DOOM!

Here's where it start getting a tad odd, the next part is where everything starts getting really out of it. O_o



part II: THE DECISION

"They're gone."

"What do you mean they're gone?" Prince Isolder frowned in frustration towards Gadell Vessau, the Commander of the Hapan Royal Navy. The man who had just informed him that his only daughter and one of her Jedi friends was missing.

"It is exactly like I stated, sir. This morning they did not show up at breakfast and further investigation proved that they're both absent from the Palace. They're gone."

"As in 'missing' gone?"

"Well, there is a ship missing from hanger, sir."

Isolder placed his hands on his hips and peered across the fountain he stood in front of, to the black-haired man who was standing at attention.

Gadell finished, "We're tracking the ship as we speak."

"Good. Continue." The swish of his silk robes was the only sound that could be heard over the slow breeze as Isolder rounded the fountain and passed Gadell, heading towards the Palace. On the way by, he nodded solemnly to the man and seemed to wink his left eye. The Commander made no return motion and just continued to stare ahead, hands clasped behind his back. If there had been no ulterior motive between the scene that just occured between the two men, Gadell might have been kind of disturbed by that wink.

But he knew what it meant in this case, seeing as how the whole exchange in the Gardens was a setup. Inhaling deeply, Gadell mentally checked off that part of the plan and letting a sly grin tug at the corner of his lips, he followed Isolder back into the Fountain Palace.

After taking a trip to the kitchens and grabbing something for lunch, Gadell was in Isolder's office mere minutes later -- one of the forward command rooms. They were the rooms that were checked daily for bugs, the rooms that always had at least four guards posted outside. The rooms where all the politics and planning went on...

"Do you think anyone heard us?"

"Hopefully," Isolder replied, standing at the front of the long empty conference table. "The Gardens are always the easiest places for spies to listen in, and the easiest place for people to eavesdrop around. Hopefully someone heard it, then it'll throw everyone off a bit."

Gadell nodded. It had been their plan to meet out there, by the fountains near the reflecting pool -- and for Gadell to feed Isolder a lie or two about where Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka were. A certain Hapan or two had put a hefty bounty on Tenel Ka's head and this seemed to be the easiest way to diffuse the situation -- and an easy way of alluding the media attention that would surely be drawn to the Consortium once more.

The Council was going to take over while she was gone, with say from Isolder. She had changed a few rules since she had become Queen Mother -- which made Isolder quite proud. She probably would have gotten a lot further too, if she hadn't been bothered with so many interruptions by assassins this, bounty hunters that, angry extended family members this and that and so on... and it had always came at a time where she was close to getting something done.

"So where did they actually end up?" Isolder knew it was safe to speak freely in these rooms.

The Commander strode down the length of the table, his boot heels echoing on the stone floor. "I think Jacen set them on a course for Fondor-- at least, that's what he told me the last time I contacted him. But he changes his mind like an ewok in heat. Never satisfied."

Tenel Ka's father let a smirk cross his face. Gadell's odd sense of humor never ceased to amaze him.

"Jacen said he would contact me when he figured out the best course of action, sir."

"Good." Isolder clapped Gadell on the shoulder, a small smile breaking on his tan face.

"Could you please inform me when you hear from them?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Commander."

With those words, the Prince exited the room, probably headed to the Council to selectively inform them of what was going on. He didn't want to tell them too much about where his daughter had gone, he didn't trust them all fully. But he wanted to let them know something... so things didn't seem odd.

Crossing the hallway to the next room, Gadell nodded to the guards as he entered it, his azure eyes locking on the wall of holo-screens ahead of him. He used the one on the farthest left to punch in the contact code for the ship they had taken and within moments Jacen's tired face dimly appeared, Gadell letting a small grin spread as he saw Solo.

"You look tired. Is Tenel Ka being that uncooperative?"

Vessau could admit he was the least bit relieved when Jacen let out a tiny chuckle, which meant that it wasn't Tenel Ka.

"No, no. Nothing like that." Jacen jerked his thumb back behind him to the expanse of ship behind him. "I think she's still sleeping."

The grin was still apparent as Gadell spoke up, "All that work, it's good that she's finally getting away from it."

"Exactly." Jacen agreed, then looked down in front of him at the galactic map that spread across the console under his holo-screen. "Alright," he started. "I think we're actually going to settle with Fondor."

Switching his gaze to another holo-screen of his own, Gadell reached over and brought up the information on Fondor he had been looking at earlier that day. "I take it you'll be landing near the abandoned shipyards?"

