Disclaimer: Sadly, nothing is mine. Just toys of LucasFilms and the like with which I enjoy playing…

Summary: On a routine mission for the Jedi Academy, Jaina stumbles across and old ship and with it comes a few surprises…

Setting: Pre- NJO, but soon before- Jaina at 15 or 16

Characters: Primarily Jaina with supporting roles from other Solos/Luke/etc, some R2D2, some Gilad Pellaeon, and some OCs.

Rating: PG-13/K+

A/N: This is an eight-part story and- best of all- already written! So I'll be posting a chapter a day or so. :-)

Chapter 1

A plague was killing an alien species.

The planet of Velmor was remote- about midway between Yavin IV and the Deep Core, it was also situated about midway between the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route- and therefore, not easily accessible from either. It sat in a close cluster of other planetary systems that made hyperspace travel tricky at best. And that's the way the Velmoc enjoyed it, at least until a sudden influx of thousands of Alderaanian survivors put it on the radar once more.

The population of the sparsely inhabited planet rocketed in the few years following the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star, giving humans a vast majority over the native Velmoc, who only numbered around three thousand.

And now the Velmoc were dying, and the humans could not figure out why.

The New Republic's best scientists worked on the matter as the numbers of the Velmoc dwindled slowly but steadily. Tests were run, samples taken, and little headway could be made. As a last resort, Jedi Master and healer, Cilghal was summoned and for another week, the team remained stumped- until Cilghal made an astonishing discovery.

Of the ten experts sent by the New Republic, five were human; of the five humans, four had come down with colds while working on the project. A last test was run, and the results were unbelievable.

They had tested for exotic disorders and diseases, researched the history of the Velmoc to try to gain any insight into the epidemic; but the answer itself was devastatingly simple.

The Velmoc were dying of the common cold.

It was a human illness, and had been for millennia; however, a slight mutation of the virus and a species jump were wreaking havoc on a species that had no acquired immunity.

Most of the scientists returned to Coruscant to begin the hasty development of both a medication tailored to the Velmoc as well as an immunity-booster for future such incidents. Cilghal contacted the Jedi Praxeum to inform Master Skywalker of the findings of the crew- and to request that he send a courier with as many anti-viral doses as could be spared.

It did not sound like a particularly exciting mission- a twelve hour hyperspace jump in each direction, little chance of complications… and so Jaina Solo was surprised to hear herself volunteer to go.

Luke looked mildly surprised at the offer, though not as surprised as Jaina felt, and she wondered if it weren't some prodding in the Force telling her she should be the one.

"Maybe I should talk to Han and Leia…"

Jaina sighed. "If my mother weren't your sister and you weren't terrified of my father, would you even bother?" He looked briefly guilty and smiled ruefully. "If I were any other student here…"

"Except Jacen."

"Except Jacen," she conceded.

"Or Lowie."

"Right."

"Or Tenel Ka."

"Okay!" she held up a hand, torn between frustration and amusement. "The point is that this is what Jedi are supposed to do, right? Help people in need? And I know I'm not a full Jedi yet," she cut off his argument immediately. "But I'll be apprenticed soon, which means I won't even be at the academy anymore most of the time, and mom and dad won't be able to keep a constant watch on me."

Luke nodded. "But you will be with a full-fledged knight or master."

She shrugged. "Cilghal will be there. I just feel- I'm not sure," she sighed heavily. "Maybe it's just boredom talking, maybe I just want to mix things up a little. But I feel like I should go."

Her uncle studied her carefully for a minute before smiling. "Alright," he agreed. "But I want you to take the Shadow Chaser. And Artoo." He held up a hand to stop her reply. "And I am going to inform your parents that you volunteered for this, but I won't ask their permission. Deal?"

And so it was that Jaina found herself lifting off from Yavin IV in the Shadow Chaser, watching the temple shrink into a smaller and smaller speck on the moon's surface. "Artoo?" she called back to him softly once the ship entered hyperspace, "can you upload to the ship's computer all the data files on Velmor you downloaded from the archives?"

He trundled up to the cockpit and connected to the terminal in the jack behind the co-pilot's chair, tweetling a quick response. Jaina perused the basics of the planet's history and demography, and found a briefing from Cilghal on the current situation. Once she felt she'd taken in what she needed, she settled in for some meditative time, wondering what- if anything- awaited her on Velmor.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

She was mildly disappointed.

