Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 21_ The Unifying Force - James Luceno [141]
Thinking about it only increased Jaina’s disappointment and confusion.
Zonama Sekot’s air was still a comfortable temperature, though not as warm as it had been when she first arrived. Reuniting with everyone had been wonderful, but after two local-days of swapping stories the inactivity was starting to get to her. She recalled having felt the same on Mon Calamari after her return from Hapes, while Luke had been occupied matching wits with Vergere, Jacen had been off reef-diving with Danni, and the members of the Smugglers’ Alliance had been busy rigging the election of Cal Omas.
With Coruscant a microjump sunward and a final confrontation with the Yuuzhan Vong looming on the horizon, she wanted more than ever to be back in the cockpit of her X-wing, if only to keep from losing her edge. But Twin Suns One, along with the Millennium Falcon, Tesar Sabatyne’s skipray blastboat, and the other starfighters, remained in stationary orbit. That left only the Sekotan shuttle, which was off-limits to her, and the planet’s numerous airships, which were more for sailors than fighter pilots.
She was considering her options, when Jacen stepped from a dense growth of boras.
“I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said. “Where were you—practicing making yourself small or something?”
Jacen emerged from his trance or musings—or daydreams, for all Jaina knew—and gazed at her. “The Force is strong here. The usual methods don’t work.”
“That’s for sure,” she muttered.
Jacen watched her for a moment. “Are you angry about something?”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I guess I’m just disappointed.”
Jacen glanced at Kyp and the others and understood immediately. “Because none of the seed-partners bonded with you.”
“What else?” she snapped. “I mean, I’m as good a pilot as Kyp, Saba, or Corran, and they bonded with seed-partners right away. At Mon Calamari, I flew my X-wing into combat with only one engine!”
“Piloting skills have little to do with the bonding process,” Jacen said. “Or with courage, for that matter.”
She forced a sigh. “Great. Then I guess I’m just not as attuned to the Force as they are.”
“You know that isn’t it.” Jacen placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. “It could be that Sekot sees some other purpose for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t even try bonding with the seed-partners.”
The idea appeared to amuse him. “I’m not anything close to a pilot.”
“Yeah, well, neither am I. I’m just the official Sword of the Jedi—whatever that means.” She fell silent for a moment, then said, “Jacen, do the Yuuzhan Vong pose a threat to the Force?”
He shook his head. “They’re a threat to the Jedi, because they’d have all of us embrace their religion and their gods, and see the universe strictly as they see it. But no matter how the war is decided, individuals will continue to find their way to the Force. It’s not a flame the Yuuzhan Vong can extinguish—any more than the Sith could.”
“And you’re still willing to fight to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“In my own way. I’ve learned something about myself since Centerpoint.”
“From Vergere, you mean.”
“From Vergere, from Sekot, from all of you. I’m starting to think that the Force—at least as we understand it—is only one facet of a finely-cut gemstone, and that maybe the sum of it is even greater than its parts.”
Jaina looked over at Kyp and the others. “At least Zonama Sekot is willing to fight alongside us.”
“That will be Sekot’s decision.”
She turned to him. “Based on what? On whose interests the Jedi are serving?”
“We serve the Force,” Jacen said. “None other.”
“Is that justification enough for obliterating the Yuuzhan Vong?”
“No,” he said, seemingly more firmly than he had intended. “They are not outside the Force. According to Sekot, they have been stripped of the Force.”
“So I’ve heard,” Jaina said. “But, then, what do you think