But no-one appeared to have taken any lengths to see how she was doing. The voices shifted, and
then they were no longer individual to a person, but all blended into one rather agitating note. The
fire was still there, swaying this way and that.

Tara felt her lashes stroke her lower eye, and the mechanism keeping them open jolted. Her eyelids
lowered, rested. Open your eyes! she scolded herself, open your-
There was a sudden whoosh and the one-noted voices separated for a couple of seconds. Not that Tara
noticed; she leapt a couple of centimetres from Anakin's knee as the sudden blast of
heat from the elevated flames stung her eyes. The fire had roared and it's prancing display
had halted for the few seconds that it was under Master Luke's command.

"How morbid," Jaina responded.

Tara settled down again. This was going to be a long evening. From previous experiences in Jedi
camp-outs, Jaksbin had just about tolerated the mountains of pre-New-Republic legends, but
coffeine would have been appreciated about half an hour into the session. But the hypnotic fire
might take her out of it this time, just for a little while. She stared into the flames again, and
they convinced her over-attentive eyes to close.

Anakin's lap had become her sleepy haven since early evening, when the silence had begun
and when her head had begun to droop. Everyone else had no doubt been
dreaming-especially Mara, who should have kept maybe a little more of her consciousness
on where she placed her foot. After that episode, everyone with the exception of Luke had tried to
discreetly shudder away from the fire, unsuccessfully.

She usually found Luke and Leia's tales interesting, Han'shilarious and
Mara's-well, you didn't hear anything of what you didn't already know
with Mara. She just wasn't one for conferencing her past.

Neither was Jaksbin.

The blur of words gradually faded out, and Tara felt the reassuring comfort flow all around her body.
There was nothing to worry about-no research deadlines, no upcoming homeworks from
Master Kenobi, hey, they didn't even need to save the galaxy. She could relax. It was a rare
opportunity, so she took it.

Her arms and her neck relaxed, and she smiled faintly as the sense of Ani stroking her hair sent
her falling backwards into an even stranger universe than reality.

It always took a complete loss of time for her to notice she was in a dream. Sometimes she
didn't notice at all, but there was invariably a blind spot that seemed to last for eternity
between when you closed your eyes and when they opened again in your dream. This time, Tara
noticed.

What the-?

She took a full scale scan of her surroundings. She was in the same place, lying
down by the fire, the stars above her and the damp Yavin 4 earth beneath. But she was alone. Her
eyes weren't tired anymore by the flames, but intrigued. Slowly, Tara raised her head from
the ground and glanced around quickly.

Cupping her fingers around her lips, she called, "Master Lu-"
And then just happened to glance down.
 "What in the name of Yavin?" A dress? A dress?
 But it wasn't just a dress. It matched the era of the music she was hearing; classical. Long, bulky, pale green and severely petticoated, she
wouldn't wear the thing to her wedding, let alone to a dance. It reminded her distinctly of
something Leia had had made for her-and made her wear-for her fifth
birthday.

"Ton-Ara, where have you been?" Anakin has suddenly appeared behind her,and his smile hid any sign of reality. "Everyone's been asking where you are. I didn't know what to tell them, especially Jacen. Boy, can that
brother ramble on."

Tara grinned, and so would anyone else. Anakin Solo in a suit-a respectable one, that is.
She hadn't seen him look this stylish since the wedding ceremony. His hair was slicked
back and out of his face. That in itself was a miracle.

"What's so funny?" he asked politely, taking one step closer and holding out his hand.

Her eyes flickered past him and for the first time, she noticed other people. There was a dome
ahead of her, internal beams of multi-coloured light illuminating the construction from the inside and
music blaring from every corner. But it wasn't modern music; it was the older, classical stuff
that Leia liked to listen to when she was unwinding. "Oh, nothing." Tara shrugged, and took his
hand. "What's the occasion?"

Solo gripped her hand and pulled her up closer to him, a mischievous smirk over-ruling any sensible
representation you would get from his costume. "The occasion? Ton-Ara Solo,I can't believe
you don't know."

She let out a sudden burst of laughter, "Ton-Ara Solo? I'll have you know it's Tara,
and the surname is hyphenated."

"Hyphenated? Why would it be hyphenated?" Anakin's grip on her palm tightened, but his
eyes were kept steady.