Everything went smoothly; the supplies were loaded into a cargo hauler speeder and a driver was paid to follow it, taking Jaina to the med center where Cilghal was tending the dozens of patients as best she could. She was glad to help out, and it was interesting enough as Cilghal explained to her (in layman's terms as much as possible) what had happened from a medical standpoint and how she was trying to use her healing abilities to counteract it until the New Republic's scientists found a more lasting solution.

But she found no reason that she might have been called to Velmor in the Force. Nothing drew her attention, there was no twinge in her mind suggesting she go somewhere, or do something specific. Cilghal noticed her distraction.

"It did strike me strange that you would volunteer for a dull delivery such as this," Cilghal's head twitched in amusement- as least, that's how Jaina interpreted it, by no means an expert in Mon Cal body language. "But perhaps it is not the Force that calls you- you know that Velmor was largely settled by Alderaanian refugees? Perhaps some lingering interest in the culture where your mother grew up…?"

But Jaina didn't think that was it. Sure, the city was beautiful, and she recognized some of the architectural styles from old holo-docs about Alderaan; but the planet was dull in comparison, nothing like the beautiful world where her mother grew up with her foster parents. Nevertheless, she explored the city for a few hours before returning to her uncle's well-armored ship and preparing to make the half-day jump back to Yavin.

"Uncle Luke?" she reached him on the transceiver. "Just letting you know that I'm preparing to head out from Velmor; you should be able to expect me in just over twelve standard hours."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Jaina got her approval signal from hangar control and began her ascent. "No," she murmured. "Nothing here calls to me, I don't know where the feeling came from." The truth was, she still felt it, tickling the back of her mind like something she knew she'd forgotten but just couldn't quite remember.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Jaina; maybe it will be revealed in time, as Cilghal treats the Velmoc."

"Maybe."

"Fly safe, Jaina, we'll see you soon."

She shut down the comm and continued her climb through Velmor's atmosphere. She was nearing the point where she'd be able to start calculating her hyperspace jump when an alarm sounded on her control board; there were a few dozen ships incoming. Indeed, as she looking out the transparisteel viewport, she could see some beginning to revert to realspace in the distance.

"Shadow Chaser," a new voice interrupted her confusion, "this is Velmor space defense; a flotilla of aggressor vessels from Thisspias are approaching. We strongly recommend that you return to the planet before the defense shield is enacted in two standard minutes.

"Defense," Jaina replied, "I'll be hyperspace ready in less time than that, but thanks for the heads up; do you need any help?"

There was a brief silence. "Copy and negative, Shadow Chaser; the shield will be sufficient. See that you're well clear before the shield goes up, it will scramble your sensors."

"Copy, Defense. Shadow Chaser out." She watched the ships quickly approaching, but still several thousand kilometers out. "Artoo, when will we be ready to jump?" His reply scrolled across her screen and she grew worried for the first time. "They're jamming us?" she asked, frowning. "We still have the capability, right? Just not the means of calculation?"

It was too late to return to the planet; she'd certainly fry the vehicle trying to reenter as they enabled their planetary defenses. "Alright," she stretched out in the Force. "We do a fast, random jump, get our bearings, and adjust." Artoo asked something about flying down a black hole. "Hey!" she was indignant. "Jedi, remember?"

His response seemed akin to an electronic eye-roll, and Jaina suspected that he'd heard that line from Luke one too many times over the years. "Okay," she muttered, feeling a pull, entering coordinates for a random point beyond the system but not far enough to risk flying through another star. "Ready- mark."

Stars streaked into white lines; Artoo whistled a worried tune. Fifteen seconds later, she reverted.

The proximity alarms sounded; Artoo let out an alarmed shriek. Jaina's hands flew over the console, checking sensor readouts, making sure everything else was okay before checking the reading- but when she did, she was astonished.

She was in deep space; no system around for several light years- and she'd managed to come out of hyperspace practically on top of another ship, a lone vessel that, the longer Jaina stared at it, the older and more decrepit it looked.

A twinge of excitement started in her stomach. "Artoo," she breathed, "what is that?" She checked his answer.

An Imperial Transport, from the Rebellion era.

Jaina whistled. "What do you think it's doing way out here? Can you pick up any damage reports? It must have been abandoned, I can't image anyone is still using that floating scrap-yard…"

That's when the tractor-beam caught her.