Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 380: Family Meeting

It hadn’t been long before Jyren and Marix made their way to his quarters to check on Tobias(hoping that he would be there...). This came as a relief to Toby, as the conversation with Rea was more and more difficult with each question she asked. And so, when the two others had stepped in(looking a bit surprised to see the Twi’lek there, and even more surprised to see Tobias actually attempting to talk), he sighed and allowed himself to fall back into the chair at the desk he had been backing into the entire time.

Marix had stepped over to give him a curious look, but didn’t say a word. She was always amazed that, despite how much the brat tried to be like Jyren...he had all the tendencies and social graces of hers. How that had happened was beyond her for a few thousand reasons, and she did her best not to go into the ‘why’ and ‘how’, simply grinning inwardly. It had taken seeing someone else acting like she used to around people to understand why Jyren always laughed at her for it.

But a few moments later, the Twi’lek woman saluted Jyren then stepped out of the room with a smile and a nod to Tobias and Marix. As the door closed, he turned and walked over to where Marix and Tobias were eyeing him curiously.

“What was that about?” Marix asked after she was sure the door was good and closed.

Jyren just shrugged before moving to have a seat on the foot of the small bed, “She was just checking to make sure I was alright.”

It was truly amazing that Marix was able to hold a completely even face...and then simply one aspect would change to get across the necessary message. In this case, her right eyebrow went up.

Of course, it didn’t have the desired effect, and Jyren just laughed, “That was the squadron’s first combat engagement. The kids...always get a bit shaken up when they lose a friend. Especially their wing.”

The eyebrow went back down, and Marix simply nodded. She then glanced down to where Toby sat in the chair and idly leaned on the back of the thing, “I can’t believe you dragged me onto this ship.”

“Hey, I didn’t—“

Marix waved a hand to silence Jyren. Fine. She had attempted a joke but obviously the humour was lost on the both of them. That was typical. Rolling her eyes, she moved to have a seat next to Jyren, “We’ll make do. But when we arrive on Ithor I’m going to find a way to contact home.”

“Everything should be alright there,” Jyren did his best to reassure her, knowing it wasn’t doing any of them any good. They couldn’t know for sure. Seeing how this war was going had a very depressing effect on everyone...even Tobias.

But Marix managed to humour all of them and nod, “I’ll check, anyway.”

Shifting in his chair to look at both of them, Tobias asked, “So does this mean we’re not leaving?”

Both Jyren and Marix exchanged a quick glance and Tobias could see that look in their eyes that said they were conversing over their link. Then, Marix looked over to him and nodded, “We’ll stay at least a month.”

The implications of that were only lost on Toby. And that was because he didn’t know of the situation at Ithor. So they would protect the planet. Why? Well, no, that was a stupid question. Jyren knew exactly why. Ithor was the one planet in all of the ‘known galaxy’ that was the most like Alraxia. It was...a symbol of sorts for both Marix and Jyren. If they could protect Ithor, they could protect Alraxia.

Jyren eventually looked up and over to Tobias, breaking the odd silence that had arisen in the small quarters, “Tomorrow I’ll be going down to the planet to meet with a group of Jedi...” he paused a moment, unsure of how to say this and not at all liking it, but then a mental nudge from Marix forced him to just be direct, “I want you to come with me.”

And suddenly, Toby’s eyes seemed to double in size. He opened his mouth a few times, but was never able to formulate any words. After a few moments of this, he managed to nod a few too many times(like he’d always done a little child), and said, “I’d...I’d like that.”

All Jyren did was nod to the boy before turning back to Marix, “I assume you’ll come, too?”

“If I’m staying here, I’m going to fight,” she said in that calm, determined voice that used to unnerve Jyren all those years ago.

And then there was only one question left. Both of them looked to Tobias.

He could not fight. Neither of them would let him. So what would he do? He’d be liability on the ground...a dangerous one, at that. But there was no way he’d be convinced to stay here in these quarters while the fight was going on, and, truthfully, they would be no safer. The only true option either Jyren or Marix could see was getting Tobias out of the system and back home...but neither were foolish enough to think that would actually happen.

So he would be in the way, or at least in danger, no matter what. And it meant that they would have to be distracted, no matter what, worrying about him. Perhaps Marix could put that out of her mind for a fight, but she knew that Jyren wouldn’t be able to. So even if she was focused, he would not be...and it would put all of them in danger. No matter what, it seemed that there was going to be no easy way to deal with what was to come.

But there was something else. Something that both Jyren and Marix were trying not to consider.

The Jedi.

There was something very important coming. Both of them could feel it. What, exactly, it was, neither truly knew. However, the fact that a battle was coming, and the Jedi were going to be involved hinted that either or both of those had something to do with it. But it was hard, especially for Jyren, to not worry that seeing all of the Jedi would cloud Tobias’ mind with even more myths and dreams about them.

If that boy truly wanted to be a Jedi, he was going to have to do it for the right reasons. Jyren had seen what happened to those that didn’t...and he couldn’t bring himself to even imagine Tobias falling into those ranks.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 381: Traitor

“It’s a beautiful planet.”

Rulae Nok turned to the man standing next to him in the small, forward briefing room that was just below the Star Destroyer’s bridge. The man was staring out at the green planet hanging in the viewport in front of them, staring with an intensity that Rulae had only ever seen during a battle. Through the years, he’d served with Ven Tarus many, many times...but he’d never seen the human in such a way outside the bridge of a starship.

So, the first thing the Duros could think to say was, “Are you alright, Admiral?”

The slightest of grins could be seen tugging at the side of the Admiral’s angular features, but the man did not turn to face Rulae, “That’s a foolish question, Commodore.”

At that, Rulae couldn’t help a nod. It was. Not five minutes before, the briefing for the first preparations had ended. As the other important members of the attack fleet’s command staff left, Admiral Tarus had asked for Rulae to stay. Then, the human had simply walked to look out at the planet. But, considering the tone of the discussion, it was obvious what was wrong.

No one trusted the Vong to hold to their word of single combat deciding the fate of the planet. Four different fleet groups had already arrived to defend the planet, with at least another two on their way. There was, however, no word on the involvement of the Imperial Remnant, and from the sounds of things, they wouldn’t be helping this time...some kind of bureaucratic nonsense, as usual. But, despite the fact that this was the largest defense of a planet to be amassed since the start of the war, no one felt like it was enough. The Vong were just...always too much. And, after losing planet after planet, it was hard to argue that anymore.

