Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 531: Potential

Considering the fact that Tobias had only been gone for a matter of hours, it took a while to actually explain everything that had happened on Thyferra. This was partly due to the fact that he made sure to include every single little detail he could remember, partly due to long pauses as he remembered the events, but mostly due to the slow, stuttering and still slightly panicked voice that Tobias was speaking in.

When it had become obvious that at least some of his discomfort was due to the handful of others within the medical ward who were paying the currently-Alraxian Tobias a little too much attention, Master Ral shocked him by casually getting to his feet and suggesting they find a place with less people...such as his ship, to discuss the rest of the events. And then, finally, Tobias was able to deliver at least some good news. Namely, that while Master Ral obviously didn’t remember that his ship had been destroyed in the escape from the Vong ship during the battle, Venda’s ship was still in tact and, amazingly enough, had actually been returned from Thyferra along with the X-Wings that the Zephyr pilots had.

So, after a short trip to the hangar and settling into the cockpit of Venda’s rather boring looking shuttle, Tobias tried to continue with less stuttering and more actual sentences. It was easier said than done, but an hour after he’d started explaining the events, Tobias finally finished.

It didn’t help that Master Ral sat in the pilot’s chair in silence for at least five minutes. This forced Tobias to just sit there awkwardly staring at the consoles around him, which just made him feel worse...

How the hell did they fit an X-Wing into that shuttle?

Can’t believe that damned squid-head got promoted before me...

I wonder if the chief would kill me if ducked out early tonight.

“It only occurs when you are not focused on something else, yes?” Master Ral’s cool voice cut away the others, causing Tobias’ eyes to jump open as he looked up in surprise.

Quickly nodding, Tobias waved a hand out the viewport to what they could see of the Mon Calamari cruiser’s hangar, “Comes and goes and comes back again.”

For a few moments, the Omwati Jedi Master’s white eyebrows seemed to angle downwards over his small eyes, but then they went to a more neutral shape, “When, exactly, did it start?”

“I...” Tobias trailed off, glanced out the viewport again to see an X-Wing being pulled to the opposite end of the hangar, then looked back to his Master, “After Tokarr was killed and Rea and the others came over to see what had happened.”

When he said that, something dawned on Tobias. Before Master Ral could say anything, Tobias quickly asked, “Could it be some kind of...of reaction to that? I’ve been kind of...kind of...off since then and...could that mean something?”

It was at that point that Master Ral’s face formed into a more serious expression again, which concerned Tobias. Of course, his concern grew when Master Ral spoke, “You are still very young, Tobias, and you still have much to learn. I do have an idea that may answer why this has happened, but it may not be very comforting to hear. It can, however, be solved without understand the why, which is rare.”

Already knowing what his Master was about to ask, Tobias immediately jumped in, “I want to know why.”

Through the Force, Tobias felt a slight fluctuation from the Jedi Master that could very well have been a sign that the Omwati was going to smile. However, there was nothing on Master Ral’s blue-skinned face to show anything similar to a smile, and the voice that spoke was the same cool, almost hauntingly calm voice that Master Ral always spoke in, “You are very strong in the Force, Tobias. You have the potential to be as great a Jedi as Master Skywalker. But your emotions control you. You have a noble drive, but your emotions are so strong that they dictate your actions completely. You do not seem to have any desire to take hold of them, either.”

For the first time, there was a visible change in Master Ral. He let out a low sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. The Force concentrated again, and Tobias realized that his Master was healing himself still. The strain passed, but Master Ral was still looking downwards when he spoke again, “Like every young apprentice, you expected it to be easy. But you are not adapting like most do. You are so latched onto your emotions that they will harm you in ways you cannot imagine if it continues,” Master Ral looked up to look Tobias straight in the eyes again, “I made a mistake to bring you to the front lines of this war. It is not your fault that you have never seen what happens in a place like this. But you were not ready. Ever since that man on the Vong ship, you have been close to a dangerous edge. By your own admission, you were not going to kill Tokarr. You stopped yourself more than once and were looking for a way to bring him back alive.

“But then he was shot and killed by no fault of your own. Tokarr died, the very thing you were trying to prevent. And ever since that moment, you have been hearing the thoughts of those around you.”

Again, Master Ral paused. It was unnerving, and Tobias wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn’t. His mouth wouldn’t even open to attempt to make a noise. He just sat there staring at his Master, feeling terrible at having to hear what he knew was true. He’d thought he had pushed through the problems after facing Halpak. But that was naive. Tobias should have known that all his problems wouldn’t be solved in one moment, no matter how difficult it was. There was a reason Jedi trained for years.

“Unconsciously, you are trying to prevent such a thing from happening again,” hearing Master Ral’s voice again was so sudden that Tobias nearly jumped out of his seat, “By hearing the thoughts of those around you, even just those on the surface, theoretically you can prevent them from harming one another. At your core, that is what you want to do...protect. But it is triggered by a strong emotion. Fear. And fear is dangerous. Fear can turn your wish to protect into something else entirely. Control your fear. Do not let it control you. When you can do that, you will stop hearing the thoughts of others.”

“But...”

