Friends In High Places

By Sara Dillon

CH.1

Jacen Solo woke up slowly. When he opened his eyes he found Tenel Ka standing over his bed.

"Hey! Welcome back Tenel Ka," he said.

Tenel Ka said nothing. She just stood there. A soft breeze floated in from the slot in the wall and made Tenel hair swirl around her. Jacen noted that it wasn up in its normal fashion.

"Tenel? You ok?" he asked. He noticed that his voice wasn his voice. It was, like he was in a dream.

He looked up at Tenel Ka again. Her eyes had changed color. They were no longer the cool gray he become accustom to. They were now black. A deep unpenetrable black. She held no emotion on her face.

"Tenel?" Jacen called again. She just stood there.

Then all of the sudden she cried out and disappeared.

"TENEL!" Jacen exclaimed.

Jacen Solo woke up sweating. The sheets were on the floor. He quickly got up. He didn care what he looked like.

He ran out of his room and down the hall. He ran faster. He stopped outside of Tenel Ka door. He rushed in and found nothing.

He took a deep breath as he remembered that Tenel Ka was on Dathomir visiting her Grandmother. He smiled to himself and walked back to his room.

His wall crono said it was five in the morning. It would be another four hours before his Uncle called them to the morning lecture. He decided to get some more sleep.

He crawled back into his bed but for some reason couldn get to sleep. He had this lingering thought that the dream meant something. He thought about it for an hour more but couldn decipher it. He shrugged and rolled over.

In a few minutes he was sound asleep.

***************************************************

The Millennium Falcon came around for its final pass before landing on the jungle moon of Yavin 4.

"Kid you there?" Han Solo called into the comlink.

"Sure Han I here. Come on down," Luke Skywalker voice answered.

Han started the landing cycle and took the ship planet side.

"You ready Tenel?"

"Yes Han," a voice said from behind.

"You ready Regal?"

No voice answered.

"Regale? You there?"

A scrawny youth ran into the cockpit. He was visibly older than Tenel Ka was, but much smaller. "Yes?" he asked.

"Are you ready?"

He nodded and ran back to where ever he came from.

Tenel Ka sighed and stood up. He walked forward and sat in the co-pilot seat. She stared out at Yavin 4 and the hint of a smile graced her lips.

Han turned slightly to look at her and understood why his son, Jacen, liked her so much. She was beautiful. If he were her age he defiantly try to grab a hold of her. But as Jacen had found out, she was hard to catch. No time to think about that now, he had ship to land.

He brought the Falcon down on the grassy landing pad and started the shut down cycle. Tenel Ka stood up quietly and walked toward her room to get her stuff.

Regale was standing by the hatch, bouncing from one foot to another, when Han finally finished with the ship. He couldn tell if the scrawny youth was eager to start training or if he was scared of him and the ship or what. Han shook his head and opened the hatch. Regale burst down the hatch and headed toward the temple at full speed. Han waited for Tenel Ka and escorted her down the ramp.

His son and daughter, Jacen and Jaina came running out of the hanger bay followed by their friend Zekk and taking up the rear was Luke Skywalker.

"Kid! Great to see you again," Han called. He dropped Tenel hand and swept the kids up in a hug.

"Hey dad!" Jacen said.

"Hey Jacen. What new?"

"Not much! Hi Tenel. Welcome back!"

Tenel nodded. "My trip was very enjoyable but I am glad to be back."

"I glad your back to Tenel Ka," Jaina said.

"Yeah it wasn the same without you," Jacen added.

Tenel Ka nodded and picked up her two bags with her hand. Jacen stepped forward and took the bags and dazzled Tenel with a smile. She nodded her approval and lead Jacen to her room.

Tenel Ka walked into her room and took in a breath. It hadn been long since she had been there but it still amazed her. She loved living on Yavin 4 even if it was temporary.

