Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 423: War

Tomorrow always came too quickly.

It had been a long night and Marix had managed maybe an hour of sleep, if that. While, for a time, that had been the norm...that was years ago. The twins no longer had constant screaming matches in the ungodly hours of the night. Even though Jyren had been the one to deal with those fits, normally, it didn’t mean the extremely loud noises didn’t wake her. But for the last few years, the twins had actually slept.

However, Andrea was simply continuing to demand to see Jyren, to which Marix had no real answer for. She could only do her best to try to distract the little girl, which was difficult after the previous day’s events and the fact that, when Andrea screamed, Saaran woke up and made things...more difficult. More than once during the night, Marix wondered why she had children.

But finally, when night had come much closer to morning, the twins both fell asleep. That was when she finally was able to get some sleep, though it wasn’t worth counting as Alraxia’s sun crept in not long after to put the light right on her face. Thankfully, though, Marix noted the twins were still asleep as she got to her feet and tried to get her thoughts under control. It was disturbingly difficult to not reach for the empty place where the link had been, and the fact that she had to continue to stop herself was getting even more frustrating.

When she exited the bedroom, Marix walked into the larger living area to see a new shape on one of the couches. It took her a moment, likely due to being so damned tired, but she realized that the white haired and black-striped Alraxian that was passed out there was her twin brother, Alyx. He was definitely asleep, but how long he’d been there was beyond her...which was almost terrifying. Marix always had a very good awareness of the area around her...and for Alyx to have been here long enough to fall asleep...

Marix sighed and had a seat in a chair next to him before reaching over with a foot and nudging him not-so-gently. As he was never a heavy sleeper, Alyx immediately reached by groaning and feebly swinging a hand at where her leg had been. He rolled over and, as he did, Marix caught sight of a half open eye looking around and trying to make sense of things while staying mostly asleep.

After another few moments, the eye looked up enough to see her, and his mind seemed to come to terms with the fact that sleep was no longer an option. When Alyx’s other eye opened, he made a noise that could have been anything from ‘good morning’ to ‘I’m going to kill you’.

“Good morning to you, too,” Marix mumbled, sitting back in her chair and waiting for him to wake up more.

For Alyx, that had never taken long. As the fuzziness faded from his eyes and his mind, Marix found herself proud of him all of a sudden. She’d sworn to be a better sister years ago, but...life had gotten in the way, as always. She was able to help him more, but with the twins and actually deciding to raise them themselves...it simply came down to her not doing what she’d really wanted to. But, despite that, Alyx wasn’t the timid, nervous, and all-together silent brother she remember that he’d been growing up.

No...in the decade that had passed, he, too, had changed. While he was still quiet most of the time, having moved to the role of ambassador had given him a great deal of experience that had never been there before. It had actually been Navik’s job for the longest time, but he now spent most of his time advising Marix...and so it gave Alyx the chance to step up, and Marix could see in the way he looked just how it had changed him.

Presenting her with a rather concerned expression, Alyx cut her thoughts off and said, “I ran into Navik on the way here...he told me what happened. I...I heard wailing and didn’t want to disturb you after...after...”

As he trailed off, Marix found herself nodding. So he knew now, too. Not knowing what to say but feeling like she should say something, Marix decided to resort to something pointless and mostly off topic, “They both finally fell asleep a little while ago.”

“How are you doing?”

The question was not something Marix liked. Even with Jyren, that was a question that she rarely answered. The link could handle that just fine, and when it came to Alyx...well, he could read her well enough. They were twins, after all. No amount of distance through the years could get rid of that kind of connection between them. And so, she concluded he was asking it for her benefit, trying to get her to talk as Jyren had tried so many times...well, not just Jyren...everyone always did. It just came down to most people putting far too much value in words, as if they had any ability to truly convey how one felt.

When he didn’t get an answer, Alyx sighed and looked down at the floor, “I guess I already know the answer to that. I’m sorry, but I’m just trying to help.”

“I know you are,” Marix said quietly, then added under her breath, “But don’t apologize to me for it.”

That actually got a hint of a smile on Alyx’s face, which Marix was glad to see. He looked up to look her in the eyes again and tried a more direct approach, “I came here with bad news and when I ran into Navik he...told me what happened and I just...I don’t know what to do now,” he paused and bit his lip, and Marix just kept her mouth shut as she could feel he wasn’t finished. She was right, “It doesn’t make sense to me! Navik...Navik said Jyren is...dead. But you’re...”

“You know as well as I do that nothing in the galaxy is set in stone,” Marix cut in before he could go over the same point that had come to her from too many people already, including herself, “And you also knew Jyren very well. He did what he felt was right, as always...but...but it meant he had to go and add in his usual idealistic stupidity with it. Do you really think he would have done something like that, with full knowledge of what the consequences, and not find a way to keep all of it on himself?”

For a long few moments, Alyx watched her. She looked so...angry. He hadn’t seen her like that in so many years. It was terrifying, as it reminded him of what Faban Sunrunner had done to his sister when they were young. But this...this was different, and he could understand it more, “He was...human, Marix.”

“I know that, Alyx,” Marix nearly snapped at him, but managed to keep her tone light enough to not sound like she was going to kill him, “But he’d been so much like us lately. I should have known better with how he reacted to this damned war...”

It was now Alyx’s turn to watch his sister trail off into nothing. Silence took over, which was rather comforting for Marix, as she couldn’t hear the wailing of children in it. But then, Alyx decided to change the subject, and though it wasn’t anything positive, it was something different that he hoped would at least help Marix to focus her thoughts away from things that could not be changed, “I came here to give you an update on the Mrrakesh situation...”

“Navik told me,” she seemed happy for the change of subject, though Alyx could see no notable change in her expression, “What’s happened, Alyx?”

Marix’s brother sighed heavily and sat back this time, looking up towards the ceiling, “They settled a few small groups on the planets you loaned to them. Steady streams have come in the hours since that happened. But not long ago five of their attack cruisers crossed into other systems...occupied systems, and settled down. There was fighting on one planet, as it was a human system, and now the humans in the Empire are mustering what little weapons they have to fight to get their land back...”

“So what you’re telling me, Alyx, is that not only do we have the Yuuzhan Vong and the New Republic knowing exactly where the Gateway is with the situation with the Mrrakesh becoming even more tense...but now, we’re about to be drawn into an actual war with the Mrrakesh?”

Alyx bit his lip and continued to stare up at the ceiling. It took a few moments before he looked down again and leaned forward to meet her strong gaze, again. Even though it was his sister, Alyx found it hard to look at her when she was so...hard and cold like that. He’d enjoyed seeing her without those qualities in the past years...

“The humans don’t have much in the way of weapons...but...even though they were attacked first...” Alyx sighed heavily, “If they so much as fire on a Mrrakesh, you’re right. They will declare war on us in a second.”