“No,” the usually cool voice of Master Ral became sharp and extremely hard all of a sudden, “There is no but. There is no if. There is no try. There is when. If you cannot do this, I cannot train you for your own safety. If you are going to argue about it being hard, I will not train you. If you lie to me and tell me that you can do it, I will know that and I will not train you. If you do anything this moment other than tell me the truth, that you can control your fear and your emotions, that you can be a Jedi, a real Jedi, then I will not train you any longer.”

The cockpit of Venda’s small shuttle went silent.

In the cold, empty air, Tobias stared with wide eyes at Master Corentan Ral, shocked at what he had just heard. But some part of him, some sane part that was left, began to dig deep. It did exactly what needed to be done, and found the answer. And then, taking hold of his body, Tobias’ mind answered a question that hadn’t really been a question.

“I can.”

And then Master Ral smiled.

With some obvious strain in the movement, the Jedi Master reached out and put a hand on Tobias’ shoulder, “It isn’t going to get any easier, but I am glad to see that you know you can do it.”

It was hard not to smile when the entire air around Tobias was suddenly so...calming and warm. So, without even really fighting it, Tobias grinned. But now, when confronted with a moment when his future wasn’t really on the line, he couldn’t find anything to say.

This became obvious to Master Ral, who patted Tobias on the shoulder before sitting back in the pilot’s chair again, “I want you to meditate right now. Clear your mind of all those voices until you no longer have to focus on it. I’m going to check on Venda and get us ready to head back to the Academy.”

Tobias still said nothing, not really sure what he could say about Venda after what had happened on Thyferra. And besides, Master Ral had given him a task to do...something that Tobias knew he needed to start right away.

What he didn’t know, however, was the significance of something that Master Ral had told him. Tobias had the potential to be as strong as Master Skywalker. It wasn’t an exaggeration or something told just to get Tobias’ attention, it was the truth. The fact that Tobias could so easily pick up the thoughts of those around him was an absolutely amazing feat, something that even Master Ral knew he could not achieve. His natural ability was beyond anything Master Ral had ever seen.

There was a reason for that. Of course, that was something Master Ral didn’t know. Tobias was the first child in the history of the Alraxians born from two Tam’Day’U parents. One of them may have been a clone, and the other absolutely insane, but they were still Tam’Day’U. Raw talent with the Force was expected from such a child, and considering the fact that Master Ral knew none of this, he had at least identified that Tobias had a great amount of innate talent.

There was no so thing as coincidence according to both the Jedi and Marix BlueIce. And so, it couldn’t have been a coincidence that the Jedi Master that had taken on Tobias as an apprentice was both intelligent and attentive enough to recognize the boy’s strength in the Force...which could very easily turn into something extremely dangerous. Perhaps, despite all the worry about what would happen if Tobias was allowed to be trained, the Force really was looking out for him.

 

[AnonymousOne]

Oooh Shadows of The Anakin -> Vader transformation??

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 532: The Galaxy

The Battle of Fondor had gone down in the books as a victory for the New Republic thanks to the retreat of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet after the firing of Centerpoint Station a sector away. Beyond the physical losses to both the New Republic and Hapan fleets, there were the aftereffects of the battle. Namely that, despite the retreat of the Vong, Fondor’s shipyards were still severely damaged and put out of commission for the near future. This loss catapulted a series of problems throughout the galaxy. There was the obvious fact that ship production, which was desperately needed, would go down thanks to the damage, but there was more to Fondor than just ship production. It was a massive economic hub for the entire galaxy...and now it was in shambles, its primary source of income, the shipyards, mostly destroyed.

This loss prompted something that the rest of the galaxy should have expected. The Hutts turned their backs on their neutrality pact with the Vong. Seeing Fondor so damaged was enough to cause this upheaval in Hutt politics, with a new clan taking over and attempting to push the Vong out of their space. Reports were slim, but the New Republic had received word that Nal Hutta had already been invaded by the Yuuzhan Vong, with the Hutts being immediately put on the run.

While it was comforting for most to see the Hutts were no longer attempting to tread a line of neutrality in the war, the chance of them joining the fight against the Vong in a real effort looked slim. The Hutts would be too busy fighting for their survival to really provide any assistance to the war effort.

And, sadly, the battle seemed to have no real effect on the Vong forces. Their fleets continued a Coreward push, cutting off hyperspace routes and making travel anywhere outside the Core haphazard and very dangerous. Rumours of old hyperspace routes being mined were becoming more and more common.

Refugees were still being moved into the Core, though most of the planets were so heavily populated that entire planets worth of refugees weren’t easy to place. Added to the fleet that was stretched thin and it seemed like Fondor was nothing but another loss in a long line of them since the Vong had first appeared months earlier.

Of course, on the other side of the galaxy, far behind the Yuuzhan Vong invasion path, was the Alraxian Empire and the Mrrakesh Combine. While little was known of the actual situation between the Mrrakesh and the Vong, it seemed likely they were still bitterly fighting over the planet’s on the other side of Mrrakesh space near the edge of the galactic rim near where the Vong had first arrived. Apparently, the Mrrakesh were fairing better than the New Republic...considering that the Alraxian border with the Mrrakesh hadn’t been overrun with Vong already. There also had been no further attacks on the only other entrance to Alraxian space, the Gateway. All of the other borders were naturally defended by various space anomalies, black holes, and nebula that made travel impossible.

