The Children of the Stars

The War Room

They stood in the lounge of the Falcon in silence for a moment. Nellith's eyes darted over each one of them. Tahiri. Valin. Kyp. Chewie. Artoo. Ben.

And then, just as they were about to start, in came Allana. Her hair was dripping and there was a bright, almost crazed look in her eye. She slammed her wet blaster down on the dejarik table, her completely soaked-through cloak on top.

Chewie grumbled something about having just cleaned and refurbished the seats.

It was the exact type of thing that Threepio might have scolded them for.

"We'll have to get him, too," Nellith said aloud.

"Who?" Valin asked.

"C-3PO." Nellith looked to Artoo. "He has almost as much data as Artoo here— and he was with Thea on New Alderaan as a coronation gift—"

"Oh no." Allana had caught onto her thoughts. "That might be behind whatever Darth Keera's done to cause us to lose our connections to one another. Who knows what he knows that we don't?"

That's when Nellith realized—

"You're back online."

"Yeah." Allana grinned. "It just. . . It happened. In the cave. By the way, Jaina sends her regards."

"Wait— Jaina's dead?" Ben's gaze grew hollow. His fingers flexed as he reached out, to confirm it. "She— she is. And I didn't know."

No one knew what to say in his grief. It became a heavy shadow, lingering in the room.

"Then we owe it to her to save Jacen."

Everyone looked up to Nellith. She straightened her posture. She would fix this. Whatever happened next— she had do.

"Artoo, can you pull up a map?"

The room was suddenly filled with translucent blue projections, including a marker for Ahch-To.

"Mark New Alderaan for me, Artoo, please."

Without so much as a beep or whistle of complaint, Artoo did so.

"We'd be going into the heart of the Remnant," Valin whispered.

"I've heard the planet's under lockdown," Kyp said. "We've got the most famous ship in the galaxy, after the Death Star, maybe. We're not getting in there."

"Except when Mum and Aunt Rose got together for the last time, they equipped the Falcon with a custom cloaking device and scramble box." Allana's brandy-brown eyes gleamed. "Jaina told me— she'd helped with it, before she went to flight school."

"Isn't that handy?" Tahiri mused over the map for a moment. "We actually have a mole on New Alderaan. He'll help us. He can meet us at the shipyards, and get us into the palace."

"Is that where they're holding Jacen?" Nellith asked.

"Keera's keeping him in her private apartments."

"So we have two objectives." Everyone naturally looked to Ben, with his low, commanding voice. He had inherited the natural political charisma of his mother before him and her mother before her. "We retrieve Threepio, and we rescue Jacen."

"Our source says that both are in Darth Keera's apartments." Tahiri crossed her arms over her chest. "Someone's got to stay with the ship, though."

"I'll stay with the ship," Kyp volunteered. "I can pilot out quickly."

"It might be best that Chewie stay here, too," Tahiri added. "And Artoo. They're distinctive, and our contact wants only humans to go, since we can easily slip into uniforms at the laundromat."

"Well, I'm going," Nellith declared, placing her hands on her hips.

"I need to go, too," Allana added. Eyes went to her blaster. Even if she had regained her powers, like Nellith, she had never gotten her own lightsaber. And she was more valuable politically. "I've actually been in her apartments before."

Valin cleared his throat. "I think we'd all feel better if you stayed here."

Nellith could sense her sister's disappointment.

But Allana just smiled politely. "I understand. Besides, I suppose someone has to keep Kyp company."

There was a flash in Valin's eyes— but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.

"Then we know who the party is," Ben recapped. "Tahiri, Valin, myself, Nellith, and whomever is your contact."

Tahiri's green eyes twinkled. "I think you'll recognize him when we get there."

"Then we'd better get going," Nellith said. "We've got no time to lose."

She then gestured for Chewie to follow her into the cockpit. While the others worked to close up the Falcon, she punched in the hyperspace route to New Alderaan.

She had to set things right.

For Jaina.

Before she could start the ascent, she sensed her father behind her.

"Be careful, Nellith." She looked up at her father.

"I will."

"Revenge isn't the way of a Jedi."

"Maybe not." She looked back to her controls. "But this isn't for me— it's for Jaina."

Ben was silent for a moment, pondering his words. "She's still your sister."

With that, he turned to leave the cockpit.

"I don't care that she's my sister." The words felt wrong as they leapt out of Nellith's mouth, but it was too late, they couldn't be taken back. "She killed my little brother, and my older sister. And she'll kill my other brother too. I don't think family matters to her, either."

Ben paused. "I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong to feel that way. All the same, I'll ask you to reconsider it. To look through your anger."

Nellith hesitated.

"Just think about it."

Then Ben slipped out of the cockpit.

Nellith looked to Chewie. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"

Chewie shook his head.

"Thanks."

She then looked to the evening sky of Ahch-To.

"Alright, then. Let's go save Jacen."