Marix just stared at her brother, doing everything she could not to take out her anger on him. Damn the Mrrakesh...and damn the humans! They had lived in the Empire since the days the first Jedi had arrived thousands of years ago, with a small community that kept to themselves but also was part of the Alraxian Empire. And yet...yet they were still human. Damn them all! They were as bad as Jyren!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 424: An Extra Pair of Eyes

Rulae Nok found himself, yet again, in a horrible situation. In fact, he had a great deal of trouble imagining anything worse. Currently, he sat at what was technically his desk looking over the information from the previous battle. The overall report was, sadly, not as depressing as the previous task of writing messages to the families of the pilots in Zephyr Squadron that had been killed in the engagement. Over half of them were dead, and it reminded Rulae why he didn’t get attached to them anymore.

The Duros let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. The fact that he had a desk job whenever there wasn’t a battle going on was bad enough...but he had never been good at telling families of the deaths that occurred. Of course, that was probably a good thing, and it wasn’t something he wanted to be good at, but sometimes he just wished he didn’t have to do it at all.

And, on top of everything, his good friend was dead. This wasn’t like before. The last time they had simply gone their separate ways after they were the only two left of the original Zephyrs. Rulae had chosen to stay in Starfighter Command and was moved to a new squadron, and Jyren...Raan simply moved on to other things. Truthfully, Raan had pretty much disappeared off the face of the galaxy, and had been reported dead when Rulae tried to track him down not long after...but it was still different.

This time, Jyren hadn’t just disappeared. During the battle, Rulae was, obviously, caught up in trying to keep himself and the other Zephyrs alive. Because of this, he had no idea what was going on behind the screen of starfighters other than vague orders passing through the main comm channel that he had done his best to ignore unless a direct order was sent his direction. But he did receive a direct message, though it wasn’t an order. It had come from one of the New Republic’s ships that had been left to defend the rear of the fleet, and that, alone, was enough to get his attention.

When Rulae switched his comm channel over to pick up the message, he was even more surprised when he heard Jyren’s voice. Now, many hours later, the words were still eerily clear in his mind and just made all the other tasks, including staying alive during the battle, that much more difficult.

“Rulae...I know this is going to distract you but I had to send you a quick message while there was still time. I’m sorry I couldn’t be out there with the rest of the Squadron, but I think you understand why I’m not. But now I know why. I’ve made a choice, Rulae, and its not one I can turn back from. It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the only way to protect my family that I can see. If there was a way out of this...I would have found it by now, but there’s no time. But before everything went even crazier, I wanted to ask you a favour. Take care of the kids in the squadron...keep them strong and keep them hard. And...if you can, keep an eye on my family and make sure they’re okay. It was good to fly with you again, old friend...you did a lot more for me than you know. Thank you.”

And then it had cut out, returning to the panicked sounds of the squadron’s channel. Several times, Rulae had attempted to cut in, but Jyren had ignored him and kept talking. It was for the better, though, as Rulae was able to keep himself alive by continuing to maneuver instead of also trying to fight back through the comm system. But it was...a terrifying thing to hear from his friend, as he knew nothing of what was going on. Nothing, at least, until the Stardust rammed into the single Vong ship that had gotten past the main lines, and then Rulae knew what had happened.

The Duros closed his eyes and rested a hand on his large forehead before a sigh escaped him. Over the years, he had become hardened to the deaths of squadron mates, as was necessary, especially being in a command position. But losing a close friend...and so soon after he had come back. There was no need to write the message to his family...his family was there. Perhaps that made it worse. He hadn’t even had to tell that Empress what had happened...as she knew better than he did.

“Sir...?”

Rulae opened his eyes. He hadn’t heard the door open, and the only people who knew it wasn’t sealed were the other Zephyrs. Because of that, he wasn’t surprised to see that it was the Twi’lek pilot, Rea, standing there as the door slid closed behind her. It did, however, annoy him a great deal that he had gotten so distracted as to not hear the door open.

“Yes, Lieutenant?” Rulae managed to keep his formal tone and was even back into his usual mode of thining enough to remember that the Twi’lek had received a promotion after the last engagement. Considering the numbers they had lost during the battle, the promotions that were given out to the survivors had been almost mandatory. Rulae hated that kind of thing, but understood why they always happened.

The young pilot looked as bad as Rulae felt, with her blue skin even seeming pale compared to the usual colour that it was. She took a few steps closer to his desk and tried to smooth our what was currently a mess of a uniform she was still wearing before shaking her head and mumbling, “Sir, I...I’m not all that sure, actually...I...I just can’t believe we’re running off like this after...”

After everything.

It was always hard to lose a wingmate, especially the first time it happened. And so, Rulae couldn’t blame Rea for focusing on the loss on Jyren while ignoring all of the tactical reasons for the fleet’s return to what most would call the real fight. Everyone always felt the same way when they lost their wingmate...

He was intelligent enough not to address what she had brought up, knowing that it would likely make the situation worse. The best thing now was to find a way to move on. However, there was something important that he felt he could do to help. Glancing down at his next, he picked up a small piece of datafilm that was on top of the piles of other useless junk that he tried to ignore most of the tmie and offered it to her, “The Captain sent me a transmission before the Stardust was lost. He asked me to keep an eye on his family...to do what I could for them.”

Not really following him, Rea took the datafilm without looking at it and simply gave Rulae a somewhat lost look, “But I thought the Empress and his son went back to their home through that Gate thing.”

“The Empress did,” Rulae answered before motioning with a long-fingered hand to the datafilm to try and get her to look at it...she didn’t, so he went on, “The boy...his son went with the Jedi to Yavin.”

At hearing that, Rea finally looked at what she was given, going over what was imprinted on the film and finally understanding what he’d given her. After a moment of studying it, she looked back up and asked, “Am I being transferred, sir?”

“No,” he corrected with a shake of his head, “We need all the pilots we can get, and you’ve got experience that I need out there.”

One of Rea’s lekku twitched very slightly, but it was something that Rulae took notice of, “I’m sorry, sir, but...I don’t understand why you’re showing me this if I’m not being transferred.”

“That comm frequency is specially encrypted,” he explained, “I was told that the comlink it responds to has been modified to pick up very long range transmissions...and its currently in the hands of the Jedi Master in charge of their Academy on Yavin.”

Now, things made sense to the Twi’lek pilot. A knowing look passed across her features and she nodded to herself before looking to him again and managing a polite smile, “Thank you, sir. I’ll...I’ll keep an eye on Tobias for you.”

“For Jyren,” Rulae corrected her carefully.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 425: Alone

A pair of nondescript and interestingly shaped objects hung a meter above the metal-plated floor of the Academy’s training room. It had been a long two hours of going through the most basics of the Force, with Tobias’ previous training obviously being tested. But up until this point, it had been a purely mental exercise. It was hard for Toby to gauge if he was doing well, as Master Solusar was simply helping him along and telling him what to do in a rather reserved voice.