There were other important areas behind the main invasion path. There was no word from the Corporate Sector, though that was normal and it was likely that, in the Vong’s push to the Core, they were ignored. The Imperial Remnant had been brushed past and seemingly ignored, also. But then there was the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV, far behind the lines of battle and, apparently, hidden still. If the Vong had known its location, it was likely they would have attacked the small moon already. But despite the relative safety the Academy was enjoying, travel there was dangerous thanks to being so far beyond the Mid Rim, where most of the fighting was occuring.

All in all, the war simply continued after the major engagement at Fondor...and it seemed to be unchanged with the so-called victory not providing any offensive effort for the New Republic. Still on the defensive, still stretched too thin, and still mired by political squabbles, the New Republic was almost as much its own enemy as the Yuuzhan Vong were.

Marix sighed and placed the small piece of filament paper on the night stand next to her bed. The report was compiled from the various Knights that had recently returned to Alraxian space. It was as expected, but that didn’t mean it was at all comforting. The good news was that, for the moment, the Alraxian Empire was safe. The bad news, however, was everything else. Including the fact that the sweep of the Gateway she’d ordered had, yet again, turned up nothing at all.

She shifted slightly to lay back on the annoyingly-large bed and looked around the room. It was mostly empty. There was a chair that hadn’t been sat on in months right across from the bed on the opposite wall, the night stand next to her, and a pair of dressers holding clothes next to another doorway that led to the small washroom where the bath was.

And it was so clean. There was nothing anywhere, everything was closed, and it looked completely devoid of life. That was how Marix kept things, and years of being around someone like Jyren, who quite literally left everything on the floor, still had no effect on her. But it was...unnerving. She’d gotten so used to seeing his clothes strewn around. It was normal to see junk he’d picked up all over the place, with the only thing that was really kept safe being his lightsaber, sitting on the night stand...and now that was gone, too. There weren’t even any toys anywhere, usual evidence of Jyren having brought the twins in. All the toys were back in their small room off to the side.

It was just so...wrong. It was wrong, and the worst part about it was that Marix had no idea what to do to fix it. There was nothing she could do. But that didn’t change her desire to do something. And that was the real problem. The Empire needed her. She couldn’t just up and leave while they were still recovering from the Mrrakesh attacks. And yet, something was tugging at Marix. She wanted to blame it on the childish part of her, the tiny little part that was still Shadow and couldn’t stand any of this Empress duty.

But the real truth was worse than that. The real reason for the pulling at her was the fact that, for some reason, Marix couldn’t seem to accept that Jyren was gone. It wasn’t like when her brother had died, or Voort, or Jen. Not only had their been bodies in all three cases, but none of them had been so close to her. None of them had been such a strong influence on her. And Marix hated the fact that, now that he had disappeared, she felt weak and useless due to the fact that her thoughts continually went back to the ‘what ifs’ and other pointless hopes.

And yet...

[Loki.] Marix knew he was out there, probably down below at the courtyard closest to her large quarters.

Just a few moments later, this was proven by his unique non-voice slipping into her mind. [Something up?]

He sounded worried. Truthfully, she couldn’t blame him. There was a lot to be worried about these days. But no, he didn’t need to worry. Marix wasn’t going to tell him some horrible news she’d received, as there wasn’t anything any more horrible than the last few days. She did, however, have a question for him. [I can feel all of the Empire through the Network...but I need to ask you something since you directly interact with more people than I. Can our people, at this moment, survive without me?]

It was the kind of question that made Loki worry more. But he was smart enough to answer quickly so that, hopefully, his worries would be put aside. [The Empire is...safe again. If that’s what you mean.]

It wasn’t, not literally, but Marix didn’t care. And so, she didn’t say anything else for a long time. It was at least ten minutes of uneasy silence that, finally, caused Loki to break and ‘speak’ again. [Why? Marix, what’s wrong?]

All that Marix had left was safe now. The twins, her younger siblings that lived in the Palace, Loki...except...except Tobias. He was out there, in the midst of a war that the New Republic was losing, far behind enemy lines on an undefended world with a bunch of mystical, idealistic wackos who were arguably more idiotic than Jyren when gathered in groups. And she had let him go. Jyren would have killed her.

He loved that kid so damn much and she still didn’t know why. Yes, when one got truly technical with the biology involved, both Marix and Jyren were his parents...but only because Tobias’ mother had been a clone. And yes, Marix did feel very protective of him after a decade of raising him along with her own children. But Jyren...sometimes it was worrying to her how much he cared about Tobias, the son of the most dangerous Alraxian, save Marix herself, to have ever lived. The kid had been a weapon, could still have conditioning to just snap one day...and yet Jyren never seemed to consider it.

And Marix had just let Tobias go.