Oh Yoda, he's upset. Change the subject, change the subject, she told
herself.
"So why, again, is there a party?" She motioned toward the dome, with all of it's
flashing lights and slightly out-of-place established orchestra.

Ani tilted his head round to notice the place. "You really don't know?" he glanced into her
eyes as if worried, "Are you feeling okay?" Turning back nervously to glimpse at the dome, he
rubbed her shoulder sensitively, then nodded decisively, "I'll get Luke".
And he turned to go.

More confused than ever, Jaksbin clasped her hand about his fleeing wrist and pulled him back.
"Master Luke? Why?"

Still hesitating a great deal, his head flying back and fro from the dome extensively, he placed a
palm on her forehead to check her body temperature. Finally sighing and shaking her hand free from
his arm, he looked sorrowfully and sternly into her eyes. "Ton-Ara, it's your first wedding
anniversary."

The laughter came naturally in her dreams, although she knew that in reality her serious Jedi
responsibilities would be weighing her down. "Oh that's beautiful! You remembered! I never
thought that you would remember, no offense. I thought it would take Cace or Jiromie to get you to."
Flinging her arms about him in pre-rehearsed joy, she giggled like she had when she was seven.
Then she whispered in his ear, "Don't tell anyone else, but I've always loved you, and
I always will."

"Ton-Ara!" Anakin stepped back, his eyes in shock and his arms crossed, obviously distraught.
"Now I am going to get Luke."

"Why? For Vader's sake, why?" She raised and lowered her hands in a gesture of
annoyance. Feeling the anger at not knowing rising her temperature, she calmed herself. She was
no longer conscious of the fact that it was a dream. This was real, as far as she was concerned.
"Anakin, what is it? What's wrong?"

"You're wrong," he mumbled, shifting his feet back and forth on the damp ground. "You love
me? Why would you love me?"

"Ani?" Now she was worried. The dream was merging into a nightmare. "For crying out loud, I
married you. You just said so yourself."

"No, no!" He kept shaking his head. Why was he shaking his head? This was getting
worse and worse. "No, you didn't. You didn't." Holding either side of his
head in his hands, he brought it to a still. "Why are you so ignorant? This isn't funny
anymore, Ton-Ara."

Am I that evil? she asked herself in sarcasm, what did I do to deserve this?
 "I've told you, it's Tara. And if I didn't marry you - which I'm quite sure I
did - where does the Solo come from? What am I? Your sister?" The distinct Mara-style
bitterness snapped in her tone.

"In-law."

"You what?" The anger fled from her like the flame had roared out energy when Luke had clapped
his hands.

"Sister-in-law. You married Jacen. Don't you remember?"

The music seemed to die down for a moment, and her eyes blurred. Then, quite comfortably, she
let out the worst curse she could think of, having searched through all of both Han's and
Mara's books.

Anakin appeared to take some offence at that. "Ton-Ara!"

She gritted her teeth, "Tara."

"Oh, for all of Tatooine, he's gonna kill me." He sat down on the soft earth and held his head
in his hands again, rubbing his eyes until they ached.

"You're right," she added positively. "*I'm* gonna kill me," she choked, but stopped.

Looking up from the ground and facing Anakin slowly, she grinned. The grin erupted into a nervous
giggle, which detonated into full-scale laughter. But she had tears in her eyes. "It's all a
dream," she whispered, pointing and chuckling at her would-be husband. "You're not real."

She looked like a maniac. Not that she knew that. But Anakin did. "Uncle LUKE!!!" he screamed,
gently stepping back and away from her.

The blur in her eyes widened and Anakin's cries for help fused in with the light, skipping tone
of the dance waltz in the background. "It's all a dream,"she muttered, barely moving
her lips until her legs gave way.

When her eyes opened, she only had to look up at the pitch black wilderness, scattered with
dazzling white diamonds, and the memories of the last ordeal shook her. Her eyes snapped open,
only to be hit with a glare of bright white light. As the brilliance faded, a scene emerged and Jaksbin
shook her head. Not again...

She was lying next to a camp-fire, gently ablaze and sending
whirling curls of scented smoke up to the stars. Alone.

Sitting up, Tara scanned around her. Yup. Same place. Same fire, same stars, same damp, groggy
soil carpeted with leathery leaves. She stood up and heard the lingering prospect of music;
classical era.