“Clear your mind,” the Jedi Master’s voice cut through the silence again, and it had the opposite effect on Tobias than the words were meant to. Tobias’ eyes opened completely, and for a half second, darted to his side where the Master was standing. That tiny lapse in concentration was enough, and as Toby’s mind caught up to the problem and he turned back to look to the objects, they had already both come crashing to the floor.

Tobias stared down at them and sighed heavily, then said towards the floor, “You did that on purpose.”

“Not to throw off your concentration,” the Jedi corrected, “You were not holding them steady enough. You were about to lose them.”

Just staring at the small objects, Tobias wasn’t sure what to say. After a moment, he looked back up towards Master Solusar, who held the same stoic look that had been on his face since they’d started. Seeing that he had Tobias’ attention, the Jedi Master went on, “You have done well, Tobias. The training you have had up to this point has been very effective...”

Sensing that wasn’t the end of the statement, Tobias jumped in when he noticed the pause, “...but?”

A smile crept onto Master Solusar’s face at Tobias’ comment, and it was obvious he was glad to see that he was paying attention, “But you lack control. While you are obviously skilled, throughout every one of these tests you have not truly focused.”

Tobias was at a loss as to how to respond. He stared up at the tall human with a look that was something more common on someone being told that their beloved pet had just died. Seeing this, Master Solusar motioned for Tobias to stand and added, “You will learn control.”

The sound of a door sliding open behind him made Tobias spin around as he got to his feet. The Jedi Knight, Venda, had stepped in and nodded politely to the two of them. Toby had forgotten she had been watching and monitoring things the entire time. Master Solusar motioned towards the door she had come from, “Jedi Venda will show you to your quarters. Get some rest and tomorrow you will begin the formal training.”

At first, Tobias just nodded and started towards the door. But a thought crept into his mind and he stopped, turned, and bowed to the Jedi Master. Master Solusar returned the bow and then, without a word, Tobias turned and followed Venda out into the corridor.

They walked silently to the turbolift and Toby made sure to note the level where they were going...two above where they were now. He had learned to take note of buildings as much as possible from Marix, who emphasized to him the need to know his surroundings in case anything went wrong. Truthfully, it was mainly meant in the case of an assassination attempt, as it was always a constant worry, but Tobias, like Marix, applied the teaching to anytime he was in a new area...no matter how safe it was supposed to be.

When they reached the small door to the room that was supposed to be his quarters, Tobias couldn’t help but worry at what would be inside. He’d only ever really known three rooms that he considered his through his life...in the Palace, in his grandfather’s house on Alraxia, and on Loki. So, he felt a nervous pause when Venda hit the switch to open it, and then a pang of relief when it was revealed to be a small, simple room with a single bed, desk, and another door that, Venda mentioned, housed the fresher.

After she explained the basics that sounded rather scripted to Tobias’ currently human ears, the blonde-haired woman stopped in front of the door, turned, and spoke in a tone that made Toby wonder if she wasn’t actually just attempting small talk, “How are you doing?”

“Huh?”

Admittedly, Tobias was not the greatest when it came to conversation, even if he was intelligent enough to pick up most of the little things.

“Its barely been a day,” she tried again, “And this is a very big transition for anyone.”

“Oh,” Tobias’ mind caught up finally, “Um...yeah. I’m alright. Thank you.”

She smiled and nodded, “Good luck, Toby.”

This time, he wasn’t so far behind and managed to catch a thought that strayed through the Force, “Are you leaving?”

Again, Venda nodded, “I am needed on Coruscant.”

“But you’re the only person I know here...”

“That will change,” she stepped forward to rest a hand on his shoulder, “And, you must admit, it is a stretch to say you know me. We are not much more than familiar faces. Despite that, though, if you need anything, I shouldn’t be too hard to get in contact with. Just ask Master Solusar and he can help you. Alright?”

Tobias just nodded, suddenly feeling abandoned. He had never actually gone anywhere truly on his own before, and hadn’t even thought about the fact that he might be alone at the Academy. Sure, this Jedi woman was only a familiar face, but that was something, at least. When it came right down to it, Tobias had no more exposure to the outside galaxy than Marix had when she had first left Alraxia years before...

And before he knew it, Venda had left and he was alone in what was supposed to be his room. Slowly, Tobias sunk down onto the bed that felt far too hard and stared at the room. It was...blank. Whoever had been here before him left no marks at all, physically or in the Force. With a new sense of care for the object, Tobias removed the lightsaber from his belt and rested it on the desk that was next to the bed, looking at the metal cylinder and starting to wonder if all those stories he’d been told over the years about the Jedi were just that...stories.

Maybe this really wasn’t going to be easy. Maybe this wasn’t going to be fun.

Tobias closed his eyes.

Maybe this was going to be hard...like he’d always been told but never listened to because of the glamour attached to the Jedi. And now, finally, Tobias began to understand what he’d been told...and he started to worry that he’d made the wrong choice despite the fact that he knew it was far too late to turn back.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 426: Sneaking

For thousands of years, a small community of humans lived in the Alraxian Empire. They occupied a pair of star systems near the outermost edge of the Empire, close to both the Mrrakesh border and the very edge of the galactic rim before there was, quite literally, nothing at all. Because of their existence on the edge of the Empire and the fact that the humans tended to keep to themselves, most Alraxians never saw a human in their entire lives. The Jendari interacted with them on a close basis, but there was always an uneasy tension between the Alraxians and the humans.

Some of them were likely descendants of the Jedi, or even the Sith, that had come to this hidden region of the Unknown Regions countless millennia ago and had been involved in the first Darkwing Wars...or maybe even dating back to the origin of both the Alraxian and Mrrakesh species. Thanks to the knowledge provided by the oldest of the Jedi complexes on Alraxia, Marix knew the origin of the two species, though she didn’t particularly like it. The fact that the Sith had genetically manipulated their ancestors from non-sentient species into walking, shapeshifting weapons was not a comfortable one.

Perhaps that was why she didn’t care for the humans in the Empire. As Empress, Marix was required to meet with their leaders here and there, and was obviously involved in the other important political duties that she was stuck with, since the humans were technically part of the Empire. And, while they may have been descended from those ancient Sith, none of the current generation showed any Force ability, nor did they seem to care about it. In fact, the humans seemed to not care much about their history at all...or know much of the ancient information. But that was a trait of humans...being so...short sighted...

Marix sighed and shook her head, clearing it before the thoughts could even creep to her conscious mind. This was not the time for that. She glanced away from the viewport in front of her to the control consoles and said aloud, “Have anything for me yet, Loki?”

[Only a report from the Jendari.] the ship responded casually. He waited the normal amount of time he always did when making sure she would not object to him continuing, then went on. [The humans do have enough weapons to put up a fight. Small ships, the size of young Kanyak, with very light weaponry...they will be destroyed by the Mrrakesh, but they seem determined to go down fighting.]