They had to protect Ithor.

“You...asked me to stay, sir?” it was as foolish a question as his first, but Rulae had learned that it was the best way to provoke a response from most commanding officers. It was a trick he’d only learned after being given his first command, and all of the recruits had used the question against him.

Finally, the Admiral turned from admiring the planet at the edge of the Star Destroyer’s pointed nose that was far ahead of them and looked to the Duros. With a simple nod, he reached into the jacket pocket of his red-grey uniform and produced a datapad. After touching the screen once, he looked to read something before asking, “Have you ever heard of a man named Akan Tavos?”

With as good a memory as he had, Rulae needed no time to think about that. Immediately, he shook his blue head, “No, sir...” he paused a moment, noticed that the Admiral seemed a bit distracted still, and then added, “Why?”

“He’s one of the few bounties that the New Republic has out...” Admiral Tarus commented, his eyes scanning whatever was on the datapad’s screen, “Stealing a prototype starfighter...attacking and destroying many of our own starships...assisting in the escape of at least two very dangerous captives...” he trailed off a moment and then the two green eyes finally looked up to Rulae, “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The bounty’s been out for almost twelve standard years now.”

Rulae met the Admiral’s gaze, unsure of where this was going. He managed a slow nod before trying to coax more out of his commander, “I’m sorry, sir...but...I don’t see how this is relevant to our current situation.”

To his surprise, the Admiral actuall nodded, “I understand...” he then turned the datapad around to show the screen to Rulae, “This is the list of charges and the clearest holo of Akan Tavos that was ever captured.”

It wasn’t terribly clear. However, the dim, blue-tinted image showed a human looking around over his shoulder towards the general direction of the holocam that had captured the image. And, immediately, Rulae recognized the face. Duros’ eyes could not widen, so instead he simply opened his mouth slightly.

After a few moments of simple confusion, Rulae tore his eyes from the datapad to look back to the Admiral, “Sir...I...I’m not sure what you want me to do about this.”

“I am in the same position,” Admiral Tarus nodded, then put the datapad back into his jacket pocket, “Unless he has a twin, your XO has not been entirely truthful with any of us.”

“But why would he come back?”

The Admiral shrugged and turned to look out at the planet again, “Only he knows that. I should arrest him on the spot and have him thrown in the brig...” he sighed and shook his head, “But morale is low enough as it is. Even before Agamar, he was a very strong presence aboard this ship...now he’s a symbol of survival among the fleet. Take that away, and everyone in the fleet will lose the will to fight.”

It was dramatic, probably too much so, but straight to the point. Most Admirals would likely have simply arrested the criminal right away, but Rulae had always known Ven Tarus to be a man that relied on the strength of his crew and pilots. He would never do anything that would hurt them if he didn’t have to. And, for some reason, that brought up another question...

“How many people know about this?”

Even the Admiral was surprised at that question. The quick glance to Rulae said that, but then he looked back out to Ithor and said quietly, “Only the two of us.”

Ven Tarus truly was a man from the Rebellion days. He had a great military and tactical mind, but at the same time had the secrecy and protectiveness that the Rebellion bred amongst all of its fighters. Twenty years later...after all of the fighting, including infighting even, it was a refreshing thing to see that some in the New Republic still hadn’t changed. Perhaps it wasn’t the safest thing in all cases, but it always seemed to mean that the officers knew what they were doing and understood the men fighting under them...not like some of the politicians that were running things these days.

But, before Rulae could ask another question, the Admiral spoke up again, “The two of you were the only survivors in your squadron over a decade ago...he trusts you. What do you know about him?”

This time, Rulae, too, turned to look out at Ithor, “Honestly...not much. When I’ve asked him where he disappeared to after he left Starfighter Command, he’s very careful about what he says. This would, of course, explain why...but he’s a good man. I can see it.”

“Good men can do very bad things.”

Rulae couldn’t help nodding at that, “I trust him.”

“You know about the Peace Brigade, yes?” the quick change of conversation through Rulae off for a long few moments.

Finally, though, he composed himself and nodded again, “Yes, sir...I’ve read all of the reports.”

“Then you know that there are reports of plants among many ships in the fleet,” as he spoke, the Admiral once again turned his head to look at the Duros standing next to him.

Quickly connecting these pieces, Rulae was able to finish that thought, “You think he’s a Peace Brigader?”

“They’re mostly pirates...smugglers...terrorists...” the Admiral shrugged, “The profile fits surprisingly well.”

“It does...” Rulae couldn’t help but agree with that, “But why would his wife bring in a Peace Brigade man and turn him over to us so easily?”

“A trade off, perhaps,” Admiral Tarus suggested, though he didn’t seem completely sure of that, himself, “Or, perhaps, she’s not even involved.”

And then, Rulae said something that even surprised himself, “Morale of the crew or not, if he is Peace Brigade he has to be detained immediately.”

“You know him better than anyone else here...while I do not want to harm our effectiveness, if you truly believe that action must be taken, then I will authorize you to do so yourself.”

Noting that the tone of the conversation was changing, Rulae turned to face the Admiral and adopted a more formal stance, “I will travel down to Ithor and...deal with this situation, sir.”

The Admiral turned to face Rulae and just gave him a simple nod, “Do so quietly. If we must do something about him, then the less that know about it, the better.”

“Yes, sir,” Rulae saluted, turned, and left the briefing room.

He started straight for the hangar, knowing that his fighter would be ready for a quick trip down to the planet. Jyren...Raan...Akan...whoever he was, had gone down in that strange transport with his family two hours earlier. Rulae did not want to consider the option that Jyren truly was working for the Peace Brigade, but the precautions had to be taken to protect all of them.

The simple fact of the matter, and the most terrifying part of it all to Rulae, was that it really did make too much sense. It would explain so much, and considering the small amount of explanations that Jyren had given since his sudden return, they were even more likely to be correct.

 

[Angcuru]

Oooh....what a twist! I was wondering when all of that was going to catch up with Jyren/Akan/Raan/that guy.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 382: Not Like We Planned

Floating high above the lush, untouched forests of Ithor was the city of Tafanda Bay. The capital of the planet, and the largest of the great, floating cities that the Ithorians inhabited, it was where the Jedi had gathered for their makeshift meeting. But it hadn’t been simply Jedi...Ithorian officials, New Republic officers, and other people focused on protecting the planet were all there, standing around a great courtyard in the open air.