Jacen cocked his head to the side and looked at Tenel Ka. Something seemed different between them. Tenel didn know what it was so she brushed it off.

Tenel let out the breath and waked to her bed and sat down. Jacen dropped the bags by her dresser and looked around for someplace to sit. Tenel room was sparsely furnished. It reflected her personality. Tenel noticed this and offered a seat next to her on the bed. Jacen smiled and took a seat.

"Um Tenel Ka, I have something to tell you," Jacen started.

Tenel looked at her friend. "Continue," she said.

Jacen cleared hie throat and started. "Tenel last night I had a dream. You were standing at the foot of my bed. You were just standing there. I called your name and you never answered. I called your name again and you Jacen stopped, not wanting to go on.

"Jacen?" Tenel Ka said placing her hand on Jacen .

Jacen took a deep breath. "Well you cried out and disappeared."

"And?"

"Well maybe it means something."

Tenel Ka nodded. "Did you tell Master Skywalker?"

Jacen shook his head. "I didn know what to do."

Tenel Ka leaned forward and hugged him. "Its ok. Whatever t meant I sure it was nothing big. I home now, here with you."

Jacen smiled again. "Yeah your right. Come on. Lets go get something to eat."

The dining hall was as busy as ever. Tenel Ka and Jacen soon found Jaina and Zekk. They headed over to the table and sat down.

"Hey guy. Want to hear a joke?" Jacen said as soon as he got within earshot.

The whole table groaned and Jacen looked hurt. "Ok maybe later?" At that the whole table burst into laughter, except Tenel Ka, but that was normal.

After the meal was over the group went to the roof and Tenel Ka told about her trip to Dathomir. It wasn much of a bedtime story but it was interesting. She told about her grandmother and the Singing Mountain Clan. Jacen was intrigued by Tenel talking about the tamed rancors that her people rode around.

"Tenel?" Jacen asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"What is it like to ride a rancor?"

"I can not describe it friend Jacen but you will have to accompany me on my next trip. All of you are invited."

"You mean it Tenel?" Jaina exclaimed.

"Yes. You have been invited by myself and my clan. I do hope you can come. I think you will find it enjoyable."

"Great!" Zekk said. "When do you go back?"

"Well I will stay here til my training is over so it will be maybe six months or so."

"Great. That would be an excellent graduation getaway!" Jacen exclaimed.

They sat there and talked about all they could do for at least another hour. By then the gas giant of Yavin had dipped behind the trees and they all went to their respectable quarters.

Jacen escorted Tenel Ka to her room. When they reached the door Jacen took Tenel hand in his and kissed her cheek.

Tenel Ka blushed and went into her room.

The next morning Tenel Ka didn show up to morning meal or the morning lecture.

After the lecture Jacen, Jaina and Zekk all went to check in on her.

"Tenel Ka? You in there? Are you ok?" Jacen asked after her knocked on the door. They waited for an answer but none came.

Jacen tried again but to no avail. He turned to his sister and friend and shrugged. "I guess she gone." He said.

"Jacen if she had left to go running or something she would have told us," his sister pointed out.

"Yeah your right," Jacen replied.

"Open the door and see if she in there," Zekk suggested.

Jacen shrugged and opened the door slowly.

Indeed Tenel Ka was in there but she was not out of bed.

"Tenel Ka?" Jacen called.

"Tenel Ka are you ok?" Jaina added.

They all crossed to the side of her bed and slowly pulled back the sheets.

Their reactions were mixed. Jacen gasped, Jaina screamed and Zekk grimaced.

Something was wrong with Tenel. Something that looked life threatening.

"Master Skywalker!!! Master Skywalker!!!"

Luke Skywalker emerged from his quarters and greeted his niece, nephew and their friend as they were running toward him. He could sense through the Force that something was wrong.

"Whats the matter?" he asked as soon as they were in hearing range.

"Its Tenel Ka! She sick or something," Jacen answered.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"Just come with us," Jaina replied.