And to drag the entire Alraxian Empire into a war with the Mrrakesh. A covert operation by Alraxian Knights against invaders was one thing, but a militant group of humans fighting with their metal weapons and ships would set the Mrrakesh off. There would be no negotiation this time. This would spark into a true war...and it was the kind of war that the Mrrakesh would win.

“Any word from the Mrrakesh?” she asked, though already knowing the answer.

A feeling of unease passed through the Force from Loki. [Nothing...] he paused, and then added in an offhand fashion. [Like the old days.]

More to herself, Marix nodded. That was expected. There were rumours that the previous leader of the Mrrakesh was dead, and that one of the many state rulers amongst their Confederation had forcibly taken power. This was not anything unusual for the Mrrakesh, as they commonly had rather violent endings for their leaders as more ambitious local rulers decided they should be in charge. With enough supporters, it was usually not too difficult. But the problem with this rumour, though, was that the previous leader had been willing to talk, and had obviously understood the severity of the situation with the Yuuzhan Vong.

Signs did point to a new leader...and if that was true...it looked very much like the chance of at least a slight truce was gone again. Only two days after being loaned Mrrakesh cruisers and it was not only back to the way things were before, but suddenly even more dangerous. The Vong were pushing the Mrrakesh into Alraxian space...and the Mrrakesh, who had always been interested in taking it but afraid of the consequences, not had an excuse. And they were smart enough to go for the damned humans, who would react like all humans and fight back without thinking about the consequences of their actions!

No!

Calm.

Focus.

A few deep breaths later and the thoughts were gone again. Normally, Marix had more control over things like that...but...no. Stop this. It would only lead straight down that again, and this was definitely not the time. Admittedly, there never was a time for it, but this was up there as one of the worst ones.

Leaning forward in her seat, Marix looked at the blue-orange coloured planet out through the viewport, “They haven’t detected us yet?”

[Of course not.] the feeling of a grin passed through the Force, whatever that felt like... [I am quite good at being sneaky, thank you.]

A once-again-rare smile crept onto Marix’s face and she patted the control panel, “Get us in as close as you can. I want to see this fleet myself.”

Slowly, the planet began to grow in view. As they began to move forward, Loki spoke up again. [You didn’t tell me why we’re being sneaky, though...]

“You didn’t ask,” she shrugged and sat back again. Forcing back the urge to look to the empty seat at her side, Marix explained, “But do you really think the humans would let me see their ships if they knew I was coming?”

[Good point.]

“And you’re getting old...you need practice sneaking.”

[...I’m not old.]

The smile was still on Marix’s face, “I saw a grey streak on your belly on the way in.”

[You did not!]

“Calm down, calm down,” she laughed slightly, suddenly glad to be back with her old friend as if nothing was wrong at all, “Its where no one can see it unless they look. Just make sure to land fast so no one looks up.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 427: Choices

Rulae Nok looked at the four others in a much smaller briefing room aboard one of the Golan Defense Stations that orbited Coruscant. That was all that was left of the Zephyrs. Five pilots. Most of the other squadrons were in the same situation, but it was harder to deal with when it was them. When it was their friends.

He glanced down at the datapad sitting on the podium in front of him before looking back up to the four others. To be honest, he was unsure of what to say to them. It was sitting in front of him on the datapad, but after everything else that had hit the kids in the last couple of days, Rulae found it difficult to break the next bit of news to them.

And so, Rulae was relieved when the red-haired human woman, Adria Harken asked, “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not quite sure why you wanted to see us. We just got the debriefing report an hour ago.”

Resisting the urge to show any emotion to that, the Duros commander simply shook his head and said, “I know its late and you’re all tired but...I just received our orders from Command.”

Not once had he received orders and brought all of them together. Worried looks appeared all around, and it was the Cest Uu’vel, a tan-furred Bothan, who very wearily spoke up, “Should we start packing up, sir?”

That was a hard question to answer, mainly due to the fact that he wasn’t too far off of the truth. Rulae looked to Cest and managed to shake his head again, “The squadron isn’t being disbanded, if that’s what you’re worried about. Lieutenant. However, the fleet is going to be off of the front lines for at least another three months while the ships can be repaired and those that were lost replaced.”

“What about the Admiral?” Rea asked, sitting in the seat farthest from the podium where he stood and with a completely unreadable expression on her blue-skinned face. She had just asked a question about something she shouldn’t have known about, but then again, Rulae remembered what it was like to track down every bit of information one could to figure out what was going on.

Upon their arrival at Coruscant, the Admiral had left for Fleet Command’s headquarters for what was likely to be a very long debriefing. Whether he would retain his command afterwards was something Rulae worried about, as running off to the edge of the galaxy, and losing so many in the process of defending a previously unknown species, had not exactly been in his orders.

After a short exhale, Rulae looked to the Twi’lek girl, “I know nothing more than you do about that,” he then scanned the others a moment and adopted the formal tone again, “The reason I wanted to get all of you together was to let you know of our situation. Zephyr Squadron will stay with the Araddon and her fleet, and so we will also be off of the front lines for the next few months. This will give us time to get new pilots and fighters to replace what we’ve lost and be ready for when we get back into the fight. I want us all together once the replacements are ready so that we can train and be ready together, as a full squadron and not just a group of random pilots. But getting new pilots is going to take at least a standard month...”

He trailed off a moment and sighed, not liking what he had to say next, but knowing it was necessary. The pause was long enough that it made the rest of the pilots even more uneasy. Seeing this, Rulae quickly continued, “It leaves the four of you with three choices, all of which have gone through Starfighter Command and have been approved. If you wish to assist in the selection process, I am open to it. You are all experienced enough now to know what we need in new recruits. You’ve seen what happens to those that aren’t ready. You may also take a month of leave. Obviously, in a time with a war like we have, this is unusual...but Command says that we’ve been through enough combat and experiences that you have earned it,” he paused for a short moment and then, after glancing down at the last option on the datapad, decided he had to say it whether he liked it or not, “Finally, if you wish, you may apply for a transfer to another squadron. Obviously, I would not like to see any of you leave, but it is your choice. If you feel the need to stay in the fight now, you can do that...only not as a Zephyr.”

When he’d finished, Rulae noted that the four pilots were looking at him with expressions he just plain couldn’t read. He decided to blame it on the fact that all of them were different species, and while he was getting better at reading humans, Adria was one of the difficult ones. And so, Rulae simply watched them, noting that none of them looked to each other, only seemingly watching him as they went over this new information in their heads.

“Sir,” that was the Mon Calamari, Obrack Loro, “I would like to believe that I speak for all of us when I say that we are Zephyrs until the day we die.”

A furry hand came down on Loro’s shoulder, and Cest nodded to the Mon Calamari, “You speak for me.”

