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Jaina Solo opened her eyes.
She was lying in her bed, a cool breeze blowing in from her open window, the jungle air smelling very nice this night. The young woman rolled over and sat up slowly. Her room was dark, and her bedside chrono declared that it was barely past midnight. Why was she wide-awake?
Something was wrong, that was obvious even to her budding Force skills. She swung her feet off the side of her bed and stood slowly. The dormitory on Yavin IV was deathly quiet, and Jaina could feel no distress coming from any of the other students. She walked over to her open window and stood there enjoying the brisk breeze. Her long T-shirt billowed up around her as the wind blew down her large sleeve and neck holes.
Jaina enjoyed the sensation and smiled. It must be nothing, she thought, probably just a dream. As she began to turn away from the window, a light outside in the distance caught her attention. She did not have a good angle to see the light directly and opened her window further so she could lean out. It was the landing pad, and it looked like someone was preparing the Academy's shuttle for departure.
"Who would be leaving at this time of night?" Jaina thought. She leaned out a little further and tried to use the Force to enhance her vision. It was a skill she was becoming very good at, and she could clearly see her uncle and Master Tionne loading the shuttle. Neither of them looked happy, and Jaina could feel a hidden sense of urgency about the process.
Three minutes later, the young Jedi student was running toward the landing pad across the damp jungle grass in her bare feet. Jaina had kept her nightshirt but had thrown on a pair of shorts underneath. Tionne noticed the young woman's approach first, and the Jedi Master brought her to Skywalker's attention.
Luke frowned when he saw his niece running toward them. She was still a ways off, and Luke called to her with the Force. -Go back to your room and go to bed.-
"What's going on?" Jaina called verbally, drawing a frown from her uncle.
"Keep your voice down, Jaina," Luke scolded her as she drew near. The academy's head master looked around at the buildings where his students lay sleeping, hopefully undisturbed by this commotion.
Jaina was puffing as she slowed to a walk in front of the raised landing platform. "What's going on? Why all the secrecy?"
"Master Tionne and I are leaving for a few days. You are going to stay here. Now go back to your room and go-"
"Where are you going?"
Luke looked hard at her. She needed to learn more discipline. "There is something on Coruscant that needs my immediate attention. I will be gone for several days."
"What happened?"
Jaina would not quit. Luke sat down on the edge of the raised platform so his eyes were level with Jaina. He tried to give her a stern look, but at that moment it was very hard to be her teacher. Instead, his sixteen-year-old niece looked about eight, her brown hair hanging in a tangled mess scattered on top of her shoulders and the bottom of her nightshirt brushing against her knees. She looked earnestly at him with her sparkling brown eyes, and he folded.
"A senator has been killed."
Jaina kept her effective look and cocked her head. There had to be more than that. If only Luke had not been her uncle and had not held her as a child he might be able to refuse the pleading look. Luke knew, though, that if he continued any further, there would be nothing short of tying Jaina down that could keep her from coming with him.
"He was killed with a lightsaber," Luke said slowly and carefully. "Your brother is being accused of the murder. He is being held by the New Republic awaiting trial."
Jaina lost her cute look instantly and once again looked and acted like a sixteen-year-old, temper and all. Jacen was on Coruscant right now, spending time with their mother and father. "That's outrageous! Jacen wouldn't hurt a flea! Do they have any proof?"
Luke put his hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. "Go pack a bag, and we will give you all the information in the shuttle. Jaina did not need to hear anything else and turned to run back to the dormitory. Luke stood as he watched her run.
Tionne came up behind him. "Do you want to tell Anakin too?"
The youngest Solo child was yet to show himself, and Luke preferred it that way. "No. Something in the Force woke Jaina and brought her to us before we left. Maybe she needs to come. Streen will tell Anakin what is happening in the morning."
"Do you think the Force is telling us that Jaina will be helpful in clearing her brother?"
Luke turned to look at Tionne. "I hope so."
***
Jaina sat slumped in a chair in the lounge area of the shuttle. The meager bag she had packed sat on the floor next to her. She had merely run back to her room to change clothes and throw a bunch of toiletries into a bag. She had plenty of clothes on Coruscant, clothes that the daughter of the Chief of State would have to have, but that would look very strange on a jungle moon.
The idea that Jacen was being accused of murder was taking its time sinking in, but now, over an hour since she had first heard the news, it was finally taking effect. The words How, Why, When, and Where were floating through her mind, but they could not latch onto any coherent thought to form an actual question.