Luke ran along with his trainees to Tenel Ka room. When they got there Luke entered slowly. He could feel sickness in the room. It was strong. Very strong.

"Tenel Ka? It me Master Skywalker. Can you hear me?"

No answer.

Luke walked to the side of Tenel bed and slowly pulled back the covers.

Tenel was lying in the center of her bed curled up in a ball. Her skin was pale and had a deep greenish color to it. There was a small trail of blood running from her mouth and her eyes were closed.

"Oh my Luke took in a short breath.

Jacen stood at the door with tears in his eyes. Jaina and Zekk leaned up again the door jams looking on. None of them wanted to get close even though they desperately wanted to help their friend. What if this was another Emperor Plague? They could all have been exposed and now be carriers.

Luke picked up Tenel Ka slowly and carried her to his room. Jacen, Jaina and Zekk followed far behind. Not to far but just far enough.

When they reached Luke suit he placed Tenel Ka on his bed pallet and ordered Jacen to get some wet cloths. He told Jaina and Zekk to go get the Shadow Chaser ready.

"Tenel Ka needs help which we can not offer I need to get her to Coruscant as soon as possible."

As soon as the Shadow Chaser was ready, Luke brought Tenel Ka out. She was now unconscious as the Jedi Master carried her limp form up the ramp and into the ship. He was followed closely by Jacen. Farther back was Jaina and Zekk.

Standing in the shadows was Regale, the new trainee from Dathomir. He watched as Luke carried the weak form of the girl he had traveled with up the ramp and disappeared.

He had seen it before. This disease the young woman had. Regale also knew how to cure it. He didn know what to do. Finally he rushed forward.

"Hey wait!" he called.

The twins and Zekk turned to look at him as he approached.

"Regale, right?" Zekk asked.

Regale nodded. "This disease, your warrior friend has caught, I know the cure."

Jacen raised his head to look at Regale wide eyed. "You do?!" he exclaimed.

Regale nodded. "It is wise to take her away from here. She needs help, but the cure is on Dathomir."

"How do you know this?" Jaina asked.

"My sister once had this exact disease. The skin turning green and blood running from her mouth? I know where to find the cure. It a rare plant that only grows on my home planet."

Jaina looked from Regale to Zekk to her brother and back to Regale. "We can handle Dathomir alone. Uncle Luke can take care of Tenel Ka. WE can take the Rock Dragon and find the cure for Tenel Ka," Jaina suggested.

She was pounded with gazes from all directions. "What?" she asked. "Jacen haven you always wanted to ride a tamed rancor. And Zekk you just said you would like to visit. I sure Regale would like to go back home for a while."

Jacen nodded. "I guess I just wanted to go with Tenel Ka."

"I know Jacen. Now she can come with us in spirit. We need to go to find a cure!"

Jacen shrugged and Zekk nodded.

"Well then it settled. We e going to Dathomir."

Ch.2

Tenel Ka was lost in a dark maze with no light source. She knew when she bumped into a wall but she couldn feel it. Come to think of it she couldn feel a thing.

She tried to find where the wall turned but the wall she was following just went straight. She called upon the Force for help but it wasn there. Tenel was alone and for once in her life afraid. She tried the Force again. She called out loud for help but there was no reply.

Just then she remember the glowrod in her hip pouch. She reached down in it and pulled it out. The illumination it gave was enough to blind Tenel for a few moments.

When she finally adjusted to the light the view horrified her.

She wasn in her body. Or if it was her body something was deadly wrong. Her skin had a deep greenish tint. She felt something trickling down her chin. She frowned and licked the mysterious liquid.

"Blood?" she asked. She ran her fingers along the trickle and found out that it was indeed blood.

Tenel eyes widened. Something was wrong with her. She screamed out loud.

"Is anyone there?"

No answer.

She looked ahead in the light her small glowrod provided. The walls were smooth black. As far as the eye could see the hall was straight. Same black walls. Same darkness.