“And me,” Adria said from off to the side, a hint of a smile on her somewhat sharp features.

Behind them all, Rea leaned forward, “You do speak for all of us, Loro.”

A smile did find its way onto Rulae’s small mouth, and the Duros cut in, “That is very good to hear. And it also leaves the two of you with two choices...and I will leave you to make them on your own time. Now, this has been short, but please, go get some rest.”

He managed a salute to dismiss them, and they all returned it before standing up and starting out of the room. Rulae did his usual thing and stood at the podium trying to look busy while they all left. And, as always, one stayed behind to catch him in the ruse. Out of the corner of his vision, Rulae could see it was Rea who was waiting on him to acknowledge her. When he looked up to her, Rulae didn’t need any words to do that.

Seeing that she had his attention, Rea decided to get straight to the point, “If you don’t need me around, sir, I’ll be taking that month of leave.”

“I thought you would,” Rulae admitted, finally picking up his datapad and dropping it casually into his jacket pocket, “And if you leave early enough, you can your X-Wing without anyone trying to grab it for maintenance that you should be able to do yourself.”

That got a surprised look on her face. However, it slowly formed into a grin, and she nodded, “Thank you, sir.”

The Twi’lek saluted him a second time and then was gone. As Rulae waited a few moments, so that he would still look like he was busier than he currently was to the others, he admitted to himself that he had just done something he shouldn’t have. Technically, that X-Wing was the New Republic’s property, and definitely not meant for running across dangerous portions of space on what would be classified as personal business. But...

Rulae smiled to himself and shook his head.

But this was for Jyren...and, not only did Rulae have a soft spot for his old friend, but he had given his word. Actually, no, he hadn’t given his word. Jyren hadn’t given him the chance to. Perhaps that was what had been bothering him so much. That bastard ran off and did something stupid, then didn’t even give his friend the chance to say anything to him. It wasn’t like so many others that had died and he hadn’t had a chance to say anything to...there was a chance that time, though. And yet...

Reason slipped in as it always did for him, and Rulae pushed the thoughts aside. What was done, was done. And so, he would simply move on. Which meant that his next destination was filled with a few hundred datafilms covered with profiles for potential replacements.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 428: Do I Know You?

The Jedi Academy was a truly amazing place. Though that might not have meant much coming from Tobias, who found most everything that wasn’t the Palace to be amazing, there was no one around that would bother telling him otherwise. In fact, Tobias quickly found that most everyone he encountered was rather friendly, no matter their age or species...both of which were things he was finding to be amazingly diverse. There were beings of all shapes, sizes, and colours, most of which Tobias could not even begin to put a name to...and he loved it.

It had been only a day since he’d first arrived on the moon of the gas giant, Yavin, but he had already begun what was a surprisingly strict regiment of training under an Omwati Jedi Master named Corentan Ral. Currently, though, Master Ral had given Tobias a break from the tedious and almost mind numbing exercises that had dominated the entire day. He had told Tobias to rest and meditate for an hour before coming to find him again...from the way the Jedi Master spoke, though, Toby had a feeling that the finding part was another test meant to hone his skills.

Ten minutes later and Tobias was not actually resting or meditating. He had attempted to...walking outside of the hangar area that was being used as a rather large training area and into the clearing that surrounded the Great Temple before the jungle took over...but...well...he’d gotten distracted.

The source of this distraction was in another apprentice. A young human boy, who looked a few standard years younger than Tobias was supposed to be(as he was doing the smart thing and staying human while in the open) with dark brown hair and wearing a simple tunic that Toby found most of the students had a similar version of. But this young student stood out from all the others, currently standing in a calm pose with a violet-coloured lightsaber held in front of him as five remotes slowly circled around him.

Tobias did notice he wasn’t the only one who stopped to watch, and then he quickly understood why. All at once, the five remotes fired and began to dart around, firing their low powered lasers again and again. But somehow, the young human was dodging and deflecting every single attack. In the blur of motion, two bright flashes suddenly appeared as the lightsaber cleaved through two of the training devices, and a second later the form that was the wielder of the weapon flipped up and over the others, which tried to spin around and follow, but were for some reason unable to.

When the student landed, it was obvious why the remotes were not moving. His free hand was off of the lightsaber, extended out to the remaining devices, and Tobias could feel the Force flowing strongly. He was...holding them there! Holding them so strongly that he was able to slice through all of them with one simply stroke, ending the exercise after only a few seconds.

With the flash of energy ended, many of those that had stopped to watch went back to whatever they were doing...mostly training exercises that didn’t come close to the flashiness of what they had just witnessed. Tobias, however, didn’t walk away, and simply stood watching the young man, swearing he had seen him somewhere but unable to pinpoint just where.

His staring didn’t go unnoticed.

After deactivating his lightsaber, the young Jedi hooked it to his belt and, as he was turning to head back towards the Great Temple, caught sight of Tobias. He shifted slightly before changing direction and curiously approaching the now-worried Tobias...who was starting to wonder if he’d done something wrong.

And so, when the other student was close enough to negate the need to yell to be heard, Tobias said, “That was amazing.”

A very unique looking smile appeared on the young man’s face, “Thank you...” when he trailed off, Tobias kept quiet, sensing that there was something else there. Perhaps that was why he was seemingly examining Toby so carefully, both with his eyes and through the Force, “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

“Um...” Tobias looked down at his feet then back to the slightly shorter student, “I don’t...think so. This is my first day here...”

“No...no...” the human shook his head, a look of concentration on his face. Then, suddenly, it faded into realization, “Wait a moment...were you on Ithor?”

The words hit Tobias hard, as he did not like to think about what had happened to that planet. That planet that reminded him so much of Alraxia...

“Y-yes...” the words escaped Tobias before he could stop to think whether that was even a good question to answer or not. But now that it was out, he decided to attempt to alleviate his own confusion...or part of it, at least, “You were there? I...I thought I’d seen you somewhere, too, but...well...I don’t know...”

The smile returned to the young man’s face, “My name is Anakin Solo.”

The way that Anakin said those words made Tobias think he should know that name. Or at least, he was expected to...which meant that, because the name meant nothing at all to Toby, he went slightly red and said under his breath, “I’m uh...sorry but I...I don’t...that doesn’t really mean anything to me.”

And somehow, the smile grew, if not in a slightly lopsided way. A laugh even escaped the young man, which was the last thing Tobias would have expected, “You can’t imagine how nice it is to meet someone who has no idea who I am.”

Slightly uncomfortable with the situation he’d gotten himself into, Tobias simply tried to do his best to pretend he had the slightest idea of how to deal with other people. Admittedly, he was better than Marix had been at his age, “I am uh...Tobias...BlueIce. Hopefully that, um...doesn’t mean anything to you...”