[We need to keep an eye on Toby.] Marix said, finally, to Loki. [Get yourself ready to head out. Supplies, foods, whatever you think we might need. I’ll let people know what’s going on and they’ll understand. With all that has been happening lately, I have a feeling he will need our help.]

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 533: Of Action

In a way, it was refreshing to be back in the humid, sticky, unpleasant-to-a-human weather of Yavin IV. Of course, it would have been better had Tobias been Alraxian again, but deciding not to cause more questions and confusions amongst the few students still there. The relative emptiness was due to the fact that many students were off fighting the war, either with Kyp Durron, a Jedi leading a group of aggressive Jedi to take the fight to the Vong despite Master Skywalker’s disapproval, with their Masters protecting planets or doing something similar to what Master Ral and Tobias had done...Jedi business that happened to come together with the war.

They had arrived back on the jungle moon a few hours earlier, and Yavin’s star was setting over the trees on the other side of the Great Temple. Venda had also come with them, and was now in the Academy’s medical ward recovering still. She was, however, conscious now. Or, according to Master Ral she was.

Tobias had been out in the large clearing in front of the Great Temple since their arrival, just sitting idly on a rather large rock near the trees. He should have been meditating or something like that, but he just sat there watching the distant star setting. Tobias felt so tired, but not the kind that he could actually sleep. It was more just a complete exhaustion, the constant adrenaline rush from everything that had happened finally fading completely away and leaving him...just so damned tired.

“You look beat,” a somewhat familiar voice said from behind Tobias.

Turning around, he saw none other than the youngest of the Solo children, Anakin, standing there with a slightly off grin on his face and his arms casually crossed over his chest. There was something about him, though, that looked different. But Tobias didn’t have the kind of experience with people to even guess at what it was.

“Its been a long few days,” Tobias said softly, watching the young human wander over before plopping down next to where Toby sat.

Tilting his head up to look through a mop of dirty brown hair, Anakin said, “I know exactly how you feel.”

Only having a small idea of what Anakin had been involved in a few systems away, Tobias didn’t feel like jumping into that and making a fool of himself. So, instead, he mumbled, “I killed someone...and another indirectly. And I...I was at Fondor. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

That seemed to have a strong affect on Anakin, who didn’t seem to bother controlling the ripple of surprise that extended out from him through the Force. But his voice didn’t reveal any of that surprise, maintaining the same casual tone it had before, “You’re lucky to be alive,” but then, Anakin paused and let out a long, heavy sigh, “I was on Centerpoint. I was ready to fire it and...my brother somehow talked me out of it. But then my cousin stepped in and fired it and...and he couldn’t aim it like I could have. If I’d just done it myself so many lives would have been saved...”

Tobias shifted his head to look down at where Anakin sat, now seeing only the top of the young man’s head. Suddenly, all of the things that were bothering him didn’t matter anymore. This...this kid, who was probably half Tobias’ age despite looking like they were both the same age, had seen so much more in his short years than Tobias had. Anakin had fought in battles, saved lives, and was a good Jedi. And now, Anakin had been on the other end of the same battle as Tobias. Not only that, but he’d been ready to fire the very weapon that had caused such an immense destruction...and he’d stopped, only to see someone else fire it and take thousands of lives.

“Its hard,” Anakin suddenly cut in, speaking softly again and seemingly thinking out loud, “The first time you see people die in front of you. When they really die and you look down and they’re gone. But think about this, Toby...how many lives did you save? How many people did you protect?”

A lot.

Immediately, that was what Tobias said to himself. He had protected people. Stopping Tokarr, one way or another, had saved countless lives. The Miraluka had been so far gone that he was ready to kill without any provocation and was headed right for a major population zone. And Tobias had been there to help stop him..and Venda. He was the one who had caught the very quiet thoughts in her nearly-lost state. She was recovery now because of him.

“Never thought of it that way,” Toby mumbled.

Anakin nodded a bit, still looking off towards the jungle at, as far as Tobias could tell, nothing in particular, “You took action. You did the right thing. Its our duty to step up and fight, not sit around trying to figure out the meaning of existence. Not when we can do something to help.”

It was surprisingly hard for Tobias not to laugh. Instead, though, he managed to just smile to himself. It wasn’t that what Anakin had said was really amusing, but it just sounded so much like Jyren. Those were exactly the kinds of things Tobias could hear his father saying, albeit quietly and while yelling at Marix. And, somehow, it was comforting to know that others thought that way.

Because they were right.

Jedi Knights were the defenders of the galaxy. They were supposed to protect the people that could not protect themselves. It was one thing for th students to be kept away at a safe place to train, as that made perfect sense, but the Knights themselves needed to be doing what they were supposed to be doing. Protecting. Fighting the Vong. By the Force, they all carried lightsabers! Those were weapons and belied the pacifistic nature that some seemed to try to put upon the Order.

“Thank you,” Tobias finally said, “That means a lot from you.”

“It shouldn’t.”

Surprised, Tobias sat up completely to look down to where Anakin was a bit better, “Of course it does! I barely know anything that’s going on but I’ve still heard the things you’ve done. You’re a hero, Anakin. Gods, you’re just like the Jedi my father would tell me stories about when I was little. All the students here look up to you, too!”