Because of the amount of people there, it wasn’t hard for Jyren, Marix, and Tobias to go relatively unnoticed. Well, until Skywalker looked up and straight through the crowd to them. He said nothing, however, but the fact remained that Jyren and Skywalker had never truly...gotten along in their few meetings. Most of it was probably because Skywalker asked too many questions that Jyren knew he couldn’t answer. Not only to protect Alraxia, but to keep any extra suspicions off of himself.

But the gathering itself centered around a few more vocal Jedi. Arguments erupted about the duel that Corran Horn had challenged the Vong commander to...and, apparently, about Horn’s position in the New Republic military. It wasn’t long before things had lost control and shouting began.

At that point, Jyren and Marix exchanged a careful look. Even the link was silent, though, as neither needed words to express their feelings. This was exactly why Tobias did not need to be involved with the Jedi. They were divided...like the rest of the galaxy. Infighting was growing and people were too busy beating themselves up than focusing on fighting the Vong. And yet...both of them saw the light in Toby’s eyes. He seemed completely unfazed by any of this.

[Something is watching us.]

Marix finally broke the link’s ‘silence’ after finally having enough of that feeling. It wasn’t from the Force...it was just...her natural senses.

[I don’t feel anything.] Jyren responded, his eyes glancing from side to side but doing his best not to turn around...just in case.

Turning her head to give him a look, Marix rolled her eyes. [Something is watching us.]

[Fine.] Jyren sighed and shook his head. [Something’s watching us. There are a lot of people here. That shouldn’t be too surprising.]

It was a miracle she didn’t punch him. Instead, though, she gave him a good kick to the shin, which required less movement. Jyren managed to bite back any noise beyond a groan, then glared at her. [Fine. Lead the way.]

Marix gave him a nod, then looked to her other side where Tobias stood and took his arm while saying quietly, “We’re leaving.”

Before he was given any chance to protest, Marix dragged him away, with Jyren right behind to make sure he couldn’t turn and run back. This drew no attention, thankfully, as others had left as the Jedi’s arguments grew more heated and pointless. Leading the way down an open street, Marix wove a path through the few Ithorians that were around before stopping in the center of a long, open area with a large amount of shops. But it was surprisingly empty of people...

The protests from Tobias about being dragged along ended immediately. Even he could feel it.

“I don’t like this,” Jyren said simply.

Toby’s eyes turned from the street to Jyren, “Why are we here?”

“You can feel it, Toby,” Marix answered, her eyes carefully scanning the open street but finding nothing.

Jyren watched Tobias shake his head, “No, I can’t! There’s nothing but us here!”

Marix then turned around to look back to Tobias and then to Jyren, “That’s the problem.”

Nodding, Jyren helped explain as quickly as he could, “This street was packed with Ithorians before the Jedi gathering.”

Footsteps silenced any other response from either Marix or Tobias. All six eyes darted up to see a pair of humans in normal looking clothes walking out of a building and down the street the other direction. They took no notice of the three ‘humans’ who were all on edge...

[Those people shouldn’t be there.] Jyren said over the link, wanting Toby to hear it but suddenly terrified to speak out loud.

[No, they should...] she trailed off a moment, about to go on about people needing to be on a busy street, but then she picked up on it, too. [They aren’t there.]

[But they are.]

That could only mean one thing.

“Hey!” Jyren called out to the two humans, “You two! Stop a second!”

They did stop. Almost in one motion, the two very tall, plain looking humans turned around and looked at the three of them. They said nothing, though.

Marix looked to Jyren a moment, obviously ready to act but noting that he seemed to have taken the initiative for once. Taking a few more steps closer to the two of them, Jyren reached into his jacket and retrieved his not-so-well-hidden lightsaber.

“Stay where you are!” he said in the same stern voice, which was then followed by the distinct snap-hiss of the lightsaber activating and the blue-green glow bathing the area in a soft light.

Then the two humans did speak, “Jeedai!”

And then, suddenly, each of the ‘humans’ were charging at Jyren, a snake-like coil slithering down their arms and into their hands. The coil became a solid staff-like weapon with the head of a snake that Jyren knew as a Yuuzhan Vong amphistaff.

“Toby, get back!” Jyren yelled over his shoulder while quickly getting into a defensive stance and bringing his lightsaber up to slight the amphistaff, that was swinging down at his shoulder, in two. But something went wrong. It didn’t cut.

Instead, the amphistaff impacted with his lightsaber blade with a strength that Jyren could barely match as a human. But instead of having to force the weapon back like he would with most lightsaber combatants, the attacker took a step back, pulled his weapon away to throw Jyren off balance, then dove forward, driving the staff’s snake head at Jyren’s stomach.

Somehow, Jyren managed to keep his balance and swing his lightsaber down to bat the head of the weapon off to the side...but that was when the second attacker started his strike. From Jyren’s side, the second amphistaff swung down at his back, the snake-head tilted down and ready to rake its teeth across him.

But by then, Marix was close enough to drive her metal knife deep into the second attacker’s spine. She had used Jyren’s open distraction to sneak around, looking as helpless in a fight as she could until she withdrew the weapon and got in a position to strike. But when her blade dug into the attacker’s back, there was no noise beyond a grunt and the knife cutting through fabric and...and...something that wasn’t bone and definitely was not human flesh.

The Vong spun around at her, forcing Marix to withdraw her weapon as she ducked under the staff as it swung over her head before assuming a more whip-like structure. At the same time, it became obvious why the knife had felt strange digging into the thing’s back...just as with the first Vong she had encountered, the human ‘skin’ peeled away.

And, in another second, standing before her was an Alraxian-sized Yuuzhan Vong warrior. His scarred and tattooed face formed a sneer as he growled, “Bre’ln eck dre!”

This was followed by the amphistaff, which had half of its body coiled around the Vong’s massive right arm, to swing around and then strike out at her just like the snake it resembled. Marix sidestepped the sudden strike before bringing her arms up to catch the Vong’s leg, which had followed with a quick kick towards her chest. But Marix caught his boot and then reversed his momentum to spin the Vong hard onto the ground.