Tionne walked into the lounge, leaving Luke to guide the ship on an expedited hyperspace route to the galaxy's capital. Jaina looked up at the Jedi scholar, all of the worry and wonderment on her face begging for some answers. Tionne took a seat across from Jaina and obliged.
"Markis Keld, the senator from Krakus, was found dead about 36 hours ago. He was found in the old government district in the lower levels of Coruscant. His body was found in two main pieces, cut from the left collarbone, diagonally across his chest through to just above the right hip. Half of his right forearm was also found lying next to him."
Jaina knew it had to be a lightsaber. From the brief description she had just received, her mind could easily reconstruct the deathblow. The senator had weakly put his arm up to ward off the blow, as he was probably crouched before his killer. Any normal vibrosword would have simply batted the arm aside as it cut thought the body. Only the efficiency of a lightsaber would have been able to cleave the limb as well.
"The wounds were lined with cauterized burns and absent of drag marks common with most steel blades. There was little doubt what the weapon had been. Jacen and your mother are the only two people on Coruscant with registered lightsabers."
"That doesn't mean one of them did it?" Jaina countered quickly.
Tionne raised her hand slowly, requesting silence. Jaina calmed back down, feeling foolish for the outburst. Tionne continued. "They found several boot prints around the body. The prints seem to have appeared magically in front of the victim and then disappeared just as suddenly in an alley behind the victim. The nearest window or ledge to the first appearance of the prints is over a dozen meters away, an impossible leap for any human and most aliens. No evidence of a cable or other apparatus was found."
Jaina nodded. She had seen her brother perform many amazing physical feats with the use of the Force. "Still," Jaina persisted.
"The size of the prints match your brother, and the length of the strides fit his height as does the angle of the killing strike."
"But what about a motive?" Jaina continued to plead against the evidence. "Just because Jacen could have done it doesn't mean he did. Why would he kill a senator?"
Tionne picked up a datapad from an end table next to her and tossed it to Jaina. The young solo caught the pad easily and scrolled quickly through its contents. There were about half a dozen articles on the display. She quickly looked at some of the titles: "Forced into Subjection," "The Next Empress," "Defenders not Dictators." Jaina also noticed that Senator Keld had written each article. Jaina looked up expectantly at Tionne.
"Senator Keld had been a very prominent voice in the senate to remove your mother from office. He does not trust Force users and feels they should not be allowed to hold a government position. He professes no animosity toward Jedi, but if you read his articles, you will find very carefully veiled hatred."
"Why?" Jaina asked.
"He is from Krakus," Tionne began. "Thirty-five years ago-"
"The Krakun Purge," Jaina interrupted, remembering her history lessons well. Tionne nodded.
Krakus had been a very peaceful planet. They were just as advanced technologically as the rest of the galaxy, but they preferred to live in simple luxury, as opposed to the hustle and bustle of Coruscant and other planets like it. Their cities were not without skyscrapers, but the majority of the planet was covered with simple houses and vast farmland. Thirty-five years ago, six Jedi had retreated to the planet to hide from the Sith who were sweeping across the galaxy, killing every Jedi they found.
When the six Jedi were found on Krakus, the Sith came in with a vengeance. Rarely were Jedi hidden in groups larger than two, and as a result, the six on Krakus put up a considerable fight. The main battle took place in Krakus's capitol city, though the fighting carried on to several others as well. The Sith were ruthless in their efforts, tearing down every building in sight in the hopes that the Jedi might be crushed underneath. Massive Force storms ripped through each city they fought in, tearing the glorious architecture of the Krakuns apart with incredible efficiency.
The Jedi recognized the tactics of the Sith too late, and when they finally gave themselves up, over four hundred thousand Krakuns had lost their lives. Half of the population blamed the Sith, while the other half blamed both sides equally. Since the purge, the New Republic had gone a long way in helping the Krakuns cope with their loss at the hands of the Sith, but a few people still harbored hatred toward any Force user.
"Senator Keld lost his wife and daughter during the purge," Tionne explained, "leaving him with an infant son to raise on his own. He is very well respected in the senate by both the former Imperials and by the New Republic faithful. Rumors exist that he wishes to shut down the Academy and remove all Jedi from the galaxy, exiling them to a planet where they can kill each other off. These are just rumors, though, and the only thing he admits publicly is that he feels Jedi should not be allowed to rule. In his words it is the only way to ensure another Palpatine is not created."
"So he has spoken out against Mom," Jaina said. "That doesn't mean Jacen would kill him."