By now, Yavin’s star had set and it was mostly dark. Lights from the Great Temple illuminated the area, and there was a slight glow from the large, orange gas giant above, but it was harder for human eyes to see now...even at close distances. The few other students that had been outside had moved into the hangar and the Temple, leaving the Tobias and Anakin alone in a rather awkward silence.

But then, almost suddenly, Anakin hopped up to his feet and said, “Its not like I’m the only one in the galaxy who tries to help people. Besides, you seem to want to do the same. Give it some time and all the kids here will be talking about you.”

“If they notice me,” Toby grumbled, more to himself than to Anakin, as he stood up and looked over to the glow of the lights within the Temple’s hangar. Of course, Tobias did keep to himself and try to remain as unnoticed as possible, but that wasn’t really the point.

“I suggest not bathing,” Anakin said, grinning widely, “That’ll get you noticed pretty quickly.”

For a long moment, Tobias stared at him. Then, finally, he laughed. Anakin soon followed suit and whatever tension had been in the air before was gone. Soon after, they both headed into the Temple and went their separate ways again, with Tobias finally deciding to head to the medical ward to check on Venda. As he headed there, Tobias couldn’t help but feel good knowing that he had a friend in one of the most famous Jedi in the galaxy.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 534: Two Months Gone

“Sir.”

Commodore Rulae Nok lifted his rather large, blue head up from the report he was buried in to see the red-haired human woman, Adria Harken, had just entered his office aboard the Araddon with surprising stealth. He hadn’t even heard the door open. Rulae also noticed that she was wearing her flight suit, or at least, the orange jumpsuit without the rest of the life support systems or anything like that. For some reason, Harken seemed to wear it all the time. It was probably a good sign of dedication, but he was used to pilots craving their downtime.

“What do you need, Lieutenant?” Rulae managed to keep his usual calm voice despite the report he’d been reading.

“I was going to ask about the recruits, sir,” Harken took a few steps forward before stopping behind the only other chair in his office that barely anyone ever sat in, “But you look like hell. Are you alright?”

Raising the datapad in his hand, Rulae said simply, “Duro has been taken by the Vong.”

“What?!” the shock in Lt. Harken’s voice was not because it had been her commander’s homeworld. Truth be told, Rulae had been born aboard a freighter in the Outer Rim and had only been to Duro twice in his lifetime. It was a riuned world, with most of the population living in sealed domes.

But it in the galactic core. Duro was a Core World, the first taken by the Vong. Suddenly, all of the worlds that had thought the war so far away were beginning to worry even more. The Vong had made it to the Core.

“The defense fleet put up a good fight, but it wasn’t good enough,” Rulae finally placed the datapad down and out of his reach so he couldn’t look at it again, then turned his two large, teardrop shaped eyes on the human woman staring at him, “We don’t even have orders yet, Lieutenant. High Command is going crazy and the Senate is in chaos. They’re all too busy trying to save their own hides to actually fight this war. And now...”

And now, the Jedi were to blame.

At least, according to Chief of State Borsk Fey’lya, who was placing the blame for the loss of Duro squarely on the shoulders of the Jedi. According to the report, a great many Jedi had gone to the planet to do everything they could, and there was even mention of one of the Solo children fighting the Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster and surviving. But it wasn’t enough, obviously, and now the planet was in the hands of the enemy. And now the Yuuzhan Vong had a foothold in the Core.

It had been a little over two months since the Battle of Fondor. In that time, the only good news was that they had managed to secure enough recruits to completely reform Zephyr Squadron and that the Araddon and the rest of her battlegroup were ready to be deployed again. Everything else, though, was bad news after more bad news.

And now, Duro was gone.

“And now what, sir?” Lt. Harken was not the kind of woman to let anyone trail off, even her commanding officer. It helped that Rulae admired this trait, but it still could be seen as pushing her luck a little too hard.

Rulae’s hand reached for the datapad again, but just stopped over it. He didn’t need to read it again. He knew it by heart now. So, instead, he kept his focus on the newly promoted pilot standing in front of him looking worried, “The Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster made a proclamation and sent it all over the galaxy: if we do not turn over all of the Jedi to him, he will unleash the entirety of his people’s might on the rest of the galaxy.”

There was a short, uncomfortable silence before Lt. Harken asked, “You don’t think people would actually believe...”

“Of course they will,” Rulae cut her off before she had a chance to finish that, “They’ll betray every single Jedi in the galaxy just for the slight hope that the invasion will stop.”

By now, Adria was leaning on the chair in front of her with a sullen look on her face. She seemed at a loss for words, which was very much a rare thing for her. Seeing this, but noticing she also didn’t go anywhere, Rulae attempted to change the subject, at least, “Lor is with the recruits right now. They’re in the simulators and seem to be holding their own well enough.”

“Simulator missions so soon? They just arrived two days ago,” there was a definite change in Harken’s voice now, and it was obvious that the subject of the report was best avoided for the moment.

Rulae got to his feet, glancing down at the few other things cluttered across his desk, “The fleet’s been deployed. We’re a smaller battle group than most of the other fleets so High Command has decided to keep us off the defense forces for now. We’re heading into Hutt Space.”