Knowing, already, how dangerous the Vong were in combat, Marix did not waste this advantage. She immediately came down on the massive warrior, her leg stamping down on the amphistaff that was coiled around his arm and holding the both of them down before she bent over and used all of her strength(which, as a human, wasn’t much) to drive the knife into the Vong’s neck. There was a gasp, a sharp hiss from the Vong, and then before Marix watched his eyes glaze over, the ampistaff wrapped around her leg and dug its fangs deep into her thigh.

The violent pain of this was followed by a sharp feeling of something being injected into her leg, and she wasn’t able to hold back the cry of pain before wrenched away from the now-dead Vong warrior and his weapon.

“Marix!” Jyren spun around to look over his shoulder to her the second he felt the pain in his own leg. He watched her stumble back a couple of steps before falling to the ground on her back. But before Jyren could do anything, the attacker in front of him(also shed of his human disguise and another very large Vong) struck...and Jyren paid for his lack of attention by taking a slash to the face from the sharp edge of the amphistaff.

He yelped as the pain caused him to nearly black out, and did his best to use the Force to heal the wound rather than just remorphing it right there. It was impossible to tell who all was watching.

Gritting his teeth, Jyren turned back to the Vong and gave him a good, strong kick to the chest. It sent the large warrior into the building behind him with a hard crack, and provided Jyren with just enough time to point his saber at the Vong and drive it straight into the warrior’s chest. For good measure, Jyren cut a long wound out of the Vong’s shoulder before the thing finally collapsed to the ground.

With the adrenaline fading, the sharp, intense pain of the slash across his face nearly overwhelmed Jyren. His vision faded into a blurry mesh of colours as he tried to turn and make sure Marix was alright. No longer caring who might be around, Jyren decided to get rid of the pain and focused on remorphing the wound before it became a permanent scar.

When it faded, the pain didn’t completely, but the echo of it was bearable. His vision became cleared, and he could then see Tobias next to Marix, who, through the link, he could feel destroying a violent poison in her system. She was alright. In fact, it was better her to be the one poisoned...as he would have had no idea how to fight it.

But before he could walk over to the two of them, Jyren’s ears picked up another sound over the still-thrumming noise of his lightsaber.

“Put down the weapon, Captain,” Rulae Nok said in a slightly wavering voice from across the large street. The Duros was wearing his uniform and holding a blaster pistol, aimed straight at Jyren.

((It should be mentioned that the exact timeline of events has been/is going to keep being fudged a bit. Some of this is just to keep things fresh or make them work better for THIS. Overall, though, everything that happens is still close enough to the actual timeline of events for the Vong War that its hard to tell. ))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 383: Complications

The Vong had arrived already, their fleet in a distant orbit of Ithor...much farther from the planet than the planet’s defenses could currently reach. But the transport and its two Coralskipper guards were allowed through, and down to the planet’s surface below. Down where Corran Horn and a small group of other Jedi waited. Waiting to decide the fate of Ithor...and hoping that the Vong would hold to their word of leaving the planet if their command lost.

And nearly everyone left on Tafanda Bay waited. Most of the cities of the planet had been evacuated in the previous days, but some always remained behind in any evacuation. Together with the Jedi and New Republic forces in the cities, they all waited.

All but a few...

A fizzling sound signaled the deactivation of Jyren’s lightsaber as he looked across the street to his Duros friend, “Now yours.”

Rulae shook his head, still holding his blaster steadily, “Put the weapon down, Akan.”

Jyren’s eyes went wide for a second before he got his reaction under control. But he did noticed Tobias’ head spin around to look at Jyren in surprise. Even Marix, who was now sitting up and shaking off the dizzying feeling from the remainder of the poison, glanced his way.

Knowing exactly what that meant, Jyren said, “Its more complicated than you think, Rulae.”

“I do not think that is possible,” Rulae’s voice was flat, and his two, teardrop shaped eyes seemed to somehow be focused on one tiny detail that Jyren just couldn’t pick up. And then, Rulae added, “That amphistaff should have taken your face off.”

Damn.

Just...damn!

Why did everything always have to go so pear shaped exactly at the wrong points? Always, right when it was the worst possible time...BAM! The universe got turned on its head and everyone was out to get Marix and Jyren again. Of course, he should have been used to that by this time, and it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. But...as usual, it was.

So, Jyren decided it was best to just jump the gun and play dirty, “I’m still your friend, Rulae. Still the same person. I told you everything I could. Everything I left out was to protect my family.”

“The charges against you are not against your family,” the Duros responded with a few steps forward, “They are against you, and you alone.”

“No,” Marix suddenly spoke up, her voice as strong as ever as if nothing at all had happened. And she was on her feet, too...not all that impressive, considering her relatively short height as a human, but it still said much.

Rulae glanced in her direction and had a look of slight confusion for a moment, but before he could say anything Jyren cut in again, “I told you that I tracked down a man that had captured Marix. He was a former Imperial...and the only person who knew how to find him was the man I broke out.”

“That does not excuse anything, Raan.”

“I did the right thing!” Jyren snapped, a sudden wave of anger rippling through the Force from him, “You cannot imagine what would happened to the New Republic if I had not done those things. You can’t possibly think of the billions that would have been murdered. Yes, New Republic men died trying to stop me...but I did what I had to do, and it was the right thing.”

For a long moment, there was silence. Rulae seemed to be trying to piece things together, but before he could say anything at all, the three others exchanged quick glances. They all, suddenly, felt something.

Something strong and...and...

“We need to leave this planet now,” Marix stated, grabbing Tobias’ arm and then looking straight to Jyren.

“I can’t let you leave!” Rulae snapped at her, turning his weapon towards her but noticing she had turned her back and was heading off.

Jyren, having taken a few quiet steps towards the Duros, then reached out and snatched the blaster pistol from his blue hand. As Rulae started to swing at the human, Jyren stepped back again and looked him straight in the eye, “Something is happening, Rulae. The duel...or...no...worse. If you want to live, come with us.”

Rulae stared at him and blinked a few times before sounds could be heard. People....yelling...moving...running? Something had happened. And...and then another sound. A sound that Rulae knew very well. The odd noise of Coralskippers.

“Go,” Rulae said finally, “The Araddon is where I should be.”