Tionne shrugged. Jaina saw the uncommitted response and felt she wasn't hearing everything. Tionne was a Jedi historian. She had researched the Jedi more than anyone else alive and knew more about the Force and its role in history than most of those who had lived the history.
"Has there ever been something like this before?" Jaina asked. "I mean, has a Jedi ever been accused of murder before?"
Tionne nodded. "Four times, as far as I can tell."
"And?"
"And in each case the Jedi was found not guilty."
"So they found the real killer?"
Tionne frowned. "I don't think you understand. In each case the Jedi was found not guilty of murder, but in each case he also openly admitted to killing the victim."
Jaina was confused.
"Jedi are protectors of the galaxy. Like police officers, they often have to take the lives of criminals and terrorists. We don't just protect the galaxy from the Sith and other evil empires. In each of the four cases, the victim was found to have been involved in highly illegal activities that endangered many innocent lives. In each case the Jedi was not only cleared of murder, but celebrated for his deeds."
Jaina understood, nodding slowly. The impact of what Tionne had just said took a while to sink in, but when it did, it felt like a bomb had gone off in the young woman's head. "Did Jacen kill Senator Keld?!"
Tionne did not have an answer. "You know everything I do. I have not spoken to your brother yet."
Jaina started to speak up in her brother's defense, but Tionne held up her hand. "There is no point in postulating on what we do not know, when the answer will be presented to us in a matter of hours." Jaina closed her mouth at the words of wisdom and tried to calm her racing thoughts.
"Try to get some sleep," Tionne encouraged. "The trip to Coruscant will not take much longer, and the next few days will be very busy."
Jaina nodded and tried to make herself comfortable in the lounge chair, but she knew she would never be able to fall asleep.
***
It was night on Coruscant.
Jaina looked at the beautifully lit capitol city, but it did not inspire awe like it usually did. The vastness of the huge planet city usually made her heart skip as she tried to fathom its existence. Being Force sensitive gave Jaina a unique perspective of everything, and as a result, her inquisitive mind was startled or surprised by very little. This sight, however, high above the massive structures that covered Coruscant's surface like so much grass on a hillside almost always sent a chill down her spine.
Instead, Jaina wished it was day. She had left Yavin IV during the night, flown several hours through the dark, cold, endless void of space, and now landed in darkness. The purpose of this trip cast a dark enough shadow over Jaina, and she needed an excuse to smile.
Luke set the shuttle down on a private pad reserved for only the most important guests to the Imperial Palace. Palace guards waited for the three visitors when they exited the shuttle, and no words were exchanged. Instead, the guards led the trio off the landing pad and toward a turbo lift. Luke had made his request to the palace officials when he had requested clearance, and the guards would lead them directly to the detention block.
As the group made their way through increasing levels of security, Jaina could not help but feel like they were under arrest. The idea that Jacen might have killed a senator because of his anti-Jedi views made Jaina wonder if there were more like Markis Keld. Jaina and her brother had been through a lot in their few years of life. Events ranging from kidnapping to attempted murder had speckled their lives like skinned knees and bruised elbows filled most kids' childhood.
As a result, Jaina had learned to be wary of others. Each planet she visited and each new group of people she met were suspect, in her mind, of some ulterior motive in relation to her heritage. Finally after several years of peace and prosperity, Jaina had been able to put her childhood fears and worries aside and went through life with a more positive outlook. She was determined to have people judge her on what she did and not on what her grandfather, or even her uncle, had done.
It was times like this, though, as Jaina walked through the tight, heavily guarded hallways, deep in the center of the Palace's Detention Center with dozens of eyes trained on her, that those old fears began to resurface. All the evidence pointed at Jacen, and until Luke and Tionne could prove differently, everyone thought that he was a murderer. And anyone who knew the Solo family, knew the twins were inseparable. What Jaina thought, Jacen thought. What Jacen did, Jaina did. As long as people assumed Jacen was a murderer, Jaina might as well occupy the cell next to him.
As this thought process worked its way through Jaina's mind, instead of shrinking down inside her dark, cream colored cloak against the eyes of those who might judge her incorrectly, she stood a little taller and prouder. There was a reason she and her brother were thought of as the same person - they often were. She would stand by Jacen during this episode, regardless of the outcome.
The guard escort continued to grow as the group moved through the brightly lit, spotless corridors of the detention center until they came to a final door marking the entrance to the cell area. The two guards in the lead turned to the three visitors and held out their hands expectantly.