"This is going no where!" she exclaimed.

Tenel held the glowrod in front of her and walked on despite her gut feeling not to.

Soon the hall had a sharp turn to the left. The Force was not an option. She had to rely on skills.

She looked down the halls as far as the light would go. It was more of the same thing she was facing already.

"Might as well try."

She turned down the hall and headed into the unknown.

**********************

"Good idea Regale. Ok lets go. The sooner we get the cure the sooner Tenel will return," Luke said.

Jacen, Jaina and Zekk nodded. Regale, hanging back from the group, also nodded his agreement.

"Come on guys. I l get the Rock Dragon ready. Jacen you can go say good bye to Tenel Ka if you want," Jaina said.

Jacen nodded and jogged up the Shadow Chaser ramp. Jaina smiled after her brother and ran off, with Zekk, to warm up the Rock Dragon.

Regale walked to the ramp of the Shadow Chaser and stood there, looking up it.

Master Skywalker walked up and stood beside Regale. "You want to go say good bye to Tenel don you?" he asked.

"Yes but I would be intruding."

Luke nodded. "You must do what you think is right of course," he replied. He put a strong hand on Regale shoulder and walked up the ramp.

Regale watched him. Lost in though. He shrugged and walked toward the Rock Dragon.

Jacen stood in the doorway looking at Tenel Ka. She was lying in the bed, stretched out, her arm lying by her side. Tears sprang to his eyes. His strong friend was being cut down by a simple disease.

But it was more than that. It wasn simple. It was too complex. No one knew about the disease. It struck in one night. One night!

He turned, not waiting to face the horror that he might soon loose his good friend. This couldn be happening, to Tenel Ka. She was always strong, always healthy.

Jacen slowly walked to her side. He knelt down by the bed and took her hand in his. He sniffed back tears that were coming on strong now. He stroked the hair back from her face with his free hand and kissed her cheek. He now held her hand in both of his. He leaned down and put her hand to his forehead. The tears came then.

"Tenel. Please you must hear me! I love you. Please I need you with me. You can , can leave!!!! Please Tenel Ka. Come back to me."

"Jacen! Come one let go!" Jaina voice drifted in to where Tenel Ka and Jacen were.

"Ok Jaina! I coming!!" Jacen kissed Tenel hand and stood up. "Please Tenel Ka. Please"

He looked at her once more, wiped away the tears, and ran out of the room.

"Tenel. Please you must hear me! I love you. Please I need you with me. You can , can leave!!!! Please Tenel Ka. Come back to me."

Tenel Ka turned around at the sound of Jacen voice.

"Jacen!" she called.

There was no answer. She looked around for her brown haired friend but he was to where to be found.

"Jacen are you there? Come out from where ever you are hiding!" she called again.

Again there was no answer.

"Please Tenel Ka. Please"

There it was again. Jacen voice calling to her. She looked around again and didn find him.

"Jacen?" Tenel asked quietly. She was leaning against a wall and started to cry. She was now glad Jacen wasn here. She didn want him to see her like this. Tenel slid down the wall and put her head between her knees and cried hard. She was lost, confused and wondered what was happening to her body.

"Jacen? I love you to!" she cried. "I love you to." She mumbled again, softly. She sighed and laid down. For some reason she was tiered from what little exertion she had put out.

"Maybe f I just he sentence tapered off as she fell asleep.

"Shadow Chaser to Rock Dragon, Jaina you ready?"

"Yeah Uncle Luke. Lets get going!"

"Ok. As son as you find the cure meet us at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. We l be there waiting."

"Right. Rock Dragon out."

Luke Skywalker sat in silence. He watched the Rock Dragon lift off and leave then heaved a deep sigh. "Lets get this show on the road." He took his ship into space and went into hyperspace en route to Coruscant.

