off, and he felt a general ache pouring from her, more concentrated in some places than others, but ever-present and suffocating.
But not as suffocating as the broken sense of betrayal that lingered beneath the surface of her unconscious mind; the same sense that had flared suddenly to him the night before, that had driven him to the floor in despair for her. Whatever had happened between her and Zekk- and Jacen thought he knew what that was- it had broken something inside of her, and try as he might, Jacen was at a loss of how to fix it. Her mind seemed to be in a similar state as that following Zekk's first assault on her, when Brakiss had led Jacen away to taunt him simultaneously… but she had woken renewed and refreshed the next day, wounded but not devastated.
Now though… there was little improvement, and Jacen fought to penetrate the thick shell of her defenses that she had unconsciously erected around her pain. Another wave of cold anger swept through him and he withdrew from her mind quickly, unwilling to cause her any further ache at his inability to control his emotions.
With a cold, calculating curiosity, he gently probed across the hallway and found Zekk's alert mind- still awake then. He was unable to hold the connection for long though, as Zekk's turmoil, confusion, bitterness, and regret made him shiver and gasp for air.
X-X-X-X
"Jaina?"
She didn't turn at the sound of his voice, and Jacen's heart cracked just a little further at the coldness emanating from her. "Did you sleep alright?" Nodding mutely, there was no other reaction as Jacen pulled a chair up beside the bed where he'd attached a monitoring system with a pain-relief drip to her arm. "Do you… do you remember what happened last night?"
Her eyes closed and she leaned her head back against the wall; for a moment, Jacen thought that she had fallen asleep. "Not very well," she admitted after a minute, but her voice was distant, disinterested, despondent… "I… I remember waking up and… Zekk telling me that he was supposed to kill me, I think…"
"Yes, Brakiss ordered him to, I guess."
"He… I hurt so much, but he wouldn't leave me alone until I got up and…" she went pink and didn't finish.
Jacen frowned. "Do you remember anything else?"
She shrugged noncommittally. "It's foggy."
"You were under a stim-shot and a pain-reliever," Jacen explained slowly. "They mixed oddly and made you a little… out of it." She stared at him, confusion creeping across her face. "Jaina, Zekk got us out." Her eyes darkened at the mention of the other's name. "When Brakiss ordered him to kill you, he sort of… snapped. He got us and Lowie, and he opened this shuttle and keyed in the startup codes so we could get away before they realized what had happened."
"And… is Zekk…?"
Jacen understood. "You insisted that he come with us," he explained slowly, quietly. "You said… that if we let him stay to be killed by Brakiss, that we're as bad as they are. You wouldn't let us take off until he agreed to come along to Yavin and let Uncle Luke deal with him."
"I thought I sensed his presence," she muttered.
"It's probably muted; I made him put on one of those pulse cuffs." He watched as her eyes drifted over her left wrist, staring at the spot where the cuff had been secured on her own arm for some two weeks. "We're still more than a day away from Yavin, but I think Uncle Luke knows that we're alright, and he's heading back there to meet us. And…" he bit his lip, "we'll get you taken care of."
Her gaze fell to where her hands were folded in her lap and she twitched almost unnoticeably. "I'd like to see Zekk," she finally said, voice so soft that Jacen had to lean forward to catch her words.
"I… would prefer that you didn't," Jacen confessed apologetically. "Not until we get you back to Yavin and get you some proper attention." When she said nothing, displayed no reaction, he sighed. "I can ask him," he relented. "But I'm not sure he's willing to see you. He's… pretty horrified at what he's done."
Nodding dumbly, Jaina sidled down the bed and curled up on one side- facing away from Jacen. "Just ask him, please," she said.
X-X-X-X
Steeling himself, forcing himself to keep a cool head, Jacen tapped on the cool, durasteel door before palming the release pad and stepping back while it slid open. Inside, the lone occupant sat crossed-legged on one of the lower bunks, leaning back against the wall, looking generally miserable.
Good.
"We need to talk," Jacen announced to the older boy, whose eyes widened fractionally before contracting in nervousness and looking down.
"Yeah," Zekk muttered.
Jacen sat on the bunk opposite the room from Zekk and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the one he had once known so well, had considered a dear friend. "We still have about a full day before we're arriving in-system," he stalled with a sudden anxiety. Zekk just stared, and Jacen knew that he wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had simply come to give him a travel update. "Uncle Luke knows that we've escaped," he continued stiffly, "so he'll be heading back to Yavin, though I don't know if we'll get there ahead of him or not…"
"Jacen, what do you want?"