"Here we go again?" she asked herself dryly, brushing the loose leaves from her. "Dress?"
She shook her head, but smiled. "At least I can move my feet in this one." It was long also, but not
as full. The waist was pulled in, and the skirt was free and made of a light-weight satin, a shade of
faint cream with silver embroidery about the seams... it was her wedding dress, only without
the jacket.

That, she discovered relatively a moment later, was laid down beside her. Tara picked it up and slid
her arms into the sleeves, the chilled fabric making her shiver.

"Tara, where have you been?" Anakin's smile hid any sign of reality, "Everyone's
been asking where you are. I didn't know what to tell them.

She held out her finger to his lips, stopping him from saying anything else. "Shhh. Don't say
it."

His eyebrows lowered, "Say what?"

Tara stared into his eyes, their cold stone blue shattering any sense of guilt from his face. It was
her Anakin. "What are you looking at?" he asked with concern.

"It's not what I'm looking at,it's what I'm looking for."

That characteristic smirk returned and he slipped his arm, with a distinct lack of discreet motion,
about her shoulders and kept it there. "I love it when you do those riddles. But, despite how much I
love standing out in the cold next to a dying fire with you, mom and dad'll start to worry if
I'm not back soon."

Tara grinned hypothetically, "What's the big occasion?"

"What's the big occasion? What's the big occasion? Tara Jaksbin-Solo, really. I
would have thought you would have remembered your own... no. If you've forgotten, I
won't tell you."

She moaned childishly, "Ani,"

He didn't reply, but motioned towards the background. Like a holograph loading on a
datapad, the setting sharpened into focus. A dome. Swinging his arm from around her shoulders to
a linked arm position, Anakin smiled and spoke in a mock stately manner, "May I have a dance,
Dr.?"

She slapped his arm playfully, but couldn't help laughing. "Anakin, stop fooling."

"I'm not fooling around!" A fake, well-known innocence shattered his serious poise and he
laughed with her. "Okay. If you won't dance, how do you feel about watching Uncle Luke and
Mara? I haven't seen them with so much rhythm since that stupid contest."

Receiving a sudden feeling of security from the relaxed, cheerful mood she was in, Tara wrapped
her arms about him. "I love you."

Anakin went silent for a couple of seconds, and then grinned, once the full scale shock had
evaporated. "I should hope so," He shrugged and helped her up the grassy bank. Turning to face her
again, he successfully imitated his father. "But then again, who doesn't love me?"

"You're hyper, Anakin Solo," Tara giggled and stepped with him towards the dome.
Happiness radiated everywhere, and the cheery romance echoed back and forth endlessly. "Now
what about this dance?"

Walking as calmly as can be expected into the dome, Tara's inner-child skipped. Her heart
lightened with a dreamy sense of blessedness and she shivered with excitement. "It's so
beautiful..."she whispered into her husband's ear, feeling the cool tiles solid beneath
her light slippers. The one pair of inconvenient and fragile shoes in her wardrobe, they were also the
most expensive and matched the dress in both material and design.

With a glimmer of juvenile thrill, she spotted Jaina. The girl recognized her also and yelled above the
sedate symphony, "Hey Tara! Look! Jacen can waltz!" There was a whimsical grin dancing on her
lips, as she flowed around the floor with her brother. Jacen obviously didn't see it as such a
great honour, and rapidly sank his heel onto his twin's toes, which shut her up within
seconds.

Inside of two minutes, Solo had persuaded her to dance with him. It must have been the bright
lights, or the heat, or something, but she wouldn't normally do that. The music was
light-hearted and elegant, a subtle hint to anyone in a couple to share a few moments freely. It
seemed to work. There were so many couples there that Tara recognized; Luke and Mara, Leia and
Han, Lil and Cace, Kerryna and Jiromie, everyone. They were all on a rounded marble dance floor,
with columns around the circle, draped with flowers of every shade of red and crimson. It was a
perfect dream.

But all too soon gliding around the platform appeared to take a lot out of her. The music began to
haze and fuzz, the other people around them loosing their shape in increasing speed. The columns
span round and round her, until they merged all into one, solid wall enclosing her. The flowers
transformed into cascades of blood and all of a sudden on figure was focused.