"Ok we should reach Dathomir in two days. Lets get some rest," Jaina commented. She turned in her chair to look at her companions. Their expression was somber. Especially Jacen . He was gazing out the cockpit window with a far off look in his eyes.

"Jacen, you could have gone with Tenel you know," Jaina said.

He turned to look as his sister. "No. I want to help you." He shook his head and stood up.

"Jacen?" Jaina asked.

Jacen frowned and walked out of the cockpit. Jaina started to follow but Zekk stopped her.

"Not now Jany. Not now. He needs to be alone."

"I know Zekk. I just I feel bad he has to go through this."

Zekk pulled Jaina down into his lap and kissed her. "I know you do. I do to. He usually so bubbly and now I know its eating him up."

Jaina hugged Zekk tightly. "It is isn it?"

Zekk nodded.

"I just hope he doesn do something irrational."

"He l need to beware of the Darkside."

Jaina nodded. "That what I afraid of."

The Rock Dragon landed on Dathomir three days after Tenel Ka was found. According to Regale time was running out, fast.

Jacen was the first out of the ship followed closely by Regale who was glad to be home. Zekk and Jaina quickly joined them.

"The ship is shut down. Lets get going," Jaina said.

"Its not far from here. Maybe a half a days walk give or take," Regale told the group.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Jacen asked. He bent down and swung the survival pack he drug form the ship on his back.

Regale smiled and headed off in the direction of the "plant" that would save Tenel Ka.

"Coruscant ground control? This is Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. I wish for permission to land on bay 944 on the Imperial Palace level 9." Luke cut the transmission and waited for an answer.

"Commander Skywalker. Beam your password code and we l get you down as soon as possible," a young female voice answered.

"Transfer in process," Luke said as he hit the button on the control board.

A few minutes passed as the control center processed his request then, "Commander Skywalker you are cleared to land on bay 663 level 6. Chief-of-State Organa-Solo has requested this. Follow the map provided." The control center cut the transmission and went about their business.

Luke called up the map the control center sent him and set his course.

In a few minutes Luke sat the Shadow Chaser down in bay 663. He heaved a sigh, started shut down procedures and then went to check on Tenel Ka.

She was still comatose and her skin was a deeper green than when they had started out. The disease had even started eating away at her skin. The flesh on her bare legs was peeling off and layers were on the bed in clumps.

Luke walked back to the cock-pi. He looked out the viewport and saw Leia, Han, Anakin, Chewbacca, and C-3PO crossing the bay toward him. He smiled and opened the hatch from the cockpit.

Leia was the first in. she hugged her brother and kissed him on the cheek. Han and Anakin were next. Han shook Luke hand then gathered him into a big bear hug. Anakin smiled then stood back a little bit.

Chewbacca rumbled up the ramp, and like Han only with more force, swept Luke up into a hug like he did when the twins and Anakin were young.

C-3PO ambled up the ramp after the Wookiee and rambled his greeting.

Leia, sensing her brother trouble, spoke up. "Luke, it great to see you, but why are you here? You hardly ever visit. What wrong?"

Luke sighed and took Leia hands in his. "Leia, what I am about show you might scare you, but she needs us right now. Please don walk out."

"Luke what, and who, are you talking about?" Han spoke up. He walker closer to Luke and Leia and placed a hand on Leia shoulder.

Luke closed his eyes and then opened them slowly. "I can describe it to you I can only show you." He turned and headed toward the cabin area of the ship. Leia looked up at Han, took his hand, and followed.

The walk to the cabin wasn a long walk but it seemed like it took forever.

Luke finally stopped at a door closest to the rear of the ship. He turned and smiled at Leia. Leia and Han returned the smile. Chewbacca smiled to the best of a Wookiee ability. Luke sighed again and opened the door, slowly.

The walk to find the "plant" was hard. Sure it wasn long but the terrain was hard. There were huge craters and different debris from the time warlord Zinji took over.

"Don worry we e almost there," Regale said at the head of the pack.