“Your fighter is too far away,” Jyren said, shaking his head and just doing what Marix had done and grabbed his friend by the arm to drag him to Loki, “Come on.”

There was not a chance to argue. Rulae found that Jyren’s grip was stronger than it should have been, and fighting it was useless. Besides, from the looks of the sky above, they were right. The blue was...was...fading, almost. Not like a fade from day to night, but something else. Something...sickly. Something wrong.

It barely took any time before they arrived at the small docking bay where Loki rested, and for the first time, Rulae got a good look at the odd ship. It was like nothing he’d ever seen. And, at the speed they were running, something he wasn’t getting much of a chance to see, either. By then, Jyren had let go of his arm and, as they were heading for what looked to be the hatch, Rulae noted the distinct sound of engines powering up.

“Someone’s already inside?” he yelled, noting that the two others were only a few steps ahead of them.

“Its complicated,” Jyren said over his shoulder before stepping into the hatch and then immediately rounding a corner to follow the other two.

The hatch closed like an iris behind the Duros, who noted the unique design of the corridors before quickly turning to follow the other three. Out of his element, he decided it was best to tag along and figure things out as he could.

“Loki, get us the hell out of here!” Marix was yelling at...at...nothing, as far as Rulae could tell.

“And what in the name of the Force happened?!” Jyren yelled...upwards, Rulae noted.

But before he could say anything, they’d reached what had to be the cockpit. Both Jyren and Marix swung into the only two seats there were in the interesting looking cockpit, while the young human stood behind Jyren’s chair and held on slightly.

As Rulae took up a place near the back of the cockpit and he watched the ground rising through the viewport, he ‘heard’ something very odd. [The New Republic is saying the Jedi won...but...]

“But what?” Marix was growling almost as he hands grabbed what looked to be a control yoke and aimed them into the now-green sky.

[...the Vong released a toxin in the atmosphere...]

All of them exchanged serious looks this time, but it was only Jyren who managed to speak up, “Get us off this planet as quickly as you can, Loki.”

Rulae was beginning to think this ‘Loki’ was some kind of AI program within the ship...especially when the odd response sounded in his head. [I am trying but...it hurts...]

Okay...maybe not. Though everything was getting stranger and stranger, Rulae couldn’t help but note that they were definitely moving fast. It wasn’t long before the sky gave way to the black of space. And...off in the distance, flashes of red and green could be seen.

“The fleet.”

Jyren nodded, but looked over to Marix instead, “Do it.”

She nodded and, as Rulae started to yell, they escaped the planet’s gravity well and made the jump to hyperspace.

In the silence that followed, Rulae said quietly, “...I should be on the Araddon.”

“No,” Jyren responded over his shoulder, “We have to show you something. The kids...they’ll be alright.”

“...but what about Ithor...?” the voice of young Tobias was soft and obviously terrified.

Rulae wasn’t sure what to say, but he couldn’t help but notice that both of the other adults looked up slightly. Then came that voice in his head again. [I am alright but...but that toxin...it was very strong...]

“They lost the duel...so they won’t take Ithor...” Jyren said silently to himself.

It was Marix who finished the thought, however, in a flat, cold voice, “...but they made sure no one can have it if they can’t.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 384: Images

[Why, again, am I letting you do this?] Marix asked through the link.

Jyren glanced across the cockpit to where she sat, eyeing him carefully, and replied. [Because it’ll get that bounty off of our heads once and for all.]

[Ah...] the eye roll that went with that wasn’t comforting. [Tell him anymore than he needs to know and this is over. All of us, including him, are going home. Understand?]

It was the cold, Empress...motherly tone that Marix only used in diplomatic situations(because she hated them), when dealing with Toby(because he was impossible), and when making sure Jyren knew he was walking the line(which he nearly always did).

With that settled, Jyren got to his feet and started to leave the cockpit, motioning to Rulae who was sitting behind him, “C’mon.”

Though there was a confused look on his face, the Duros nodded and turned to follow Jyren down the single corridor which, he noted, had an unusually high ceiling. It looked like it was about an extra meter higher than most...but, then again, maybe it was just the odd, almost tube-like design of the corridor that was throwing his perception off.

It didn’t take much walking before Jyren stopped at what Rulae assumed was a door, waited for it to open in that very unique way, and then stepped through. Rulae followed, noting the room was large, open and...empty. Except for the two of them, there was nothing at all in the room.

“Loki, can you project that holo in here?” Jyren asked upwards to the ship.

Rulae heard no response this time, but in another moment, the center of the room was filled with an image. It was...space...not empty, though. A giant ring, the larger than the two of them sat in the middle of the projection of some unknown area of space.

“...it’s a ring,” Rulae mumbled, obviously unimpressed.

Jyren gave him a sideways look, “It’s a scaled projection.”

Rulae turned to match the look, but then looked back at the projection in time to see a small object appear. It was...it was...tiny. And it took a him stepping forward a few steps to identify the tiny little thing as something that looked exactly like the ship they were in.

“Okay,” Rulae conceded, “Its big. Your point?”

Wondering when, exactly, Rulae had learned sarcasm, Jyren pointed to the thing, specifically at the blueish tint in the center of the ring, “This protects a single hyperspace route. Through it...there are thousands of worlds inhabited by people like you’ve never seen. It is almost like another galaxy through there, Rulae. And...and through that thing is my home.”

Only the sound of the ship could be heard for a long moment before Rulae spoke up again, “You always told me you were from Corellia.”

“I grew up on Corellia...” Jyren nodded, “I was born through this gate. I...I told you that I learned a lot about my family after leaving the New Republic. That’s just one of the things. But I’m not telling you this because of that.”

“...then why are you telling me any of this?” Rulae asked him, “I fail to see the relevance.”

That, Jyren could undersand. Running a hand through his hair, he idly walked closer to the image and looked at the tiny little Loki sitting there in front of the gate, “They’re peaceful people through there...like you could never imagine. I never thought I’d see ships without weapons. That very thought is even offensive to most of them. And...and despite all of that, there were threats to them. I...” he paused a moment, then shook his head, “We had to protect these people. They couldn’t protect themselves, Rulae, they didn’t even know how. I know I did many things that would have gotten me many years in a cell, but all of them...all of them were to protect these people. To protect them, and to protect Marix.”

Rulae didn’t seem to wait for any of that to sink in before asking, “Is that why you came back?”