"Probably. It's the easiest place to access from the hyperspace route we're taking."

"There's definitely places for you hide out there. You can stow the ship in one of the factories' hangers or something. You'll find a place for the ship in no time." Gadell let his gloved hands work over a few more switches as other images were brought up on the screens. "As for you two..." He trailed off as he read a few lines of notes he'd left himself. "There's a place you could waste time checking out if you wanted. It's a Palace, or a chateau of some sort. I think one of the higher-up's built it and lived there with his family when the shipyards were at their high point."

Jacen studied the holos and notes Gadell was sending to him, nodding as the Commander spoke. "What happened to the people that lived there? And this part of the shipyards?"

"All destroyed in the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. Fondor wasn't targeted mainly, but I'm sure some cells got there somehow. Old holoreports say that the family that lived there along with all the people who lived in the town nearby -- as well as all the shipyard workers... the reports say they were mostly killed. Some got away, I believe -- but most were wiped out when the Yuuzhan Vong got to those shipyards."

Moving his chocolate gaze back from the depressing holos of the ravaged landscape and the empty chateau, he looked back to the pale face of the Commander on the holo-screen above. Jacen shrugged slightly, "We can check it out. It'll give us something to do, and a good place to hide."

"You let me know when you get there. Or when you're close anyways." Gadell shut off the holo-screen, leaving Jacen's dim expression the only source of light in the room. "I think I'm going to do some more research. I'll let you know what I find out when you two get there."

A giggle that he couldn't suppress if his life depended on it erupted from his system as a worn and tired Tenel Ka appeared over Jacen's shoulder. "Hey Tenna!"

The Queen Mother batted a stray copper lock out of her face as she stared to her Commander's beaming image on the holo-screen.

"You're on your way to Fondor!"

"Great." Tenel Ka replied, still half-asleep. She vanished out of the holo-screen's reach and plopped down in the co-pilot's chair, rubbing her eyes. "Get rid of my headache and I will sound more excited, if you would like that, Gadell."

The Commander heard the comment off-screen and grinned as Jacen's expression went from mild amusement to a-tad-more-than mild concern. Gadell was glad Jacen Solo was the one that was with Tenel Ka -- he knew that Jacen would be able to keep a handle on any situation that presented itself. He knew Tenel Ka would be able to as well, but she seemed a bit stressed lately, which was another reason they thought she should go off-planet.

"Alright, Solo." Gadell clasped his hands behind his back.

Jacen turned his attention from the Queen Mother to the Commander, his brown eyes widened, intent -- as he waited for Gadell to finish.

"You contact me when you're planning on landing. I'll give you any more information that I come across."

"Will do, Commander." Throwing out another one of those lazy salutes, along with that lopsided grin, Jacen flipped the switch that shut the transmission. Instantly turning back to Tenel Ka, he grabbed her right wrist, pulling her hand away from where it rubbed at her eyes.

"What does it feel like?"

"What?"

"Your headache?"

"Oh, it is nothing to worry about Jacen, it is just a---" Her eyes locked with his at this point.

"No... your eyes." Jacen figured it was just a small headache when she mentioned it, but now that her gaze met his...

"What about them?"

"They're bloodshot."

Tenel Ka shrugged a bit, dissmissing it. "Jacen, I am tired. It could be that, or it could be the trip, I haven't been in a ship for this lon---"

"No, Tenel Ka. They're... bloodshot. It's not a few veins poking some red into your eyes. There's practically no white there." It took a lot from Jacen not to jump up and start debating on what was happening to her. All he could seem to do was stare. The whites of her eyes seemed to have vanished -- leaving her gray irises, black pupils... all floating in a sea of red.

Her jaw worked around questions and inquiries, but nothing came out.

"Go look," Jacen pointed to the back of the ship, towards the refresher, where she could look at herself in the mirror.

She stood and rushed off, leaving Jacen alone in the cockpit, in silence. He tried to tell himself it was nothing, she was tired, she was stressed out. But he couldn't get the image of her eyes out of his mind -- the way the red seemed to flood into them as she sat there, skeptically protesting his observation.

And there it was again, the lone sound of his heartbeat as he stared out to the starry expanse outside of the viewport, waiting for Tenel Ka to return.

There it was again.


HEHE. Alright, yeah. So it's late and I'm out of it -- so please, if you catch any typos or anything -- pleeease let me know. I'll <3 you forever. (Not like I don't already. <3333) Hope you enjoy! Next part should be coming up very soon, it's where all the fun starts. XD BOOOHAHA~