No words had as of yet been spoken, and Luke and Tionne negated the need for any now as they unclipped their lightsabers from their belts and handed the weapons over to the guards. Weapons were not allowed in the cell area.
The guards then looked at Jaina, but in her haste to leave Yavin IV, she had neglected to wear her lightsaber, and instead had thrown it in her bag, which still lay on the floor of the shuttle. This inability to produce a weapon inspired a short, but still humiliating, search by one of the guards.
Once the guards decided that none of the Jedi carried any weapons (other than their obvious Force skills, which alone made the guards more nervous than if they were each carrying a dozen thermal detonators), they were allowed to pass through the door.
The high security cellblock looked little different than the hallway they had just walked through. It was a bit wider, maybe three meters, with four-way intersections every twenty meters. After walking a short while in the cellblock, Jaina could discern the layout of the block as a large grid. The one thing she could not make out was where the actual prisoners were.
The ceiling was two and a half meters high and the walls were made of a smooth, gray, paneled durasteel. Jaina was still trying figure out this mystery when a sudden evil presence sprang out at her from the left. She reacted violently, throwing herself to the right, pressing her back firmly against the steel wall behind her.
The guards reacted quickly, almost shredding the young Jedi student with blaster fire before they realized her actions were non-hostile. Jaina was staring intently at the opposite wall of the corridor, still sensing some indescribable evil behind it. There was a hollow portion past the steel wall where something very unpleasant resided.
The guards actually smiled at her reaction. "There's a particularly nasty Wraith in that cell," one of them said, his voice carrying an eerie edge, as if he were telling a ghost story across a campfire to scare little kids. "He killed over two dozen people before we finally caught him. There is a law that we are not allowed to execute any race without representation in the senate, so he stays down here, waiting for his chance to escape. Some nights you can hear his soul wail in agony. It's not an audible sound really, but it reverberates in your mind, driving you mad. We've had a few inmates who have actually died of fright as a result."
Jaina did not honor the guard's tale with a look, but instead kept her eyes riveted on the wall across from her. She knew the evil creature could sense her presence. It savored Jaina's virgin mind, as it sunk its awful teeth into her psyche, chewing very slowly.
The trance of fear only ended when Jaina felt a tugging on her arm. Jaina's head spun to right and looked her uncle in the face. "Put it out of your mind, Jaina," he said, the voice of a Jedi Master. "Shut it out like I've trained you. It is your mind. Fill it with what is yours: hope, love, joy. There is no room for hate and fear."
When Luke said it, it sounded so easy, but as Jaina tried to remove her fear, the Wraith only persisted, pressing its hold on her even more. Luke could sense the persistent creature as well, and turned to cast a quick glance on the wall. Jaina felt the Wraith scream out in pain, and a dull thud could be heard as the creature reeled from Luke's brief mental attack and hit the opposite wall of its cell. Luke had put very little effort into the attack, but the Jedi Master had all but sent the wraith into a coma by his effective attack.
Jaina smiled as she felt how over matched the pitiful creature was and used this realization to give her the confidence to rid what little remained of the Wraith's presence from her mind. "Let's go," Luke said, pulling on her arm. Jaina smiled up at her uncle with a silent "Thank-you."
As they continued down the hall, Jaina could not help but gloat over the Wraith one last time before they were out of the creature's limited mental range. The evil beast was still severely disoriented from Luke's attack, but not so much as to ignore Jaina's parting shot. He responded in kind, letting Jaina know that if they met again, without Luke there to rescue her, she would wish herself dead.
Jaina's step quickened and was glad when she could no longer sense the Wraith at all. Her previous notion that she would gladly stand by her brother in this detention center was quickly deteriorating. Not wanting to dwell on that, Jaina spent the rest of the trip to Jacen's cell identifying the rest of the prisoners they past.
The doors to the individual cells were still not discernable to the young Jedi, but she could feel the life behind them. Either the cells were not placed side by side, or there were very few inmates in this section of the detention center because Jaina very rarely sensed anything. When she did, the presence was similar to the Wraith only without the ability to respond to her probe. The men (and some women) who resided in these cells were not nice people, to say the least. Hate, fear, aggression, jealousy, and greed were just a few of the emotions Jaina could identify.