“Yes,” Jyren said with a nod, “They aren’t directly threatened by the Vong but...but its too close.”

This brought another wave of quiet, and it lasted for a fairly long time. But then, finally, Rulae stepped forward and turned to look directly at Jyren instead of at his back, “You know I believe you. And I know you’re telling me this because you want that bounty of your head.”

“And Marix’s,” Jyren added, which got a look of surprise from the Duros, “You think I did all that alone?”

“Good point,” Rulae actually smiled slightly at that, but then, after glancing at the holo for another few moments, said, “You know, carrying me off like this isn’t going to look good.”

Jyren looked back over to the door and a few seconds later the holo faded, leaving them in the emptiness again, “We’ll get you back to the kids as soon as we can.”

Starting to follow Jyren out of the room, Rulae didn’t miss that comment, “You’re not coming with me?”

“I don’t know yet,” Jyren shrugged and stepped back into the corridor. He glanced both ways, then lowered his voice, “And its probably not up to me.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 385: Back and Forth

Loki dropped out of hyperspace in the middle of no where a few lightyears from Ithor. The second the ship reverted back to realspace, Marix opened up a channel to the Gate. It took some time, but soon the face of a young Alraxian girl, probably not much older than Tobias. She was one of the young Tam’Day’U that Marix remembered, though she had no name at the time, meaning that Marix only knew her face. The girl probably had a name now...all of the Tam’Day’U did...

Her silvery-green eyes widened slightly at the sight of Marix, who was still human, but easily recognizable to any Alraxian. Quickly adopting a formal tone she asked in Alraxian, “Yes, My Lady?”

Marix hated that. Hated but...tolerated it to the point that it didn’t show on her face how much she despised being called that, “How many of our scouts have moved through the Gate in the last standard week?”

The ‘standard’ time issue was something that had driven Jyren absolutely insane over the years. He knew what a standard week was by galactic standards...but that wasn’t what the Alraxians used. Their standard for everything was off just enough to make it difficult. Thankfully, Marix didn’t have that problem. It wasn’t too terribly hard to remember who she was talking to and adjust accordingly.

The Alraxian on the other end glanced down, obviously to a console out of view of the holo, then a moment later looked back up to Marix and responded, “Four Kanyaks have left the Empire. Eight have returned.”

Exactly as was planned. Even with the fusing of the Knights and the Tam’Day’U, they were still just as punctual as ever with their jobs. Any tension created from having the cursed ones as actual Knights of the Empire did not harm their effectiveness. So nothing out of the ordinary...

But why did she still have a bad feeling about all of this?

“What is it?” Tobias asked in Trade...or Basic, depending on which side of the Gate they were on. The change in language caused her to glance over at him when normally she would have continued in her train of thought without distraction, “Is something wrong?”

“A moment,” Marix said out of the side of her mouth in Alraxian, and the girl on the other end simply nodded and waited. Her eyes still on Tobias, Marix switched to speaking in Trade, “Reach out with the Force.”

Toby blinked a couple of times before nodding and doing as he was told. After a moment, Toby’s eyes seemed to refocus on reality and he gave her a look of confusion, “...what am I looking for?”

Sighing, she couldn’t help but wish Jyren could have been there to do that instead. Tobias tried, and was strong enough in the Force to be helpful...but he just didn’t have the focus yet. Not enough, at least. Shaking her head, she instead decided to try again, herself.

After a few deep, calming breaths, Marix closed her eyes and did her best to find that...feeling. Finding it and focusing on it, she did her best to clarify it more. But it was still vague and uneasy. So she concentrated more and tried to at least get some kind of center on it. But now matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pin it down.

Finally, Marix opened her eyes and ran a hand through her short, jet black hair. Whatever it was, it was faint and elusive...for now, at least. But still...she was worried about the Empire. With the knowledge that the Vong had of the Gate’s location, and the fact that they had ‘human suits’, Marix just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was dangerous to open that Gate at all.

“Have any humans come through?” Marix finally asked the Alraxian girl, speaking in Alraxian again so as not to confuse her. Besides, she probably didn’t speak Trade, anyway.

It was, truthfully, an odd question. Though there were some humans in the Empire, none were among the Knights at all. In fact, they very rarely were involved in Alraxia’s affairs at all. They seemed quite content to sit on their worlds near the Jendari home and keep to themselves.

As was expected, the girl shook her head, “No, My Lady.”

Though the question was obviously on her tongue, she didn’t ask ‘why?’. Though the Tam’Day’U did not exist as they had before, the training never really faded from those who had lived in that small space station. And a Tam’Day’U would never question their orders. Not openly, at least. Of course, it was rare if a Knight would do that, either...or anyone, when the Empress was involved.

And then she made a decision, “Have all of those who have come through the Gate held there until I return. If they’ve already left for Alraxia, bring them back immediately. Any that have left on a scouting mission...have them held at the Gate when they return.”

“Yes, My Lady,” the girl simply nodded.

There was no ‘goodbye’ or anything similar. Marix simply shut down the transmission.

“We’re going home?” Tobias cut in just after it was shut down.

Marix looked at him again, finding it odd to see him without the silver tint to the eyes. For some reason that just seemed to go away when he morphed to Human. She’d never wondered if hers did...it had never been an issue. Forcing that to the side, she got to her feet and said over her shoulder as she was stepping out of the cockpit, “Yes.”

And then she left him alone, hoping he wouldn’t follow for once. It was getting tiring having Tobias attached to her all of the time. Sure, she knew how Jyren felt...but that didn’t mean she liked it.

This war was getting to her. Anti-Jedi movements, Ithor being poisoned, Tobias actually wanting to be a Jedi, and Jyren running off to fight and ignoring the fact that their home could be in danger. It was just...all too much. It wasn’t like the things she was used to dealing with. Simple fights where Marix knew the enemy. But here she knew nothing...and perhaps that was why she had that bad feeling.

No.

No, it was something.

And it was close to the Empire...Marix was sure of that much.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 386: Choice

“I don’t feel anything,” Jyren said with a sigh, shaking his head and trying to avoid the pointed look that Marix was directing at him. He was smart enough to not stop there, though, “But that doesn’t mean your wrong.”

Though the sharpness of her gaze didn’t lessen, she nodded at least, “I need to be there.”