That got a reaction out of Adria that was similar to the one after hearing of the loss of Duro. Ever since Fondor, the Hutts had been targeted by the Vong. Their so-called peace treaty crumbled the second the Hutts realized the war was damaging important markets, and it seemed the Yuuzhan Vong didn’t take such a turnaround lightly. Nal Hutta was completely invaded, as were most major planets within Hutt Space, with most of the Hutts retreating to various other planets all across the galaxy for their own safety.

The was wasn’t going well, but Rulae had a feeling all of the fleet would feel the same way he did. Hutt Space might be extremely dangerous right now, but it was better to be on the attack then waiting for another massive fleet to jump a Core World...or worse, to watch some kid tortured by the populous of a planet just because he was a Jedi doing his best to help the people who suddenly didn’t give a damn anymore and just wanted someone to blame.

Maybe when the fleet got back from Hutt Space, if it got back, things would be better.

Rulae knew it was a fool’s hope, but they needed something at this point.

There wasn’t really anything left.

 

[Dire Lemming]

Um, hey, if you've decided that you don't want to GM your game anymore could you come into the OOC thread and say so? We're all kinda hanging here.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Sorry for the lack of updates guys...been sick this past week and I'm going to be out of town starting Thursday.

Will try to get in a couple tomorrow but not sure I can.

 

[tmaaas]

Hope you're feeling better.

Thanks for the FYI.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 535: The Twi'lek

Hutt Space was, indeed, a mess.

The first thing the Vong had done was to completely annihilate Nar Shaada and then invade, and begin to terraform, Nal Hutta. The slugs had scattered from their homeworld immediately, most heading to Outer Rim worlds out of the way of the invasion. Some, though, had dug in and were attempting to fight back or, at the very least, survive.

But fighting for the Hutts was not an easy task. In the form of slaves, they had armies, but they were only armies in the sense that there were so very many. The Rodians, Aqualish, Nikto, and other species within Hutt space were never truly trained soldiers as much as trained to at least pull the trigger of a blaster. Against a fighting force such as the Yuuzhan Vong, it just did no good at all.

And there would be no help from the New Republic. Not only was Hutt Space now behind the front lines, which had extended to the Core Worlds in just under a standard year since the Vong had begun their invasion, but the Hutts had never been a member of the New Republic. The New Republic barely had enough of a Navy to protect its own stretched borders, let alone the sections of the galaxy that were supposed to be independent of them. So the Vong controlled the skies, as it were, with the slugs and what was left of their henchmen that remained in the sector down on just a handful of planets below.

Kartne was one such world, located galactic north of Nal Hutta. In fact, it was on the edge of Hutt Space, very close to the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. While it was generally a habitable planet, mostly consisting of large stretches of mountains, valleys, and a few forests of very unique looking trees, there was no life native to the world. It had, for years, simply been left alone with only a small settlement consisting mostly of traders and smugglers. Now, however, a Hutt called Torno had moved into the old settlement with a few members of his family and a fairly large number of underlings. All in all, it meant that Kartne’s single settlement, which didn’t even have a name because no one had felt the place needed one, was a surprisingly well defended collection of geometric, modern buildings crafted into a mountainside not far from a very large canyon.

Beyond a small scouting party of sixteen warriors, the Yuuzhan Vong had not yet attacked, and Torno’s meager fleet, more a handful of ships really, was in orbit as a sort of first alert system, waiting for the Vong to arrive. And they would. It was foolish to think otherwise, especially now that the Vong within Hutt Space seemed to have made it their mission to wipe the slugs off the face of the galaxy.

This, of course, didn’t bother everyone.

Walking through the streets of Kartne was a somewhat short, young looking, blue-skinned Twi’lek woman who was one of the few within the city that didn’t care if all the Hutts were killed. She was not a slave like most Twi’lek females were, and also made sure to wear very normal clothes that covered most all of her, even a pair of black gloves, to make that point well known to everyone around her. The blaster at her hip, which was a good sized, new model carbine and not just some stupid little pistol, and the vibroblade sheathed on her left arm also helped to emphasize this point.

She had arrived on Kartne with Torno and his men just a week prior, the so-called fleet having, at the time, been at Rodia preparing to move to Tatooine, where many of the ruling Hutt families were beginning to use as a new base of operations. But with Rodia’s sudden attack by the Vong, Torno made a rash decision. Where the other Hutts made the relatively short hyperspace jump to Tatooine, Torno decided to go the opposite direction, back towards Nal Hutta and, supposedly, hiding ‘right under their noses’.

This was just further proof to her that Torno was an idiot, as Yuuzhan Vong didn’t really have noses, just skeleton-like slits instead. There was, in fact, nothing to be under. But despite this, she stayed with Torno’s ‘fleet’ and headed to Kartne.

And, currently, she was being followed.

This wasn’t a very rare occurrence, sadly. The Hutts created a culture in which it was dangerous to be female, and being Twi’lek didn’t help. The henchman and other idiots that followed the Hutts from planet to planet, like the two wrinkle-faced Weequay and the three leather-skinned Nikto following her now, seemed to assume that Twi’lek women, especially, were not only weak creatures but only existed to please them.