This detention center had very little desire to rehabilitate its residents. The people who resided here were here only because their lawyers had been good enough to keep them out of the electric chair, unknowingly sentencing them to a fate far worse. These prisoners would never again see the light of day. No one came to see them, and no one cared that they existed, unless to wish that they did not. Nutrients were pumped into their cells via a slimy porridge that constituted as the only "food" they would ever eat for the rest of their lives. If any of these inmates ever got out and managed to survive the severe agoraphobia that they would have developed, the results to society would be catastrophic.
Analyzing the occupants of the cellblock as she was, Jaina found her brother quite easily, and the group stopped in front of his cell. One of the guards pressed a few buttons on a remote he held and a door that had just looked like another section of the steel-paneled wall slid into the floor revealing a very small steel box.
Jaina could not even really call it a cell. There was a drain in the floor, a hole in the wall where the daily gruel came out, and a bowl lying on the floor. That was it. Besides those three features, and the obvious human form slumped in the corner, the room was completely empty and featureless. Jaina looked up at her two companions, hoping that they would be appalled at this.
"Is this really necessary?" Tionne asked one of the guards. "He is the son of the Chief of State, for crying out loud. I think he deserves a little more respect than this."
The guard was unfazed by this comment. "He is charged with the highest crime on the books. The fact that he is a Jedi required that he be placed in the highest security detention center possible. I'm afraid we don't have any luxury suites here."
Luke did not appreciate the sarcasm. "Surely you could have made an exception in this case. Maybe you could get him a cot or something."
The chief guard looked Luke straight in face, not caring that he was about to dress down the most powerful person in the galaxy. "Once a resident enters our care," he started, using the word "care" as loosely as a politician might use the word "truth", "he becomes like anyone else who resides here. Security demands it. We do not make exceptions."
Luke shrugged, realizing he would win no favors from these men. To them it was nothing personal, they were just doing their job. In order to safely keep prisoners like the Wraith they had passed earlier, these guards needed to treat each inmate the same. Once you started to actually "care" for the prisoner and let down your guard, was when people died.
No, Luke would not get any favors from these men. He and Tionne would bring it up at trial, likely with little resolution, but they needed to bring it up to win a concession later on. Now Luke turned to look at his nephew, still slumped in his cell, oblivious to his visitors. Luke knew he could have survived such a cell as long as he had access to the Force, and he only hoped Jacen had paid enough attention to his classes at the Academy to do the same.
Jaina feared he might be hurt, but a simple analysis of his mind showed that he was only sleeping, though how anyone could sleep in that position was a mystery to her. Before she had a chance to gently wake him, the guards decided to take up the honor themselves.
"Jedi! Wake up! You have visitors."
Visitors were not common in this cellblock. Actually, visitors were not allowed at all, and despite what the guards had said before, an exception was being made. Jacen was only being "accused" of murder, though, and would normally be kept in a much different detention center. If he had already been convicted of his supposed crime, his time in the cell would only last as long as it took the guards to assemble the appropriate execution method.
Jacen stirred uncomfortably from his restless sleep, not entering consciousness with his usual efficiency. He stood slowly, rubbing his temples and squinting into the light from the hallway that flooded into his room. It took several moments for him to realize who was visiting him, and he smiled.
Jaina took great relief in that smile. She knew what he must be going through, only because she knew how she would have reacted to such imprisonment. He was miserable, feeling like the whole galaxy had suddenly lost faith in him and cast him into a pit awaiting execution. It was very reassuring to see that not everyone had already sentenced him.
Jaina wanted to run up and hug him, but could see and sense the shimmering force field that remained where the steel panel had slid away. Without thinking, Jaina began to analyze the wall of energy, tracing its power supply with the Force and identifying the safeties and alarms that would be triggered if it were disarmed. She just about brought it down, when Luke placed a hand on her shoulder.
Jaina looked up behind her into her uncle's face again. He slowly shook his head. Nothing got by him. Jaina did not know if she would have gone through with her actions if not stopped, but she was pretty sure of what the guard's reaction would have been: instant death.
Thinking about it, Jacen could have done it himself, if he had wanted to. Though computers and machines were Jaina's specialty, the task of turning off the force shield and preventing the alarms from sounding would not be difficult for someone with Jacen's Force strength. The real trick would be walking out of the detention without killing or being killed by at least two dozen guards.
Jaina, Luke, and Tionne were not there to free Jacen, at least not by a jailbreak. If that had been Luke's intent, there was nothing the guards would have been able to do about it. They were here instead to follow the law and due process.