“I know,” nodded Jyren. He spared a quick glance to his side, where Rulae was watching carefully...but remaining politely quiet.

[I could make you come with me.] Marix said over the link.

When Jyren nodded again, Rulae knew he was missing something. He could tell something was up, at least...but what it was, he didn’t know. And they had gone suspiciously quiet.

[I know.]

Marix sighed and rubbed her forehead. [I’m not going to force either of you to come.]

That surprised Jyren. Not so much that she wasn’t going to force him, but that Marix was including Tobias in that, too. [Do you feel okay?]

Rolling her eyes, Marix caused further confusion in Rulae by speaking outloud, “Yes, I’m fine. And I’m serious. You should know that by now.”

“You know he won’t go back if you give him the choice,” Jyren also shifted to normal speaking, giving the poor Duros the correct feeling that he had missed a vital part of this conversation.

“It is his choice to make,” Marix said sternly, that icy look sliding back in.

Not one to fight that look, Jyren instead said, “Then I’ll go where he goes.”

[You know he won’t go home.] her voice sounded just like his had with those same words.

“I’m sorry.”

At that, Marix shook her head. [Don’t say that to me.]

Jyren sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew she wasn’t going to like what he was about to do, but he didn’t care at this point. Ignoring the fact that Rulae was still watching them, Jyren stepped forward and drew Marix into a warm embrace, saying quietly, “You know I’d rather stay with you.”

“I know,” she grumbled into his shoulder, going slightly red and fighting that while ignoring the Duros. [But there is a reason linked Alraxians stay close to each other. It...] she trailed off a moment, obviously not liking having to admit it, even though he knew exactly what she was going to ‘say’.

[Because it hurts.] Jyren finished for her. [I know it hurts...but we’ve been through worse, right?]

She pulled back enough to give him that look again, which didn’t get the desired effect. He laughed. When he did this, Marix took another step back so she could add crossing her arms over her chest to the look.

[What?]

The voice that could kill anyone was back.

Shaking his head and still with a grin on his face, Jyren said, “If only your father could see you now. You’d never hear the end of that one.”

Marix just rolled her eyes, glanced over to the Duros and gave him a sharp glare, and then finally turned around and headed to find Toby. It was obvious what he was going to choose, even without the knowledge that Jyren would go wherever he did. But she had to ask...just to make sure.

And in another few hours they would likely be going there separate ways again. It seemed that they were meant to be on opposite sides of the galaxy for this. And she wasn’t going to force them to come back with her...being the Empress meant she had certain obligations, but neither Jyren nor Tobias needed to be tied down by them. Besides, she wanted to protect the Empire. It was as if she wanted to run away from it like she had tried so many years before.

But, as she headed to the cockpit where Loki told her Toby still was, Marix found a stray thought through the link. It was definitely Jyren’s, but it made her question giving Tobias the choice to go home or not. She saw...the twins...and it caused her to stop completely for a moment.

She cared about them a great deal, obviously, but they had been almost inseparable from Jyren since the day they were born. This had been the first time he had been away from them for any more than a matter of days since then. Was it really fair to force Jyren to stay in this part of the galaxy, so far away from them, just because Tobias was bent on staying away from the Empire?!

But then Marix was walking again. The answer to that was obvious.

Yes.

Jyren had made his choice...and even it would deprive him of seeing the twins for that much longer, he would be able to make sure Tobias was alright. And one of them had to do that. At least, Marix knew he wouldn’t strangle the kid like she sometimes felt the need to do.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 387: Old

They had taken a relatively long detour...twelve standard hours to the nearest New Republic planet where Jyren, Tobias, and the Duros caught a transport back to Ithor, where the fleet remained. And that left Marix and Loki to head across the galaxy...back home.

Sighing, Marix wondered why it seemed like every time she and Jyren could use some time to themselves, they only had a matter of hours. Not that she was complaining about any time at all, but it was annoying, to say the least. She shook her head and looked to the chrono, displaying the Alraxian characters instead of the Trade ones that Loki used for Jyren’s sake. Another three hours to the gate.

[Just like old times.] Loki cut into her thoughts. He’d been distracted with a few smaller things for most of the hyperspace jump but, apparently, they were dealt with enough that he could be his usual, annoying self.

Marix’s eyes tilted up a moment before going back down to look to the chrono, “Sounds like your getting sentimental in your old age.”

[One of us has to.]

“I’m not old, thank you,” she rolled her eyes and glanced out to the swirling blue. She could see her reflection there, too, and was glad to see an Alraxian face looking back at her again. It got unnerving to see a human face looking back after a while. And she wasn’t old, especially for an Alraxian. Though her face had changed slightly over the years, it wasn’t much...and probably the only people who would notice it were herself, Jyren, and Loki.

“And its not like old times,” Marix said under her breath after a little while.

There was the feeling of being watched, but Loki said nothing. Obviously he was waiting for her to explain that.

She shook her head, “How is anything like old times beyond it just being you and me?”

There was a continued silence from Loki after that, but she could tell he was working that out. [At least that’s something that hasn’t changed.]

Why that brought a smile to her face was beyond Marix. The very fact that it came so easily was just more evidence of how much had changed, “I know you wanted to go with them back to help in the fight.”

[I want to go where I’m needed...just like Jyren. Just like you.] That was a surprisingly rational response from a ship that had proven over the years to have an ego greater than even Jyren’s. [And no one can get you home faster than I can.]

“At least old age hasn’t hurt your ego,” the smile didn’t fade as she idly patted the chair. She idly look over to the empty seat next to her, and found herself saying her thoughts before she could stop herself, “I shouldn’t have let the two of them go off like that.”

[You didn’t let them.] Loki correct her, catching the tone and remembering the days when the only person she’d ever speak her doubts to was him. Because of that, the ship knew how to respond much better than Jyren did. [They made their own choices.]

“Mother wouldn’t have let me go like that.”

So that was it.

It wasn’t the first time, and Loki also knew that it wasn’t something Marix had ever said to Jyren. The ship couldn’t sigh, but he would have if it was possible. [You are not your mother.]

“I know that, Loki,” Marix actually sounded insulted at his tone...and she probably was, knowing how she usually reacted to such obvious statements. Subtleties and other non-literal meanings still had a way of slipping past her despite her constant use of them.

