[Dark Nest] - 1(101)

Jacen did as she ordered and found himself standing atop a stone pier concealed just beneath the surface of the murky water.

“The Secret Way,” Tenel Ka said. “It is an ancient Hapan defense-and it leads to the only place I can ever be truly alone.”

“Why do you put up with them?” Jacen followed her along a jagged pathway of sharp, seemingly random turns. “Those idiot nobles, I mean?”

“They have their uses,” Tenel Ka said. “I allow one to sit at my side, then watch to see who seeks him out.”

“And that tells you what?” Jacen asked. “Who wants something from you? “

“Everyone wants something from me, Jacen.” They reached the island and stepped onto a mossy path that, Jacen suspected, was rarely trodden by any feet but Tenel Ka’s. “But the families who don’t change alliances when I change favorites-I know those are the advisers I should listen to.”

“It seems very… intricate,” Jacen said.

“Calculated,” Tenel Ka said. She led the way into a shielding copse of paan trees, then sat down on one end of the only bench. “It is the Hapan way, Jacen. There is a use for everyone.”

Knowing it would not be proper etiquette to assume, Jacen did not sit on the other end of the bench. “Including me?”

Tenel Ka looked away. “Even you, Jacen.” She patted the bench beside her, then said, “Now the houses of my suitors will be united against you. It would be wise to watch what you eat while you are here.”

“Thanks,” Jacen said. “But I won’t be staying.”

“Of course not.” Tenel Ka continued to look away, but Jacen sensed tears in her voice. “What is it you need from us?”

“You felt Raynar’s call?” Jacen asked.

“Yes. In the end, I had to keep myself locked in the palace. I didn’t know who it was from. I thought maybe…” When Tenel Ka turned to face him, her gray eyes were clear and steady, but she had not bothered to wipe the tear tracks from her cheeks. “I have heard that a colony of Killiks is threatening Chiss space.”

In that moment, the entire weight of the last five years’ loneliness fell on Jacen’s heart, and he wanted nothing more than to take Tenel Ka in his arms and kiss her.

Instead, he said, “It’s a complicated situation.”

Jacen went on to recount his journey into the Colony, from his arrival at Lizil to his exploration of the Tachyon Flier to joining Jaina and the rest of the strike team on Jwlio. Tenel Ka’s gaze never strayed from his face, and he described his slowly dawning awareness that the Killiks shared a collective mind, what Raynar had become, and Cilghal’s theories about how the pheromones altered the Joiners’ minds. This drew a cocked brow from Tenel Ka, and for a while she seemed a young Jedi Knight again, her thoughts consumed by adventure and mystery rather than intrigue and politics. Jacen ended by reporting the mysterious attacks against his parents and aunt and uncle, and by noting that the Killiks claimed to have no memory of Lomi or Welk.

“The two of them just disappeared after the crash,” Jacen finished. “The Killiks insist Raynar was the only one aboard the Flier, even though I know he dragged both Lomi and Welk out of the fire.”

Jacen did not say exactly how he knew. There was no reason to go into the subtleties of Aing-Tii flow-walking right now. Tenel Ka sat in deep silence for several moments, then swung around, straddling the bench, and faced him.

“What became of Em Teedee?”

“Lowbacca’s translator droid?” Jacen asked.

“He was on the Flier when it was stolen,” she pointed out.

“I think he was destroyed in the fire,” Jacen said. “I found a melted lump of metal that kind of looked like him.”

Tenel Ka sighed. “Too bad. He could be a very annoying droid, but I know Lowie would have liked to have him back.” Their gazes met, and neither hurried to look away. “So, you’ve come to ask me to leave here and help track down Lomi and Welk, before they create a whole legion of Dark Jedi?”

Jacen’s heart leapt. “You could do that?”

Tenel Ka smiled, but her eyes turned sad. “No, Jacen. It was a joke.”

“I see,” Jacen said, also growing a little sad. “Am I required to laugh?”

“Only if you wish to avoid offending the Queen Mother.”

“Never.” Jacen laughed dutifully, then added, “You still have a lot to learn about jokes.”

“So you say.” Tenel Ka raised her hand and made an elaborate wave skyward. “Everyone here seems to think my jokes are quite funny.”