Another laugh escaped Anakin and he extended a hand, a gesture which took Tobias a moment to recognize. He extended his own hand and found it gripped tightly, then shook a big too vigorously before being released, “Its good to meet you, Tobias.”

“Good to meet you, too...” he trailed off a moment, then felt odd and added, “..Anakin.”

Anakin nodded with that same smile on his face, but then a feeling of disappointment washed through the Force so noticeably that even Tobias picked it up without too much trouble, “I’m sorry for this being so quick but...I have to get going.”

“Oh...that’s alright...” Tobias shuffled his feet in the dirt, somewhat happy that this was ending as he truly felt he was missing something very important that should have been plainly obvious.

With a bow, Anakin turned and started towards the hangar, but he stopped himself after only a few steps and turned back around to look to Toby again, “If you’ve got time later today, track me down. I’m leaving the planet tomorrow, though, so if you can’t just tell Master Solusar that I wanted to ask you a few things. He can get you in contact with me, probably.”

Ask him a few things?!

The look of panic must have been as obvious on his face as it was in the Force, as Anakin laughed again and shook his head, “Don’t look so worried! Its nothing horrible. Honestly, I was wondering who you were when I saw you on Ithor. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”

“No...not at all,” Tobias managed to nod.

This time, though, when Anakin waved and turned to leave, he didn’t turn around again. In a few more moments, the young, dark haired human was inside the Great Temple and out of sight, leaving Tobias to stand where he was and feel even more lost than before.

Anakin Solo.

He would remember that name now, mainly because that had been the longest he’d spoken with anyone close to his ‘age’ since arriving. Part of him wanted to consider this Anakin kid a friend, but, truthfully, Tobias had always been a bit isolated when it came to things like friends...so he wasn’t quite sure what qualified as a friend and what didn’t. Tobias had always considered himself more like Jyren than Marix, but experience usually proved the reverse to be true.

Pushing those thoughts aside, though, he decided he couldn’t mediate or rest or anything like that. Just seeing what Anakin had done fueled Tobias’ desire to be a Jedi even more! So, quickly drawing on the Force as Master Ral had told him to, he decided to simply go looking for his new Master...even if it was an hour early still.

That was something new he had found in himself in the last few days...the ability to put everything aside and focus on a task directly in front of him. He was really a lot more like his mother than he liked to admit...


((Random note...I've been working on a Timeline of sorts that can give some reference on what happens when compared to other major events not related to this story hour. Only thing is I originally did it by just labelling the SH parts as the Part # as they're divided up here.

I'm going to go back through and change this slightly, though, adding in more detailed things for important events(battles, etc) while keeping the basic(Part 1 occured on this date).

Will try to get it at least mostly together and up in the next couple of weeks.))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 429: No Response

“Tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing,” Marix said as her eyes looked at the ragtag fleet that the humans in the Empire had ‘put together’. The group of ships was gathered on the far side of one of the moon of the planet, Cyr, which was one of the larger worlds that the humans occupied. Currently, Loki was close to the moon’s surface, and, since it was an empty and very dead moon, that meant they were able to stay low, sneak in close, and not be noticed because no one was looking.

[I uh...] Loki trailed off a moment, sounding just as surprised. [I think that I am seeing the same thing.]

Marix shook her head and brushed a streak of black hair out of her face before leaning back in her seat again, “Maybe Jyren wasn’t the only human that was completely crazy.”

Through the Force, Marix could tell that comment made Loki uneasy. Strangely enough, it didn’t phase her, and that was something she decided not to dwell on. Noting the ship’s discomfort, though, she added, “Those ships are over forty standard years old. No, actually, two of them look to be that young. The rest are designs I don’t even think I’ve ever seen.”

Marix could tell that Loki was trying to get a closer look from the fact that his sensor panel showed more detailed readings on the seventeen ships that were hanging in orbit not far above them. After a moment of studying them, the ship decided to add in his own comment. [One of the medium sized cruisers looks like the ancient Jedi Battle Cruisers...]

“That’s not possible,” she shook her head again and leaned forward, trying to find the ship he was pointing out, “Those are thousands of years old. There is no way one of those could still be flying.”

[...my mother clearly remembers the Darkwing Wars...] Loki said sheepishly.

The very word, ‘Darkwing’, sent a cold chill up Marix’s tail. She left reality for a short few moments, but something strong grabbed a hold of her and yanked her back. Her mind realized what Loki had been saying, and she decided to respond as best she could without that...word, “But you’re both Kanyaks...alive. Meant to live that long. That thing is a rusted, metal, hunk of junk that has to be held together by the terror of the people on board!”

That actually got a mental laugh from Loki.

Raising an eyebrow, Marix glanced upwards to the ceiling.

Even though she said nothing, Loki knew that gesture and what it meant. He calmed himself and explained. [Remember the stories you told me about some of the ships you and Max flew aboard years ago?]

A hint of a smile crept onto Marix’s face. Most of those stories involved very dangerous endings where she had barely gotten out alive...and one where Max hadn’t...but the ships had always been just like she’d described a moment ago. In fact, the very phrase itself came from Max. That, alone, caused memories she didn’t particularly want to come back to start to surface. Her old smuggler friend was long dead, and yet...

[So what do we do now?] Loki, thankfully, cut off her thoughts. For some reason, in the last few days, it had become harder and harder to keep her mind from wandering off.

But Loki, as always, was able to see the problem and help her focus in on the moment when, for whatever reason, she couldn’t do so herself(which was rare, admittedly), “Once you’ve got as much information on all of those ships as you can get from here, we sneak out...then turn around, and come back in system along a noticeable path,” she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, “Then I have to be the Empress.”

A mental nod could be felt through the Force as Loki did as he was asked...well, no, told. But he knew that, in reality, she was really asking him to rather than ordering him to. For some reason Marix always avoided orders with him...something that, Loki noted, had only ever extended to one other person...Jyren. [They must know they will not stand a chance against the Mrrakesh.]

“Has that kind of logic ever stopped a human?” Marix asked out loud, more as a general question to the universe as a whole than one directed at the moment. But then she found that she had to add on to that, “...has that kind of logic ever stopped us?”

[I would like to think so...] Loki’s ‘voice’ sounded slightly distracted, which was good because that meant he was doing his job. [...not that we are perfect, but we try our best not to take trillions of lives with us.]

For some reason, Marix was feeling odder than usual, and it was the only reason she could give herself for why she ended up saying, “I’ve put trillions of lives on the line more than anyone, Loki...and always when I didn’t have to.”

The ship didn’t know how to answer, and so he just decided to keep going on with what he was doing rather than responding with something stupid. Strangely, though, the silence ended up annoying Marix. She’d gotten to used to Jyren saying something...well..stupid. There was something both very endearing and impossibly aggravating about how he would never give up on a point...