So, rather casually as if it was where she was going the entire time, she turned and stepped into a smaller side street that might have originally been designed to be used for drainage. The water, gods she hoped it was water, under her feet as she stepped into the narrow alley hinted that it was still used for that.

Light splashes behind her indicated that she was being followed. She was stupid enough to turn around and check. Instead, she simply got a good way down the alley, to the point where she could see the wall of another building at the opposite end, then turned around and drew the carbine from its holster.

Despite the weight of the weapon, the frail-looking Twi’lek raised the blaster carbine easily in her right hand and aimed it at the approaching group that was beginning to slow down upon seeing the situation. How they had missed the weapon at her hip was beyond her, but it was probably assumed it was just for show and she couldn’t use it.

Just to make sure they understood the situation they had walked into, she spoke in a soft voice in Huttese, “This is the point where you boys do the smart thing and go the other way.”

Two of the Nikto glanced at one another, but they all continued to come towards her. After they all took a few more steps in the small alley, she could see vibrodaggers drawn and even a blaster or two. One of the Weequay said something in a harsh, grating voice but it was in his native language and she didn’t understand it.

But she knew two languages they would understand, without a doubt. One of them, she’d already tried. With Huttese failing to get the point across, the Twi’lek woman used the other: she pulled the trigger of her carbine.

The red blaster bolt lit up the darkened alley before slamming into the lead Nikto and sending him into the two others behind him. But the shot did not have the intended effect of deterrence. Instead, the other four let out loud cries of anger and came after her.

Blaster pistols fired and scrapings of metal against metal, too. There were cries, more blaster shots, and splashes and thuds that echoed within the tight alley, but they only lasted a little more than a minute. When there was silence again, the Twi’lek was the only one standing, and she was holstering the carbine while wiping off the now-inactive vibroblade before returning it to its sheath.

A few moments later, and she let out a very loud, annoyed sigh. [Loki, we have a problem.]

He was on the side of the settlement, beneath cover with the rest of the transport vehicles that didn’t have any weapons...well, that Torno knew about. [How many this time?]

Marix glanced over her shoulder, but found herself staring at a blue lekku and then shook her head in annoyance. [Five.]

[Can’t hide that many.] he spoke her thoughts, as usual.

Despite him being kilometers away, Marix nodded and fell into her casual walk again. It wasn’t comfortable, but her center of balance was odd in this body and it just seemed to work for how she was currently built even though she had never walked like this except as a Twi’lek. [Get yourself ready to leave as discreetly as possible. I’m going to get moving here. No more time to do this carefully.]

There was a short pause as Marix made her way down the not-at-all crowded street towards where Torno had set up a main residence of sorts, then Loki’s ‘voice’ returned. [Keep your ears up, Marix. You know the Vong are going to finally attack the second we have to leave.]

He was right.

That was how it would work. Just like back on Rodia, when she’d gotten close to getting the information she was looking for, the Vong would attack. But then, she’d decided to play it safe and not get caught up in a two-way fight, instead falling in with Torno’s fleet and retreating with him to Kartne. Now, though, Marix had to get the job done.

The Peace Brigade was picking up its actions ever since the Vong Warmaster had called for all Jedi to be turned over to him. And even though the Hutts were on the run from the Vong and the Peace Brigade were technically allied with the Yuuzhan Vong, there was still an old connection between the two organizations. There were undoubtedly many spies amongst Torno’s people, too. One way or another, something would be able to trace to the Peace Brigade.

The call for the Jedi meant that Yavin IV was going to be attacked. Of that, Marix had no doubt. Someone would try to profit from that or save their world or something else utterly selfish. If she could get inside the Peace Brigade, figure out who was really in charge and getting things moving one direction or another, Marix might be able to take it down from the inside. Originally, she had planned to go straight to Yavin to find Tobias, but when she’d learned of the situation in the galaxy, something told Marix that dealing with the Peace Brigade was the way to solve the problem.

Besides, the last thing the kid needed was his mother appearing to save the day yet again. She would do what she could from a distance, but Marix knew that a time would come when he’d have to learn to take care of himself. And so she’d stay out of view and deal with the Peace Brigade...tactically, it was rather foolish, but something about it just felt like it was something she needed to do.

Turning a corner, Marix casually slipped around a pair of humans, both of whom gave her a good look over as she went by, and started towards the large building up ahead. It was guarded, of course, but everyone in the settlement was there because they were part of Torno’s group so she would be able to walk right in. Once she was inside, however, was when it was going to get interesting. Marix was going to have to keep herself well hidden and be very careful so she didn’t have to explain why none of the guards recognized her, or why she was snooping around areas she was definitely not meant to be.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 536: Sight Training

“We’re not leaving with the others?” Tobias asked, confusion quite apparent in his voice, as he followed Master Ral through the corridors of the lower level of the Great Temple on Yavin IV.

A few steps ahead, the Omwati Jedi Master nodded, “For the time being, we will remain here on Yavin.”