It took a while for Jacen to get his mind fully centered on the situation at hand. "Welcome to my humble abode," he said casually, his unique sense of humor ever-present even in these conditions. "Please pull up a chair and have a seat." Having said this, Jacen sat down on an imaginary chair, looking at the guards the whole while. It was a simple levitation trick, but Jacen leaned back in his make-believe chair making it look all the more real. He smirked at the guards as he did this, letting them know how easily he could adapt to their supposed torture chamber.
Jaina did all she could to keep from laughing at this comedic display, wondering if she should pull up a chair of her own. She decided against it. Jacen was already on the guard's black list. Jaina was not and did not wish to be.
Luke frowned at the display, yet was inwardly happy that Jacen was able to cope. "How are you?" he stared simply.
"Never been better," Jacen replied. "There are no insects, no heat, and the last resident of my cell took the time to scratch his life story into the wall, giving me something to read. Quite an interesting man. I'm glad I'll never meet him."
Luke could tell the guards were about to end this meeting before it ever got started. He quickly moved the discussion to more important matters. "Did you kill Senator Keld?"
Jacen slammed his imaginary chair back to all fours, siting up straight. He looked hard at Luke before answering, making sure his teacher understood that he was completely removing himself from his sense of humor. "No, I did not."
"Where were you on the night in question?" Tionne asked.
"I was at home, alone."
Tionne was not happy with the useless alibi. "We need to be absolutely sure on this point," Tionne insisted. She had done the research on the other Jedi cases. In each case the Jedi had been very willing to admit to the killing. The defense had then been focused on showing the court that the victim was deserving of death, and the Jedi's deeds had saved countless lives.
While Tionne did not doubt Jacen's proclamation of innocence, she wanted to make sure which path they had to follow. Proving Jacen did not kill Markis Keld might prove significantly more difficult than proving the Jedi hater deserved to die.
Jacen looked at his teacher from the Academy, giving her the same stare he had leveled at Luke. "Do you think I did it?"
"I did not say that," Tionne responded defensively.
"What did you say?" Jacen asked, but then continued, not giving the woman a chance to answer. "Your question implies a disbelief in my sincerity."
"We just need to be absolutely sure."
"It's not the kind of question I'm likely to be confused about," Jacen continued. "It's not like you're asking me what I had for breakfast a week ago, or what I wore three months ago. You are asking me if I took the life of another human being. It's not the kind of question I'm asked too often. It's not the kind of question I'm likely to be confused about."
Tionne swallowed hard and nodded, feeling sufficiently rebuked. This was a side of Jacen she had never seen before. Very few people had. Jaina was one of them. Jacen liked to show the world his fun and sarcastic side because it was easier to maintain and people enjoyed it more. Jaina knew him better than that, though.
They both had pent up anger. You could not learn about your family history as they had and not have a little resentment at the universe for dealing them the hand they had to play with. Not only did they have this anger inside them, but they were never allowed to show it for fear of it being confused with the Dark Side.
Normal kids could lose their temper and fly off in a tantrum. Normal kids fought with their parents and yelled at their teachers. Normal kids did these things and they were looked at as healthy releases. They were punishable, of course, but if a child never lost his temper once, his parents would become concerned that there was something wrong.
Not only were Jaina and Jacen not allowed to show their anger, but they had also been cursed with more reasons for anger than just about anyone they knew. They had no living grandparents, and the only one they knew about was widely held to be one of the most evil men to have ever lived. Their family had been the target of countless assassins over the years, letting them know that there was a substantial portion of the galaxy that resented their existence. On top of this, they were given a gift that demanded an unreasonable sense of responsibility.
They had anger. It was knowledge of this anger and what it could do to them that created the third part of their psyche. It was the part that Jaina had just experienced a few minutes ago in front of the Wraith's cell. It was the part that Jacen now showed.
"You guys do believe me, right?" His hard stare had disappeared after his short lecture to Tionne and was replaced by a desperate expression. "You can get me out of here, right?" He was suddenly on the verge of tears, his imaginary chair slowly disappearing beneath him as he moved to the floor. "You have to believe me. I didn't kill him."
Luke nodded, while Tionne and Jaina just looked on helplessly. "We believe you."
The guards had heard enough and decided to bring the meeting to a close. Without warning, the steel panel in the floor rose up to close off the cell. Jacen quickly rose with the door, his head staying above the ascending panel as long as possible so he could see his friends one last time before he was shut back into darkness. A tear rolled down Jaina's cheek as her brother's face disappeared from view.
-We will get you out of here.- she said telepathically to him.
-I know.- he responded, though Jaina could sense that he really did not.
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