Jaina smiled at her bother, who had an unaccustomed from on his face the whole trip. Jaina smile faded and she turned back to Zekk. She took his arm and stopped. He turned and looked at her.

"What wrong?" he asked.

"Jacen. Zekk, I scared. He hasn smiled or cracked a joke yet!"

Zekk took Jaina shoulders and kissed to top of her head. "It ok. He worried about Tenel Ka, Jaina."

"I don know Zekk. I guess I just scared."

"You didn hear me. I said it ok. We e here with him. He l be ok."

"I wish I could believe you." Jaina turned and jogged back to the group. Zekk sighed and walked back to join them.

***********************************************

Leia looked into the room and at first saw nothing. Then her gaze fell on the fold down bed. There was someone laying on it curled up in a ball.

"Tenel Ka? Leia and Han are here. They want to help you."

Leia looked at Luke. Luke took her hand again and led her to the bed. Leia braced herself for whatever Luke was about to show her. Han, peering over both their shoulders, put an arm around Leia waist and his free hand on Luke shoulder.

Luke reached down and pulled the blanket off Tenel Ka. Leia gasped and buried her head in Han shoulder. Han eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"Kid, what happened? She seemed fine when I dropped her off," Han whispered.

"It hit after you left. She didn come to the morning lecture and then skipped mid-day meals and Jacen found her in late afternoon in her room. Her skin was only tinted green and she was still conscious. Her condition has gotten much worse in the short trip here."

"The twins, Zekk ad Regale are on Dathomir right now getting a cure."

"Who Regale?" Leia asked.

"He an old friend of Tenel from Dathomir. He said his sister had the exact same thing Tenel Ka has. There is a cure but, as you can see, time is running out quickly."

"Chewie?" Han called.

Chewbacca walked slowly into the room. He could feel the emotion in the air.

"Chewie gather Tenel Ka up. Let take her to the medic bay and we l see what the medics want to do til the twins get here," Han said.

Leia let go of Han and stopped Chewie. "Just a minute. Can we be alone for a while?" Leia asked.

Han looked at Luke who nodded.

Leia smiled and knelt down beside Tenel Ka. Luke, Han and Chewbacca retreated back to the hall to tell Anakin and C-3PO what was happening.

Leia reached over and took Tenel hand. She started to stroke it and watched layers of skin fall off in her hand. She grimaced and put Tenel hand down. "Tenel? Tenel Ka? Can you hear me? Its Leia. Tenel if you can hear me move your fingers. Just a bit Tenel ok?"

Leia looked down at Tenel hand. Her fingers didn budge.

"Come on Tenel. Just a bit!"

Still they didn move.

Leia stood up and sighed. "Ok. I ready!" she called.

Chewbacca entered the room and gathered Tenel Ka into his arms. He growled softly as some of her skin fell to the ground.

Leia led chewbacca out into the hall. She had tears in her eyes but was trying to hide them. Han saw the tears and hugged Leia.

"lets get her help as soon as we can. I tried to wake her or see if she was ok but it was no use."

"Its like she dead but not really." Luke added. "I e been trying to wake her through the Force but her mind isn there."

"Kinda reminds me if the time when Exar Kun seperated your mind from your body, Kid." Han said.

"I know. That what scares me. We know little or nothing about this disease and, hopefully, Regale is telling the truth," Luke finished.

"Let just hope Jacen and Jaina can find the cure and hurry back," Anakin said.

"They will succeed. The Force is with them."

***********************************************

"One more hill. Is should be over the next hill!" Regale called. He pointed to a small hill directly in front of them

Jacen smiled for the first time the whole trip. He took off full speed for the hill. Startled, it took the rest of the group a while to follow his actions.

At the top of the hill Jacen paused. Instead of seeing hordes of bushes like he first though, he saw a small hut.

"There it is," Regale commented.

"There what is? All I se is some small hut!" Jacen exclaimed.

