Peace of the Jedi [Sequel to Sword of the Lanterns]

Chapter Two- Ossus

"Bee, I told you once, and I told you a million times; shut up, or shut down!"

The droid gave a surprised beep, and was silent. Jaina had tried to turn him off prior to meditation, but the droid had a mind of his own, and kept turning himself back on. He was compassionate and empathetic, for a robot, and only wanted to help his mistress in her grief.

Jaina sighed. "I'm sorry, I just...I really want this meditation thing to work."

Jaina and Bee had landed on Ossus, the new location of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy after the Invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong, a terraforming alien race. The invaders were not connected to the force, making them the worst enemy for the greatest force the galaxy's Republic could produce. They launched an attack on Yavin IV, completely destroying the jungle planet. Ossus was believed to be the origin of the Jedi, and thus a prime location for the new Academy post-war. Jaina hoped the connection with the force would help her meditation, and landed in some ancient ruins far from the Academy's main campus. Her uncle and cousin knew she was there, though, they'd call her if it was really important. 

They knew Jaina wanted to be alone.

Jaina's mind did not want to meditate. In frustration she paced the roof of the crumbling temple she'd landed on. Peering over the edge, she wondered how long it would take for her to climb from the ground up, and if Tenel Ka could still beat her in a race scaling the sides after a few years as Queen Mother of sixty-three planets.

With the force, anything was possible.

Now silent, Bee followed Jaina's pacing, still searching for a way to help her. 

"I suppose it's my fault," Jaina grumbled, pulling off her boots and dangling her feet over the edge.

"Uncle Luke told me I'd never find peace, and I'm a fool for trying." She slapped her cheek to keep herself from crying, and reached into the force to balance her raging emotions.

Within herself, Jaina could see the strings, the bonds of the force that connected every living creature in the galaxy and beyond. Her connections with her family and friends were the strongest and thickest, pulsing with a pink-violet of love and a emerald-green for friendship.

Some, however, were broken.

Chewie's, Anakin's, Lusa's, Raynar's, Aunt Mara's...

Jacen's...

Jaina forced away the pain that swelled up at the memory of losing her twin, her other half, and worse...

She moved on to counting other threads.

Mom's, Dad's, Allana's, Zekk's, Kyp's, Tenel Ka's, Uncle Luke's, Ben's, Tahiri's, even maybe Jag's. 

And then there were others that weren't as thick, though they had once been strong and full of life, if only for a brief six months.

Kaldur's was still tinted pink. M'gann's was a vibrant green, even though it had shrunk. Connor's couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a lime green or an angry red, and it almost made Jaina laugh. 

Raquel, Zatanna, Richard, Artemis, and Wally's threads had all stayed green even as the years went on, though they seeemd to be duller each time she checked. 

She tugged on another handful. Carol's was pink and green as usual. Her short-lived mother-figure was well and happy, safe on Earth. John's was just like Carol's, stretching off to some far end of the universe where the Guardians had sent him on another wild quest.

Hal and Guy's thread's however, were growing shorter. 

They were coming to her.

The threads pulsed with life as Jaina's eyes shot open. Bee finally screeched, sensing the electricity in the air. Jaina looked skyward, thrilled but puzzled as to why the Green Lanterns would be sent to her side of the universe, where the Jedi had things well in hand.

...For the most part.

Two bright green shooting stars cut through the atmospheric shields, heading directly for her. Jaina cracked a smile for the first time in days and waved from the top of the ziggurat. 

When the light dimmed enough that she could see their faces she shouted for joy and threw her arms around Hal.

"Jaina. Jaina, Jaina, Jaina," Hal said her name over and over, hugging her tightly.

"Heya, Jay." Guy smirked, rubbing her hair.

Jaina batted his hand away. "I'm not a teenager anymore, Guy." She smirked.

Guy shook his head, reluctantly agreeing. "You grew up to fast."

"And you haven't grown at all, I see," she smirked.

"We don't have much time," Hal interrupted, taking Jaina by the shoulders.

"John's in trouble. We're dealing with a lot of alien invasions on Earth. We need your help." He summarized bluntly. 

Jaina's pulse quickened. "Wait, wait wait, what happened to John? Who's invading? Where are we going?"

"We aren't going anywhere," Hal gestured to all three of them. "The Guardians of the Universe are sending Guy and I to help John, but the Earth needs a Green Lantern. It needs you." He said insistently. Ashamed, Jaina looked to her feet.

"And so does your team."

Hal and Jaina looked at Guy, who stood there with his hands on his hips.

"Whether they know it or not, the team is up to their elbows in bad PR, stupid Light villains attacking left and right, and who knows how many aliens scattered around the globe," Guy marched up to Jaina, placing another hand on her shoulder.

"Whether they want it or not, the team needs all the help they can get, and half the League is gone.

"They need you, Jaina."

Jaina didn't say anything, but Hal and Guy knew what she'd choose. 

"I'll tell you this," Hal took Jaina's hand, speaking much more gently than Guy had.

"The team, the world, has changed a lot in these last four years. But those who were there remember you and miss you. They really do need you, Jaina."

"Hal, c'mon, we gotta go," Guy was already floating, flying away again. Jaina's throat choked up and she wanted to cry, not for the first time that day.

Hal pulled Jaina in for a hug one more time. "Please, Jaina, just think about it."

Jaina nodded. "I will, I promise."

Hal smiled sadly at Jaina, and finally followed Guy back up into the sky. Soon, they were once again bright green shooting stars, flying away.

Jaina sat down again, and Bee , like Hal and Guy, knew what she would do. 

The comm attached to Jaina's belt chimed, and she answered her cousin's call.

"Hey, Jay, did you get some funny readings just a second ago? They were like ships, but they could make it through the planetary shields and we couldn't make contact with them." Ben asked.

Jaina sighed. "Don't worry, Ben. They were with me. Just some old friends." she shut off her comm without further explanation, and turned to Bee. As a droid, B-88 didn't have facial expressions, and he wasn't supposed to have emotions, but Jaina had built him. She knew how he felt.

"Alright, open up," She held out the palm of her hand to him.

Bee rotated his lower sphere so that a certain area faced Jaina. A slot in his side slid out, and whatever was inside was glowing.

A bright, emerald green.

Jaina pulled out the ring she'd been entrusted with, examining the lantern symbol for a minute.

She slipped on the ring, and in a blinding flash of green, she was changed into the uniform, mask, boots, and all, of the Girl Lantern.

Jaina looked up at her ship. On the nose of the X-wing, Earth's Lantern was written in electric green calligraphy.

She had to try. Maybe, just maybe, she could get some peace in another place that had once felt like home.

"Well, Bee," She looked down at the orange-and-white droid.

"What are we waiting for?"