The Legend of the Jedi Queen

77. Firebrand

Jaina Solo was standing in the hangar, waiting for them when the Falcon landed on Uphatu. Nellith could sense her aunt's fiery presence in the Force, like a flickering shadow with such brilliant light, Nellith had to squint.

"Everything alright?" Jaina asked with a frown as she approached her niece and apprentice.

Nellith bit her lip and shook her head. "We need to find the Throne of Balance."

"What?" Jaina's pitch raised slightly as she attempted a Solo-esque smirk to reassure Nellith. "What's going on?"

"I can't use the dark side anymore, and Tallis can't use the light," Nellith said. "And we're both immortal now— we think."

"You think?" Jaina tilted her head to the side. "What happened to you on Mortis?"

"We became these kinds of Force Gods, Abeloth's new children," Nellith said. "But I don't know how or why, but a vision showed me that the Throne of Balance will be key to stopping her. We can kill Andromeda Hux, but that only delays everything. She hurt my father when she was Snoke, hidden away and delayed for another day. We can't let her hurt anyone like Tallis or Dad again."

"Wait, Tallis?" Jaina shook her head. "I don't trust that kid— don't tell me he's with you!"

"He's with us," Nellith said, wincing in anticipation of her aunt's reaction. "He's on our side, I promise."

"But you said he's all dark now," Jaina said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Doesn't that automatically make us his enemies?"

"It's complicated," Nellith said, her cheeks turning pink.

"Humor me," Jaina said.

"There's still light in him, I can sense it," Nellith said. "And he's acting out of selflessness, not vanity or any of that."

"I'm not sure I can believe that," Jaina admitted.

"When have I ever steered you wrong?" Nellith asked.

"Bringing him to Yavin IV, which brought Abeloth back in the first place," Jaina reminded her.

"Trust me," Nellith insisted. "He's got a plan—"

"And did he tell you what it was?" Jaina asked.

"No," Nellith admitted.

"You're smarter than this," Jaina said. "What did he really say that convinced you?"

Nellith's cheeks flushed red as she looked down to her hands, still clenched into tightly-wound fists.

"He told me he'd done it all for me," Nellith said. "And that he'd do it all still even if I never loved him back. Because the way he loves me isn't selfish or vindictive."

Jaina blinked, surprised. "It reminds me of something Dad used to say about love. 'I love you with no strings attached. I love you for free.'"

Nellith tilted her head slightly. "Han Solo said that?"

Jaina smiled as she remembered her father fondly. "He could be profound sometimes. Sometimes what he said was as stupid as his plans. But he at least made things sound right. He said he'd learned that little saying on Corellia, about some woman he loved long before Mom."

"He sounds like he was a cool dad," Nellith said.

"Our dad was pretty cool," Ben said regretfully as he approached Jaina and Nellith. He was staring at his twin sister in particular. "I didn't know for so long that he didn't know about Snoke when Mom did, that he didn't know about Luke, or any of it. I thought he had, and he was fine with it."

"That's why," Rey said as she approached. "I'd suspected from what Leia told me— but you never told me the reason why you killed your own father."

"I understand it now," Jaina said. "And that's why you hated me. Because you thought I knew about those things too."

"Leia kept secrets from all of us," Ben said. "She was a good mother, but sometimes her secrets hurt all of us."

"We don't have time for this," Tallis said impatiently. "We need to start looking for evidence of the Throne of Balance."

The adults turned to glare at the boy. Nellith simply touched her fingertips to his arm, and he had the decency to look ashamed. He fiddled with the knot on his scarf, finding it to be more interesting than the healing taking place.

"Come on," Nellith said. "We'll start looking while they take a little break."

He allowed her to lead her away to one of the many rooms within the Imperial Palace, to do research, and perhaps some other activities.