"That is me house. Come on I l show it to you."

Jacen grabbed Regale by the collar and shook his vigorously. "We don want to look at your house. We want the cure so I can have Tenel Ka back!" Jacen screamed. He let go of Regale and sunk down to his knees, crying.

Jaina sat down next to her brother and hugged him. "It all right Jacen. We all want Tenel Ka back," she whispered.

Jacen looked at Jaina. Tears streaked his dust stained cheeks. "I love her Jaina. I don want her to die."

"I know Jacen. I don want her to die to, but she needs you how. She needs you to be strong! Please Jacen. For Tenel Ka."

Jacen heaved a sigh and stood up. "I sorry Regale. I guess I just a little worried."

"I understand. There is enough of the plant we need at my house. We can stop in, I can say hello to my parents, grab the plant then get out of here."

Sounds good to me," Jaina said.

"Ok. Let go. The sooner we get the cure the sooner I can have my Tenel Ka back."

***********************************************

"Tenel? Tenel Ka? Can you hear me? It Leia. Tenel if you can hear me move your fingers. Just a bit Tenel ok?"

Tenel Ka looked up and forced herself to stop crying. "Leia? Leia!"

"Come on Tenel. Just a bit!"

"Leia!!" Tenel Ka screamed.

"Ok I ready!"

"Leia!! Don leave me!"

"Let get her help as soon as we can. I tried to wake her or see if she was ok but it was no use."

<Help? Why would I need help?>

"It like she dead, but not really."

Tenel Ka looked up again. "Master Skywalker!?"

"I e been trying to contact her through the Force but her mind isn there."

<My mind isn there?>

"Kinda reminds me of when Exar Kun separated your mind from you body."

"Han?"

"I know. That what scares me. We know little about this disease and hopefully Regale was telling the truth."

<Regale? Telling the truth about what?>

"Let just hope Jacen and Jaina cane find the cure and hurry back."

Tenel Ka didn recognize that voice. It was getting hard to recognize anything.

"Yes. They will succeed. The Force is with them."

Tenel Ka stood as quietly as possible. No more voices came. She sighed and sank back down against the wall. This routine was getting old. She was sick of not knowing where she was going, what was wrong with her. In fact, her body wasn well her body. He skin had darkened in the green tint and was now flaking off in big chunks. She was tiered even though she had put out little exertion over the duration of the time she was here. And even though she has been sitting, and even took a nap, she was even more tiered that when she fist sat down. She knew she was sick but to what extent she was clueless. She wondered what Master Skywalker and her friends saw.

Tenel Ka sighed again and decided to rest again. She laid down and fell into a deep sleep.

Ch. 3

Regale house was small but cozy. The furniture was not lavish like the twins were used to but it was a nice house.

Regale parents were surprised to see him back so soon. They welcomed his, as well as his friends, with open arms.

They questioned why he returned and he gave them a straight answer.

"Mom, Dad, you remember Tenel Ka don you?" Regale asked.

"Of course, Regale. How could we forget your oldest friend?"

Jacen and Jaina looked at each other.

"Well she contracted zyscintosis. Remember that?"

"Yes. Very well."

"well what did you do with the left over antidote?"

"We stored it. It in the building outside somewhere."

"Great. Come on let go find it!" Jacen broke in.

"Wouldn you like something to eat first?" Regale mother asked.

"No thanks. We have to get the cure and get back to Tenel Ka as soon as possible," Jacen said.

"We can eat on the ship on the way to Coruscant anyway," Zekk suggested.

"What ever you wish. Good luck. When Tenel recovers say hello to her for us."

"I will mom. Don worry."

Regale stood and smiled at his parents. The young Jedi Knights also stood and said thank you and good bye.

Regale led the group to the small building outside. Despite its small appearance it held a lot. When Regale opened the door, Jacen groaned.

"We l never find it!" Jacen said.