Finally opening her eyes again, Marix pushed that away. This was most definitely not a good time for thoughts like that. Deep in the back of her mind where she wouldn’t really notice, she admitted that there would never be a good time, but that was kept away from her primary thoughts. She didn’t need to deal with that right now...and, quite honestly, didn’t want to.

And then, finally, things started to get back to normal.

[Four small ships have just changed their course and are accelerating straight towards us.] Loki said just as Marix’s Force sense started to tell her that something was wrong. Loki sure had good timing.

Immediately, Marix sat forward and had a look at the small screen that was the primary sensor for Loki’s systems. On it, she saw the ships, roughly the size of an X-Wing, but dart shaped and extremely fast despite the fact that they had to be older than she was...which was saying something. Her eyes quickly shot across the other controls to look for something, but found no indication of it, “They haven’t tried to contact us?”

[No.] Loki answered flatly. [I do not believe they care what we have to say.]

A curse escaped her lips and Marix looked to the communications systems, “They are bloody well going to care in a moment,” she then opened a channel on the frequency used only by herself and one that, across the Empire, would cut in over all others to be heard. Marix had taken a deep breath beforehand, then hit the switch as she put on her Empress voice, “Incoming ships. You will stop your intercept course and turn away. That is an order.”

No response came.

Marix waited an entire minute.

Now, the four ships could be seen more clearly in the viewport against the backdrop of nothingness. If they didn’t respond, that meant they either didn’t know who she was or didn’t care. Hopefully it was the former, as the latter would make things even more difficult. But...she sighed. It was hard to find anyone in the Empire who didn’t recognize her voice, but that would be typical of this situation.

Alright. Fine. She hadn’t wanted to do this, as it was always a dangerous thing to do...but they had given her no choice.

Hitting the switch again, Marix spoke sternly, “This is your Empress. I am ordering you to stand down now.”

She knew the message got through.

There was no way it couldn’t at this range.

And yet, still nothing happened.

[Marix...]

Her silvery-violet eyes were watching the four growing forms above them. They were becoming distinct shapes now, getting closer and closer every second that passed. She allowed five more of those seconds to go by before, finally, she said to Loki, “They’ll be in range to fire in a few moments...Loki, start moving and don’t let us get hit...” she trailed off as the surface of the moon below them began to move, “...and send a message to the Jendari. Tell them they need to jump in now.”

 

[javcs]

I hate it when I'm all caught up on SHs ...
Anyway, just started reading this a few days ago, and I like this one.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 430: First Lesson

You thought this would be easy.

Why you thought that is beyond anyone.

But you did.

“Well done, Tobias,” Master Ral said in a soft, slightly airy voice. The pale-blue skinned Omwati sat on a large rock a few meters from where Tobias was on the ground. The Jedi Master’s white hair was a stark contrast to the green around him, and made him very easy to spot.

Of course, that was what Tobias had hoped when he’d gone looking for his new Master. He had quickly discovered, though, that his eyes were mostly useless in the thick jungle that covered Yavin IV, and so he had to rely on what little he knew about finding someone through the Force. To make matters difficult, it had been quite obvious that Master Ral had been hiding. But, after a good two local hours of searching, Tobias had found the Omwati sitting on the same rock he was now, eyes closed, and waiting.

That had been hours and hour ago.

After managing to find the Master, which Tobias had to admit had a lot of luck involved in it, he had spent the entire remainder of the day sitting in the underbrush with his eyes closed lifting rocks and other objects with the Force. Somehow, though, he found himself drenched in sweat as he lowered the last rock to the ground and opened his eyes again. It probably had something to do with being a human, as they seemed to react adversely to the tropical environments like Yavin IV.

Finally, after hours of not moving, Master Ral slid off of the rock and to his feet. Standing a good two meters tall, he offered a long, wiry arm to help Tobias to his feet and said, “You are showing a great deal more control already. That will be enough for today...but we will start early tomorrow.”

After allowing the Jedi Master to help him to his feet, Tobias managed a polite bow, but was unsure of anything to say and so remained silent. A slight smile was on his Master’s face, and Ral soon motioned for them to head back to the Academy.

This was the part that drove Tobias crazy.

It took five steps to reach the clearing around the Great Temple.

He had searched for hours in the thick of the jungle, only to find Master Ral right here...within plain sight of where he’d started. But Tobias brushed that off as they headed for the hangar while the system’s star fell below the horizon. With a simple ‘goodnight’ to Master Ral, Tobias headed for the nearest turbolift, and when he was in it, straight for the mess.

Minutes later, he had a good amount of food and was sitting at a small table near one of the few windows that had been recently installed in the Temple. He sat eating for only a few minutes before he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eyes(something he knew he should have detected through the Force first...). Looking up, Tobias saw Anakin Solo step over and sit across from him.

Tobias managed a polite nod, only staying silent because his mouth was currently very full of food. Noticing this, Anakin smiled and said, “Looks like you had a hard day...” he paused a moment and the smile became a very unique looking grin, “Though if it makes you feel any better, its probably just going to get harder.”

“Makes me feel a lot better,” Tobias managed between bites, still not having a great handle on sarcasm and failing to put enough of the right tone in his voice like Marix had done for so long...and still did on occasion. After another large bite of food, he looked across the table to Anakin and asked, “What was it you wanted to ask me about earlier?”

This took the grin off of the young human’s face. His complexion became a mask of nothing and his voice took on a more serious tone, “Honestly, I was just curious what you were doing there. It wasn’t exactly...well...a good place to be.”

No, it hadn’t been. Tobias had seen a great many bad places to be in his life, but he had the advantage of being extremely young when he was around most of them...and couldn’t remember his biological parents or anything involved with them. Because of that, Ithor was really the first time he’d seen a truly horrible event occur on a massive scale. He had watched, and even been there, as a planet had been killed. A planet that looked like his home...

His mind then returned to the present and reminded him that a question had been asked indirectly. Tobias noted the somewhat haunted look on Anakin’s face, and managed to keep his voice quiet enough, “My...parents were there.”

“Your parents are Jedi?”

“No,” the answer came out of his mouth without the decency of checking with his brain first. Immediately catching this, Tobias tried again, “Well...” he sighed. It was too late now, “Its...complicated.”

Thankfully, Anakin nodded at that. But the young Jedi seemed to detect something, as an eyebrow went up, “Are they alright?”

“...huh?” the question made no sense to Tobias.

“Your parents...” Anakin was obviously trying to be careful with his words, “When I said that you...well...you just felt...” he trailed off again and seemed unable to find a way to bring up the face that he was essentially reading Tobias’ thoughts in a polite way.

Tobias looked down at the empty plate in front of him, suddenly wishing he was alone again. Realizing that wasn’t the most polite thing to do, or a good idea, he just whispered, “My father...” he paused, then just shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin said in a similar voice. There was something in the way that Anakin looked that actually helped Toby...somehow, he felt like Anakin truly understood.