Master Ral then turned a corner, just as Tobias had opened his mouth to speak. Not wanting to speak at the wall, he was forced to wait a few seconds and round the corner himself before asking, “But isn’t it dangerous? I mean...the Vong are basically calling for ours heads and everyone knows the Academy is here on Yavin...”

“The Yuuzhan Vong do not seem to know that,” a slender blue hand was raised as the point was made. A moment later, the Jedi Master stopped and a door in front of him silently slid open. Before stepping into the room, Master Ral spoke over his shoulder, “It is only the older students and a few other Masters that are leaving for Coruscant. Masters Tionne and Solusar are remaining here along with many other students.”

Tobias followed Master Ral into the relatively empty, stone-walled room, “So three Jedi Masters and a handful of young students who can barely fight are staying behind...”

“Master Skywalker is attempting to have a fleet sent here to protect the planet,” Master Ral turned around and motioned for Tobias to step next to him, “Close your eyes and draw the Force to you. When you’re ready, keep your eyes closed but stretch out your senses and use the Force to let you see this room.”

Many times before, Tobias had questioned instructions like that. It had never helped, however, usually only getting him a flash of annoyance through the Force. Having actually learned something, Tobias simply did as he was told, curious as to where, exactly, this was going.

Once in the center of the room, he closed his eyes and began to pull the Force around him. It was an odd feeling, all of the energy condensing around him, and in a few moments it felt like he had another few layers of skin...very heavy skin. It took some effort to keep his eyes closed, but Tobias very slowly attempted to push the Force outward, around him, letting it be his eyes instead.

This was, of course, much easier said than done.

While he could feel the Force around him expanding, then contracting, then expanding outwards a little more each time, he still couldn’t actually see. Tobias could feel it all, though...the weight of the air just in front of him, the slight shifting of the stones that made up the room around him, Master Ral’s calm mind, yet bright presence just a meter away...

Bright.

Bright wasn’t a word of feeling. It was a word to describe something that could be seen. It wasn’t an emotion at all.

His mind starting to put the pieces together, Tobias shifted his focus to the bright spot in the Force that was his Jedi Master. Instead of trying to bring the whole room into focus, which obviously wasn’t working, Tobias instead concentrated on the one thing that he was close to seeing without really seeing...that bright spot of Master Ral. And the more he focused, the more it began to take shape. It was slow, but soon, eyes still closed, Tobias could see a vaguely humanoid outline in a way that the eyes could never see anything.

It was like looking directly at the Force, seeing it flowing through everything that was alive about Master Ral, and being so bright that if Tobias looked to hard his ‘vision’ was blurred for a few moments from everything else...

That was when Tobias realized he was seeing more than just Master Ral. He could see the floor, the walls, the door...

It took every bit of his concentration to maintain it, however, and all of his self control not to burst out laughing and open his eyes. Tobias did, however, grin from ear to ear without meaning to, or realizing it.

“Good,” Master Ral’s voice was soft and seemed to gently slip through the air in front of him, “Now, instead of focusing on me, try one of the youngest students in another room.”

There were so few students left in the Academy that the nearest wasn’t likely to even be on the same level of the building, but Tobias didn’t say that. Master Ral knew it. That was likely the point. So, keeping his breathing calm and steady, a part of him anchoring his focus on the bright section of the Force that was Master Ral, and another doing its best to keep from him from opening his eyes, Tobias attempted to push outwards a little farther and find another student...

Very slowly, and very oddly, the hallway beyond Master Ral came into ‘view’. It flowed and shifted with Tobias’ odd form of sight, going black and then suddenly coming to life brightly as his focus wavered, and then began to expand again. Doors could be seen, then ceilings, then light fixtures that were darker than the walls, themselves and then...

And then Master Ral was there, clear as day.

It took a moment for Tobias to realize that it was so clear because he’d opened his eyes by accident. The real clue was colour, which the Force didn’t really have in the same way, if at all. It just was. But seeing the blue-face of his Master watching him was enough to make Tobias sigh heavily, “I almost had it.”

“You are doing quite well,” the Omwati Master nodded, his feathery hair shifting oddly with the motion, “I want you to do it again, but you must stop worrying about succeeding immediately. These things take time to learn, especially when our other senses will do their best to distract us.”

Nodding, then shifting his position slightly and even stretching a bit, Tobias closed his eyes again. He began to try again, but before he could really ‘see’ anything, a thought came to mind and then escaped through his mouth, “Am I the only one that is so worried about a Vong attack here?”

There was silence for a few moments, but Master Ral seemed to understand that it was doing nothing to help Tobias’ lack of focus. A few steps on the stone floor could be heard, then Master Ral’s voice from off to Tobias’ right side, “We cannot hide forever. Master Skywalker will attain extra protection for us soon enough.”

“What if the Vong find us before then?” it was an obvious question, and Tobias had opened his eyes and looked straight to Master Ral when he asked it.

Making a smooth motion with a hand in front of him, Master Ral’s head tilted to the side slightly in an odd gesture, “We will deal with that situation if it comes,” he then nodded again, “Until then, you must concentrate on your exercises. Part of being a Jedi is learning to focus on the moment, not what might happen in the future.”