As she span round and round hopelessly, clinging onto what seemed to be Anakin but
wasn't, she tried to focus on that one figure on every rotation. After a few seconds, those
dark eyes revealed themselves.

Tierce.

Alone, and in completion. He just stood there, staring at her. His expression was a combination of
shock and hatred, as if he had been frozen in midst rage. But Tara decided swiftly that she
didn't appreciate the dead attention he was giving her.

And then abruptly, everything disappeared, the distorted music stopped and the misshapen
figures-including Anakin-fell from her grasp. A moment's relief was shaken
out of her empathy when Tierce reappeared, still looking dead, walking towards her.

"You stay away from me!" she screamed, the emotion of all the happiness taking it's toll.
Tara had lost control of her happiness, and now she failed to control her fear. "It's only a
dream!" she yelled, more to herself than anything else, "You're not there! You're not
real!"

Tierce was holding something. Tantalisingly slowly, he raised his hand. It was one of those styluses
from Mensco's department of interrogation. He came closer and closer, floating in mid air,
the deadly point glistening evilly.
"I said go away! Why won't you leave me alone?"

The still eyes jumped to life, and the blue-grey lips tightened into a wicked smile. "I'll always
be near you," he hissed, "You'll never get away from the Empire..."

Tara's eyes were lined with stinging tears, and she sank to her knees, grasping her head
with both arms and curling up into a ball like a petrified animal. "Go away... go away!"

"I'm going to kill you..."

It wasn't Dave's voice anymore, but that didn't matter. Half of the image was
visual, and it was terrifying her. But what scared Tara most of all was the fact that she was scared
in the first place. She shouldn't be scared... she shouldn't. She was a Jedi.

Still whimpering, she gripped her hands into fists and her eyes narrowed. "No. I'm going to
kill you."

Tara's eyes were misty and ponderous. They flickered lifelessly, and the light erupted into
delicately burning flames of a fire. Suddenly it all came back. Her eyes opened with an energy past
natural, and she sat bolt upright, staring into the flames.

"Ahhh!" she screamed, "I've got to
kill him!" She was breathing deeply, uncontrollably.

"Ya what? Wha... what?"

Tara felt a warm hand on her shoulder, but it couldn't stop her shaking. Droplets of
perspiration filed down her brow and her arms, but her forehead was stone cold.

"Tara, are you okay? What happened?" Anakin remarked, seeing her shiver and putting his blanket
around her shoulders.

"I've got to... I've got to kill... kill him... I've got to..." Tara
flung the blanket off of her back and onto Luke, who woke up from the action. As soon as he saw
her outlined by the dying flames, he forced himself onto his knees and crawled over to her.

"Anakin?" he asked, but the youngest Solo just started hopelessly and unaware into his
uncle's eyes. Luke turned to talk to Tara, but she was shivering too greatly for him to hold
conversation. He grasped her face between his hands in an endeavour to stop the nervous
trembling, and looked into her eyes. "Tara... Tara, listen to me. Can you hear me? It's
me, Luke."

"Kill him...I gotta..."

Jaina's eyes opened to see her friend in the midst of a nervous breakdown and she squinted,
unsure of the circumstances. "Tara? Is that you?"

Skywalker shook his head, "I don't know what's caused it."

"One hell of a nightmare," Anakin suggested.

"Well I don't know, and currently I don't care," Luke responded heavily, and clasped
the girl in his arms. "We've just got to stop her shivering. I've seen this before." He
glanced meaningfully to his sister, who shrugged in reply. That was because of Vader. "Mara, you
were like this when Riakesh overpowered you." But the diagnostic controversy was suspended
while Tara continued to shiver.

"I've gotta...he's gonna kill me..."the sobs were interrupted by frantic
gasps for air, "...I don't know..."
The picture of Tierce, the sounds of Mensco just kept re-playing again and again, over and over, he wouldn't move out of her sight. Then there was something else. Black... then a smudge of fiery red, then black again. Tara, it's
Luke.

"Luke?" Jaksbin opened her eyes to the pitch black of her master's suit. "He's going
to kill me..."

"No, no-one's going to hurt you," he reassured, gesturing strongly with his head for Anakin
to help him. Together, they held the girl in their arms as she wept helplessly, dawning into a new
day and out of the nightmare.