And then it was silent, both young men lost in the thoughts of who they had lost. It was Anakin that ended it, though, “I’m sorry to have brought it up. If I had known...”

“You couldn’t have,” Tobias said simply with a shrug.

There was another few uncomfortable moments before Anakin got to his feet, “I’m glad you made it away safely, Tobias. I probably won’t be around here again for a while but...if you ever need anything, Mater Solusar can help you get in contact with me.”

“Thank you,” Tobias said towards the table, trying to push the thoughts of Jyren out of his head, but at the same time, glad to know he had a friend in Anakin.

When he looked back up, though, Anakin was gone. Tobias glanced behind him a moment but didn’t see the young Jedi. Quietly, he sighed and then looked back down to the table.

You thought you could forget that, too...

...Jyren told you it wasn’t what you thought...so did Marix...

...this is going to be so much harder than anything you had ever imagined...

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 431: Tensions

While the Alraxian people had always called themselves a peaceful civilization, and, to an extent, this was true, it was definitely an exaggeration. Though the vast majority of the population never saw a weapon of any kind or encountered any kind of actual violence, everyone knew about the Knights. They were well trained in various forms of combat, most had at least some Force potential that was helped along to a small extent, and guarded the Empire in unarmed Kanyaks...though they always carried weapons on them, even if their ships didn’t.

And then, of course, there was the dark secret of the Tam’Day’U. The small group of assassin culled out of the normal population at a very young age and considered nothing more than terrifying stories by most of the Empire. But they were real. Not only were they real, but they were killers of a kind that would have shocked anyone in the Empire had they known the extent of the Tam’Day’U’s training. These assassins killed silently ended the lives of a great many dangerous people among the Empire, and even protected the border planets from Mrrakesh on occasion. Of course, in their later years, their leaders became more corrupt due to the fact that they were in control of a great many very powerful weapons and so the jobs became much more...personal. Rivals were killed. Some who simply disagreed with the current leader of the Tam’Day’U were killed. And though this ended with Faban Sunrunner’s exile, it did not make the Alraxian’s any more of a peaceful people...in fact, it put their darkest secret out in the open and then in with the noble Knights.

But that was the Alraxians. Peaceful on the surface, and mostly through the interior, but with very violent capabilities that most of the species simply attempted to keep quiet and hidden away. It was likely this philosophy came from the influence of both the early Jedi who helped the Empire to form and, more importantly, the Jendari. Then Jendari were wise, powerful, and truly a peaceful people.

Yet, despite this, Marix sensed there was a violent past for their avian allies. All of the Jendari seemed to speak of wars and battles in a very somber, knowing way, and yet always had a great deal of knowledge on such subjects. It should have surprised her that the Jendari had a fleet of ships, but it didn’t. Somewhere in their past, there had to have been a reason for it to exist, and the species was long-sighted enough to keep their ships up-to-date and in working order for thousands of years.

Moments before the four ancient looking starfighters came into firing range of Loki, the Jendari ships appeared in the system, right next to the moon and directly in view of anyone within the star system. There were nine of them, massive ships of a scale only comparable to that of Thor, the largest of the Kanyak’s and technically the Empress’ personal ship. The ships were metal, of a kind at least, but their exact shape was impossible to determine due to a bright blue-violet glow that emanated from what, on most metal ships, would have been the seams of the bulkheads. The glow made them look like giant, interestingly coloured lanterns in space, and their size gave a very threatening feel to such beautiful designs.

Tearing her eyes away from the new arrivals, Marix’s hand went to the comm switch again, “If you do not stand down immediately we will be forced to take action...” she paused a moment, then decided it was important enough to add on one last thing, “And if you come anywhere close to firing on my ship, you will not like the consequences.”

Yes, it was a threat. Something that her mother would never have said...but Marix was not her mother. She was a very different woman than her mother. If that hadn’t gotten through to most of the Empire in the past few years, it would definitely hit home now.

There was a very long moment where the four starfighters continued on their course, coming so close that Marix could see far more detail than she wanted to. But then, suddenly, they broke off and looped around to head back towards the ragtag fleet they had launched from.

Marix watched the blue engines fade as they retreated, noting how odd they looked next to a Kanyak and then the monolithic Jendari ships. Then, after allowing the moment to last long enough, opened up the comm channel again, “Whoever the hell is in charge had bloody well better respond to me right now.”

It was the same cold, hard voice that could make Jyren do something before he’d realized he was doing so. She knew it would work here, too...if, of course, whoever was in charge wasn’t a complete fool.

“I am in charge,” a strong, definitely female voice responded not a minute later. There was a pause in a similar way to the one Marix had left in her own words, and then the voice went on, “I am Commander Helias. I believe this is the part where we agree to meet and discuss the situation.”

A scowl sat on Marix’s features and an angry, icy tone slipped into her words, “You believe wrong. There is nothing here you and I will discuss. What you will do, however, is to leave those ships immediately.”

“You cannot ex—“

”I am your Empress, Helias,” Marix snapped back, “I can expect whatever I want and I will get it. This is not your Empire to defend and you are putting billions of lives on the line because of your own arrogance!”

“Arrogance?!” the Commander’s voice hit a note that Marix’s hadn’t heard in a long time. It was one that most humans reverted to when they were completely shocked. Quietly, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder what this woman’s face was twisting itself into, “Where were you, our Empress, when they took our planets and killed our people?!”

And that was it. Marix had had enough. Her hand firmly on the comm switch, to the point where it might actually be hurting Loki slightly, she growled, “Your Empress was defending this Empire from a fleet of enemies like you have never seen! Your Empress was fighting to protect all of you from the greater threat, not squabbling over a couple of border planets with barely any life on them in the first place!” her voice lowered a moment, and then she decided to add in one last thing, “And your Emperor...my mate...sacrificed his life to protect us all. Not just for you, or your people, or his people...for the entire Empire. And he did.”

Her hand left the comm switch, and there was a great deal of control being used to keep her hand from shaking with rage.

Two minutes passed, and no response came.

This was long enough for Marix to have gone through some old calming techniques to bring herself back to a much safer level rather than one where she was ready to find this ‘Commander Helias’ and tear her throat out. Softly, she hit the comm switch again, speaking in a voice that was so different from the one before that it would likely have a great effect on anyone listening, “This is the last time I will say this. Leave your ships and go to the planet. Go back to your families and your friends. It is not your job to protect this Empire, and you should never forget that you are part of it...not a single entity, but one of a whole. The whole will protect itself, not the pieces...” she trailed off a moment, then looked to the Jendari ships, “We will lose no more planets to the Mrrakesh. We will also not be drawn into a war because a select few are angry. Those are two things I can promise you.”

Finally, she let go of the comm switch and fell back into her seat completely. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and mumbled, “Loki, figure out which of those is the lead Jendari ship and get us the hell aboard it.”