[Every time you’ve had to make a difficult choice for the Empire, you’ve come in here and hidden yourself from everyone.] Loki was trying another angle at this, hoping that a softer approach might get the desired effect.

The seat was leaned back so that Marix was in a more rested position and, also, looking up at the ceiling, “You know that our people are not prepared for war. They can barely handle border skirmishes. That is why my mother was such a good Empress. She was a healer, a protector...I’m a fighter. A killer, even. I’m nothing like the people who I’m supposed to be making decisions for. I want to protect them, but I can’t shield them from this war like my mother would have been able to.”

[You don’t know that.] Loki’s ‘voice’ became stern suddenly, adopting the cold tone that she usually did when yelling at Jyren. [This war is spreading like a fire...anyone can see that. Our home has already been found by these Vong, and its only a matter of time before it reaches us. A healer couldn’t stop that. A fighter can.]

Marix did not respond. By now, she had closed her eyes and was trying to keep her thoughts under control. After a few more minutes of this, Loki decided it was about time to add the last little bit in. [It hurt us all when your mother was killed...you hid it well, but you know I could tell how hard it was on you. But nothing happens by chance. It was your mother’s time...and yours. You and Jyren came home to protect it, and you did...but I believe it was not mere chance that caused the events of those weeks to happen. And they made us all stronger...] he paused a moment, then finally said. [Perhaps all of that happened to prepare us for this.]

Nothing was said for a long half hour. They both simply ‘sat’ in the silence and were left to their own thoughts. But finally, and very quietly as Marix sat up straight in her chair again, she said, “Sometimes I wonder if you’re really Loki.”

[What’s that supposed to mean?]

“You’re making far too much sense lately,” Marix mumbled, holding a perfectly neutral expression on her face, “Whatever happened to that egotistical little airhead Kanyak that would challenge a planet to a race if he could have?”

To that, Loki could only find one response. [He got old.]

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 388: Aftermath

A soft hiss announced the opening of the still-not-locked door to Jyren’s quarters aboard the Araddon. Both of the humans sitting in the room turned to look as Rulae Nok stepped in and directed his red-eyed gaze in Jyren’s direction, “You’re off the hook.”

“Completely?” Tobias cut in before Jyren could ask the same question.

Both Jyren and Rulae glanced over towards the young human before they looked back to each other, when Rulae said, “They’ll be keeping an eye on both of you. And the kid will probably have a security detail with him at all times, but you’re off the hook.”

“How did you manage that?” Jyren asked, still surprised that they had gotten off so easily, “I’m still shocked they didn’t shoot us out of the sky the second we arrived in the system.”

The Duros just shrugged, “You’re lucky that the Admiral likes you. He’s the only one other than myself that knows about the bounty.”

“Obviously it wasn’t too hard to figure out, though...” Jyren mumbled under his breath, but then said louder, “I’m glad you trust me, at least.”

“And so does the Admiral,” Rulae nodded, “The bounty’s been removed. Akan Tavos is a free man. So are the others associated with him. But don’t think you’re completely free, Jyren. I will be watching you carefully...trust or not, there’s still a lot you aren’t telling me.”

There was no polite way to respond to that, and so Jyren simply kept his mouth shut. An awkward silence took over the small quarters before Rulae produced a datapad and tossed it to Jyren, “We’re leaving the system. There’s a briefing in an hour...you’re holding it.”

And then the Duros left. Jyren knew what that meant. His old friend knew he had other things to worry about, and wasn’t expecting him to show up at the briefing. Of course, it would probably be a good idea, if only to keep the squadron’s morale up...but there was much to do. Most of it involving what to do with Tobias.

But for the moment, Jyren’s eyes dropped to the datapad and he quickly took in the glut of information there. Ithor was dead. Everything on the planet had been killed by the poison. Everything. There were estimates on how long it would take to at least make the planet habitable again, but all of them pointed to decades...if not centuries. The damage was done, and there was no reversing it. Thankfully, many of the Ithorians had been evacuated, but it was only a fleeting victory. Their beautiful homeworld was gone.

Below the information on Ithor were things that Jyren saw were marked to not be spoken to the squadron. In fact, Rulae had specifically pointed out that they were for Jyren, and only for him, to see. It quickly became apparent why this was the case. Blame was already spreading like wildfire for the disaster at Ithor. It was pointed squarely at Corran Horn, who had resigned his commission in the military and as a Jedi, but that was really only for the masses. The governments of nearby planets were blaming the New Republic’s lack of action, and rightfully so. The Senate was deadlocked on the issue of what to do about the war, leaving the military to fend for themselves. Yes, the Vong fleet had been destroyed at Ithor, but it had been to late.

Because of this lack of action on the part of the Senate, which was mostly the fault of greedy Senators trying to make the best of a very bad war, the Admiral was no longer waiting for orders to direct the fleet to its next location. After a briefing of his own with the Bothan in charge of the New Republic Navy, the Admiral had decided to move his fleet to the library world, Obroa-Skai.

There wasn’t any direct threat on the planet, but it was close enough to Ithor that it was a logical place...especially since no other fleet was currently stationed there. Others would head to the so-called front lines and attempt to push the Vong back, but it was questionable just how much good that would do. So much was still unknown about the Yuuzhan Vong that too many assumptions were being made in these battles. And every single battle, the assumptions were proved wrong. The Vong were like nothing anyone had ever encountered. Their tactics were unique and unpredictable on the best of days. And until more was known, especially when it came to how to weaken the effectiveness of their so-called War Coordinators, charging into the planets they had taken was likely a suicide mission.

“What is it?” Tobias asked as he watched the expression on Jyren’s face get worse.

Glancing over to the young human, Jyren shook his head, “You shouldn’t have come back here with me.”

It surprised Jyren that Toby didn’t argue that. Instead, he seemed to sit deeper into the chair he was in and adopted a hurt look. Through the Force, Jyren could tell the boy was suddenly very worried. This was why he liked having his father around...that man always seemed to know the right things to say to these kids, while Jyren just had a habit of telling the simple truth and ending up making things worse.

So, Jyren moved over and reached out to put an arm on Tobias’ shoulder, “I know you’re strong, Toby, but this isn’t a game. This war is going to get worse before it gets better, and you’re on a military ship,” he sighed and shook his head, “But it was your choice to make...and with the tension on the Mrrakesh border to complicate things, I doubt home is going to be much safer.”