Star Wars Jedi Knight IV: Sith Empire

Chapter 31: Option Number Three

"You are not Sith. You wear the trappings of the Sith, you fight like the Sith, but this can be imitated, however. You lack a vital quality found in all Sith. Sith have no fear, and I sense much fear in you."

―Count Dooku

"Fear," Jaina whispered, while simultaneously trying to hide her Force aura. "Do you sense it too?"

Luke nodded. He didn't reply, instead he listened intently to the receiver for the bug placed in the adjacent chamber. "Plan B is an airlock, by the way," could be heard faintly as Jag stepped out of the room. Several seconds later came a series of noises Luke couldn't quite identify, and then the door hissed shut.

Still clenching down on his own Force aura, Luke started to tear down the receiver kit. "But not a fear of being threatened," He pointed out as he folded the antenna and began coiling the cable around the receiver. "Seems like there's more to the story than she's letting on."

Jaina snorted, seeming more chipper than he had to be feeling. "Uncle Luke, did you forget who we're talking about here?"

"Touché," Luke responded with a forced smile. "Let's meet Jag on the bridge." Luke waved Jaina out the door first and followed her out. He still couldn't help but squirm inside seeing his niece wearing an Imperial uniform, much less the black and red of a Sith trooper officer's.

"Fear of what though?" Jaina asked, half to herself as Luke picked up the pace slightly to come up along side her. It didn't take much, Jaina wasn't all that tall. "She faced Abeloth before with Ben. From his telling of the story she didn't seem shaken."

"I'll be honest, trying to imagine Abeloth at the Valley of the Jedi doesn't fill me with confidence," Luke said. The deck began to tremble beneath his feet. Both he and Jaina stopped and put a hand on a bulkhead. Klaxons began echoing down the corridors, and the lights dimmed for a second. "But she knew of that ahead of time as well and didn't seem this shaken. Something changed."

Jaina thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I almost don't want to think about it."

More vibrations could be felt in the deck as the hyperdrive spooled up. "For better or for worse we're going to have to find out," Luke remarked.

A second or so the quaking of the deck ceased and they were able to walk normally. The klaxons had stopped.

"Should we tell her about the chip?" Jaina asked as the two resumed walking.

Luke thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, at least not immediately. If I were to tell her that an Em-Dee droid removed a biochip in the base of her skull that seemingly was able to override her consciousness, don't you think that would affect her decision?"

The two rounded the corner and stepped onto the bridge, which hummed with activity. Jagged Fel stood in the middle of the bridge observing the events that had just transpired, hands clasped behind his back.

"Well?" Luke asked him as he approached.

"Kesh has been dealt with," Fel said. "And your wayward Padawan is all yours."

"Thank you," Luke replied.

"We'll give you a minute." Jag said, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist as they left for the readyroom. Luke gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. As they both left the bridge, Luke caught Vestara's glance in the reflection of the transparisteel. She quickly looked away into the miasma outside.

"You're wasting your time here, Master Skywalker."

"That would mean you think you already know why I'm here." Luke responded.