"Of course we will. Don worry," Jaina reassured her brother.

"We l find it, even if we have to go through every box!" Zekk said

Jacen sighed again. "We e running out of time! I can feel it through the Force!"

"Well then lets get started."

***********************************************

After an hour of looking, Jacen had lost hope of finding the cure. He sighed and closed the box he was looking through.

"Got it!" Regale called.

Jacen stood and ran to where Regale was squatting. Regale held up the vile and smiled. "More that enough."

"Great let go," Jacen said.

Jaina nodded and Jacen started out of the shed, the rest following.

***********************************************

The group arrived on Coruscant in the middle of the night. Leia, Han and Anakin greeted them as the ship landed.

"How is she?" Jacen asked in a rush.

"We can tell," Leia answered.

"Regale has the cure!" Jaina exclaimed.

Regale stepped forward, handed Leia the vile and withdrew without a word.

Leia turned and hurries off with her family and friends behind.

"Regale about how long will it take for the cure to work?" Jaina asked.

"Depends on how bad she is."

Leia handed the vial to Luke who ran into the room and connected it to Tenel Ka via tubes. Jacen sat down on a chair by the bed and took Tenel hand. He laid his head on top of it and didn move.

Han put an arm around Leia waist and one around Jaina shoulder. Jaina put a hand on Jacen shoulder. Zekk put his hand on top, followed by Luke, Anakin and finally Regale.

Jacen could feel his friends and family pulling together, using the Force to speed Tenel Ka recovery.

For the first time since he left Tenel, Jacen smiled, and meant it.

***********************************************

"So how long will it take for Tenel Ka to return?" Jaina asked again.

"A few days. If we hadn gotten here when we did she woulda been gone forever. We e lucky," Regale said.

Jacen sighed and ran a hand though his hair. He hadn eaten since they came to Coruscant and he was starting to look sick. His mother had brought him food but he refused to eat.

"Will she be like her normal self?" Jacen asked.

"Not for a while. Mentally yes she l be the same Tenel Ka. Physically, no. The skin will have to grow back. She l be weak and bed ridden. At her stage, the disease probably got to her muscles. She l have to work on regaining the lost tissue."

"But after a while she l be ok? Right?" Zekk asked. He hugged Jaina, who was sitting on his lap.

"I don know. I e never seen a case like hers before."

Jacen sighed again and looked back at Tenel Ka. He smiled again and took her hand.

Jaina stood and walked toward the bed. Zekk watched her then glanced at Regale.

"What up Jaya?"

Jaina looked down at Tenel Ka and smiled. "She waking up."

***********************************************

Tenel Ka looked up. The tears had stopped and she felt better. She looked around her and the maze was fading away. She smiled and stood up. The dream as ending.

***********************************************

Jacen ran a hand along Tenel Ka face and his smiled grew. "Tenel Ka? Tenel?"

Tenel Ka eyes fluttered open and she stared at Jacen. She blinked a few times then spoke. Her voice was hoarse and raspy. "Whats wrong?

"Your sick. You l get better in time," Regale said.

"How long before I can stand? Or walk?"

"We don know yet. You were close the end."

"What happened?"

"You caught a disease on Dathomir. Regale family had the cure, luckily. We got here just in time," Jacen said.

"How you feel?" Jaina asked.

"Tiered. What will I have to do to get better?"

"Rest. After a month or so of rest you l have to slowly start your daily routine slowly. And I mean slowly. No running for maybe six months. At a years time you might be fully healed. Right now your bed ridden," Regale explained.

"A year?"

"Yes. It will be hard for you I know. I l be here to help you."

"I will to Tenel Ka," Jacen added.

"We all will!" a voice said from behind.

Everyone turned to see Luke, Leia, Han, Isolder and Teneniel Djo standing in the doorway smiling.

Tenel Ka took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "My recovery will be hard, but with friends in high places, it won seem as long or painful."

The

End