His eyes hardened at Zekk's weary tone, and he studied the fallen youth for a minute. "Jaina wanted me to tell you that she'd like to see you," Zekk flinched and said nothing. "But before I even consider letting you back within ten meters of her, I want to know everything."
"I think you already know as much as you really want to."
"Zekk…"
"I hurt her, Jacen; I beat her, hit her, kicked her…"
"You raped her."
"Yes."
Three slow beats passed while Jacen clenched a fist. "Why?"
Zekk looked away and closed his eyes. "Physical pain wasn't working. Brakiss needed you to give in to your anger."
For a long time, Jacen just stared at him, horrified. "Me?" he demanded.
"Jaina was deemed… expendable… in the effort to turn you." He sighed bitterly and forced himself to meet the brown-eyed glare. "He always planned that she would die, and she played herself perfectly into his hands when she offered her own suffering in your place."
"And into your hands," Jacen pointed out sharply. Zekk shrugged glumly, head bowed, and Jacen fought back angry, bitter tears. "You'll have to tell all of this- and much more- to Uncle Luke," he warned. "He'll want to understand just how warped by Brakiss you became, before he decides if you can stay at the academy…"
"I couldn't stay even if he offered it, Jacen- surely you know that?" He paused. "Just as I can't bear to face Jaina, not now, not so soon…"
The younger teen stared at him for a minute or two, keenly calculating. "I told her you wouldn't," he finally acknowledged. "But you won't be able to run from this, Zekk; remember that."
For a long time, before Jacen could bear to press the interrogation any further, the two just sat and stared at one another across the room.
X-X-X-X
Jacen was sitting in the cockpit alone, mulling over his thoughts, drifting through them in a haze as he vaguely watched the hyperdrive timer count down the twenty hours that remained of the flight. Maybe Zekk had been right, maybe he hadn't really wanted to know everything- not yet anyway. He found himself continually battling against the wave of anger he felt towards their former friend, a stronger wave of hatred towards Brakiss and Tamith Kai for encouraging, facilitating the transformation of that friend.
He supposed it would be remarkably ironic if they finally succeeded at getting him to embrace the dark side after he escaped the Shadow Academy.
Lowie was angry too, and with the wookiee temper to boot; but it wasn't as personal for him, his anger wasn't as stinging. He was first and foremost concerned about Jaina- a potent reminder to Jacen that he needed to get himself together, she was his sister- and right now, Lowie was paying her a visit in the med bay.
As Jacen sat back to focus and relax though, Lowie let out a loud, alarmed growl of which Jacen understood just enough to know that his presence was required aft. He stood and bounded to the rear of the ship, dashing into the med bay.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
There were no obvious signs of alarm; Jaina was propped upright in the bed, looking away, Lowie was sitting at her side, peering intently at her. But as Jacen reached out and felt for his sister, he realized that something was definitely wrong. She was still radiating coldness, and now an edge of darkness was threatening to overtake that, laced with a numbing pain that forced Jacen back out of her mind involuntarily.
"Jaina?" he asked. "Sis, look at me… Jaina, what's wrong, what hurts?"
She didn't move, and he rushed around the bed to see her face… tears were pouring from her eyes, but her expression remained curiously blank as she vaguely seemed to note his presence, and dismiss it again almost immediately.
"Jaina, come on," he took her hand in his. "Tell me what's the matter, please."
Her mouth opened slightly, and he held his breath…
"I just… hurt," she murmured, voice frail and confused. And then the darkness won, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she slumped sideways; Jacen barely caught her amidst his own confusion, worry, and fear.
"Wha-" he cried, looking anxiously over at the wookiee who seemed just as distressed as he felt. "Jaina!" She remained unmoving, and he lowered her down to lie back on the bed before attempting once more to plunge into her mind.
It was excruciating, and he was forced to pull away within seconds. Letting out a strangled sob, he stood and stormed away, ignoring an inquisitive bark from Lowie. He slapped open the med bay door and turned- coming to a fast halt when the very person for whom he was searching was coming up the corridor, unsurely.
"I thought I felt…" Zekk began hesitantly.
Jacen didn't let him finish. He just hauled off and punched him clean in the face, ignoring the pain in his own hand, and watching the blood run from Zekk's nose with a detached satisfaction. "What the hell have you done to her?" he demanded brokenly before sliding to the floor and dropping his head into his arms, gasping heaving sobs.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Reconciliation	By : LexiLupin Category: Star Wars (All) > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3594 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars; I make no money.

Reconciliation